Fu Yingyu took her leave as she saw the couple reunited.
The envoy's swift return suggested that the peace talks via carrier pigeons had been quite successful, and Prince Rui had once again accomplished a great deed, further solidifying his position in court. Fu Yingyu's expression was complex; it was truly a case of comparing oneself to others, leading to despair.
Despite being a prince of humble origins, how long had it been since he acknowledged his lineage? Less than two years, yet the number of ministers who respected him in court surpassed that of any other prince. Even her own husband, the Third Prince, spoke of him with a hint of envy.
These princes, though seemingly glorious on the surface, found themselves restrained when it came to actual matters.
There was no choice; the officialdom was a tangled web, and there were too many things to consider.
For instance, if something required the cooperation of the Six Ministries, it would be considered good if the subordinates completed it about seventy to eighty percent. If it wasn't done well, one couldn't truly hold them accountable. One might not know that some minor official was a relative of a certain minister, belonging to this faction or that. Offending someone inadvertently would make future tasks even more difficult.
However, Situ Yan had none of these troubles.
He dared to openly argue with Duke Cao and Marquis Qi Ying in the Golden Palace, so what was there to fear about offending someone? If he wanted to do something, very few dared to slack off, lest they be caught in a mistake and dismissed from office.
More importantly, the Emperor truly doted on him. The Censorate had impeached him many times before, but all the accusations that could be suppressed were indeed suppressed by the Emperor. Those that couldn't be suppressed were only spoken of in perfunctory terms in court. This kind of treatment, let alone the Third Prince, not even the Crown Prince had experienced.
But then again, with such a son who could manage both Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice with his pen, and be a formidable warrior with his sword, whom would the Emperor dote on if not him?
Lu Nianfu was completely unaware of Fu Yingyu's lament. As soon as she heard that Situ Yan had returned, she immediately began directing the servants to prepare the rooms, and the kitchen was also bustling with activity. Qingmiao and Hongshao pulled Lu Nianfu to her dressing table and began to adorn her.
After trying on three outfits, Lu Nianfu finally chose a skirt of Xiangfei color. Glancing at herself in the mirror for a long time, she asked nervously, "Qingmiao, Hongshao, do I look like I've gained quite a bit of weight?"
"Not at all! Ever since the young heir was born, you've been losing weight. I was afraid the Prince would blame us for not taking good care of you when he returned," replied Qingmiao.
"Really not fat?"
"Really not."
"But why do I feel like my face has gotten bigger?"
"That's just your imagination."
Lu Nianfu: ...
Waiting was the most agonizing thing. After the initial excitement wore off, Qingmiao brought in Situ Yao, attempting to distract her with the child: "Wangfei, even officials returning to the capital for their reports have to talk to the Emperor for a long time. Much less an event as significant as the Prince's return from his mission via carrier pigeon. If the Emperor misses his son dearly, he might even keep him for a meal or an overnight stay. It won't do for you to just wait here idly."
Lu Nianfu didn't take it to heart.
After all, every time Situ Yan went out on official business, he returned directly to the mansion after reporting.
Unfortunately, she was disappointed this time. She waited from noon until dark, but Situ Yan did not return to the mansion. Instead, she received a letter from her former father-in-law, Gu Rong, who had sent it through an intermediary.
Lu Nianfu was bewildered. After opening it, she was completely stunned.
Situ Yan had not returned to the capital with the delegation but had gone to the Northern Frontier.
There was a war in the Northern Frontier, and he had gone to battle without any preparation? Lu Nianfu's heart leaped into her throat. The battlefield was a dangerous place, and even though she knew he had fought in many battles, she was still so shocked by this news that she couldn't sleep all night.
Cao Guogong, Fu Lingyun, also lost sleep that night.
The twenty thousand troops at Yanmen Pass had always been under his control. It was also because of these twenty thousand troops that his position in court was as stable as a mountain. This was the glory he wanted to pass down to his descendants, but he never imagined that the troops he refused to relinquish, even at the cost of offending the Crown Prince, would be taken away by Situ Yan, a quarter of them.
What was Fu Yu eating? He actually let Situ Yan take away fifty thousand troops while holding the tiger tally.
Fifty thousand! This was like cutting off his flesh.
The men of the Northern Frontier were all warlike. Who knew how many of the fifty thousand troops would remain after fighting on the battlefield? If they were integrated into the Northern Army, they would be completely lost.
The next day, the Duke Cao, with two dark circles under his eyes, knelt and requested to be sent to battle. He wanted to go to the Northern Frontier.