Chapter 376: Northern Border Princess

【Previous chapter revised 4000 characters.】

Secluded Prefecture troops preparing for the parade were training vigorously; the people brought back by the Marquis of Eastern Capital were also thrown in to train together; the Great King went to inspect every day.

Having learned from the previous experience, he was now very confident.

His role was to come over, point out flaws, give them a beating, then saunter back to practice his own sword; after sword practice, it was just pure play.

The Great King had already turned the end-of-month event into a holiday; with only two days left, he completely relaxed and began to rest, even tossing the newspaper to Xie Tu.

Xie Tu worked in his stead at the newspaper office; the Great King caught cranes in the garden.

He ran to a place very close to the rear palace, heard the palace attendants report that the Fifth Princess was in the pavilion ahead, and the Great King threw down his stick, unilaterally declaring victory.

"We'll stop here for today; if you eat any more brocade carp, I'll pluck you all bald!"

"Ga!"

He ran to the cool pavilion; the Fifth Princess was indeed there, quietly sewing clothes—quite a cozy scene—but the Great King felt it shouldn't be like that.

He leaned over and rested his elbows on the stone table, "Sister, are you happy?"

Seeing him, the Fifth Princess immediately rose, poured him a cup of tea, and handed him a clean handkerchief, "Why are you asking like that? Are you happy?"

"You spend all day with your aunt in your room, either tailoring clothes or practicing calligraphy and painting; now the climate in the Northern Border is at its most comfortable—why don't you go out and play?" The Great King, projecting his own feelings, thought his sister's days were extremely boring, clearly she had the freedom to go out and enjoy herself.

When she grows up and marries, there will be more restrictions. Seeing Liang Bin's grandmother, so old yet still managing household affairs, worrying about her children and grandchildren.

"I'm not playing in the garden?"

The Great King sighed, "Do you call this playing? It's just sewing clothes in a different place. Look, this is also made for me—you two have finished all the work in the weaving room, and I can't wear out all my clothes! Aunt, are you sewing in the room?"

Fifth Princess: ……

Indeed.

"I'll give you that ticket to Spring River Flower Moon Night; take your aunt out for a stroll! This is our own turf, no safety issues. I've said it before: you can wander freely in Secluded Prefecture City, and even if you go out of the city with more people, there's no problem."

"Spring River Flower Moon Night is lots of fun; you won't even see the song and dance halls there!"

The Fifth Princess hesitated: "But I'm a princess of Great Jin—how can I just go out like that…" A Great Jin princess's first outing is to get married.

She followed the Great King to the Northern Border; compared to being confined in the inner palace until adulthood before marriage, she is much happier. In her brother's fief, no one presses down on her and her aunt anymore, and she can live together with her brother. The Fifth Princess is already quite satisfied. She plans to spend her life relying on the prince's mansion, never marrying, always living with her brother and aunt.

The Great King exclaimed in frustration, "What Great Jin princess?! Your brother is now a rebel king—you're at most a Northern Border princess. I call the shots in the Northern Border; the rule there is that princesses can go out and play every day!"

The Fifth Princess was successfully amused by him: "Fine. What can a girl like me go out and play? This garden of ours is so nice—just strolling around here is already interesting."

Only then did the Great King realize his sister was still a stubborn person.

"It's lively out there—bustling streets, endless streams of peddlers and passersby, enjoyable performances, delicious food—all different from the pleasures of the prince's mansion."

The Great King found his sister pitiable, like looking at someone who has never eaten fine grain.

Don't be fooled by the Fifth Princess's cheerful, open demeanor—she would hesitatelessly follow Zhu Ti to Youzhou. Yet having been raised in the palace as a princess for over a decade, her heart has not yet broken free from the constraints of the Chang'an Imperial Palace.

"From the moment I set out from Chang'an to my fief, I felt as happy as if I'd been released from prison! What's wrong with you—you've been let out, yet you won't even push open the prison door?"

Fifth Princess: ……

"Didn't you hear that Youzhou is poor? Were you scared to tears?"

The Great King flared up: "Is that what Wei Shen said? I'll go settle it with him!"

The Great King stood up, then quickly sat down again: "Don't change the subject! I still think that if you'd seen the outside world and didn't like it, you could return to the garden to keep living—but you haven't seen it."

"What if you do like it? How could anyone not like the lively atmosphere?" The Great King was puzzled.

"The Xie Family has brought over several young ladies; you can get to know them and invite the ones you click with to hang out!"

"Like this: tidy up, and tonight I'll take you and your aunt out for a stroll. The parade is coming up soon—there are more people in Secluded Prefecture City than before, and lots of folks have come to see the spectacle; I'll take you out to join the fun."

The Great King was eager, and the Fifth Princess had no choice but to comply.

She stood up, turned around once, and asked, "Is this outfit not okay?"

