Stepping out of the palace, Lin Zaozao glanced back only to find Matchless and Invincible lurking in the shadows once again.
Well, it's nice not having Matchless and Invincible trailing me every step of the way. It feels more liberating to stroll around by myself.
Thinking about the fun she'll have exploring the streets, Lin Zaozao's eyes squinted with delight.
Once on the streets, she couldn't help but glance at the shops lining both sides of the road.
But her primary focus was on delicious treats. As for clothing and jewelry stores, Lin Zaozao didn't spare them a single glance.
She had more than enough clothes and jewelry in her palace, thanks to her beloved husbands who loved to shower her with new outfits.
Especially Ruo Qiu, he always brought the latest styles of clothes and jewelry to her palace as soon as they were available.
But now, those new clothes were just gathering dust in her wardrobe. Because, apart from wearing something formal for court sessions and banquets, she mostly preferred loose and comfortable casual wear.
If Oldest Brother Han Ye would allow it, she'd have the palace seamstresses make her some modern T-shirts and baggy pants.
They'd be so comfortable to wear.
Lin Zaozao hadn't walked far when she spotted a shop selling pastries. Thanks to the glass-making method she taught Ruo Qiu, glass was now widely used among the common people of Han Country.
Looking at the pastry shop in front of her, if it weren't for the ancient-style building and the robes worn by the shopkeeper and assistants, she'd almost feel like she'd been transported to modern times.
It all looked so familiar.
Apart from glass, everything else was probably the work of her parents! In the lives of the people of Han Country, there were signs of modern life everywhere.
Looking up at the various pastries displayed in the shop's glass window, Lin Zaozao felt her mouth watering.
Back in the palace, her diet had been controlled by her attendants ever since she had a toothache last time. They hardly let her indulge in overly sweet pastries.
But now that she was out on her own, free at last, she intended to treat her taste buds to everything the palace hadn't allowed her to enjoy.
With that in mind, Lin Zaozao briskly walked into the pastry shop, grinned at the assistant behind the counter, and began selecting pastries.
Taking the tray from the assistant, Lin Zaozao filled it with her favorite pastries without hesitation.
After all, she was now a sort of invisible little rich lady; she had the money to buy pastries. When the tray was full, she happily carried it over to the shopkeeper behind the counter.
"Shopkeeper, I'll take these. Please ring me up."
The shopkeeper looked at the mountain of pastries on the tray.
So many pastries, she couldn't possibly finish them all.
The shopkeeper was about to ask Lin Zaozao if she wanted to buy fewer, considering she wouldn't be able to eat all of them alone.
However, when the shopkeeper caught sight of Lin Zaozao's face, his expression froze involuntarily.
"Miss, why do you look so familiar to me? I feel like I've seen you somewhere!"
"Really? Do I look that familiar? Then take a closer look, see who I resemble?"
Saying so, Lin Zaozao brought her face close to the shopkeeper's, urging him to look carefully.
The shopkeeper of the pastry shop scrutinized Lin Zaozao's doll-like face carefully, furrowing his brows as he looked again and again. After a while, he suddenly clapped his hands and pointed at Lin Zaozao, stuttering.
"You, you are... the queen of our Han Country..."
"Shopkeeper, do you also think I look like the queen of our Han Country? I'm not afraid to be laughed at. People in our village all say I look like the queen of our Han Country. They say I resemble her so much, it's obvious I'm a lucky person who will surely become wealthy in the future. Shopkeeper, do you think they're right?"
Meeting Lin Zaozao's sparkling eyes, the shopkeeper subconsciously no longer thought she resembled the queen of their Han Country.
The queen of their Han Country would always have attendants even in simple outings. Moreover, how could the queen of their Han Country, a figure of such stature, wear such fancy clothes?
Plus, when the shopkeeper noticed the torn cuffs of Lin Zaozao's floral trousers, he instinctively thought she was just a little girl who happened to resemble the queen of their Han Country.
"Shopkeeper, considering how much I resemble our Han Country's queen, could you give me a discount on these pastries?"
"Miss, the ingredients for these pastries in my shop are very expensive. And the pastries you've placed in the plate are all among the priciest in our little shop.
I've calculated, the total for this plate of pastries is two taels and fifty-one wen.
Since you resemble our queen, I'll give you a small discount."
"Shopkeeper, how much of a discount?"
Lin Zaozao leaned on the counter, asking eagerly.
"One wen less, I'll charge you two taels and fifty wen."
"What? Two taels and fifty-one wen, and you're only giving me a one-wen discount! If you're giving a discount, shouldn't it be on that fifty wen too?"
"What's this? You find one wen too little? If you think it's too little, don't buy it. Let me tell you, miss.
If it weren't for the townspeople cooperating with the army to guard the hundred thousand prisoners of war from Canglan and Fengshuo countries, going to repair the dam.
For this plate of pastries, I'd normally charge at least three taels of silver. Selling it to you for two taels and fifty wen, I'm actually losing money."
Saying so, the shopkeeper cast a disdainful glance at Lin Zaozao, who still wanted to bargain, and reached to take the plate of pastries back.
"Hey hey hey! Shopkeeper, you can't just take it back because of bargaining! And it's not like I said it's too expensive and I won't buy it!"
Lin Zaozao took the plate from the shopkeeper's hand and prepared to take out money from her waist. Looking at the few gold coins in her purse, she couldn't help but want to complain about the palace servants who gave her gold coins.
Among the common people, how many would have gold coins in their purses? Even those with silver coins were not very common.
