An Eight-year-old Princess

Chapter 155 Returning To The Palace; The Encounter With Prince Houjing (Part One)

Yun Shang didn't expect to encounter Xia Houjing on her way back to the Palace. In the carriage, Yun

Shang thought on how she had been abducted when she was out of the Palace, and due to safety

reasons, it would be some time before she would leave the Palace. Even though nothing happened this

time, she needed to be prudent and cherish her life.

If she couldn't come out very often, she wouldn't have much chance to taste the Osmanthus Cake at

the Yuman Tower. Thinking about the dessert, she raised her head to look at Prince Jing sitting across

from her. Prince Jing was worried about her, so he was escorting her.

"What's the matter?" Feeling Yun Shang staring at him, Prince Jing looked up and asked.

Yun Shang bit her lip and shook her head. Then she looked at Prince Jing and coughed, "I have a

sudden craving for some Osmanthus cake from the Yuman Tower."

Prince Jing was surprised, but then he realized what she meant. Prince Jing looked at Yun Shang

smiling. He called out to the coachman, "Let's go to the Yuman Tower."

There was a long line outside the Yuman Tower. Yun Shang sat in the carriage with Prince Jing. She

lifted the curtain to look at the line. Prince Jing sent the coachman to wait in the line for the Osmanthus

cake.

"Well......" Yun Shang said in a low voice noticing something unusual. Prince Jing looked up.

Yun Shang turned to Prince Jing and whispered, "I think I see Xia Houjing."

Xia Houjing wasn't a man of appealing appearance. At least in Yun Shang's eyes, even Prince Qingsu

looked much better. Not to mention Prince Jing, who was the most handsome among them. To most of

the girls in the State of Ning, Prince Jing was the man of their dreams. It was not only because of his

countless victories in warfare or his royal position. It was also his dashing good looks, and honestly, a

man as charming as Prince Jing was rare.

Prince Jing sat closer to Yun Shang. He looked outside the window, too. It was narrow in the carriage, Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

so Prince Jing's breath almost reached Yun Shang's face. Yun Shang froze, blushed. She stopped

looking out the window, lowering her head and sat up straighter.

Prince Jing seemed to not notice Yun Shang's reaction. He turned away from the window frowning, "I

seem to recall that Prince Houjing said this morning that he was ill. I was led to believe he wasn't able

to get out of bed. Why is he here? Is he meeting someone?"

Yun Shang was still feeling awkward at how close he was to her, so she wasn't paying close attention

to Prince Jing's words. It took her a a few minutes to focus, "Erm, " Yun Shang acted absent-minded,

"Should I go and have a look? I have people who work for me in the Yuman Tower. I can find out which

room Xia Houjing went in and whether there was someone else with him."

Prince Jing considered it a moment before responding, "No, he knows you. It's better if you not go. I'll

send someone to call on your people here to find out about it."

Yun Shang agreed, if she went in it might alarm Xia Houjing, which would be bad.

After a short time, the coachman returned with a food container full of freshly-baked Osmanthus cake.

He climbed onto the carriage while handing the container to Prince Jing, who took it, and asked him to

find someone. Yun Shang told the coachman to locate Qian Hua, and bring her to the carriage.

After another wait, a woman slid open the door and got into the carriage.

She paused a moment, not expecting Prince Jing. Then she curtsied to Prince Jing and said, "My

name is Qian Hua. It's my honor to meet you, Your Highness."

Prince Jing replied with an "em", and didn't ask her to rise.

Qian Hua didn't seem to mind. She raised her head and looked at Yun Shang respectfully, "My lady,

according to my observations, that man went into Room No.1. There was a woman in the room waiting

for him. She looked average, nothing special about her. She did make me feel weird though."

"Oh?" Qian Hua's words piqued Yun Shang's interest, "Weird how?"

Qian Hua shook her head. "I don't know for sure, I just felt the woman was weird from head to toe.

Every step she took and every word she said seemed like she was trying too hard."

Yun Shang frowned. She couldn't figure out how or why the woman was weird simply by listening to

Qian Hua's description. So she said, "Let's wait for her to come out. Let me see what's weird about

her."

Yun Shang held the food container in her arms, and took a bite of the Osmanthus cake. While they

were waiting for Xia Houjing to leave, Prince Jing made tea, and handed a cup to Yun Shang. Then he

took a cup of tea himself, and held it in his hand. Prince Jing leaned back, and relaxing, he closed his

eyes.

