Episode 148: This Piece of Flesh

In front of the Northern Liang Palace, Murong Tonghuang followed Xu Fengnian out and off the carriage. He was taken aback by the grand scale of the estate and the underwhelming reception in contrast. For a grand estate like Northern Liang Palace, Murong Tonghuang had expected more servants waiting for Prince Xu to return. Instead, the palace seemed to have only one frail old man standing at the vermilion entrance. It was a chilly day, and the old man, with his hands tucked into thick sleeves, appeared to be shivering from the onslaught of cold weather. He shook his feet against the wind before approaching with a smile when he saw Xu Fengnian. He exchanged trivial pleasantries with Xu Fengnian, like "Welcome back, look at how you've grown." and "Daddy has prepared some winter delicacies, which will do you just so well." and then "What happened to you? How come these ladies around you are all old faces?"