read?
This was something Gu Yanyan dared not imagine.
In the past, only the girl had ever taught her to write, but she didn't like learning. After learning the basics, she never put any more effort into it, instead focusing all her energy on embroidery.
Let her go to school now.
Gu Yanyan felt it would take half her life.
She blushed and shook her head. "I know a few characters, but I'm afraid I can't read books, let alone history."
Zhang Yang nodded and changed the subject. "History records say that the personal lady-in-waiting of Empress Zhenrui was named Cui Yun. There are many stories about her in history. After Empress Zhenrui retired to the countryside, she was taken as a concubine by Emperor Jing after he ascended the throne."
Cui Yun?
Gu Yanyan thought about it carefully, and it seemed that she had heard such a name when she was traveling outside.
However, that happened after the girl became empress. For those ten years, she did not stay by the girl's side, but instead wandered around outside until many years later, when she found the girl in a small tavern.
"I have no idea."
Gu Yanyan lowered her eyes slightly, appearing indifferent to the conversation.
She was a little tired.
After she was dug out of Yangling, her spirits were not as good as before.
In the past, she seemed to never know fatigue, always walking and looking around. The girl was right, people should see more of the world so that their horizons are not narrow.
However, she left and watched.
The more you walk and see, the more you discover, the more unknown things there are, and the more you miss the things from the past.
She knew that Xu An had feelings for her, but when she wanted to turn back, it was too late.
Xu An couldn't wait for her, so he married another woman. In the end, they were just missing some of their destiny.
Moreover, the men of Dajing are conservative and their way of dealing with people is quite different from that of the young lady. She was treated so freely and unrestrainedly by the young lady for many years, and life in a grand mansion was ultimately not suitable for her.
Lost in her thoughts, she drifted into a daze until Zhang Yang called her. She snapped out of her reverie, saw Zhang Yang's handsome face, and stared blankly for a long time before realizing that she was in an unfamiliar era.
Zhang Yang waved his hand in front of her eyes and said with a smile, "If you're tired, go back and rest. I'll take you out this afternoon."
Hearing the first part, Gu Yanyan felt relieved, but upon hearing the second part, she immediately tensed up again. "I don't want to go out!"
Zhang Yang looked her up and down. "You need to buy some clothes. You can't always wear my clothes."
Gu Yanyan blushed and ran back to her room like a rabbit.
There were no women in this house, only Professor Zhang and Zhang Yang. It is said that Zhang Yang's mother died in the delivery room during childbirth.
Giving birth is a life-threatening ordeal.
She knows.
She sighed silently. The girl never had a child in her entire life. The prince treated her very well and never even considered divorcing her because she couldn't have children.
The prince and the young lady are a perfect match.
...
In the afternoon, Gu Yanyan went out with Zhang Yang.
The clothes she was wearing were the same ones Professor Zhang had bought for her when she left the research center—long sleeves, a long skirt, covering her completely.
At first, she simply couldn't accept that the women here didn't wear bellybands, but instead wore something called an omen of misfortune.
She really couldn't understand why someone would wear something that was already considered an omen of bad luck.
The people here are strange!
This was Gu Yanyan's first thought upon arriving here.
However, after seeing so many strange things, I got used to it.
For example, the local customs are very open-minded. Men and women often expose their arms and legs, and it seems normal for them to hug, kiss, and touch each other. This would have been unimaginable in the former Great Jing Dynasty.
There are also many metal boxes that can run, things that can move, and even something called a cell phone that can make sounds and wake people up.
The buildings here truly soar into the clouds, taller than the imperial palace, and some even have reflective mirrors that are dazzlingly bright.
Gu Yanyan was very curious about this world. Fortunately, she had already been exposed to modern society for a period of time in Zhang Yang's family, so she was able to accept what she was seeing now.
After all, she had seen many things different from those in the Great Jing Dynasty when she traveled around before, so she was capable of accepting them.
The wonders I've seen before simply can't compare to what's here.
Zhang Yang saw the look of a miracle in her eyes and couldn't help but smile.
It was a magical feeling, like Alice had just entered Wonderland and was curious about everything.
