The Princess had no intention of backing down. “Since Commander Xiao believes this princess is making things difficult for you, let us bring this matter before His Majesty!”

The commander of the Imperial Guards dismounted and respectfully bowed deeply to the princess. “Your servant failed to manage his subordinates and caused offense to Your Highness. I humbly beg the princess not to hold it against me or take issue with this young fool.”

The Princess snorted coldly before finally lowering the curtain of her carriage. “My carriage shall pass first, then you may proceed.”

The elegant convoy slowly crossed the avenue of the capital.

The commander of the Imperial Guards, watching the eight or so carriages following behind the princess, couldn’t help but seethe with anger.

Just as his face darkened with rage, the curtain of one carriage was suddenly lifted, revealing a handsome young man with bright red lips and white teeth, his eyes full of charm. “I see Commander Xiao still harbors some dissatisfaction with the princess.”

The commander hurriedly cupped his fists. “I wouldn’t dare.”

This man was the princess’s favorite male companion—someone not to be offended.

More young men, either elegant or alluring, peered out from the following carriages, muttering about why the convoy had stopped for so long.

By the time the princess’s convoy had passed, nearly half an hour had gone by.

The commander quickly mounted his horse, preparing to continue on to raid the Chu estate.

Suddenly, a eunuch on horseback came racing toward him from behind, shouting from a distance, “Commander Xiao, wait!”

The commander had no choice but to stop and wait for the eunuch to approach.

When the eunuch reached him, he pulled on the reins and relayed, “I bear a decree from His Majesty. Commander Xiao Qian is to immediately go to all city gates and apprehend Chu Changping!”

The commander was puzzled.

How had the Emperor’s decree changed in less than half an hour? He asked, “Should we still raid the Chu estate?”

The eunuch replied, “No need to raid it.”

The commander, though even more frustrated, dared not show it on his face.

He simply replied, “I understand.”

---

In the imperial palace, the Emperor had smashed every vase and piece of jade he could reach.

The maids and eunuchs serving him trembled as they knelt, not daring to move.

Occasionally, shards of porcelain flew toward them, slicing their faces, but none dared wipe away the blood.

“Useless! All of you are useless!” The Emperor swept every memorial from his desk onto the floor.

“How did I instruct Fan Wei? I told him to send the person to his military camp. And what does he do? He keeps them, handing my uncle a weapon to use against me!” The Emperor let out a bitter laugh in his fury.

The chief eunuch hurriedly offered a cup of hot tea. “Your Majesty, please have some tea to calm yourself…”

The Emperor slapped it away. “Get out!”

The scalding tea spilled all over the chief eunuch, but he didn’t dare say a word.

The Emperor braced himself on the desk, his eyes burning with rage. “Bring Jiang Jing’an to me!”

Jiang Shilang, who had just left the imperial study, was immediately summoned back.

As soon as he entered, a memorial was thrown straight at his face.

The Emperor was livid. “Didn’t you say you had that mother and son locked up in your estate? How did they end up at the Chu family’s house?”

Jiang Shilang was shocked and quickly knelt. “Your servant… is terrified.”

He truly had no idea how Madam Jiang and her son had left the estate.

The veins on the Emperor’s temple throbbed, and his head pounded with pain.

Pressing his fingers to his forehead, he said, “Your legitimate daughter isn’t dead.”

These words brought Jiang Shilang no joy—only fear.

The Emperor, with a sinister glint in his eyes, continued, “She is now in the hands of the Prince of Liaonan. The Prince is just waiting to use her against me! If I act against the Chu family now, I’ll be playing right into his hands!”

If only Jiang Yanyi were the sole problem, it wouldn’t be a serious threat.

Jiang Shilang could simply deny she was his daughter, dismissing it as slander.

But now that Madam Jiang and her son had returned to the Chu family and could testify, the truth about the Emperor sending a legitimate daughter of a noble family to the frontier as a camp prostitute would come out.

How would the people view him?

A ruler without virtue—wasn’t that exactly the opening his ambitious uncle needed?

As the Emperor was grappling with this crisis, a palace servant hurriedly reported from outside the study, “Your Majesty, there’s terrible news!”

The Emperor grabbed the inkstone from his desk and threw it at the door. “Speak!”

The young eunuch was hit and started bleeding from his head but knelt, choking back tears. “General Fan behaved inappropriately after drinking and assaulted Consort Xi…”

The Emperor felt a surge of fury rising to his head.

Grabbing his prized sword from the wall, he stormed toward the inner palace.

Jiang Shilang, still kneeling, shuddered, his face turning pale.

….

Far away in Xizhou, Feng Shuo sat in the pavilion of the west courtyard, just a wall away from the kitchen where the little cook was busy preparing a meal.

On the stone table before him, black and white Go pieces clashed in an intense battle.

He placed a black stone with his left hand, followed quickly by a white stone with his right.

His clear, phoenix-like eyes reflected the storm brewing in the capital.

“Dear nephew, you won’t be able to win this game.”

…………

After Jiang Yanyi left her home, she asked the seamstress at the neighboring clothing shop about the most famous flower shop in Xizhou and decided to take Qiu Kui there.

