pdf-ebookys Chapter 753 Zen City
Chapter 753 Zen City
While explaining, Jing Chunxi nimbly dodged the hands extended by Zhengyue and Tangshuang, and kicked off her embroidered shoes on the carriage board. The hem of her goose yellow skirt drew a graceful arc in the air and landed steadily on the side of the carriage.
Two winnowing baskets were propped up in the middle. When she leaned over to sit down, her slender fingertips brushed across the steaming taro cake. Suddenly, she turned her head and raised her eyebrows towards the person below the car, with a sly smile on her lips: "Who wants to complain about being crowded--" Then she pointed to the back.
Before he could finish his words, Frosting came up like a cat that smelled fish. As soon as his right foot stepped on the cart board, he kicked with his left foot impatiently, and almost fell into the winnowing basket.
She hurriedly grabbed the window frame to steady herself, but her skirt caught the tassel of the door curtain. "I can eat these two big winnowing baskets!" Frosting complained incoherently, her cheeks puffed up like a hamster.
Seeing the young lady's mouth stained with taro paste and still pursing at the dustpan, Chuntao didn't even wait for the white paper in her hand to use the five-clawed dragon. She followed suit and immediately pinched a piece of cake, but was so burned that she blew on her fingers and said exaggeratedly, "Master, how unkind! If you had told me there was this in the carriage, why would I have to drink three bowls of porridge!"
Zhengyue, clutching two bundles, was about to board the carriage when she suddenly stepped back, seemingly lost in thought, to let Chuntao get on first. After Chuntao had settled down, the girl leaped on board as lightly as a cat, leaving no trace.
Chuntao watched the cakes quickly disappear from the winnowing basket, shook her head, and patted her slightly tense waist. "I dare not be like some greedy cats..." Before she finished speaking, Zhengyue had already picked up a piece of osmanthus cake. The golden sugared osmanthus clung to her fingertips. The little girl lowered her head and took a small sip, her voice soft as a mosquito: "The taro cake is very bland... I still prefer the osmanthus cake."
As the carriage passed the boundary marker, Kuaijiao's dark face suddenly appeared at the window. His rough fingers gently parted the curtains, his eyes widening. "Miss! This isn't the way to Shibaao!"
The voice stopped abruptly. Qingfeng in front was reining in his horse and turning to the right fork in the road. His horse's hooves crushed the puddles, startling a few white wagtails.
Jing Chunxi calmed down a little, his eyes swept across the unfamiliar scenery outside the window, and he said lightly: "Just follow it." Although his voice was soft, it left no doubt.
"Yes!"
After receiving the order, Kuaijiao spurred his horse back, and the backs of the man and horse soon reached the back of the team.
She really didn't know the destination of this trip. When Xu Zize tied her cloak this morning, his slender fingers lingered on her neck for a moment, but he didn't say a word.
The damp wind from Lingnan, wrapped in the sweet fragrance of osmanthus, penetrated through the gaps in the car window. She looked at the ever-changing scenery outside the window, thinking that the Prince of Yan must have a decent place to stay, perhaps a mansion with vermilion lacquer and gold nails, or perhaps a villa nestled in the mountains and beside the water. The Prince of Yan's Mansion - it might also be magnificent.
"Miss, look!" Tang Shuang suddenly leaned most of her body out of the window, her twin buns tied with red hairbands swaying in the wind. "This road seems to lead to Yamen Village!" She excitedly pointed to an old, crooked banyan tree on the side of the road. The faded red cloth tied to the trunk fluttered in the wind. "I remember this tree. Last time..."
Chun Tao also came to the window after hearing this, squinting her eyes to carefully identify the badly weathered road sign, trying to recall the first time she came here with Nanny Wang, "We did turn southeast,"
Jing Chunxi said "hmm" absentmindedly, thinking that if the road was heading to Yamen Village, maybe he could go to Yamen Village to unload the goods first.
Suddenly the carriage jolted and her body tilted. Tang Shuang quickly supported her and exclaimed again: "It's here! The prince was picked up under this kapok tree last time..." She suddenly fell silent in the middle of her words, worried that her words would be heard by the prince in front.
