Their group arrived in Zhangcheng several days later than originally planned but no one raised a complaint. Zhangcheng was the largest city along the southwest border shared with the Kingdom of Xia, with a permanent population of more than 300,000 residents. Since the open market opened for business, more and more people came and go. The moment one entered the city, they would instantly see the crowds; there were Xia folk, Barbarians, Huns, and so on. There were also small vendors selling goods by the street, which were usually toys or food.
After they officially entered the city, Cai Huan became instantly excited. Almost every stall she had to visit for at least a while, observing the small commodities and buying a hot steamed bun to eat. In comparison, Xia Xi seemed calmer, although this was the first time that he had such close contact with ordinary civilians.
Chu Lan held Xia Xi's hand while walking. Even if Xia Xi was now dressed as a man, Chu Lan didn't plan for them to separate. Like Cai Huan, he was also new to many things. For example, he was currently holding a straw hat and turning it over and over again before fitting it over his head. The Barbarians also had hats, but they were not in that style. After he wore it, he smiled brightly at Xia Xi, "Does it look good?"
Xia Xi smiled and nodded, Chu Lan wore the hat on his head again, staring at him, seemingly unsatisfied. He put on the straw hat again, picked up a dressing gown, and tried it again. The two of them strolled by the stalls one by one. In the middle of walking they bought some gadgets, all of which were picked by Chu Lan. Xia Xi didn't know how long they have been walking, when he looked back he suddenly couldn't see Cai Huan. He was shocked and hurriedly wanted to find her, but Chu Lan grabbed his wrist and said: "Someone's guarding her, we won't lose her."
Xia Xi breathed a subtle sigh of relief, he looked around but didn't see where any of the guards who were following them before had gone. He felt a little uneasy and gently pulled at Chu Lan's sleeve, he lowered his voice and asked: "Your guards seemed to have separated. Will there be any danger?"
Chu Lan laughed and said briskly: "No one knows who I am, so what are you so afraid of? I'm hungry, let's go find a restaurant for lunch, there should be many good restaurants here. Xi'er, which one do you want to go to?"
Xia Xi reluctantly suppressed his uneasy heart, and didn't look at the shops, he only said: "You can choose," Chu Lan took him into a restaurant named 'Drunk Xianju'. Because it wasn't noon yet, the people who came to eat weren't many. The huge restaurant only had a few occupied tables. As soon as the two of them entered, the shopkeeper greeted them enthusiastically, took them to the lounge, wiped their table diligently, poured tea, and entertained them, "What do the two customers want? Our turkey cooked over firewood¹ is a must, all the customers who have eaten it said that it tasted good, as well as our elbowed meat, sweet and sour fish..." He introduced them to seven or eight signature dishes, Chu Lan didn't ask the price but just said: "Serve all the dishes you quoted just now, and add another pot of wine."
The shopkeeper was taken aback, "You want it all? Is it for just you two? Honestly speaking, the servings in our restaurant aren't small, you may not be able to finish it and cause it to be wasted. If you really want to it all, I suggest to order only two or three dishes first. If you aren't in a rush, you can come and eat the rest tonight or tomorrow."
Chu Lan raised his eyebrows and chuckled: "You're strange, the more I order, the more you earn. Yet you are still worried about how I can't eat it?"
The shopkeeper said with a smile: "This humble person (T/N: Literally small person. Used to refer to oneself in third person in front of a superior) is just being kind. If it's only the two of you, then you wouldn't be able to finish so many dishes."
Chu Lan smiled and said, "Then it's up to you. Let's go with three dishes as is with your suggestion first, and then finish three more dishes later as you said."
The shopkeeper went down to get ready. They were sitting on the second floor next to the window, and only need to turn sideways to look down and see the people walking underneath. Chu Lan watched for a while, before Xia Xi suddenly said in a worried tone: "Cai Huan didn't follow, she shouldn't have had lunch yet."
Chu Lan stared at him, his tone a little unhappy, "Didn't you give her a lot of money, can she still get hungry? Besides, she had been eating from morning till now, right? It's likely she still hasn't stopped."
Chu Lan seemed a little angry by what he said, although Xia Xi didn't know the reason for it, he quickly explained, "I'm just... just a little worried..."
Chu Lan curled his lips, "Why do you care about her so much? It's just a servant girl," The dissatisfaction in his tone was very obvious. Xia Xi became more uneasy, Chu Lan stared at him closely before saying: "You should only be concerned about me, you know?"
This child must be jealous².
Xia Xi was a bit dumbfounded by this discovery, but he could only nod his head. Chu Lan's expression visibly became better. After a while, the shopkeeper brought up all the dishes they ordered. In addition to serving them wine, he also filled their bowls with white rice and set it aside. The portion of the dishes was really like he said, the bowl of turkey cooked over firewood was almost the size of a pot, the fragrance from the three bowls of vegetables permeated the air. The scent would make any hungry person unable to help but salivate.
Xia Xi wiped the chopsticks and bowl again with a clean cloth he carried before handing it to Chu Lan, he said, "Try it."
The boy was obviously hungry, he didn't drink first but began to taste the food. Compared with the Barbarian way of cooking food that was pretty repetitive in manner, the Xia folk was clearly superior. Chu Lan, who could stomach any dish given to him, was very satisfied. He praised it several times, especially the sweet and sour fish, which actually suited his taste. Since he liked it very much, almost all of it ended up in his stomach.
Xia Xi didn't eat much. After eating enough he began to separate fish bones for Chu Lan, sifting it clean, coating the fish meat with sauce, and puting it in his young husband's bowl. Seeing that he really liked it, Xia Xi suddenly stood up and said, "Chu Lan, can I go downstairs for a while?"
