Phi-Fic Chapter 479 This is the prize!
Chapter 479 This is the prize!
I had long heard that the young princess whom the prince had married was a renowned talented woman in the capital. Hearing just one song today, I couldn't help but admire her – truly, her voice is unparalleled!
"Your Highness, today is New Year's Eve. As a prince, you must stay up late for the Emperor and Empress. You must not drink too much."
According to the rules of the Dayong Dynasty, children are required to stay up late for their elders on New Year's Eve. If they can stay up until midnight without feeling tired, it is considered to bring good fortune to their parents and that they will live to be a hundred years old.
Mu Xin Nuan's timely reminder made Fang Heng, who had been insisting on toasting the prince again, behave himself considerably.
He scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "Your Highness, I'm just a rough man, please don't take offense."
Mu Xin Nuan smiled and said, "General Fang, what are you saying? The Prince once told me that you are brothers, and brothers who would risk their lives for each other. Otherwise, he wouldn't have kept you here for a reunion dinner today. However, although this is Yanzhou, it is still the territory of Dayong. The political situation is still unclear, and I'm afraid there are people who are keeping a close eye on the Prince. Therefore, we must be extra careful."
Wang Zhao, who had remained silent until now, nodded. “Your Highness’s status is special. Although Your Highness has always favored the Crown Prince, people’s hearts are unpredictable. Not to mention whether the Crown Prince trusts our Your Highness, even the Prince Ming will try to sow discord between Your Highness and the Crown Prince. Therefore, what the Princess Consort said is true. We should be more vigilant at all times so that we can truly be loyal to Your Highness instead of adding burdens to him.”
Fang Heng sighed deeply, "It's a pity that I, Old Fang, have spent most of my life fighting on the battlefield. I'm not afraid to say something that you might laugh at. When the Prince first arrived at the border, I was the one who was unconvinced and provoked him at every turn. But the Prince never minded and even defeated me wholeheartedly! I never thought that when I, Old Fang, fell into trouble, it was the Prince who remembered me again. I, Old Fang, am truly ashamed of myself!"
"General Fang, you are the Prince's right-hand man. Now that you have donned your military uniform again, you should naturally think about how to serve the court and how to ensure the peaceful life of the people on the border. Now, the lives of the Prince and I are in your hands."
"Your Highness is too kind. I am far from worthy of such praise! If it weren't for Your Highness, I, Old Fang, would be destitute and homeless somewhere right now. Although Your Highness is younger than me, you are my savior. I, Old Fang, can never repay such a great kindness in this lifetime!"
As Fang Heng spoke, he downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, and upon closer inspection, his eyes were glistening with tears.
Mu Xin Nuan had heard Duanmu Chu Ze say that Fang Heng had joined the army at a young age and fought on the battlefield for more than ten years. Now he was almost thirty years old, but he still didn't have a wife. This time, if Duanmu Chu Ze hadn't sent someone to look for him, he wouldn't have known that he and his elderly mother were living in such dire straits.
Thinking of this, Mu Xin Nuan looked at the white-haired old woman beside her. What an extraordinary life it must have been for a woman to give birth to and raise such a son so well!
“Hong’er is right, Your Highness and Your Highness. If it weren’t for you, I’m afraid I would have already succumbed to that illness and been separated from Hong’er forever. Now, you have given my son and me our own residence in Yanzhou, and we even have maids and servants. All of this is thanks to Your Highness and Your Highness.”
"Madam Fang, your son is a hero, a meritorious official of our Great Yong! Although some villains deliberately made things difficult for him before, the fact that the Prince has summoned him to Yanzhou shows that the court has not forgotten his achievements. The situation in the court is complex and cannot be understood by a single word or action. You only need to know that your son is the pride of your Yu family, and that is enough!"
Upon hearing this, Madam Fang burst into tears. After wiping her eyes with her sleeve, she choked out, "How fortunate are the people of Yanzhou to have such masters as the Prince and Princess? From now on, my Hong'er's life belongs to the Prince and Princess."
"Madam Fang, you must not say such things again. General Fang is indeed a general." Mu Xin Nuan reached out and took Madam Fang's hand, smiling faintly. "Besides, the Prince mentioned to me before that he wanted to introduce a young lady to General Fang as a wife! Since you are here today, why don't you tell me what kind of woman you would prefer to be your daughter-in-law?"
That one sentence enlivened the atmosphere in the hall.
Xu Hai jokingly said, "Alright! Old Fang, you're the last one here, but your marriage is the one our Prince has been thinking about the first time! That won't do! Come on, let's have another drink! Otherwise, we'll just have to snatch the Princess Consort away from your wife!"
"Hahahaha!"
His words drew continuous laughter!
Madam Fang also stopped crying and started laughing. For a moment, the whole hall was filled with joy and warmth!
Although Mu Xin Nuan hadn't known these people for long, the little princess's mannerisms were quite pleasing to them. Throughout the entire banquet, she never referred to herself as "this princess," showing that she truly treated them, these uncouth men, as family!
Duanmu Chuze was naturally overjoyed that his young wife had made him look so good. If it weren't for the fact that he had to stay up late for the Emperor and Empress on New Year's Eve, he would have drunk a lot more and not left until he was completely drunk!
Originally, they planned to stop drinking and return to their respective residences. As for Xu Hai and the others, they naturally stayed in their previous guest courtyard. However, unexpectedly, Duanmu Chuze suggested that since they were going to stay up all night anyway, they might as well play drinking games. In the evening, they called in grooms, prepared several horses, and started a horse racing competition in the courtyard!
Although the Prince's mansion courtyard was not small, it was still somewhat restrictive for horseback riding.
However, this did not stump Duanmu Chuze. He simply had people replace some obstacles with benches and decided that whoever crossed the obstacles first would win!
Of course, Duanmu Chuze will not be playing in the next match.
Seeing that they were having a great time, Mu Xin Nuan simply shook her head and then instructed someone to bring over a string of fine jade.
"Since it's New Year's Eve, let's use this as a prize. Whoever wins, this jade belt will be theirs."
Everyone applauded and cheered, and Fang Heng laughed without any modesty, "Your Highness is indeed very generous! If you want to reward me, just say so, why beat around the bush?"
Zi glared at him. "Are you really that shameless? Don't you even know who you're competing against today? You actually think you can win this today?"