Chapter 717: Chapter 717: Beiman Princess
In mid-July, another urgent delivery arrived in the Capital City from eight hundred miles away.
This time, the entire Imperial Capital knew that the Beiman Envoy was coming.
The neighbors near Qin Yao’s home now talked most about the envoy entering the Capital City.
Now that the Crown Prince was under house arrest and the struggle between the Princess and the Crown Prince had no new developments to gossip about, the citizens of the Imperial Capital felt bored. The arrival of the Beiman Envoy was timely, and everyone finally had a new topic to discuss.
So, when the news of the Beiman Envoy’s imminent arrival reached the Capital City from Beilou Pass, excitement swept through the city.
If Qin Yao stood even slightly close to the group of chatting sisters at her door, she could hear them discussing this event.
The Qiu Family to the west was entirely employed at the West Market Mutual Market Supervision, a place that managed foreign trade exchanges. They might not have the latest news within Sheng Country, but for matters outside Sheng Country, there was no place in Kuanzheng Square fresher than theirs.
Old Mrs. Qiu, while threading the sole of a shoe, said, "You might not know this, but the head of the Beiman Mission to our Sheng Country this time is the Barbarian King’s own uncle, the renowned Regent King Huyan Chan."
At the mention of the Regent King’s title, the buyer woman from Wang Jin’s family immediately showed an expression of hatred, "The King Chan caused the deaths of so many of our Sheng people; how dare he come?"
Others knew that the men of the Wang family all died on the battlefield, not in internal conflicts, but during the invasion by Beiman when Sheng Country was about to unify, specifically in the Northern Territory border army.
Aunt Yu patted the buyer woman from the Wang family on the shoulder, comforting, "We must not forget our national and family grievances, but presently with both nations in a truce, for the sake of future generations, we must focus on the bigger picture."
The buyer woman sighed, presumably thinking of the young master at home, managed to swallow her words of anger.
However, she turned her head and spat on the ground, wishing she could spit in King Chan’s face!
Seeing this, everyone came forward to comfort her. Once she was appeased, the group continued questioning Old Mrs. Qiu about any other news.
"Isn’t it said that the Beiman Mission also brought a princess this time? Which princess?" Zhang Guizhi asked, curious.
The Barbarian King not only had many aunts but also many sisters and even had two daughters by the time Princess Huixiang married over there.
But there was no son yet, otherwise, their Commandery Princess would have been further aggrieved.
Old Mrs. Qiu said, "It’s the one who shares both parents with the Barbarian King, what’s her name? Ti something Xiang?"
It was truly a challenge for this old lady’s memory; the names of the barbarians were just too long. After a while, she slapped her thigh, saying, "Huhu Tixiang!"
Everyone shook their heads, unfamiliar, but being able to accompany the mission to the Capital City, this Princess Huhu Tixiang probably held considerable status in Beiman.
"How old is she? Bringing a princess, could they be seeking a Prince Consort from our Sheng Country, wanting to strengthen the alliance?"
Mentioning this, Qin Yao’s gossip-loving spirit was sparked. She handed over the pumpkin seeds in her hand, sharing them with everyone while pricking up her ears to listen.
Old Mrs. Qiu shook her head, "That I don’t know, but this princess is young, only sixteen. According to Beiman’s rules, royal women marry at eighteen, so she probably isn’t married yet."
Aunt Yu clapped her hands, "Then it must be true! The Beiman Princess is here to our city to select a Prince Consort!"
Once she raised her loud voice, everyone in Kuanzheng Square knew that a Beiman Princess had come to the Capital City to choose a Prince Consort.
This rumor spread rapidly, somehow reaching the ears of the unmarried noble sons in the Capital City, scaring them into wanting to hide.
Who didn’t know the hardships of that desolate place Beiman, as cold as death, rumored to live in tents not even comparable to the stables of their mansions?
The food was even worse, nothing but sheep’s milk and mutton all the time, without any greens.
They couldn’t even eat fruit, making bowel movements difficult.
In such an environment, could Huhu Tixiang possibly be good-looking?
She was likely dark and strong, with a full mouth of yellow teeth when she smiled. Just imagining caused the hairs of these noble young masters to stand on end.
However, families of such standing really couldn’t match this ’opportunity’, rather it was those Princely Heirs and Princes who needed to be more cautious.
Of course, there were also those who believed they could endure hardship, weren’t afraid of an ugly wife, and who couldn’t make it in the Imperial Capital thinking they might rise to power through this chance, already secretly planning how to create a fateful encounter with Princess Huhu Tixiang.
Qin Yao stood at her doorstep for the entire afternoon, having her fill of gossip, and seeing Ah Wang and Yin Le return with a bunch of fresh melons and fruits, she contentedly headed back home.
Upon seeing Qin Yao enter, Yin Le immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Master, it turns out there’s a melon field in the Capital City too!"
"We went to the North Market today and saw many people selling cucumbers. I thought it was something novel, but upon closer look, aren’t they just the watermelons from our village!"
Qin Yao was pleasantly surprised, walked quickly into the hall, and on the table were two round, green-skinned watermelons. She laughed heartily, "Finally, we have melons to eat!"
She had been saying it; something felt missing this summer. The moment she saw these two watermelons today, she understood. A summer without watermelon, how could it be complete?
Qin Yao poured herself a glass of cold water to quench her cravings and instructed Ah Wang to put down the food he was holding and carry the two large watermelons to the backyard.
First, to chill them in the well; when everyone is home, they’ll cut them open, nice and cold, and the thought made her impatient.
Ah Wang, responding to her, picked up the two large watermelons and went to the backyard.
Yin Le efficiently organized the bought items, placing the ingredients in the kitchen and categorizing snacks into food boxes.
The freshly bought peach crisps were still warm, crispy and crunchy, she took some for her master to try first.
They also bought a bag of glutinous rice and one of green beans; Ah Wang said he planned to make cold rice cakes with green bean paste to beat the heat.
Yin Le poured the rice and green beans into their respective ceramic jars, and after wiping the sweat from her face with a clean cloth, she excitedly said to Qin Yao:
"Master, have you heard about the arrival of the Beiman Envoy?"
Qin Yao, munching on peach crisps, couldn’t speak, so she nodded, signaling for her to share any new information.
Yin Le sat down beside her on the chair, leaned in mysteriously, and said, "Guess who the Emperor sent to receive the envoy?"
Qin Yao shook her head, indicating she didn’t know, but looking at Yin Le’s barely-contained excitement, she tentatively guessed, "Could it be the State Preceptor?"
Yin Le, who initially planned a bit of suspense, felt disappointed, removing the cloth from her forehead, nodded uninterestingly, "Yes, it’s the State Preceptor, just heard it on the street."
Qin Yao was a bit surprised. Logically speaking, after the martial artist incident, with the Crown Prince under house arrest, Sikong Jian, being the Crown Prince’s backing, should have stayed low in his residence to avoid suspicion.
Yet, only a month after the Crown Prince’s house arrest, Sikong Jian has become the receptionist for the envoy.
Could it be that the Emperor doesn’t want to delve deeper into the Prince Feng incident?
"Hiss~" Qin Yao inhaled sharply, a thought suddenly popped into her mind.
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