Chapter 201: What’s Going On?

Chapter 201: What's Going On?

Two days passed, and Tang Shuyi took Xiao Yuzhu to the Wangfu of the Carefree Prince. The Dowager Consort was naturally very pleased. Over at the club, Princess Changping became a regular. Xiao Yuming was progressing day by day under the tutelage of General Xiang.

Time passed in this way for a while. One day, while Tang Shuyi was reading with Xiao Yuzhu in the study, Cuicloud brought an invitation card, saying, "Madam, the Marquis of Liguo's residence sent an invitation, stating they will come for a visit tomorrow."

Tang Shuyi took the card and opened it to see that it was signed by the old Lady of the Liguo Marquis. She was somewhat puzzled; the Marquis of Yongning’s residence seldom interacted with the Liguo Marquis’ residence, so why would the old lady suddenly come for a visit? However, she didn't dwell on it, thinking that she would understand when she met her the next day.

"The old Marquis of Liguo had followed the late emperor in founding the empire, and he was a person widely praised. However, it’s a pity that there’s no one to carry on his legacy," Tang Shuyi told Xiao Yuzhu about the Liguo family.

"Even before the old Marquis of Liguo passed away, his sons were fighting each other fiercely over the title. After his death, those brothers stopped interacting altogether. Moreover, the current Marquis of Liguo is mediocre and cannot shoulder great responsibilities.

He once served in the court, but the several tasks assigned by the emperor were all poorly managed by him. Eventually, he had to retire and live in leisure, and so did his brothers. Thus, the Liguo Marquis' house is in decline."

Xiao Yuzhu listened attentively, and Tang Shuyi continued, "A family must have successors to thrive."

"But what if one cannot produce intelligent heirs?" Xiao Yuzhu asked.

Tang Shuyi couldn't help but laugh, "Not to mention a large family with so many descendants, it's impossible not to have a single intelligent person. Even if there isn’t, with proper guidance, one can still educate and cultivate talent."

Xiao Yuzhu looked puzzled, and Tang Shuyi explained, "Indeed, people are born with varying levels of intelligence, but even those who are not naturally bright, as long as they are not foolish, will certainly have one or two strengths.

Just like your eldest brother has a talent for reading, your second brother has an aptitude for martial arts, Qi Er and Yan Wu are adept at interpersonal relations, some are good at painting, some excel in mathematics, and so on. Allowing them to thrive in their areas of strength is key. Once these strengths are well-utilized, they will be valuable and contribute to achievements.

In a family, even if not every member's strengths can be maximized, focusing on a few individuals and leveraging their strengths for mutual benefit can prevent decline. Of course, the main reason for the decline of the Liguo Marquis' house is the strife among brothers, which is a grave taboo."

Xiao Yuzhu seemed pensive, and Tang Shuyi gently patted her head, "It's okay if you don't understand now, you can think it over slowly in the future."

Xiao Yuzhu nodded in agreement.

………

Not long after breakfast the next day, the Lady of Old Li Guogong arrived. It was only when Tang Shuyi and Xiao Yuzhu went to greet her that they realized the Princess Jianing had also come, prompting them to hurriedly pay their respects.

But as they were halfway through their formalities, Princess Jianing laughed and helped Tang Shuyi up, "My lady, there is no need for such formality."

The Lady of Old Li Guogong also smiled and said, "She's just a child; she doesn't need to be so formal."

Tang Shuyi insisted that formalities should not be neglected and then led them into the hall. After sitting down, they naturally exchanged pleasantries. Then, Princess Jianing said, "On my way from my fief to the capital, I encountered Lord Xiao. He asked me to bring some things back for him."

Tang Shuyi was taken aback, failing to understand why, even if Xiao Yuchen had met Princess Jianing on the road, they were not acquainted, so why would he ask her to bring things back?

At this point, the Lady of Old Li Guogong said, "These two children encountered difficulties and had a narrow escape from death."

On hearing this, Tang Shuyi's heart leaped, and she quickly asked, "What happened?"

Seeing Tang Shuyi's worried face, Princess Jianing hastened to reassure her, "Madam, do not worry. Lord Xiao is fine, and so are all who were with him."

Hearing this, Tang Shuyi felt somewhat relieved, but she still asked, "What exactly happened?"

Seeing her urgency, Princess Jianing promptly recounted the incident in detail. It turned out that on their journey near Ma Hua Town in Wu Dong County, they had intended to take the official road. However, recent rains had destroyed the road, forcing them to take a detour. It was there that they encountered Lord Xiao and his party.

As they were strangers, the two parties did not greet each other, though they detoured together. With dozens of people combined, they thought they would be safe, but as they reached a densely forested area, bandits suddenly emerged from the woods.

Although they had guards, they were outnumbered by the bandits. Just when it seemed they would be completely overwhelmed, Xiao Yuchen and Princess Jianing made a decision to cover the escape of two individuals to go for help.

Xiao Yuchen and Princess Jianing were the main targets of the bandits, so naturally, they couldn't escape. Xiao Yuchen ordered his attendant Changfeng, and Princess Jianing ordered her brother Li Jinghao to flee.

Changfeng and Li Jinghao lived up to their expectations and managed to escape. Meanwhile, Xiao Yuchen and Princess Jianing were taken to the bandits' mountain hideout. Perhaps the bandits saw that they were important, or perhaps for some other reason, but they ended up locking the two together.

Although they were a man and a woman alone together, there was no awkwardness between them. After all, they were in a life-threatening situation and had no time for other thoughts. After a moment of silence, Xiao Yuchen was the first to speak, "I come from the capital, the heir to Marquis Yongning, and may I know who the miss is...?"

"I am the daughter of Duke Duan, titled Princess Jianing," replied Princess Jianing.

Having thus become acquainted, they then discussed their strategy together. Xiao Yuchen said, "Even if my attendant and your brother manage to escape, even if they reach the county town and find the magistrate, the county yamen has no soldiers and can't attack the bandit stronghold to rescue us. We'll have to find a way to escape ourselves."

Princess Jianing nodded, then stood up and began to search the room for any possible escape routes. Seeing this, Xiao Yuchen also started searching, but they found nothing for a while. However, they discovered that the adjoining room held the rest of their party.

Princess Jianing noticed a small hole in the wall and whispered through it to her guard. Hearing her, the guard used brute force to remove a brick from the hole, allowing the occupants of the two rooms to communicate secretly.

Whether it was Xiao Yuchen's guards or those of Princess Jianing, they were skilled in martial arts. Their capture was a result of being outnumbered. Notably, one of the Princess's guards possessed a peculiar talent for lock-picking.

Thus, they conspired in secret, planning to escape when the bandits fell asleep at night. The lock-picking guard would free them, and they would flee together. Fortunately, the plan unfolded smoothly, and they managed to escape the stronghold, though the bandits quickly noticed and gave chase.

At a critical moment, they were rescued by Changfeng and Li Jinghao, who had come with reinforcements, saving Xiao Yuchen and Princess Jianing from their predicament.