Chapter 895: Chapter 712: Crown Prince Mu the Trickster
Participate? The clay doll vendor was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said nothing, instead picking up Borjigin Nian’s earlier words and continued, “You may not know, guest, but there’s a story behind women loving red clothes in the Capital City!”
“Oh?” Borjigin Nian, upon hearing this, immediately got interested.
“Haha…” The vendor smiled with pride and warmly explained, “His Majesty the Southern Emperor, from the marriage alliance between the Great Zhou and the Southern Emperor, surely you guests are aware?”
As the vendor spoke, he clasped his hands towards the sky to show respect for the Southern Emperor.
“Of course!” Under his felt hat, Borjigin Nian blinked his big eyes, knowing full well that the Southern Emperor you’re talking about is right here in front of you, eagerly picking out your clay dolls!
How undignified! The dignified Southern Emperor actually likes ordinary folks’ trinkets, losing face, yet my master is enthusiastically helping her pick them out!
“That’s it! The Southern Emperor’s imperial robes have a crimson base; you would not believe how stunning she was when she entered the capital, truly…no outfit can compare to the Southern Emperor’s crimson-robed imperial attire!” The vendor excitedly spoke with glimmering eyes, “One glance could captivate a nation, another could captivate a city! Yet His Majesty the Southern Emperor doesn’t have the airs of those imperial relatives and nobles; she doesn’t put on any pretense. If someone offends her, she’ll confront them right away, seeking revenge, utterly genuine, no pretensions at all. Having emerged from the common folk during her time in hiding, she’s truly approachable, genuinely endearing!”
As he spoke, the vendor became even more animated, chatting away with Borjigin Nian without minding the two customers, one in purple and the other in red, picking clay dolls, “Guest, tell me, in big households, there’s always some scheming, each afraid of others finding out, hiding everything for the sake of face, right? But His Majesty the Southern Emperor doesn’t do that! Though I don’t have much experience, I still believe it’s better to live genuinely, openly, without pretending to be noble! The Wife of the Former Crown Prince greatly embarrassed her, but His Majesty the Southern Emperor didn’t hold back at all, right in front of millions in the Capital City, she was gallant and swift, invigorating!”
While speaking, the vendor pointed to the women walking the streets, “See that? All the women in the streets are dressed in red, hoping not for astonishing beauty, but just to catch some of His Majesty the Southern Emperor’s favor. When red is dazzling and bold, life is lived for pleasure, indeed like His Majesty, enjoying vengeance and joy, it’s worth it!”
Borjigin Nian watched the endlessly talking vendor in a daze.
Goodness, what sort of aesthetic and theory do the commoners in the Capital City uphold?
As the Southern Emperor, acting out like that is clearly a breach of decorum, right? But in the mouths of commoners, it becomes an act full of genuine humanity, enjoying vengeance?
It’s not just Borjigin Nian who was stunned, even Gu Changsheng was taken aback, holding two pudgy and naive clay dolls, woodenly watching the endlessly talking vendor, feeling as if she didn’t know what day it was.
She really should let her foster father, who’s been holding a broom for the past few days, hear these words!
Don’t keep putting the heavy hat of rules and decorum on my head, look at the commoners, their awareness is high! So adorable!
“Look, doesn’t this chubby little boy clay doll resemble Yaoyao a bit?” Zhou Mu held out a little clay boy wearing short clothes making a hand gesture to Gu Changsheng.
“A bit like him.” Quite charmingly dumb, Gu Changsheng nodded.
Zhou Mu was very satisfied, holding onto the clay boy doll while continuing to select, “Yaoyao keeps thinking about having a sister, let’s pick a little girl doll for him, he would definitely love it.”
Gu Changsheng: “…”
Really thinking far ahead!
“How about this one?” Zhou Mu brought over a little clay girl doll styled with a bun head, very cute.
“Yes! So adorable!” Gu Changsheng nodded, loving it and accepting it eagerly.
Seeing this, Zhou Mu revealed a smile under his felt hat, very good, he too liked the girl doll!
“We’ll take these two dolls.” Zhou Mu interrupted the endlessly talking vendor, pointed at the two little clay dolls in his and Gu Changsheng’s hands, and for the rare occasion spoke in a tone like a Spring Breeze, completely devoid of his usual icy demeanor.
“Ah? Yes, yes, guests, I’ll wrap them for you right away, Eight Wen Money, honesty with no trickery.” The clay doll vendor snapped back to business, hurriedly brought out straw paper, reached out asking for the dolls from them, intending to wrap them for the customers.
Gu Changsheng, hugging the girl doll, instinctively drew back his hand.
Zhou Mu saw this, shook his head with a smile, “No need to wrap them up, we’ll just carry them.”
“But what if they get damaged…” the vendor looked at the guests like they were going to stroll, feeling worried about the dolls sold from his stall.
Carry them?
Nearby, both Borjigin Nian and Yue Xilou instinctively turned their heads to another direction, their lips twitching beneath their felt hats.
