Xia Daohua watched them leave 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 little black donkey, hiding in the alley. What bad intentions could she have?
There were a lot of purses and jade pendants in the space supermarket, but these guys obviously didn't notice anything.
Xia Daohua smiled secretly, feeling extremely satisfied with this group of people and the speed of their horses.
The one who appeased them must have been either Gu Shanrou or County Magistrate Yang. If it was County Magistrate Yang, it would be fine, but if it was Gu Shanrou, then he couldn't let her suffer this loss in vain.
Today, I'll take a basket of "freshly steamed dim sum" and a few bottles of "freshly brewed fruit wine" and go see her. By the way, I'll also give her a discount card for "Daohuaxiang".
Xia Daohua quietly led the little black donkey and tiptoed back in the alley. After she had walked far enough, she 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 fine jade pendants to the space, changed her clothes in the space, and then left the space.
Immediately afterwards, Xia Daohua took out another invitation, returned to "Daohuaxiang", and sent a servant to deliver the invitation to Gu Shanrou's princess's mansion.
After receiving the reply, Xia Daohua took the prepared gifts and went to see Gu Shanrou.
Seeing that Xia Daohua left home not long after staying there, the couple in the fourth room were a little worried, especially Jiang, who felt like a stone was hanging in her heart. However, all she said was complaints:
"This child has been away from home day after day, and his heart has become wild."
Xia Youtian half wanted to comfort Jiang, half wanted to comfort himself, and said with a smile: "Our Daohua has always been a sensible child. She is busy with serious things outside. You should worry less!"
[To be honest, I've been using Yeguo Reader to keep up with updates lately. It's easy to switch between sources, and has a variety of reading voices. .yeguoyuedu is available for both Android and Apple devices.]
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. Although they have not met as often as she has with Wang, 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 act arrogantly in front of her.
Firstly, 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 out 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 restrictions on her actions, so she naturally misses the good times when she could travel everywhere.
Even the experience of being assassinated, when I recall it now, is more thrilling than scary.
The only person closely connected to this memory is Xia Daohua, a person she can approach without reservation. Naturally, she cherishes Xia Daohua, this mysterious and interesting little girl.
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:
"There's a popular kind of crispy dough fruit called a ringing bell right now. It's only this tiny bit in size and very delicately made, but it's so fragile. If you buy it from outside, most of it will break on the way home."
This kind of snack sounds a bit like the egg roll pastry of later generations, which breaks 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. Gu Shanrou mainly talked and Xia Daohua listened. Xia Daohua would occasionally bring up a sentence or two:
"This one should be paired with sweet wine."
"This one should be paired with Osmanthus Oolong."
Hearing the little girl's light footsteps again and her breathing becoming 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 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 happy.
Decided to expand the harem.
In Xia Daohua's memory, in some dynasties in history, the selection of concubines was for women from the common people; in other dynasties, the selection was only for high-ranking officials, and people from lower-ranking officials were not eligible.
But in the Great Chu Dynasty, the scope of this selection 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, in the past few years, the emperor was diligent in his duties, 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 due to his age or the constant flattery and beauties, the emperor had become 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 it seem that the number is too small and the grandeur is not enough.
Naturally, it has to be expanded from time to time...
Gu Shanrou mentioned this to Xia Daohua, not to gossip about the emperor to her bestie, but to carefully remind Xia Daohua:
The selection was open to unmarried women of marriageable age, regardless of whether they came from farming families, merchant households, or official families. Even those who were engaged but had not yet married were not exempt from the selection if they had not registered with the government office before the selection.
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!
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