A gentle breeze blew by, and a green leaf fell onto Wei Hong's head, turning his face green as well.
How did you know what kind of snacks she likes?
Liancheng was startled and felt a chill for no reason. He quickly pointed to a shop on the next street.
"It's written on the door of that pastry shop..."
Wei Hong looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a pastry shop, the same one where Yao Youqing had identified herself and bought the little white dog.
The shop still has its original name, but a signboard hangs next to it with a line of eye-catching words: "The Princess's Favorite Snacks".
Chapter 23 Conversation
Wei Hong's expression improved somewhat, and he looked away, picking up a pastry and putting it in his mouth.
Liancheng breathed a sigh of relief, and his tense back relaxed again.
"What's wrong with you today? Who upset you?"
Wei Hong picked up the wine on the table and drank it all in one gulp, skipping over the topic: "What brings you here this time?"
“Why would I come?” Liancheng laughed. “I missed the scenery of Hucheng. There are so many beauties in this little bamboo house, I…”
"I'll be going now if there's nothing else."
Wei Hong made a move to get up.
Liancheng quickly stopped him: "No, no, no, something's wrong."
"explain."
The two chatted on the terrace for a long time. When Wei Hong left, he took with him 100,000 taels of silver notes and a box of silver ingots from Liancheng.
After Liancheng left, his servants said with a bitter face, "Young master, we didn't bring much with us this time. You gave all your money to the prince, what will you use?"
Liancheng sighed and said, "Have someone go and get some more."
He added at the end, "Take more."
The servant responded, turned and went downstairs, then came back up a while later.
"Young master, we haven't settled our bill at the little bamboo house yet, and we servants don't have enough silver..."
Lian Cheng's brow twitched, and he pulled off the ring on his finger and slammed it on the table: "Take it!"
After the servants left, he picked up the wine pot, tilted his head back, and poured the wine directly into his mouth. After taking a few sips, he reached for the pastries on the table and discovered that Wei Hong had eaten both packets of pastries, leaving not a single piece.
Liancheng's head throbbed even more. He got up and went to the terrace to get some fresh air. In the distance, he saw again the signboard fluttering in the wind outside the pastry shop on the next street.
He looked at it for a while, then looked back at the table, then back at the signboard, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes.
Someone on the street looked up and saw him. A woman's voice, excited yet shy, exclaimed, "Young Master Lian!"
More people are looking over, especially women.
Liancheng gave them a charming wink, then turned and went downstairs with an air of nonchalance.
...
Wei Hong left the small bamboo building and never returned to the military camp.
He wandered around the streets and eventually came to the pastry shop.
The words "the princess's favorite desserts" were made even more eye-catching.
A woman happened to be coming out with some pastries. When she saw him, she greeted him in surprise, then asked with a smile, "Is Your Highness here to buy pastries for the Princess?"
She then tried to stuff the pastries in her hand into his hand so that he could take them back to Yao Youqing.
Wei Hong refused several times, but the woman was very enthusiastic and insisted on giving it to him.
Cui Hao stepped in at the right moment to smooth things over, saying, "Auntie, our prince also loves the pastries from this place. One pack is definitely not enough. We need to go in and buy a few more packs. You can take this pack back and eat it yourself. Anyway, we're going in to buy more."
The woman then gave up and left with a smile.
The owner of the pastry shop had already heard them talking and hurriedly came out to personally welcome them inside.
Wei Hong hadn't originally planned to buy anything, but since he was already inside, he reluctantly bought some anyway.
As the shopkeeper wrapped the pastries for them, he said, "Ever since the princess started coming here to buy pastries, my business has been much better than before!"
“People used to say that my pastries didn’t look good and they were very critical of them. But my wife and I are getting old. We don’t have the time to make them all look beautiful. As long as they taste good, that’s enough.”
"The princess has such good taste! She doesn't mind at all! What was that saying again...?"
The older shopkeeper thought for a moment before exclaiming, "Good wine needs no bush! Delicious pastries don't need to look ugly! My plain pastries are selling like hotcakes!"
He kept talking, his gratitude and admiration for the princess overflowing, and he even secretly slipped two extra pastries into her mouth when Wei Hong and the others weren't looking.
He was old and frail, and moved slowly. Wei Hong naturally saw it. In the past, he would never have put it away, but today, for some reason, he didn't say anything to expose him. He just stared at the bag of pastries for a while.
Cui Hao paid the money, and the two walked out of the pastry shop.
He does walk the streets regularly, but he's usually in a hurry, so although people recognize him, they rarely have the chance to talk to him.
Today, he seemed to have nothing to do, strolling around leisurely, and people often came up to chat with him.
"Your Highness, please tell the Princess that you don't need to send any more medicine to my house. My husband's foot is all better now, it's nothing serious!"
This is the wife of a commoner who had previously been conscripted to repair the mansion of the Prince. Her husband accidentally injured his foot while working. After the people of the Prince's mansion sent him back, they arranged for a doctor to prescribe medicine for him and also compensated him with a sum of money.
The doctor said that although the injury heals easily, it's best to rest for a while before returning to work. It would be even better if you could take some nourishing food, which would help it heal faster.
