Chapter 744, Protecting You (Two Chapters in One)
After the carriage left the town, Prince Daohua and his servant all breathed a sigh of relief. None of them had expected that the group of villagers they met yesterday were so powerful that they actually searched the inn directly in order to catch them.
"Boy, you saved us yesterday, and we didn't abandon you when we left today. Isn't that thoughtful of you?" Without the threat, Prince Ping resumed his previous arrogance.
Daohua looked at the master and servant, her attitude much better than yesterday: "Thank you for waiting for me." If the master and servant didn't wait for her today and left directly in the carriage, she couldn't do anything.
Seeing that Daohua appreciated his kindness, Prince Ping felt a little relieved. Yesterday, this kid treated them as a burden, but now he knows they are not useless.
The carriage was a bit bumpy, and the three people who had not rested well didn't want to talk much.
All the way in silence.
At noon, the driver stopped the carriage in front of a teahouse beside the official road and knocked on the door: "Three girls, it's noon now. Please get off and have something to eat. I also need to feed the horses some fodder."
When they woke up in the morning, Daohua and the other two had not eaten breakfast and were already hungry and thirsty. After hearing what the driver said, Huai En immediately opened the door and went out.
Daohua reached out to stop him.
Huai En looked at her puzzledly: "Young Master, what's wrong?"
Daohua signaled him not to leave yet and raised her voice to the driver outside, "Brother driver, I saw a stall selling veil hats on the roadside. Please buy three for us."
Although Huai En and his master looked presentable when they dressed up as women, their words and actions were somewhat out of place, and wearing a veil could cover it up a bit.
Huai En looked at his master, then at himself, and instantly understood Daohua's concerns. He immediately took out a piece of silver from his sleeve pocket, handed it out through the window, and said to the driver, "Go quickly and come back quickly, and the rest will be your reward."
The driver took the silver and responded happily, then ran to the roadside stall next to him and soon came back with three veils.
Although Prince Ping was somewhat reluctant, he lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the various people sitting in the teahouse. Without any guards to protect him, he wisely put on the veil hat on his head.
After putting on her veil hat, Daohua was the first to get off the car. She looked at the street stalls set up dozens of meters away around the teahouse and looked at them curiously for a while.
When Prince Ping got off the carriage, he saw Daohua like this and immediately laughed and said, "I can tell from looking at you that you don't travel far often. What's so good about this?"
Daohua didn't respond. She followed the two into the teahouse and found a seat to sit down.
Huai En asked the boss to serve some side dishes. The three of them were eating when they suddenly heard the sound of fierce horse hooves coming from a distance. Soon, a group of people appeared in the sight of everyone in the teahouse.
"This isn't over yet, is it?"
When they saw that among the people who came were the villagers who had arrested them yesterday, Daohua and the other two looked very ugly.
Daohua looked at Huai En and his servant suspiciously: "Did you really just smash a pot of flowers?"
Prince Ping and Huai En nodded in unison.
Prince Ping gritted his teeth and said, "Is it necessary to do this just for a pot of flowers? That group of people is really lawless!" He had been chasing them for so long, and I wondered if they had some deep hatred.
Daohuahuan looked around, knocked on the table, and signaled Prince Ping and his servant to follow. While everyone's attention was drawn to the group of newcomers, he left the teahouse without any expression.
"There aren't many carriages coming from this town. If the group asks the driver, they'll definitely be able to find us. There's a clothes stall nearby. We need to change our clothes quickly."
Prince Ping and Huai En nodded quickly.
The three of them came to the clothing stall. Daohua picked out a dress for each of them, and then took the other one behind the curtain.
After a while, Rice Flower, dressed as a farm girl, came out.
"It's your turn to go in and change!"
Prince Ping and Huai En both took a look at Daohua, then took their clothes to change.
Daohua saw a stall selling rouge and powder nearby, so she immediately walked over, gave the vendor a piece of change, and pretended to pick something while paying attention to the movement at the teahouse.
Seeing that the group had indeed found the driver who took them there, Daohua felt a sinking feeling in her heart.
Then, the group began to search the teahouse, and some of them even walked towards the stalls here.
"Mom, I've fallen for a box of rouge. Come over and help me pick it out."
When Daohua saw Prince Ping dressed as a peasant woman coming out, she immediately waved her handkerchief.