The carriage suddenly turned a corner. Jing Chunxi steadied himself and saw the words "Chancheng" engraved on the mottled stone tablet on the side of the road.
"Shancheng! It's Shancheng!" Tang Shuang was still shouting excitedly. Jing Chunxi reached out and pinched her broad cheek, feeling a soft warmth. "Open your eyes and take a good look! It's clearly Chancheng."
"Ouch, Master, it hurts, it hurts—" Tang Shuang immediately cried out like a cat whose tail was stepped on, begging for mercy with tears in her eyes. Chun Tao and Zheng Yue laughed so hard that half of Zheng Yue's osmanthus cake fell out.
Chun Tao laughed and poked Tang Shuang's forehead with her finger: "You know all you do is eat all day, you can't even recognize a word!"
Tang Shuang rubbed her red face and muttered unconvincedly, "You're forcing a cow to drink water..." Seeing the young lady raise an eyebrow, she immediately shrank her neck and stuck out her tongue. But she didn't know that excessive joy would turn into sorrow, as Jing Chunxi gently tapped her head with his round fan.
"I heard that the almond cookies in Zen City are delicious..." Before Tang Xing could finish her words, Chun Tao pinched her thigh hard. She jumped up with a cry of pain and her head hit the roof of the car hard.
"You haven't finished eating the food in the winnowing basket yet, and you're already thinking about other things." Chuntao scolded him again, and Tang Shuang stopped talking.
Xu Zize rode a dark-black horse in front of the carriage, and the laughter coming from the carriage behind him reached his eardrums one after another.
He shook his head helplessly, remembering the strands of hair Jing Chunxi had accidentally brushed across his chin this morning.
When they leave Zen City again... He gripped the reins tightly, thinking that he had to find a suitable reason to let her switch to his carriage.
They indeed settled down in Chancheng.
As soon as they entered the city, Xu Zize personally picked out a docile maroon pony and helped Jing Chunxi ride on it.
The horse had a very good temperament and walked at a steady pace, allowing Jing Chunxi to have a panoramic view of the streets of Chancheng.
Chancheng is more prosperous than imagined.
On both sides of the bluestone-paved streets, there are rows of Lingnan-style arcades, and exquisite brick carvings are dotted between the gray tiles and white walls.
Various signs are hung on the shops along the street, the aroma of dim sum wafts from the teahouses, and the colorful cloths in front of the silk shops sway gently in the breeze.
The streets were bustling with people, including peddlers carrying loads on their shoulders and selling their goods, rich young men strolling around with palm-leaf fans, and girls walking in groups of three or four, the silver hairpins in their hair sparkling in the sun.
The hawking voices also rose one after another: "Wife Cake." "Double Skin Milk, smooth, tender and fragrant Double Skin Milk." "Cold Tea, twenty-four flavors -"
The goods sold on the streets were similar to those they had seen in Jiangmen County, but Chancheng had a particularly strong urban atmosphere. Occasionally, you could see street jugglers: fire-breathing, fist-fighting, and lion dancing.
Several children ran in front of the horse holding candy legs wrapped in sugarcane and almost bumped into it, but Jing Chunxi pulled the reins in time to avoid them.
The convoy headed south along the main street, turning into several busy streets. The buildings along the street gradually grew taller, with stone beasts of various shapes crouching on their eaves and corners.
Finally, we turned into a quiet alley. The road paved with blue bricks was clean and tidy. A few branches of redbud flowers that had already opened in spring peeked out from behind the high walls on both sides.
Xu Zize then whispered to Jing Chunxi, "The several alleys nearby all belong to the Prince of Yan's Mansion. Chancheng is also the safest prefecture in Lingnan."
Dismounting in front of a mansion, he gestured to Qingfeng beside him to distribute silver to everyone, "Five taels of silver per person, and let them go and explore in groups of three or four."
After everyone dispersed, he leaned closer to Jing Chunxi's ear and lowered his voice even lower: "Brother Xiaokang will take Xier to see father tonight."