After exiting the gate of the Minister's residence and getting their bearings, the two of them, one big and one small, walked forward.
After walking a short distance and passing through an alley, you reach the main street. Before coming to Beijing, Hong Xiaoduo had seen a map of the capital, which she bought at a black market price from a bookstore.
If Quan Jinghuai hadn't pointed it out, she wouldn't have been able to buy it at all.
The map meticulously depicts the layout of the city's streets, demonstrating a high degree of planning and symmetry.
The grid-like streets radiating outwards from the palace demonstrate the rulers' emphasis on the management and control of the capital.
The streets extend in an east-west and north-south direction, encompassing the inner city, the imperial city, the palace city, and the outer city.
Hong Xiaoduo has a good memory, but it's not quite photographic. She asked Quan Jinghuai for directions to several of the busiest and most lively main streets and memorized them.
The main street was lined with shops on both sides, bustling with traffic and noise. Kaiyang was overwhelmed by the sights, and his usually tense face relaxed.
The carriages and sedan chairs of high-ranking officials and nobles passed by in an orderly fashion with the pedestrians of ordinary people. The shop signs swayed gently in the wind, and various hawking cries mingled together, yet it did not feel noisy.
In modern times, Hong Xiaoduo has also visited several ancient cities and film studios.
However, it felt completely different from what I saw and heard before my eyes; there was no comparison whatsoever.
Hong Xiaoduo, who had been passively holding Kaiyang's hand, also held Kaiyang's hand back. The grandson that the Wei family had gone through so many twists and turns to find was lost again by her at someone else's doorstep. That would be really terrible!
Feeling the force of her hand being gripped, Kaiyang pursed her lips, glanced at the person beside her, then shook her head to tell herself not to think about that troubling matter for now, and to just enjoy shopping with her.
"Sesame balls? Kaiyang, we've never had these before, want to try some?" Hong Xiaoduo actually saw a stall selling fried sesame balls, coated in white sesame seeds, which became rounder and rounder as the waiter moved them with his bamboo chopsticks in the oil.
"Mm," Kaiyang replied.
Although she didn't respond with the same excitement as before, it was still pretty good for Hong Xiaoduo. It was better than her throwing a tantrum and refusing to give up anything.
"You can treat me." Hong Xiaoduo ordered two, took one for herself, and looked at Kaiyang who was reaching for the sesame ball.
Kaiyang only looked at the hemp ball in his hand and replied, "I'm a child, I have no money."
Hong Xiaoduo really wanted to say, "No, child, you're rich now. You're the Minister of Revenue's grandson, the only one. Your mother's family is even wealthier."
However, considering that I had only talked to him for a short time, it was inappropriate to make such a joke now.
Let's be kinder. Do we really have to make the child cry? We might not have another chance to spend time with this child, let alone go shopping together. Cherish what you have!
If you want to pay, you have to take it out of your purse, but right now you're holding a hemp ball in one hand and holding Kaiyang's hand in the other.
She tried to pull her hand away, but couldn't: "Let go."
"No." Kaiyang refused firmly, even though the freshly cooked sesame balls in his other hand were a little hot, he refrained from switching hands.
She wouldn't let him let go; he'd rather throw away the fragrant and delicious-looking sesame balls than listen to her let go.
Looking at the awkward child, Hong Xiaoduo said helplessly, "How am I supposed to pay if you don't let go?"
After hearing her words, Kaiyang looked at her hand and then at the purse at her waist before reluctantly letting go.
Hong Xiaoduo raised her hand and stretched it out from the short distance she had walked from the Minister's Mansion. Her hand, which had been a little sore from being gripped too tightly, slowly regained its color. Then, watching Xiao Kaiyang quickly switch the sesame ball to his other hand and blow on the hand that had been burned, her eyes and nose felt a little sore.
He took out some money, handed it to the shopkeeper, switched the sesame ball to his other hand, and then quickly stood on the other side of Kaiyang, reaching out to grasp his hand. The two hands, warmed by the sesame ball, were tightly clasped together.
Hong Xiaoduo didn't look at Kaiyang's expression, but she sensed that this time, the child didn't use the same retaliatory force as before, and his grip loosened a bit.
"Take a gentle bite, the syrup inside is still very hot," Hong Xiaoduo reminded softly.
"Oh, I see," Kaiyang replied, not even looking at her. The two walked slowly forward, neither of them in a hurry to eat the food in their hands.
After walking a few steps, Kaiyang asked softly, "Have you eaten this before?"
"I've eaten them before, but the outer shell looks the same. I don't know if the fillings are the same. I used to eat them with black sesame and sugar fillings, and some places have red bean paste fillings," Hong Xiaoduo told her.
Kaiyang thought for a moment and then said, "Your name is Maqiu, but I saw that the shop's sign says Matuan."
Hong Xiaoduo looked at the child beside her. No matter what they talked about, as long as he was willing to talk to her, that was enough.
"I guess the names are different in different places. Maybe they look the same, but the ingredients, fillings, and cooking methods are all different." After saying that, Hong Xiaoduo finally really wanted to eat the sesame ball in her hand.
"Shall we eat this and have lunch later?" Kaiyang watched her start eating out of the corner of his eye, and after saying that, he also took a small bite.
Whether the thing in your hand is called a sesame ball or a sesame roll, it smells delicious and looks tasty. One bite and it is indeed delicious. The outer shell is fried until crispy, and the inside has the aroma of sesame and flour, along with a sweet and juicy filling.
The two looked at each other and smiled. It really was made of sesame seeds and icing sugar!
"Kaiyang, how about we eat first and then continue shopping?" Hong Xiaoduo suggested.
Although the sesame balls were wrapped in oiled paper, the street was too crowded with people. Even if I wasn't afraid of getting them on other people's clothes, I was afraid that someone might accidentally bump into me and get them all over me.
"Oh, here?" Kaiyang replied, glancing at a spot on the roadside, the side of a shop's door.
The two immediately went over, and this time, without Hong Xiaoduo having to say anything, Kaiyang let go of her hand on his own.
The two, one big and one small, stood against the wall, oblivious to everyone else, eating their food.
The capital city was more prosperous than other places. Seeing the two of them, one big and one small, standing by the wall eating, especially their appearance and attire, attracted the attention of passersby, even though no one stopped to watch.
Hong Xiaoduo's clothes and appearance were not like those of a lady raised by a high-ranking official. However, no one thought it was unseemly for a young girl to stand by a wall and eat in the street. On the contrary, they all thought it was quite special and made people want to take a second look.
Just then, a carriage slowly passed by. A person sitting inside the carriage looked out the window with great boredom. Suddenly, he leaned closer to the window and looked back, but the pedestrians in Xirang blocked his view.
He frowned slightly, sat up straight again, wondering if the person he had just seen was her.
He then shook his head with a wry smile. What was wrong with him? How could he have forgotten what she had said that day: the capital was a place of trouble, a place she would avoid at all costs. How could that woman just now possibly be her…
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