Prince Ping was startled by Daohua's call and muttered speechlessly, "I have become someone else's mother?" Then he walked over with his hips twisted, imitating the peasant women he had seen before.
Daohua's eyes twitched as she watched. Seeing the group approaching, she immediately picked up her rouge and powder and started discussing with Prince Ping: "Mother, which of these two rouges do you think is better?"
Prince Ping shook his handkerchief in disdain and said in a coquettish voice, "I don't think any of them are good. This one has too strong a fragrance, and this one is too bright in color. Neither is suitable for a girl of your age."
As she spoke, she raised her index finger and started to pick things from the stall. After a moment, she picked up a rouge and handed it to Daohua.
"This one is suitable for girls your age. The color is moderate and the fragrance is not too strong. Most importantly, this one is much more moisturizing than the two you chose before. Girls have delicate skin, so don't use rouge and powder carelessly."
Prince Ping spoke very clearly and the boss applauded him.
Seeing that the group was still checking the people around them, Daohua deliberately went against Prince Ping and pointed out the shortcomings of the rouge he had chosen.
The people chasing them took one look at the two of them and walked right past them.
Anyone who is so familiar with rouge and powder must be a woman, not the person they are looking for.
Seeing that they were not discovered, Prince Inahua and Prince Heping both breathed a sigh of relief.
Huai En was also smart. After changing his clothes, he didn't come to join them, but went to another stall.
Not daring to ride in the previous carriage, Daohua saw someone riding an ox cart, which was heading towards the capital, so she hurried over with Prince Heping.
Daohua stopped Prince Ping who was about to give him silver and took out a few copper coins from her purse and handed them to him.
Before the ox cart started, Huai En also got on.
Three people and seven or eight others squeezed onto a bullock cart and staggered out of the teahouse.
The destination of the ox cart was the county town. After about an hour's journey, they arrived at the county town.
"Help me get out of the car!"
Seeing Daohua jump off the ox cart nimbly, Prince Ping immediately stretched out his right hand and waited to be supported.
Daohua didn't want to pay any attention to him, but seeing that everyone in the car was looking at them, she had to hold Prince Ping's arm with a forced smile.
After getting off the carriage, Prince Ping put his hands on his hips and twisted his body: "I'm almost falling apart from sitting in that ox cart."
Seeing the smirking looks from everyone around her, Daohua wanted to cover her face and quickly said, "Let's go into the city and find a carriage."
It was obvious that Huai En was very familiar with this place. After a while, he came back with the carriage and the coachman.
This carriage is much better than the one I rode before, and the horses are very strong.
Prince Ping was the first to board the carriage. Before getting in, he said to the driver, "If you can reach the capital before dark, this lady will reward you handsomely!"
After all three of them got in, the carriage started moving.
In the carriage, Prince Ping saw that Daohua was still holding the rouge box in her hand. Thinking of how this person had just talked to him about rouge and how she had said some insightful things, he started talking to her again.
Daohua was also a little surprised that Prince Ping, a grown man, was so familiar with rouge and powder. Since she had nothing to do, she started discussing it with him.
At first, the two of them only discussed the color and quality of rouge, then slowly, they talked about the choice of flowers, and finally, they talked about the production process.
During the conversation, Daohua kept marveling at the wisdom of the ancient working people; and Prince Ping was particularly interested in the glass distillation that Daohua mentioned.
Prince Ping's gaze towards Daohua became increasingly gentle, as if he had met a close friend regardless of age.
Over the years, he could only talk with the people in the rouge workshop about how to make rouge, but those people were considerate of his status. Every time he wanted to discuss something, they just nodded in agreement, which was meaningless.
Unlike the boy in front of him, he could respond appropriately to various ideas he proposed, either by praising them or making suggestions for corrections.
"Boy, you are very much to my taste. Follow me from now on. I will protect you."
Daohua glanced at Prince Ping and saw him looking at her with a look that said, "You're so lucky, why don't you thank me and agree to this?" She rolled her eyes and said, "Thank you very much, sir, for your kindness."
Before he could finish his words, Prince Ping interrupted him: "I am the ninth child in the family, so you can call me Master Jiu."
Daohua: "Thank you, Master Jiu, but my family still has some assets. I have to go home and inherit the family business, so I won't follow you anymore."
Seeing her refusal, Prince Ping was a little unhappy, but he did not force her to stay. He just asked, "What's your name? I see that you know a lot about Rouge. We can communicate more in the future."