Standing at the entrance of the mall, when Gu Yanyan saw the dazzling array of sparkling items inside, she couldn't help but cover her eyes with her hand. It seemed like everything inside was sparkling, making her feel dizzy for a moment.
Zhang Yang smiled, took her hand, and naturally walked inside.
Gu Yanyan's hands were very cold; even in June, her hands were as cold as if it were autumn.
Zhang Yang gripped her hand tighter, trying to warm her up.
Gu Yanyan's cheeks flushed red. She struggled slightly, feeling conflicted. This unfamiliar world frightened her. She dared not break away from Zhang Yang, yet she also felt that holding hands like this was indecent.
After passing through the glittering gold and silver jewelry on the first floor, I went up to the women's clothing section on the third floor and finally stopped.
Gu Yanyan straightened up and moved a little further away from Zhang Yang.
"What kind of clothes do you like?" It was Zhang Yang's first time shopping on the women's clothing floor. He frowned, instinctively feeling that none of the clothes here suited Gu Yanyan's temperament.
A girl from ancient times wearing modern clothes always seems to be missing something.
I don't know why.
He believed deep down that Gu Yanyan was very likely an artifact from the Great Jing Dynasty a thousand years ago.
Gu Yanyan was speechless.
The colors of those clothes were bright and vibrant, quite different from the dull, gloomy colors that always seemed to be shrouded in a layer of mist before. People now seemed to dress better than before, and the fabrics were unlike anything she had ever seen before, with intricate and varied patterns.
But I always feel like something is missing.
Without elaborate embroidery, the color scheme is bold and bright, lacking subtlety and gentleness, and the style is too revealing; she dared not wear it herself.
She lowered her eyes and shook her head.
Zhang Yang sighed and said softly, "Gu Yanyan, take a look! You need to learn to adapt."
adapt!
Gu Yanyan's heart skipped a beat.
She glanced at the clothes again; it was summer, and most of them were revealing.
Zhang Yang led her through the shops one by one, and they finally stopped in front of a shop with an antique style.
Most of the clothes here are made of silk, with styles leaning towards the traditional Chinese aesthetic. They often feature embroidery, flowers, and long skirts with long sleeves.
Gu Yanyan felt a sense of warmth, as if she had returned to her parents' home.
She reached out and touched the fabric, and memories seemed to slip through her fingers.
Upon touching them, the fabrics were indeed different from before; they were more delicate and tightly woven. Such exquisite fabrics used to be very expensive, and I wonder how much they cost now.
However, the embroidery on the fabric was terrible; such an embroiderer should be dismissed.
Looking at her face full of nostalgia and her increasingly furrowed brows, Zhang Yang explained, "Now it's all machine embroidery."
machine?
The first thing that came to Gu Yanyan's mind was a colossal creature that rattled and clattered. "Truly amazing, how do those embroiderers make a living?"
She looked at her own hands, and her idea of getting rich through hard work vanished in an instant.
Does this mean she'll live in the Zhang family's house for the rest of her life?
“Embroiderer…” Zhang Yang saw the light in her eyes fade and tried to think, “There are still embroiderers now, but they are very few. They can do many things, such as embroidery paintings. Some high-end clothing uses embroidery, and some elaborate theatrical costumes are also embroidered by novice embroiderers. Handmade things are different from artificial ones; they have warmth.”
"Oh!" Gu Yanyan felt a little relieved. It seemed that she did have a skill.
She looked at each piece of clothing and finally chose one.
Zhang Yang glanced at her figure and then took five or six more long dresses, asking the sales clerk to pack them all up. When the total price was calculated and exceeded 20,000 yuan, Gu Yanyan was stunned.
"More than 20,000 taels of silver?"
The sales clerk paused for a moment, but didn't think much of it; many young people nowadays refer to money as silver. "It is a bit expensive, but it's all made of real silk, the quality of the clothes is very good, and there's delicate embroidery on them; the workmanship is exquisite."
Gu Yanyan blushed slightly.
She still didn't understand money in this world, and couldn't understand how a colorful card could be used as money.
If money isn't silver, then what is it?
Zhang Yang smiled but didn't say anything, only urging the waiter to hurry up and settle the bill.
After paying the bill, he quickly left with Gu Yanyan.
