Chapter 208 2/3

Li Qingzhi took Li Damao and Li Ermao into the carriage to go into the city. The others did not follow; Li Qingzhi planned to pick them up once he found a house to rent.

The dock was outside the capital, but they would definitely live in the city. The capital of the Daqi was very large, but most of the houses inside were low, small dwellings.

The residences of the nobility were certainly magnificent, but they couldn’t see those. The entire capital was divided into different sections, and the areas where the nobility lived were not accessible to just anyone.

Li Qingzhi planned to rent a house in an area where ordinary citizens lived. Areas crowded with poor people were unsafe, and they couldn’t squeeze into the areas where the nobility lived, so a place where ordinary citizens lived was the best.

Wu Baichuan found someone to accompany Li Qingzhi, who then took him to a brokerage to inquire about houses. The brokerage found a broker in his twenties to show Li Qingzhi around.

“This distinguished scholar, the houses in Qingzhi Lane are quite good. That area is just a few steps away from the busiest street in the capital and many honest officials live there…” The broker talked non-stop.

Listening to this, Li Qingzhi took a liking to Qingzhi Lane. Actually, one of the people mentioned in the letters given to him by Governor Zhang lived in Qingzhi Lane.

As they walked, they passed by the busiest and most prosperous street in the capital. Li Qingzhi knew that Qingyun Tower was on this street, but he did not see it. However, the street was really bustling, with a lot of people coming and going… Li Qingzhi took a few more glances and heard a commotion in the distance, where someone was galloping on a horse, disregarding the pedestrians on the street.

People on the road hurriedly dodged; some even fell, and a few were nearly hit, but the rider paid no attention and whipped the horse’s butt.

The rider was a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy with a face full of pimples, making him look quite unattractive. Following behind him was a group of guards on foot, all running out of breath.

“That is…” Li Qingzhi looked at the broker beside him.

“That’s the second son of the Prince Jin Mansion,” the broker replied, then continued talking about the houses, “You came early, so there are still houses for you to choose from. If you came a month later, with the capital filled with candidates for the imperial examination, you wouldn’t have a chance to choose…”

As he spoke, Li Qingzhi saw a luxurious carriage, drawn by four horses, slowly approaching. Accompanying the carriage, both in front and behind, were two handsome young men on horseback. Even the driver of the carriage was an exceptionally good-looking young man.

The carriage itself was pink, indicating that its owner was likely a woman.

“That’s the eldest princess,” the broker said enviously, then continued introducing the houses to Li Qingzhi.

So, it was the eldest princess!

Li Qingzhi knew that the current emperor had no sons, only two daughters. These two princesses were both around twenty-five or twenty-six years old and had married seven or eight years ago.

The two princesses had completely opposite personalities and vastly different reputations in the capital.

The eldest princess, born to the late Empress, was greatly favored by the current emperor. When she reached marriageable age, the emperor, following her wishes, betrothed her to a handsome, unmarried scholar.

After marrying, the Eldest Princess got along well with her husband for a while but soon found herself two handsome guards whom she kept close by and grew very intimate with.

Naturally, the Grand Prince Consort was cuckolded. However, the Grand Prince Consort’s family had no background, so he could only endure… Well, he didn’t endure from the start. It was said he had once caused a scene and was beaten up by the Eldest Princess’s guards.

For the past few years, the Eldest Princess has always been surrounded by handsome men. Her reputation in the capital was quite poor, yet she continued to do as she pleased, and no one could do anything about it.

The current emperor had only two daughters; he couldn’t possibly punish his daughter for misbehaving. Over the years, he would only give her occasional advice when he saw her, telling her to be more restrained. When she didn’t listen, he would stop saying anything, silently rewarding the Grand Prince Consort instead.

While the eldest princess behaved this way, the second princess was quite the opposite. She was renowned in the capital for her virtuousness.

The Second Princess’s mother was someone sent to the emperor by the Duke of Yan’s mother, whom the emperor never liked from the start. The fact that she had a child was the result of some scheming.

Naturally, the emperor did not favor the Second Princess as much as the Eldest Princess. But since he had only two children, he wasn’t bad to the Second Princess either. When the Second Princess reached marriageable age, unlike the Eldest Princess, who chose her husband herself, the emperor married her off to the Duke of Zhou’s family.

Initially, because of the Eldest Princess’s behavior, the Second Prince Consort was very wary of the Second Princess. However, the Second Princess was extremely virtuous, choosing not to live in the princess’s residence but in the Duke’s mansion. She would personally attend to the elders daily and even cook for her husband. She also took the initiative to bring in a few concubines for the Second Prince Consort and personally raised their children.

The Second Princess had a very good reputation in the capital.

Neither the Eldest Princess nor the Second Princess had much to do with Li Qingzhi, so he took a few more glances and then stopped looking.

Unbeknownst to him, inside the passing carriage, a plump woman in her twenties glanced at him through the curtain.

The Eldest Princess had fair skin and wasn’t unattractive, with a dimple appearing on her left cheek when she smiled.

She glanced at Li Qingzhi and then said to the young man beside her, “That man on the street is quite good-looking.”

“Princess, are you not fond of me anymore?” the young man beside the eldest princess asked.

The Eldest Princess touched his face and said, “How could that be? You’re still my favorite.”

This one was new, and she hadn’t grown tired of him yet. As for the man on the street, she didn’t get a good look at him anyway.

After the Eldest Princess’s carriage passed, Li Qingzhi and his group finally arrived at Qingzhi Lane.

Qingzhi Lane was just north of the bustling street. Because it was so close to the busy street, the area was somewhat noisy, and the houses were small, housing many ordinary people and some less affluent officials.

This place met Li Qingzhi’s requirements perfectly.

“This house belonged to Assistant Minister Wang of the Ministry of Revenue. He lived here for many years and bought this house. Later, he moved out after several promotions…”

Li Qingzhi entered the house and found a square courtyard with a circle of rooms around it. It was a typical, small four-sided courtyard.

The house was certainly not as good as the one he lived in at Chongcheng County, but it was enough as a starting point in the capital.

Li Qingzhi didn’t want to spend too much time looking for a house, so he decided to rent it for 120 taels of silver a year. Renting for only a few months would cost 20 taels of silver per month due to the upcoming imperial examination. Since he planned to stay in the capital for a while, he decided to rent it for a year.

After paying the deposit and agreeing to pay the full amount the next day, Li Qingzhi took the children back.

Meanwhile, Jin Xiaoye, following Wu Baichuan and his group, met with the shopkeepers under Eunuch Lu.

There were quite a few shopkeepers under Eunuch Lu, but the most eye-catching one was Shopkeeper Mu.

Throughout her life, Jin Xiaoye had seen the best-looking man, Qian Changsheng, who had no beard and wasn’t so dark. The best-looking woman she had ever seen was Shopkeeper Mu!

Good-looking people tend to have similar traits, and she thought Shopkeeper Mu looked a bit like Qian Changsheng.