Chapter 923: Chapter 204: Presenting the Gift

"Sir, your noodles."

"Sir, here are your five bowls of noodles, and I’ll deliver another five as soon as they’re off the stove."

The sword maid and Fanli sat facing each other at the table in the noodle shop.

The noodles were scallion noodles without any toppings, but they were pleasantly chewy, and the broth was delicious, making the meal quite satisfying.

Since the noodle shop boiled noodles and wontons in the same big pot, from time to time, one could find a few pieces of wonton skin in the noodle bowl, and with some luck, even a whole small wonton, adding to the richness.

Fanli ate his noodles quickly because he had a big mouth. With a quick jab of the chopsticks, a lift, and a twist, he would gather almost everything in the bowl and send it all into his mouth.

After chewing and swallowing, he’d lift the bowl and drink the broth along with the remaining noodles.

"Thump!"

He put down the empty bowl and moved on to the next one.

The sword maid ate much more elegantly, taking a small bite of noodles, then a sip of soup, reminiscent of a cultured young lady.

Every so often,

the sword maid would also glance up at the street outside, where the mule market was bustling with people.

As they traveled, ever since passing through Snow Sea Pass, the journey had been desolate;

but the farther west they went and the closer they got to the Yan region, the liveliness slowly returned, and upon reaching the outskirts of Yanjing, the feeling of nearing the imperial capital was unmistakable.

The sword maid was from Qian State and had spent time in the Qian imperial capital; in her opinion, the Qian capital was surely more refined than Yanjing, be it the singing and dancing in painting boats or the poetry recitation beside willow groves, all giving a sense of romantic elegance.

Yanjing, on the other hand, was full of a sense of boldness, evident not only in its people but even in the way the animals snorted, seemingly with a kind of arrogance and self-assuredness.

Her first mentor had once humorously told her,

that the people in the Qian capital liked to feign humility and grace, smiling at you while secretly mocking you as a country bumpkin, much like the girls in pleasure houses who laughed with red silk covering their mouths while actually insulting your crudeness.

But the Yan people in Yanjing did not look down on you for being a bumpkin, as they themselves took pride in being one.

By then, Fanli had finished his fifth bowl of noodles,

and during the wait for the next five bowls to arrive, he looked up at the sword maid, saying:

"They’re getting cold."

The sword maid lowered her head and continued eating her noodles.

After eating,

Fanli led the sword maid out of the noodle shop.

Fanli fastened a small cushion to his right shoulder,

and the sword maid sat on it.

Throughout the journey, they didn’t ride horses; the sword maid sat there while Fanli ran to her.

According to Fanli,

riding horses,

was too much trouble.

Continuing westward,

they entered the capital before the sun set.

They found an inn and settled in; Fanli voluntarily squatted outside the room door while the sword maid bathed inside.

After waiting for quite a while,

the sword maid pushed open the door, her hair slightly wet, draping over her shoulders.

Over the past two years, the sword maid had grown quite a bit; previously, she was not only naturally a sword embryo but also a pretty young maiden, but now she couldn’t be called a pretty young maiden anymore, for she was now a young beauty.

Her age was somewhat awkward, but she was within the acceptable range for certain uncouth individuals.

"Want to take a stroll?" Fanli asked.

Upon arriving in the capital, one must take a stroll.

The sword maid nodded,

then said:

"I want roast duck."

...

At Quande Building, in a private room.

The sword maid ate a few bites of roast duck and put it down, not bothering to wrap it in pancakes anymore.

Seeing this, Fanli asked:

"Not tasty?"

The sword maid nodded and said: "The meat’s tough."

The sword maid could endure hardships; ever since she could remember, she followed the Second Sword of Qian State across the land, often living day-to-day without certainty of the next meal. Later, following Zheng Fan, life improved considerably; it wasn’t luxury, but she could eat chicken if she wanted chicken and fish if she wanted fish.

The roast duck wasn’t tasty, and having come with high expectations, the disappointment made her disinterested in eating it.

Fanli nodded, grabbed a handful of roast duck with his left hand, and a handful of pancakes with his right hand, and stuffed them one after the other into his mouth.

Afterward,

they went downstairs.

The sword maid still sat on Fanli’s shoulder,

The young girl liked the feeling of sitting there because Fanli was tall, and sitting on his shoulder made her the tallest person on the street.

Fanli asked if she wanted candied hawthorns,

the sword maid disdainfully said:

"That’s for kids to eat."

Then,

she asked Fanli to buy both the candied hawthorn and the grass stick it was on.

Fanli held the grass stick in his right hand, and the sword maid enjoyed eating it happily.

So, the two strolled along,

apart from the candied hawthorn, they didn’t buy anything else, just looking.

Fanli, a man who could run from Snow Sea Pass to Yanjing on foot, naturally wouldn’t feel tired legs at this moment.

On Baixiang Street in Yanjing, water was being swept, and the eaves of the shops lining the street were adorned with festive red lanterns.

It’s said that in three days, the wedding procession of Yan’s Sixth Prince will pass through here.

