With her deceased husband as her dowry, would Your Highness dare to marry her?

"Amo's leaving?" Lin Ci was startled, her sleepiness mostly gone. "Where to?"

"My brother won't tell me." Princess Yongle pouted. "Amo will leave after the fifth day of the month. I don't know what to buy by myself. Can you give me some ideas?"

Princess Yongle grabbed Lin Ci's hand and shook it left and right, shaking away the last bit of sleepiness she had left.

Lin Ci couldn't refuse in the end and had to agree.

Since we're going to the market, we can no longer wear men's clothing.

Lin Ci took out a moon-white skirt embroidered with orchids from the cabinet, then tied it around her waist with a frosty silk sash, from which extremely fine tassels hung down.

She sat down in front of her vanity, let down her waist-length hair, and then rummaged through the treasure chest for a while. Song Xuan loved the "fallen horse bun" hairstyle the most, so she chose a plain silver hairpin and tied it up in front of the mirror. The person in the mirror was elegant and refined, and even without makeup, her delicate face radiated a rare good complexion.

Princess Yongle sat in the guest hall, resting her chin on her hand, and waited for a long time. When she saw Lin Ci come out, her eyes lit up. She looked Lin Ci up and down several times and exclaimed, "I knew it! Sister Aci looks much better than the ladies in the palace when she's dressed up."

Lin Ci felt uncomfortable from the praise and lowered her head to tie the silk ribbon on her wrist.

"Let's go." Princess Yongle grabbed Lin Ci's hand and pulled her out the door.

The two had just left Liufang Garden when they bumped into Pei Jinxuan at the moon gate. He was wearing a crimson official robe and was accepting a riding whip from his attendant. Hearing footsteps, he casually raised his eyes, then his gaze fixed on them.

Lin Ci's eyes met those captivating peach blossom eyes, and her ears suddenly burned. She lowered her head involuntarily, but then felt that her shyness was unreasonable, so she raised her face and looked at Pei Jinxuan with complete composure, offering a deep bow.

"Greetings, Prince Jing'an."

Something flickered in Pei Jinxuan's eyes, then he lowered his gaze, cleverly concealing that slight flutter of emotion.

He cupped his hands in greeting and replied, "You're welcome."

"Brother Wang," Princess Yongle called out, slightly spoiling the mood.

Pei Jinxuan withdrew his gaze, casually placed the riding whip on the saddle, and glanced at Lin Ci again.

"Where are you all going?"

"Let's go to the West Market." Princess Yongle took Lin Ci's arm, her chin slightly raised in a smug gesture. "I'll take Sister Aci to the market and buy some nice things."

Pei Jinxuan's gaze shifted to Princess Yongle, his smile fading. "Just the two of you?"

"Yes. We want to have a private talk, so please don't send anyone to follow us."

Pei Jinxuan sighed, lowered his head, took out a heavy money bag from his sleeve, and threw it over.

"Here you are."

Princess Yongle reached out and took the money pouch, which made a pleasant, crisp sound. She couldn't wait to open it, and her eyes lit up.

"Brother Wang, you are so generous. Thank you very much."

"Madam Lin is new here, so don't take her wandering around aimlessly." As he spoke, he looked at Lin Ci, his peach blossom eyes instantly softening. "Be careful on your journey. I have to go to the palace to meet the Emperor today and won't be back until after noon."

"Yes." Lin Ci nodded. "You too."

"Alright, alright. Stop being so hesitant, let's go."

Princess Yongle pulled Lin Ci toward the side door. Lin Ci couldn't help but look back. Pei Jinxuan was still standing there, staring blankly at her.

After walking several steps, Princess Yongle suddenly turned around, leaned close to Lin Ci's ear, and said mysteriously, "Just now, when my brother was looking at you, his eyes almost popped out."

Lin Ci's heartstrings trembled slightly, and her face flushed instantly. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"My brother likes you." Princess Yongle was even more direct. "He never looked at other women like this before."

