Ever since the day the little cutie got a bag of jerky from Guo Sheng, it has remembered him. Whenever it gets off the bus for a walk, it runs to his feet.
Guo Sheng was initially a little impatient and even pretended to be fierce to drive it away, but it was just a pretense.
After all, this is Yao Youqing's dog, and Yao Youqing is someone their prince cares about. If he really does something to this dog, it's the same as offending their prince.
Compared to the dog traffickers like Cui Hao and Wei Hong who tricked the dog into being locked up with dried meat, this bluffing ferocity obviously couldn't scare the little cutie.
After testing the waters a few times and discovering that Guo Sheng wasn't really going to attack it, it grew bolder and became impossible to scare away.
Over time, Guo Sheng started feeding it occasionally, and just now he even poured some wine from his water pouch into his palm for it to drink.
The water pouch was his own, and he even drank a few sips himself before feeding the little darling. The servants naturally didn't worry about it being poisoned, so they didn't pay any attention to it. Who knew that it was filled with wine?
When Guo Sheng heard Li Dou say that Xiao Ke'ai had drunk alcohol, his heart skipped a beat. He instinctively tried to hide behind him, but before he could, the maid pointed him out, and everyone's eyes immediately fell on him.
He scratched his head: "I just filled it with ordinary liquor, very weak, you can't even taste the alcohol."
These soldiers would carry some wine with them in winter to keep warm. Since it was only late autumn and the weather wasn't particularly cold yet, he didn't want to bring his own good wine, otherwise he wouldn't have been willing to feed it to the little cutie.
But for the little cutie, this wine was different from water. After drinking it, she staggered into the woods, lost all sense of direction, and fell headfirst into a trap, passing out.
Wei Hong glared at Guo Sheng, ignored him, and led Yao Youqing back.
Guo Sheng stood there dejectedly, feeling that he had been particularly unlucky lately.
Cui Hao patted him on the shoulder and said, "Just be more careful next time. Let's go."
Guo Sheng frowned, twisted his shoulder, and shoved him away.
"Leave me alone! You big liar!"
After saying that, he strode away with a stern face.
Cui Hao shook his head and chuckled from behind, then followed.
...
When the carriage entered Cangcheng, it was the busiest time of day on the street. Yao Youqing, sitting in the carriage, heard the cacophony of voices outside, mixed with some words she couldn't understand at all.
She was curious and wanted to lift the carriage curtain to take a look, but then felt it was inappropriate in the bustling city.
Although Wei Hong often lifted the carriage curtain to let her see the scenery when they traveled in the suburbs these days, this place was different from other places due to the constant flow of people. Moreover, she had come here as the Princess Consort of Qin, and she was afraid of embarrassing Wei Hong.
Seeing that she was listening intently to the sounds outside, Wei Hong knew she was interested. He smiled, lifted the curtain, and instructed the servants outside to buy him some things. Then he hung the curtain aside and never lowered it again.
Yao Youqing realized he was making up an excuse for himself and whispered, "Thank you, Your Highness."
Wei Hong smiled and leaned closer to her, whispering in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Thank me properly tonight."
One sentence made Yao Youqing blush again, and he chuckled and sat back down.
He used to be so angry and speechless at Yao Youqing's unintentional remarks that he was always speechless, but he couldn't do anything about it.
Because she didn't care whether he ignored her or got angry with her.
Despite her seemingly delicate and fragile appearance, she also appeared to be made of steel and invulnerable, always making him grit his teeth in anger.
Later he discovered that although she didn't care about other things, she was particularly shy in this regard because she was young and had no experience with relationships between men and women. Even saying something ambiguous could make her blush and not know what to do.
If he kisses and hugs her more, she will blush and feel hot, and will only timidly shrink into his arms and beg him not to.
On the way, he would listen to her pleas, but now that they had entered Cangcheng and settled into this mansion, it was no longer effective to beg for mercy.
Yao Youqing's previously strong curiosity diminished somewhat because of his words, and she became a little restless in the car. But soon she was once again attracted by the people and scenery on the street.