Gu Yanyan had already held his hand once, so this time she wasn't as resistant; instead, she seemed somewhat resigned.
Zhang Yang stopped when they reached a secluded spot and said with a soft smile, "We don't use silver here anymore; we use paper money."
"Is it the same as a banknote?" Gu Yanyan had helped out at the money exchange before, so she naturally made the connection.
Zhang Yang thought for a moment. "It's pretty much the same idea, but here it's not called silver or silver notes."
He took out several banknotes from his pocket and taught Gu Yanyan to recognize the money, "This is a one-yuan coin, also called a one-yuan coin, this is ten yuan, twenty yuan, and one hundred yuan."
Looking at the circles on the banknotes, Gu Yanyan realized that they all had different meanings, since numbers didn't exist in the Great Jing Dynasty.
With great difficulty, under Zhang Yang's tutelage, she learned to recognize those numbers.
After learning it, and then thinking back to the price tags I saw when I was buying clothes, I roughly understood what they meant.
Those clothes are truly worth a fortune.
Everything here is very expensive. How much money can she actually make from her embroidery?
She started worrying about money again.
Zhang Yang ruffled her hair. "What are you thinking about?"
"It's nothing!" Gu Yanyan lowered her head. "These clothes are too expensive, I... I can't afford them!"
"There's nothing you can't afford or bear. This is what you deserve."
Zhang Yang was speaking from the heart. Gu Yanyan had no idea where her own value lay. For those who study history and archaeology, Gu Yanyan was a living history book.
This is incredibly tempting for anyone engaged in historical research or archaeology.
These values are simply immeasurable.
After buying the clothes, Gu Yanyan prepared to go home. This colorful world felt very unfamiliar to her.
Zhang Yang, however, had already made plans to help her adapt to the new world.
He couldn't quite understand how Gu Yanyan, if she really was Empress Zhenrui's personal maid, could have the courage to spend countless long years in the tomb.
How did they survive?
This is a mystery that has remained unsolved for thousands of years. At least the people at the research center used various instruments to examine Gu Yanyan thoroughly, and the final conclusion was that her bone age was no more than twenty years old, which means that she is currently just a twenty-year-old girl.
Girls of this age are mostly studying on university campuses, immersed in the ocean of knowledge, or having a passionate romance. They should never be in an ancient tomb.
Regardless of whether she volunteered to be buried with the deceased or was forced to do so.
That's all in the past. Gu Yanyan should have her own life now and should do what she should do like a young girl.
“We still have things to buy. After we finish shopping, I’ll take you out to eat. After that, we’ll watch a movie and play games. We have a lot to do today, so we won’t be going back so soon.”
Zhang Yang has decided that he must help Gu Yanyan adapt to her current life as soon as possible. He had previously agreed to let her stay at home to give her an adjustment period, but now it's time to break her comfort zone.
Gu Yanyan's heart was pounding so hard that she didn't even notice when Zhang Yang touched her head. She only clearly heard one sentence: Yao stayed outside for a very long time today.
That one sentence alone almost made her faint.
She swallowed hard and whispered, "Could you..."
"cannot!"
Zhang Yang decisively refused, grabbed her hand, and without saying a word, led her to the entrance of a shop.
"Go in and pick out what suits you best."
Gu Yanyan looked at the shop with a somewhat confused expression, because the shop was filled with ominous signs!
"Welcome!" The sales clerk was very enthusiastic, her eyes curiously scanning the blushing man and woman in front of her.
Zhang Yang looked at Gu Yanyan, whose face was as red as a shrimp, and felt that the blush on his face was nothing. He sighed, knowing that he couldn't rely on Gu Yanyan to stand on her own and that he would have to take matters into his own hands!
But this was the first time he'd ever done something like choosing a bra!
He walked in with a heavy heart, pointed at Gu Yanyan, and said to the sales assistant, "Pick a few outfits for her."
"Okay!" The sales clerk seemed to have been waiting for this question, and immediately agreed upon hearing it. She casually asked, "What bra size?"
Gu Yanyan was speechless, unable to understand a single word.
Zhang Yang glanced at her silently. "C-cup?"
The sales clerk nodded and said, "Try a C cup first! It feels like an 80D!"
Gu Yanyan: "..."
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