The Crown Prince and the princes selected one principal wife, two secondary wives, and three concubines.
In Jinling, any girl of eligible age, aged thirteen to fifteen, regardless of her social status, can participate in the selection!
The announcement caused an uproar in Nanjing.
Every household, whether commoners, officials, or merchants, began to tailor clothes and shoes, forge jewelry, and purchase cosmetics for their daughters...
Who doesn't want to rise to the top and become a phoenix?
Even if the chances are slim, we should still give it a try!
All of this was no longer Jiang Yue's concern; her family had already embarked on their journey home.
Unlike their arrival, which involved traveling light, they hired two more bodyguards on the return trip. They had no choice; Qingsong and his wife, the Ge family, and their newly in-laws, the Xu family, had all sent generous gifts...
Two more carriages have been added, so we'll have to hire two more bodyguards.
In the first carriage, Qingyao lay on her mother's lap, asking in a daze:
"Mother, will we come to Jinling again in the future?"
“Come on, that might be the time when your third brother gets married.”
Jiang Yue nodded, gently placing her right hand on her daughter's shoulder, and slightly opening the car window with her left hand.
We've already left Jinling City, and I hope to get back in time to eat Aunt Ge's osmanthus cake.
"Mom, I want to eat Aunt Ge's osmanthus cake!"
Sure enough, the mother and daughter were thinking the same thing...
The second carriage carried the Aoyama family of three—no, in a few months, they'll be a family of four!
"Dad, Mom, did you bring the hawthorn brittle and almond brittle that my second uncle and aunt gave me?"
Little foodie Wenwan is online, snuggling next to her mother, yawning, and not forgetting to ask about her candy.
"I brought them all, but you can't eat them anymore, or all your teeth will fall out!"
Da Xue looked worried. She had been too relaxed lately, and as a result, her daughter had developed a cavity.
“Your mother is right. If you steal sweets again, your father won’t care about you anymore.”
Aoyama agreed, saying that the couple were only looking out for their daughter; if she lost her baby teeth now, things would be terrible later.
"Okay, okay, then I'll skip sweets for now~"
Wenwan's small eyes darted around, and she decided to postpone eating.
Da Xue and her husband exchanged a smile, hoping it would be so.
In the third carriage sat Grandpa Wu and his wife, their great-grandson Wenhao, and the Ye sisters, Ye He and Ye Hua, who had come to protect them.
This car is also the largest one.
"Phew~"
"Phew~"
An old man and a young boy snuggled together, snoring in unison.
Old Mrs. Zhou gave the old man a disdainful look. "How old are you? Still staying up all night. Now look what's happened, you've got insomnia and you've been sleeping the whole time while we're on the road."
"Madam, why don't you take a nap too? It's still a few hours until we reach our next destination."
Having been there once before, the road signs and simple maps along the way were deeply etched in the two sisters' minds.
"Okay, I'll take a nap too. Wake me up when we get there."
Old Mrs. Zhou nodded in agreement. Indeed, as people get older, they tend to get sleepy.
The last carriage was filled with generous gifts, some purchased by the group and others given by relatives and friends.
Four horse-drawn carriages traveled in a grand procession along the road, attracting the attention of many passersby.
The driver was strong and armed with a knife; the镖局 (security escort agency) members were generally skilled in martial arts, making them difficult to deal with...
The next two weeks were not exactly peaceful.
Of course, there are villains who have malicious intentions, and even more notorious thieves who use sleeping potions to deceive people!
But the bodyguards Jiang Yue hired were no pushovers.
The price is high, and there's a reason for it!
Along the way, they stopped and started, turning over thieves and robbers to the authorities—the number was too many to count on two hands.
The local government was extremely grateful to them and presented them with many local specialties.
The carriage returning home contained many more items.
After overcoming countless hardships, they finally returned to Peach Blossom County and Peach Blossom Town. They were almost there; they were back.
Wujia Village!
Villagers lined the road to welcome them, and relatives and friends rushed over, embracing each other in celebration.
"Father, Mother, you're finally back! Your son and daughter-in-law have been waiting for you so long!"
"Can't you speak properly? You just miss your parents, why are you being so formal?"
Wu Dalang and Da Zhou helped their parents down from the carriage, chatting and laughing.
"Grandpa and Grandma~"
Wenhao opened his arms and sweetly called out to his grandparents.
"Oh, my dear grandson."
Wu Dalang carried his grandson down from the carriage, weighed him in his arms, and sighed:
"Oh my, you've gained so much weight again!"
"Pfft, is that even a question? It must be that my parents and my third brother's wife fed me a lot of good food."
Madam Zhou laughed and playfully tapped her eldest grandson's head.
"Hmph, my brother doesn't want me, and my great-grandparents don't play with me either!"
Little Wenyu looked at his older brother with envy, pouted, and burst into tears.
"Little brother, don't cry, don't cry, big brother brought you lots and lots of candy~"
"Really?"
"Yes, it's in the carriage. I'll share it with you when we get home."
"Okay, then I'll forgive my brother for now~"
Children's sadness comes quickly, but it also goes quickly.
Wenyu was so easily fooled by his brother; he stopped crying, smiled through his tears, and started pestering his brother with questions.
On Qingyao's side, Youyin also stepped forward to greet her, but unlike when they were children, Youyin had grown up a lot and his temperament had become more gentle. The way he looked at her was still humble and polite, just like an older brother looking at his younger sister.
"Yaoyao~"
Before they could say more than a few words, Xiaoxue pounced on them and caught them in her arms.
"Little Snow~"
The two sisters hugged each other, then held hands and poured out their hearts to each other.
Is Nanjing fun?
"This is so much fun! There are so many lanterns!"
"How did my brother do on his exams?"
"I passed the exam and will stay in Nanjing with my brother."
"Really? That's wonderful! My mother will be overjoyed to hear this!"
"My mother will be coming to your house later to tell her about this. Let's give her a surprise first!"
"Uh-huh!"
......
The current village chief is Wu Jiahu. After being personally instructed by the old village chief, he can now handle large-scale situations with ease.
After exchanging pleasantries, the crowd was dispersed, and the Jiang family was signaled to leave first.
"Da da da~"
Four impressive horse-drawn carriages, their carriages packed full, drew the envy of the villagers.
But no one dared to have any wicked thoughts. In their hearts, Jiang Shi held a position as high as that of the old village chief!
They were more envious of Jiang's ability and of Wu Yongfu and his wife, who could enjoy a life of luxury following in their third son's wife's footsteps!
That's Jinling, the capital of Tianyao!
They had noticed the group's fatigue earlier, so they wouldn't go to their homes to inquire.
Let's wait until tomorrow, when we see Old Wu, and then we'll ask him again...
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