Seated regally in the carriage was a woman of exceptional beauty, exuding an air of extraordinary nobility and authority. Against the backdrop of the otherwise ordinary carriage, her silk and satin garments seemed incongruous.
What surprised Meng Qingluan the most was not her beauty and wealth, but her eyes.
Her eyes were slightly downturned at the corners, and her gaze was full of longing.
However, at first glance, he seemed strangely familiar, and I felt that he looked a bit like Shen Yan.
The carriage stopped in front of the house opposite the examination hall, surrounded by a dense crowd of attendants, their swords drawn at their waists.
Although Meng Qingluan was somewhat shocked, she did not overlook the glowing swords.
A quick glance, then I looked away and headed towards the bustling street.
Meng Qingluan did not take a carriage, but chose to stroll around on foot.
The streets of the capital were exceptionally lively, lined with shops, their red-lacquered wooden doors wide open, displaying a dazzling array of goods, and filled with the sounds of vendors hawking their wares.
As Meng Qingluan walked, she could see all sorts of goods.
However, she wasn't particularly interested; it was the dollar bill beside her that was quite curious.
"Madam, look over there, it looks delicious."
"Go buy four servings."
"Madam, the candied hawthorns are so round and red!"
"Buy four skewers."
"lady……"
"purchase."
"..."
Before long, the hands of the dollar and the pound were full of things, all in four portions.
Meng Qingluan had just finished eating a freshly baked duck tongue biscuit when she took the handkerchief Yingbang handed her to wipe her mouth.
The dollar asked curiously, "Madam, you bought four servings, why have you only eaten one..."
Before Mei Yuan could finish speaking, Ying Bang nudged her arm, interrupting her.
"Too talkative."
Dollar pursed his lips, realizing the abruptness of his words.
Meng Qingluan smiled and said, "Didn't you want to eat these too? Keep one portion, and you can take the other two."
Dollar, flattered, raised her hand to cover her mouth, her eyes brimming with undisguised joy.
"lady……"
"Thank you, Madam. We both have our own monthly allowance, so there's no need for you to spend money on us."
Meng Qingluan waved her hand, forcefully stuffing the items into their arms without giving them a chance to resist.
"Just eat what I tell you to eat. Why are you making so many excuses? This is an order."
Upon hearing this, Dollar and British Burdock didn't stand on ceremony. They thanked Meng Qingluan sweetly and took out some food to eat.
Meng Qingluan sat at a roadside stall, watching the two of them eat with shining eyes, and couldn't help but ask a question out of curiosity.
"Weren't you two just bought into the household? Why do you act as if you've never eaten before?"
It wasn't that Meng Qingluan was overthinking things, but rather that everything on the street was simply too new and exciting for the two of them.
Meng Qingluan was quite unfazed by the lively scene, after all, she had been in this world for some time now.
Moreover, before coming to the capital, she had been selling food at a stall in the local town.
The capital city is just a bit more prosperous and bustling than that place; there's nothing else surprising about it.
On the contrary, the two girls who grew up in the capital had their eyes light up when they saw these.
They were incredibly excited to see even a candied hawthorn, and their exclamations of wonder never stopped along the way.
Halfway through eating his candied hawthorn, Dollar asked in a panic.
"But did we disturb Madam?"
Meng Qingluan shook her head. "I'm just curious."
Yingbang swallowed the food in his mouth and answered respectfully.
“We were abandoned babies adopted by palace eunuchs and nannies. We grew up in the palace and never left.”
Meng Qingluan was stunned.
"Eunuchs and nannies?"
Yingbang nodded slightly, "Some palace maids never leave the palace and stay there for their entire lives, so they have meals with the palace eunuchs."
"But after all, they are eunuchs and cannot have children. Most of the nannies and eunuchs want to have a child, so they take us abandoned babies from outside the palace into the palace and raise us by their side from childhood."
"We were chosen by the Fifth Prince, which is why we had the opportunity to leave the palace. This is our first time visiting a market, so we are a little too excited and have lost our composure."
Meng Qingluan nodded, she had really learned something new.
Meng Qingluan suddenly became interested and leaned over to gossip, "Hey, are there many interesting things happening in the palace?"
Yingbang sighed helplessly, "The rules in the palace are numerous and much more boring than outside. The usual excitement is just about which concubine is favored and which is out of favor."
"It is mostly us servants who suffer."
"..."
Meng Qingluan thought about it and realized that was indeed the case.
The master was favored, and the emperor indulged in revelry every night, even having to fetch water.
