Yao Kun brought Shi Muyuan down in a small alley.
As soon as Shi Muyuan landed, she leaned against the wall and gasped for breath. She felt dizzy, and the jade hairpin on her head was all askew.
Next time, she must teach Yao Kun how to be gentle with women!
It took her quite a while to straighten up and tidy her clothes. Yao Kun seemed to sense her discomfort. One hand supported her while the other adjusted the ornaments in her hair.
The two walked out of the alley. It was still early, and there were not many pedestrians on the street. Only some shops were opening one after another.
Shi Muyuan touched her empty stomach and pulled Yao Kun to sit at a snack stall. She ordered steamed buns and baked cakes.
When the shopkeeper brought the food over, Shi Muyuan stopped him and asked, "Big brother, could you tell me where the recently appeared opera troupe is?"
"The recently appeared opera troupe? Miss, do you mean the one from outside?"
"Yes, yes, that's the one." Shi Muyuan was starving, especially after the experience of leaping over eaves and walking on walls just now. She directly picked up a bun and stuffed it into her mouth.
"It's quite far. That opera troupe is so big. There's no space for it in the capital city of Changjing. Naturally, it's in the suburbs." The snack - stall owner sized up Shi Muyuan.
"Are you two ladies going to have some fun?"
"Yes. I've heard about it. We've never seen what those outside opera troupes perform. We want to go and have a look."
"Tsk, then you'd better go early. There will be a lot of people. If you go early, you might even get a good seat. If you ladies have some extra money, you can even book a private room, so you don't have to worry about not being able to see. It will be crowded, and it won't be comfortable for you ladies!"
"I see. Then, big brother, do you know when the opera troupe will start?"
"About a quarter past the Xu hour. You ladies should take a carriage and go early. It's better to be early than late. And it seems that the opera troupe will leave tomorrow."
"Thank you, big brother."
"You're welcome. Then, miss, enjoy your meal slowly."
Shi Muyuan smiled and nodded at the big brother. Then she fell into deep thought while munching on the bun. Seeing that she had no more questions, the shopkeeper went back to tend to his stall.
Yao Kun also imitated her and held a baked cake to eat. In no time, she finished one.
Just as the little girl was about to reach for a second one, her hand was suddenly grabbed by a small hand.
"Kun'er, can you ride a horse?"
Yao Kun looked at the small hand that was holding hers. The fingertips were smooth and pink, so cute. She nodded eagerly and let Shi Muyuan hold her hand.
Shi Muyuan nodded in satisfaction. "Sure enough, it was a good choice to bring you!" She generously gave her a thumbs - up. "Happy cooperation!"
Shi Muyuan happily grabbed Yao Kun's hand and shook it up and down twice. Then she let go, picked a baked cake, and started to eat.
Yao Kun withdrew her hand and stared at Shi Muyuan for a while. Only under her urging look did she start to continue having breakfast.
It was still early. It was not too late to set off in the afternoon after breakfast. Since she finally got out of the palace gate, she naturally had to take a stroll around. There was also the new chef at Tianxiang Tower that Concubine Qi mentioned yesterday. She would go and try it today.
When they left the breakfast stall, the street was already bustling with people coming and going.
Changjing, as the capital city, was indeed bustling, prosperous, and full of traffic.
Shi Muyuan walked among the crowd. For the first time, she truly felt the ancient market. She lifted her lake - green skirt and looked around, like a dexterous little bird shaking its beautiful tail feathers.
Yao Kun closely followed her, afraid of getting separated. She was already carrying quite a few things in her hands. She looked at the excited woman in front of her and frowned slightly. How were they going to get back later?
Here, Shi Muyuan just took a fancy to a wooden hairpin. The dark wood grain was finely carved with hollow cloud patterns. There was nothing else on it, simple and plain.
Shi Muyuan had always liked these antique wooden hairpins. But how could the people in the palace let the Empress Dowager wear such things? So her jewelry box was full of gold, silver, and jewels. When she saw this small wooden hairpin, she naturally liked it very much.
She thought about bringing some gifts back for Xiao Xiao and Ze Ze. A happy smile spread across her small face. Holding several hairpins in her hand, she excitedly turned to look for Yao Kun. But when she turned around, she saw someone she shouldn't have met.
Huo Qizhou!
Shi Muyuan was so scared that she immediately turned her head back. Her hands holding the hairpins were sweating. Seeing her like this, the shopkeeper's face changed, and his voice became several tones higher. "Miss, are you going to buy this or not? My hairpins are not cheap. I can't afford to let you play around like this." As he said, he reached out to grab the hairpins from Shi Muyuan's hand.
Shi Muyuan was afraid that the person behind would find her, and she was also reluctant to let go of the hairpins she had picked for so long. Immediately, she hid the hairpins in her bosom to prevent the shopkeeper from snatching them back. She casually threw a few pieces of broken silver on the stall.
The shopkeeper immediately beamed with joy and even asked obsequiously if she needed anything else. Shi Muyuan was eager to hide from the person and didn't care about him at all. Without looking back, she stiff - necked and went to pull Yao Kun. Her small hand waved behind her for a long time and finally touched a silk sleeve. She grabbed it and ran forward.
The person behind seemed a bit heavy. Shi Muyuan had a hard time pulling. She gasped for several times. Holding the silk sleeve tightly, she kept running. Shi Muyuan got a bit anxious. Thinking that Yao Kun was being naughty again, she tugged hard and shouted, "Stop fooling around. I saw Huo Qizhou! We have to hide quickly. We can't let him catch us and take us back."
Only then did she feel that the sleeve in her hand stopped running. After running for a while, thinking that they should have avoided Huo Qizhou, she slowed down.
As soon as she slowed down, she felt something was wrong. Shi Muyuan nervously bit the tender flesh in her mouth and carefully felt the texture of the sleeve in her hand.
It was indeed the fabric of the clothes Yao Kun was wearing today.
No!
Shi Muyuan suddenly remembered that Yao Kun never wore such big - sleeved clothes. She always wore handsome and neat cyan - sleeved military uniforms. Where did this big - sleeved one come from!
Shi Muyuan's heart tightened. She couldn't help swallowing a mouthful of saliva. Her fingertips had quietly loosened the sleeve she had been holding. She quietly took a few steps forward, ready to run away.
Before she could even lift her foot, someone grabbed the small braid that Xiao Xiao had braided for her in the morning.
Shi Muyuan felt a sharp pain and immediately hugged the back of her head and squatted on the ground. Her spread - out lake - green skirt covered a pair of silver boots as bright as the moon.
She peeked through her fingers. Her heart tightened. Was she this unlucky? Did she just pull Huo Qizhou? It couldn't be!
She wanted to move, but the pain in the back of her head made her clearly know that the person who grabbed her braid hadn't let go.
Shi Muyuan carefully reached out her hand to pull back her braid when she heard the person behind her let out a soft laugh. The voice was lazy and full of amusement.
Shi Muyuan felt completely hopeless. She gave up resistance and was ready to admit her guilt.