Chapter 1 The Noodles

"Esteemed guest, here is your noodles."

"Esteemed guest, here are your five bowls of noodles. The other five bowls will be brought to you as soon as they are ready."

Jian Bi and Fan Li sat face to face at the noodle shop table.

The noodles were scallion noodles without any toppings, but the noodles were chewy and the soup was delicious. It was very satisfying to eat.

And because the noodle shop also cooked wontons in the same pot as the noodles, a few wonton skins could occasionally be found in the noodle bowls. If you were lucky, you might even find a complete small wonton, which could be considered a bonus.

Fan Li ate the noodles very quickly because he had a big mouth. He stuck his chopsticks in, picked them up, twirled them, and basically all the noodles in the bowl were skewered together. Then he sent them all into his mouth.

After chewing and swallowing, he picked up the bowl and drank the soup and the remaining noodles together.

"Clang!"

He put down the empty bowl and continued to tackle the next one.

Jian Bi ate much more elegantly. She took a small bite of noodles, then took a sip of soup, looking like a refined young lady.

From time to time,

Jian Bi also looked up at the street outside. Outside was the mule and horse market, with crowds of people.

On the way here, ever since they left Xue Hai Pass, it had been desolate;

However, the further west they went, the closer they got to the Yan region, the more the atmosphere of life began to slowly recover. When they reached the outskirts of Yanjing, they could indeed feel that the capital was within reach.

Jian Bi was a Qian person and had also lived in the Qian capital. In her opinion, the Qian capital was definitely more refined than Yanjing. Whether it was the singing and dancing on the painted boats or the poetry by the willow trees, it gave people a sense of freehand romance.

Yanjing, on the other hand, was full of a heroic spirit. This was not only reflected in the people here, but even the livestock here seemed to snort with pride and arrogance.

Her first master once said to her with a smile,

He said that the people of the Qian capital liked to be outwardly humble and cultivated, smiling at you while secretly ridiculing you as a country bumpkin, just like the girls in the brothel, covering their mouths with red silk and laughing, but actually scolding you for being vulgar.

The Yan people in Yanjing would not look down on you and think you were a bumpkin, because they themselves were proud to be bumpkins.

Fan Li had already finished his fifth bowl of noodles,

While waiting for the waiter to bring the remaining five bowls, he looked up at Jian Bi and said:

"It's going to get cold."

Jian Bi lowered her head and continued to eat her noodles.

After eating the noodles,

Fan Li led Jian Bi out of the noodle shop.

Fan Li tied a small soft pad to his right shoulder,

Jian Bi sat on it.

Along the way, they didn't ride horses. Jian Bi just sat there, and Fan Li ran.

In Fan Li's words,

Riding a horse,

Was troublesome.

Continuing to go west,

Before sunset, they entered the capital city.

After finding an inn and settling down, Fan Li took the initiative to squat outside the door while Jian Bi took a bath inside.

After waiting for a while,

Jian Bi opened the door, her hair was a little wet and draped over her shoulders.

In the past two years, Jian Bi had grown a lot. Before, she was not only born to be a sword prodigy, but also a beauty. Now, she couldn't be called a beauty prodigy anymore because she was already a little beauty.

Her age was still a bit awkward, but already within the acceptable range of some beasts.

"Wanna take a stroll?" Fan Li asked.

Having come to the capital, they had to take a stroll.

Jian Bi nodded,

Then said:

"I want to eat Peking duck."

…

Quan De Lou, private room.

Jian Bi took a few bites of Peking duck and put it down, too lazy to wrap it in pancakes.

Seeing this, Fan Li asked:

"Is it not good?"

Jian Bi nodded and said, "The meat is too old."

Jian Bi could endure hardship. Since she could remember, she had been traveling north and south with the Second Sword of Qian, often living a life of uncertainty. After following Zheng Fan, her life had improved a lot. It couldn't be said to be luxurious, but she could eat chicken if she wanted to eat chicken, and she could eat fish if she wanted to eat fish.

The Peking duck was not good because she had come to eat it out of fame, so she was disappointed, so she didn't want to eat it.

Fan Li nodded, grabbed a large handful of Peking duck with his left hand, and grabbed a large handful of pancakes with his right hand, stuffing them into his mouth in turn.

Afterwards,

The two went downstairs.

Jian Bi was still sitting on Fan Li's shoulders,

The little girl liked the feeling of sitting here, because Fan Li was very tall, and sitting on Fan Li's shoulders, she was the tallest person on the street.

Fan Li asked her if she wanted to eat candied haws,

Jian Bi said disdainfully:

"That's something only kids eat."

Then,

She had Fan Li buy the whole straw stick with candied haws on it.

Fan Li held the straw stick in his right hand, within Jian Bi's reach, and she ate it happily.

The two just strolled around like this,

Apart from candied haws, they didn't buy anything else, just looked.

Fan Li was a man who could run from Xue Hai Pass to Yanjing on his own two legs, so he naturally wouldn't feel sore and numb at this time.

On Baixiang Street in Yanjing City, water was being swept, and red lanterns symbolizing joy were hung under the eaves of the shops on both sides.

