The cruel little princess

Shen Zijin's letter was full of fun, as if he were standing next to Shen Youyou, rambling on about his experiences. It took several sheets of paper to write this letter, and the dense handwriting on it made one marvel at Shen Zijin's writing skills.

The story in the letter was truly captivating. It began with Shen Zijin's resounding victory on the battlefield using black powder, finally avenging his defeat. Then, the enemy's general, Hu Ben, hurriedly called off his troops and reported the battle to the court. Then, the Qinglong Emperor dispatched a special envoy to the border to witness the power of black powder.

We do not know how the envoys reported to the emperor after returning, but not long after, the Qinglong Kingdom took the initiative to propose peace talks and quickly sent an envoy to escort a beloved and noble princess to marry.

I heard that this princess is Princess Fukang, born to the royal concubine of Qinglong Kingdom. She has been beautiful and smart since she was a child, and is deeply loved by the emperor of Qinglong Kingdom!

This time, in order to show the sincerity of the peace talks, he reluctantly gave up his beloved Princess Fukang and sent her to marry!

Shen Zijin complained repeatedly in the letter, saying that Princess Fukang of Qinglong Kingdom was willful and arrogant, and was a real headache!

Sometimes he said he wanted to eat the authentic cheese from Qinglong Country, sometimes he said the food from Jinlong Country was not tasty, sometimes he wanted to eat the red bean pastry that Liu Ji only sold twenty servings a day, and sometimes he wanted more... In short, he tortured him in different ways!

But there was no other way, Princess Fukang came to marry a foreign prince, and Shen Zijin was returning to the capital with his father, so he was just in time to escort Princess Fukang all the way to Beijing!

If he didn't obey the princess, then his father would have to do it. Princess Fukang wouldn't condescend to order ordinary soldiers... With only his father and his son as the only two options, he couldn't just sit there and let his father do the work, right?!

So Shen Zijin could only swallow his anger and serve Princess Fukang, not daring to neglect her even a little. He would get up early and go to bed late every day, preparing all kinds of delicious food for Princess Fukang and meeting her various requests. Sometimes, he even had to cook the food himself to make food that suited Princess Fukang's taste.

Princess Fukang also had extremely high expectations for her living environment. She complained that the beds at the post station weren't soft enough and requested new bedding. She felt the decor in her room was too sparse and ordered Shen Zijin to redecorate it. She also complained about the inn's maids' inattentive service and asked Shen Zijin to find her better ones. Shen Zijin was incredibly busy, but she still did her best to meet Princess Fukang's demands.

Despite Princess Fukang's challenges, Shen Zijin remained patient and polite. He understood that as an envoy, he represented not just himself but the image of the entire nation. Therefore, no matter how difficult or challenging the situation, he was committed to treating others with courtesy and maintaining friendly relations between the two countries.

After spending some time together, Princess Fukang gradually developed a liking for Shen Zijin. She found that although this man was of noble status, he was not at all arrogant, and he took good care of her and was very attentive and considerate.

Gradually, she began to let down her guard and had some different feelings towards Shen Zijin... Of course, Shen Zijin knew nothing about this.

Not only was Shen Zijin completely clueless about Princess Fukang's thoughts, he also lamented in his letter: "We're both sixteen or seventeen years old, so how come my sister is so sensible, well-behaved, and cute? And this Princess Fukang is so arrogant, domineering, and willful?"

Shen Youyou laughed in silence. Different growing environments shaped different personalities. The original owner was fostered at her aunt's house and had been mentally retarded since childhood, so she developed a cowardly and timid personality.

Princess Fukang, on the other hand, grew up in the presence of her parents, and was pampered with fine clothes and delicious food. How could their personalities be the same? There is no comparison at all!

After reading the letter, Shen Youyou asked about the latest developments in the capital.

Chun Tao laughed, "I knew the young lady would ask this! Here! I'm all ready!" Chun Tao pulled out a roll of paper from her sleeve pocket, "Dangdangdangdang! The latest happenings in the capital!"

It turned out that after her young lady left, Chuntao recorded every event that happened in the capital, big or small, in detail, waiting for her young lady to come back and entertain her!

