Chapter 161 Maple Garden
From then on, whenever Zeng gave her money, Xia Zihan never refused, she would accept it with a smile, then go to the street to buy a bunch of food, and would also bring a portion to Zeng.
The next day, after Xia Zihan finished eating, Chu Jingqi came. She asked the maid to take him to the hall to wait.
Xia Zihan was dressed up and put on a pink brocade cloak before going to see him, "Let's go, the carriage is waiting at the back door."
"Wait a minute." Chu Jingqi stopped her, "Is this how you plan to go?"
"Is there anything inappropriate?" Xia Zihan lowered his head and looked at his clothes, "It's nothing."
The clothes were well worn, not wrinkled or wrinkled, and they were decorated in the most popular colors nowadays. She thought they were very beautiful.
Chu Jingqi walked up to her with a sullen face, took out a white handkerchief from his arms, and put it on her face carefully, revealing only a pair of big crystal wet eyes.
The handkerchief was given to him by Mrs. Zhuo, with only two green bamboos embroidered on it, which happened to be on one side of her cheek, adding a sense of mystery and charm to her, making her seem a little more dazzling.
Chu Jingqi frowned, and just as she was about to take it off, she heard Xia Zihan say with a smile, "Look, I forgot to ask Chu Cong to help me prepare the veil in my hurry. Fortunately, you remember to return the veil to you when I get back."< br>
He came early, so she put down the bowl, changed her clothes in a hurry and rushed over. She really forgot to put on her veil.
In the past, Nuan Yu helped her prepare this matter. Today, Nuan Yu is not on duty. Chu Cong, who is in charge of her clothes together with Nuan Yu, probably forgot about it.
Well, remember to tell her when you come back.
"Let's go." Xia Zihan grabbed some of his sleeves out of habit and walked out together, "I heard that the dishes at Juxianglou in the capital are excellent. How about we go there for lunch?"
She had heard of Juxianglou in her previous life, but unfortunately she had never eaten there.
"There are also the top-quality roast duck from Deshengzhuang, dim sum from Tianxiangyuan, and Babao duck soup from Babaolou. We have to eat them all."
Xia Zihan counted out several famous pubs, restaurants and pastry shops in the capital.
Chu Jingqi looked at her with curved eyebrows and an excited look on her face. He smiled at the corner of his lips and his face was full of doting. "Okay, I will take you to the famous restaurants in Beijing. If you think it tastes good, we will Just pack a portion and ask the maid to send it back to grandma.”
"Well, then I will also eat candied haws and marshmallows." Xia Zihan took the opportunity to increase the amount.
Candied haws and marshmallows are every little girl's favorites, and Xia Zihan is no exception. In her previous life, when she lived in the Chu family, she would always ask her maid to go out to buy them, and she ate them often.
Later, when she moved to the Xia family, she lost her autonomy and freedom. Even her maid could not go out casually. After that, she never had candied haws and marshmallows again.
Later, when she married into the Cao family and they had Ying'er, she remembered the marshmallows she had eaten when she was a child. Once Nuan Yu went to hand over embroidery goods, she asked Nuan Yu to secretly buy one for Ying'er behind Mrs. Cao's back. eat.
That time, she was severely beaten by Cao Zian. If she hadn't been able to earn some money through embroidery to support her family, she would never have doubted that Cao Zian could beat her to death.
"What's wrong? Why don't you speak?"
Seeing that the people around her suddenly became quiet, Chu Jingqi pulled her little hand.
Uh, no response?
He directly took the little hand and squeezed it.
Shengdi, Ma Bao, Chu Fei, and Chu Lin who were following behind immediately lowered their heads, looking around or looking up at the sky, as if I didn't see anything.
Xia Zihan finally reacted, but looked at him in confusion and asked him, "What's wrong?"
Ask him what happened?
This little girl is really...
Chu Jingqi gritted her teeth and glared at her, "What are you thinking about? You're all dizzy."
Fortunately, she hasn't left Chu's house yet, otherwise she would be in trouble if she walked absentmindedly on the street.
"I didn't think anything of it," she said in a low voice.
But Chu Jingqi heard a hint of sadness in her voice. He stopped and asked, "What's wrong with you?" He stared at her carefully and found the hatred and grief in her eyes that had not yet faded away.
He was stunned, then held her tightly, with a hint of anger in his voice, "Who bullied you? Tell me, who made you angry?"
"Who dares to bully me?" Xia Zihan hurriedly calmed down. Seeing Chu Jingqi's determined look, her heart warmed slightly and she found an excuse, "I'm fine. I just thought that our girl's family is not like yours, so we can do whatever we want. It’s just unfair to go out and play in the street.”
"If you're just going to play on the street, I'll take you there often from now on." Chu Jingqi held her hand tightly.
Xia Zihan felt the warmth coming from her hands, and then she realized that her little hand was being held in his palm.
This wolf is indeed a wolf with an unyielding heart.
Xia Zihan hurriedly pulled her hand back, her face red and angry, "Be honest with me and don't mess around. If you do it again... I will never lend you a book again."
"Haha, Ayu, don't be angry, I just..." I felt that her hands were soft, smooth and easy to touch.