As Wei Hong said, Cangcheng was a well-connected city, linking several important passes, making it a popular gathering place for merchants. There were many merchants coming and going, and countless people entered and left the city every day.
In the past, when the border was in chaos, this place was more prosperous than other places. Now, under Wei Hong's rule, Shangchuan has been peaceful for a long time, and any enemy troops that occasionally rebelled were quickly suppressed. Therefore, even more people came here to do business, including some foreigners.
Yao Youqing looked curiously at the foreigners, some with fair skin, blond hair and blue eyes, others with braided hair, broad foreheads and high noses, listening to them speak in a language she couldn't understand at all. Her eyes were wide with surprise, like two grapes that had just been washed and were still glistening with moisture.
"Your Highness, are there really this many foreigners in Cangcheng every day?"
She had seen people like this before, but rarely; this was the first time she had ever seen someone like this so frequently on the street.
Wei Hong nodded: "The reason why Cangcheng is called Cangcheng is because it means full of grain and granaries. The reason why the granaries here are full is not because of the rice and grain produced by the people, but because of the prosperous trade. The taxes paid by the merchants alone are countless."
"The reason I often come here to oversee things after I came to Shangchuan is because I don't want this prosperous place to be affected by war."
"You know, the money brought by this city could feed countless people in Liang."
Of course, it doesn't really depend on just this one city; the stability of the surrounding area and the smooth flow of official roads are also indispensable.
All of these factors combined to create this city and Shangchuan's granaries, enabling him to be self-sufficient when the imperial court deliberately delayed and withheld military pay, and to have peace of mind when natural disasters or man-made calamities occurred elsewhere.
Although Cangcheng didn't support the entire Shangchuan or Shuozhou, it was undoubtedly an important source of his money.
Yao Youqing nodded and murmured, "My father used to tell me that the world is very big and every place is different. I had never seen it with my own eyes at that time, so I didn't know what the differences were. Later, when I came to Hu City and then Cang City, I realized what the differences meant."
Even though they are all bustling towns, the kind of bustling they are is not the same.
The prosperity of the capital city was a natural development that occurred after the founding emperor of the previous dynasty established his capital there. It was a symbol of the imperial family and a gathering place for the powerful and wealthy.
The prosperity of Hucheng is a prosperity where people live and work in peace and contentment, full of the warmth of everyday life, making it more approachable and giving people a sense of security.
Cangcheng, on the other hand, is a bustling metropolis that embraces all things and is refreshing, as if one has entered a new world and seen a new realm.
"This place is so nice..."
She said with a smile, and then added at the end, "Your Highness is really amazing."
Wei Hong chuckled softly upon hearing this, his eyes softening, and he reached out to stroke the top of her head.
Nothing is more gratifying than having one's achievements recognized, especially when it is a genuine and unforced recognition.
Those in the court only saw that he had seized power and occupied this prosperous place, but they couldn't see how much effort he had put in behind the scenes.
Although Shangchuan was not exactly barren back then, it was not as prosperous as it is now. Otherwise, they would not have agreed so readily when Emperor Gaozong wanted to grant it to them as a fief.
Now he has devoted himself to making this place prosperous and peaceful, with strong border troops and no foreign enemies daring to invade, and the people living a stable and wealthy life, no longer having to worry about being robbed at any time. But all of this has become his original sin, the root of his unforgivable evil.
Is it wrong to do well? Is it wrong to be too outstanding?
Why don't they blame the person sitting in the palace for being too incompetent, which prevented Shangchuan from becoming what it is today?
Wei Hong wanted to pull Yao Youqing into his arms and kiss her, but he couldn't bear to lower the carriage curtain and disturb her mood, so he gave up. However, his gaze remained fixed on her face and never looked away.
...
After a while, the carriage arrived at his residence in Cangcheng.
As he had said, the courtyard was not very large, and it was far from comparable to the Prince's Mansion in Hucheng.
Yao Youqing originally thought this place would be like the old Prince's Mansion, bare and empty, but she found that it was not like that after entering.
