Before starting their shopping spree, Ye Jingchen took the kids to the money exchange.
He took out a large silver ingot of fifty taels, exchanged it for one tael of silver in copper coins for one person, and then exchanged it for several taels of loose silver for each person.
At that time, one tael of silver could be exchanged for a thousand copper coins. So many copper coins were heavy in their hands. They were stuffed into the large purses that Fanghua had specially sewn for them, making the purses bulge.
Even the youngest Ye Jing'an, Ye Jingyan, and Ye Jingning were no exception. They were small, with bulging money bags hanging from their waists. As they walked with their short legs, the money bags swayed back and forth, making them particularly eye-catching.
The entrance to the money exchange was a place with a lot of people coming and going, so it was unusual for a group of children to go in and out of the money exchange, not to mention that the purses hanging from their waists were so bulging when these children came out.
However, no matter how many wicked thoughts they had, they dared not have them anymore when they met the cold, stern gazes of the tall, burly guards protecting the child.
Ye Jingchen felt a great sense of accomplishment being able to lead so many kids out. If they weren't princes or grandsons of emperors, they would definitely be the most dazzling stars on Zhuque Street today.
Unfortunately, their identities dictate that they need to keep a low profile.
As a result, the eleven little cubs had to split into three groups.
Ye Jingshu led Ye Jingyan, Ye Jingyu, and Ye Jingyan by the hand. The four girls were together, closely followed by four guards, and six more guards were scattered around them.
There are many noble families in the capital, so such a spectacle is not uncommon. Outsiders would only think that these four young girls are of noble status, but they wouldn't think much of it.
Ye Jingming, along with Ye Jingyu and Ye Jingyu, were accompanied by eight Donggong guards—four openly and four secretly.
Ye Jingchen was accompanied by Ye Jinghe and the two little ones, Ye Jingan and Ye Jingning, with guards both visible and hidden around them.
As for the four reading companions—
Gu Beichen and Wu Zemin were so eye-catching that even before they met up, Ye Jingchen could see people surrounding their carriage from afar.
If they were put together, any smart person could guess their identities.
He himself did not want to show his face in front of the noble families in the capital too early, nor did he want Ye Jingming and his group to be noticed too early.
So the previously planned shopping trip turned into a free-for-all for Wu Zemin and the others. They met at Zuixianlou at noon to have lunch together, and in the afternoon Ye Jingchen invited everyone to watch a play at Linfeng Opera House, which was currently very popular in the capital.
Zhuque Avenue is very long and lined with shops, making it very lively.
Ye Jingshu led her three younger sisters into a shop selling rouge and face powder.
Whether girls love beauty or not, or like dressing up, they seem unable to resist the allure of cosmetics and pretty dresses.
She is fourteen years old this year. In this era, a girl's coming of age at fifteen meant she was ready to marry and have children.
As the emperor's eldest legitimate princess, Ye Jingshu was the most noble woman in the world, and her marriage attracted everyone's attention.
As early as when she was twelve years old, someone petitioned the emperor, hoping that the princess would marry him.
The emperor was stunned at the time. After he came to his senses, he was furious and ordered that the hereditary title be stripped from the brave man.
Having learned from this experience, no one has dared to propose marriage in the past two years. However, once Ye Jingshu turns fifteen, those with designs on her will likely be unable to resist.
When that time comes, it will be up to Ye Jingshu to fight for the life she wants.
Ye Jingming then chose a rice shop, and after discussing it with Ye Jingyu and Ye Jingyu, he led them into the rice shop.
"Brother, where are we going?" Ye Jinghe asked, holding his brother's hand in one hand and Ye Jingan's hand in the other.
Ye Jingchen held Ye Jingning's hand with his other hand, while Ye Jingning held a wooden Luban lock in his free hand. Although Ye Jingning was being led by Ye Jingchen, his eyes were always on the Luban lock.
Ye Jingning particularly enjoys playing with Luban locks, and there's no lock that can stump him.
Although he is usually slow to speak and act, he becomes a completely different person when playing with puzzle toys like Luban locks or nine-linked rings, reacting very quickly.
Ye Jinghe's once proud record of solving the nine-ring puzzle in the fastest time has also been surpassed by Ye Jingning.
Ye Jingchen brought back all the ingenious toys collected by Tiangong Pavilion, as long as they could be replicated, to the palace for Ye Jingning to play with.
Ye Jingning is like any other child; he's good at taking things apart. But unlike other children, he can put anything he takes apart, no matter how complex the structure, back together exactly as it was.
Even if he can't put it back together right away, he can figure it out eventually if he tries for a while.
Whenever Ye Jingning looks at him like this, Ye Jingchen can't help but smile kindly.
Given Ye Jingning's interests and talents, he is definitely the best choice to take over the Tiangong Pavilion and the Handicraft Department in the future.
"Brother—" Ye Jinghe's question went unanswered. He turned his head and saw his brother looking at the little wooden figure with a strange expression.
Ye Jinghe pursed his lips, feeling a pang of jealousy.
Ever since this little piece of wood came to the Wenhua Hall, he is no longer the older brother's favorite younger brother!
The older brother's gaze would always be unconsciously drawn to the little wooden figure.
So what if he can play with wood? What's so great about that!
Thinking this to himself, Ye Jinghe didn't show it. He just shook Ye Jingchen's hand vigorously to attract his attention.
"Jinghe, is there any shop you'd like to visit?" Ye Jingchen asked with a smile.
“That one—” Ye Jinghe pointed to a pastry shop.
He could already smell the sweet aroma emanating from the shop.
Actually, this wasn't his first time visiting Suzaku Avenue.
The older brother kept his word; after he was six years old and had his own bodyguard, the older brother did take him out of the palace to play a few times.
Zhuque Street is the liveliest place, and it's also the place his brother most often brings him.
He was very familiar with that pastry shop in front of him; he knew all the delicious pastries there and their prices.
"Then let's go to the pastry shop first." Ye Jingchen had no objection and led his three younger brothers toward the pastry shop.
After being warmly welcomed inside by the shop assistants, Ye Jingchen released his two younger brothers' hands and took the Luban lock from Ye Jingning's hand.
Seeing this, Ye Jinghe immediately released Ye Jingan without hesitation for even a second.
"Jing'an, Jingning, take a look and see if there are any pastries you like. If so, you can buy them with the money in your purse," Ye Jingchen said softly to his two younger brothers, and then had the four Eastern Palace Guards who were following behind Ye Jing'an and Ye Jingning respectively.
As for Ye Jinghe, without him having to explain, he had already started having the shop assistants pack various pastries for him.
Although he developed cavities from eating too much sugar as a child and was banned from eating sugar by Ye Jingchen, he still loves sugar and enjoys all kinds of sweets, especially sweet cakes.
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