Chapter 851: Chapter 744: Protecting You (Two-in-One Long Chapter)_2 Chapter 851: Chapter 744: Protecting You (Two-in-One Long Chapter)_2 Daohua’s eyes twitched as he noticed the group approaching; he quickly picked up the rouge and began discussing with Prince Ping, “Mother, which of these two rouge do you prefer?”
Prince Ping flicked his handkerchief with disdain, “As your mother, I find neither of them satisfactory. This one has too strong a fragrance, and that one is too brightly colored, neither suitable for a young girl like you.”
As he spoke, Prince Ping picked out a rouge from the stand on his own, and within monts, he handed one to Daohua.
“This one suits a girl of your age, with a moderate color and a fragrance that isn’t too overpowering. Most importantly, this one is much more moisturizing than the two you chose earlier. A young girl’s skin is delicate, and you can’t just use any rouge…”
Prince Ping spoke with authority on the subject, and the shopkeeper beside them praised him.
While the group was still checking the people around them, Daohua deliberately argued against Prince Ping, pointing out flaws in the rouge he had selected.
The pursuers glanced at the two and walked straight past.
Anyone so knowledgeable about rouge must be a woman, not the person they were searching for.
Seeing that they hadn’t been discovered, both Daohua and Prince Ping breathed a sigh of relief.
Huai En, who also had a sharp wit, didn’t rejoin them after changing his clothes but went to a different stall instead.
Daohua, not daring to take the sa carriage as before, saw a group assembling to ride a bullock cart heading towards Beijing, and quickly approached it with Prince Ping.
Daohua stopped Prince Ping who was about to pay with silver, and handed over a few copper coins from her purse instead.
Before the bullock cart departed, Huai En also climbed aboard.
The three of them, along with seven or eight other people, squeezed onto the cart and shakily left the tea house.
The cart’s destination was the county seat, and after about an hour’s journey, they arrived.
“Help your mother down from the cart!”
Seeing Daohua leap from the bullock cart with agile ease, Prince Ping imdiately stretched out his right hand, waiting to be assisted.
Daohua didn’t want to bother, but seeing that the others on the cart were watching, she reluctantly held Prince Ping’s arm with a forced smile.
After dismounting, Prince Ping complained of an aching body, “That bullock cart was so rough… I feel like my body’s falling apart.”
With glances from onlookers drawing her embarrassnt, Daohua hastily suggested, “Let’s hurry into town and find a carriage.”
…
Clearly, Huai En was well-acquainted with the area, and in no ti, he had returned with a coachman and a far superior carriage.
This carriage was much nicer than the one before, and the horses were robust.
Prince Ping was the first to board the carriage, and before getting on, he said to the coachman, “If you can get us into Beijing before nightfall, there will be a handso reward from … Madam!”
Once all three were seated, the carriage set off.
Inside the carriage, Prince Ping, noticing that Daohua still had the rouge box in hand and rembering their insightful discussion earlier, restarted the conversation with her.
Daohua was also surprised that Prince Ping, a man, was so familiar with rouge, and since they had nothing better to do, they continued their discussion.
At first, they only talked about rouge shades and quality, but gradually they moved on to flower selections, and eventually even talked about the production process.
Throughout their conversation, Daohua kept marveling at the wisdom of the ancient laboring people; and Prince Ping was particularly interested in the “liuli distillation” ntioned by Daohua.
Prince Ping’s gaze toward Daohua beca increasingly tender, feeling as if he had found an old friend in a young stranger.
Over the years, he could only talk with the people from the rouge workshop about how to make rouge, but given his status, they would simply nod along and agree with whatever he said, which was utterly uninteresting.
Unlike the young person before him, who had just the right response for every idea he proposed, either with praise or with suggestions for improvent.
“Lad, you’re quite to my taste. Co and join in the future; I’ll take you under my wing.”
Daohua glanced at Prince Ping, seeing his ‘you’re lucky to have my favor, now agree and thank ’ look, and rolled her eyes, “Thanks for… your generous affection…”
Before Daohua could finish, Prince Ping interrupted, “I’m the ninth in my family, so just call Ninth Master.”
Daohua replied, “Thank you, Ninth Master, but my family has a modest estate to inherit, so I’m afraid I won’t be joining you.”
Seeing her refusal, Prince Ping was sowhat displeased but did not insist, rely asking, “What’s your na? You seem to know a lot about rouge, and we could certainly exchange more on that in the future.”
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