It was said that the wedding of the Sixth Prince of Great Yan would pass through here in three days.

He didn't take the official road, nor did he take the main street, but chose this very narrow and small road.

Compared with the interrupted wedding of the Crown Prince back then, the pomp and scale were like heaven and earth.

It was rumored in the capital that the Sixth Prince of Great Yan had never been liked by His Majesty, so he was treated like this. There were even rumors that the Sixth Prince was marrying a commoner woman.

Look, look, if he was really pleasing, how could he marry an ordinary commoner woman?

Most of the common people in the capital would not feel honored that the prince was marrying a commoner woman, but would feel sorry for the prince.

Fan Li and Jian Bi also came to this street.

Jian Bi had already finished eating the candied haws,

She took out a slippery toy like a fish bubble from the luggage Fan Li was carrying on his back,

And put it to her mouth,

And began to blow.

The fish bubble was blown up, forming a ball.

Jian Bi pinched the opening with her fingers, and while playing with the ball, she asked:

"What is this thing for? It's quite fun."

Fan Li replied:

"To catch tadpoles."

"To catch tadpoles? How to catch them? Then will you come with me to catch them?"

Fan Li shook his head and said:

"I can't catch them."

"It's okay, I'll help you."

Fan Li frowned slightly,

Then shook his head firmly,

Said:

"No need."

Explaining the usage of the ancient version of Bi Yun Tao (condom) and popularizing this kind of physiological knowledge to a little girl was a very huge project for Fan Li.

Since it was troublesome, Fan Li didn't plan to explain it.

"What are you carrying this thing for?"

Jian Bi knew that in Fan Li's luggage, one bag was carrying some small toys, and the other bag was carrying silver.

"To give to the Sixth Prince." Fan Li replied.

"Sent by the lord?"

"Yes."

Then,

Fan Li replied again:

"Now, there is no need to send it."

Because of the long distance between Yanjing and Xue Hai Pass, there was a big time difference in the exchange of letters.

When Zheng Fan received a letter from Little Sixth saying that he was going to get married, he sent Fan Li to Yanjing to attend the ceremony in his place.

Because the infrastructure construction work at Xue Hai Pass had come to an end, A Ming was busy with the workshop, and the other demon kings also had their own work. Only Fan Li was free now, so he was sent out.

Jian Bi clamored to come along,

And finally came along,

It is said that Sword Saint was very angry after discovering that his disciple had been abducted.

However, what Zheng Fan didn't expect was that the He family's daughter was already pregnant. In that case, this special fish bubble would be useless.

"Speaking of which, the lord just gave you money and let you buy gifts in the capital. Isn't that a bit too casual?"

Fan Li nodded and said:

"The lord said that they have a good relationship, so whatever is convenient is fine."

Xue Hai Pass could send a gift-giving team, drumming and gonging, but there was really no need for that.

Firstly, it would cause a lot of unnecessary trouble, and secondly, the journey was long and not cost-effective.

Fan Li came by himself, brought money, and bought things in Yanjing City, which was really convenient and fast.

"Then what should we buy? We're going to give gifts tomorrow, right?"

"Yes."

"Buy antiques? Buy calligraphy and paintings? Buy jade?"

Fan Li shook his head and said:

"The lord said to buy some down-to-earth things."

"Down-to-earth?"

"Yes, the lord also said that we have to show sincerity at a glance, and it has to be eye-catching and stand out from the crowd."

"Hmm, then what should we buy?"

…

A new pork shop opened on Baixiang Street. The shop owner was from out of town. Actually, it wasn't really out of town, because Nanan County was also in Tiancheng Prefecture, but in the eyes of the locals in the capital, anyone who went out of the east, west, north, and south gates, even if they lived on a farm outside the city, was an out-of-towner.

The stall owner's surname was He, and his son was his helper.

The small business had just opened, so it wasn't thriving, but the stall owner was amiable and good at doing business.

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

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

The hot and spicy widow landlady next door, who sold dried goods, leaned against the door panel, cracking melon seeds while laughing and saying:

"Oh, I say, Old He, look at how attentive you are. If I didn't know better, I'd think the Sixth Prince was marrying your daughter."

He Chu, who was hanging the lantern, smiled foolishly when he heard this.

Old He said:

"Outsiders are entering the capital for the first time and seeing this kind of royal excitement. They have to join in the fun, don't they? I couldn't encounter this kind of major event back in my hometown."

"That's right, but you'll get used to it slowly. The days ahead are still long."

"That's right, that's right."

Old He turned around, preparing to sharpen his knife again, but he saw a figure like an iron tower appear in front of his stall.

Old He looked up,

His neck was a little sore,

Because the person in front of him was too tall.

And the widow boss next door immediately widened her eyes and subconsciously licked her lips.

This tall and burly man just stood in front of the stall,

With a girl sitting on his shoulders.

"This, esteemed guest, are you buying pork?"

Old He asked a little nervously.

Fan Li nodded and turned to look at Jian Bi sitting on his shoulders.

Jian Bi threw out a small bag of silver, which landed on Old He's chopping board with a "thud".

"Buy three big fat pigs, tie them with red ropes, and put on red flowers. We're using them as gifts."

————

Good night.