Turn right at the corner of the alley and you'll find yourself on a bustling street.
"Delicious and beautiful sugar figurines, take a look, two coins each."
"Candied hawthorn berries, big and sweet candied hawthorn berries, if you don't like them, you don't have to pay, candied hawthorn berries..."
"Sweet cake, delicious sweet cake, only one penny each, tasty and inexpensive, don't miss it."
...
They sell all sorts of things, but the most common are food stalls.
"Young master, please buy some jewelry for your wife."
As Emperor Kangxi walked down the street, he looked quite distinguished, and few vendors dared to approach him. However, there were always a few bold ones who, seeing that the two seemed to have a close relationship and that they didn't look short of money, spoke up.
Calling Emperor Kangxi "Young Master" is not entirely wrong.
Although Emperor Kangxi was over thirty, he was well-maintained and looked about twenty years old. He was supposed to have a beard, but Youqing took one look and said it was ugly and an eyesore, so Kangxi cleaned his beard.
Growing a beard was originally meant to make one appear mature and steady. As the saying goes, "A man without hair on his mouth is unreliable." Growing a beard makes it easier for others to think that a person is unreliable. However, Kangxi was an emperor, and after he ascended the throne, he accomplished so much that no one dared to underestimate him, and no one dared to say that he was unreliable.
So it doesn't matter whether you grow a beard or not. If Youqing thinks it doesn't look good, then you can shave it off.
Emperor Kangxi didn't have any fondness for growing a beard, and after being told off by Youqing, he himself felt that growing a beard was a bit of a hassle.
The vendor's words were pleasing to the ear, and upon hearing them, Kangxi looked at the jewelry on the stall.
The workmanship is okay, but it's not particularly refined. Most of it is made of wood, but the sanding and polishing are done well, giving it a rustic and rather grand feel.
"Take a look, is there anything you like?"
Youqing didn't care about the term "small vendor." These wooden jewelry pieces were quite nice. In ancient times, those who could make a living with their craftsmanship were generally not bad.
These pieces of jewelry are quite charming.
Youqing casually picked out a few simple and elegant ones: "Just these few, wrap them up for me."
"Alright, madam, please wait a moment, I'll wrap it up for you right away."
Youqing selected six in total. The vendor put them into a small box and said, "Since you ordered so many, I'll give you an extra wooden box. Also, this is a mandarin duck sculpture carved by my wife herself. It's an extra one, so please don't mind my wife's craftsmanship. Today is Girls' Day, and I wish you both a happy and harmonious life."
After hearing this, Youqing didn't know whether to accept the box or not.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Kangxi smiled and accepted the box, saying, "Then thank you for your blessings."
Recently, Emperor Kangxi has been enjoying listening to pleasant music.
Youqing glanced at him; this guy's skin was getting thicker and thicker.
Along the way, they stopped frequently, and Kangxi bought anything that Youqing's gaze lingered on for more than two seconds.
Although the method is old-fashioned, it is undeniably effective.
Youqing was indeed quite happy, and Kangxi was happy to see her happy. They were cheerful all the way and forgot about the unpleasant encounter with Shumulu Fangji.
After wandering around for a while, we happened to come across a lantern riddle guessing activity, which was actually organized by Youqing in conjunction with some businesses.
The prizes for guessing lantern riddles are prepared jointly by the merchants, and are almost all the products sold in each shop, which also serves as an opportunity for them to showcase their wares.
Youqing was one of the initiators, but only one of them. She did not participate in the process. Moreover, although it was called guessing lantern riddles, there were actually some questions from the imperial examinations. The prizes for these kinds of contests were mostly writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones used in the imperial examinations, or even real gold and silver. It was a way to give outstanding students from poor families a chance to make a living.
"Is there anything you like?"
Youqing shook her head: "There's nothing I like, but it's quite lively, let's take a look!"
It was indeed lively. Most of the questions related to the imperial examinations had been answered. The rewards were indeed useful, and with the event having been promoted in advance at various academies, quite a few students came to participate today.
The imperial examination questions are almost finished, but the riddles are still not all solved!
Unlike the questions in the imperial examinations, the riddles are all new and unanswerable, which makes them more challenging.
Those most interested in this are wealthy young men. Not all wealthy young men are ignorant and incompetent; in fact, most of them are quite good. There are very few spoiled brats. It's just that these spoiled brats have too much of a reputation and their actions are too typical. It's like the rich do bad things.
With the accumulated knowledge of their ancestors, the imperial examinations valued talent and diligence more. However, there were some things that, without family connections, one could not access and thus remained ignorant.
These riddles are mostly from extracurricular books, covering many aspects such as humanities, customs, geography, and culture, and require a high level of knowledge.
This is what made the riddles the main attraction.
"It seems like a mirror from the Jade Terrace, flying at the edge of the blue clouds; a white rabbit pounds medicine, but for whom does it dine? Is this the moon?"
"This young master's answer is correct. Would you like to continue?"
Prizes will be selected based on the number of questions answered correctly, with the best prize being a set of skincare products and a clock provided by Youqing.
This skincare set costs over a hundred taels of silver, and even then, it's still in short supply.
However, if you answer incorrectly in the middle, all the correct answers from before will be disregarded, and you will only receive a consolation prize: a mosquito repellent sachet.
The person who just answered the questions has already answered four riddles correctly, and they could have received a pretty good prize if they went to claim it.
It gets harder to predict the outcome as it progresses, which really tests one's mindset.
"Of course we must continue."
"Young master, what a spirit you have!"
"When six-petaled snowflakes fly into the house, I sit and watch the green bamboo turn into jade branches. Is this snow?"
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