The next morning, Princess Donglin dressed up meticulously and entered the capital of Yanjing in a royal carriage.
At the city gates, officials from the Ministry of Rites of Qing State awaited her arrival. The princess's carriage procession proceeded along the imperial road into the city. Princess Donglin discreetly lifted the curtain of her carriage and caught sight of the armored city guards lining both sides of the road.
The guards stood tall and proud, gripping red-tasseled spears, their sharp eyes scanning the surroundings.
The towering city walls, the bustling streets in the distance, and the rows upon rows of houses left the princess in awe.
Princess Donglin sighed inwardly—this was indeed the mighty Da Qing, a nation so prosperous that her own homeland, Donglin, paled in comparison.