When the master is out of favor, the servants become the best targets for venting their anger.
Suddenly, Mei Guo seemed to remember something, and leaned close to Meng Qingluan's face, whispering excitedly.
“I once heard the old nanny say that the Noble Consort in Chang Le Palace had eloped with a thief before entering the palace. She returned to the capital two years after the elopement, but later, for some reason, she entered the palace again.”
Meng Qingluan nearly bit her tongue.
What is this supposed to be? A favorite concubine's diary of eloping, regretting her decision halfway through and returning to the palace?
This emperor was truly in love.
He was cuckolded, and he actually took the green hat off himself, even stomping his feet on it.
Wait, Your Highness the Imperial Concubine…
If she remembered correctly, the current imperial concubine was the birth mother of the sixth prince.
The Sixth Prince, Li Zhanqi, was the one who set up the ambush in the very end. When Shen Yan led his army to attack the Golden Palace, he was pierced by ten thousand arrows and killed by his own hands.
The final outcome was predictable: he was torn to pieces by Li Zhanjue, and his bones were left to dry on the city wall.
Meng Qingluan clicked her tongue.
She seemed to have suddenly discovered some incredible secret: the reason the Sixth Prince was out of favor was because of this…
She has a son by her side, a son she doesn't even know if he's her biological child.
Let alone the emperor, just imagining it herself is enough to make her feel awful.
The sixth and seventh princes are both ruthless characters who pretend to be weak while actually being strong.
The only difference is the status of the birth mother.
Who would have thought that the Imperial Concubine had such a romantic affair?
Meng Qingluan lowered her voice and continued to ask.
"Then...is the Sixth Prince really...?"
Yingbang quickly raised her hand to cover their gossipy mouths and said gently.
“Madam, walls have ears. Such important matters should not be speculated upon. We will tell you what we know in detail when we have time later.”
"..."
Meng Qingluan and the US dollar nodded hurriedly.
Originally, Meng Qingluan did not want to continue shopping.
But Chen Yan's exam wasn't over yet, and waiting in the carriage was too boring.
Dollar, with his sharp eyes, suddenly spotted a restaurant not far ahead and made a suggestion.
"Madam, why don't we go to the restaurant and wait for Lord Shen?"
"OK."
"..."
As Meng Qingluan approached, she realized that this restaurant was anything but ordinary in its luxurious and grandeur.
The building is three stories high, with upturned eaves and carved beams and painted rafters. Even though it's not yet night, the glazed tiles on the roof already glow with a warm yellow light.
In the very center, golden characters dance, three large "Drunken Immortal Pavilion" carved on sandalwood.
Meng Qingluan entered the hotel. It was quiet and elegant, without any noise.
Soon a waiter came to greet them.
"Greetings, Miss. Did you make an appointment in advance?"
"Appointment? No," Meng Qingluan replied.
"Excuse me, miss, we..."
The waiter smiled and was just about to see the guest off when his ears twitched, and he raised his hand to look up at the second floor.
The people upstairs waved to him.
Meng Qingluan understood that it seemed he couldn't get in without a reservation, so she didn't make things difficult for him.
"Sorry to bother you."
The waiter quickly called out to her, his face beaming.
"Miss, won't you go upstairs for your meal?"
Meng Qingluan asked in confusion, "Don't you require reservations here? Can I go up without a reservation?"
The waiter apologized, "I was too slow with my words, which caused you to misunderstand me."
"We don't have reservations here. Please go directly to the VIP room on the second floor. This is our employer's policy."
Meng Qingluan: "..."
What a bizarre rule.
The waiter noticed her speechlessness and explained as he led her upstairs, "We value spontaneity here. The more unconventional things are, the more important they are."
Meng Qingluan gave an awkward laugh, "I understand, I understand."
As soon as Xiao Er led Meng Qingluan and the others upstairs, someone reached out and stopped Mei Yuan and Ying Bang, who were following behind her.
The waiter explained, "The second floor is for VIPs; the maids will need to wait in the private rooms on the first floor."
"..."
Meng Qingluan frowned; she had never heard of such a regulation before…
The US dollar and the British pound did not stubbornly follow suit.
After all, Zuixianlou is so big that no thief would dare to do anything to Meng Qingluan.
Moreover, the lady is also protected by secret guards dispatched by Shen Yan.
They nodded and took a step back.
"Please take good care of our lady. She is not in good health and should avoid spicy or cold foods."
"I understand."
"..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com