jdhmnovel Chapter 166 Princess Lian'an
Chapter 166 Princess Lian'an
Xie Yaochuan had only taken a few steps when he realized someone was following him.
With her eyebrows slightly lowered and her fingers gently stroking each other, she pretended to know nothing and went for a stroll on the street.
This small county town is located in a remote area and has taken in many refugees fleeing famine. Moreover, the area is surrounded by mountains, so it must have been quite difficult for these refugees to get here.
Xie Yaochuan suddenly noticed the fabric on the stall and picked it up with some surprise. The pattern on it was exactly the same as the pattern on the wooden box belonging to Lord Yan in the capital.
Xie Yaochuan chuckled and asked, "What kind of flower is this? I've never seen it before."
The old woman selling the flowers was seeing such a handsome man for the first time in this small town. She immediately smiled and said, "This flower is the national flower of Yulan Kingdom. It grows in the desert and is rarely seen here. I heard them call it something like 'withered face flower'."
"Withered Face? Isn't that a bit unlucky to have that name as the national flower?"
"That's for sure, otherwise how could Yulan have been destroyed?" The stall owner chuckled twice, replying to him nonchalantly.
"Is this a sign that there are people from the Jade Lan Kingdom here?" Xie Yaochuan asked with a light laugh, his attitude exceptionally sincere.
"Yulan Kingdom..." The old woman selling goods frowned deeply, thinking hard for a long time. "There were many before, but fewer and fewer later. I heard that the people of Yulan Kingdom can use this withered flower to control time. It was rumored to be very powerful before, and then a few days later, the people in this county who were said to be from Yulan Kingdom disappeared."
A warning bell rang in Xie Yaochuan's mind.
Manipulating time?
Isn't that Mu Yunshang's rebirth?
"If someone disappears, won't the authorities investigate?"
The woman selling goods suddenly fell silent, no longer speaking. After all, it involved the government, and there were certain things she could decide whether or not to say.
Xie Yaochuan shook his head helplessly, placed a piece of gold on the table, leaned forward and whispered, "I'm just gossiping a little, please keep your voice down, no one else will know."
It was already afternoon, and there weren't many people on the street. The stall owners next door had already packed up and gone home, planning to come back later. Indeed, there weren't many people around.
The woman selling gold quickly stuffed it into her sleeve and coughed lightly. "Previously, government officials went door-to-door to verify the original household registrations. I'm afraid the disappearance of those people from Yulan Kingdom is related to them."
"Do you think they'll investigate?"
"I haven't heard of any orders from the capital targeting the Jade Lan Kingdom?" Xie Yaochuan asked with some doubt, his expression extremely sincere and earnest, looking exactly like someone eager to hear gossip.
The old woman selling goods shook her head. "It has nothing to do with the capital. Here, the person in charge of local officials is Princess Lian'an. You have no idea how grand her procession was when she came here before. Everyone who saw it praised her as a goddess descending to earth."
Princess Lian'an?
He hadn't thought about the princess at all.
A name that is almost never heard of in the capital.
She became pregnant out of wedlock in the palace, which angered the late emperor so much that he randomly found a minor official in a local area to marry her off without even giving her a dowry.
They were sent out of the palace that very night, for fear of disgracing the royal family.
Princess Lian'an's mother was a courtesan favored by the late emperor in a brothel. She was the most favored woman in the harem at the time, but she passed away after giving birth to Princess Lian'an.
The late emperor had pitied this daughter for her frail health and frequent illnesses; she was the only daughter he had personally bestowed the title of princess upon. Who would have thought that she would suddenly be discovered to be pregnant at a palace banquet?
They directly arranged a marriage for her.
Logically speaking, the man she married at that time should have been a minor official of the seventh rank, so it's impossible for him to have such a grand procession.
"Who is Princess Lian'an's husband's family?" Xie Yaochuan realized the problem and quickly asked.
"Husband's family? I haven't heard that Princess Lian'an got married."
The old lady selling goods at the stall didn't seem to be faking it.
In other words, the information known to the people here and the people in the capital does not match.
"Does Princess Lian'an come here often?"
"That's rare. Princesses naturally live in their own palaces, how could they possibly come to our remote little town so often?" The stall owner shook her head.
Xie Yaochuan placed another gold ingot on the table and chuckled softly, “What you told me today, my lady, must not be mentioned to anyone else. Discussing the royal family in private is a serious crime.”
The old woman smiled and put the gold away, saying, "I understand, I understand. Don't worry."
Xie Yaochuan symbolically picked out a few more items before turning to leave.
Princess Lian'an's palace had long been razed to the ground and turned into a street. Where would she get the money to rebuild a palace?
Xie Yaochuan strolled casually through the streets, leading the little tail behind him from East Street to West Street, just like a young master who was out for a leisurely stroll.
But I managed to find out most of the details.
Princess Lian'an actually seized these cities, claiming them as her fiefdom.
A few years ago, a parade was specially organized.
He's more like a local tyrant.
Everyone here, big or small, knows her.
However, as far as he knew, this area belonged to Princess Lanyue.
It was bestowed upon her personally by the Emperor.
How did it become Princess Lian'an's?
Moreover, they said that her princess residence took three years to build and was exquisitely crafted, comparable to a small imperial palace.
She, a princess abandoned by the royal family, managed to thrive in these small towns.
I have no idea how she did it.
Whose side is Shen Zhijie on?
He had initially firmly believed that it was related to Lord Yan, but now, given Princess Lian'an's status, it was probably not that simple.
Xie Yaochuan picked up a string of candied hawthorns from a nearby stall. He had made a point of coaxing his fussy little girl to sleep before leaving home, and he wanted to buy one to comfort her.
Xie Yaochuan was carrying a string of candied hawthorns. Before he even reached the county magistrate's residence, he saw that the street where the county magistrate's residence used to be was packed with people.
Xie Yaochuan suddenly had a bad feeling and hurriedly tried to go over, but he couldn't push through so many people.
Seeing that the tail behind it hadn't caught up in time, it jumped onto the wall, ran over it, and landed.
Seeing that Xiao Yuxi was being held tightly by a girl who looked a little dirty and was only a year or two older than her, she frowned slightly.
Upon seeing her brother, Xiao Yuxi quickly reached out her hand to him, her eyes filled with tears.
The older sister has become even scarier than before.
She was sleeping soundly when she was suddenly woken up by a servant from the magistrate's mansion, who said that someone outside the mansion wanted to see her and that they were someone she knew.
She was still a little dazed after waking up when the servants of the county magistrate's mansion dressed her, tidied her up a bit, and pulled her out.
As soon as she stepped outside, her older sister rushed over and started crying, saying that she had stolen her wealth and status and ruined their whole family.
Now my mother is missing, my father has a broken leg, and my third sister is gone too.