Chu Lan didn't ask him what he was going to do and nodded in agreement. Xia Xi came back not long after leaving, holding a folded piece of paper. Chu Lan wanted to see what was written in it, so Xia Xi unfolded it and handed it to him. Chu Lan glanced at it few times and said, "This is... the recipe for the sweet and sour fish that we ate just now?"
Xia Xi nodded lightly, and praised him softly: "Your speed of reading Chinese characters are getting better and better."
Chu Lan was obviously very happy, his eyes lit up, "Did you ask for this because of me?"
Xia Xi said: "Yeah, when we go back, I want to try and learn it."
Chu Lan returned the paper slip to him and said, "This shop's pretty good. The shopkeeper doesn't take advantage, and the chef teaches you how to cook. It seems that Xia folk don't only care for their advantages."
When Xia Xi heard his evaluation, he couldn't remember how he formed such an impression, but he didn't want to argue and said: "Most people are good, whether they are Xia or Barbarians."
Chu Lan checked out and went downstairs. Xia Xi saw a guard appear in front of him still dressed as a merchant, but didn't see Cai Huan until they arrived at the inn where they were going to stay. Cai Huan was sitting inside the lobby. The little girl was wearing a lot of newly bought things on her person; clothes, rouge, and gouache, she was even wearing a newly bought hairpin on her hair. She looked bright and beautiful.
The head guard had already booked several rooms in the inn. Naturally, Xia Xi and Chu Lan shared the same room. After entering their room, Xia Xi felt a little nervous, worrying that Chu Lan would want to indulge in immorality during daytime, but the boy only kissed him and said: "I'm going out, you should rest here obediently, don't run around."
Xia Xi didn't ask him where he was going and nodded obediently. Not long after Chu Lan left Cai Huan walked in carrying a pot of hot water. She waited for Xia Xi to finish washing his face, and suddenly said: "Your Highness, I... I ran into an acquaintance today, can you guess who it was?"
Naturally, Xia Xi couldn't guess who it was. There were many people who were acquainted with both him and Cai Huan. Since they entered the Barbarian country, they rarely had any interaction with Xia folk, the only people they knew in the Barbarian country were people from the Palace. The people there were excluded as it was impossible for them to be in Zhangcheng at this time. Cai Huan saw that he couldn't guess who it was and smiled cheerfully: "It's brother³ Li Yuan."
Xia Xi was stunned for a moment. Hearing the name, a face flashed through his mind, but it was slightly murky from the passage of time. He hesitantly asked, "Was it Li Yuan, the general⁴ who escorted us with the battalion⁵?"
Cai Huan smiled and replied: "Yes, who else could it be besides him? At that time, everyone was very cold. You couldn't distinguish whether they didn't want to speak or dare not speak to us. Anyway, everyone else hardly spoke to us, only he cared about our well-being."
Xia Xi asked: "Wangcheng is so far away from here, how could he come to Zhangcheng?"
Cai Huan said: "He should've been promoted, right? I heard the people around him calling him City General⁶. He should be the General of Zhangcheng now. Your Highness, what rank is a City General?"
Xia Xi said: "Fourth Rank, how did you meet him? How can it be so coincidental?"
Cai Huan said: "I really think it's a coincidence, I met him on the street, he seemed to be patrolling with his subordinates. He was sitting on a big horse. I saw him and called him. He stopped, went to me, and said a few words. When he heard that you were here, he said that he wanted to see you, and arranged an appointment with me while saying the time and address."
Xia Xi was stunned again, his heart tensed, and he subconsciously said: "Why did you tell him that I'm here?"
His tone was more solemn than usual. Cai Huan was used to his warmth and wasn't used to this tone. She felt a little bit aggrieved, she pouted, and the smile on her face disappeared. She whispered: "I... I didn't tell him, he just guessed it, and said that he should be a good host and invite you to dinner, but I didn't agree to it for you, and didn't say anything more."
Xia Xi looked at the girl's aggrieved expression and felt a little guilty, he reached out and touched her head, his tone softening a lot, "Well, it was me that's wrong, but I... I'm the Queen of the Barbarian country, he's the City General of Zhangcheng, he isn't an ordinary civilian. I— I cannot meet him," Even if the other party really had no other thoughts and purely wanted just reminiscence, it still wasn't appropriate to meet with him considering Xia Xi's identity.
Cai Huan was obviously puzzled, "Brother Li Yuan treated us very well along the way. I remember that time when it was raining and his horse turned over. He didn't let us get caught up in the rain. He kept protecting our carriage, not even eating, remember?"
Xia Xi firmly shook his head and whispered: "You should go out and play, I'll take a break first." Cai Huan obeyed, taking the basin with her and leaving. When she was about to walk to the door, Xia Xi suddenly stopped her.
Xia Xi hesitated again and again, he finally asked: "What's the name of the place where the appointment would be held? What time is it?"
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Notes:
1- I tried my best but I don't think it's that accurate so please take with a pinch of salt ;-;\n2- Literally eating vinegar, just tl'ed it straight up\n3- Used to referred to but not limited to an older male friend, or elder brother\n4- Should be general/lesser general. But I'm not really sure so general it is! \n5- Referring to the soldiers that escorted Xia Xi to the borders between the Kingdom of Xia and the Barbarian country to get married. \n6- I don't know what I'm doing but this should be right
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<b>Translator: Finally, smut scenes are over!!!!!! </b><b>*</b><b>throwing confetti everywhere</b><b>*</b> <b>If you find a typo/grammar </b><b>error</b><b>/missing words feel free to leave a comment!! I would really appreciate it (promise) 🥺🥺🥺</b>