The steward of the Ling family had been waiting at the dock for several days.

After the Ling family’s official ship docked at the dock, the steward immediately led the able-bodied boys on board to greet them, and then busily carried the luggage to the carriage.

Many official ships were coming and going on the pier, so the Ling family’s official ship was not conspicuous among them.

Taking a lesson from the past, when they got off the ship this time, Ling Jingshu, Ling Jingyan, and Jiang Shi were wearing curtain hats, surrounded by maids, pózis ^[1]older women servants or matrons, and tall and strong guards on the outside. No matter how close you are, it was difficult to see the figure of the female family member clearly, let alone their face.

After getting on the carriage calmly, everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Several carriages set off slowly and queued up outside Dingding, waiting to enter the city.

There were so many people queuing to enter the city that it was not uncommon to wait for an hour or two. When there were more people, there would naturally be more people talking. It was not an exaggeration to describe it as a bustling crowd.

Ling Xiao had never experienced such hustle and bustle before, and his voice was full of excitement: “Ah Shu, there are many people outside the city gate. I also heard the sound of vendors selling snacks!”

Before Ling Jingshu could say anything, Ling Jingyan rushed over and said with a smile: “There are so many people today, and I don’t know how long it will take before I can enter the city gate. I happen to be hungry too, so why not send someone to buy some food, just in time to eat some to pass the time.”

Madam Sun smiled and rolled her eyes at Ling Jingyan:” You don’t even know if the things outside are clean or not, so how do you know they are delicious? I think you’re just a glutton!”

After scolding her, she immediately sent her pózi to buy snacks.

Ling Jingyan raised her eyebrows at Ling Jingshu proudly.

Ling Jingshu showed a knowing smile.

In the beginning, she deliberately approached Ling Jingyan with ulterior motives. She actually didn’t have much favorable impression of Ling Jingyan herself. After spending these days together, she and Ling Jingyan became increasingly familiar with each other, and she also became familiar with Ling Jingyan’s temperament.

Ling Jingyan was indeed a bit spoiled and willful, but other than that, she had no shortcomings. She had a lively temperament, was charming and cute, and had no scheming ideas, making it easy for people to fall in love with her.

…

The pózi moved quickly and bought several large bags of snacks.

The candied hawthorns were sour and sweet. They were very appetizing. The mung bean cakes were just out of the pot, sweet and sticky, and warm. There were also fragrant and hot chestnuts stir-fried.

Of course, these were not as exquisite as the pastries made by the chefs. But what you ate was fresh and hot.

Ling Jingyan liked to eat candied haws most, while Jiang Shi ate mung bean cake. Ling Jingshu peeled the sweet-scented osmanthus and chestnuts carefully. Stuffing the round and warm chestnuts into Ling Xiao’s mouth.

Ling Xiao took one bite at a time and praised while eating: “It’s so delicious! Ah Shu, don’t just peel it off for me to eat, you eat it too.”

Ling Jingshu felt happy when she saw Ling Xiao eating happily. She peeled one off and put it in her mouth: “It tastes really good.”

The younger generation was having a lively meal, while the elder, Madam Sun, initially maintained her dignity and refused to join in. However, soon unable to resist the tempting mix of aromas, she took a bite of the mung bean cake. Then, as she ate, she criticized disapprovingly, “This mung bean cake uses ordinary ingredients, it’s not finely made, and it’s a bit too sweet. It’s far worse than what our chef at home can make…”

…She was so enthusiastic about criticizing but she was also so enthusiastic about eating, and she ate three pieces in a while!

Ling Jingyan unceremoniously exposed Madam Sun: “Mom, you don’t think it tastes good, so why did you eat so much!”

Madam Sun: “…”

Everyone turned their heads and snickered.

Madam Sun glared at Ling Jingyan: “I’m worried that you guys will eat too much and get ill. So I reluctantly ate some for you.”

Everyone couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Cheerful talks and laughter; soon the laughter spread outside the carriage.

Many of the vendors with sensitive ears, carrying food and selling food, immediately gathered around.

Madam Sun didn’t stop them this time, and said generously: “Buy more and let all the maids and pózis share some.” The maids and pózis were all overjoyed.

Eating snacks, chatting, and laughing, the waiting time was not too difficult.

…

An hour later, the Ling family’s carriage entered the city gate.

Ling Jingshu finally saw what Ling Jingyan said the Tianjie looked like.

The streets were all paved with the strongest blue bricks. Spacious and clean. There were wine shops and shops on both sides of the street, with cars and horses coming and going, and pedestrians bustling with people. Under the bright sunshine, it looked full of vitality.

Dingzhou City was also considered prosperous. But compared with the capital city of Luoyang, it was far behind.

Probably the difference between a country woman and a stunning beauty.

Ling Jingshu slightly lifted a corner of the bamboo curtain and was secretly amazed.

Ling Jingyan looked at the expression on Ling Jingshu’s face, and she felt a sense of pride as a person from the capital city: “Ah Shu, this is just the outer city, it’s nothing. When you enter the main entrance of the imperial city, that’s the inner city of Luoyang. That’s where the real hustle and bustle is.”

Back to Luoyang City, Madam Sun was also in a very good mood, and said with a smile: “Ah Shu and Ah Xiao, both of you have never been to the capital before, and I bet you don’t know the difference between the inner city and the outer city! Since we have some free time, let me explain it to you siblings…”

In fact, Ling Jingyan had said this more than once.

However, Madam Sun was willing to speak out in person, so Ling Jingshu naturally couldn’t dampen her interest and hurriedly pretended to listen attentively.

Madam Sun had lived in the capital for more than ten years. She talked about the situation in Luoyang in a clear and orderly manner, and she has every family history. She was much better than Ling Jingyan.

“There are a total of 109 neighborhoods in Luoyang.”

“The inner city consists of only twenty-eight neighborhoods and the north market. In contrast, the outer city has eighty-one neighborhoods and the west market and south market. The west market is slightly smaller, while the south market occupies the area of two neighborhoods, making it the largest commercial area in Luoyang City. The north market is located within the inner city, and though not as large as the south market, it is still one of the most famous destinations in Luoyang City.”

“Those who are qualified to live in the inner city are either rich or noble. Ordinary people mostly live in the outer city.”

“In the inner city, the closer to the palace, the better. For example, neighborhoods like Daozheng, Qinghua, and Daoguang are often the residences of huángzis^[2]sons of the emperor and gōngzhǔs^[3]daughters of the Emperor or sometimes daughters born to the Empress or the residences of qīnwángs^[4]Prince of the first rank and jùnwángs^[5]Prince of the second rank. The next tier of neighborhoods, such as Guiyi and Jingxing, are mostly the residences of noble families and officials from the six ministries. Beyond that, you’ll find the homes of ordinary officials.”

“Our Ling family’s residence is in Yudefang. It is not the best location, but it is near Beishi, so it’s not too far from the palace…”

Ling Jingshu nodded clearly.

To put it simply, the closer to the palace, the more expensive the location, and ordinary officials were not qualified to live there.

Uncle Ling’s official position was neither high nor low. Living in Yudefang, which was quite close to the neighborhood of Beishi, was considered quite good.

No wonder Uncle Ling sharpened his head to dig up the camp.

The word power was the most tempting thing in the world. In her previous life, the Lu family separated her and Lu Hong and followed the dragon and the phoenix, just for the sake of power.

...(To be continued.)

[6]From the author: This starts the Luoyang chapter of the novel. Most important characters will be introduced one by one