Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne Chapter 1104 - 134: Returning to the Capital Soon

No sooner had Zhao Yao stepped back into Prince Han’s mansion than the housekeeper notified him of a letter’s arrival from the capital, complete with accompanying gifts.

Surprise flickered across Zhao Yao’s face, "Pastries? When did they get sent?" How could his mother dispatch pastries all the way to Swamp Prefecture without fretting over spoilage?

"They showed up just yesterday," the housekeeper responded.

"Can they still be eaten?" The journey from the capital to Swamp Prefecture demands five or six days at minimum, plus another day since arrival—seven or eight days total. Haven’t the pastries gone bad by now?

"Your Highness, these pastries came chilled and I placed them in an icebox yesterday, so they ought to be perfectly fine," the housekeeper inquired, "Shall I heat them up for you now?"

Zhao Yao fondly recalled the pastries crafted by Lady Liang, "Fine, go warm them."

"As you wish, Your Highness," the housekeeper continued, "Your bath stands ready too."

"What about arrangements for Second Uncle?"

"Everything’s set for him."

"Good, I’ll wash up first."

By the time Zhao Yao completed his bath, the pastries were nicely heated.

Eyeing the pastries the housekeeper presented, Zhao Yao arched a brow faintly, "These hardly resemble Mother’s handiwork."

Tong Xi scrutinized the trays of pastries closely yet spotted no oddities.

"Your Highness, after so many days, to play it safe, allow me to sample one first. If I’m fine after eating, then you partake." Tong Xi feared the pastries might trouble Zhao Yao’s stomach.

"Didn’t you preserve them properly? Anyway, I’m tougher than that," Zhao Yao remarked while selecting a piece of osmanthus cake. Its fragrance and subtle sweetness shone through without excess. "Mother didn’t make this." The flavor echoed hers closely, but the cooking heat differed noticeably.

As the capital’s top epicurean, Zhao Yao possessed a palate of extraordinary sharpness, detecting ingredients and methods with ease.

"Oh, if not from Her Majesty, then whose?"

Zhao Yao instructed Tong Xi to taste a piece. After savoring it, Tong Xi detected no variance from Lady Liang’s treats.

"Your Highness, Her Majesty definitely prepared this."

"Wrong, fetch the letter," Zhao Yao commanded.

The housekeeper fetched the capital’s letter and passed it to Zhao Yao before withdrawing.

Zhao Yao’s features twisted in shock as he unsealed the letter.

Noticing Zhao Yao’s strange look, Tong Xi probed worriedly, "Your Highness, what’s wrong?"

"Neither Father nor Mother wrote this letter." The envelope bore the Emperor’s script, but the contents came from another hand. Zhao Yao brimmed with questions—who was this woman Father had pen the note? "Father had some other woman send me a letter; what’s the meaning of this?" Had Mother fallen from grace?

"Eh, not Lady Liang’s writing?" Might Noble Princess Consort Ying have penned it for His Highness?

Zhao Yao quelled his doubts and pressed on reading. Though the script was alien, the style screamed his father’s voice.

Finishing the letter unveiled to Zhao Yao both the writer and the pastry maker.

Tong Xi, seeing Zhao Yao’s tangled expression, figured dire tidings lay within and pressed urgently, "Your Highness, bad news?"

"Father summons me back to the capital before year’s end."

"To the capital?" Terror washed over Tong Xi’s face, "Something gone awry there, Your Highness?"

"Far from it. Father plans my betrothal for next year, so he calls me back soon to ready the wedding," Zhao Yao explained, brandishing the letter. "My prospective Princess penned this, and she baked the pastries." Clearly, Father holds her in high esteem, or he wouldn’t task her thus.

"Princess?" Tong Xi burst with joy, "Your Highness, the Emperor’s secured your Princess—from what house?"

"No mention in the letter."

"Your Highness, the Emperor’s at last set your wedding!" Tong Xi beamed at the prospect of Zhao Yao’s marriage next year. "Likely he hides her identity for the thrill of revelation."

Zhao Yao mused inwardly with wry bite: a surprise for sure, and a massive one.

"Your Highness, no curiosity about your future Princess?" Tong Xi prodded playfully, shooting Zhao Yao a knowing look. "Wondering if she’s a beauty?"

Zhao Yao gave Tong Xi a sharp glance, "I’m not curious in the slightest, and I don’t wish to know anything about it."

"Your Highness, there’s no way you’re not curious; you’ve said before that your future Princess absolutely must be beautiful."

"Beauty or not, I cannot reject this marriage." Zhao Yao possessed some insight into his future Princess. In truth, he harbored a slight worry that she had been groomed too strictly, her life revolving completely around him with no personal identity of her own. She shouldn’t exist only for him, yet she had been drilled from childhood to live that way.