In the harem.
Princess Qinbao was packing her luggage secretly without telling the maid. She was going to leave the capital and travel north all the way, and finally arrived in Nancheng to find Wen Jinhe.
During this period of time in the palace, expenses were saved, and even the number of trips out of the palace was greatly reduced.
In addition, Princess Qinbao was really bored with the fact that the queen complained in front of her all day long.
But if she first told the emperor that she wanted to leave the palace and not come back for a short time, she would definitely be rejected, and she might even be locked up.
So she planned to sneak away.
On the streets of the capital city, Li Jingxing, the imperial guard Bao Minghe and the personal eunuch were strolling around purposefully.
I visited all the shops under the name of the eight royal merchants.
"Bao Minghe, I don't go out of the palace often. Tell me, is the business of these shops better or worse than before?"
Bao Minghe frowned slightly, and after thinking, he replied: "I feel that there are not as many guests coming in and out as before."
A few people were talking when they saw Sun Fugui walking into the shop. He put his hands on his hips and asked with a depressed look: "How has the business been these two days?"
Li Jingxing raised his ears and pretended to pick something.
The shopkeeper handed the account book to Sun Fugui and replied with a dejected look on his face: "Too bad... not to mention the merchants from Linyue Kingdom, not even a few local ones came to visit, and not a single large-volume order was received. They are all individual customers. They have come here several times, but they can’t even see what they are buying. They keep telling us that it is expensive and they want us to lower the price.”
After the shopkeeper finished speaking, he pointed at Li Jingxing and the others implicitly, "Look, Mr. Sun, those few people have looked around and haven't even asked a question yet. Business is really difficult."
Li Jingxing froze and felt a little embarrassed. This was the first time that he was told that he was poor and could not afford to buy anything.
Sun Fugui glanced at the three of them and sighed: "The things can't be sold, and the warehouse is overstocked again. I'm going to dismiss a group of workers in the workshop. The princess didn't have any money to send over last month. If this continues, I guess I have to close the shop.”
The shopkeeper shook his head, "Even if it is closed now, no one will take over. Now that there is a war, these things are expensive and no one will buy them. However, the price of food will definitely go up. Isn't there a lot of food grown in Princess Che's city? Then there will be money.”
Sun Fugui returned the account book to him and shook his head, "The princess said before she left that not a single sweet potato could be sold after harvesting the food in those fields. Didn't King Che go on an expedition? When he attacked Linyue Kingdom a few years ago, it was because of the imperial court's food supply. The escort is not in place, the princess is preparing for a rainy day.”
"This time is no better than the previous one. Linyue Kingdom must be captured. At the critical moment, if the court delays again, so many people on the border will starve to death. Our princess feels sorry for the prince. When it comes to the last resort, these grains are estimated to be Send them all to the border.”
The shopkeeper said hoarsely, "I heard that what happened back then was done by King Heng and the deposed third prince. They were afraid that King Che's military achievements would be even greater, so they deliberately tampered with the escort. Is this true? ?”
Sun Fuli deliberately signaled the other party to shut up and said fearfully: "Shh, you can't say this without evidence. Be careful about your head falling, but I think the princess is worried about this."
Li Jingxing left with a dark face. He had investigated what happened that year and found no conclusive evidence pointing to Li Yuheng and Li Zhilin. In the end, he dealt with a sixth-grade escort officer who was in trouble.
"Bao Minghe, do people still have opinions about what happened back then?" Li Jingxing felt wind at his feet and walked very fast.
Bao Minghe was a little scared, but he couldn't help but answer, "Your Majesty, it's just some rumors that few people talk about anymore."
The emperor suddenly stopped and looked at Bao Minghe, "Go and find out how much food Princess Che has grown in the capital."
Now that he knew that the other party had something up his sleeve, he had to know something in his mind.
"Da~da~da~" A crisp sound of horse hooves passed behind Li Jingxing and the others.
When he turned his head to look, he could only see a horse's butt. The man on the horse was wearing a cloak, and even his head was covered by a hat.
Li Jingxing looked a little confused, "That horse is a bit like Qinbao's bay-red horse."
The personal eunuch raised his lips and said with a smile: "The horse looks in the direction of leaving the city. It must not be Her Royal Highness the Princess. Princess Qinbao usually plays in the city, and she rarely leaves the palace during this time."
Li Jingxing nodded and led the people back to the palace.
Bao Minghe went to check how much grain Wen Jinhe had grown in the capital.
Seeing that the sun was about to set, the emperor took people to Princess Qinbao's palace to have dinner with her.
But he didn't expect that after that, the door of the palace was still closed, and the maids were guarding outside.
Seeing the emperor coming, the maids and eunuchs all knelt down and saluted.
"Why aren't you waiting inside?" Li Jingxing asked in a deep voice.
The palace maid hurriedly replied: "Back to the emperor, your highness the princess said she felt sleepy after lunch and insisted not to let the servants wait on her. She was not allowed to go in until she woke up."
Li Jingxing felt a little strange, knocked on the door and shouted twice.
But no one responded.
You went to bed after lunch and you're not awake yet?
Li Jingxing suddenly thought of the bay-red horse he saw on the street during the day. His heart trembled, and he opened the door and walked in.
The bed was bulging, so someone must have been lying on it.
Li Jingxing walked over and patted the quilt. He stretched out his head and took a look. He immediately opened the quilt and found two fake pillows.
There is also a letter buried under the quilt.
After the emperor opened it and read it, he closed his eyes forcefully and said, "Nonsense, you are too brave."
When they saw that there was no one on the bed, everyone except the emperor knelt down.
Especially the maids serving in Princess Qinbao's palace, they couldn't react at all, and they were only afraid.
They were afraid that the emperor would punish them.
Li Jingxing looked at the eunuch and said, "Go to the palace gate and ask when Princess Qinbao left. Tell anyone who knows about this to shut up. If they leak a single word, I will kill them."
"Yes." The eunuch hurried out.
Li Jingxing looked at the people kneeling on the ground, wondering why they were so stupid.
"Trash, no one can see it, what do I want you to do?"
The palace maid lay on the ground with her head lowered and cried: "Your Majesty, forgive me."
"If Qin Bao hadn't said that he would see you again when he came back and wouldn't let me punish you, I would really like to give each of you fifty big boards." For these palace ladies, fifty big boards can kill them.
The eunuch who served in the chamber came back and reported: "The princess left the palace gate at just past midnight."
It's been two hours, and I definitely can't catch up.
And the letter didn't even say where she was going.
After the morning court session on the second day, Li Jingxing made a decree in the imperial study room.
"Princess Qinbao prays for the country and takes the initiative to request to go to Baifo Temple to worship Buddha. Keep everything simple and set off immediately."
Before everyone in the palace could react, the palace attendants serving Princess Qinbao had already left the palace in carriages and headed to the Baifo Temple.
