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"What on earth happened?"

In the small kitchen of the harem, the palace maid who had always served Siao Mingxue returned furiously with a bowl of dessert in hand, "I asked you to use the finest honey dates and floral dew, what did you use? Having been pampered by the Noble Consort from a young age, what delicacies hasn’t the princess tasted?

You dare to fool her with third-rate dry date paste? "

"Oh dear, listen, sister..." the kitchen chef said helplessly, "Where are there any honey dates left? They’ve been taken by the palace maids and eunuchs long ago to exchange for money. As for the floral dew, don’t even mention it, it’s a product of Jiangnan, and all the top families are scrambling for it.

A destitute princess like her, does she even deserve such luxuries?

If I could find any, I’d trade them for money too. "

"You..." The palace maid turned pale with anger.

"I’m telling you, sister, what are you thinking?

" the chef asked, puzzled, "The edict of the Empress Dowager has already been issued, and her fate is sealed.

Do you still think she could marry into Jiangnan?

She is definitely being married off to the Southern Barbarians.

You know what kind of place that is. How many princesses from the former dynasty were married off there and met with dire fates?

Some were even cooked and eaten. Do you really want to continue following her? "

"What do you know?" the palace maid calmed her indignation and glared at her, saying, "What can you do with more money in our current situation? Don’t you know the state of Capital City now? Whether the people outside are ghosts or humans, nobody knows. If we stay in the palace, who’s to say we won’t be gone one day?

And leaving Capital City without protection—who dares to go out now? "

"So you’re really planning to go to the Southern Barbarians as a maid of honor?" the other queried with curiosity.

"Pfft, YOU go to the Southern Barbarians!

" The palace maid spat in disdain, then whispered, "What do you understand?

Why do you think it was an edict of the Empress Dowager this time, and not a direct imperial edict?

If His Majesty was so determined about the marriage alliance, why would there be a need for such secrecy? This is clearly leaving a way out!"

"Leaving a way out?"

"The King of Qin in Jiangnan, that’s not a title the Imperial Court wanted to bestow.

He took it through sheer force. Such a man—how could Jiangnan be willing to lose face over those ignorant Southern Barbarians coveting his lawful wife?

I’m telling you, something is bound to happen.

I’ve already received news... someone from Jiangnan. .. is already on his way!"

"Someone is on his way?" The chef’s eyes lit up. "For real?"

"Mm-hmm, they say he’s almost at Capital City, likely in the next couple of days. Things are about to get lively."

"Is it the King of Qin himself coming?"

"According to propriety, it should be...

" the palace maid spoke softly, "To welcome the princess back, in theory, he should indeed come in person to receive her.

But in the current state of Capital City, it might be difficult for him to come personally.

It all depends on what status our Princess holds in his heart. "

The two whispered to each other, unaware that Siao Mingxue was just outside the door.

She had come to the small kitchen simply because she was hungry. It was dark, and she did not dare wander around, but she tended to get hungry in the winter nights. She had thought to grab some pastries to stave off the hunger but did not expect to overhear the two discussing herself.

She couldn’t very well enter now. She had intended to leave, but when the conversation turned to Jiangnan, to the King of Qin, Siao Mingxue’s steps suddenly halted...

The Empress Dowager’s decree earlier that day had indeed shattered her world. At that moment, she had felt truly hopeless...

Her protective mother in the palace died tragically, and he did not come to see her. She could understand; after all, there had been serious troubles in Jiangnan at that time. But now... as she was about to face her own crisis, would he come for her?

Hearing the palace maid, there seemed to be hope for a turnaround, the edict being from the Empress Dowager. A bit of warmth returned to her once-desperate heart.

But as the other said, whether or not he would come to receive her personally would depend on her position in his heart.

Siao Mingxue could not help but smile bitterly at that.

What status did she have in his heart?

She was just someone he had met once, with whom he had an engagement. If anything important weighted in his heart, it was likely her identity as a princess.

Her mother had actually been happy to hear she was to marry a newly-crowned Imperial Scholar, thinking that such a man would have a weaker position compared to the royal family and she could therefore have a better life after marriage.

She herself hadn’t expected that scholar to be too capable.

Even if he remained a minor official in Jiangnan, that would be fine.

She had long wished to see the world outside, the picturesque scenes of Jiangnan Water Town she had heard so much about and longed for.

But now, it seemed... she might truly never have the chance.

When she heard at the beginning of the year that Chen Qing was named King of Qin, she hadn’t felt happy, but rather worried. The more capable that scholar was, the less he would value her identity as a princess. And now... aside from this princess’ identity, she had nothing impressive to offer.

