Chapter 38: Inevitable Fate

  Tuoba Huai An dismounted his horse, Chu Qi Hui stepped forward to greet him and bowed: "The Fifth Prince and the two princesses have arrived, I apologize for not welcoming you from afar."

  "Your Highness, the Crown Prince?" Tuoba Huai smiled and nodded to him, his eyes narrowing with a hint of cunning and subtlety. "The young king is new here, please forgive any impoliteness, Your Highness."

  Tuoba Huai'an, who was 22 years old at the time, had a handsome and elegant appearance, with the roughness and straightforwardness unique to men from the grasslands, which was far beyond what a refined scholar like Zhu Qiying could compare to.

  He wore a light blue changshan today, the style of which had been specially modified to be very similar to that of the Western Yue nobility, but also incorporated elements of the Mo Bei costume, so that one could tell his identity at a glance while not looking out of place.

  It's obvious

  It was carefully considered for today's occasion.

  Chu Nanyang nodded slightly in her heart, but in fact she had an instinctive guard against this Mo Bei Fifth Prince.

  A small insight reveals a lot; this person's thoughts are meticulous and their actions are smooth, so it's better to respect them from afar.

  After Chu Qi Hui and Tuoba Huai An met each other, Tuoba Huai An introduced his two younger sisters to everyone: "These are the two younger sisters of Xiao Wang, Sixth Sister Yun Ji, Eighth Sister Rong Yao."

  "Yunji/Rongyao, greetings to His Highness Longsun and the various young ladies of the manor!" The two girls stepped forward to pay their respects.

  "The two princesses were polite." Chu Nanyang and her sisters also stepped forward to return the courtesy, while both sides took a good look at each other.

  Tuoba Yunji was seventeen years old, with apricot eyes and crimson lips, her skin as white as jade. Her facial features were only average, but the high bridge of her nose made her face stand out. As for how others felt, Chu Zhaoyang didn't know, but when he first saw this woman, his gaze couldn't help but linger on her face for a moment.

  To avoid being rude in public, Chu Youyang's gaze was extremely subtle, but Tuoba Yunji clearly felt it.

  Chu Youyang's sharp eyes caught the glimpse of her eye corner, and she quickly swept a glance at her own face, then calmly moved away, as if nothing had happened.

  Tuoba Rongyao, although only fifteen years old, was already known as the number one beauty of the north, with a stunning appearance, charming and beautiful. Although her figure was not yet fully developed, she had a certain charm in every gesture, and just standing there attracted the attention of passersby on the side of the road.

  These three siblings are really interesting!

  While they were talking, the family members of Wang Fu from Nanhe also arrived.

  The princess Zheng led Chu Lingyun and others down from the carriage.

  "Empress Dowager!" Chu Qi Hui led the crowd waiting beside her.

  "Hmm!" Zheng nodded with a smile, exchanged symbolic greetings with Tuoba Huai and others, and then led the people from Nanhe Wangfu to take a soft sedan chair and enter the palace first.

  When they passed by each other, Chu Lingyun turned back, her eyes cold and sharp, scanning Tuoba Rongyao with a puzzled expression.

  Tuoba Rongyao was taken aback for a moment, then calmly met the woman's provocative gaze with a snort.

  Not even half afraid.

  Chu Yuening pursed her lips and smiled secretly, saying: "Anle Tangjie is already at an age, but still competing with Rong Yao Princess!"

  Beautiful women are all sworn enemies of each other; this is almost a matter of course.

  Chu Youyang turned around and glared at her, "There are many people with different intentions, be careful!"

  "Uh-huh!" Chu Yuening immediately suppressed her smile and nodded.

  Chu Youyang never intended to take the lead, so she followed closely behind Chu Qihui, and it was precisely a small movement between the two sisters that caught Tuoba Huai'an's attention.

  Tuoba Huai'an's gaze shifted, and he smiled, saying, "Xiao Wang had heard about it earlier. The Crown Prince's mansion has produced a talented and martially skilled princess, but the Princess of Xunyang seems to be different from what was rumored."

  His eyes were brown, with a hint of golden light in the sunlight, and when he smiled slowly, there was a very bright and refreshing feeling.