This residence must have been recently renovated; everything looks brand new, especially the garden, which is exactly the same as the garden in the Prince's mansion, only smaller.
The garden in the Prince's Mansion was remodeled by Yao Youqing according to the design of her own garden. It was larger than the real Yao family garden, and in comparison, the current garden was more similar.
"I saw that you renovated the garden of the Prince's Mansion quite well, so I had someone renovate this area in the same way."
Wei Hong said from the side, slightly raising his chin, as if he just thought the garden was beautiful and hadn't specifically changed it for her.
Yao Youqing nodded, her eyes gradually curving upwards. She gently tugged at his sleeve with her index finger and thumb, her voice soft and delicate, like a feather brushing against his heart: "Thank you, Your Highness."
Chapter 49 Fear (Added 1000 words)
Ding Shou led his men to carry Yao Youqing's belongings into the inner courtyard, where they naturally saw the garden. He couldn't help but recall what Yao Yuzhi had said to him in the capital.
The master said that the prince was deliberately trying to please the princess, hoping to abandon her after she fell in love with him, thus causing her heartbreak.
When he returned, he told Zhou's mother what he had said. Zhou's mother just smiled and told him it was impossible.
He asked why, and she said he would understand once he looked at it more closely.
Now, looking at the garden, Ding Shou felt that what Zhou Mama said made sense, and that the master was probably overthinking things.
Otherwise, if it were really as he said, wouldn't the prince be taking the role too seriously?
...
As Yao Youqing and her group walked slowly along the road, most of the things she brought from Hucheng had already been sent to Cangcheng in advance. Only the things she needed for the journey were left behind and were just carried in by Ding Shou and his men.
So when she entered the main courtyard, it was already furnished, much like her room in the Prince's Mansion, just like her boudoir in the Yao family.
She sat in the room watching as Zhou's mother had all the things she needed for the journey brought out and arranged one by one, a faint smile curving her lips.
The reason why the Wangfu Garden was changed to resemble the Yaofu Garden was because she was new to the area and felt uneasy. She wanted to stay in a familiar environment so that she would feel more at ease.
However, as she spent more time in Shangchuan, her unease gradually disappeared. In fact, the prince didn't need to decorate this place like a royal palace.
She has lived in the Yao family since birth, and now she has married into Shangchuan. She has moved to three different houses, but they all look the same. It's kind of funny to think about it.
But in any case, the prince did this to make her feel better, and it's always nice to feel cared for, so she was still very happy.
Under Zhou Mama's instructions, the servants quickly put the things away and left, leaving only Yao Youqing and Wei Hong in the room.
Wei Hong got up and went to the washroom. When he came out, he said to Yao Youqing, "You must be tired from walking all the way. The servants have boiled some hot water. Go take a soak to relax."
It was just an ordinary sentence, but Yao Youqing felt a lump in her throat upon hearing it.
It wasn't that she was overthinking things; it was just that Wei Hong had been saying ambiguous things on the road these past few days to tease her. Some things that were perfectly normal came out of his mouth with a different tone, and coupled with his large hands that would wander all over her body, they made her blush with embarrassment.
"I...I'm not tired, Your Highness..."
Before she could finish speaking, Wei Hong pulled her up and hugged her, whispering in her ear, "Go and see, you'll definitely like it."
like?
What do you like?
Is there any difference between this washroom and the one in the Prince's mansion?
Yao Youqing was puzzled, but he pulled her inside.
There was no bath tub in the clean room, only a small pool filled with water. Petals floated on the water, and steam rose from between the petals, creating a scene resembling a fairyland.
On the inner wall of one side of the pool are two fist-sized animal heads, suspended above the water with their mouths open and empty.
On the other side, a rope hangs over the pool, allowing anyone lying in the pool to reach it with a simple reach.
Wei Hong walked to the side where the rope was hanging, pulled it, and hot water immediately spewed out of the mouth of the beast head on the other side, pouring into the pool.
He pulled again, and the hot water gradually stopped flowing out.