Because she was eager to see John, Hong Xiaoduo quickened her pace after leaving the Imperial Study with Kaiyang.
The old man, Fu, who had seen the two off, had hoped to take this opportunity to chat with her, but she simply said, "Thank you for seeing me off, Fu. See you tomorrow."
Standing there, watching the two figures, one large and one small, grow ever smaller in the distance, and realizing his inexplicable sense of loss, Eunuch Fu shook his head and smiled bitterly. At his age, having wasted so many years in the palace, he had long since resigned himself to his fate. How could he still harbor such greed?
In the palace, eunuchs of his seniority and status often adopt godson or goddaughter from outside the palace.
For no other reason than hoping that one day when I get old, after leaving the palace, someone will take care of me in my old age.
Of course, you don't adopt godchildren for nothing. They'll take care of you in your old age and see you off when you die, so the savings you accumulated during your years as a servant in the palace are meant to be left to them.
Otherwise, why would anyone take care of you in your old age and see you off in your final days?
To this day, Eunuch Fu has never recognized any godparents. Even the eunuchs in the palace who wanted to curry favor with him and recognize him as their godfather have never accepted one.
Because he knew that these godparent relationships were based entirely on mutual benefit, and you shouldn't expect any genuine affection from them.
What's the point of having such godparents?
He had thought it through perfectly. When he got too old to serve in the palace, he would buy a house and a servant outside. If he was healthy and free from illness, he could live a few more years. Otherwise, he would spend some money to choose an auspicious day, then drink a cup of poison, hoping to be reborn into a better family in his next life. He didn't ask for a wealthy and noble family, but at least he wouldn't be sold into the palace to be a eunuch because of poverty.
He truly adored Hong Xiaoduo, but what good was it? Even the emperor couldn't keep her with high-ranking officials, so why should a lowly old eunuch like himself try to establish a kinship with her and have her become his granddaughter? What a pipe dream!
Hong Xiaoduo and Kaiyang hurried to the palace gate, and just as they arrived, the carriage from the Marquis of Fu'an's residence pulled up. "John is at the market in Xiaolizhuang outside the West Gate. I'll take you there," Murong Jing asked with a smile from inside the carriage window.
Upon hearing this, Hong Xiaoduo took Kaiyang into the carriage without saying a word. Kaiyang remembered and clung to the carriage window, calling to the coachman in his mansion to drive the carriage back to the mansion.
The coachman from the Wei family responded with a "yes," and watched as his young master was once again taken away by someone else's carriage.
Sigh, another day without seeing his young master and Miss Hong. Fortunately, the master, mistress, young master, and young mistress won't blame him for this.
Fortunately, the manager didn't come today, otherwise he would have been nagging all the way.
However, the steward also said that this situation would not occur again after Miss Hong left the capital.
However, it seems that the master and mistress do not want Miss Hong to leave, but they cannot keep her!
The coachman, who had driven the empty carriage back empty, felt no guilt whatsoever!
In stark contrast to the Wei family's coachman, the coachman from the Marquis of Fu'an's residence listened to the laughter and chatter inside the carriage. If he weren't even more afraid of the third young master, he would have wanted to drive the carriage straight back to the Marquis's residence. The princess would surely be pleased and praise him for being capable.
"Your Highness, if you have something to attend to, you can go about your business. Kaiyang and I will go by ourselves." Inside the carriage, Hong Xiaoduo offered a perfunctory polite remark.
After saying that, he took a roasted chestnut from the coffee table, peeled it, and put it into Kaiyang's mouth.
The chestnuts were still steaming hot, their shells shiny and oily. Through the cracked cross-shaped openings, you could see the golden chestnut kernels, which emitted an enticing chestnut aroma. Kaiyang loved to eat them, but his little hands found it a bit difficult to peel them.
"I'm free right now." Mu Rongjing said as he started peeling chestnuts. After peeling them, he wanted to hand them to her, but then thought it wasn't appropriate. In the end, he handed the peeled chestnuts to Kaiyang's mouth instead.
Xiao Kaiyang was being fed by the two of them, and he ate like a little squirrel.
Before long, the carriage stopped, and a servant-like figure immediately came over and told them that the person was ahead and that someone was following them.
Hong Xiaoduo got off the carriage and looked at the stalls and crowds stretching into the distance.
"Why don't you and Kaiyang wait here, and I'll go in and bring the person over?" Murong Jing suggested, seeing how crowded the market was.
Hong Xiaoduo immediately shook her head and said, "No need, no need. It would be a waste not to go and have a look around in such a lively place."
After saying that, he took Kaiyang's hand and walked inside, with Murong Jing quickly following behind.
Most of the people who come to this market are villagers from nearby towns and villages, buying cotton and cloth for the winter, repairing farm tools, selling firewood, poultry, and various bamboo baskets and willow woven items...
The clothing, appearance, and demeanor of Hong Xiaoduo and her two siblings stood out conspicuously in the crowd at the market.
Mu Rongjing was initially worried that the crowds would cause her and Kaiyang to bump into each other, but once she was walking through the crowd, she realized that she had worried too much!
Passersby automatically gave way upon seeing the three of them; they were clearly nobles from the capital, and it wouldn't hurt to keep their distance.
Pedestrians gave them a wide berth, but surprisingly, none of the vendors on either side tried to sell their wares to the three of them.
These people are obviously from the powerful families of the capital who came out to watch the spectacle. They have no intention of buying anything from them, so why waste your breath and provoke their dislike?
Mu Rongjing noticed that Hong Xiaoduo wasn't in a hurry to find the foreign envoy named John. Instead, she was really looking at the goods being sold everywhere, such as chickens, ducks, geese, raincoats, cattail cushions, hot water bottles, and so on.
When they saw someone selling donkeys, they said to Kaiyang, "It's a pity Xiao Hui isn't here, otherwise I would have let it choose a wife to take home."
Seeing the cattle for sale, the two, one big and one small, started commenting on which cow had the prettiest eyelashes, which amused both the seller and the buyer.
At this moment, Mu Rongjing saw the attendant he had arranged to keep watch, and also saw the person he was looking for. He quickly told Hong Xiaoduo.
After she finished speaking, Mu Rongjing wondered how she would approach John and start a conversation. Surely she wouldn't say, "What a coincidence that we met here!"
The next moment, she walked towards John and said loudly, "Hi, John, what a coincidence, I've run into you here."
Mu Rongjing couldn't help but pause in her steps. She really was direct!
John, who was sitting at the noodle stall waiting for his noodles, looked up and saw her. He was startled at first, then smiled: "Translator Hong, what a coincidence, what brings you here?"
"Oh, I like lively places. I heard there was a big market here, so I came to check it out. I'm also quite hungry. Would you mind joining me?" Hong Xiaoduo replied with a smile.
John immediately laughed and said, "No problem, no problem, let's join in, it'll be fun."
Upon hearing this, Hong Xiaoduo sat down next to John.
Mu Rongjing and Kaiyang approached each other, nodded to John as a greeting, and then sat down.
The noodle stall owner was cooking noodles for John when he looked up and was taken aback to see three more guests at the foreigner's table. What kind of day was this? First, a foreigner who spoke fluent Fengliang dialect came, and now there were three guests whose clothes and appearance suggested they were of high status.
At the table, John had no idea that the three people in front of him were not people he had met by chance.
Sitting opposite John, Murong Jing was quite curious; she was looking for John...
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