Lin Ci's face suddenly darkened upon hearing this. She stopped and looked at Princess Yongle very seriously, saying, "Don't say such things again. I am a physician recruited by Prince Jing'an, nothing more."

Princess Yongle seemed not to understand her meaning and persisted, saying, "Don't you like my brother? He's very popular among noble ladies. As the saying goes, 'Those near the water get the moon first.' I don't know about other women, but I'd be more than happy to have you as my brother's sister-in-law."

"You..." Lin Ci felt that she couldn't reason with Princess Yongle, so she simply quickened her pace and left.

"Wait for me!" Princess Yongle hurriedly caught up. "How will you get to the West Market without me?"

Lin Ci felt a headache coming on when she heard this. Sometimes, Princess Yongle and Pei Jinxuan were like two peas in a pod.

The West Market is located in the south of the city and opens on the first and fifteenth of each lunar month. Today happens to be the fifteenth of the twelfth lunar month, which is the last big market before the New Year.

The long street was lined with stalls and bamboo shops, with colorful banners fluttering in the wind. Rouge, face powder, silk and cloth, copper and iron utensils, dried fruits and candied fruits, needles and thread were all laid out, seemingly endless.

A street performer marked out an open space, swallowing fire and spewing smoke, drawing cheers from the crowd; an old man selling candy pulled and pinched, and a small bird with outstretched wings was handed to a young child.

The street was bustling with noise, the mules and horses were neighing, and the whole street was like a pot of boiling water, with every corner radiating a vibrant energy.

Lin Ci had never seen such a scene before.

The mountain markets used to consist of only three or five shops and a dozen or so stalls; they were nowhere near as bustling as this. She stopped every five steps and looked around every ten, her eyes unable to take it all in.

Princess Yongle dragged her through the crowd, sometimes picking up a cloisonné enamel hairpin and arranging it in her hair, sometimes grabbing a shadow puppet and making faces at her.

"How about this?" Princess Yongle picked up a long whip from the weapons stall, flicked her wrist twice, and the whip tip made two crisp sounds in the air. "The proprietress said it's from the Western Regions."

Lin Ci smiled and said, "It's more like you'd use it yourself."

She pulled the princess to the spice shop next door and picked up a small silver sachet. Dark-colored incense balls were faintly visible through the openwork vine pattern, and a faint, calming sandalwood scent could be smelled when brought closer.

"How about this? It'll fit perfectly close to my body."

Princess Yongle took it and examined it for a long time, then shook her head, not very satisfied. "Amo doesn't like fancy things."

"But gifts from young ladies are usually floral," Lin Ci said casually, putting the sachet back in its place. "Whips and swords can be given between men; but sachets and handkerchiefs are only given by women."

Princess Yongle paused for a moment after hearing this, then suddenly clapped her hands, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Lin Ci. "How could I not have thought of that! Then let's buy this one, no, not this one. Sister Aci, please help me pick the best one."

She happily took Lin Ci's arm and leaned her head on her shoulder, "I knew you were the best at this."

The two men huddled together in front of the spice shop, picking through the sachets on the table one by one.

Just then, a furtive figure peeked out from the alley entrance; it was Zhao Fugui. He huddled behind the hitching post at the alley entrance, his murky eyes fixed on the two figures in front of the spice shop.

Zhao Fugui recognized Lin Ci, and his eyes blazed with fury.

All I did back then was beat her husband and steal a few pieces of silver, yet she dared to set fire to retaliate!

If he hadn't drunk less that day, he would have perished in the flames like his brother.

Her brother died, and he was burned beyond recognition, while she wore gold and silver and lived a more dignified life than anyone else.

Zhao Fugui clenched his fists, his back teeth grinding together.

The King of Liang told him to wait, and that he would give an explanation, but he couldn't wait.

He was going to make her understand right now that the debt she owed the Zhao family had to be repaid!

Zhao Fugui walked over.