Cypress Boat Floating

It doesn't snow in the South City, and you won't feel very cold there even in winter. It's just that the temperature difference between morning and night is big, so you need to wear more clothes. At noon, it's just like early summer, and you'll sweat all over if you're not careful.

But it snows in Beijing. It starts snowing in October. Snowflakes are flying all over the sky. The crystal clear snowflakes melt quickly when they fall on your hands. But Lu Ci Qiu still likes snowing. He likes standing in the snow without an umbrella and looking at the sky. He likes the feeling of snowflakes falling on his face and caressing him. Because his mother passed away in winter. It is said that it snowed heavily that day, and it was the heaviest snowfall of that year.

It is said that auspicious snow indicates a good harvest, but if the snow is good, the whole next year will be smooth. If it is bad, there will be snowstorms from the end of the year.

Fortunately, this year is good. Lu Ci Qiu stood in the corridor and stretched his hand outside. A snowflake fell on his hand, but because the weather was cold enough, the snowflake melted into water after a while, soaking his hand.

After the winter solstice, people all over the country began to prepare for the New Year. Some people bought New Year goods, some went hunting, and some embroidered window decorations. This year, there were no major changes or disasters, and the people did not live such a hard life. Everything was so happy.

In addition to ordinary people, everyone in the palace was also preparing for the New Year. It was the imperial merchant election that happened every five years. The emperor had a sudden idea to let Lu Zhixing take charge of the election, and also let him take Lu Ciqiu with him, which was also a way for Lu Ciqiu to exercise in advance. After all, he would set up a government office after the New Year and could start attending court formally.

Before the winter solstice, the emperor had issued an edict, asking Lu Ci to start attending court after the new year. The palace was now under emergency construction, and everyone was busy, except for Ye Jianqing who had been seriously injured before.

Ye Jianqing went diving with Lu Ci Qiu before her injuries from the fight with Arnold in Nancheng healed, and stayed in the cave for several days. On the way back to Beijing, Lu Ci Qiu would hear Ye Jianqing coughing from time to time, and because he was worried about her health, he asked the imperial physician to see her as soon as he returned to the palace.

After examining Ye Jianqing, the imperial physician concluded that there was too much coldness in Ye Jianqing's body, which would damage his body, so his injuries had never healed.

Therefore, during this period of time, Lu Ci Qiu explicitly forbade Ye Jianqing to do any training and run around. She was told to be well behaved, stay in her room to recuperate, and take her medicines carefully.

But Ye Jianqing is not the kind of person who would stay still. In the past, he had no problem staying in one place for a few days to complete a mission, but now he has no mission at all and just has to stay in the room like a waste. Ye Jianqing can't stand this.

She was not stupid to begin with, but she became stupid after staying there for a while. Moreover, she was not allowed to touch any knives, guns or swords, and even the skylark was taken away, which made Ye Jianqing even more depressed.

She had nothing to do so she had to follow Huaixi around whenever she had time, helping him decorate the courtyard and make arrangements for the New Year.

The New Year goods in the palace are purchased by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and then sent to each palace and courtyard, so they don’t need to go out to buy anything themselves. Especially this year, Lu Ci Qiu has made great contributions, and the group of snobbish people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs are willing to send some good things to Lu Ci Qiu's courtyard.

But the food in the palace was good, but it lacked the worldly atmosphere of the market and the taste of people. Ye Jianqing became bored with it after eating it for a long time. No matter how good the food was, he couldn't eat it every day.

As a result, Ye Jianqing was thinking about leaving the palace every day.

But she also knew that Lu Ci Qiu was busy now and she couldn't leave the palace alone, so she had to keep comforting herself that they would be able to move out in less than a month or two, and then she could go wherever she wanted and eat whatever she wanted. She had to endure it for now.

But no matter how much consolation I got, I still kept thinking about eating and couldn’t let it go!

She now particularly misses the days in South City. Although life was a bit hard, she was free and could eat anywhere. She could also occasionally have a drink with Zhang Quansheng. Those days were free and easy.

Lu Ci Qiu was so busy every day that he could only accompany Ye Jianqing for dinner at night. It was fine a few days ago, but these few days Ye Jianqing seemed depressed and he didn't know what was wrong with her. When he asked her, she shook her head and didn't want to say anything. Seeing her listless every day, Lu Ci Qiu was also unhappy. After thinking about it, he had to ask the palace maid who took care of Ye Jianqing, Yuqin, indirectly.

The small kitchen made delicious mung bean cake tonight. Yuqin knew that Ye Jianqing loved it, so as soon as the mung bean cake came out of the pot, she immediately put a plate on it and wanted to send it to Ye Jianqing's room, but she was stopped by Lu Ci Qiu halfway.

"Yuqin, I want to ask you, what happened to Miss Ye recently?"

Yuqin looked at Lu Ciqiu in confusion, not knowing why he suddenly asked this question: "What does your highness mean? The girl has been doing well recently."

Lu Ci Qiu scratched his head and said, "Um, Miss Ye, isn't she very happy recently?"

Yuqin nodded: "It seems so. I always hear the girl sighing recently."

