It was September 14th, the golden autumn month of September.
Rumors of the Crown Prince choosing a concubine had been circulating in Jinchuan for several months, and after months of frenzied speculation, the matter has now reached a fever pitch.
In other words, they have entered the final stage. The thirty most outstanding beauties selected from various countries have been sent to the Eastern Palace of the Crown Prince of Jinchuan to begin cultivating a relationship with him.
The reason why the people were still discussing this matter so enthusiastically at this time was because they had not yet gathered enough beautiful maids.
Gan Qiongying and two shadow guards dressed up as a family of three. Shadow Guard One hunched over, playing the father of the two, while Gan Qiongying and Shadow Guard Two pretended to be a couple.
The three of them settled in an inn and, while eating in the lobby, subtly listened to the conversations of those around them.
"To be honest, that's an exaggeration. The daughter of that tofu beauty in the north of the city is incredibly fair-skinned and delicate with slender fingers. Moreover, she is naturally gentle and kind-hearted, and she's quite adept at serving people."
"Many families secretly wanted to marry her, but Old Zhang, who sold tofu, was too proud and wanted his daughter to marry into a higher social class."
There was a middle-aged man who had drunk some alcohol. He was dark-skinned, tall, and strong, and his face was flushed red and purple, so he was obviously drunk.
He chatted casually with his drinking buddy at the table, saying, "Guess what happened the other day? I got kicked out!"
"Guess what the reason is?" This middle-aged man was obviously good at piquing people's interest. He stopped drinking and eating while watching his drinking companions guess with great interest.
Finally, he slammed his hand on the table and vividly described, "The girl came back crying uncontrollably, complaining incoherently about why her parents hadn't given her phoenix eyes and cherry lips!"
"The maids in the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace all have phoenix eyes, hahaha!"
Upon hearing this, the group exclaimed that it was outrageous, laughing and loudly toasting each other, marveling that the Crown Prince of Jinchuan was truly blessed with good fortune in love.
"Five hundred maids and thirty concubines—this is a standard never seen even in the imperial harems of the past. Our Crown Prince is truly the apple of His Majesty's eye!"
"It is said that His Highness the Crown Prince suffered a lot of injustice during the years he was sent to Nanzhao. His Majesty wants to compensate him with beautiful women!"
Another younger man at the table in the hall said, "But I heard from some palace servants who came out to buy supplies that the Crown Prince's principal wife is very jealous, and the Crown Prince himself is not very good-tempered... The two of them argue in the room all day long because of these maids and concubines. They have been arguing for a long time, and the room is almost completely smashed!"
"It's said that the Crown Prince has already gone into hiding! He's taking a large group of men, supposedly to inspect the troops on the border, but actually heading in the opposite direction, apparently towards Nanzhao..."
The other man sitting opposite him, his eyes gleaming with lust, said, "Hehehe...you guys don't know this, do you? It's normal for the Crown Prince to go south. It's said that when our Crown Prince was in the south, he had a passionate affair with the princess of Nanzhao...I think her name was Rong!"
"Perhaps the principal wife is making such a fuss that she's remembered her old flame and has gone to see him..."
Gan Qiongying choked on the tea she was drinking. She was just eating and eavesdropping when somehow the gossip started to involve her.
Both the first and second films were professionally trained and would never show a smile unless they absolutely couldn't help it.
Gan Qiongying coughed twice, poured herself another cup of tea, and calmed herself down.
These people are really bold, daring to slander the Crown Prince in broad daylight. The customs of Jinchuan are indeed different from those of Nanzhao.
Along the way, the people of Jinchuan were indeed more rugged. Although the terrain was not much different from that of Nanzhao, the people here were taller, had more prominent noses, and were more unrestrained and bold in their speech and behavior.
People riding horses were everywhere on the streets, and even children running and playing by the roadside wouldn't cry if a horse's hoof trampled over their heads. At most, they'd tumble over in fright, dust themselves off, get up, and continue playing.
Even when they entered the country, they weren't subjected to overly strict checks; they were simply let in with a wave of their hand...
Compared to Nanzhao's caution... no wonder they were defeated when they fought against Nanzhao before; the entire country's level of caution and xenophobia is very low.