Of course, he wouldn't say it, otherwise he wouldn't be able to get along with her so easily in the future.
She has always regarded him as her younger brother.
"I just saw you were absent-minded and thought you were cold, so I grabbed your hand. I will pay attention to it in the future." He hurriedly gave her a smile. Xia Zihan didn't worry about it anymore.
A group of people got on the carriage, Ma Bao and Shengdi drove the carriage, and Chu Jingqi, Xia Zihan, Chu Fei, and Chu Lin sat inside.
This was Xia Zihan's first time walking around the streets of Beijing since her rebirth. She seemed very excited. After getting in the car, she was busy discussing with Chu Jingqi where to go first.
Chu Jingqi seemed to have made up her mind a long time ago and said gently, "Let's go to Maple Grove Garden. The leaves of the maple trees are about to fall off this season."
"Maple Grove Garden is in Xicheng, it's far away from here." It would take more than an hour to get there by carriage.
Chu Jingqi said, "We set off early to have fun there, and we just came back to eat at Juxianglou."
Seeing that he had already planned it, Xia Zihan didn't object.
He also said considerately and carefully, "If you are tired, just lean on my shoulder and sleep for a while. I will wake you up when you get there."
"No, I'm not sleepy."
"Then I'm sleepy. Please lend me your shoulder." The rogue boy closed his eyes and tilted his head on her shoulder before she agreed.
Just when Xia Zihan was about to refuse, there was an extra head on his shoulders. When he saw Chu Fei and Chu Lin sitting opposite, they were looking at the scenery outside the car window, as if they hadn't noticed, so Xia Zihan gritted his teeth. , that’s called anger.
She wanted to push him away, but when she heard his steady breathing, she couldn't bear it.
Hey, after all, she is only nine years old, and she is twenty years older than him. For a person who is thirty years old in two lifetimes to care about a nine-year-old child, is she too petty?
When Xia Zihan thought about this, he put his hand down.
However, she didn't see that when she put down her hand, the corners of Chu Jingqi's lips raised slightly, revealing an aura.
The carriage took a detour and walked on some quiet paths, which was about ten minutes closer than taking the main road.
The carriage stopped, and Chu Jingqi woke up. She jumped out of the carriage in a good mood, then turned around and carefully helped Xia Zihan get out of the carriage.
After everyone came down, Chu Jingqi told Ma Bao, "You are here to guard the carriage."
Ma Bao's face suddenly fell, and he responded with a depressed response, jumped out of the carriage, and drove the carriage to a sheltered place.
A group of people went to Maple Grove Garden.
Maple Forest Garden is a private garden under the control of the imperial court. Tickets cost five taels of silver each and the ticket price is not low. Therefore, not many people come to visit on weekdays. However, around September, when the maple leaves turn red, people come to visit. There are more people.
For some low-income people, five taels of silver is three or four months of living expenses, but for some wealthy households, it is just the cost of a pot of tea.
Shengdi ran to buy five tickets, and the five of them entered Maple Grove Garden.
As soon as you enter the courtyard, what you see is a road lined with large square stone slabs. Next to the road are maple trees that are so large that even two people can't hug them. The maple leaves are cheering in the wind. There was a rustling sound, falling and flying, and landed on the stone road, covered with a thick layer of maple leaf quilt.
Xia Zihan stepped on it, and it felt soft, as if she were stepping on cotton. It also made a rustling sound, and the cheerful voice seemed to welcome her arrival.
She was filled with excitement and elation.
This was the first time in her two lives that she had stepped into Maple Grove Garden, and she would be lying if she said she wasn't excited.
She pulled Chu Jingqi's sleeve and pointed to the more than 100-meter-high Maple Mountain at the end of the stone road, "Let's go to the high mountain over there."
"As he said that, he grabbed him and ran away in a hurry.
Chu Jingqi muttered funny, "Slow down, slow down, your feet will hurt again soon."
Xia Zihan giggled and relaxed a little, "Aqi, I heard that the lotus garden next to Maple Grove Garden is also very beautiful. You can still pass through the south gate of Maple Grove Garden. Let's go to the lotus garden and have a look later. Not good?”
"There's also the Baiyuan Garden. Do you want to play all of it?" Chu Jingqi laughed at her fondly.
Maple Garden, Lotus Garden, and Baiyuan Garden are all connected by the imperial court. The tickets for each garden are the same, which is five taels of silver each.
There is a connecting small gate between the three gardens that can be passed through. The small gate is guarded by imperial guards, and the ministers dispatched by the imperial court to control the gardens sell tickets there for a fee.
If someone tries to steal a ticket and climbs over the wall and is caught by the guards, he or she will be beaten up, or ten times the price of the ticket will be spent.
Therefore, the people who come here to visit are all wealthy people who dare not evade fares easily, let alone damage anything in the scenic spot. Even if it is a tree, if they are caught, they will be beaten and fined.
Xia Zihan had always longed for these three parks in his previous life, but unfortunately he had never been there.
Xia Ziying and her friends had come here to hold a poetry gathering. After returning home, they showed off to her several times. She was so envious that she could only drool.
Because she was engaged, her stepmother did not allow her to go out to play casually, so every time she went out to play, only Xia Ziying, not her.
(End of chapter)