Chapter 68: Regret to the Point of Turning Green

In the afternoon, Taoist Baiyun hurrily descended the mountain, carrying the land-protecting talisman to the village behind Baihua Mountain.

The village was quiet; the elderly were as withered as sticks, sighing on the streets, and the young people were equally gloomy.

Seeing Taoist Baiyun’s arrival, their eyes lit up. “Taoist, you’re here again?”

“Taoist, please save our village. Otherwise, we really won’t be able to survive.”

“With winter approaching and no harvest, how will we get through the winter?”

“We might not survive this winter. We’re starving!”

Their village was small and thus hadn’t attracted the attention of the court.

Moreover, the officials had suppressed the matter, so no matter how much they stirred, it wouldn’t make a splash.

They were truly out of options and could only wait for death.

Taoist Baiyun smiled. “Don’t panic. I’m here on the orders of the Tenth Princess to save you all. The court hasn’t abandoned you, so don’t abandon yourselves.”

Taoist Baiyun went to the village’s edge and found an excellent spot in the field, burying the land-protecting talisman.

He chanted words while doing so.

He saw the talisman buried in the ground emitting wisps of spiritual energy, seeping into the earth, revitalizing the land.

In an instant, flowers bloomed, insects and birds came, and danced around.

The crops in the field took root and sprouted at a visible speed…

The growth in that moment surpassed the previous three months.

The once lifeless village became vibrant.

Someone exclaimed, “Ah, the vegetables in the field have grown!”

“They’re sprouting!”

“Wow, even the trees in our courtyard that have been dead for years are sprouting green leaves.”

“How miraculous! It must be a divine being helping us.”

An elderly person with a crippled leg excitedly stood up and walked to the fields.

Children joyfully chased butterflies in the air.

What a scene of joy.

All the villagers knelt in the fields and thanked Taoist Baiyun. “Thank you, Taoist. You’re truly a divine person.”

Taoist Baiyun hadn’t expected the Tenth Princess’s talisman to have such great power.

“I am here on the Tenth Princess’s orders. If you want to thank someone, thank the Tenth Princess.”

“The Tenth Princess? The one most favored by the Emperor?”

They had heard of a little princess born in the palace half a year ago, who was the Emperor’s favorite and even accompanied him to court.

“Yes!”

“Ah! The Tenth Princess must be our little lucky star in the Tiansheng Dynasty.”

“Thank you, Tenth Princess. This is the blessing she brought us.”

“Long live the Tenth Princess!”

“Today marks a new beginning for our village. From now on, our village will be renamed to Sunshine Village,” the village chief said.

The name of the princess had been announced to the world by the Emperor, so they naturally knew the Tenth Princess’s name.

…

In the afternoon, Ah Bao was nestled in the Concubine’s arms, sleeping soundly.

She felt warm all over, like being hugged by a big stove.

Ah Bao opened her eyes and saw the golden light flowing in her palm.

She widened her eyes in surprise.

This golden light was merit.

Its appearance made her body feel lighter and replenished some of her spiritual energy.

So comfortable.

“Princess, Your Highness, you should go to Jinlou Alley. There’s a commotion there,” Qingliu reported.

The Concubine, holding Ah Bao, walked out of the room. Changping followed, and they both exchanged a glance before taking a carriage to Jinlou Alley.

When they arrived, they heard Auntie Yun yelling from afar: “You shameless woman! Not only are you stealing men in broad daylight, but now you’re stealing money too. I bet this house was stolen as well. Return the silver!”

Xiao Liangliang, holding the child, was bewildered. It was a strange day indeed. As soon as Shangguan Ze entered the room and comforted her, saying nice things, they had just undressed and were about to proceed when Auntie Yun arrived with a stick, claiming she had chased the thief here.

Xiao Liangliang hadn’t even had time to put on her clothes and had to come out to stop the commotion.

Unexpectedly, as Auntie Yun shouted, more and more people gathered—

Princess Changping frowned. The situation was a bit off from her plan.

Originally, she had planned for Qingliu to bring people inside to break down the door and catch them in the act.

But unexpectedly, Auntie Yun had beaten her to it.

The Concubine sighed. “My former husband favored his mistress and expelled me and our child from the residence, so Auntie Yun must have a deep hatred for mistresses.”

“Everyone, come and see. Her lover is inside. Hurry and look!” Auntie Yun said with a sneer.

At that moment, Shangguan Ze was clumsily trying to climb over the wall. He ended up falling off the wall and twisting his ankle.

As people rushed in, Shangguan Ze was wincing in pain.

But he was still dragged out by the crowd.

Auntie Yun’s eyes widened in disbelief. “The Duke… the Duke? Isn’t that the Duke himself? You actually went behind Princess Changping’s back to steal women?!”

The crowd was stunned.

They never expected Xiao Liangliang’s lover to be the current Duke!

Shangguan Ze hurriedly said, “Don’t shout, don’t shout. Whatever you’ve seen today, forget it. No one is to spread it. I’ll give each of you ten taels of silver. Is that okay?”

Auntie Yun laughed. “Your silver? It’s probably the princess’s silver you’re spending, right? I remember you were once a poor scholar. Without the princess, could you have risen so high? Using your wife’s silver to keep a mistress outside, it’s simply shameless!”

“Princess Changping is here!”

“Oh, it’s really Princess Changping!”

“……”

A few villagers who had seen Princess Changping before recognized her immediately.

They quickly made way for Princess Changping and the Concubine, who exchanged glances before taking a carriage to Jinlou Alley.

When they arrived, they heard Auntie Yun shouting from a distance: “You shameless woman! Not only are you stealing men in broad daylight, but also money. I bet this house was stolen too. Return the silver!”

Xiao Liangliang, holding the child, was bewildered. It was a bizarre day. Shangguan Ze had just entered the room, comforted her with sweet words, and as they had just undressed and were about to proceed, Auntie Yun arrived with a stick, claiming she had chased the thief here.

Xiao Liangliang hadn’t even had time to dress and had to come out to stop the commotion.

Unexpectedly, as Auntie Yun shouted, more and more people gathered—

Princess Changping frowned. The situation was somewhat different from what she had planned.