The capital, East Market intersection.
"Imperial Sister, what is this?"
"It tastes sweet and sour, and it crunches like ice when you bite into it."
Princess Princess Yuan An held an ice-sugar gourd in each hand, her small eyes wide open, chewing continuously with a crunching sound.
"This is called an ice-sugar gourd. Isn't it delicious?"
Princess Ankang replied with a hint of pride.
She had previously declined Princess Princess Yuan An's invitation to go to the Wannian County Government Office with her.
It wasn't that she didn't want to play with Princess Princess Yuan An anymore, but rather that she just didn't want to investigate a case.
Princess Ankang had already discussed it with Li Xuan and Yuer yesterday.
They would let this competition be, not striving for first place.
Li Xuan and Yuer tacitly agreed with Princess Ankang's choice.
It wasn't a good thing for Princess Ankang's score to remain so far ahead.
Especially as the end of the year drew closer, this became even more true.
The Three Little Ones had set the tone for this outing from the palace: fun first, investigation second.
It would be best if they could solve the case, but it wouldn't matter if they couldn't.
Anyway, they were already very satisfied with the opportunity to go out and play.
Li Xuan felt even more that his wishes had come true.
After he had previously left the palace, he had wished for an opportunity to go out and play with Princess Ankang and Yuer in the future.
As it turned out, the location for this month's Imperial Garden competition was set outside the palace.
With such an opportunity, Li Xuan also wanted to temporarily cast aside all the worries and simply spend a few happy days playing with the two girls.
However, he never expected that Princess Princess Yuan An would also join them as a companion on this trip.
At first, Princess Princess Yuan An was indeed a bit reserved, always inexplicably looking at Princess Ankang and Li Xuan for cues.
But as they arrived at the East Market, which was very close to Xingqing Palace, and saw the dazzling array of new things, Princess Princess Yuan An also became excited and completely let loose.
The capital had East and West Markets, which were the two busiest places in the capital during the day.
The East Market was the bustling and entertainment hub of the capital, containing various restaurants, shops, inns, entertainment venues, and pleasure facilities.
The East Market gathered a large amount of wealth; it could be said that more than half of Great Xing's gold and silver flowed through here at some point.
And because of this, it could provide all sorts of services, attracting many people with its material and spiritual offerings.
The East Market was not merely a red-light district in the simple sense; it could provide all the services you could imagine and couldn't imagine.
Looking around, various brothels, gambling houses, and other entertainment venues were all available.
And this was only on the surface; what kind of shops existed in the deeper alleys was truly unimaginable.
Princess Ankang and Princess Princess Yuan An were accompanied by many people when they went out.
But the closest ones were only Yuer, and a eunuch and a palace maid from Princess Princess Yuan An's side.
They had all changed their attire; although their clothes were still extraordinary, they were no longer so conspicuous when mixed in with the crowd.
The capital was never short of various wealthy people.
Although the entire East Market was extremely lively during the day, there were quite a few people whose clothing was similar to that of Princess Ankang and her group.
Yuer pushed the wheelchair, and Princess Ankang held Li Xuan, strolling through the East Market.
Li Xuan was also seeing this liveliness for the first time; his big eyes didn't blink once as he curiously looked around non-stop.
And his adorable appearance also attracted the attention of passersby, making their group even more noticeable.
This was because many Flower-Clothed Eunuchs from the Internal Affairs Bureau were protecting them nearby, and although they all pretended to be passersby, the subtly formed protective circle was still very conspicuous.
This was unavoidable; after all, two princesses were out, and if anything went wrong, no one could bear the responsibility.
Moreover, the people making a living in the East Market also noticed that there were an unusually high number of patrolling officers today, and they were also exceptionally diligent, which led everyone to speculate what had happened.
When they saw two noble young ladies with extraordinary temperaments playing with their servants, many people understood.
They knew that the difference today was due to the outing of young ladies from some high-ranking official's family.
The street vendors making a living here had incredibly sharp eyes; a quick glance was enough to figure out most of it.
After realizing the extraordinary identities of Princess Ankang and Princess Princess Yuan An, the street vendors were all well-behaved and didn't dare to overly hawk their goods, merely greeting them with smiles.
Occasionally, a few bolder ones would step forward to promote their products, but they would always stop short, not daring to annoy the two young ladies.
Princess Ankang and Princess Princess Yuan An hadn't noticed that they had already become the giant pandas of the East Market intersection, being secretly watched by people.
Li Xuan, however, noticed these anomalies but didn't pay much attention.
As long as Princess Ankang was having fun, it was fine; these vendors were sensible, which also prevented any unpleasant incidents from occurring.
However, just because the vendors were sensible didn't mean everyone would be.
They were happily enjoying street snacks when an impolite voice suddenly rang out.
"Hey, what are you guys blocking the road for? Get out of the way for this young master!"
"A few men walking so slowly, truly damn dilly-dallying!"
At this moment, Princess Ankang and Princess Princess Yuan An were stopped in front of a vendor's stall.
The vendor here was selling steamed milk curd with sugar.
Steamed milk curd with sugar was a dairy product made from cow and goat milk, adorned with red, white, purple, and green fruits, making it colorful and appealing.
The vendor had previously shouted, "Steamed milk curd with sugar, delicate and sweet in the mouth, nourishes the lungs and spleen, and moisturizes the skin!"