In terms of beauty, the lovely consort her father gifted to Chen Qing was said to be enchantingly beautiful, and in terms of ability, it was said that Chen Qing married a girl named Chen Ying, the prized student of the Academic Commissioner Mu Hongqing, who is now the head of Jiangnan Academy—her skills must be top-notch.

What did she have?

Do I..... deserve him taking such a risk to come to the Capital City personally?

Will he..... come?

----------------------------------

"Hey, have you heard?" In some of the larger inns, young gentlemen from wealthy families had already begun to spread the news.

"The Palace has really issued a decree, they’re going to marry off the King of Qin’s betrothed to a Southern Barbarian!"

"Is that true?" One of the finely dressed youths frowned and said, "The Great Jin has been established for twenty years, always staunch and unyielding in foreign relations, never engaging in marital alliances. What’s going on this time? Marrying to Southern Barbarians? Those from the Northern Wasteland at least pretend to learn from our Central Plains customs, but as for those barbarians from the south, I’ve heard they even have cannibalistic practices.

How can they marry a Princess to such people? "

"Exactly, a Princess no less, but also marrying off someone’s legally betrothed wife, isn’t this slapping Jiangnan in the face, as well as the Royal Family’s face?"

"The Emperor isn’t the same as before....." Someone whispered in a hushed tone, "I’ve heard from my elders that ever since the death of the Duke of Song, the Emperor’s behavior has become more and more bizarre, and many say that demons are causing chaos in government."

"Shh... Don’t talk nonsense about such things!"

"Why is it nonsense?" said another worldling with flushed cheeks, "What state is the Capital City in now? What secretive dealings are those eerie Ghost Temples up to? The common folk might not know, but could your families be unaware?"

Speaking of this topic, everyone’s faces turned extremely unsightly.

The sorcerer families were all aware of the Ghost Temple quietly abducting boys and girls from other places to perform blood sacrifices, making them feel like the Royal Family had gone mad!

The act of human sacrifice, something not even dared during the last dynasty when plagued by demon chaos, had appeared only twenty years after the new dynasty′s inception, how could it not dishearten people?

"Isn’t your family also plotting a way out?" One princely heir asked another, who was drinking heavily.

"And yours isn’t?" replied the drunken noble youth with a sneer, "Which family isn’t planning an exit strategy? The Chen Family of the Southern Sea had already begun to secretly recruit, which of your families hasn’t made private contacts?"

Everyone fell silent. The situation in the Capital City was ominous, and with the transmission of the Nanhai Dragon Palace’s heritage, even many magician families were tempted, let alone the aristocratic families of pure lineage.

"This is also a good thing, that heritage from the Southern Sea..."

"What’s it to us?" the drunken noble youth interrupted with a cold laugh, "Do you think, once we’re over there, that such treasures would be our turn to grab?"

Everyone: "...."

"Heh..." The princely heir stood, poured himself another drink, and scoffed, "When the Duke of Song stepped forward and established the Yin Yang Academy, recruiting talents on merit, that gave us, whose gifts are less remarkable, a chance to learn again. But once we’re in the Southern Sea, do you think there will be a second Duke of Song to do all that? "

For a moment, the others were lost for words. The founding of the Yin Yang Academy enabled the lesser Magician Families, those who were not exceptionally gifted, a chance to learn and access resources. Though still unable to compare with the top talents, at least they had a path to advancement.

But once moving to the Southern Sea, if there’s no public investment in an academy like the Yin Yang Academy, given the limited resources each family could obtain, these relatively mediocre youths might not even see a glimmer of hope.

"I have already applied to the Jiangnan Academy," the drinking youth raged, "I had a very good chance, my talent for arithmetic wasn’t bad in my family, and with a year of intense preparation, I was certain I would qualify. But what did the Imperial Court do? What did that mad Royal Family do?"

"This brainless act of insulting Jiangnan—three days ago, I received a reply that the Jiangnan Academy is temporarily halting admission of youths from the Capital City!"

"You received the message too?" Another youth stood up with a wry smile, "I felt the same.

I wanted to see Jiangnan for myself, and while I might not make it to the Southern Sea, at least I would have a relatively safe fallback.

I never expected the Royal Family to pull such a move, cutting off the paths for our offspring! "

"But I just heard... people from Jiangnan are already on their way!"

The previously boisterous scholar suddenly sobered up, his eyes lighting up as he leaned over the table, "Is that true, Brother Du?"

The Du Family had three students in Jiangnan and was often the most informed regarding news from there.

"Mm, that’s what my cousin wrote to me. It seems..." The young man surnamed Du lowered his voice, "Chen Qing... He’s come himself!"