Chapter 321 News

Xia Daohua watched them walk away with satisfaction, not even bothering to glance at a small figure like herself.

After all, she was a "thin" and "timid" farm girl, wearing only a half-new cotton-padded jacket, riding a small black donkey, hiding in the alley. What bad intentions could she have?

There were a lot of money bags and jade pendants in the space supermarket, but these guys obviously didn't notice it at all.

Xia Daohua smiled secretly, and was extremely satisfied with this group of people and their fast horses.

The one who appeased them must be either Gu Shanrou or County Magistrate Yang. If it was County Magistrate Yang, it would be fine, but if it was Gu Shanrou, then I can't let her suffer this loss in vain.

Today, I will bring a basket of "freshly steamed snacks" and a few bottles of "freshly brewed fruit wine" to visit her. By the way, I will also give her a discount card for "Daohuaxiang".

Xia Daohua quietly led the little black donkey and tiptoed back in the alley. After they had walked far enough, they turned around, took a small path, and went back home.

When I got home, I saw the couple in the fourth room hiding in the kitchen, roasting taro in the ashes. The arrival of the summer rice flowers immediately broke the originally warm atmosphere.

Xia Daohua greeted the couple in the fourth room with a smile, then quickly ran back to her room, and then stayed there quietly to "rest" for a while - in fact, she entered the space.

She checked the things she had collected from the playboys, put them in different categories, fed a few good jade pendants to the space, changed her clothes in the space, and then left the space.

Then, Xia Daohua took out another invitation, returned to "Daohuaxiang", and sent a waiter to deliver the invitation to Gu Shanrou's villa in the princess's mansion.

After receiving the reply, Xia Daohua took the prepared gifts and went to see Gu Shanrou.

Seeing that Xia Daohua left again after not staying at home for long, the couple in the fourth room were a little worried, especially Jiang, who felt like there was a stone hanging in her heart, but all she said was complaints:

"This child has been away from home for days on end, and his heart has become wild."

Xia Youtian half comforted Jiang and half comforted himself, and said with a smile: "Our Daohua has always been a sensible child. He is busy with serious things outside. You should worry less!"

Xia Daohua walked a long way away, but could still vaguely hear the couple talking and smell the aroma of roasted taro.

…

Xia Daohua and Gu Shanrou have a kind of gentlemanly friendship. They don't meet as often as she does with Wang, but their relationship is not bad. It is the kind of relationship where there is mutual trust and tacit understanding.

Whenever Xia Daohua came, Gu Shanrou would always see her first and never put on airs in front of her.

Firstly, it was because Gu Shanrou really liked Xia Daohua; secondly, Xia Daohua’s small gifts were always novel and not available anywhere else; thirdly, and most importantly, Gu Shanrou missed the time when she was outside with Gu Mingzhen and Li Gan.

Although living in Jixiang County, I feel much more comfortable than when I was in the Princess's Mansion in Kyoto.

But as a princess, she cannot do whatever she wants, nor is it convenient for her to show up in public often. There are many more restrictions on her actions, so she naturally misses the good times when she could travel everywhere.

Even the experience of being assassinated, when I think back on it now, it was more thrilling than scary.

The only person closely connected to this memory is Xia Daohua, whom she can get close to without any scruples. Naturally, Xia Daohua, this mysterious and interesting little girl, is also cherished by her.

Gu Shanrou's maid took small steps and respectfully led Xia Daohua to see Gu Shanrou. Xia Daohua walked slowly, but Gu Shanrou came out to greet her from afar:

"You silly girl, you finally remembered to come see me!"

Xia Daohua laughed and said, "I neglected the princess, I deserve a beating, I deserve a beating!"

The two little girls smiled brightly and were in high spirits as soon as they saw each other. The happiness that came from the heart made their youthful faces even more charming.

The gathering of the two little girls was also very simple, just eating snacks and fruits, drinking tea and chatting.

Gu Shanrou found an excuse to send the people around her away, and casually chatted with Xia Daohua about snacks in Kyoto:

"Nowadays, there is a kind of crispy dough fruit called "ringing bells" that is popular. It is only a little bit big and is made very delicately, but it is too fragile. If you buy it from outside, more than half of it will break on the way home."

This kind of snack sounds a bit like the egg rolls of later generations, which break at the slightest touch. No matter how careful you are when eating, it is inevitable that crumbs will fall off...

The two chatted for a while, always revolving around the topic of food and snacks, mainly Gu Shanrou talking and Xia Daohua listening. Xia Daohua would occasionally mention a sentence or two:

"This should be paired with sweet wine."

"This should be paired with Osmanthus Oolong."

Hearing the little girl's light footsteps again and her breathing becoming more distant, Xia Daohua's eyes flickered and she winked at Gu Shanrou, who then changed the subject: "I heard..."

It was unexpected yet reasonable news.

At the beginning of next month, the emperor will issue an edict to reopen the selection.

Originally, due to the frequent wars, this year's draft was suspended.

But these days, good news came from everywhere. Even Bohai County, which had actually fallen into the hands of the northern barbarians, was turned upside down by Li Gan, and the emperor was very pleased.

Decided to expand the harem.

In Xia Daohua's memory, in some dynasties in history, the beauty pageant was for women from the common people; in other dynasties, the scope of the beauty pageant was only for high-ranking officials, and people from lower-ranking officials were not eligible.

But in the Great Chu Dynasty, the scope of the beauty pageant actually covered everyone from common women to high-ranking officials... no level was left out.

This emperor is really not picky.

Xia Daohua couldn't help but secretly complain in her heart.

Of course, the emperor was diligent in his duties in the past few years, and there were many vacancies in the harem. He was busy with wars and had no time to spare.

Over the years, whether it was because he was getting older or because he was flattered and overwhelmed by beauty every day, the emperor became less and less interested in attending court. His greatest pleasure was to spend time in the harem.

There are only two or three kittens in the harem, which makes the number seem too small and the scene not grand enough.

Naturally, it has to be expanded from time to time...

Gu Shanrou told Xia Daohua about this, not to gossip about the emperor to her bestie, but to carefully remind Xia Daohua:

The scope of the draft was unmarried women of marriageable age, whether they were farmers, merchants, or officials. Even those who were engaged but had not yet married could not be exempted from the draft if they had not registered with the government before the draft.

When Xia Daohua heard this, her heart suddenly skipped a beat.

The selection range is from thirteen to eighteen years old, and there are quite a few girls of the right age in our family!

Good night, sweet dreams.

(End of this chapter)