The Ling family’s steward had already been waiting at the docks with his men for several days.

Once the Ling family’s official boat moored at the docks, the steward immediately led a group of strong young servants aboard to pay their respects, then set about busily moving the luggage onto the carriages.

Many official boats came and went at the docks, and the Ling family’s vessel didn’t particularly stand out among them.

Having learned from past experience, this time when disembarking, Ling Jingshu, Ling Jingyan, and Jiang Shi all wore veiled hats, surrounded on every side by maids and matrons, with a further outer ring of tall, sturdy guards. Even at close range, it would have been difficult to make out the women’s figures, let alone their faces.

Once everyone had calmly boarded the carriages without incident, they all let out a quiet breath of relief at the same time.

The carriages set off slowly, dutifully joining the line outside Dingding Gate to wait their turn to enter the city.

So many people were waiting in line to enter the city that waiting an hour or two was entirely ordinary. With so many people gathered, naturally there was no shortage of chatter—it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a clamor of voices.

Ling Xiao had never experienced such lively bustle before, and his voice was full of excitement: “A’Shu, there are so many people outside the city gate. I can even hear vendors calling out to sell snacks!”

Before Ling Jingshu could respond, Ling Jingyan jumped in with a laugh: “With so many people today, who knows how long we’ll have to wait before we can get through the gate. My stomach happens to be growling too—why not send someone to buy some food? We could eat a bit to pass the time.”

Sun Shi gave Ling Jingyan a playful glare: “Who knows if that food out there is even clean. What’s so good about it? I think your cravings are just acting up again!”

Scolding aside, she immediately sent a matron to go buy snacks.

Ling Jingyan smugly raised an eyebrow at Ling Jingshu.

Ling Jingshu gave a knowing smile in return.

At first, deliberately drawing close to Ling Jingyan had served another purpose entirely—she hadn’t actually felt much fondness for Ling Jingyan as a person. But after spending these recent days together, the two had grown increasingly familiar with one another, and she had come to know Ling Jingyan’s temperament well.

Ling Jingyan was indeed somewhat spoiled and willful, but aside from that, she had no real flaws. Lively in temperament, sweetly naive and endearing, with no scheming in her at all—the kind of person one couldn’t help but warm to easily.

The matron moved quickly and soon returned with several large bags of snacks.

The candied haws on a stick were sweet and tangy, wonderfully appetizing. The mung bean cakes were freshly made, sweet, chewy, and warm. There were also fragrant, piping-hot osmanthus chestnuts.

These were of course nowhere near as refined as the pastries made by their household cooks, but the appeal was precisely in their freshness and warmth.

Ling Jingyan’s favorite was the candied haws. Jiang Shi ate the mung bean cakes. Ling Jingshu carefully peeled the osmanthus chestnuts, popping the round, warm chestnuts into Ling Xiao’s mouth.

Ling Xiao ate them one after another, praising them as he went: “These are so good! A’Shu, don’t just focus on peeling them for me—eat some yourself too.”

Seeing how happily Ling Xiao was eating, Ling Jingshu felt pleased as well. She peeled one and popped it into her own mouth: “The flavor really is quite good.”

The younger ones ate with lively enthusiasm. Sun Shi, the elder among them, had initially maintained her dignified composure and refused to join in, but unable to resist the tempting blend of aromas, she too tried a bite of the mung bean cake. Then, even as she ate, she critiqued it dismissively: “These mung bean cakes are made with ordinary ingredients, not refined enough in texture. And a bit too sweet besides. Nowhere near as good as what our household cook makes…”

She criticized with great vigor, and ate with no less vigor—within moments she had finished three whole pieces!

Ling Jingyan called her mother out without mercy: “Mother, if you think it’s not good, then why did you eat so much of it?”

Sun Shi: “…”

Everyone else turned away, stifling their laughter.

Sun Shi shot Ling Jingyan a glare: “I was only worried you children would eat too much and upset your stomachs. That’s why I reluctantly ate some on your behalf.”

Everyone burst out laughing, unable to hold it back any longer.

The cheerful sound of laughter and chatter carried outside the carriage.

The sharp-eared vendors hawking food all around immediately gathered closer in numbers.

This time Sun Shi didn’t stop them at all. She said generously, “Buy some more—let all the maids and matrons share in some too.” The maids and matrons were all overjoyed.

Eating snacks and chatting cheerfully, the waiting time didn’t feel so unbearable after all.

An hour later, the Ling family’s carriages passed through the city gate.

Ling Jingshu finally got to see for herself what the Heaven Street that Ling Jingyan had spoken of actually looked like.

The street was paved entirely with the sturdiest blue bricks, wide and clean. Wine shops and stores lined both sides of the road, with an endless stream of passing carriages and horses, and pedestrians bustling everywhere. Under the bright, brilliant sunlight, the whole scene radiated vitality.

Dingzhou could also be considered a bustling city in its own right, but compared to the capital, Luoyang, it fell far short.

It was, perhaps, much like the difference between a plain country woman and a peerless beauty.

Ling Jingshu lifted a corner of the bamboo curtain slightly, marveling silently to herself.

Watching the expression on Ling Jingshu’s face, Ling Jingyan felt a swell of pride at being a native of the capital: “A’Shu, this is only the Outer City—it’s nothing yet. Once we pass through the main gate of the imperial city, that’s the Inner City of Luoyang. That’s where the real bustle and splendor lies.”

Having returned to Luoyang, Sun Shi was also in excellent spirits, and she added with a smile: “A’Shu, A’Xiao, since you two have never been to the capital before, you probably don’t know the difference between the Inner City and the Outer City. Since we have nothing else to do, let me explain it to the two of you…”

In truth, Ling Jingyan had already explained all of this more than once before.

But since Sun Shi was willing to explain it herself, Ling Jingshu naturally couldn’t dampen her enthusiasm, and quickly put on an attentive, listening expression.

Having lived in the capital for over a decade, Sun Shi spoke of the layout of Luoyang clearly and methodically, as familiar with it as the contents of her own home—far more capable than Ling Jingyan in this regard:

“Luoyang has a total of one hundred and nine wards.”

“The Inner City has only twenty-eight wards along with the North Market. The Outer City has eighty-one wards along with the West Market and South Market. The West Market is somewhat smaller, while the South Market spans the area of two whole wards and is Luoyang’s largest commercial district. The North Market lies within the Inner City—smaller in scale than the South Market, but still one of the most famous destinations in all of Luoyang.”

“Those qualified to live in the Inner City are without exception either wealthy or of noble rank. Ordinary commoners mostly live in the Outer City.”

“Within the Inner City, the closer a location is to the imperial palace, the more desirable it is. Wards like Daozheng, Qinghua, and Daoguang, for instance, are mostly home to the residences of imperial princes, princesses, or princes of the first and second rank. Slightly lesser wards, such as Guiyi and Jingxing, are mostly home to the residences of meritorious nobles and ministers of the Six Ministries. Lesser still are the residences of ordinary officials.”

“Our Ling family’s residence is in Yude Ward. It’s not the most desirable location, but it’s near the North Market, and not too far from the imperial palace either…”

Ling Jingshu nodded in understanding.

In simple terms, the closer to the imperial palace, the more prized the location—and ordinary officials had no right to live there.

Ling Daye’s official rank was neither too high nor too low, and living in Yude Ward, quite close to the North Market, was already considered fairly good.

No wonder Ling Daye was so eager, sharpening himself to the point, to claw his way upward.

Power and influence—these two words were the most tempting things in the world. In her past life, the Lu family had torn her and Lu Hong apart, currying favor with those above them, all for nothing more than power and influence.