Shen Youyou's mouth twitched, and she said helplessly, "You're really well prepared..."

Chun Tao said with a smile, "Of course! Miss, you are a curious baby, and you always like to ask these questions! If I don't prepare in advance, won't you be scolded to death by you?"

Shen Youyou rolled her eyes, "How could I be that fierce?"

Chun Tao stuck out her tongue. "Hehe, I was just joking! But Miss, the events in the capital this time are really interesting! I heard that the eldest prince has another daughter! And, and, that Prince Rui has been to a brothel again and has been rumored to be having an affair with some woman..."

Shen Youyou listened with great interest, exclaiming in surprise from time to time.

Chuntao had already ordered people to prepare meals, waiting for her young lady to come back so that she could have a bite of hot food.

The table was overflowing with delicious dishes, plenty of them, but the portions were small. There was eight-treasure braised duck, crystal pork elbow, roasted deer tendon, braised shark's fin, cherry pork... and of course, Chef Chuntao's homemade chicken wontons!

Shen Youyou ate Chuntao's "Big Melon of the Capital" with great relish. Seeing that her young lady liked it, Chuntao performed even more vividly!

Chuntao became more and more excited as she spoke, "By the way, Miss, I have one more important thing to tell you! It's that..."

She suddenly leaned close to Shen Youyou's ear and said mysteriously, "Miss, I heard that Princess Rui had a miscarriage!"

Shen Youyou's eyes widened as she asked in surprise, "No way? You said it's gone so soon? How did it disappear? What's the reason?"

Chun Tao nodded proudly, "Yes! It was just over a month after the young lady passed away that someone suddenly spread the news that Princess Rui was walking in her garden when she was hit by a wild cat that ran out from nowhere. Then she had a miscarriage..."

Shen Youyou sneered, "Humph! Self-directed and self-acted! It's nothing more than the Fifth Prince himself not wanting to go to Tongniu County to treat the plague, so he just made up a pretext, saying that his princess had just been found to be pregnant and needed care... In reality... Humph!"

She knew in her heart that all this was done to evade responsibility and avoid risk. The Fifth Prince was clearly unwilling to travel to the dangerous epidemic area, so he came up with this excuse to shirk responsibility. However, this behavior cost countless people their hope of life. Shen Youyou felt angry, but more helpless.

She knew that in this feudal society, power and status often determined people's fate, and those at the bottom of society became victims. Unable to change the status quo, they could only endure the suffering in silence.

Shen Youyou secretly made up her mind to keep working hard no matter what, to fight for more rights for those innocent lives. She believed that as long as she persevered, more people would stand up one day and fight against injustice and evil together.

Chun Tao nodded quickly and said, "Yes, yes, yes! Young lady is right! Young lady had clearly given her..., so how could she be pregnant? It must be a fake pregnancy, but since they haven't conceived yet, they can't just have a child to confuse the royal bloodline, right?!"

The more Chun Tao analyzed, the more she felt she had touched upon the truth, so she continued, "How could someone in a high position willingly raise someone else's child? Even if they did, when the child grew up, they'd discover they looked nothing like them! Tsk tsk tsk tsk...this is really interesting."

After hearing this, Shen Youyou amusedly tapped Chuntao's delicate nose with her finger and said, "You! You're just daydreaming!"

Chun Tao giggled and replied, "Miss, do you want to take a bath? I've asked someone to prepare it." Then she turned around to make arrangements.

Shen Youyou nodded obediently, secretly sighing in her heart: "This long journey is really tiring!" Although it is not as hurried as last time, His Royal Highness Prince Jin is eager to return to the capital to report, and as it is near the end of the year, he really dare not delay too long on the road.

Due to her tight schedule, she was unable to wash herself properly at the post station, resulting in her still feeling dirty, as if covered in a layer of dust, even though she had returned to the capital.

Now that she had finally returned to the palace, there was nothing else to attend to for the time being. If she didn't enjoy a relaxing bath, wouldn't she be failing her status as Princess Jin? Thinking of this, Shen Youyou walked towards the inner chamber's bathroom without hesitation.