114 Oblivious

Zhou Sheng didn't know what had transpired that night between Ning Fu and Princess but he could feel the strained atmosphere whenever the three of them were together in the following days.

He also noticed the furtive glances his brother would throw at Princess and how his face would considerably pale every time the monarch would ignore his presence.

Even when they discussed what was happening in the shadows of the brightly lit Imperial Capital, Princess wouldn't deign to give more than a one-word response to any of the questions or suggestions posed by Ning Fu.

Though Zhou Sheng was curious to know about what had happened, he didn't try to pry any information from either of them because he knew it would be a fruitless endeavour on his part.

Princess was never one for an idle talk about things that she didn't take the initiative to discuss and he had noticed the rage that would take over Ning Fu's name whenever she asked him to stay behind while metaphorically kicking out the other person.

Meanwhile, Su Li wasn't as oblivious as she appeared to be to the glances and remorseful looks directed her way but she wasn't in the frame of mind to think about rationally.

This continued for a few days before Zhou Sheng became sick of being an audience in whatever play Su Li and Ning Fu were enacting and he finally decided to step in and resolve whatever misunderstanding or miscommunication there was between those two.

He had become sick and tired of the constant back and forth between these two idiots who looked like adults but acted like grumpy toddlers.

Therefore, he used his considerable mental power and decided that another outing was in order.

At least, if all three of them met outside the Imperial Palace, it would visually reduce the impact of their respective positions which in turn, might loosen the stick that seemed to have lodged up his brother's behind and also make Su Li realise that this wasn't the modern world where things would resolve on their own given enough time.

So, when the monarch called him and Ning Fu for a private audience after the morning assembly, he proposed this idea with an innocent look on his face.

"Your Majesty, this lowly one thinks that we should have another meeting outside of these high walls. After all, there are many rats and mice planted inside by others."

He thought that it would be better if none of the other two realised his motives and simply agreed to follow his lead.

He had also rehearsed a lot of arguments and counter-arguments to make them see as to why this outing was beneficial.

However, as soon as his words landed, he was subjected to two angry pairs of eyes and he wondered if these two shared some emphatic link between themselves to look at him in such a similar manner.

"Zhen is busy with national affairs and doesn't have the time to frolic around in the streets."

"It isn't safe for the monarch to go out so frequently."

When Su Li heard Ning Fu's response, she couldn't help but snort in mild contempt and derision.

"But we could look around and try to understand the kind of life people at the grass-root level live in their daily lives if we go out incognito."

However, his words were met with the typical disdain of a person looking at a retard and Zhou Sheng couldn't help but scold the two of them inside his heart.

When neither of them seemed to budge from their decision, Zhou Sheng left the Imperial Study in a huff and Su Li smiled at his antics but soon enough turned her attention towards Ning Fu.

She heard his report on the various Imperial Officials the First Prince has been in contact with.

The next few hours were spent in the same back and forth between Su Li and Ning Fu.

During their subsequent talk, Ning Fu marveled at the fact that the monarch not only had a keen mind that paid attention to the minutest detail but the other person also thought in the long term and planned accordingly.

He once again wondered what changes and prosperity the proud Son of Heaven would bring about with his ideas.

However, what left him feeling perplexed were the seemingly inconsequential questions the monarch asked.Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

Though he was happy that the monarch seemed to have come out of his funk and was making solid, concrete plans to tackle people eyeing the Imperial power, he couldn't help but worry about the future.

After all, things were bound to go wrong no matter how much they planned.

More importantly, the crux of the matter was that the monarch simply asked questions and didn't tell him or anyone else about what plans were cooking up inside his mind and since the last fiasco, he didn't dare probe the other person or even ask any leading questions.

Finally, Su Li was done with reading the memorandums and turned towards Ning Fu.

"Follow Zhen to the gardens."

Ning Fu thought that the monarch would once again walk through the gardens and he will have to follow him but soon enough discerned that today the monarch didn't seem interested to walk in the gardens but instead walked towards the small plum forest that the previous emperor had built behind the Imperial sleeping chambers.

They walked in companionable silence when Su Li questioned.

"Unit Commander, even though you have spent most of your time in the army, you spent your formative years in the Imperial capital, didn't you?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Then tell Zhen about your impression of the various first and second rank civil officers in court."

When Ning Fu opened his mouth to answer the question, the monarch waved his hand.