Instead of taking the official road or the main street, he chose this narrow, small path.

Compared to the grand wedding of the Crown Prince which was interrupted, in terms of style and scale, it was as different as night and day.

Rumor had it that the Sixth Prince of Yan was never favored by the emperor, hence this treatment, and some even said that this prince was marrying a girl from a common family.

Just look at it, really, if he were favored, would he marry an ordinary girl from a common family?

The city’s folks mostly didn’t feel honored by the prince marrying a common girl; rather, they pitied him.

Fanli and the sword maid also arrived on this street.

The sword maid had finished her candied hawthorn,

He took out a slippery, fish bladder-like thing from the backpack on Fanli’s back,

put it to his mouth,

and started blowing air into it.

The fish bladder inflated into a ball.

The sword maid pinched the mouth of the balloon with her fingers, playing with it while asking:

"What’s this thing used for? It’s quite fun."

Fanli replied:

"For catching tadpoles."

"Catching tadpoles? How do you catch them? Can you come catch them with me?"

Fanli shook his head and said:

"I can’t catch them."

"It’s okay, I can help you."

Fanli’s brows furrowed slightly,

then he resolutely shook his head,

and said:

"No need."

Explaining the ancient method of using Bi Yun Tao to a little girl, and spreading this type of physiological knowledge, was indeed a massive task for Fanli.

Since it was troublesome, Fanli decided not to explain.

"Why bring this thing along?"

The sword maid knew that Fanli’s backpack had one bag filled with small trinkets and the other filled with silver.

"It’s a gift for the Sixth Prince," Fanli replied.

"Sent by my lord?"

"Yes."

Soon after,

Fanli added:

"Now, there’s no need to give it."

Because of the long distance between Yanjing and the Snow Sea Pass, there was a significant time delay with letter exchanges.

When Zheng Fan received Ji Chengjue’s letter saying he was getting married, he sent Fanli to Yanjing to attend the ceremony on his behalf.

Since the basic construction work at the Snow Sea Pass had been completed, A Ming was busy with the workshop affairs, and the other demon kings had their own duties, only Fanli was free, so he was sent out.

The sword maid insisted on coming along,

and eventually tagged along,

rumor had it that the Sword Saint was quite angry upon discovering his apprentice had been taken away.

However, Zheng Fan didn’t expect that the daughter of the He family was already pregnant, thus rendering the specially made fish bladder irrelevant.

"By the way, isn’t it a bit too casual for my lord to just give you money to buy a gift in the capital?"

Fanli nodded and said:

"My lord said they’re good friends, so it should be done conveniently."

The Snow Sea Pass could send a gift escort team with gongs and drums, but it was really unnecessary.

Firstly, it could cause a lot of unnecessary trouble, and secondly, it’s not economical due to the long journey.

Fanli coming by himself, bringing money and shopping in Yanjing, truly epitomized convenience.

"So what are we buying? We’re giving the gift tomorrow, right?"

"Yes."

"Buy antiques? Paintings? Jade artifacts?"

Fanli shook his head and said:

"My lord said to buy something down-to-earth."

"Down-to-earth?"

"Yes, my lord also said it should show sincerity at first glance and stand out."

"Hmm, then what should we buy?"

...

A new pork butcher shop opened on Baixiang Street, run by an out-of-town person, but really, he’s not that out-of-town because Nan’an County is also in the Tiancheng Prefecture. However, to the locals of the capital, anyone outside the city gates, even those living in farmhouses outside, are considered outsiders.

The shop owner’s last name was He, and his son helped him.

The small business had just opened and wasn’t exactly bustling, but the shop owner was amiable and knew how to do business.

"Hey, hey, hey, Chu, move that lantern a little more to the right, yes, yes, hang it straight, hang it straight."

Old He was directing his son to hang a red lantern.

The widow who owned the dry goods store next door leaned on the doorframe, cracking sunflower seeds, and joked:

"Oh, Old He, you’re so earnest. Someone might think the Sixth Prince is marrying your daughter."

He Chu, who was hanging the lanterns, giggled foolishly.

Old He replied,

"People from outside the capital coming in for the first time to see this royal spectacle, just joining in the fun a little bit. Back in my hometown, we never had such grand events."

"That’s true, but slowly, you’ll get used to it. There’s plenty of life ahead."

"Indeed, indeed."

Old He turned around, ready to sharpen his knife again, when he noticed a towering figure appearing at his stall.

Old He looked up,

his neck a little sore,

because the man in front of him was just too tall. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Meanwhile, the widow next door’s eyes widened, and she subconsciously licked her lips.

This tall man stood in front of the stall,

with a young girl sitting on his shoulder.

"Um, customer, are you here to buy pork?"

Old He asked a little apprehensively.

Fanli nodded, turning to look at the sword maid sitting on his shoulder.

The sword maid tossed a small bag of silver, which landed with a "clunk" on Old He’s counter.

"We’ll buy three fat pigs, tie red ribbons, put on red flowers, we’re using them as a gift."

————

Good night.