Chapter 23: Pop

Yan Ning said hurriedly, "Let's go on our own. The journey is quite long; it would be too much trouble for you."

Prince An then said, "It's no trouble, not a bit of trouble. Just consider it going out for a stroll with you all."

So the next day, Prince An took three hundred mansion guards and made a detour to take them to the Nanyang Wang Mansion.

Prince An was on horseback, and Yan Ning pulled back the curtain to chat with him.

Prince An found it strange, "Why aren't you heading straight to Lingnan? Why take a detour to the Nanyang Wang Mansion?"

Yan Ning sighed like a little adult, "Great-Grandmother is worried we'll be bullied in Lingnan, so she betrothed me to the Heir of Nanyang Wang. We have to go and take a look."

Yan Ning sighed like a little adult again, "I don't even know if the Heir of Nanyang Wang is round or flat."

Prince An was amused by Yan Ning, "Rest assured, the Heir of Nanyang Wang is very good-looking."

Yan Ning leaned over, blinked her eyes, and asked, "Great-Uncle, who is better looking, me or the Heir?"

Prince An was clearly only in his thirties, yet Yan Ning could see kindness in his eyes. Prince An smiled and said, "You are definitely better looking."

Yan Ning smiled sweetly; Prince An was a truly good person.

The two chatted idly, and soon it was dark.

At noon, they ate the meat buns they had bought in the morning, but for the evening, they had to cook for themselves.

The time was just right; Yan Ning took out the barbecue grill and everything else, waiting eagerly for her father and mother to finish grilling.

Yan Ning also peeled a few potatoes; she liked eating roasted potatoes.

Prince An leaned over and asked, "What kind of way of eating is this?"

Yan Ning made up a random excuse, "It's a way of eating from beyond the passes. The seasonings are also rare. You'll know once you taste it, Great-Uncle."

Seeing Yan Ning peeling potatoes and Yan Ze starting to prepare the barbecue, Prince An felt very uncomfortable in his heart.

Could it be that they had been reduced to doing their own cooking? Weren't those two women maids?

It seemed his arrangements were inadequate; once he returned, he must send a few maids over.

Yan Ning looked up and saw Prince An's eyes were red. He was looking at her father in silence, not saying a word. What was wrong with him?

Prince An hurriedly called over the cook he had brought to help Yan Ze with the barbecue, and said to Yan Ning, "Ningning, stop peeling potatoes. How about you and Great-Uncle play a game of chess?"

Yan Ning's eyes lit up instantly, "Okay! I have a chessboard and pieces here, but my father doesn't like playing with me; he always wants to take back his moves."

Prince An laughed non-stop, though he felt a bit stifled inside.

He made a mental note to send a few clever maids who knew how to play games to accompany Yan Ning.

At this moment, Yan Ze finished a skewer of grilled meat, giving a portion to Ji Lan and the larger half to Yan Ning, to share with Prince An.

Yan Ning took the skewers with a smile and said to Prince An, "Great-Uncle, this grilled meat tastes wonderful. Try it quickly, isn't it delicious?"

Prince An nodded. It was the first time he had eaten food made by his nephew, and the taste was truly beyond reproach.

Prince An looked at Yan Ze and began to sigh again, "Sigh, the Emperor sent you to Lingnan, and with that fool Yan Yu, who knows how many things he'll mess up."

Yan Ze said cheerfully, "It's nothing that I came to Lingnan. The climate in Lingnan is even better than in the Capital, and Ningning is most afraid of the cold."

Prince An chuckled, "You are certainly broad-minded."

Yan Ze thought to himself, how could he not be broad-minded? Being the Crown Prince was so tiring; waking up at five in the morning, attending the morning court, and then having to attend lessons. One could only say it was better to rebel and become the Emperor.

If he were the Emperor, he could change the time of the morning court.

Yan Ze brushed plenty of seasoning onto the grilled meat, and the fragrance drifted ten miles away.

They were taking a detour and hadn't reached any towns, so they had to spend the night outside. Fortunately, Yan Ning had many tents on hand.

Early the next morning, Yan Ning and the others set off, arriving in Yancheng in the afternoon. Yan Ning prepared to find an inn to rest for the night.

However, no inn could accommodate three hundred people, and Yan Ning didn't want to make them sleep in a large communal room, so she had to find several inns, arrange single rooms for them, and order some dishes.

Originally, some people felt that traveling over mountains and through water was difficult, but seeing that Yan Ning had gotten them all single rooms, they instantly felt that Yan Ning was a very good person; otherwise, they would have had to sleep in a communal room.

Yan Ning now had more money than she knew what to do with, so she habitually gave each of the three hundred mansion guards a small silver ingot worth five taels of silver. The guards who received the money were exceptionally happy.

In the evening, with Prince An there, Yan Ning and Yan Ze were bold enough to go straight to a music house to listen to tunes.

Prince An was still a bit unaccustomed to it, "How can you bring Ningning to a place like this?"

Yan Ze looked innocent, his gaze clear, "Why can't I bring her? Ningning loves listening to music."

Prince An wanted to say something but stopped. He thought, forget it, let them listen.

Yan Ning held Yan Ze's hand, and the father and daughter, along with Prince An, went to listen to the music.

The three went straight to a private room on the second floor, separated by a folding screen and a layer of gauze curtains, but they could see the people downstairs playing instruments and singing.

Yan Ning was listening happily, so she directly pulled back the curtain and learned from others by scattering money onto the stage.

Only, while others scattered copper coins, Yan Ning scattered full-weight Silver Melon Seeds.

Prince An was amused, "If this were a boy, people would definitely call him a playboy."

Yan Ning turned her head and gave a "hehe" laugh, "How am I a playboy? I am well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics; I just love listening to music and looking at beauties."

Yan Ze whispered, "Great-Uncle, you don't know, when the Crown Prince was studying, Ningning would go over to join in the fun. She couldn't memorize a book after flipping through it several times, but then Ningning would be there dozing off, and after hearing it twice, she recited it directly."

Prince An couldn't stop laughing, "Ningning is that amazing?"

Yan Ning felt a bit embarrassed, "Not that amazing, just a little bit smarter than Great-Uncle."

The three chatted casually in the private room.

Yan Ning was scattering Silver Melon Seeds with great joy when someone knocked on the door of the private room.

This person was about fifty years old, very thin, but his face was full of wrinkles and his eyes were sharp. He pushed open the door to the private room and said, "Yan Ze, Yan Ning, you have been exiled; how dare you enter the city, and even come to a place like this?"

Yan Ning frowned, "Who are you? What kind of official can stop us?"

The man continued, "The County Magistrate of Qinghuai County, Di Leshan."

Yan Ning was stunned. How could a County Magistrate dare to cause trouble for them?

Yan Ning asked him, "Did you come to take us back for questioning, or to drive us away?"

Di Leshan said with a cold face, "Naturally, to drive you away."

Yan Ning continued: "Fine, so you're driving us away, are you? The city gates are closed, we have to wait until tomorrow to leave the city."

Di Leshan said with dissatisfaction: "That's fine, you can leave first thing tomorrow morning, but why are you here listening to music now?"

Yan Ning was somewhat speechless: "Why are you here? We came over here because we were too bored, why do you have to manage where we go?"

Di Leshan stepped forward: "You are sophistrying; the Emperor is lenient and allows you to ride in a carriage, but he would absolutely not allow you to come to these brothels."

Di Leshan was still yapping away, when Yan Ning climbed onto a chair and delivered a big slap right to his face.

"Slap—"