Yun Shang looked over at Prince Jing, then she looked down at the cup of tea she held, and her lips

curved into a faint smile.

After a longer wait, Qian Hua, who was watching what was happening, turned to Yun Shang to inform

her, "My lady, the seventh Prince of the State of Xia has come out."

"Well?" Yun Shang raised her brow. She looked outside the window, and saw Xia Houjing walking out

of the restaurant. Xia Houjing had a calm, peaceful demeanor, even though he was pale, there was joy

in his eyes, and he seemed in good spirits.

Yun Shang looked around, but didn't notice the woman that Qian Hua had mentioned. Then she heard

Qian Hua behind her say, "The woman is probably worried about being seen. I guess she and the

Prince went separate ways."

Yun Shang nodded. When she glanced back out to see what more she could see, she saw Xia Houjing

look over in their direction. She pulled the curtain back in place as quick as possible, and looked

worriedly at the others, "Did he see us?"

Prince Jing opened his eyes, "I don't think so. He has probably seen the carriage, which bears a

specially-customized mark on it, showing my identity."

Yun Shang was surprised at the whole special mark thing, but she was relieved Xia Houjing didn't see

her.

They were about to say more, when they heard a soft voice from outside, "This must be Prince Jing's

carriage. Is Prince Jing in it?"

Yun Shang frowned. Prince Jing noticed her reaction. Then he looked over to Qian Hua. Without

thinking too much, Prince Jing pushed a button on the wall exposing a hidden space under their feet,

large enough to fit one adult.

Prince Jing gestured with his eyes, silently instructing Qian Hua to hide there. It took only a brief

moment for Qian Hua to understand what he wanted, and she lay down in the hiding space. Prince Jing

pushed the button, closing the space up again.

After the space was concealed once more, Prince Jing slowly pushed the door open. He looked outside

the carriage saying, "Prince Houjing, what a surprise......"

It was apparent that Xia Houjing didn't expect to see Yun Shang. His eyes locked on Yun Shang,

before quickly looking away, as though he wasn't surprised. Yun Shang caught the change in his

expression.

"I didn't know Princess Hui Guo was here, too. Nice to meet you." Xia Houjing smiled slightly.

Yun Shang had to admit Xia Houjing's voice was beautiful. Xia Houjing always spoke so softly and

elegantly with a balanced tone. Hearing him was like having a gentle breeze blow over one's face.

"Nice to meet you, too. I had a craving for the Osmanthus cake from the Yuman Tower, so uncle

indulged me, and brought me here. I didn't know you would be here too, Prince Houjing. The

Osmanthus cake is really tasty. We just bought some. Would you like to try it?" Yun Shang looked up at

Xia Houjing. Her large eyes were full of innocence.

Xia Houjing was surprised how innocent Yun Shang appeared. He looked at the golden cake in Yun

Shang's hand saying, "Thank you, but I've just had some inside, and I found them quite tasty. They are

moderately sweet."

Hearing him compliment the Osmanthus cake, Yun Shang smiled with great joy. She turned to Prince

Jing and said, "I told you that the cake is loved by many people, and you didn't believe me. I guess

you're the only one who doesn't like it."

Prince Jing smiled and touched Yun Shang's hair. "It's too sweet. I don't like it. If you really like it, I'll

send Ji to buy you more. You can store some in the Palace."

Ji was the coachman's name.

Yun Shang nodded and her eyes sparkled brilliantly. Xia Houjing was surprised at the beauty of her

eyes.

"Well, sounds like Prince Jing has more business to attend. I'll leave you to it then and not bother you

further." Xia Houjing implied he was leaving, but he didn't move. He just smiled at the two people in the

carriage.

Then Prince Jing turned to look at Xia Houjing. He extended his hand to hold Yun Shang's empty hand,

and leaning closer to the wall complimented him, "I've heard a lot about how talented you are, Prince

Houjing. I have hoped to have the chance to find out how talented you are, but haven't had the chance

to due to your poor health conditions. Hope we can have more chats in the future. Just you and me."

Xia Houjing raised his brow, "Prince Jing, you give me too much praise. I've just arrived here and still

have trouble with the local conditions. But over the past few days of being here, I've adjusted myself,

and I am feeling much better. I heard there would be an annual flower show banquet at the Imperial

City soon. I am quite interested and will be there. We can meet then if you wish, or if Your Highness

prefers, you can find me at the inn where I live. It's not far from here."