  But this feeling is completely superficial and is entirely different from the impression Su Yi gives people.

  Chu Nanyang didn't expect him to rush towards himself, his eyebrows slightly raised imperceptibly, and he said lightly, "I'm afraid my notorious name has spread far and wide, making the Fifth Prince and the two princesses laugh!"

  In Western Yue, it was different from Mo Bei, where women practicing martial arts were actually considered very indecent.

  Although it was clear that Tuoba Huai'an didn't mean to be sarcastic, Chu Ziyang's words were extremely unfriendly.

  Tuoba Huai'an's expression froze, and the next moment, Chu Yan Yang had already turned to Chu Qi Hui and said, "Big brother, I and my sisters still need to go to Shoukang Palace to pay our respects to the Empress Dowager, so we'll enter first."

  Having said that, he turned around and walked towards the palace gate.

  Chu Youyang is indeed arrogant, but his etiquette in front of people has always been impeccable.

  Chu Qi Hui was also caught off guard by her, and with an embarrassed expression, she apologized to Tuoba Huai, "Jiangyang's temperament is spoiled by his father, Your Highness..."

  "Your Highness Longsun doesn't have to worry." Tuoba Huai stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes staring straight at the back of Chu Sunyang without any evasion, smiling and saying, "The temperament of the Princess of Chuyu is very good, we people from the north of the desert like this kind of straightforward temperament."

  Chu Qi Hui's heart skipped a beat, and for a moment she even forgot to breathe.

  It's not that he wanted to think more, but the meaning between the lines of Tuoba Huai'an's words was already too obvious, could it be... could it be...

  No! Father will absolutely not agree with it.

  Chu Qi Hui suddenly felt that this matter was tricky, and she forced herself to calm down and said to Tuoba Huai, "The palace still has something urgent to attend to, so I won't accompany the fifth prince into the palace."

  Firstly, he had to go and communicate with Chu Yi'an immediately, secondly—

  It's absolutely impossible for Chǔ Yìān to mistakenly think that Tuòbá Huái ān had private contact with him and intentionally made trouble.

  Tuoba Huai'an saw that his mind was uneasy and nodded, "Changsun, please go ahead!"

  "See you later." Chu Qi Hui said, and with two attendants, strode swiftly into the palace gates.

  Tuoba Huai'an gazed at his back, and the smile in his eyes grew even more profound.

  Tuoba Yunji's eyes flickered slightly as she took a step forward and asked, "Do you still have feelings for this Princess of Jiangdu?"

  "The Western Yue Dynasty attaches great importance to the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, but she, although not born of a legitimate wife, can get the Crown Prince of Western Yue to treat her with special favor, it's absolutely not simple." Taohuayan said, with a gleam in his eyes, "The Emperor of Western Yue is old, the Crown Prince's position is stable and unshakeable, this is a shortcut, I must have it."

  Tuoba Yunji saw his determination and hesitated for a moment.

  Tuoba Rongyao, however, raised an eyebrow and took two steps forward, gazing at the backs of Chu Jinyang and Chu Qihui as they left one after another. "Do you still doubt Fifth Brother's judgment? That matter is settled then. Next time... just leave it to me!"

  In his expression, there was inexplicably a fullness of confidence.

  Digression

  A big tree attracts wind, and our Xinbao is still being targeted, biting handkerchief!

  PS: Your Majesty, I'm at a loss for words and had no choice but to drag your name in again to get out of this situation, don't hit me!

  Then let me tell you a very embarrassing thing: During the Dragon Boat Festival, I went back to my mother's side and called my dad, saying that I wanted to eat watermelon. So he brought one back for me in the evening, and it was 16 pounds! I'm a watermelon control freak, and I ate happily that night. Then on the second day, my dad came back and bought another watermelon. The pressure is getting big, okay, this is good intention, so I ran to bring it in and continued to eat hard. But what's frustrating is that on the third day, he brought back another one! Our family, except for me, doesn't touch this thing, and now my task has become eating watermelon every day. My mom said that if I couldn't finish it, she would pack it up for me to take away when I leave, and because of the watermelon, I was detained by my mom, is this self-inflicted?