"Then do you know why?" Seeing Yuqin speaking, Lu Ci Qiu hurriedly asked.

Yuqin thought for a moment, then said, "It seems that she heard that Eunuch Huaixi said that there was a market outside the palace recently, and she wanted to go and play, but you didn't let her go out, so she has been feeling a little uncomfortable recently."

"Is that so?" Lu Ci Qiu muttered. He didn't expect that his original good intention was to let Ye Jianqing stay in the yard and have a good rest. After all, he had suffered so many injuries in Nancheng before, and now he had to recuperate well.

In the end, it was because of her own fault that she became depressed.

After getting the answer from Yuqin, Lu Ci Qiu left in frustration. Now he knew why the other party was unhappy, but he himself was not very happy. What happened?

Yuqin looked at Lu Ci Qiu's departing back in confusion. What... happened to the young prince?

But this depressed mood did not last long after Lu Ci Qiu left. Before he even reached his room, he knew how to make Ye Jianqing happy. Since she wanted to go to the market, why not just take her out?

Lu Ci Qiu silently praised himself in his heart: So smart!

next day

Although Lu Ciqiu forbade him to train, Ye Jianqing's biological clock did not stop, and he still got up early as usual. Even in winter, leaving the warm bed was as difficult as running 20 kilometers with a load. But staying in the bed would only make him colder and colder, so he might as well get up and move around, otherwise he would be useless by the time his injury was completely healed.

With this in mind, Ye Jianqing struggled to get out of bed and wash up. But she didn't expect that while she was early, there were others who were earlier than her.

When she opened the door, a big bear stood in front of her, holding a kettle in his hand, with hot steam constantly rushing up from the mouth of the kettle. When she looked closely, she found that the big bear was Lu Ci Qiu.

"You scared me to death, what are you doing?" Ye Jianqing silently retracted his right hand that was originally intended to attack, and put his hand behind his back.

"I just happened to bring you hot water, and you just happened to open the door." Lu Ci Qiu's face came in front of her through the mist.

The small face and big smile are like the sun, trying to melt the coldness of winter.

"Thank you." Ye Jianqing stepped aside to let him in.

"Hurry up and wash up. I'll take you out to play later." After Lu Ci Qiu entered the room, he poured hot water into the basin and then walked out obediently.

"Where are we going to play?" Ye Jianqing asked. She remembered that this guy didn't let her go out.

"I've been too busy lately and can't take you out to play, so I don't let you wander around. What if you get hurt without me around? Today I have some free time, so I can take you out to play." Lu Ci Qiu said with a smile.

Hearing about going out, Ye Jianqing became visibly excited: "Going out? Are we going outside the palace?"

After being trapped in the palace for less than half a month, she felt so bored and her life was so meaningless. She couldn't imagine how she had managed to stay in the palace for so long before her rebirth.

Lu Ci Qiu just smiled without saying anything, pushed her into the house, helped her close the door, and told her to hurry up.

The two of them happily left the palace in a carriage.

The weather is nice today. It snowed for a while in the morning. The thin snow covered the old snow from yesterday, making it pure white.

Ever since he got on the carriage, Ye Jianqing became excited. Seeing the carriage leaving the palace and stopping at the entrance of an alley not far from the market, before the carriage stopped and the steps for getting off were put down, Ye Jianqing couldn't wait to lift the curtain and jump down.

Before going out today, she changed into casual clothes. Although thick, the hem of her skirt did not reach her instep, so she could move easily. She did what she wanted, but she was worried about someone else.

"Slow down," Lu Ci Qiu's voice followed the sound of her footsteps hitting the ground, "Your injuries haven't fully healed yet."

"No problem," Ye Jianqing's voice was light and cheerful, matching his movements. He jumped a few times on the spot, exhaled a few times, and only turned his attention back when he saw the hot air he exhaled dissipate in the air.

"Lu..." He felt something was wrong as he opened his mouth. Of course, he couldn't call him by his full name outside the palace. Ye Jianqing was inexplicably annoyed. Seeing Lu Ci Qiu staggering, he couldn't help but feel anxious, "Hey! Hurry up!"

Although the north and the south are one country, they are still different. Take this market for example. Ye Jianqing has visited such a market before, but today, it is still fresh because there are so many new and interesting things.

People come and go in an orderly manner, and it is very lively and bustling.

"what is this?"

Although Ye Jianqing was excited and anxious, she couldn't resist her curiosity in the new environment and looked around. Lu Ci Qiu was more than happy to do so and continued to follow her around, acting as both an interpreter and a money bag.

"Sticky bean buns, yellow rice skin and red bean filling." Before Lu Ci Qiu finished speaking, the boss over there took over enthusiastically, "Girl, would you like some? They are delicious. Our specialty is that they are soft, sticky and sweet. I guarantee you will want to eat more after you have eaten them."

So Ye Jianqing turned around and looked at Lu Ci Qiu eagerly.

This situation made it seem as if he was abusing her. Lu Ci Qiu had no choice but to resign himself to his fate and took out his wallet, "Boss, give me one."

But this is just the beginning.