Among the common people, the currency of trade was mostly just copper coins.
But having dressed up and considering this shop likely able to provide change for silver, Lin Zaozao promptly took out a small gold ingot from her purse and handed it to the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper accepted the gold but just as he was about to give Lin Zaozao her change, his eyes suddenly darted towards her waist.
"What are you staring at? Haven't you seen a young girl's slender waist before? Honestly, shopkeeper, you're not young anymore, how can you still blatantly ogle at a young girl's waist like that? Shame on you! How can you keep staring at my waist like that?" Lin Zaozao's voice trailed off as she scolded the shopkeeper.
Instantly, the shopkeeper shoved the gold ingot back into Lin Zaozao's hand. He stepped out from behind the counter, trembling, and pointed at the small golden piece hanging from Lin Zaozao's waist.
"Miss, may I take a look at the golden piece hanging from your waist?"
"The golden piece? Is it this one?" Lin Zaozao looked at the small golden piece that had accidentally fallen from her clothes when she retrieved her purse earlier.
She reached to take the golden piece, a gift from Ruo Qiu, to show the shopkeeper. But when she saw the shopkeeper's excited expression, she instinctively pulled it back.
"Are you trying to take what's mine?" Lin Zaozao eyed the shopkeeper warily.
Under Lin Zaozao's vigilant gaze, the shopkeeper wiped his forehead, then, after taking a deep breath, he spoke to her.
"Miss, I won't touch your golden piece. Just let me have a look."
Under the shopkeeper's pleading gaze, Lin Zaozao hesitated for a moment before handing the golden piece to him.
She had guards nearby, and if this shopkeeper dared to do anything untoward in her presence, she would have him dealt with.
As the shopkeeper examined the familiar pattern on the golden piece, he took a step back, bowed respectfully to Lin Zaozao, and hurried off towards the back curtain.
"Master, master, someone's here. Madam is here... "
Watching the shopkeeper's excitement, Lin Zaozao was momentarily stunned before regaining her senses.
As she looked at the golden piece in her hand, she carefully traced the patterns with her fingers. This was a gift from Ruo Qiu; this shopkeeper couldn't possibly know him!
Thinking it might be related to Ruo Qiu, Lin Zaozao looked towards the curtain.
Could the "master" the shopkeeper mentioned be Ruo Qiu?
Just as Lin Zaozao thought of Ruo Qiu, the curtain was lifted, and indeed, the person who emerged was her beloved, Ruo Qiu.
"Zaozao!"
"Ruo Qiu, my dear!"
Stuffing the golden piece into her bosom, Lin Zaozao dashed towards Ruo Qiu.
Catching her securely, Ruo Qiu lovingly held her in his arms. But when Ruo Qiu noticed no one behind Lin Zaozao, his forehead furrowed into a puzzled frown.
At a time when diplomatic relations between the Han Country and the Canglan and Fengshuo nations were in a deadlock, Lin Zaozao left the palace early, surprisingly without any guards trailing behind her.
Moreover, why would Han Ye, the High Priest of the Cold Night, allow her to leave the palace at such a precarious moment? Doesn't he know that there have been numerous spies from Canglan and Fengshuo infiltrating the Cold City these days, making it far from peaceful?
Even when he, along with Ji Fantian and Xiao Taohua, ventures out, they take measures to conceal their identities, wary of encountering those spies that could cause trouble for them.
Furthermore, Lin Zaozao ventured out alone today, and Han Ye didn't assign her any guards!
"Zaozao, where are your guards?"
"Oh! I don't have guards, but I have shadow guards. Ruo Qiu, Matchless, and Invincible are concealed nearby. As for their current whereabouts, I have no idea. Anyway, whenever I call for them, they'll appear."
Listening to Lin Zaozao's casual words, Ruo Qiu took a deep breath and suppressed his dissatisfaction. He couldn't shake the feeling that Han Ye had been reckless in letting Zaozao leave the palace today.
Confronted with Lin Zaozao's cheerful face, when Ruo Qiu saw the tattered floral pants she was wearing, his frown deepened.
His little girl is someone of high status and nobility. He worked so hard to earn money not to see her in such shabby clothes.
Also, didn't he provide Zaozao with many clothes? Why is she wearing such a flashy and tattered pair of pants?
Following Ruo Qiu's puzzled gaze, Lin Zaozao looked at the two large holes bitten by Zhao Cai and Jin Bao on her pant legs, nonchalantly explaining, "Ruo Qiu, the holes in my pants were bitten by Zhao Cai and Jin Bao. The reason is, when I left the palace today, to avoid being recognized, I didn't bring those two little wolf cubs with me. After all, everyone in the Han Country knows that I have two imposing wolf cubs. Taking them out would be like inviting trouble."
Seeing Lin Zaozao's smug expression, Ruo Qiu couldn't help but chuckle. Regardless of why Han Ye let Zaozao leave the palace today, as long as he follows her, things shouldn't go awry.
"Zaozao, let me take you to get a new outfit. These pants are too torn to wear."
Saying that, Ruo Qiu held Lin Zaozao with one hand, ready to head outside.
"Wait a minute, Ruo Qiu. I haven't taken my pastries yet!"
Following Lin Zaozao's gaze, Ruo Qiu looked at the large plate of pastries, unable to help but smile.
Those pastries, either too greasy or too sweet, are usually not allowed for Zaozao to eat in the palace. But today, with no one to stop her, she filled a plate this large with pastries. Can she finish them all? Isn't she afraid of ruining her teeth?
