There are two days left until Li Hua's birthday, and three days left until the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet at the palace.

Everything is urgent!

Gan Qiongying wanted to give Li Hua a surprise, but she didn't know if the surprise would be suitable for him. In order not to disappoint Li Hua, Gan Qiongying decided to prepare two gifts.

If the first gift fails, there is at least one replacement.

When the two slept that night, Gan Qiongying held Li Hua in her arms, so excited that she couldn't fall asleep. Li Hua, on the other hand, slept well, because he had drunk a little wine and was holding the person he loved in his arms; even his dreams were sweet.

The next morning, Gan Qiongying saw Li Hua off properly from the princess's residence before secretly disguising herself and going out to prepare a birthday gift for him.

The process was not smooth, because the gift that Gan Qiongying wanted to prepare was not something that could be bought easily, especially since the recipient was someone under the command of Regent Sima Rui.

Gan Qiongying was able to come up with this ingenious idea thanks to the vain and vain Regent, who, despite being crippled by her arrow, still tried to find a way to walk like a normal person and refused to let anyone discover his weakness.

Gan Qiongying, accompanied by a few people and disguised, went to find the old shopkeeper of the clothing store who had helped Regent Sima Rui bind his legs and put on his shoes that day.

When the old shopkeeper heard about Gan Qiongying's purpose, he naturally recognized who she was and refused to help her.

Gan Qiongying's gentle persuasion and attempts to bribe him were ineffective; the other party even threatened to secretly report to Sima Rui. In a fit of anger, Gan Qiongying arrested him and his shop's employees.

"Even a princess can't force commoners to do things!" They were practically shouting at the top of their lungs, "We're the Regent's men, we're not afraid of you!"

The old shopkeeper was indeed not afraid of Gan Qiongying at all. As a man of Regent Sima Rui, he naturally knew that his master held immense power in the court, and Princess Duanrong was now nothing more than a figurehead of "royal relatives".

Gan Qiongying was very anxious, but she wasn't angry because she had anticipated all of this when she came. So she divided the people into two groups. Now the other group was going to the old shopkeeper's house to investigate his background, who was in his family, and who he cared about.

Of course, this method is a bit despicable, but when dealing with Sima Rui's people, it's difficult for them to do things for her without using some tricks.

If there were enough time, Gan Qiongying might choose a more moderate approach, such as sending two people to lie and say that someone in their family was injured, giving the old shopkeeper some benefits in exchange for learning his techniques, and then teaching them back to Gan Qiongying.

But now there are only two days left. When Gan Qiongying saw the old shopkeeper binding Sima Rui's legs that day, the technique was not simple. The shoes Sima Rui wore that day also seemed to be specially made.

In the past two days, Gan Qiongying not only had to learn the old shopkeeper's method of tying leg straps, but also had to make special shoes for Li Hua. How could she have time to use any soothing methods?

The best gift Gan Qiongying could think of to give back to Li Hua was to enable Li Hua to walk like a normal person.

For the God of Wealth, no gift containing monetary value can move him.

Li Hua even skipped his birthday for her sake, so Gan Qiongying was determined to make this birthday unforgettable for him!

Gan Qiongying was still trying to persuade the old shopkeeper, but the old shopkeeper sat there with his head held high and his triangular eyes looking down at the ground, his face full of resentment and unwillingness to admit defeat.

When the Regent finds out how Princess Duanrong treated them, Princess Duanrong will definitely suffer the consequences!

However, his bravado quickly vanished, because the people Princess Duanrong had sent out had returned to report.

Princess Duanrong walked up to the old shopkeeper and said to him, "You are quite clever. You stayed by the side of Regent Sima Rui and even sent all your family members away from Yindu."

"Then you should understand that the Regent is not a wise ruler. He sees you people as ants, whom he can crush at will, without even needing a reason."

These words sounded like a provocation, and the old shopkeeper snorted coldly, pretending not to hear them. In any case, his wife and children had been sent thousands of miles away, so even if Princess Duanrong wanted to do something, it wouldn't be so easy.

However, Gan Qiongying said, "I recently acquired a pair of gyrfalcons. I gave one to the Grand Princess Hui'an, and the other is being kept in the backyard of the princess's residence."

"These things have been trained by specialists and can fly day and night. What would take a carrier pigeon several days or even a month to fly, they can deliver in a day. In other words, even if the distance to Yindu is thousands of miles, the message can be delivered in just one day."

The old shopkeeper's eyelids twitched rapidly, and his expression changed.

Gan Qiongying continued, "You know I am your master's enemy. I have people all over the place, and naturally, the county where your wife and children live is no exception."

"If you agree to teach me today and impart all the skills you know, your wife and children will naturally be able to live there safely, just as you wish."

“If you don’t agree to my request today,” Gan Qiongying chuckled, a hint of fierceness flashing in her beautiful phoenix eyes, “I guarantee your wife and children will still see the sun tomorrow morning…”

The old shopkeeper's lips trembled. He had indeed lived in constant fear under the Regent, and he knew that the Regent was by no means a good ruler. However, the Regent's power was so immense that he had no other choice or means.

Gan Qiongying stopped short of making a point; in reality, she was just trying to scare people.

Seeing the old shopkeeper trembling all over, his resolute eyes gone, he was clearly wavering.

Gan Qiongying pressed her advantage and delivered the final blow: "I can have you and your men released right now, but you might as well guess, given Sima Rui's personality, even if you don't speak up today, as long as he knows I was here, will he still trust you?"

This is the most fatal flaw. Sima Rui possessed both literary and military talents, and had outstanding military achievements. He was capable of governing the world, but he was narrow-minded, suspicious, and a ruthless ruler who would rather kill the innocent than let the guilty go free.

The old shopkeeper's body went limp, as if his bones had been pulled out. He greedily crawled forward a little on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly to Gan Qiongying: "Whatever the princess wants to know, this servant will tell the princess everything. Please spare my life, princess... please spare this servant's family..."

Gan Qiongying's expression relaxed, and Chen Wa and Manyue, who were following behind her, also relaxed upon hearing this.

The three of them, master and servant, quickly exchanged glances. Chen Wa immediately released all the shop assistants, but did not allow them to leave. Instead, he took the guards who had come with him and went to guard the entrance.

Manyue followed Gan Qiongying and very "kindly" helped the old shopkeeper up.