-----

　　**

　　Silver was often used for royalty in terms of everyday objects from cutlery, dishes bowls, combs, as it was believed to be able to detect poison. The surface of the metal becomes tarnished after immersed in suspected poisoned food or liquids.  

　　-----

　　The next day, the weather suddenly intensified and the chills soon turned into icy deposits. The courtyards were now heavily cloaked with a thick layer of snow.  

　　Early in the morning, Gui Sen had made his way to visit the country’s important guests at their stay.

　　Perhaps it was an unspoken standard for Fan Jia, even the men of were not an exception to the rule of ‘beauty’.  Gui Sen had presented himself, dressed head to toe in black. Even his cape was made from a glimmering material that was jet black. Gui Sen’s pale skin was translucent and flushed with blood from bracing the cold. His complexion matched the flakes of snow that he had gathered on his cape. One couldn’t deny that he was handsome and elegant under a certain light and his presence demanded brilliance.

　　Feng Ming had originally intended to hibernate longer in his cosy bed. However, his plans were disrupted when Chiu Lan and his two other maids tugged the weary Prince out of bed and he certainly didn’t go without a fight. When they eventually dragged him out they a.s.sisted the Prince in making himself presentable to his guest, naturally it was best if he received his visitor than keeping him at bay.

　　“You are quite an early bird, my Royal Uncle in-law.” When Feng Ming stepped out from his private quarters he was greeted with the sight of Gui Sen sitting casually sipping on a cup of tea. Feng Ming cupped his hands together and raised them to bid the man a greeting of respect.

　　Feng Ming had woken from slumber, and was content with staying warm and toasty indoors hence there was no plans to leave this comfort. Naturally, he was dressed for the occasion, adorning an exquisite purple silken gown. His neck, wrists and waist were girted with tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs from a deer pelt that Chiu Lan had especially chosen to compliment his outfit. Even though what he was wearing was decided on the spur of the moment, Feng Ming pulled it off with grace and a n.o.ble temperament which was very unique to his overall appearance.

　　Upon lifting his head to look at the Prince, Gui Sen’s eyes lit up, he arose from his seat and grinned.

　　“Gui Sen has purposely paid a visit to congratulate Prince An He. Yesterday, Prince’s unparalleled talents and prestige has already made the Third Princess yield. The display you made has awakened a yearning in the Third Princess, persuading her heart towards Xi Rei. The Third Princess has expressed her wishes to our great King, so that she may be able to return to Xi Rei with the Prince’s entourage.”  

　　To everyone’s surprise, the turn of events was running very smoothly, no one would have fathomed that the Third Princess would scramble to seal the deal at such a lightning pace.

　　All that escaped Feng Ming’s lip was a stunned noise, “Ah!” He turned his head towards Official Xia and General Tong, and they both had an equal expression of disbelief drawn on their faces.

　　“Additionally, the King believes that the death of An Xun and Xi Rei’s involvement should be pardoned, hence, the King has already given orders to Fan Jia’s army to immediately withdraw.”

　　In an unhurried manner, Gui Sen gave the foreign group the most important piece of news.

　　General Tong laughed out whole heartedly, clapping in delight and proclaiming, “This is great!”

　　Official Xia saluted Gui Sen, and sincerely spoke, “Thanks to the generous a.s.sistance of King Gui Sen, otherwise our success would have not been possible. Xi Rei will never forget your Highness’s benevolence.”

　　Gui Sen returned with a smile, shaking his head in denial of his part, “You flatter me. Gui Sen naturally had to help family.”

　　The modest man turned towards Feng Ming and an amicable manner told him, “Three days later, the King will personally summon the Prince and invited to a grand feast. Meanwhile, for the next two days, Prince An He can enjoy his time and appreciate Fan Jia’s winter scape. How does it sound if Gui Sen introduce you to areas of interest?”

　　Feng Ming didn’t really have anything he could or could not do whilst he was in Fan Jia, but hearing that he would be able to go out and play, he quickly recalled Gui Sen’s fine-looking looking stallion he had met earlier and was just about to nod his head when Lie Er interrupted.

　　“Prince, during these next two days perhaps we can slip out and head off and blend in, so we can try out all the delicacies amongst the civilians? “  

　　Official Xia immediately continued, “Ah, that’s right, if everybody knew that we are an envoy from Xi Rei, then we won’t be able to experience the everyday lifestyles of the people in Fan Jia. We’d certainly miss out on the daily customs.”

　　“If this is what you’d like, naturally I can take the Prince to visit the commoners.”

　　Lie Er interjected with a dubiously statement whilst smiling, “Your Highness, you stand out with your impressive demeanour and you are well recognised in this country, how would you be able to play a meagre civilian?”

　　Gui Sen face blanked, “If that’s the case, then perhaps Gui Sen will not accompany the Prince.”

　　The older man turned to give Lie Er a disdained look before directing his attention to Feng Ming. In semi-scathing voice he finished, “Prince, Gui Sen has other matters to attend to today, I shall take my leave.”

　　Once Gui Sen was out of sight, Feng Ming scratched his head and swivelled to focus his confusion onto his servants. His face scrunched up in a frown, “For what reason were you all treating Gui Sen with such a terrible att.i.tude? He was going out of his way in kindness to accompany me. Perhaps I would have even had the chance to get his permission to ride his horse...”

　　Official Xia kept an enigmatic expression on his face as he patted his whiskers and persisted in his silence.

　　Lie Er ignored Feng Ming’s antagonising glare, and for a while he didn’t reply but he finally answered with a degree of respect for his master, “Prince, Gui Sen only ran into a snag yesterday and he was completely dejected and depressed, so why would he appear normal to give us good tidings?”

　　“I don’t know...” Feng Ming was perplexed with what he was meant to be getting from Lie Er’s words, and he wasn’t ashamed to ask his subordinate the answer, “Tell me why?”

　　Lie Er stole a furtive glance at Official Xia, and offered the Prince a smile in return for all the pressing, “I’m just a lowly servant, how would I know. However, Official Xia should certainly know.”

　　Feng Ming immediately placed his attention to the old man.

　　Under many sets of watchful eyes, Official Xia paused in his therapeutic strokes of his whiskers. Sighing, he finally submitted, “The Third Princess is excessively impatient. Gui Sen is overly enthusiastic about it all, and the Great King of Fan Jia is acting too warm towards us. There is certainly something wrong under these circ.u.mstances. Old Xia is currently unable to digest the inner workings of this dilemma. However, it is not a simple one. Prince must take caution and proceed with care.”

　　General Tong reinforced, “That’s right, Fan Jia is very different from Xi Lei, Prince absolutely cannot leave this building at will.”

　　Inwardly Feng Ming cursed, even if I was in Xi Lei, I couldn’t even leave my quarters at whim.

　　Seeing everyone keep a grave expression on their faces, Feng Ming couldn’t help but feel a sense of fear. He arched his shoulders in discomfort and scolded, “Alright, everything is always suspicious, did King Rong send you to scare me on his behalf?”

　　After all, he knew something was wrong with the smooth sailing he was riding, so he could only be obedient and stay in the hotel, only to watch the snow fall on to the landscape from his window. Chiu Lan, Chiu Xing, Chiu Yue and Lie Er accompanied him by playing and keeping the Prince entertained. General Tong and his men remained indoors to secure the premise and only Official Xia slipped out to carry out business. No one knew what he was getting up to.

　　----

　　When night fell, Official Xia scuttled back in a hurry.

　　General Tong immediately pulled the old man aside, and the two spent what seemed forever, exchanging whispers in a private area.