"Don't talk nonsense!"

The scholar in the white robe didn't know what to say.

"I'm taking this book today, shopkeeper! I'll pay ten times the price!"

The young woman wiped away her tears, put her hands on her hips, and declared that she wouldn't leave until the man in white robes sold it to her. With that, she snatched the book from his hands.

The young man was stunned; he seemed to have never seen such a shameless person before.

"This is truly, truly an insult to civility!"

"Oh dear, gentlemen, please don't be alarmed. What's wrong?"

Upon hearing the shouts, the bookstore owner hurried over to the two of them.

The girl was holding a copy of "Journey to the East".

"Fine, let's just give it to this young lady."

Seeing that the commotion had attracted too much attention, the white-robed scholar shook his head helplessly and waved his hand, indicating that he didn't want the book anymore.

"What do you mean 'let me have it'? I saw it first! Shopkeeper, check please!"

The chubby girl rolled her eyes dramatically, spitting everywhere.

"Yancao, go collect the money."

While dodging the spittle flying from the shopkeeper, the shopkeeper instructed his assistant to collect the money, and then whispered to the young master, "Young master, I'm sorry about today. We don't have many copies of 'Journey to the East' to begin with, and since our shop has just opened, we don't have any extra stock."

"How about this? Where is your residence located? As soon as 'Journey to the East' is available, I will send someone to deliver it to you immediately."

The bookstore owner took a copy of "The Records of Mountains and Seas" from the bookshelf next to him.

"This book also describes mountains, rivers, and lakes. If you don't mind, young master, how about you take a look at this one first?"

"Okay, I'll come back in a few days. Thank you."

After saying this, the scholar in white robes bowed to the bookstore owner and left the bookstore.

"Red Crane, send someone to follow this young master and find out which household he belongs to. Remember, do it quietly, so he doesn't discover you."

Red Crane, the helper at the bookstore, nodded.

"As soon as the new storybook arrives, I will send it to that young master as an apology."

The bookstore owner said this, but he actually had another plan in mind.

He worried that the two of them had teamed up to sabotage the event.

If the two people reunite after leaving the bookstore, then they are deliberately teaming up to cause trouble and disrupt the business.

"If you see anything, be sure to come back and tell me as soon as possible."

"Yes, shopkeeper."

...

Inside the Western Chu palace, Xi Jing had been waiting for a long time, but had not yet received a reply from Nanyang.

His patience had been worn thin; he had never been so slighted.

"There's still no movement from Nanyang?"

Xi Jing gripped the wine glass tightly in his hand; he had never failed to get what he wanted.

"No news." The guard shook his head. He watched as Xi Jing was about to explode in anger and smash the cup, and silently took a few steps back.

"Even Jiucheng has issued a marriage proposal?"

"What's going on with Lian Jiucheng? He was just made crown prince, and instead of dealing with those powerful relatives, he's thinking about getting married and consummating his marriage?"

Xi Jing snorted coldly and threw the wine glass in his hand away forcefully, spilling the wine everywhere and shattering the glass into pieces.

His guards seemed used to this kind of scene; this time, he was far enough away that the wine didn't splash on his face.

"Could it be that he also knows that Yun Duoduo is a celestial maiden, and that whoever possesses the celestial maiden will possess the world?"

Xi Jing narrowed his eyes slightly. He hadn't felt threatened in a long time, and this feeling of being out of control made him very uncomfortable.

No, we can't let this continue.

It must proceed according to my plan.

"No, I must go there myself. If the dog emperor of Nanyang refuses to marry off his daughter, I will beat him until he does!"

"Prepare the horses!"

"Army assemble!"

Xi Jing abandoned his previous dissolute and playful demeanor, his face now serious and aloof.

Since Nanyang refuses to listen to reason and will instead suffer the consequences, then don't blame me for being impolite!

...

Within the territory of Northern Liang, the imperial palace was bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Empress Dowager Hesheli, the mother of Baili Yingfeng, the King of Beiliang, has hardly left her palace since returning from the imperial mausoleum, spending her days eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist prayers.

"Amitabha."

Empress Dowager Hesheli rose from the cushion, clasped her hands together devoutly before the Buddha, bowed her head, and was slowly led out of the Buddhist hall by her nanny.

"I am alive today thanks to the Buddha's blessing; otherwise, I would have died while I was in the imperial mausoleum."

"May the Empress Dowager's blessings extend for generations to come..."

The old woman was saying auspicious words when suddenly the Empress Dowager made a "shh" gesture to silence her. The old woman immediately stopped talking, and the two of them went to the window to listen to the palace maids talking outside.

"I used to think that Consort Nan could replace the late Empress."

"Now, it seems to be useless."

Two palace maids, who were pruning magnolias, were discussing matters within the palace.

"That's right, it's better if we stay away from Yiqin Palace."

"I said before that the women of Hongxiu Kingdom are all destined for misfortune. They won't live long in our Beiliang. It's better to stay away from them; they're too unlucky!"

"What are you talking about?!"

Empress Hesheri couldn't stand it anymore.

"Who gave you the audacity to discuss matters of the harem?! Haven't you learned your manners?!"

"Guards, take these two palace maids to the Department of Torture and have them learn some manners!"

When the old nanny serving Empress Dowager Hesheli saw that her mistress was angry, she questioned the two palace maids sternly and ordered them to be taken away.

The two palace maids kept begging for mercy until two eunuchs dragged them away.

Empress Dowager Hesheli pondered the words of the two young palace maids: "When I was in the imperial mausoleum, my life was hanging by a thread. It was this Consort Nan who saved me, right?"

The old woman nodded.

She didn't usually care much about the harem, but in the end, she owed her life to that Consort Nan.

"Let's go and take a look at Yiqin Palace."

...

Inside the Yiqin Palace, Miao Nanyan was sitting under a tree playing the zither and singing tunes from her hometown.

Since being confined to my home, although I have lost my freedom, I have had a lot of free time.

Yun Jin was furious at Miao Nanyan's appearance and felt sorry for her mistress: "How could the King treat our mistress like this?!"

"I'm locked up here every day, with absolutely no freedom. I'm so bored!"

(Author's Note: My darlings, today, this book, "Little Milk Bunny," has reached one million words! I just remembered that the first chapter was updated back in January, and so much time has passed since then. Thank you all for your continued support! The main characters in the book are like friends to me. Sometimes, I wonder what would happen if we really traveled to Nanyang one day? Feel free to leave your comments!)