The Great King took in her goose-yellow palace attire, then looked at her face: "If you don't have Zhu Ti's mental fortitude, anyone who glances at you will make you withdraw instantly—better to first switch into male clothing to get used to it."

"Where would I find suitable male clothing?"

"You've made more than ten sets of clothes for me—pick one to wear!" Neither of them is stupid; they know the Great King is still growing, so his clothes keep getting bigger.

They agreed; the Great King was quite excited, and the experience of going out to play with his sister was still novel—"I'll go call my older cousin to come as a muscle!"

The Great King found Wei Shen, drenched in sweat at the Northern Great Camp, bounced over and coaxed: "Older cousin, you must be tired—take a break! Let's make plans with some young ladies to go out and play, okay?"

Wei Shen looked at the Great King with newfound respect: "Wei Taiping, you're awesome!"

He eagerly asked: "Which family's young lady?"

The Great King burst out laughing: "Your Highness, Fifth Princess!"

"Farewell!"

"What's fun about going out with my sister? Hua Xiangrong? Luofu Tower? You're just trying to scam me—I'm not going."

The Great King couldn't let him just say farewell and leave: "Isn't your sister a young lady too? You go out with other young ladies to those same places—why treat them differently?"

"You're not going, right? Then I'll go tell the aunt…" Xiong Dawang turned to run, but Wei Shen immediately grabbed him.

The Great King felt triumphant and hurried back to change clothes.

The Great King felt triumphant and hurried back to change clothes.

In the end, only the three of them went; Wei Zhaoyi said she wouldn't come no matter what—any one would do—but the Great King thought to first let his sister take this step.

Oh, it wasn't just those three—there was also Xiong and Zhetian, who clung on stubbornly.

"You two keep your distance from me; on the street we'll pretend we don't know each other, just strangers—got it?"

Weini shouldered Zhetian; the two of them, one nodding, the other shaking his head.

Upon realizing they were different, they immediately switched: Zhetian shook his head, Xiong nodded…

Wei Shen: "Tsk tsk!"

The Fifth Princess was the first to be amused, "If they're willing to play with me, we could just play in the prince's mansion."

Dawang would love that, but too bad those two troublemakers are really hard to deal with now.

Wu Gongzhu dressed in male attire, wearing an outfit made for Dawang, a pale blue one that all the more set off her red lips, white teeth, clear eyebrows, and beautiful eyes.

You say she doesn't look like a boy, but Dawang's little face is no slouch either; standing together they're quite intimidating. The two of them in male dress look about fifty percent alike, and they also resemble Wei Shen a bit, really giving off the vibe of a brotherly family.

The three left Nanhua Gate and headed straight for Zhuque Avenue, Dawang shouting that Youzhou was very safe, but once out he couldn't help urging his sister to be sure to notify Zhao Bao to bring enough people when she went out.

"Youzhou City is now under tight control, security is decent, but older sister, you can't let your guard down; you must never be without caution toward people."

"I know."

"Youzhou is our own turf; if anyone dares to provoke you, just go ahead and fight back!"

Before Wu Gongzhu could answer, Wei Shen interjected: "No matter how big a trouble my sister stirs up in Youzhou City, Dawang can handle it! Just rest easy! It's not because this is his fief, but because he is the biggest tyrant in the northern borders!" Compared to that, anything else is nothing.

Dawang: "... Actually there's no need to say more."

Wei Shen: "It's not that I'm afraid my sister will be helpless when something happens!"

Dawang: ……

Before the sky had darkened, Zhuque Avenue was already teeming with pedestrians.

As the parade time approached, the people of Youzhou seemed to have truly increased; when they merged into the flow, they found that the number of small vendors selling goods had also grown.

All kinds of snacks, handmade trinkets, even acrobatic performances—could be heard from afar with the sound of cheering.

Wu Gongzhu stared, eyes wide; she had never seen such liveliness since birth. Dawang gave her advice: "Just head for the spot with the loudest noise—loud sound definitely means the best performance!"

While he was imparting that advice, Dawang spotted a candied hawthorn vendor and immediately pulled Wu Gongzhu over to squeeze through.

"Three skewers! It's rare that you can keep them this long—I want to pick the reddest ones!"

Wei Shen passed over the silver, and Dawang circled the candied hawthorn stack to see which was redder. Just half a turn in, he felt someone tugging at his robe, and he jerked, saying, "What's up? Don't I get to pick?"

He turned around to see that the one pulling his robe wasn't the candied hawthorn seller at all… but… a passing bear.

Dawang: "Eh, whose bear came running out?"

Wei Shen and Wu Gongzhu just stood aside watching him perform.

