The Emperor Emeritus and Consort Liu kept their word and did not delay the trip. They set off immediately without holding anyone back.
The couple's daily early morning exercise over the past few years has had some effect; they show no signs of fatigue despite traveling all day long. In fact, when they camped out for the night, the Emperor Emeritus was in high spirits and even had the mood to play some small musical instruments, while Consort Liu danced to the music, creating a particularly harmonious atmosphere.
The retired emperor often remarked to Lu Baichuan, "It's so good to get out and about. I feel much healthier now, which is much more reliable than seeking immortality and enlightenment before!"
Since leaving the capital, they have changed their self-designation. When there are outsiders, they refer to themselves as "Old Servant," and when there are no outsiders, they refer to themselves as "I," without revealing their identities at all.
Lu Baichuan nodded and smiled, "Jiu'er said that life is about moving around, and your health has improved a lot in the past few years."
"Oh dear, speaking of that girl, if she had been with us along the way, there would have been so much more fun. Oh, and the dog too!"
As the retired emperor spoke, he showed a look of longing for them.
"What's your little girl's name? I've prepared a gift for her!"
Although he hasn't seen it yet, the Emperor Emeritus is already imagining that chubby little dumpling, which must be as cute as a dog.
“My father named me Xiangxiang, Xiang as in Xiangjun.”
"Xiangxiang, what a lovely name!"
The retired emperor repeated it over and over, keeping it in mind, thinking that he would engrave the child's name on the gift he gave him when he had free time.
Perhaps it was good luck, but they traveled for more than half a month without any incidents. The retired emperor often praised his superb ability to pretend, saying that no one had noticed anything amiss for so long.
Everyone naturally flattered him, and just as they were doing so, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and it looked like a heavy rain was about to fall.
Lu Baichuan said, "It's about to rain, and the mountain roads are muddy. Why don't we stay overnight in a nearby village and set off again early tomorrow morning?"
The Emperor Emeritus nodded: "You decide what to do, we're all fine with it!"
Lu Baichuan sent people to nearby villages to investigate the situation. Since the villagers did not have enough spare rooms, they had to separate the people and house them in several nearby households.
For the sake of protection, Lu Baichuan, the retired emperor, and Consort Liu stayed at the village chief's house.
The village chief is quite young, only around forty years old. He has two sons and two daughters, and his eldest granddaughter is only five years old, with two little pigtails on her head, and she is incredibly cute.
When a group of strangers came to his house, he was a little scared and hid behind the wall to watch secretly.
Seeing this, the village chief smiled and said, "My child is timid, I'm sorry for making you all laugh. Please come inside, I'll go pour you some water!"
They paid for the night's stay, so the village chief naturally treated them well.
"It's alright, he'll grow out of it."
The retired emperor waved his hand dismissively, his eyes fixed on the little girl's tuft of hair on her head.
"Child, come here, Grandpa will give you candy!"
The little girl from the Supreme Emperor's Dynasty waved and smiled kindly.
The little girl was somewhat tempted, but still didn't dare to come over, looking at the village chief with a blank expression.
The village chief laughed and said, "A distinguished person is calling you, come over quickly!"
The little girl walked forward somewhat timidly, and the Emperor Emeritus patted her fluffy little hair as he wished, then took out a handful of candy from his sleeve and gave it to her.
The candy he was eating was naturally of the highest quality, even the wrapping paper exuded luxury. Upon seeing this, the village chief hurriedly stepped forward to stop his granddaughter from taking it, his face showing surprise: "Honorable one, you mustn't, this is far too precious!"
Although the nobleman before them was dressed as an ordinary person, his aura was something that ordinary people could not possess. Moreover, the Emperor Emeritus's temples were gray, but his chin was clean-shaven. It is said that eunuchs in the palace do not grow beards, so the village chief guessed that this must be a noble eunuch serving in the palace.
Someone who came from the palace and lived to this age must have a high status; ordinary people like us wouldn't dare offend them.
"It's alright, it's alright, it's just a handful of candy!"
After saying that, he quickly stuffed the candy into the little girl's hand, as if afraid that the village chief would stop him again.
The little girl was amused by his appearance and sweetly said, "Thank you, Grandpa!"
"Oh my, what a sweet little mouth! Look how clever the child is! Come on, tell Grandpa, what's your name?"
"Cui Niu".
Sensing that the Emperor Emeritus was very gentle and spoke to her with a smile, the little girl became much bolder.
"Great, great, it sounds wonderful!"
The retired emperor still had some childlike qualities. When Consort Liu saw a group of people watching him talk to the little girl, she took the initiative to tug at his sleeve and said, "Eunuch Chang, everyone is waiting."
The Emperor Emeritus didn't immediately realize that he was now being addressed as "Eunuch Chang," and looked at Consort Liu somewhat blankly. Consort Liu gave him a wink, and he finally realized, saying, "Oh, right, let's go in!"
He took the little girl's hand and walked inside together. The village chief was a little nervous beside him, and the girl's mother was also watching nervously from a short distance away, worried that the child was too young and ignorant to understand and might offend the important person, bringing trouble to the whole family.
Fortunately, the little girl was very sensible and just followed obediently without saying a word or crying. The village chief's whole family secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
After they sat down, the village chief's eldest daughter-in-law brought tea. The retired emperor was thirsty, so he took a sip and was surprised to find it delicious.
"What kind of tea is this? It's so fragrant and mellow."
The village chief humbly said, "It's just some wild tea tree that grew randomly on our own mountain land. We picked it ourselves, stir-fried it, and drank it as is. We're glad you don't mind."
"It's actually wild tea that he roasted himself! There really are hidden masters among ordinary people!"
The retired emperor sighed, took another sip, and started talking, saying, "Such good tea, you can take it to the shops on the street to sell, there will definitely be people who will buy it."
"Yes, the imperial court has been treating us ordinary people better and better in recent years, and has even encouraged us to do business. Although this tea is not worth much, it can still bring in some income for the family, and our family's life has been getting better and better."
Many years ago, merchants were the most despised people. No matter how poor people were, they were unwilling to do business with merchants. The produce they grew on their land was either handed over to the imperial court or kept for their own consumption. At most, they would exchange some daily necessities with other villagers. Therefore, they basically had no money.
However, in recent years the imperial court has become more tolerant of merchants, and since merchants can bring local specialties from afar to the people, they are less resistant to merchants. People are more willing to do business with merchants and sell their surplus agricultural products to them so that they can make money and improve their quality of life.
Seeing the genuine smiles on their faces, the Emperor Emeritus felt gratified and casually asked, "What price do you sell this tea for?"
"Ten coins per pound".
The Emperor Emeritus's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets: "What?!"
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