This immediately caught the attention of the two princesses. At this moment, the bowls of steamed milk curd with sugar they had ordered had just been prepared and served. Yuer and the eunuch and palace maid accompanying Princess Princess Yuan An had all tasted a bit, found it harmless, and were about to dig in when the troublemaker's voice rang out.
Their group was currently seated at the tables and chairs set up by the vendor, so the Flower-Clothed Eunuchs responsible for secret protection also stopped nearby.
Although there were quite a few of them, they certainly weren't blocking the road; they were just protecting the area near the steamed milk curd with sugar stall.
However, the East Market was already lively, and the road was packed with people, shoulder to shoulder everywhere.
If they were blocking the way, they would indeed be in the wrong.
But the young master who shouted was riding a tall horse, followed by a team of bodyguards.
Riding a horse on such a crowded road, that certainly was blocking the way.
However, passersby had previously seen him and avoided him, but when he encountered the Flower-Clothed Eunuchs who wouldn't budge an inch, it directly made this young master furious.
Hearing the young master's impolite words, the two princesses also frowned and turned to look at him.
They saw that this young master was plump and looked like a second-generation rich kid, but his mind clearly wasn't sharp.
The posture of the two princesses' side was clearly extraordinary, yet he still dared to pick a fight.
Moreover, any family with a name and reputation had probably already issued notices to their unruly scions these past few days, telling them to keep a low profile on the streets.
In their daily lives, no one would bother them no matter how unruly they were.
But if they offended a member of the Imperial family, they might even implicate their family in misfortune.
Li Xuan, nestled in Princess Ankang's arms, licked the bowl of steamed milk curd with sugar in front of him, knowing with his tail that this was a useless scion.
Seeing the Flower-Clothed Eunuchs standing still and not speaking, the scion on the tall horse thought he had intimidated them, and swung his horsewhip at them.
"Blind dog, hurry up and get out of the way for this young master!"
The horsewhip swished, leaving an afterimage.
Clearly, this scion had some skill with his hands.
But he happened to encounter the Flower-Clothed Eunuchs of The Great Within.
The afterimage of the horsewhip immediately stopped, firmly caught in the hand of a Flower-Clothed Eunuch.
The scion pulled back a few times, but his face turned beet red, and he still couldn't pull his horsewhip back.
"Let go! If you don't let go, I'll kill you!"
The fat scion began to rage impotently, his entire body turning red with anger.
He was about to curse more when a middle-aged man darted out from among his bodyguards, grabbed the scion's hand, and advised:
"Fourth Young Master, you have an appointment to keep!"
"Don't waste time here. They're just a few ignorant villagers relying on brute strength."
"Fourth Young Master, you go ahead with your people to your appointment. Leave this to me; I'll definitely give you a satisfactory explanation."
The middle-aged bodyguard smiled coldly, appearing full of confidence.
Li Xuan had by now licked the bottom of the bowl clean. Hearing these words, he raised his small face, still stained with milk, and continued to watch the show.
He licked the sweet milk from the corner of his mouth, looked at the middle-aged bodyguard, and frowned.
"This strength..."
Although the scion, referred to as Fourth Young Master, was still angry, he seemed to have a truly important appointment and immediately agreed to the arrangement.
"Alright, Zhao Hu."
"Teach them a good lesson and let them know the power of our Zhao Family."
"I'll be waiting for you at Cuihua Tower. Don't disappoint me."
The scion rode off with his people.
Passersby all scattered, clearing a wide path for him.
Looking at the reactions of the passersby, the scion seemed quite pleased.
He looked back at the Flower-Clothed Eunuchs who had blocked his way earlier, let out a cold snort, as if he had already pronounced their death sentence.
"Zhao Family's Fourth Young Master, quite imposing, isn't he?"
Li Xuan sneered inwardly.
It was likely that this "Zhao Four" hadn't even realized how much trouble he had brought upon his family until now.
Zhao Hu sent off his young master and looked coldly at the Flower-Clothed Eunuchs.
From beginning to end, the Flower-Clothed Eunuch hadn't said a single word, merely looking indifferently at the scion and the Zhao Hu in front of him.
Passersby subtly formed an open space, allowing the two to resolve their dispute.
But watching a spectacle is human nature; although they all stepped back a few paces, none of them had any intention of leaving.
More and more people gathered on the road, and many who were unclear about the situation joined in the gossip.
Later arrivals asked what was happening, and people nearby explained with various accounts.
The story became increasingly exaggerated, reaching the point where two people were about to have a life-and-death duel, and the reasons were even more diverse and contradictory.
The love-hate entanglement between the two had reached a level that could fill a storybook.
Yet, the two had not exchanged a single word until now.
Zhao Hu suddenly waved at the Flower-Clothed Eunuch, appearing very contemptuous.
However, this wave was not an invitation for the Flower-Clothed Eunuch to make a move, because as he waved, his upper body leaned forward, clearly indicating that he wanted the Flower-Clothed Eunuch to lean in to listen.
The Flower-Clothed Eunuch frowned slightly but still tilted his head a little.
Zhao Hu then whispered a few words into the Flower-Clothed Eunuch's ear, and the Flower-Clothed Eunuch's expression immediately became serious.
"What do you say?"
Zhao Hu asked the Flower-Clothed Eunuch after whispering.
But the Flower-Clothed Eunuch still looked at Zhao Hu with an expression of surprise and uncertainty.
"Hmph, I advise you not to be ungrateful."
"Once you miss this village, you won't find this shop again."
Zhao Hu said coldly, crossing his arms.
His attitude was as if he had bestowed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity upon the Flower-Clothed Eunuch.