Chapter 599

Hu Xiaotian pretended not to see and asked, "Where?" Actually, with Yongdu being such a huge city, how could he possibly miss it? He was clearly just feigning ignorance.

But need to keep meaning exactly. Let's produce: Hu Xiaotian turned a blind eye and said: "Where?" Actually, Yongdu is such a big city, how could he not see it? He was simply pretending to be stupid.

Make sure it's one line.

Li Jiangjun said: "Ahead!"

Hu Xiaotian apologetically said: "My eyesight is poor; I saw a dark blur and just now thought it was a small village."

Li Jiangjun thought: "Is there such a big village? You brat, this is disrespect to the Yongdu imperial capital." But he did not show his displeasure, smiling: "After entering the city, Sir Hu and your party will be lodged temporarily at Qichen Palace; afterwards, all arrangements will be made by the relevant officials, and we will part ways once we get there."

Sir Hu Qichen Palace

Hu Xiaotian was overjoyed, finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, no longer needing to be watched day and night; on the surface he pretended to be reluctant: "General Li, are you leaving? I haven't even had a chance to drink properly with you and chat a bit."

Li Jiangjun smiled lightly: "I will not leave the capital for the time being; before the princess's grand wedding, Sir Hu will stay in Yongdu for nearly a month, so I believe we will have many chances to meet."

Hu Xiaotian said: "That's wonderful; I have long regarded General Li as my friend. Hearing you are leaving leaves a void in my heart, truly a great loss."

Although Li Jiangjun appeared modest, he had never regarded this eunuch seriously; given his background, how could he befriend a eunuch? He said softly: "To avoid unnecessary trouble, the princess's arrival in Yongdu has not been publicized, and we will not hold a grand welcome ceremony for the time being; everything is for Princess Anping's safety, so I hope Sir Hu will show more understanding."

Hu Xiaotian blinked, feeling puzzled in his heart: it seems they want us to enter Yongdu silently, without even the most basic welcome ceremony. No way! Although our Princess Anping is an impostor, she is still posing as a princess; between the two states, etiquette is paramount. Not to mention the emperor and empress coming to receive her, at least someone of equal rank should come to greet her. The Seventh Prince cannot come; he has sisters, so sending any princess would do. Claiming it's for safety is just not putting our Dakang in their eyes.

We need to keep the tone. Ensure we keep all content.

But now, being on someone else's turf, Hu Xiaotian dared not act rashly; everything could only be seen and then decided. He turned his horse's head, approached the carriage of Minister of Rites Wu Jing Shan, and tapped on the window frame.

Minister of Rites Wu Jing Shan

Thus: Minister of Rites Wu Jing Shan.

Wu Jing Shan had been ill these days. Firstly, he was frightened by the death of Wen Boyuan; secondly, the early spring weather in Yongdu fluctuated between cold and warm, and he was already old and frail. He dazedly pulled open the carriage curtain and said: "Sir Hu... what... matter... achoo!" Hu Xiaotian promptly leaned back, dodging the old man's germ attack.

achoo

Wu Jing Shan apologetically said: "I'm really sorry!" He covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, only his eyes visible as he looked at Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian simply conveyed Li Jiangjun's meaning.

Wu Jing Shan sighed and said: "Under someone else's eaves, how dare we not bow our heads? Sir Hu, we have fallen to such a state—what choice do we have? The most important thing now is to see the princess safely married off." These days Wu Jing Shan hasn't had a good night's sleep. He feared that the impostor Zi Yun would be exposed, but so far nothing has given them away. This gave Wu Jing Shan hope that perhaps they could muddle through this hurdle.

Zi Yun

The two were speaking when they arrived before the imposing city gate of Yongdu. The guards at the gate had received orders and opened the side door in advance. Hu Xiaotian and Wu Jing Shan exchanged a glance. Not even allowing entry through the main gate—this is a blatant slap in the face from the Yongdu side. Not sending anyone to greet them, and now not even letting them in through the main gate—Dakang and Yongdu are both great powers, and their marriage alliance is supposed to be based on fairness; doing this is somewhat bullying.

Hu Xiaotian whispered: "Sir Wu!"

Wu Jing Shan sighed and actually lowered the carriage curtain; he was too ashamed to meet people, meaning he didn't want to get involved, pretending he hadn't seen anything.

Hu Xiaotian secretly thought, if they also swallow this anger, who knows how many insults and cold stares await them later; thus he spurred his horse to Li Jiangjun's side and said with a smile: "General Li, what is this arrangement about?"

Li Jiangjun said: "The main gate sees heavy traffic of commoners, crowded and chaotic; for safety's sake, we specially opened the side door for Princess Anping."

Hu Xiaotian said: "We appreciate General Li's good intentions, but even an ugly bride must meet her in-laws; since the princess is marrying into Yongdu and will become the Seventh Prince's consort, being stared at is inevitable. Our Princess Anping is accustomed to grand occasions—let alone this many people, even larger crowds and grander scenes, she has seen them before."

Li Jiangjun still smiled: "As I am entrusted with the important duty of escorting the princess, I dare not be the slightest bit careless; I will absolutely not allow any mistake to befall the princess on Yongdu soil."

Hu Xiaotian laughed loudly: "General Li, you still want us to take that door?" He pointed with his hand at the side door.