People in ancient times loved flowers even more than people today.

Recently, Jiang Yanyi had conducted quite a bit of market research and found that any restaurant with a bit of style would always have a pot of flowers on the table.

Even ordinary people, who couldn’t bear to spend silver on flowers, would dig up some orchids from the mountains to plant in front of their houses.

Scholars and poets also wrote verses, saying, “Feasting is not frequent, but the names and colors are different; the peach blossoms bloom, and we raise our cups to appreciate them, calling it the ‘Feast of Adoration.'”

The “adoration” naturally refers to the flowers.

Jiang Yanyi thought this was a perfect opportunity to buy some flowers, especially since her hotpot restaurant was positioned as a mid-to-high-end establishment and she couldn’t afford to overlook this detail.

When she arrived at the Hu family’s flower shop, she marveled at the strikingly colorful flowers displayed outside, even though they were out of season, reflecting the wisdom of the ancients.

In later generations, out-of-season flowers became common due to advanced technology and a wealth of experimental data.

However, in ancient times, achieving this relied solely on the ingenuity of the flower cultivators.

The shop manager, a savvy businessman, noticed that although Jiang Yanyi’s clothing wasn’t particularly extravagant, it was still quite respectable, and he warmly greeted her, saying, “What flowers would you like to buy, my lady?”

Using the term “my lady” is the safest way to address a woman whose age and identity are unclear, much like calling a man “young master.”

Jiang Yanyi wanted to see the flower cultivation rooms of others, so she needed to show some sincerity.

She said, “I’m planning to open a restaurant and came to see if there are any suitable flowers.”

Upon hearing that she wanted to buy flowers for her restaurant, the shop manager immediately recognized this as a big business opportunity, and his attitude became even more enthusiastic.

He guided Jiang Yanyi, saying, “In a few days, the red plum will bloom. My lady might consider buying a plum tree to plant in your courtyard. The red plum is also known as the ‘Feast of Drenched Red.’ Using it on the day of the opening would be a good omen.”

Jiang Yanyi nodded but did not show much interest.

The shop manager was a businessman and knew how to read people’s intentions.

He immediately introduced other flowers nearby: “There’s the begonia ‘Warm Makeup,’ the sweet-scented osmanthus ‘Budding Cold,’ and the peony ‘Cherishing Fragrance.’ Which one do you fancy?”

However, the begonia and peony were not in season.

Jiang Yanyi said, “I’d like to see the flower cultivation rooms of your esteemed shop. Is that convenient?”

The shop manager hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded, “Please follow me, my lady.”

Jiang Yanyi felt that the shop manager’s agreement was a bit too quick.

Did he not fear that she might try to learn their techniques?

Upon seeing the flower cultivation rooms, Jiang Yanyi realized her previous ideas had been too naive.

The flower room alone was larger than the entire courtyard she rented, sealed tightly on all sides and ventilated only at specific times.

The roof was made of luxurious glazed tiles to allow light in.

Once she entered, the warmth inside welcomed her immediately.

The shop manager proudly said, “This flower room has had its ground heat running continuously throughout autumn and winter. Thanks to this, the flowers inside can bloom in all four seasons. In all of Xizhou, apart from the flower room of the military governor’s mansion, you won’t find a bigger flower room than this.”

Jiang Yanyi pretended to remain calm and nodded, but internally, she felt distressed.

Not to mention the cost of constructing a flower room with glazed tiles, the expenses of heating the entire place with ground heat over an autumn and winter would also be significant.

By the time the peppers were ready to harvest, she would likely go bankrupt first.

Jiang Yanyi was considering whether she could negotiate with the shop manager to pay for a small piece of their flower room to cultivate her peppers.

However, before she could voice her thoughts, she heard some ambiguous sounds coming from behind a pine tree.

“Young master… please don’t put me in a difficult position. If the young mistress finds out, she’ll kill me…”

“My dear, don’t worry. I’ll protect you; she wouldn’t dare…”

The shop manager didn’t expect the young master of the household to be here and awkwardly coughed a couple of times to remind those inside.

Jiang Yanyi also felt uncomfortable and said to the shop manager, “Thank you for showing me around. I think I’ve seen enough. I still prefer those autumn chrysanthemums outside.”

The shop manager understood the implication in her words, realizing she wanted to leave the flower room quickly.

Just then, the two people hiding behind the pine tree emerged. “Since the esteemed guest is here to see the flowers, why rush to leave?”

The young man was skinny, with dark circles under his eyes.

Even in a silk robe, he resembled a monkey.

The maid beside him clutched her collar, her cheeks flushed.

Jiang Yanyi glanced at them and quickly lowered her head.

The shop manager knew the maid’s background; she had originally served in the young mistress’s chamber.

Since she was quite beautiful, it was likely she had been sent here to tend to the flowers because of some connection with the young master.

Fearing that the household’s young master might take an interest in a customer here to buy flowers, the shop manager quickly said, “Young master, this lady has already chosen her flowers. I will now take her to collect them.”

Hu Baiwan stared intently at Jiang Yanyi, pushing aside the shop manager and saying, “What flowers did my lady fancy? Just take them; I’ll put it all on my account.”