Chapter 180 Make Up for Her
After selecting a few, I found that some of them were selected by Eunuch Cao, and some were even the only copies of palace lanterns in the palace.
At first, she chose books from the lower shelves, which were easier to reach. But when she got to the top shelves, it became less convenient. She tried to stand on tiptoe to reach them. Zhao Yan came behind her, took them down and handed them to her.
She took it and flipped through a few pages. It was indeed the drawing book she wanted.
"Thank you, sir," he said.
"It's just a piece of cake," he asked again, "if you want anything else, I'll get it all."
She quickly said, "No, I'm afraid I'll get the wrong place later."
Zhao Yan looked at her and found that she was always so kind-hearted and unwilling to cause trouble to others.
So he reached out and took down all the top layers.
"This..." Before Yu Huatang could finish, he said, "Don't worry, I'm a third place winner after all, so I still have some memory. I'll remember your position for you."
That’s right, how could he have graduated from high school without such a memory? Yu Huatang looked at him and said nothing more.
Zhao Yan smiled and said, "I'll find some clerks to help you copy the books when we get back. You can take a few more. I have some free time recently, so you can give me one too."
Yu Huatang said, "I really don't want to trouble you any further."
"Why is it troublesome? It will be faster if more people copy it. Don't you want to return it to Eunuch Cao as soon as possible?" He added, "I see there are quite a lot of pictures. I am good at this."
Yu Huatang also thought he was right and nodded in agreement, "Then copy this one."
Zhao Yan flipped open the book, which contained instructions on how to make lanterns, complete with numerous illustrations. Copying it would take some time.
"Well, is there anything else? Your painting skills aren't as good as mine. If you want anything else, give it to me."
Yu Huatang looked at him, but didn't know how to respond. He had already helped her a lot, so it was really not appropriate to trouble him again.
She couldn't decide, so she just didn't reply.
After selecting the books, the two returned from Eunuch Cao's mansion.
Zhao Yan handed all the things to An Fu and said to her, "They will give them to the clerk when they get back. It's still early now, let me take you around."
"No need. I don't really want to go out." She shook her head.
Just as she was about to leave, Zhao Yan stopped her and said, "But it's not easy to come to the capital. You might not have such an opportunity again in the future. Why don't you come with me to take a look today?"
He spoke softly, his tone pleading, even a little moved as if he was afraid she would refuse.
Yu Huatang had indeed not been to the capital much. When she first came here, she was very careful at every step. Even when she went out, she never paid attention to where she was. Now she came again to learn skills.
Seeing her hesitation, Zhao Yan continued, "I originally planned that as long as you came to the capital, I would never let you go back. But now, I think Quanzhou might be more suitable for you. If you want to go back in the future, I won't stop you. But today, I want to show you around, okay?"
His words seemed to indicate that he understood something, or that it was a deal. If she went back, he would not pester her anymore. Now was the last time they had together.
She thought for a moment, "...then, let's go."
Zhao Yan looked at her with a smile, invited her to get on the carriage, and told her to go to the moat area.
The most prosperous area in the capital is a section of the moat. All the shops are located on the street, and some are even seven or eight stories high. It is crowded from morning to night.
Further ahead was Suzaku Street, a three-meter-wide bluestone pavement, polished to a shine by the rubbing of thousands of horse hooves and wheels. Zhao Yan led her along the side of the road and pointed to the Yellow Bird Tower nearby. "This is the most famous restaurant in the capital. The waiters there alone are all carefully selected from all over the country. They not only speak Mandarin, but also speak the local dialect beautifully. A few years ago, there was a competition, and a waiter from Tianjin won first place. The boss even gave him a bag of silver."
"It's across from the most famous Three Ships and Seven Squares. I was also mesmerized when I first entered. There were not only camel caravans of Western merchants, blonde and blue-eyed Hu girls, but also many storytellers in the carved window lattices on the second floor. Even the tea cups were made of white porcelain. It was a very luxurious place."
"Besides this, the silk from Jinxiu Loutai is a favorite among the dignitaries. Half of the people in the capital have their clothes made here. Next to it is Fanhuatai, which also deals in silk. The owner's surname is Zhou. Can you guess why Mr. Zhou's business isn't as good as Jinxiu Loutai's?"
Yu Huatang shook his head.
Zhao Yan said, "Because Boss Zhou did something wrong in the past. His two families were fighting over a batch of competing Suzhou embroidery and beat up each other's sons. The owner of Jinxiu Loutai only had one son and no other daughters, so he treasured her very much. They had someone smash his shop overnight and then hired people to throw dirty water on his door for three days. Since then, Boss Zhou's business has been in trouble."
Yu Huatang nodded calmly and continued walking with him. Zhao Yan was about to continue the introduction, but stopped when he saw her. "You're not really interested, are you?"
Yu Huatang was staring at the Hu people under the bridge. When he heard his words, he turned around and said with a smile, "We will leave tomorrow. We are just passing through the capital."
Zhao Yan whispered, "I just feel that whether you've been here before or this time, I haven't really shown you around. How about I take you to see Yibao Garden? It used to be a royal garden, built by a famous gardener, and is said to be the best garden in the north. It's a great time to go boating or take a walk."
Yu Huatang nodded.
Yibao Garden is already large, and now the royal family has added the nearby Wanshou Mountain together and opened it to the public for free. More people are coming and going, and the paths along the way are also filled with people selling all kinds of small gadgets.
The two of them took a carriage and arrived after an incense stick of time.
It was indeed very comfortable inside. Yu Huatang was used to the beautiful courtyards in the south, but now seeing such a vast and magnificent garden with a majestic atmosphere, he felt his mind broadened a lot.
Most of the people running along the way were children, and some vendors doing business would also come up to say a few words, but Yu Huatang always smiled and refused.
A man selling sachets came up and said, "Madam, please buy a sachet. It's perfect for your husband. It's made with medicinal herbs and jasmine flowers, and it smells very nice."
Yu Huatang was stunned, realizing that he must have mistaken the two for a couple. He just shook his head and walked straight away. Zhao Yan, who was behind him, was stopped. "My dear, buy a pair. It's only twenty cents. The meaning and the pattern are all good." Zhao Yan took the pair. It was indeed the lotus style commonly used by ordinary people.
He gave her the money, but saw that Yu Huatang had already walked outside. He immediately followed her over, holding the sachet and saying to her, "It smells pretty good. You can keep it and wear it."
Sachets were originally gifts between lovers and couples, and now they are in the shape of a lotus, but he just said that it smelled nice, and there was no other meaning.
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