The Enchanting Imperial Concubine (Book 3)

Epilogue - Second Princess, Jia Wan

True to her name, the Second Princess is a girl who loves to smile.

Her smile is like the bright moonlight.

She is lively and does not strictly adhere to rules, sharing a similar temperament with the Fourth Princess. Therefore, even though they are seven or eight years apart in age, they can still play together.

However, her closest confidante in the inner court is still Ye Yun's niece, Ye Shuran.

Ning Chen does not restrict the princesses from leaving the palace, so the Second Princess often goes to the Ye residence with the Fourth Princess.

With more outings, naturally, there are more opportunities to meet people. Just this year, upon reaching the age of coming of age, she encountered the second son of the Gu family, Gu Cong.

The Gu family is a newly risen noble family that has recently arrived in the capital. Gu Cong's father has spent many years fighting bandits in the west, achieving considerable military accomplishments and being granted the title of Third-Rank General.

In the capital, Third-Rank officials are quite common, so it is not considered a high position. The second son of a Third-Rank general is certainly not outstanding among the young masters of high-ranking families in the capital.

However, Gu Cong's handsome appearance cannot be overlooked.

At eighteen, he is in the prime of youth, having trained in martial arts since childhood, giving him a tall and athletic figure. His pair of peach blossom eyes has undoubtedly captivated the hearts of countless young ladies.

Before he came to the capital, apart from the Crown Prince, the eldest son of the Xu family, Xu Qinglin, was the dream man of countless young ladies in the capital. After he arrived, half of those dreams shifted to him.

The ladies often discussed privately that the Xu family's young master was as gentle as jade, like the warmth of spring, while the Gu family's young master was dressed in fine clothes and rode a spirited horse, fierce as the blazing sun.

Xu Qinglin was the Crown Prince's companion in reading, frequently visiting the palace, so upon hearing the praise from the young ladies of the capital for the Gu family's young master, the Second Princess became a bit curious.

During the Dragon Boat Festival, this year the Crown Prince hosted a dragon boat race, inviting the young masters from the capital to join in the fun.

Of course, it wasn't like the boat teams that rowed; rather, specially made small boats were used, with two people forming a team, racing in the moat outside the capital.

Today, the Second Princess was in a playful mood, dressed as a boy and standing together with Ye Shuran, looking like siblings.

Since the Crown Prince organized the event, Gu Cong naturally had to come. However, he arrived a bit late and, having just come to the capital without familiar companions, ended up alone when teams were formed.

According to the rules, participants must form pairs, so Gu Cong found himself in a dilemma.

Logically, he could outpace others on his own with his martial skills, but he couldn't compete alone.

As he was worrying, he caught sight of the Second Princess, disguised as a boy, at the front of the crowd, her brows relaxed. He strode over.

"I am Gu Cong, the second son of General Zhao Wu. I would like to invite you to join me in the race, if you don't mind?"

Both of them were taken aback.

Ye Shuran was about to explain, but the Second Princess stopped her.

Deliberately deepening her voice, she returned the salute. "How could I refuse an invitation from Young Master Gu?"