The next day came quickly.
Qian Meiling got ready and dressed in plain clothes.
Her clothes were light green and were very simple. The only thing that stood out was the gold-colored belt around her waist. She kept her hair down and wore a veil to hide her face.
It was customary for a woman to wear a veil in public. This was especially true for women of high social standing, married or not.
Once she was ready, she walked towards the front gate of the palace.
"Your Highness." Lulu called out, stopping her.
"What?" Qian Meiling asked, turning to look at her.
Lulu was also wearing a veil, and her expression was hidden behind it.
"Should we take a carriage? The roads can be dangerous, especially for weak women. Also, we can bring some guard with us, just in case."
Qian Meiling sighed and thought for a moment.
Lulu didn't dare to raise her head seeing the princess in thought.
Qian Meiling was indeed lost in thought. She didn't want to leave with a group of people, especially since she doesn't have permission to leave. Although she is confident that her father would not trouble her due to the upcoming marriage games, she didn't want to risk it.
Lulu, whose head was still down, couldn't bear it any longer and said, "Miss, your body is weak and can't stand the twenty minute walk."
Qian Meiling was stunned, and subconsciously slapped her forehead.
"Why didn't you say that first?"
"I didn't have the chance to." Lulu muttered.
Qian Meiling shook her head, but a faint smile appeared on her lips.
"Fine, let's go take a carriage."
Lulu's body relaxed and nodded her head.
"Good, good. Let's go then, Your Highness."
She pulled her out of the palace and took Qian Meiling to the royal carriages in the inner courtyard. After entering, a bunch of shouts sounded in Qian Meiling's ears.
"Your Highness?"
After the shouts, they all quickly kneeled down and paid respect.
"Prepare me a carriage and some people." Qian Meiling ordered, her voice soft, but she covered her nose with a handkerchief due to the unpleasant smell of the horses.
Lowering her eyes down her handkerchief, a look of surprise flashed on her face. She wasn't used to carrying a handkerchief around, and even if she did, she smelt things a lot worse than clean horses. Could it be this body's weakness that was causing her to dislike the smell?
'How weak.' She thought.
"Yes, Your Highness." The driver replied, and the group of men jumped up and hurriedly prepared the carriage. They didn't dare ask as to why and if the princess was aloud to leave or not.
After a few minutes, they finally set off.
It didn't take long to reach the capital city from the royal palace, and soon the carriage stopped.
"We've arrived, Your Highness."
Qian Meiling didn't respond and opened the carriage door herself, not caring about the etiquette of a royal princess.
"We'll walk from here."
"Yes, Your Highness."
She stepped outside and her face contorted.
The streets were bustling and filled with noise. All this noise made her head spin. She wasn't used to such noises; especially since she lived in a forest most of her life, and would come to some villages to trade for some items.
"Your Highness, are you okay?" Lulu asked worriedly.
"I'm fine." She replied, looking around the place. Her eyes darted around, looking at each shop and seeing what they were selling and what was expensive or not.
"Miss, can I ask why we're here? Perhaps I can help?" Lulu asked hesitantly.
"Hmm, d-do you know anything about business?" Qian Meiling asked.
"Business? Your highness, this maid is too stupid and hasn't heard of such words." Lulu answered honestly.
Hearing her words, Qian Meiling frowned and thought for a moment.
"Trade of goods. Like merchants."
Lulu nodded her head.
"Ah, that? Yes, this servant was born in a merchant family before being sold to the royal family due to lack of profit. Though, this humble one has learnt trade before entering the palace." Thinking of her family, a hint of sadness passed through her eyes.
"Hmm, h-how did they lose profit?" Qian Meiling asked curiously.
"This... I do not know." Lulu said, "But I remember my family being in a bad situation. They were unable to sell their products and had to resort to selling me. But this didn't help them either. Typically speaking, instead of being sold I should've been married off instead, but I don't know what happened, no boys proposed any interest in me."
But at the end of her breath, she muttered another sentence that Qian Meiling didn't hear.
"Not even him."
Qian Meiling smelt something fishy about her situation. Lulu was a very pretty woman. How else could she be sold to the royal family? No offence to her, but merchants are looked down upon, though not much in the Qian Empire, but it's not enough to give them status equally to a noble.
She decided to think about this later.
"What did your family do?" She asked.
"My family sells salt." Lulu replied, "But we don't anymore."
Just as she was about to ask more questions, a voice sounded not far away.
"Lu Lu?"
The voice was full of surprise, but the mockery wasn't hidden at all.
Both Qian Meiling and Lulu looked in the direction the voice came from, and saw a group of girls around their age.
Qian Meiling's eyes narrowed slightly and she turned her head to look at Lulu, and a strange expression appeared on her face. Judging by the fact these girls knew her, her family must live in the capital city, meaning they should be very wealthy...
Seeing the three coming towards them, Lulu clenched her fist and let out a light breath.
"The three Shu sisters, why don't you kneel when you see the Eldest Princess? And you even ignore her for a maid?" Lulu said softly, her words carrying a hint of malice.
"Maid? Lu Lu, how much did your father sell you for?" One of the girls asked, her voice full of sarcasm.
"Hehe, it can't be worth much as her fiancée didn't even want her." Saying that, she turned to the third person in their party with a smile.