Chapter 119: A Chance Encounter

Lao Zhao has been in a bad mood lately; if the Daoist Priest jumps around too joyfully, it is easy to become an eyesore.

In Xinzhou, Qingyi Daozhang has no other peers to compete with, and having been flattered so much, it is inevitable that he has lost his original caution.

The wealthy merchants and aristocratic families coming and going recently—regardless of whether they sincerely want to invite this immortal master to hold a dharma assembly or are using it to test his true strength—have, in any case, stirred up certain thoughts in the Daoist Priest, who wants to choose an auspicious day to set up a Daoist altar and hold an Exorcism and blessing ceremony.

The Daoist temple is not yet built, but he has already started putting on airs.

Tsk.

It is just that this timing is truly inappropriate...

It is easy to walk right into the line of fire.

For now, Wen Gu does not wish for this Daoist Priest to be sacrificed.

On the way back to Jingxing Fang, he pondered finding something else for the Daoist Priest to do.

There are too many carriages coming and going in Neicheng recently, making it prone to traffic jams, so he did not take a carriage on the return trip and walked back instead.

Wen Gu also brings guards when he goes out, so there is no need to worry about being ambushed.

Just as he was thinking about these matters, a carriage came from the front.

The horse pulling the carriage was quite sturdy, and there were maidservants and attendants beside the carriage, with four guards following in the surroundings.

Under the current circumstances, even with the relaxation of ritual regulations, basically only people from large families can afford such a configuration.

Seeing the family crest on the carriage, Wen Gu roughly matched it to the information.

This is also one of the families that arrived in Xinzhou after heading north recently.

With the arrival of these large and small families, there are even more people watching Wen Gu. After all, as a new favorite in Xinzhou with an excellent political background, there have been many "chance encounters" when he goes out recently.

The carriage gradually slowed down as it approached Wen Gu.

A fair hand lifted the carriage curtain, and the young girl inside the carriage leaned out to look, her gaze landing on Wen Gu, her smile carrying three parts shyness and liveliness, clear and bright like morning dew.

Just as she was about to say something, a servant woman stepped forward quickly and whispered a few words.

The young girl's expression changed abruptly, as if the morning dew had been frozen; her smile became stiff, and the greeting she had intended to utter could only be swallowed, so she hurriedly performed a common etiquette for meeting.

Wen Gu returned the salute.

The carriage, which had slowed down, sped up and left. Although unwilling, it could only hurry to avoid him.

After the aforementioned carriage left, Wen Gu raised his eyes and looked ahead.

A more luxurious carriage was slowly approaching. More than a dozen guards in armor followed around the carriage.

The carriage body was inlaid with gemstone ornaments, and the curtains were all made of expensive silk, embroidered with flowers and pheasants, exquisite and extraordinary.

The two sturdy horses pulling the carriage had magnificent frontlets hanging on their foreheads that signified their status and rank.

This was equivalent to a luxury car with a special license plate, restricted to those of a certain status, driving on the road.

Those vehicles on the road had to avoid it from far away, for fear of scraping it. Some scrapes require money to compensate, while some scrapes cost lives.

No one of ordinary status dared to get close; one only needs to look at the empty zone that formed rapidly around it to know.

Imperial clan regulations.

In the entire Xinzhou, there is only one living person who fits this.

The carriage slowed down significantly and stopped.

Wen Gu took a step back to give way, bowing in a proper and elegant manner.

"Princess Guangning."

The most powerful members of the imperial clan were said to have already perished back when the imperial capital was in chaos.

The status of the imperial family members who have fled to various places is delicate now, and even if they are alive, they are in a state of invisibility.

This Princess, however, maintains the proper decorum in Xinzhou.

Among the imperial family members who are not only alive but also able to maintain decorum at such a time, which one is an ordinary person?

At the beginning of the chaotic times, during the process of the Zhao Family taking over Xinzhou, this Princess had contributed.

Once the Zhao Family completely controlled Xinzhou, this Princess kept a low profile, spending most of her time in her residence, tasting tea, listening to music, and keeping male favorites. She only came out for a stroll when she felt stifled.

I did not expect to run into her today.

The maid lifted the carriage curtain, and Princess Guangning, with a graceful bearing, was dressed in noble purple.

In this era, there are ranks for the noble and the base.

Ordinary people are not allowed to wear purple unless they have reached certain strata or have been granted special imperial favor.

In these chaotic times, overstepping is common, but at the same time, one must face a difficult problem: production capacity cannot keep up.

Colors, fabrics, and patterns all require a large amount of time and manpower to produce, so there are some garments one cannot wear even if one wants to. There is no stock.

Princess Guangning comes from the imperial family, and with her delicate status now, many large families in this Xinzhou City avoid her at all costs.

Princess Guangning knows this herself.

Today, she was just feeling stifled in her residence and decided on a whim to come out for a turn, not expecting to meet Wen Gu.

Thinking of her own current situation and the deliberate avoidance by others, this Ward Chief Wen, who has a bright future, should also have the same mindset.

She would not seek death by provoking someone valued by the Head of the Family of the Zhao Family. She originally intended to exchange a ritualistic greeting upon meeting, but...

Wen Gu's act of retreating instead sparked more interest in teasing him.

She sat high in the carriage, her eyes slightly lowered, her gaze landing on Wen Gu with an unmasked, innate arrogance amidst her casual demeanor.

A modest gentleman, self-restrained and observant of rituals, looking warm and sincere.

(End of chapter)