The next day, Bai Zhi still didn’t get to sleep in.
She had to wait by the gate for the vegetable delivery and also ask the old vendor to buy more supplies for them.
This time she again handed over a small piece of silver, asking him to purchase a slab of pork fat and a block of tofu.
She also brought up the handcart they wanted to buy, asking him to deliver to them last tomorrow and leave the cart behind.
After agreeing on the price, the old vegetable vendor casually asked about Old Madam Sun.
“No idea. Haven’t seen her for days.”
Hearing their conversation, one of the guards glanced inside but said nothing.
Bai Zhi wasn’t surprised.
For Old Madam Sun to sneak Li Yuanhao inside, she obviously had a key. And who gave her that key hardly needed explanation.
Now that Old Madam Sun had disappeared, the guards didn’t dare ask questions either, afraid they themselves might get implicated.
Carrying the basket, Bai Zhi headed into the kitchen.
Chestnut millet porridge was simmering in the pot.
Today she planned to make egg pancakes and stir-fried cabbage with vinegar.
The pork belly from yesterday and today still hadn’t been touched.
Bai Zhi was saving it for something else.
After breakfast, Bai Zhi and Xiao Yu started making all kinds of flatbreads.
Scallion pancakes.
Sweet pancakes.
Vegetable pancakes.
Five-spice pancakes.
Egg pancakes.
The dough was kneaded very soft, and plenty of oil was used.
After frying them, they left the pancakes to cool before wrapping six pieces together in oil paper.
With the weather this cold, the pancakes would keep for quite a long time.
Bai Zhi even figured that if necessary, they could freeze them solid outside and simply heat them against a pan later.
Xiao Yu tended the fire while Bai Zhi cooked, and the two worked together with surprising coordination.
While making pancakes, Xiao Yu explained the situation regarding the escort guards for the exile convoy.
There were six guards total.
The leader was fairly upright.
Two of them were especially greedy and lecherous.
The remaining three were ordinary enough—not particularly bad, but not especially kind either.
Bai Zhi silently formed her own calculations.
The two of them spent the entire day making pancakes, so naturally lunch consisted of pancakes too.
That evening, Bai Zhi stewed the chicken delivered yesterday and added a handful of dried mushrooms.
Besides the chicken, the old vegetable vendor had also brought several bundles of dried mushrooms.
Dinner once again included porridge, reheated leftover steamed buns from yesterday, and a fragrant chicken-and-mushroom stew.
Bai Zhi thought that tomorrow they should eat a proper meal of rice.
After that, who knew when they’d get another chance.
That night, Bai Zhi announced she was cutting her hair and asked whether Xiao Yu and Xiao Zelan wanted theirs cut too.
“Cut hair?”
Once again, Bai Zhi shattered the traditional beliefs of the Xiao brothers.
“The body, hair, and skin are gifts from one’s parents.”
How could hair be cut casually?
“If we’re going into exile, there won’t be anywhere to properly bathe or wash our hair. Eventually it’ll tangle into one giant knot, grow lice, and itch so badly you’ll question your entire existence.”
Xiao Yu naturally understood.
In his previous life, his hair had tangled beyond repair. He’d simply gathered the mess into a rough knot atop his head.
Bai Zhi didn’t continue persuading him.
She simply picked up the scissors and, after measuring briefly, started cutting.
She currently wore her hair in a low ponytail. Leaving only about six or seven centimeters of braid, she cut off the rest.
Holding the severed hair, Bai Zhi felt regret.
She wondered whether Great Qi bought human hair. Such long hair felt wasteful to throw away.
Watching Bai Zhi cut her hair without hesitation shook Xiao Yu’s resolve a little.
He turned toward his royal brother.
“Royal Brother… are you cutting yours?”
Xiao Zelan’s face carried a trace of determination.
“Cut it.”
Bai Zhi cut Xiao Yu’s first.
Children didn’t need elegance.
She tied his hair high, then cut it off about ten centimeters below the tie.
Afterward, she twisted the remaining hair into a small bun atop his head and secured it with cloth strips.
Xiao Yu examined himself in the mirror and felt it wasn’t too different from his appearance in his previous life.
