northernbook Chapter 456 Chaos
Chapter 456 Chaos
From the moment Princess Guangning learned that the city gates had been opened, she had been feeling uneasy, as if something big was about to happen.
She composed herself, raised her hand to lift the curtain, and saw a bustling street where people held offerings in their hands, their eyes filled with piety.
This ritual to worship the mountain god brought them hope, and it was also her hope for survival.
Princess Guangning scanned the crowd but did not spot any familiar faces.
Her palms were sweating as she gripped the curtain tightly, fearing that Prince Yu would abandon her and leave the city alone.
In her letter yesterday, she told her brother that the reason Prince Yu stayed in Yongqing County was probably not because he was stopped by the mob, but because he had other plans.
His sudden departure likely indicates that his misdeeds have been exposed.
Prince Yu was unwilling to take her with him, and the city gates were closing at that moment. She thought of a way to get Prince Yu to take her away while simultaneously suppressing the negative public opinion against her brother.
She heard that the Empress's father, the Marquis of Shou'an, had been kind to Daoist Liu, so she used the Empress's influence to invite Daoist Liu to come out of seclusion.
Firstly, she had Master Liu shift the blame for the lead mine collapse onto Feng Zhihuan, thus clearing her brother's name.
Secondly, since the people of Yongqing County worshipped the mountain god, she asked Master Liu to propose, in front of the people, that the royal bloodline should offer sacrifices to the mountain god.
As a royal woman of the Northern Qi dynasty, she was entitled to worship the mountain god at the mountain god temple.
If Prince Yu wants to leave the city, he will definitely seize the opportunity of her offering sacrifices to the mountain god.
But then the city gates opened, and her chances of winning were only fifty percent.
Although her brother told her in his letter that Prince Yu stayed in Yongqing County to help him, now that Prince Yu is in a hurry to leave, it is probably because the royal guards have discovered something.
Prince Yu was very cautious. Even if he killed one of his secret guards, he would still be wary of the other secret guards in the shadows. He would definitely sneak out of the city in her procession to worship the mountain god.
But she was still anxious and uneasy, and even prepared for the worst.
If Prince Yu hadn't mingled with the group and left the city, nor taken her with him, she would have found an opportunity to escape and lived a life of anonymity thereafter.
Suddenly, with a "bang," the sedan chair was hit and shook violently.
Princess Guangning stumbled forward uncontrollably, screaming in fright.
"what--"
Her head hit a broad, sturdy chest, and she fell backward.
An arm wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly in his arms.
Faced with this sudden turn of events, Princess Guangning was terrified, looking at the newcomer with dread.
"It's me." Prince Yu felt the person in his arms trembling, as if she had been greatly frightened. He helped her sit up and said, "Don't be afraid."
Princess Guangning recognized the visitor as Prince Yu and instinctively shrank into a corner, her small face turning deathly pale.
She said in a trembling voice, "Your Highness, aren't you afraid that others will see you coming in like this?"
Prince Yu glanced at the woman who was terrified. Her eyes were misty with tears, and she was trying hard to hold them back, which made her look quite pitiful.
This is the real her: timid as a mouse, yet she loves to show off.
Both stubborn and foolish.
Just as he was about to speak, Yun Shu's voice came from outside the sedan chair: "Your Highness, what's wrong?"
As she spoke, she raised her hand and lifted the curtain.
Princess Guangning abruptly pressed down on the curtain that had been partially lifted, and said in a flustered voice, "I'm fine, I was just startled."
Yun Shu paused, then slowly withdrew his hand: "Your Highness, our group encountered a merchant caravan leaving the city. The horses carrying the goods were eyeing the offerings in the hands of the people and refused to leave. For some reason, the horses following behind suddenly became agitated, charged over, and crashed into our sedan chair."
Princess Guangning glanced at Prince Yu, then gently lifted a corner of the curtain. She happened to see a horse secretly nibbling on an apple. Its large teeth slipped on the peel, and it only managed to scrape off a little bit of the skin.
The horse shook its head and looked down into Princess Guangning's eyes, as if realizing that it had been caught stealing food.
It curls its upper lip, revealing its teeth, as if it's smiling.