The market is a lively gathering place, and now it is almost the end of the year, many people are rushing around to buy New Year's goods. Maybe everyone's purposes are different, but there is always a sense of joy on their faces.

"Wow, look," Ye Jianqing finally freed one hand from the beef hors d'oeuvre in her hand, and was quite surprised, "such a long candied haws." It's no wonder she was surprised. The candied haws she usually sees are a palm-length string of more than ten hawthorns, wrapped in crispy and sweet sugar coating, which can satisfy your cravings. However, this huge string of candied haws can reach her chest, and it looks so majestic in her hand.

"Want it?"

Ye Jianqing shook his head, "After eating this bunch, my teeth will be sore. I don't want it."

Turning around, he saw another stall full of people. Relying on his petite figure, Ye Jianqing successfully squeezed into the crowd.

In front of him was a pot of freshly made mutton soup, with mutton bones as the soup base. The soup was so delicious that it made people dizzy as soon as the lid was opened. Ye Jianqing turned around, waved his hands and called Lu Ci Qiu.

Lu Ciqiu was not as petite as Ye Jianqing, so he couldn't squeeze in. By the time he squeezed in, there was only one serving of mutton soup left.

Ye Jianqing quickly ordered the last portion, and Lu Ci Qiu habitually paid the boss.

Ye Jianqing was still looking for a place to sit, but seeing that everyone was standing, she took the bowl and pulled Lu Ci Qiu to an empty corner, and also drank the soup while standing like everyone else.

The cold weather coupled with the bowl of hot mutton soup in hand, all of a sudden, all the sleepiness and coldness in the body were driven away by the soup. There was not much mutton, only a few slices floating on the surface of the soup, but the soup made from mutton bones tasted extremely fresh, the soup was white, fat but not greasy.

In fact, Ye Jianqing has never liked eating mutton. She thinks mutton is very fishy, ​​and she dislikes mutton soup even more.

But unexpectedly, it turned out that she didn't dislike it, but she had never eaten such authentic mutton soup. The fresh mutton was still steaming on the chopping board next to her.

Ye Jianqing was very happy drinking, and even his opinion of mutton changed. He wanted to give some to Lu Ci Qiu, but Lu Ci Qiu refused to drink it no matter what, so Ye Jianqing had to drink it all by himself.

Ye Jianqing ate from one end of the market to the other without stopping all the way. She finally understood why Lu Ci Qiu didn't let her finish breakfast before going out in the morning. If she really had breakfast in the palace before going out, she would have been so full that she would die.

After walking around for a whole morning, their hands were filled with a lot of things, and Lu Ci Qiu's hands were also full. The two of them put the things in the carriage.

Seeing that it was almost time, Lu Ci Qiu took her to the First Restaurant for lunch.

The First Restaurant is the best and most flavorful restaurant in Beijing.

The two ordered a lot of things and sat by the window watching the vendors below pack up their things and get ready to go home.

"Does the market close so early?" Ye Jianqing asked while eating a small piece of mutton.

Ever since she drank the mutton soup just now, she is no longer averse to the mutton in the capital, and one of the signature dishes of this restaurant is mutton stewed with radish.

The radish is soft, sweet and the mutton is fat but not greasy. Eating them makes you feel full of energy.

"Don't eat so much mutton, or you'll have a nosebleed when you go home tonight." Seeing a small piece of shredded meat on the corner of her mouth, Lu Ci Qiu helplessly took out a handkerchief from his sleeve, leaned forward and stretched out his hand to help her wipe it off.

Ye Jianqing stared blankly at him as he got closer and closer to her. She didn't know how to react. The fragrance from his body drifted into her nose.

The smell was not strong, but very light. It seemed that in her memory, Lu Ci Qiu had always had this smell. It was a bit like the scent of sandalwood, but not as strong as sandalwood. Instead, it was more like the cedar perfume she had bought before.

The scent of cedar was crisp but lingering, and it lingered in her mind for a long time.

"I... I can do it myself." Ye Jianqing tilted his head, took the handkerchief from Lu Ci Qiu's hand, and wiped the corner of his mouth unconsciously.

what is this?

It’s not like I haven’t been with men before, and I’ve been in love before. Besides, the other party is just a child. Why should I care so much?

Ye Jianqing brainwashed himself frantically in his heart, telling himself that Lu Ci Qiu was still a child, still a child, and could not be punished.

But she didn't realize that she was now two years younger than Lu Ci Qiu and not taller than Lu Ci Qiu.

Lu Ci Qiu looked at her and said nothing. He just quietly withdrew his hand and imitated her, looking outside and saying, "The morning market is only open until noon."

"Morning market, then doesn't that mean there is also a night market?" Ye Jianqing asked in surprise.

She had never been out at night in her two lives, so naturally she didn't know whether there were still night markets in the capital.

Lu Ci Qiu nodded: "But it's only open on New Year's Eve, the Shangyuan Festival, and the Zhongyuan Festival."

New Year's Eve is not far away, and Ye Jianqing has already started thinking about how to get Lu Ci Qiu to take her out to the night market on New Year's Eve.

I have to say, visiting the market is really fun.