Within Jinchuan's borders, Gan Qiongying had already seen several people of different races. Some even had different eye and hair colors, but they walked openly on the streets without anyone treating them as strange people and staring at them.
If it's Nanzhao... these people want to enter Nanzhao, but they have to explain their ancestors for eighteen generations in detail, what they came to Nanzhao for, when they came and when they plan to leave, which relative they are staying with, and whether they have any criminal records. If they don't get all the details, it will be very difficult to let them pass.
People do often talk about all sorts of things, but most of the time they use code names or just discuss them privately behind closed doors.
If someone were to hear him speaking ill of the crown prince in public like this, he would certainly be prosecuted and imprisoned.
However, there were other people around the table in the hall. Some people chuckled and chimed in, but no one seemed to be keeping quiet.
This clearly shows that discussing matters among the royal family in Jinchuan was not unusual.
Gan Qiongying listened for a while longer, and then it was all just nonsensical speculation.
It is said that the Crown Prince of Jinchuan recently married his principal wife, who is the beloved daughter of the former King of Jingxi, whose territory borders Jinchuan.
The purpose was to restrain the former subordinates of the King of Jingxi. In fact, once the Crown Prince really became emperor, the Crown Princess would definitely have to give up her position as the principal wife, even if she wasn't deposed.
Upon hearing this, Gan Qiongying couldn't help but raise her eyebrows. She never expected that Zhong Lizhen would actually marry Wen Xueling in this lifetime.
After the meal, Gan Qiongying was already exhausted. They had been traveling day and night, and now that they had entered the capital of Jinchuan, it was impossible for them to see Li Hua immediately, no matter how anxious they were.
Moreover, judging from what these people are saying, Li Hua is not even in the capital.
Therefore, Gan Qiongying was not in a hurry. After eating her fill, she returned to the inn and washed up properly, removing all the disguises from her face.
I slept soundly in bed.
Her health has indeed improved a lot. If she had been through such a bumpy and tiring journey before, she would definitely have gotten sick, and even if she hadn't gotten sick, it would have been difficult for her to recover in a short time.
However, Xiao Qiansong's prescription for nourishing women was truly amazing. Gan Qiongying slept soundly until dawn and woke up feeling refreshed.
When I opened the window, it was just getting light outside. There were a few porters on the street who were going to the dock to carry bags in the early morning. They were eating quickly and talking in hushed tones under a steamed bun shop.
Aside from that, some houses had wisps of smoke rising from them, and some shops had already opened, but there weren't many people on the street at the moment; compared to yesterday's bustling scene, it was practically deserted.
Gan Qiongying stretched and decided to inquire about the whereabouts of the Crown Prince of Jinchuan today. Given the local customs of Jinchuan, it wouldn't be difficult to find out where the Crown Prince was.
Before that, she filled her stomach. Gan Qiongying woke up Yingyi and Yinger, knocked on their doors twice and they opened, clearly they were already awake.
"You two didn't sleep at all, did you?" Gan Qiongying noticed that his clothes were neatly dressed and strongly suspected that the two of them had spent the whole night on guard because they were new to the place.
The two men's hesitant expressions confirmed Gan Qiongying's guess. Gan Qiongying chuckled and said, "You two relax, we're not here to kill or rob."
She was just looking for her husband.
"Let's go downstairs and eat first. After you eat, you two can rest and catch up on your sleep in the room. I'll go out and stretch my legs."
"Don't be afraid, no one in this world wants to kill me." Gan Qiongying emphasized the word "I".
The three of them ate steamed buns. There was a noodle shop not far away, and a little further on was a wonton shop, but the steamed bun shop was the most crowded.
Food is bound to be delicious where there are lots of people. They ordered all-meat buns, hot and juicy meat buns, and Gan Qiongying ate four in one go.
Four.
It also included a bowl of porridge and some side dishes.
Although she didn't breastfeed, she ate much better food than the wet nurse.
As much as the first film, the second film ate one more.
Gan Qiongying held the last bit of bun skin in her hand, reached out and pushed her forehead, thinking about how she used to be a pampered princess who ate more than twenty dishes at a time, but could only eat a few bites of each dish.
Now I really want to ask Li Hua, "If I could eat four buns the size of a fist in one sitting, would you still love me?"
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