Princess Guangning's fear was somewhat soothed by the horse's adorable movements.
The grain merchant standing nearby broke out in a cold sweat and yanked the reins, pulling the horse away.
"Please forgive me, Your Excellency." The grain merchant hurriedly knelt on the ground to beg for forgiveness: "I should have avoided traveling with Your Excellency and waited another day. Tomorrow I would have transported silk fabrics and minerals out of the city to sell and exchange them for grain to send to Yongqing County to relieve the people. However, the Prince of Guangling said that Yongqing County is short of grain. We can wait, but the people here cannot. I had no choice but to leave the city today. Who knew... who knew that I would offend you."
Previously, they had taken advantage of the fact that Yongqing County was short of grain and refused to sell their grain to Zhao Yi at a low price.
Little did Zhao Yi know that he had figured out they wouldn't be returning the grain once they'd brought it here, so he abandoned their grain and started recruiting new grain merchants.
They couldn't wait, nor dared to wait, so the moment the grain merchant's notice was posted, they hurriedly sold their grain to Zhao Yi.
Zhao Yi accepted their grain and made a request: that they take their goods out of the city early this morning.
Princess Guangning quickly said, "You are doing this to solve the famine in Yongqing County, which is understandable. I don't blame you. Get up quickly, don't delay important matters."
The grain merchant hurriedly kowtowed to express his gratitude, and then instructed the coachman to move the carriage aside to make way for the distinguished guest.
The people attached great importance to today's sacrificial ceremony, but the offerings were stolen by the horses, which was a great disrespect to the mountain god.
They originally wanted to demand an explanation from the grain merchant, but the merchant was in a hurry to transport the goods to sell in exchange for grain, so all their anger dissipated.
The group quickly packed up the offerings and continued to escort Princess Guangning out of the city.
Princess Guangning lowered the curtain and looked at Prince Yu sitting beside her.
Prince Yu explained, "The caravan's carriage collided with the sedan chair. The carriage was blocking the front of the sedan chair and was taller than the sedan chair, blocking most of the view. My men took advantage of the chaos to cover me as I got into the sedan chair."
"sedan chair……"
“The sedan chair bearers are your imperial brother’s men.”
Princess Guangning wanted to say something more.
"Wait a minute."
At this point, the group was stopped.
Princess Guangning then realized that she had arrived at the city gate. Her heart was in her throat, fearing that the guards would disregard her status as a princess and rudely inspect her sedan chair.
At this moment, several commoners stepped forward and said to the guards, "Sir, there is a princess from Northern Qi in this sedan chair. We are following the instructions of Immortal Liu to escort Her Highness to the Mountain God Temple to worship the Mountain God."
The act of guarding and checking people on the road not only offends the noble person, but also offends the mountain god.
Their wishes were simple: that today's sacrificial ceremony would proceed smoothly. They hoped that, under the protection of the mountain god, they would have enough to eat in the future, and that their children and grandchildren would be safe and sound.
The common people, with smiles on their faces, secretly slipped several bulging money bags into the guard's hands: "Please, have mercy on us today and don't check us?"
They had long anticipated this turn of events, and in order to ensure a smooth passage, the villagers each contributed a copper coin, filling several money bags.
The guards knew how much the people valued the ritual of worshipping the mountain god, and they wanted to avoid trouble.
But orders came from above to thoroughly search the procession that was worshipping the mountain god.
"The lord has issued an order that spies have infiltrated our city, and everyone entering and leaving the city gates must be checked. If we let the spies go because of our negligence, all the officers on duty today will lose their heads."
The guard pushed the money bag back, saying, "It's not that we don't want to do you a favor, but we on duty also need to give our superiors an explanation. As long as there's nothing unusual about the escorting entourage, we won't make things difficult for you."
Upon hearing this, the common people did not want to delay the guards from their duties.
The guards checked the people walking in front, and the sedan chair bearers naturally followed, carrying the sedan chair out of the city. But the guards blocked the way in front of the sedan chair: "Lift the curtain."
My darlings, thank you so much for not giving up on me and waiting for me for so long. This book will no longer be interrupted; I will update it daily until it's finished. Love you all, mua! (*╯3╰)