The vendor then explained to him, "On Zhuque Avenue we often see bears wandering about; I heard that because the Northern Border Prince raised one, some people have taken to keeping bears. Young master, don't be afraid—this, this one is just unusually big…" The vendor told Dawang not to be afraid, but Winnie really was sizable; approaching close gave a fierce beast's pressure, and his shoulder bore an eagle—something border folk know can snatch a child! So the vendor's voice dwindled as he shrank back, seeming ready to abandon his stall and flee.

Dawang quickly interjected, "Ah, that's how it is. This young master finds it cute and lovable, surely it won't bite—thanks for reassuring me. Then give me five skewers; I'll treat the two little cuties to candied hawthorn."

Wei Shen stifled a laugh, "Little cuties?"

"Back home we don't get this treatment!"

Dawang couldn't stand those looks, leading the group straight to the Chief Steward's newly opened kebab shop; he had to shake off those two troublemakers. The solution was simple—just send them a plate of grilled meat at the shop and it would be settled.

Dawang told the keeper a word and tossed the bear and eagle into a private room, while Wu Gongzhu kept looking back, uneasy.

"Winnie is so honest—really won't be kidnapped by anyone?"

Wei Shen comforted his cousin: "No way. If anyone abducted him, within three days they'd be eating him out of house and home, regretting it to the point of green intestines, then hurriedly send him back."

Dawang: "... You saying that makes me look like a sucker."

The two older ones were laughing their heads off in the street, while only Dawang's unwilling world was realized.

Dawang first took his sister to Huaxiangrong to browse; she had many cosmetics, but picking them herself felt different. Wu Gongzhu chose two items, and Dawang and Wei Shen scrambled to pay, nearly coming to blows—the emotional value was maxed out.

Leaving Huaxiangrong, they merged back into the crowd; a few people across the way who were buying grilled fish followed along and squeezed out together.

Among them, two burly men, squeezed together by the crowd, quickly exchanged: "Are we sure this is our target?"

"That bear following them is definitely not mistaken. They say keeping bears is trendy in the northern borders, but how many can actually raise one?"

"It doesn't match the portrait."

"That portrait is from when he was eight."

"There are two short ones— which is him?"

"Probably the shorter one—the one in blue clothes is clearly a girl. They don't have many people with them; should we seize the chance to finish off their lives? Who knows how long we'll have to wait for another opportunity like this?"

"No way! He's no pushover."

Those two, all the while moving with the throng, would huddle together and whisper whenever squeezed, appearing utterly natural—except a flicker of murderous intent leaked through their words.

Ling Yin, trailing behind Dawang's trio, sensed something and glanced back—those few had already swiftly dispersed and melted into the crowd.

★

……

The three watched more acrobatics, then when Dawang got hungry they all rushed to Chunjiang Huayueye. While waiting for the dishes, Dawang gabbed on about all the fun to be had in Youzhou to his sister.

He talked about his ranch, which had the most small animals in Youzhou.

He spoke of his farm in the northern suburbs; once the parade duties were over in a couple days, he could take her to pull weeds.

He mentioned his manor outside the city, where the palace's vegetables all come from, and the soil of its vegetable plots is red enough to turn black.

"In short, there are many places outside one can go; older sister, you should see more of the outside world so your trip isn't wasted."

Wu Gongzhu's eyes sparkled; her mind had already flown to the outside dancers, nodding nonstop. Wei Shen thought Dawang was wasting his breath—obviously in one ear and out the other.

When Dawang paused slightly, Wu Gongzhu eagerly grabbed his arm: "Younger brother, their dance costumes are really beautiful! Where can one buy this fabric? If tailored into a summer outfit it would surely be cool and refreshing—that blue is lovely and sheer; you could also have a set made for yourself!"

The Great King helplessly: "——Again you've come to your area of expertise, huh?" Wei Shen burst out laughing.

With such a wonderful performance, is anyone only paying attention to whether the clothes look good?

I'm afraid his sister will ruin her eyes from sewing clothes every day, only to discover that the new continent she finds is still just about clothes.

"Call Zhu Ti over; let her explain this to you—I don't understand fabrics."

This at least… can barely be called a hobby. The Great King thinks his sister could learn something about clothing design, etc.; she doesn't have to do the sewing herself every day, and there's quite a bit to learn in this field.

The flying celestial dance and the Hu Xuan dance are so beautiful and shocking that they make people unconsciously admire, follow, and imitate them. Zhu Ti says that the sales of the fine red, yellow, and blue fabrics at the cloth shop have risen in a straight line, and the extravagant, intricate gold ornaments that are the signature of Luofu Pavilion have also sold a few pieces.

The textile technology of the Great Jin is limited; the Great King's own weaving workshop can currently only imitate basic linen and cotton fabrics, and expanding production will have to wait until this year's northwest and Western Regions produce a large amount of cotton. Nowadays, most of the fabric sold in Youzhou is imported goods; there are still plenty of novel fabrics, and the Chief Steward, under the guise of overseas imported goods, sells them at a high price.