A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace

Jiang Wanrong thanked her again and again.

Yue Er said a polite sentence, then took people and hurried back to her own main courtyard.

After that, the few of them lived together in the Princess’s Mansion, but still had almost no interaction; everyone minded their own business in peace and quiet.

...

Late autumn.

The leaves fell in batches, one after another, and the chrysanthemums withered round after round.

The lush branches and brocade-like blossoms of midsummer had all grown desolate in the gusts of autumn wind, and even the people on the streets had thinned out a great deal.

Unknowingly, all the heat had ebbed away, leaving only cold frost covering the sky and earth.

The days passed by quietly, one after another.

The news that Jiang Wanrong had taken refuge in the Princess’s Mansion blew into Lv Zhaoliang’s ears like a gust of wind.

By then his wounds had long healed, but the anger in his heart only grew more and more pent up.

When he heard the news, he exploded on the spot.

”Well, well, so she’s grown some skills, that damned woman actually hid in the Princess’s Mansion!”

”She’s just the daughter of some petty Jiangnan functionary’s family, she hides in the Princess’s Mansion and I can’t do anything to her anymore?”

He cursed under his breath while anxiously hopping up and down.

His gang of disreputable pals at his side immediately tried to talk him down.

”What’s with you, acting like you’re in heat!”

”She’s just a woman, you’ve taken so many losses with her, how come you still don’t wise up?”

”As the saying goes... there are plenty more flowers in the world than just that one...”

”Shut up!”

Before they could finish, Lv Zhaoliang snapped at them impatiently.

”What the hell do you bunch know!”

”Precisely because I took so many losses on her, I can’t just give up easily, otherwise wouldn’t that make me look pathetic?”

”If I give up, wouldn’t I have suffered all this for nothing?”

The few of them thought it over from all sides and ended up nodding in agreement.

But...

”She’s still kin to the Shi Family after all, not some ordinary little sheltered maiden. She’s not someone you can coax into your hands that easily; you’d better wake up!”

Lv Zhaoliang jumped up and down in fury.

”Pah, pah, pah, what a bunch of cowards—are you my brothers or not?”

The others were all second-tier nobles of the Capital City, whose households weren’t that rich or powerful.

Usually they just tagged along behind Lv Zhaoliang as his lackeys, and now seeing their big brother angry,

each of them got a bit flustered and started offering ideas one after another.

”If it really doesn’t work, you can just go straight to the Princess’s Mansion!”

”Exactly, once you’re there, don’t use force and don’t try anything lecherous, just say you’ve come to apologize in person!”

”As long as they’re willing to talk reason even a little, they should let you in. Then, when the time comes...”

Lv Zhaoliang’s eyes lit up completely.

”Right!”

”What’s that called again? Advancing by retreating!”

The others all clapped and cheered.

Lv Zhaoliang even started lewdly fantasizing.

”When the time comes and I’m talking to that woman, you lot will deliberately make up some stories and spread them around. I want to see her ruined and disgraced!”

The little lackeys all sucked in a breath of cold air, thinking to themselves: is that really necessary, she’s just a young girl.

But for the sake of their own interests, each of them stifled their conscience and nodded in agreement.

”Don’t worry, big brother!”

”Just leave this to us!”

Lv Zhaoliang nodded with full confidence, his eyes brimming with smugness.

...

After a round of detailed planning, they set the date for the Double Ninth Festival.

First, it was a major festival, so he’d have an excuse to pay a visit. The chances of being kicked out by the Princess’s Mansion would be a bit smaller.

Second, on Double Ninth the streets were lively, bustling with people in groups of three or five. Any bit of gossip would spread across the Capital City at once, which was favorable to their plan.

So no matter how you looked at it, this was the most advantageous day.

Early that morning,

Lv Zhaoliang gathered his disreputable friends, downed some wine to bolster his courage, and headed together toward the Mansion of the Fourth Princess.

As everyone knew, the Fourth Princess was the only daughter of the Taishang Huang and the Empress Dowager, the only Legitimate Princess of the Great Chu Dynasty at present, and the current Emperor’s own younger sister.

Her exalted status went without saying.

There were also rumors that this Princess had quite a temper, but Lv Zhaoliang had never met her, so he didn’t care.

What he was thinking was, on such a big festival, since he was personally coming to call, they wouldn’t outright refuse him. For that reason he even specially had some gifts prepared.

As the saying goes... you don’t hit a man who’s all smiles!

After weighing it up from every angle, he finally picked up the gifts and knocked on the Mansion of the Fourth Princess’s magnificent main gate.

”Dong dong dong!!”

”Dong dong dong!”

After knocking twice, there was still no movement inside, and Lv Zhaoliang didn’t dare act rashly.

His heart was pounding: could it be there’s no one here??

After fidgeting for a while, he knocked again. This time someone finally answered—a beardless, effeminate fellow. From experience, he judged this person should be a eunuch.

The man stuck his head out through the crack in the door, first giving him a once-over from head to toe, then said in a contemptuous and incredulous tone,

”Who are you? Do you know where this is? You got a death wish?”

Lv Zhaoliang wanted to smash his head in, but weighing expediency, he forced a fawning smile, stepped forward, poured out a bunch of flattering words, and slipped him a piece of Silver.

”Please be accommodating, Gonggong, I’m Lv Zhaoliang from the Fuguo Duke’s Mansion. I’ve come today mainly to apologize to Miss Jiang!”

The eunuch took the Silver, then finally pulled his whole body out from behind the door crack.

He hefted the Silver in his hand, then tossed it back.

”Tch! What use is your Silver? This is the Princess’s Mansion, this old slave still wants to keep his life.”

”We don’t have any Miss Jiang here. You’ve come to the wrong place, go back!”

He turned around, about to leave.

Lv Zhaoliang hastily grabbed him, begging and pleading with a stream of honeyed words, near to dropping to his knees for him.

The old eunuch finally nodded and tossed out, in an airy tone,

”Since that’s the case, then wait here. This old slave will go and ask!”

Then he turned around and slammed the door shut with a bang.

The door was quite large and solid; if you ran into it, your nose would probably be ruined.

Lv Zhaoliang touched his still-lucky nose bridge and sighed to himself that it was fortunate he hadn’t bumped into it!

After that, he sat down on the stone steps at the main gate and began his long wait.

The Princess’s Mansion’s buildings were imposing and splendid. The Taishang Huang had selected an old dynasty’s Prince’s Mansion and had it specially renovated for her.

The size and grandeur of it was practically on par with a Prince’s Mansion.

You had to know, the Eldest Princess’s own Princess’s Mansion was merely a three-courtyard compound, nothing like the Fourth Princess’s place—which was like heaven and earth in comparison.

Although he hadn’t gone inside to see, just the main gate alone was awe-inspiring!

The red-lacquered main gate was at least a little over one zhang high, and together with the gatehouse and courtyard wall, it came close to two zhang.

It wasn’t just about security; the key was the grandeur.

The steps before the main gate were paved with white marble, a good ten to twenty steps. At the bottom of the steps, to left and right, stood two mighty, lifelike guardian stone lions.

They too were carved from precious stone, though not white marble; instead, a special brownish-yellow stone similar to a lion’s color had been chosen.

This kind of yellow stone could not be found near the Capital City; it had to be quarried from deep mountains a thousand li away.

Blocks of yellow stone this large, with complete and beautiful grain, fine texture, and excellent quality,

had to be quarried from the mountains, then transported over vast distances, then carved by skillful craftsmen into lifelike lions, their eyes, noses, and other features carefully painted in, and finally set to stand on either side of the steps. After all these steps, who knew how much manpower, resources, and money had been spent.