Yao Youqing found out and still sends people to see her and deliver medicine on time, reminding her not to rush back to work, lest she develop a chronic illness.
After the man left, another person came over and said to Wei Hong, "Your Highness, my mother's cough has improved a lot. If you see the Princess, please tell her so she doesn't need to worry."
This was a peddler carrying a load on his shoulders. He had an elderly mother at home who was in poor health. A few days ago, she had a cough. Yao Youqing happened to run into her, asked her a few questions, and left only after confirming that it was nothing serious.
Wei Hong suspected that she didn't remember at all, but the peddler was certain that she did, saying that the princess would ask about his mother's health every time she bought something from him.
Later, several more people came up to talk to Wei Hong, and most of what they said was related to Yao Youqing.
Standing on the street, watching the flow of cars and people, Wei Hong asked Cui Hao, "How long has she been here?"
Cui Hao replied, "Less than half a year."
"Less than half a year..."
In such a short time, it seemed as if it were everywhere.
Contrary to his expectations, she wasn't afraid, timid, or unsociable in a new place; on the contrary, she got along very well with the people there.
Hu City and the capital are actually different. The capital is bustling and full of high-ranking officials and nobles. Although Hu City is also prosperous, the boundary between the common people and officials is not so clear. People who grow up in noble families and are used to being pampered and superior from childhood may not be able to adapt.
In their eyes, this place is probably full of troublemakers.
But Yao Youqing clearly didn't think so. She genuinely liked these people, which is why she was so close to them.
People on the street only recognized her because of Wei Hong back then; now they are getting close to Wei Hong because of her.
Wei Hong had a high reputation in Shangchuan, and Hu Cheng naturally had an even higher one.
But to the common people, he was distant; he was either in a hurry or heavily armored, and although the people loved him, they dared not approach him.
In their eyes, he was probably like a god or Buddha enshrined in a Buddhist shrine, inspiring both admiration and awe.
Now, because of that little princess, they finally realize that he is not so unapproachable after all, and that he can actually have a few casual conversations with them and talk about some trivial matters.
Wei Hong finally arrived at the orphanage. It had been a while since he last visited, and the place had changed drastically.
The house had been renovated and the walls had been repainted. Several young children were playing and laughing at the door. Two women were sitting at the door sewing and mending, taking advantage of the good sunshine to keep an eye on the children and prevent them from being snatched away by kidnappers or hit by passing vehicles.
As the women were chatting idly, they noticed two dark figures lying motionless on the ground. Looking up, they saw it was the King of Qin, and they quickly put down their things and stood up.
"Your Highness, what brings you here?"
Several children nearby also stopped and looked at them curiously.
The children didn't remember people very well, and some of them were newcomers who didn't recognize Wei Hong at all. They only knew the name of the King of Qin, but not who he was.
Just as Wei Hong was about to say, "I just happened to be passing by," one of the women saw the pastries Cui Hao was carrying and laughed loudly, "So you're here to deliver pastries to the Princess."
"I've told the Princess so many times that there's plenty of food and drink here and that she doesn't need to worry, but she always keeps sending things over. Today, she even made you come in person."
As she spoke, the woman reached out and took the pastries from Cui Hao's hand, then called to a few children to take them to the courtyard to share with the other children.
Cui Hao couldn't refuse, so he could only watch helplessly as the snacks were taken away, turning his head to look at Wei Hong sheepishly.
Wei Hong frowned slightly, but didn't say anything, standing there silently.
Children love snacks, and those children in the sales bureau who have experienced hunger and cold and nearly starved to death love them even more.
For them, being able to have a bowl of porridge for three meals a day was already a great joy. Now, not only can they eat their fill, but they can also have snacks in between meals, which makes them as happy as during the New Year. Laughter and chatter erupted, but there was no scrambling or fighting. They counted heads and distributed the food one by one in order.
As they were sharing snacks, the woman pointed to the newly renovated house and the whitewashed courtyard wall and said, "Thank you so much, Your Highness, for having your house renovated. The children are overjoyed. They had said they wanted to thank you before, but we were afraid you were too busy with official duties, so we didn't dare let them go. Now it's perfect, they can thank you in person."
As they spoke, the children gathered around, saying "Thank you, Your Highness" repeatedly.
Although Wei Hong founded the orphanage, he simply handed it over to his servants and rarely paid attention to it personally. He would send silver and supplies over according to a fixed amount each year, and sometimes he would have some outstanding children selected to be sent to military camps or other places for training.
As for repairing the house... that wasn't his arrangement.
It's likely that Yao Youqing included this place when he was renovating the Prince's Mansion, and even left his name on it.
"Your Highness, you are so tall!"
A young child asked in a clear, innocent voice, "Will I be able to grow as tall as the prince when I grow up?"
"OK!"
Before Wei Hong could speak, another slightly older child chimed in, "The princess said that as long as we work hard and each of us has our own strengths, we can all be as powerful as the prince in the future!"
The child, having received a reply, looked at Wei Hong with anticipation, wanting to hear what he had to say.
Wei Hong raised his hand and awkwardly placed it on the child's head: "Okay."
Chapter 24 Further Inquiry
"The prince hasn't returned yet?"