Walking on the streets of the capital, Hua Qingcheng secretly complained to herself, this is worthy of being the capital city under the feet of the emperor, the important area of the capital, the roads here are several times larger than those in the provincial capital, and are particularly spacious.
Along the way, shops were lined with gold, silver, and jade, inns, restaurants, clinics, cloth shops, clothing stores, and cosmetics shops. Everything found in the provincial capital was available here, and the shops were even more luxurious and upscale. There were also plenty of pawnshops, gambling houses, brothels, and even opera houses, though they generally only opened at night.
At this time, around 1:15 am, the shops on both sides of the street had been cleaning and tidying up one after another, preparing to open for business and serve customers.
"Selling buns, freshly baked meat buns~"
Hua Qingcheng walked while admiring the morning street scene in the capital of Laifeng Kingdom, listening to the hawkers' calls coming from the roadside from time to time, feeling the different customs and practices, and was in a good mood.
"Go, go, go! Go quickly! Don't come here to make trouble!"
After walking for about two quarters of an hour, Hua Qingcheng passed by a bookstore and suddenly saw a woman in a lotus-colored plain dress holding a painting, but she was kicked out by the bookstore owner.
"Impossible! My painting is exactly the same as the current emperor's. Why are her paintings so popular, while you say mine are worthless?"
The woman seemed very unconvinced and took her paintings to the bookstore again to argue with the owner, but was directly kicked out by the owner.
"Where did this pedantic girl come from to cause trouble in my Treasure House?"
The bookshop owner, though not very tall, was remarkably well-off. She looked at the woman selling paintings with disdain. She figured she was most likely someone who had failed the imperial examinations and, with no money to return home, was stuck in the capital, forced to sell paintings to earn a living. However, her paintings and calligraphy were truly disappointing. If she actually bought the paintings, no one would buy them, and she would be at a huge loss.
The woman selling paintings was suddenly pushed by the shopkeeper. She lost her balance and stumbled. She was about to fall backwards, but was suddenly stopped by two slender arms, preventing her from falling to the ground. After she stood up, the man released his hand that was supporting her back.
"Thank you, young lady!" The woman selling paintings turned around and bowed to Hua Qingcheng, expressing her sincere gratitude.
"That's not necessary. I just don't want to be knocked down by you." Hua Qingcheng said coldly.
After all, she was just walking on the road and was almost bumped by this person. In order not to be a cushion for her, he had no choice but to help her.
"No matter what, the girl has helped me, so it's only natural to say thank you."
The woman selling the painting smiled slightly, but when she looked up and saw Hua Qingcheng's face, the painting in her hand fell to the ground with a "click".
"Ling Yan?"
The woman selling paintings looked at Hua Qingcheng in shock and put her hands on her arms.
Perhaps because the other party was too excited, Hua Qingcheng felt her arms trembling slightly from her shaking.
"Lingyan? Are you talking about Feng Lingyan?" Hua Qingcheng broke free from the hand of the woman selling paintings, bent down, and picked up the painting that had fallen on the ground for her.
"Do you know him?" The woman selling paintings looked at Hua Qingcheng excitedly.
Only then did Hua Qingcheng get a clear look at the woman selling paintings. She looked to be in her late thirties or early forties. Although she was only dressed in a coarse lotus-colored cloth, her eyes were sharp and bright, her eyebrows were towering and steep, her cheeks were plump and radiant, and she exuded an indescribable aura.
"I don't know her, but there was once an old lady who looked just like you and called me this name." Hua Qingcheng looked at the woman selling paintings with a little sympathy, thinking that this person was probably Feng Lingyan's former admirer.
"That's right, I... I was really confused. How could you know Lingyan at your age?" The woman selling paintings sneered to herself.
"By the way, this is your painting." Hua Qingcheng picked up the painting from the ground and handed it to the woman selling the painting.
"Master, are you okay?" Shan Zuo looked warily at the woman selling paintings who had almost knocked Hua Qingcheng down.
"It's okay, A Zuo, wait over there."
"Yes." Upon hearing this, Shan Zuo respectfully stepped aside.
"Thank you, girl!"
The woman selling the painting thanked him again, but her eyes were always on Hua Qingcheng's face.
She didn't expect that there would be someone in the world who looked so similar. If Ling Yan hadn't passed away, she would have suspected that the woman in front of her was Ling Yan's daughter.
"It was just a coincidence. By the way, why did the bookstore owner kick you out just now?" Hua Qingcheng said indifferently.
"Miss, you don't know that a month ago, the current emperor was in a good mood and painted a picture, intending to give it to his ministers. The ministers rushed to collect it, and it was said that they would not sell it for a fortune. My painting is exactly the same as the emperor's, but the owner of this bookstore is really abominable. He actually said that my painting is worthless and kicked me out."
The woman selling paintings was still quite angry when she mentioned this.
"Can you show me?"
Thinking of the woman's embarrassed look when she was kicked out by the bookstore owner just now, and that she called herself Lingyan just like Mulan Jin, Hua Qingcheng must be an old acquaintance of Feng Lingyan, and she felt a little pity.
"Please." The woman selling the painting handed the painting back to Hua Qingcheng.
Spreading out the painting, Hua Qingcheng nodded as she looked at it.
"How is it?" The woman selling paintings looked at Hua Qingcheng expectantly.
"The bookstore owner really has no vision." Hua Qingcheng sighed slightly.
"I...really, that's what I said..."
But before the painting seller could be happy for long, Hua Qingcheng continued, "This cat is painted very vividly and lifelike, and the mouse in the corner that's stealing food is also very well drawn."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
