"Your Highness Prince Ning, this matter... you are a prince, do you not know? It is perhaps inappropriate at this banquet."
Song Chaoyu smiled faintly, leaving Mu Hansu with no room for dignity, "Our prince was directly carried to this place, merely for the sake of the friendship between our two kingdoms over the years. How can we trouble him further like this now?"
She cupped her fists and then said to those above, "Moreover, the imperial physicians have always said that our prince's condition is quite good. Our court has many capable individuals. If Lord Qiu wishes to discuss the prince's illness with them, there is no rush for this moment, is there? Why must we insist on this for the prince at this very time?"
Others said nothing, but the Emperor thought it made sense.
Why insist on Lord Qiu examining Mu Changxi's illness at the banquet? Did this not show a lack of respect for the imperial physicians in the court?
"The Princess Consort speaks wisely!"
The Emperor, not yet sensing any other underlying issues, nodded at Lord Qiu, "Lord Qiu is a distinguished guest from afar. Matters of healing should be left to the imperial physicians; there is truly no need to trouble Lord Qiu! Please take a seat of honor, Lord Qiu, otherwise, it would be our lack of hospitality!"
Lord Qiu, who had already taken out his needles, had no choice but to put them away.
He smiled sheepishly and said to Song Chaoyu, "It was I who was presumptuous."
Song Chaoyu merely smiled and curtsied to him, "Thank you, Lord Qiu, for thinking of our prince. If our prince awakens and learns of this, he will surely be grateful."
Lord Qiu returned to his seat, and Mu Changxi was carried and delivered to Song Chaoyu.
Seeing that he remained still despite these events, Song Chaoyu felt a little relieved.
As soon as Lord Qiu sat back in his seat, the two princes from the Southern Kingdom walked towards Song Chaoyu.
Both of them wore smiling expressions, and one of them held a wine cup.
They were the princes of the Southern Kingdom, and Song Chaoyu also stood up.
Seeing that even with both of them approaching her at such close proximity, there was no discernible difference, they were indeed identical in appearance and attire!
One of them walked towards Song Chaoyu and raised his wine cup to her, "Meeting Princess Consort Chang for the first time, I knew that Prince Chang's choice was not wrong! Princess Consort Chang is truly a gentle and kind person. I remember when we were young, we grew up with Prince Chang. Back then, he always said that he would marry a great beauty in the future; he always liked charming and radiant people, but he never expected to marry someone gentle and virtuous!"
This was clearly a remark with hidden meaning, and how could Song Chaoyu not understand it?
She covered her mouth and chuckled, chiding playfully, "Oh, then I understand what Your Highness the Prince means. Your Highness feels that my appearance is not worthy of being Princess Consort Chang, and thinks that Prince Chang did not fulfill his past promise to marry someone of unparalleled beauty!"
Everyone could tell that Song Chaoyu's words were a jest.
However, the prince was momentarily stunned, then blushed, as if he had said something wrong, "Oh, I did not mean that at all. For Princess Consort Chang to misunderstand me is truly disrespectful! Princess Consort is naturally a beauty of the highest caliber; how could I speak in such a manner and offend such a beauty?"
"Yes, this is my younger brother's fault!"
The other one also stepped forward at this moment, his voice almost indistinguishable from the first, though his speaking pace seemed slightly slower, "Please do not take offense, Princess Consort Chang. My brother here is not particularly eloquent. Princess Consort Chang's appearance is indeed outstanding. Prince Chang's choice was not wrong, and Princess Consort Chang is truly a rare individual. We were indeed disrespectful!"
Song Chaoyu smiled slightly and then shook her head at this person, "Your Highnesses are joking!"
She pointed towards the one who had approached her earlier, "I believe this one is the elder brother."
She then pointed towards the one who spoke slightly slower behind, "And this one must be the younger brother, right?"
As soon as these words were spoken, both of them were stunned.
After a long while, the elder brother reacted and laughed heartily, "Even our father sometimes cannot distinguish between us, how did you manage to?"
Seeing that many people around were looking in their direction, Song Chaoyu smiled without the slightest trace of timidity, "Since you two grew up with our prince from childhood, I have heard some things about you from the prince."
She raised her cup towards the elder brother, "The prince said that the elder brother among the princes is impetuous. Whether in speech or action, he is decisive and admirable."
She then raised her cup towards the younger brother, "The prince also said that the younger brother among the princes is more gentle in his actions and speech. I think that although you both approached at the same time, this point was still evident. Therefore, I boldly guessed your identities. I hope you will not take offense."
"Good, very good!"
The elder brother drained the wine in his cup and then laughed heartily at Song Chaoyu, "Even our father and mother cannot distinguish between us brothers, but Prince Chang indeed never misidentified us before! It's unexpected that he told the Princess Consort about things from his childhood. It seems he has indeed been thinking of us brothers all these years!"
The younger brother also clapped his hands and laughed, "I knew it! No matter how we disguised ourselves when we were young, Prince Chang could always recognize us! Now that the Princess Consort has resolved a long-standing mystery for us, this Prince Chang is truly extraordinary!"
Seeing no suspicion in their eyes, Song Chaoyu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She knew that their visit to the capital was a test. Now that she had acted preemptively, it prevented them from further probing.
After being surprised by Song Chaoyu, the two returned to their seats.
Song Chaoyu turned around and saw Song Yanjiao staring at her with a frown, muttering something to Mu Hansu beside her.
And Mu Changxi behind her remained motionless.
It wasn't until after three rounds of drinks that the atmosphere in the hall livened up a bit.
It was unclear what was wrong with the Emperor today; he had drunk quite a lot.
To this extent, his eyes also turned red, and he began to incessantly mutter, "My Chang'er has suffered too much these past years! Sending him to the Southern Kingdom back then was a measure of last resort. For him to have lived alone in the Southern Kingdom for so many years, I truly feel heartbroken!"
He drained the wine in his cup, his eyes growing more pained, "Now that he has finally returned, he has relapsed! I do not know how difficult his life was in the Southern Kingdom back then!"
He sighed deeply, "My Chang'er is a pitiable soul!"