Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 389 The Emperor’s Selection (3)
Feng Xuxu made up an excuse to send her maids away and then went to see her mother.
"Nanny Li, is my mother awake?" As she arrived at her mother’s courtyard and saw Nanny Li outside, she approached with delicate steps and quietly asked.
"Miss, the lady hasn’t woken up yet; she might need another half an hour," Nanny Li replied with a curtsy, also speaking softly for fear of disturbing the person asleep inside.
After hearing this, Xiao Jiazhen felt troubled, her beautiful brows furrowed as she looked down, silent.
Seeing her mistress like this, Nanny Li, curious, asked, "Is there something the matter, miss? Otherwise, should I go in and announce your presence?"
Quick to respond, Xiao Jiazhen frantically waved her hands, "Nanny, it’s nothing serious. I just want to go to the market to buy some rouge and face powder. I came to inform my mother, as I might return late."
Nanny Li’s eyes twinkled with understanding, and she smiled, "In that case, once the lady wakes up, I’ll report it on your behalf, miss."
"Then I’m yet again in your debt, Nanny Li," Xiao Jiazhen joyfully exclaimed, moving closer and grasping Nanny Li’s hand with a laugh.
Nanny Li patted her hand, chuckling, "Go on, remember to try to come back early."
"Okay, then, Nanny Li, I’m leaving now. Please communicate this to my mother," she said.
"Alright, this servant understands," Nanny Li replied with a smile, watching the young lady walk away. Nanny Li felt a touch of pride, considering that with her mistress’s beauty, plus her father’s status as a prominent official, becoming a princess would be well within reach. In the future, she herself would stand even straighter when stepping out.
Returning to her room, she quickly changed into her older brother’s teenage clothing, dismantled the complicated hairpins in her hair, combed it into a simple man’s topknot, removed her earrings, grabbed a silver note, and hurriedly left the room, heading straight for the back door.
The old woman guarding the back door, seeing the young lady dressed as a man, opened the door while asking in confusion, "Miss, why are you dressed in men’s clothing?"
Xiao Jiazhen cleared her throat calmly, "This make it more convenient for me to go out, avoiding some unnecessary trouble."
"Oh, take care, miss," the old woman replied.
After stepping out of the back courtyard, Xiao Jiazhen waved to the gatekeeper and briskly walked away.
In the afternoon, Feng Xuxu, having checked on the store, sat in the carriage rushing back to the mansion. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
"Come take a look, come see, big, sandy, sweet, and thirst-quenching watermelons! If they’re not tasty, you don’t have to pay a silver! Only five hundred wen per jin!" A vendor wearing a straw hat was fanning his sleeves and shouting.
Hearing this, Feng Xuxu lifted the curtain of the carriage window and looked out, her brows slightly furrowed, then let the curtain fall and called out, "Stop the carriage, Baihe, go buy some watermelons to bring with us."
"As you command, princess," said the charioteer, who stopped the carriage to the side. After leaping down and purchasing a few watermelons, they resumed their journey back to the mansion.
Upon arriving at the mansion, Feng Xuxu first went to bathe; with the intense heat of summer, one venture outside was enough to be covered in sweat. In the past, she could have cooled off with air conditioning, but here, she had to rely on a fan for relief. Thankfully it was only unbearably hot for a short period around noon; evenings were comparatively cooler.
After changing into a clean gauze dress, she sat in the pavilion, "Bring those watermelons over."
"As you command, princess."
Baihe, with her arms full of watermelons, hurried toward the pavilion and placed them on the stone table.
Feng Xuxu picked up a dagger next to her, gently sliced open the fruit, and scooped out some flesh to taste, her brow slightly furrowed.
"Is there something wrong, princess?" Mei Lenglei inquired, eyeing the watermelons that didn’t seem any different from usual. Why did the princess frown after taking a bite?
