When Mo Xuanqing and Man Tianyun returned to the capital, Tiandu, it was already mid-afternoon. She leaned back slightly, her eyes dimly wanting to close. Honestly, if she could lie in bed now, maybe Man Tianyun would have a long sleep. The horse slowly entered the capital. It was mid-afternoon, and the people in Tiandu had not yet held a market. Only a few street vendors sell to people living near the market.
"Mo Xuanqing, what's that smell?"
Man Tianyun asked in a low voice, a strong scent lingering in the air, making her feel hungry. Mo Xuanqing looked around, guessing that the scent she was talking about was the scent of an old man's sticky rice cake steamer. He thought about it for a while and suddenly realised that Man Tianyun hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon. Maybe she was starving by now.
"If the princess is hungry, I will buy a small steamer for you."
She nodded slightly, her sleepy face as soft as water. He helped her off the horse, and then Man Tianyun stopped by the old man's sticky rice cakes store standing nearby. The new, white, round, rice-scented sticky rice cakes really make people hungry just by looking at them. A salesman is an elderly man. Although traces of time have been imprinted on his face, it is undeniable that he is a quick man. Mo Xuanqing looked at two freshly sticky rice cakes. One was a glutinous rice cake filled with red bean paste, and the other was a sticky rice cake with milk filling. The old man saw that two people stopped in his cart and greeted them happily.
"Customers, what do you two want to buy? The old man's sticky rice cake is known as the best in Tiandu. Taste it objectively. If it suits your taste, buy the old's cake. "
The old man said as he quickly opened the steamer and took two more sticky rice cakes that were smaller than the ones on the outside. Man Tianyun took the sticky rice cake and slowly took a bite. The taste of this sticky rice cake is not bad, it's fragrant and has a very strong red bean flavour. When Mo Xuanqing saw her eating so well, he did not intend to stop her.
"If your mas... ah, young lady, like it, we can take two small steamers."
Mo Xuanqing leaned close to her ear and asked softly, making Man Tianyun slightly dumbfounded. But very quickly, she realised that she was not in the princess's residence and couldn't let the people know that she was the head princess of Tiandu. She looked at the two steamed buns in front of her, then nodded. Mo Xuanqing took two bags of cakes after paying the old man. Paper bags are simple but can't hide the seductive scent of freshly made sticky rice cakes.
Man Tianyun originally intended to linger for a while, waiting until the market was busier. Normally, she only stayed in the princess's residence, otherwise, she would only go to the royal palace to reign. She rarely had the opportunity to go out. She wanted to see how the people lived here. She slowly walked forward, stopped at this cake shop, and stopped at another jewellery shop. Mo Xuanqing really didn't dare to stop her, so he could only walk behind. But it was gradually turning to the evening, and although knowing that this was the time when the shops were most busy, Mo Xuanqing could not continue to be outside like this anymore.
"Princess, let's go home. Bodyguard Shen must be worried about you. "
Man Tianyun looked up at the sky. The clouds carrying the yellow colour of the sun slowly drifted away. She couldn't linger any longer. Letting Mo Xuanqing support her on the horse, Man Tianyun quickly left the market of Tiandu. Suddenly, a group of people stopped in front of her horse. If Mo Xuanqing could not keep up with the reins, there would be murder. She slightly frowned. She looked at the people blocking her in front. Her clothes were ragged, and her body emitted an unpleasant odour. When they saw Man Tianyun, they knelt down.
"The head princess, please save our lives."
"The head princess, our relief money, our food. If the court doesn't save the people, does it want our people in the South to starve to death?"
"Elder princess, please save us. Just a little food will do."
They groaned in pain, constantly kneeling before her. Man Tianyun tightened his eyebrows even more. Her unsightly face seemed to be holding back her anger. She looked at the others and said coldly.
"The court saved food and money for the South. How do you eat and drink when you have to come to this place, raise your hands and ask me to save your life?"
After saying that, Man Tianyun signalled for Mo Xuanqing to leave. The horse slipped through the beggars, disappearing. Mo Xuanqing couldn't help but look back. Those people were still kneeling there. They watched the back of the head princess fade into the sunset. Among those people were the elderly and children. They all worked so hard just to get to the capital to ask for help. But in return, what they received was only a look from Man Tianyun, as cold as a dead person with no sympathy at all.
Man Tianyun! Mo Xuanqing resentfully shouted her name in his head. If the manager of the relief treasury wasn't the head princess, wouldn't the people in the south suffer so much? If Tiandu has so many years of prosperity, how can it be destroyed at the hands of a woman with a heart as cruel as a snake-like Man Tianyun? He looked at the woman sitting right in front of him, only wishing he could kill her with one hand. But he couldn't do it. He couldn't do it, at least for now. If he kills Man Tianyun, the power of the emperor will be weakened. When the emperor ascended the throne at a young age, power was in the hands of the eldest princess, Man Tianyun, along with the prime minister, Li Yan. If Man Tianyun died, the thought would definitely be that he would be the one to hold all the power. At that time, there was fear that the emperor's life could not be preserved. Therefore, Mo Xuanqing could only endure.
When the two returned to the princess's residence, Shen Tianfeng was already waiting outside. As soon as he saw Man Tianyun appear, he quickly ran to her and caught her. Man Tianyun disappeared for the whole day, which really scared him. Shen Tianfeng also thought about what happened to her. Only Mo Xuanqing returned with her, and Shen Tianfeng also secretly guessed that something was wrong.
"Princess, what happened?"
His voice was sharp like he was interrogating a prisoner. Man Tianyun smiled lightly. She said she was fine. She and Mo Xuanqing are saved, but that does not mean that all the others are saved. Shen Tianfeng waited for Mo Xuanqing to lead the horse deep into the stable inside the princess's residence.
"You send a group of bodyguards to the forest near the holy shrine, clean up the bodies of the dead bodyguards, and return them to their families as usual. Also, thoroughly search that forest to find Xiao Tao. If she lives, we must see people, and if she dies, we must see bodies. "
Man Tianyun lowered her voice as she walked on the cobbled road to the princess's residence. The flowers bloom under the moonlight, shining a bright, pure silver colour. Then she stopped, reached out and touched a flower that had not yet bloomed.
"Today, I encountered a group of beggars. They came here from the south of Tiandu. You take some money from the princess's residence for me and give it to them. Also, it's convenient to find them a place to live."
"Princess, you're always the one who spends her own money to provide relief. The royal treasury is owned by you, right?"
"That amount of money, just let the sightseers swallow it up. There will come a time when they will burst their bellies and die."
She coldly crushed the sunflower in her hand. Amid a beautiful flower garden, a flower that cannot bloom is useless. Just like the other mandarins, if they wanted to block people's money for aid, Man Tianyun would naturally let them understand what it was like to be so painful that they couldn't die and couldn't live. Shen Tianfeng hurriedly pulled the cloak over her body, motioning for Man Tianyun to hurry up and do what she ordered.
A small candle lit up her tired face as she sat in front of the court. Suddenly, a gust of wind made her rub her arm slightly, also blowing out the only candle still lit in the room. As Man Tianyun put the brush on the ink, her eyes subconsciously looked at Mo Xuanqing's robe hanging on the wooden stand. She looked at it for a long time. No one knows what she is thinking in her heart.