A Southern Emperor and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mu of the Great Zhou, two figures known to strike fear, each holding a cheap clay doll as they strolled, how could one bear to watch!
If word got out, who would believe it?
And yet they both looked like they had obtained treasures, truly speechless!
“Okay, then guests please be careful, these clay dolls are like porcelain, though not very fragile, they can deform if bumped, making them less appealing…” The vendor, seeing this, earnestly reminded them.
“Got it, noted!” Zhou Mu unexpectedly responded amiably.
“Yes, yes.” Gu Changsheng, holding her clay doll, eagerly nodded.
This little business deal was cheerfully concluded. Seeing the customer genuinely liked his clay figurines, the street vendor was overjoyed, with a genuine smile on his face, reaching out to ask for Silver.
“Bang!”
A dark purple waist token appeared in his hand, and the street vendor was stunned, blinking his eyes, not quite reacting.
“Take this token to the Crown Prince’s Chancellery and ask for a steward position. When idle, you can also make some exquisite dolls to bring joy to my love.” Zhou Mu leaned closer to the dumbfounded vendor and whispered, “Don’t say a word; I still want to take my love to continue strolling.”
The street vendor couldn’t believe it, his eyes bulging so wide that he could fit two eggs in his mouth. Instinctively, he tightly held the not-too-large waist token and hid it under his sleeve.
Seeing him like this, Zhou Mu’s face under his felt hat, resembling the face of a Divine Residence, broke into a laugh. He even raised a hand to pat the vendor’s shoulder before taking his lady, who couldn’t stop playing with the clay figurine, and leaving.
“Isn’t this clay figurine pretty?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t this clay figurine cute?”
“Yes.”
“Doesn’t this clay figurine have a silly little face and hair?”
“Yes, indeed.”
“After our wedding, shall we have a daughter like this clay figurine?”
“Yes.” Gu Changsheng replied instinctively while holding the clay figurine, then suddenly felt something was off and blinked her innocent big eyes, looking at the man beside her, “Hmm?”
“Despicable.” Behind them, Borjigin Nian twitched his mouth, unable to watch.
“Shameless.” Yue Xilou was speechless at Zhou Mu’s low tricks to allure the woman, criticizing without holding back.
Under the hat, Gu Changsheng’s face suddenly turned dark, incredibly dark!
But Zhou Mu was clearly quite happy, holding a little boy clay figurine, with a smile on his Divine Residence-like face as he said, “That’s settled then, let’s have a daughter next. We already have Xiao Gu Ze, and with a daughter, we’ll have a complete family!”
Gu Changsheng: “…”
Settled? What did she say?
She just got a little carried away playing with the clay figurine for a split second!
How did she end up promising a daughter?
She… never planned on having a child!
She’s not even married yet; how did it come to discussing having children?
“Let’s go, let’s visit the tailor shop and see if there are little clothes for the clay figurines. These two dolls are wearing stiff clothes. Let’s dress them up and make sure they’re nice and warm.” Zhou Mu, holding one clay figurine in each hand, took the woman’s small hand and strode through the street like a Jade Tree of Qiong Branch bathed in Spring Breeze, heading straight for a tailor shop.
“Despicable! So despicable! Senior brother actually knows this trick to please women!” Borjigin Nian watched as they went into the tailor shop, where Gu Changsheng was already engrossed in discussing with a tailor about what kind of little clothes would look cute on the clay figurines.
“He’s definitely learned this! This has to be learned!” Yue Xilou fanned his folding fan furiously and spoke determinedly, “Yuan Bao! It’s definitely that Er Que Yuan Bao who taught him!”
The mighty Crown Prince of Great Zhou, who has not returned to the Capital City for over a decade, actually knows where to find stalls selling clay figurines, and even knows the nearest tailor shop, moving around with such ease—this is just not logical!
This must be because he has figured out that Gu Changsheng can’t resist cute things, which is why he went through all this trouble to dig a pit and wait for her here!
“Do you think that clay figurine vendor was arranged by Zhou Mu on purpose? That whole spiel…” Yue Xilou had to suspect Zhou Mu’s sinister intentions.
“Unlikely, that vendor’s hands have the cracks of years of playing with mud, not faked.” Borjigin Nian shook his head.
“Then why promise a common vendor a steward position at the Chancellery?” Yue Xilou frowned, questioning that even the servants in the Crown Prince’s Chancellery are usually trusted confidants of the Crown Prince in hiding!
“That vendor is resourceful and honest, with surprisingly insightful conversations…” Borjigin Nian twitched his mouth, “Most importantly, what he said delighted Gu Changsheng and our senior brother!”
So, he jumped through the Dragon Gate and gained wealth and success, becoming a Crown Prince’s confidant!
This… is like a pie falling from heaven!
At this moment, Zhou Mu’s group has long disappeared from the clay figurine stall, and the vendor who was suddenly struck by fortune is holding his heart…