"Not bad!" Li Jiangjun's expression was calm as an ancient well, his gaze extremely firm, unshakable.

Hu Xiaotian waved both hands and shouted loudly: "Brothers, listen up, turn around and get out of here!"

Li Jiangjun couldn't help but frown.

Since the Yongjiang incident, Hu Xiaotian's prestige among the survivors has grown day by day; as soon as he speaks, everyone responds.

Wu Jing Shan again poked his head out of the carriage, putting on an act, and said: "What happened? What happened?"

The carriage carrying Zi Yun came to a stop, yet Zi Yun stepped down from it, dressed in splendid robes, a light veil covering her face, her lovely eyes scanning the surroundings, and she sighed softly: "Hu Xiaotian, you are really presumptuous; are you trying to make this princess turn back?"

Hu Xiaotian dismounted quickly and stepped forward, clasping his hands in salute: "Your Highness Princess, it is not that I am being presumptuous, but the Yongdu side has acted contrary to propriety, wishing to let the princess enter Yongdu through the side door; I consider this absolutely unacceptable. Since they do not regard our Dakang, looking down on Princess Anping, this marriage might as well not be mentioned."

"Presumptuous!" Zi Yun shouted sternly, a layer of severe frost covering her eyes.

Hu Xiaotian immediately drooped his head, inwardly cursing: "Damn it, I'm doing this for your face. Heads can be cut, blood can flow, but dignity cannot be lost. Zi Yun, Zi Yun, are you crazy to become a prince's consort, tolerating such humiliation? Actually, Hu Xiaotian is just putting on an act; he doesn't really want to take these people back, for if they did return, the fake princess would surely be exposed—he just wanted Zi Yun to cooperate. He didn't expect this girl to be so ungrateful, actually scolding him; she simply can't tell friend from foe."

Damn it

Zi Yun stretched out her hand; Hu Xiaotian quickly steadied her from the side. Zi Yun said: "I've been sitting in this carriage for so long, I'm really tired; let's get out and walk, little bearded one—you just support me as we walk in."

Hu Xiaotian felt delighted hearing that; after all, having grown up in the palace since childhood, this super imitation act is performed with such skill, it's practically perfected—who says she isn't a princess? Even I don't believe it.

Wu Jing Shan stumbled out of the carriage, came to Zi Yun's other side, and respectfully said: "This old minister will also accompany the princess as we enter."

Li Jiangjun, seeing this scene, couldn't help but frown; he lifted his head and glanced upward.

On the gate tower of Yongdu's southern gate stood a middle-aged man of imposing bearing, with two warriors guarding him closely; at that moment the gate commander approached that middle-aged man, bowed deeply, and said: "Your Highness Prince, the Dakang Princess Anping has arrived."

It turned out that this man was the Yongdu Great Prince Xue Daohong; his moustache twitched slightly, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "He does have some spirit."

Accompanied by Hu Xiaotian and Wu Jing Shan, Zi Yun entered through the main gate; behind her, more than thirty warriors followed eagerly, each marching into Yongdu with heads high and chests out, their hearts surging with fervor. At first many were afraid, but seeing the princess and Hu Xiaotian so fearless, each was instantly ignited with patriotic zeal—personal life and death are trivial, national honor paramount. When the crucial moment arrived, the mettle of these men had been wholly aroused.

Li Jiangjun, seeing this scene, could only wryly smile; he did not stop Hu Xiaotian's party from entering through the main gate, leading his troops to follow slowly behind them, and only after they entered Yongdu did Zi Yun, under the persuasion of Hu Xiaotian and Wu Jing Shan, remount the carriage.

Wu Jing Shan secretly let out a sigh of relief; at least they had passed this hurdle. He had thought that once they reached Yongdu the stone in his heart would finally settle, but now it seems the trouble is only just beginning.

Qichen Palace lies in the northwest of Yongdu, far from the imperial city; it was once a touring palace of the Yongdu emperor. Inside Qichen Palace is a Liusu Garden, which contains a natural geothermal hot spring. Later Qichen Palace suffered a fire, leading the Yongdu emperor to deem the place inauspicious; moreover, Yongdu abounds in geothermal sources, so he had another touring palace built elsewhere. After reconstruction, Qichen Palace was simply reserved for receiving important guests.

This history is not known to outsiders, but Qichen Palace has just been renovated; from the outside it appears with red bricks and green tiles, set amidst a lush, shady greenery, beautiful beyond compare.

Qichen Palace was originally designed by Dakang craftsmen, so its architectural style leans more toward the southern; to the Dakang envoy members, the scenery appears quite familiar. According to Yongdu's arrangements, Princess Anping resides in the inner court of Qichen Palace; the rest of the entourage are lodged outside. Hu Xiaotian, posing as a eunuch, may accompany the princess into the inner court, whereas others have no qualification to enter the inner court. In fact, after arriving here, all guard duties have been taken over by the Yongdu side.

Besides assigning soldiers to take full charge of guarding Qichen Palace, they also specially drafted four palace maids and one wet nurse from the imperial palace to serve. After the Yongjiang shipw

Third Update delivered, is Zhangyu strong enough? It's already the end of the month, your Monthly Tickets should be spent; if you have no Monthly Ticket, casting a few Recommendation Tickets will do—let Zhangyu ignite the little universe in the New Year! (To be continued~^~)