"Wow! Look! It's the Prince and the Princess!" While the group was still discussing Su Wanyan's disappearance, someone excitedly exclaimed, "Look! The Prince and the Princess are flying over from over there! Ahhh—what a perfect couple! I'm so envious!"
As soon as the shout rang out, everyone looked up in the direction the voice was pointing. They saw Yu Nanqing, carrying Su Wanyan, fly over the moat and past the dragon boat teams that were racing. Like a wisp of smoke, they landed steadily on the high platform as the crowd looked up at them.
The moment they saw Yu Nanqing and Su Wanyan, the rumors that hadn't even taken shape were instantly dispelled: "Tch, you still said that the Princess Consort was missing, but she's perfectly fine now. Just look at your shifty eyes, I know you don't tell the truth."
"This...how would I know!" the man immediately retorted, "I did hear them say yesterday that the Princess Consort had gone missing! I didn't just make this up!"
The people around couldn't help but jeer: "Oh, she's missing! The Princess Consort has disappeared! Then who is she with the Prince now?"
"If you spread rumors again, the prince will send people to arrest you."
Some people started to offer hindsight advice: "I knew something was wrong as soon as you mentioned it. With the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, how could the princess possibly disappear when there are guards all over the city? I knew it was fake as soon as I heard it."
Hearing the chatter and teasing around him, the man realized he was in the wrong and quickly waved his hand to change the subject: "Hey, what's all the noise about? You're disturbing my game. I finally got a good spot today, I'm not talking to you."
Upon hearing this, the people around burst into laughter, and the topic was dropped.
When Su Wanyan and Yu Nanqing returned, the dragon boat race had already started, so they didn't even change their clothes. They were still wearing the same outfit they wore when they left Fucheng yesterday.
The second round of the competition has reached a fever pitch, with people on both sides of the moat cheering for the teams, their shouts echoing continuously.
A huge advancement sign was also set up on the stage, so that even people far away who saw the exciting scene of the competition could know which teams had made it to the finals.
The high platform was covered with a sunshade canopy, and guards from the Prince's Palace were stationed on each level.
With Yu Nanqing's help, Su Wanyan slowly sat down: "It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early."
She remembered watching the dragon boat races in Beijing; the first round wasn't very exciting, the best parts were in the third and fourth rounds.
I just got back, and the second round is already halfway through. The third round will be right around the corner. What a coincidence!
At this moment, the prefect of Fucheng hurriedly ascended the high platform, lifting his official robes: "Your humble servant greets Your Highness and Your Highness. Is there anything Your Highness and Your Highness need from your humble servant?"
The platform had been set up long ago, and seeing that Yu Nanqing and Su Wanyan hadn't arrived, he sent people to the Prince's Mansion several times to urge them to come.
Yu Nanqing and Su Wanyan are also important parts of today's grand ceremony, and neither the Prefect nor the Supervisor of Fucheng want anything to go wrong at this time.
He asked this question because he wanted to find out if something had happened to Yu Nanqing and Su Wanyan's late arrival, since he had sent people to the Prince's mansion several times without any news.
Yu Nanqing said something polite: "You did a good job."
Upon hearing the praise, the Prefect of Fucheng felt relieved and quickly said respectfully, "Thank you for your praise, Your Highness. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave."
Yu Nanqing waved his hand slightly, and the prefect retreated down the steps.
Not long after the prefect left, a maid immediately brought over snacks, fruits, fine wine, and tea—everything was provided.
Before long, Qiuye and Huangye also rushed over from the Prince's Palace: "Your Majesty!"
Qiu Ye called out in a low, worried voice.
Su Wanyan was watching the game when she saw this and put her index finger to her lips to shush Qiu Ye. Qiu Ye then pursed her lips and stopped talking.
The kidnapping of Su Wanyan went unnoticed, happening and ending quietly. To Su Wanyan, it was just a small incident in her life.
Time flies like an arrow.
Once the Dragon Boat Festival is over, life returns to normal.
Just like she did in the capital, Su Wanyan used her spare time to raise chickens, ducks and fish in her yard, and even specially set up a medicinal herb garden and a vegetable garden in the yard.
When she had free time, Su Wanyan would also go to Miaosheng Hall to help out.
Just as Su Wanyan said, as the people who sought her medical treatment were cured, her reputation as a doctor gradually grew.
In just two months, the number of patients seeking her treatment has reached the same level as that of Mr. Qian, and the queue is even longer than that of Mr. Qian.
At the same time, Su Wanyan also asked Wang Zhang to recruit a few more doctors for Miaoshengtang. Although their medical skills were not as good as those of Master Qian, they were still well-known in Fucheng.
As a result, patients flocked to Miaoshengtang for treatment.
The name Miaoshengtang was now well-known.
As more and more people came to Miaoshengtang for treatment, some of the locals recognized that the person seeing patients in the clinic was Princess Gong. Only then did the people of Fucheng realize that Miaoshengtang was actually run by Su Wanyan.
This reminded them of the rumors that arose when Yu Nanqing and Su Wanyan first arrived in Fucheng: during the Battle of Donghai Wengcheng, Su Wanyan had been in the military camp treating the wounded and sick members of the Dragon Flag Army.
Now that Su Wanyan is seen practicing medicine, it seems that the rumors were not unfounded and that Su Wanyan really does possess medical skills.
Moreover, his medical skills were quite remarkable.
Once the news spread, the number of people coming to Miaoshengtang for medical treatment doubled. Whether they were sick or not, everyone wanted to come to Miaoshengtang to catch a glimpse of Princess Gong's beauty.
Having no other choice, Su Wanyan could only stay in the Prince's mansion for a few days.
In those short two months, Yu Nanqing issued a tax reduction policy, which was first implemented in Fucheng for a one-year trial period, and the remaining cities would be implemented one by one in the future.
When the tax reduction policy was announced, the happiest people were ordinary citizens, who couldn't wait to spread the news.
But it's not so good for officials. Reduced taxes mean less money they can make off the system.
As early as when the policy was being drafted, officials in Fuzhou had subtly expressed their dissatisfaction. But who was Yu Nanqing? He didn't care about the consequences. Whether it would work or not, they would find out once it was implemented.
Given Yu Nanqing's status, even if those officials were dissatisfied, they dared not be the first to speak out. Among them, some busybodies had already drafted a memorial to report this situation to the imperial court.
Tax cuts are a long-term plan. Yu Nanqing mentioned it to Su Wanyan, but Su Wanyan didn't ask any further questions. She naturally didn't pay much attention to what happened next.
Lu Cezhong was temporarily ordered to train and reorganize the Dragon Flag Army. Now that two months have passed, Lu Cezhong could no longer ignore the court and stay here any longer. So in early July, Lu Cezhong and Su Chien returned to the frontier.
Shortly after Lü Cezhong left, a letter from the capital was delivered to Prince Gong's residence.
"Your Majesty, a letter has arrived from the Duke of Changguo's residence."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
