Lu Wanning beat around the bush and asked Lu Hannian who on earth had forced the commoners to kneel and welcome them when they returned to the capital.
But Lu Hannian just shook his head. "Elder brother investigated this matter and found that it was the Capital Garrison who, out of gratitude for father's achievements, made the decision on their own. The generals involved have already been punished."
Lu Wanning felt a bit disappointed. The real culprit hadn't been found... The Capital Garrison. Could it be the Fu family who did this?
The next morning, the weather was fine. Lu Wanning said she would personally pick a gift for the Empress Dowager, then left home with Jiyue.
When the Princess of Zhaoyang went out, it usually used to be a grand occasion. But Lu Wanning wasn't the original owner. She didn't like a fuss. She just traveled light, taking only a few attendants with her.
She headed all the way to Chaozong Street. Chaozong Street was the biggest commercial street in the capital. There were numerous shops of all kinds here.
Lu Wanning really wanted to pick a serious gift for the Empress Dowager. In fact, she knew that, given the Empress Dowager's fondness for her, no matter what she presented, the Empress Dowager would be happy. But she felt that she needed to show filial piety on behalf of the original owner.
After visiting just a few shops, she took a fancy to a pink luminous pearl. Such things were quite common in modern times, but in ancient times, the craftsmanship wasn't that advanced yet and plastic hadn't been invented. This luminous pearl was polished from special jade. It was entirely pink and extremely attractive.
Lu Wanning was overjoyed. She pointed at the luminous pearl, signaling the shop assistant to take it out for a closer look.
The shop assistant quickly took it out and said with a flattering smile, "Miss has excellent taste. This is the treasure of our shop, so we display it here separately."
Lu Wanning examined it up and down and asked the shop assistant to hold it up. She then noticed that the bottom of the luminous pearl wasn't smooth. It seemed that since the jade wasn't big enough, the craftsman was reluctant to make the luminous pearl smaller, so he simply ground the bottom flat, which made it easier to place.
But somehow, it felt like something was missing.
Lu Wanning felt secretly disappointed.
Just then, a man's voice sounded from the side. "Wrap up this luminous pearl."
Lu Wanning turned her head and saw Fu Rongxuan's handsome face. He had a fair complexion like polished jade and a tall and straight figure. Standing there, he was really eye - catching.
When Fu Rongxuan saw Lu Wanning looking over, there was no expression on his face. He just glanced at her indifferently and then asked, "Miss Lu also wants this luminous pearl? In that case, I'll..."
"I don't want it," Lu Wanning interrupted him. "If Young Master Fu likes it, just buy it. Jiyue, let's go."
Fu Rongxuan looked back at Lu Wanning's back in surprise and was puzzled for a long time. This wasn't like her. In the past, she couldn't take her eyes off him. Not to mention him offering the luminous pearl to her, as long as he took a look at something, she would have eagerly bought it and presented it to him.
The shop assistant asked carefully, "Sir, shall I pack up this luminous pearl for you?"
Fu Rongxuan suppressed his annoyance and nodded. His servant beside him immediately reported the address and asked for it to be sent to the Duke Fu's Mansion.
As soon as Lu Wanning stepped out of the shop, she immediately got into the carriage and urged, "Hurry up! We've run into a ghost. Run!"
Jiyue spat several times and said, "Your Highness, you can't say such things. It's inauspicious."
Lu Wanning came to the other end of the street. There was a very large shop here. On the first floor, they sold rouge, powder, jewelry, and on the second floor, there were ornaments made of gold, stone, and jade.
She thought for a while. The Empress Dowager was old. Even if she loved to dress up, she would wear things made in the palace that looked dignified and mature. Most of the jewelry in this shop probably wouldn't catch the Empress Dowager's eye. Even if it was a gift from her, it would probably just be left in the warehouse later. It wasn't worth it. It would be better to give an ornament.
When she went up to the second floor and took a look, she really took a fancy to a small jade screen. There was a solitary flying crane standing on the water on it. At first glance, it gave a feeling of being aloof from the world. But this jade screen seemed like something for a woman, and the image of a solitary flying crane didn't quite match the preferences of female relatives, so not many people were interested in it.
Lu Wanning immediately fell in love with it. She examined it up and down and found nothing wrong. She also noticed that the right side of the jade screen was blank and she could write on it herself. She was even happier. What could make the Empress Dowager happier than her own handwriting?
Jiyue, upon hearing that the princess was going to write on it herself, looked like she wanted to say something but held back. In the end, she didn't say a word.
Afraid that something might go wrong, Lu Wanning immediately asked the shop assistant to wrap up the jade screen and send it to the Prince of Zhennan's Mansion.
Only then did the shop assistant realize that the beautiful young lady in front of him was actually the princess of the Prince of Zhennan's Mansion. He knew that in the past, whenever the princess wanted something, she would just ask the shop to send things to her for selection.
The shopkeeper was also shocked. He quickly came over to receive her personally. Besides the jade screen, he also ordered people to bring all kinds of precious items for Lu Wanning to choose from.
Lu Wanning waved her hand. "No need. I'll come and browse again when I'm free. All I want to buy today is this jade screen."
The shopkeeper bowed and scraped, nodding in agreement, and respectfully sent Lu Wanning out.
Just as Lu Wanning was about to go downstairs, she thought for a while and then asked, "Is this jade screen a one - of - a - kind item? Or can I find the same one elsewhere?"
The shopkeeper thought the princess didn't like to use the same things as others, so he quickly explained, "Your Highness, please rest assured. This jade screen was made by a master. The craftsmanship fee was quite high. Ordinary people can't afford it. Moreover, the master has already passed away, and there are no other items like this among the old products."
Lu Wanning felt relieved. It wasn't that she was being fussy, but she had read a lot about in - house battles. She naturally knew that sometimes it was really hard to guard against everything. If the gift she gave to the Empress Dowager was switched, it would be troublesome.
Unexpectedly, she found the gift so quickly. Lu Wanning was in a good mood. She decided to take Jiyue to a nearby teahouse to watch a play.
The wealthy families usually invited people to their homes to watch plays and listen to stories. Among the teahouses outside, only a very small number of high - end ones only served noble guests. The rest were places that ordinary people liked to go.
Fortunately, Lu Wanning's appearance wasn't eye - catching today and she didn't bring many people. The teahouse attendants just thought she was a young lady from an ordinary wealthy family. They led her to a private room on the second floor, served her tea, and then left her alone.
But the food in this teahouse was too ordinary. Since Lu Wanning had traveled through time, she had been eating the best and most carefully selected food every day. Now, the food in the teahouse tasted very astringent to her.
Seeing this, Jiyue quickly said, "Your Highness, let me send someone to Feishi Building to buy some food."
The snacks in Feishi Building were top - notch. There were many kinds of pastries there, and some could even be sold for two taels of silver each. There was always a long queue, and it was really not easy to buy food there.
Lu Wanning liked this kind of food. Seeing that there was nothing on the table that she could eat, she simply handed her name tag to Jiyue. "I remember that mother ordered some food from Feishi Building yesterday and asked them to send it to the mansion today. You go and pick it up with this name tag. Ask them to send most of it back to the mansion, and just leave a little for me."