Chapter 25.3

She took a wonton, and it melted away almost effortlessly in her mouth. The wonton skin was as thin as silk, without the slightest floury texture. It was so smooth and slippery that one couldn’t wait to swallow it in one bite. The fresh filling was juicy and bouncy, and the meat tender and delicate. Eating a wonton and drinking a mouthful of soup gave a happy and comfortable feeling of satisfaction to anyone who tried it.

Before long, Tao Ti polished off a bowl of wontons. When she looked up, she saw that Pei Yan had also almost finished his bowl.

Her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled. She just knew that he would definitely like these light and fresh thin-skin wontons.

When Pei Yan raised his head, he saw the little maiden with her cheek resting on one hand, looking at him with a warm and gentle smile. A tiny flicker flashed in his eyes, and he said softly, “Why are you looking at me like this? Did I do anything I shouldn’t have?”

“No, it’s nothing,” Tao Ti shook her head. She couldn’t very well say that seeing him eating so happily gave her a sense of achievement of having fed little animals, right?

The carriage was already waiting outside Yaoguang Palace. After breakfast, the two of them took a short rest, then set off together.

It was almost the end of March, and the weather was getting warmer. The grass was growing and warblers were in flight, the peach blossoms were pink and willow trees were green—it was a beautiful picture of spring.

The carriage drove out of the palace, and once they were past the towering palace gates, the surroundings gradually turned from quiet to lively.

Sitting upright, Pei Yan asked softly, “Which do you want to go to first, the East market or the West market?”

Tao Ti lifted a corner of the curtain and looked out. They were now on Zhuque Street, and the East and West markets were to her left and right.

Yesterday, Xu Wenchan told her a lot about the fun things that happened outside. The Marquis of Zhenbei never restrained her, so even though she had only been in Chang’an for two years, she knew more about the situation in the various markets than the original Tao Ti who was born and bred here.

The East and West markets were undoubtedly the liveliest and most prosperous places in Chang’an City. They were equivalent to modern Beijing’s Wangfujing Shopping Street, Shanghai’s People’s Square, and Guangzhou’s Beijing Road.

Here, businesses flourished, and all walks of life thrived and prospered. There were jewellery stores, rouge shops, silk stores, mule and horse traders, bookstores, teahouses, restaurants, and rows upon rows of shops. Many people have also set up stalls by the roadside selling things like vegetables, various arts, and so on. The level of liveliness was not the least bit inferior to that of modern commercial districts.

Although everything could be found in both the East and West markets, there were differences between them. The East market sold mostly local goods, while the West market sold more foreign goods, such as spices, herbs, glassware, pearls, agate, crystals, leather goods, furs, and so on.

After thinking for a while, Tao Ti said, “Let’s go to the West market first?”

Pei Yan raised his brows. He wanted to ask why she wanted to go to the West market first, but before he could, he heard her say expectantly, “Ah Chan said that the dancing of the wine parlour ladies in the West market is very beautiful!”

Pei Yan, “…”

Well, there were no such dances to see during the day. Those only took place at night in Pingkang Pavilion.

The carriage turned around and headed for the West market, and after passing three market squares, they arrived.

The West market was bustling with activity. Amid the hustle and bustle, apart from the elegant dialect of Chang’an, there were also dialects from all over the world, as well as official mandarin that was spoken with thick foreign accents.

Tao Ti put on her veiled hat in the carriage and bent over to get out of the carriage. Pei Yan was already standing beside the carriage and extended his hand naturally towards her.

Just as Tao Ti was about to reach out her hand, she suddenly remembered how he had wrapped his arm around her waist this morning… It seemed to be with this same hand?

Pei Yan saw her somewhat dazed expression and how her slender jade-like hand only reached out halfway, looking like she wanted to retract it, and his dark eyes squinted reflexively. There was a touch of iciness hidden in the depths of his eyes, but his tone was very gentle, “What’s the matter?”

Startled, Tao Ti suddenly came back to her senses. “I-It’s nothing, I…”

Before she could say, “I can come down by myself”, Pei Yan suddenly stepped forward, stretched out his long arms, wrapped them around her waist and carried her down easily.

Tao Ti, “!!!”

Until her feet touched the ground, she was still stupefied, thinking, Who am I? Where am I? What just happened?

Pei Yan lowered his head and looked fixedly at her shocked appearance. The corners of his lips raised slightly, and explained reasonably in a matter-of-fact tone, “The carriage can’t stop on the streets of the market for too long.”

Tao Ti raised her head dazedly and blinked her pretty eyes. In a soft and somewhat confused tone, she asked, “I-Is that so?”

Pei Yan said affirmatively, “Mhm.”

Initially, Tao Ti had the vague feeling that something wasn’t quite right, but seeing Pei Yan’s righteous and composed manner, she believed his words. In fact, she even thought, I didn’t think that the Great Yuan Dynasty would have such developed traffic rules.

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