Chapter 6

When they exited the clothing shop, the sun was just beginning to set. Everything had a mild golden glow to it, making the scenery something worth cherishing. The day merchants of the street markets had already packed up and gone home, and they were now replaced with merchants of the night market preparing their stalls. As she walked next to Qingti, Xiaojiu noticed a merchant with small pastries.

"Qingti, look! They're selling pastries over there!" Qingti looked at her and smiled. He looked even more tired than he did in the afternoon. But yet he still said,

"Would you like to buy some?" In response, Xiaojiu immediately waved her hands.

"No, no, that's not what I meant!" She could tell Qingti was tired, and a fair amount of the money he earned today went towards their new outfits. She felt a bit guilty for picking out such an exquisite outfit, and even more guilty that Qingti didn't complain or even look at the price before buying it for her. If she wasn't so foolishly obsessed over Dijun... She shook her head and cleared her throat. "You know I love cooking pastries. You got a job already, but I don't want to just take your money without doing anything. I want to go see if they want any help!"

"It's okay, Xiaojiu. You've already suffered a lot in the palace. I work hard so you can have a better life now that the palace is far behind us."

Qingti's care for her only made her feel more guilty about the expensive dress. "No, I should do something," she replied. "I can't just let you do everything. Besides, baking is not a chore for me, I love to bake! And if I earn more money, we can earn faster and continue our journey."

Qingti couldn't argue with Xiaojiu's point, so they went together to the lady selling pastries. She noticed their presence but didn't look at them as she was still setting up shop.

"Sorry, I'm not quite open for business yet. Please give me a few minutes."

"We're not here to buy pastries, in fact, I was wondering if you'd like some help making them!" Xiaojiu replied. Her words made the merchant look up at the two of them. Upon looking more carefully, she seemed to realize something.

"I think I saw you two at the small blacksmith shop this afternoon! It's you two isn't it?" She paused to laugh. "My friend came to me earlier today, saying if my brother needed any metal tools to go tell her, and she'd take us to a blacksmith shop. While it's true she was giving us good advice, I found out she wanted to take us there mostly because of the, quote-on-quote, 'super handsome guy' that worked there! I did take my brother there today, and the guy there was definitely you!" Qingti chuckled awkwardly.

"Yes, it was us."

"Great! Actually, I wouldn't mind some help cooking pastries. Especially if today my number of customers increases." She laughed and shot Qingti a knowing look. "Of course young lady, if you two help me out I will pay you well."


Xiaojiu began peacefully making pastries beside the merchant's stall as she began opening for business. The first batch was just finished, and the fragrant sweet aroma permeated the air. When the pastries cooled a bit, Xiaojiu picked one up and presented it to Qingti.

"Here, have a taste! See if I did it right." Old memories flashed through Qingti's head as he began reaching his hand out to take the pastry. But just like that time in the past, Xiaojiu stopped him. "Eh, your hands are still dirty from working today. I'll feed it to you."

It was just like that time long ago when Xiaojiu was making Sorrowless Cakes for the Crown Prince, and this time, Qingti's heart was moved just the same way. Slowly, he leaned closer to Xiaojiu to take a bite. As soon as the pastry was in his mouth, he could taste a super sweet and flowery taste. It was like the Sorrowless Cakes, but sweeter. However, Qingti felt that he could taste his own sorrows this time as he ate the pastry. He missed those times before Xiaojiu got framed for poisoning, before she became Madam Jiu. Looking back, the higher rank Xiaojiu obtained, the further away she got from him. Even now as they were together, there still seemed to be an invisible distance between them made by the feelings hardly spoken of, but very well known.

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