Right after their arrivals at Hun'ang; If Chao MeiHua was saddened, Princess Zhang XiuYa was upset and completely beside herself.
How could she not be? As soon as the Ministry of Finance's group arrived, they only found out that not only the Second Prince had gone back to Da Lang, even the person of her longing was no longer there.
They arrived a few days after the New Year - much to Chao HuiBo's annoyance. It was way later than their initial intended arrival timing.
Before the Princess decided to tag along, Chao HuiBo already knew that his group would be arriving a few days at most, after the Prince and the Generals. After all, himself and Chao MeiHua were not accustomed to long distance trips and bound to travel slower.
They had agreed that the Prince and the Generals could arrive first to administer the new security protocols at Hun'ang first - as that would take longer time.
Who knew that Chao HuiBo, Chao MeiHua, and several other chosen intellects from the Ministry of Finance would actually arrive much much later.
Before his departure to Da Lang on New Year's day, the Second Prince could only write down everything that had been done, and everything that still yet to be done by the Ministry of Finance's team. The pile of scrolls that greeted Chao HuiBo as soon as he arrived at Old Qian's estate only caused more headache to him.
It would have been easier if the Second Prince was still at Hun'ang, as a verbal speech would always depict a thousand of written words on papers. It would be much easier for him to listen directly about any matter of importance from the Second Prince and the Generals themselves.
But who should he voice his grievance to? The culprit for his late arrival was an Imperial Family member after all.
They had to use a carriage to carry the Princess, as well as a small number of her hand-picked maids to accompany her for her journey. It made their journey so much more painstakingly slower.
If there was just one thing Chao HuiBo could give the Princess credit for, the pampered woman did not voice a single grievance during their journey - despite the outdoor camps, the lack of fine food, the bitter cold.
However, it still did not give respite to his current predicament, as he looked bitterly at the pile of paper scrolls.
"Bo-ge," Chao MeiHua swallowed her disappointment when she found out that she also missed displaying her competence in front of a certain General. She softly touched Chao HuiBo's sleeve as she noticed the deep frown forming in the middle of his forehead,
"Nothing we can do at this point. Let's just combine our effort together to get this done as quickly as possible."
"The Second Prince and the Generals could not wait for us, I guess," she gave him a wry smile, and it somewhat broke Chao HuiBo's heart to see her disheartened expression,
"After all, the Third Prince and Miss Ji's nuptial is approaching vastly," she sighed,
"I can understand their haste... ."
The pair of siblings looked at each other, and gave out a collective tired sigh.
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If the end of the past year was a bad end to Qian FanSheng - due to a certain General's act of aggressiveness on him that caused him to not only lose his clutch on Bai YuLan, but also caused him to be injured - then these days for the first few weeks of the new year was probably worse for his dignity, or whatever was left of it.
Nevertheless, at least, in front of this another handsome young man from the capital, he did not need to kneel, like he had to in front of the Prince.
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One Lifetime Is Never Enough
Historical FictionShe thought she was going to die. She did. But the next time she opened her eyes , she found out that she was living a whole new life, as a little girl who was going to enter a noble household as a maid. However, a true pearl can never hide its lus...