Daohua thought to herself, "No way! It's best if they never meet again in the future." "Master Jiu, just call me Xiaoyi."
Prince Ping was speechless. This kid really wasn't one to be taken advantage of. He asked for a ranking, and he gave him a ranking in return. Well, let's just call him that. "Xiao Yi, Master Jiu, I opened a rouge shop in the capital. Business is pretty good. If you're interested, I can take you there to have a look."
Daohua: "What a coincidence, Master Jiu, I also opened a rouge shop in the capital. As the old saying goes, people in the same industry are enemies. I won't go there."
Seeing that Daohua was trying hard to distance herself from the matter, Prince Ping immediately became dissatisfied.
This guy is so short-sighted. He is a prince and so many people want to curry favor with him, but he dares to reject me again and again.
It really gives him face!
After that, Prince Ping stopped talking and kept a stern face.
Rice Flower pretended not to see it, and leaned her hand against the window, looking at the scenery outside.
When it was already dark, the carriage finally entered the city gate.
When the carriage drove into Chang'an Avenue, Daohua stopped the coachman.
"Master Jiu, Huai En, I'm getting off here."
Prince Ping was still angry at Daohua for being ungrateful, so he closed his eyes and ignored him.
Huai En looked at his master and asked, "Young Master, is it okay for you to go back alone? Otherwise, how about we take you home?"
The master likes to make rouge, and he finally found someone to discuss it with. As a personal eunuch, he didn't want to lose contact with this young master.
Daohua shook her head: "No need, my family has a shop on Chang'an Street, they will take me back home. Goodbye, both of you." After saying that, she got off the carriage without any reluctance and disappeared in the crowd in a short while.
"What an ungrateful fellow!"
After everyone left, Prince Ping opened his eyes with an unhappy look on his face.
At this time, a figure quietly came to the outside of the carriage: "Master, I deserve to die. I only found you now. Please punish me."
Prince Ping snorted, "Forget it. This time, I'm going to look for the famous flower myself." He paused and said to Huaizhong outside the carriage, "Go and check the origins of that group of unruly people for me right now. They are so lawless. I want to see who is behind them!"
Huaizhong immediately said, "Master, there's no need to check. I've already found out their origins while I was looking for you."
Prince Ping immediately asked, "Who are they?"
Huaizhong was silent for a moment before speaking: "Those villagers are from a branch of the Jiang family. The pot of red peonies that the master broke was meant to be sent to the Cheng'en Mansion as a tribute to the Queen Mother."
The Queen Mother's birthday will be coming soon, and this time Prince Ping went out to look for famous flowers in order to prepare gifts for the Queen Mother.
Prince Ping was stunned when he heard Huaizhong's words.
He had also heard about the Jiang family's arrogance and domineering behavior. Before this, most of the time he just listened to it and didn't take it to heart at all.
You have to know, which aristocratic family has not done some domineering things outside?
However, this time it happened to him, and it gave him a particularly different feeling.
For a pot of flowers, he drowned three people in a pond without blinking an eye, searched the inn, and sent people to chase them.
If even he is like this, what about others?
If a branch of the Jiang family dares to take human lives at will, will other members of the Jiang family do something even more outrageous?
Prince Ping was stunned for a long time. This experience gave him a clear understanding of the arrogance of the Jiang family.
"No wonder my royal brother has always been dissatisfied with the Jiang family. He has become increasingly unfriendly towards the Jiang family over the years!" Even he found it difficult to have a good impression of the Jiang family after he was almost drowned in a pond.
Huai En huddled in the corner of the carriage, hesitated for a moment, and then tentatively spoke: "Master, do you still want to teach those unruly people a lesson?"
Prince Ping thought of the arrogant villagers and said, "Of course they must be taught a lesson!" He had never been so embarrassed in his life. In order to escape being hunted down, he had to disguise himself as a woman and squeeze into an ox cart. He was so angry in his heart that he had to vent his anger.
"Huaizhong, take this prince's name card and go find the magistrate of Qu County. Tell him what happened to me in his jurisdiction. He will know what to do after he knows."
If Xiaoyi hadn't suddenly appeared this time, he, a prince, might have really been drowned in a pond by the Jiang family.
If he were to go to hell, he would not even be able to face his royal ancestors.
Huaizhong immediately agreed and then left quietly.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
