Chapter Thirty-Eight: Rumors About the Crown Prince Spread Throughout the Ranks

Su Jingluo was a bit dazed as she jogged along. She hadn’t left her courtyard in five years, and she was utterly unfamiliar with the streets and alleys of the capital. Like a headless fly, she wandered aimlessly for quite a while before finally stumbling upon the bustling city center.

Her first order of business was to exchange her five taels of gold for smaller silver coins. The feeling of carrying a fortune in her pocket was indescribably exhilarating. Yet, the world hadn’t changed from before—no matter how much money she had, it was never enough. A hundred taels of gold couldn’t buy her an apothecary, nor could it purchase a medical hall.

Naively, Su Jingluo even went to ask at a medical hall, “Is this place for sale? How much does it cost?” The attendant immediately assumed she was there to cause trouble. Seeing she was just a frail woman, he didn’t lay a hand on her but promptly threw her out.

She then asked the resident physician at a pharmacy, “How much do you earn in a month? What would it cost to take over this pharmacy?” The doctor scribbled out a prescription and told the attendant, “This girl’s lost her mind—give her some medicine, no charge. Tell her to leave quickly.”

After much inquiry, she finally found a chatty, loose-lipped pharmacy attendant and asked whether a hundred taels of gold could start a pharmacy. The attendant snorted, “A hundred taels of gold wouldn’t even cover the cost of stocking medicines, let alone the shop itself.”

Wandering about, Su Jingluo realized economic independence was still a distant dream. Since that was the case, she decided to enjoy herself while she could, visiting all the nearby clothing boutiques, cosmetics shops, and jade stores. In the end, she discovered that no matter how much money one had, it was never enough for shopping. Women’s clothing and cosmetics were expensive in any era, and jewelry was even more so. She tried on everything in every shop, big and small.

In the end, Su Jingluo only bought some clothes for Yunbai, along with toys, snacks, and candies. She bought nothing for herself, unable to bear the expense. When the money was nearly gone and she looked at the items in her hands, she realized that this was what it meant to be a mother.

Finally, carrying a bundle of purchases, Su Jingluo went to a tea stall. With her money nearly spent, she couldn’t afford a proper meal and could only fill up on tea.

“Have you heard? The crown prince is practically a celestial being descended to earth. Apparently, just a few days ago, he was reading in the palace, got tired, and fell asleep, only to be carried away by rainbow-colored auspicious clouds to the Purple Gold Palace atop Spirit Mountain, sixty li away. Truly, he is heaven’s chosen child!” A middle-aged man in the teahouse was animatedly sharing palace gossip.

“Nonsense. How could someone be carried off by clouds just by taking a nap? The Purple Gold Palace is so tall, and the prince is just a child. How could he get up there?” A young man was utterly unconvinced.

“My friend, it’s true. I saw it with my own eyes! Early one morning, a seven-colored cloud carried an eight or nine-year-old boy dressed in splendid robes right over my head. I was so startled, I froze.” The tea shop attendant joined the conversation, claiming firsthand experience and even pointed to his injured toe to bolster his story. “Look, I was so scared I dropped the door panel on my foot as I opened the shop, scraped off some skin, and bled quite a bit.”

“Is it really true?” The young man seemed swayed.

“I’m telling you, it happened. My neighbor’s second son’s wife’s aunt’s youngest son works in the palace as a eunuch, and he saw the clouds carry the prince to the Purple Gold Palace. Plenty of palace maids and eunuchs witnessed it themselves.” The middle-aged man offered further confirmation.

Pfft, Su Jingluo nearly spit out her tea. Seeing everyone’s attention, she quickly lowered her head. Ordinary people really could spin a tale. If this were modern times, they’d be legendary web novel fantasy writers, able to fabricate anything and make it sound convincing. If she hadn’t seen Xiao Chengze appear at the Prince Jing’s manor herself, Su Jingluo might almost have believed it too.