Xiao Zelan’s hairstyle, however, was different.
His long hair normally draped down his back, with only the sides tied behind his head.
Bai Zhi couldn’t bear to cut it too brutally.
Turning such a fragile, beautiful man in ancient robes into someone with a tiny bun felt almost criminal.
In the end, Xiao Zelan’s hair was shortened only to medium length.
He looked puzzled.
“Only this much? Cut more. Keeping it long serves no purpose.”
Bai Zhi answered honestly:
“Longer looks better.”
Xiao Zelan seemed confused.
“What’s the use of looking good?”
“Of course it’s useful. It provides emotional value.”
Xiao Zelan froze.
Though he didn’t understand what “emotional value” meant, he vaguely interpreted it as women dressing to please those they cared about.
He had thought cutting his hair would make him feel humiliated.
Unexpectedly, not only did he feel no humiliation—
He actually felt grateful.
Grateful that he had been born with a beautiful face.
“As long as you like it…” Xiao Zelan murmured softly.
“What?” Bai Zhi hadn’t heard clearly.
Xiao Zelan smiled gently.
“Nothing.”
Xiao Yu, who had heard everything clearly from beginning to end: “…”
His emotions were extremely complicated.
Bai Zhi had Xiao Yu bathe first.
Afterward, she sent him to sleep beside Xiao Zelan because tonight she needed some private space.
Once Xiao Yu finished bathing, Bai Zhi didn’t let him dump the water outside, worried he might catch cold.
She emptied the dirty water into the pond herself, then refilled the tub to about seventy percent full.
Tonight she intended to enjoy a proper bath.
Submerging herself fully into the hot water, Bai Zhi let out a satisfied hum.
As she relaxed, images of the hairpins she’d seen in the jewelry shop replayed in her mind.
The silver ingot in her hand began changing shape.
Soon it became six silver hairpins.
Then she took out a small gold ingot and wrapped the silver hairpins in a thin layer of gold.
Just like that, six gilded hairpins were complete.
Truthfully, Bai Zhi remembered many far prettier hairpin designs from modern times.
But the guards escorting exiles weren’t aristocrats.
These common, familiar designs would be more effective for bribing them.
With her metal ability, Bai Zhi used only half a tael of gold to finish all six gilded hairpins, though the silver itself consumed over three taels.
Then she took out another tael of gold and clenched it in her palm.
When she opened her hand again, it had transformed into a pile of tiny golden melon seeds.
There were only around twenty pieces.
“Will this be too little?”
“What? Sister-in-law, what did you say? Is the water not enough?”
“Not that.”
Bai Zhi stuffed the golden melon seeds into a pouch and tossed it over the folding screen.
Xiao Yu climbed out of bed, picked up the pouch, and opened it.
Inside were golden melon seeds.
“Sister-in-law, where did you get these?”
“Bought them, obviously. If we give them to the eunuch delivering the imperial decree, would this be too little?”
Xiao Yu didn’t understand such matters and looked toward Xiao Zelan.
Xiao Zelan wanted to say that bribing the eunuch wouldn’t truly help—they simply lacked that kind of influence now.
But aloud he answered:
“It’s not too little. These golden melon seeds are worth far more than ordinary gold. Given our current situation, giving too much would only attract suspicion.”
Satisfied, Bai Zhi nodded.
“Good. Any more than this and I’d really feel reluctant.”
Xiao Yu immediately shouted:
“You still have more?! How much did you buy? Do we even have money left?”
Bai Zhi teased him.
“Nope. During exile we’ll just chew tree bark.”
Xiao Yu failed to realize she was joking.
Deep down, he had always believed Bai Zhi loved money dearly.
He lowered his head and thought seriously for a while before saying earnestly:
“Then tomorrow let’s cook all the rice and flour in the kitchen. We won’t buy the guards’ food during the journey.”
Bai Zhi smiled but didn’t answer.
She had already heard from Xiao Yu that the guards sold steamed buns at one tael for five buns.
What people bought wasn’t just food—
It was the guards’ protection.
Escorting prisoners was exhausting work.
If there was profit to be made, the guards behaved somewhat better.
Without profit, they vented their anger on the prisoners instead.
So the guards’ buns still needed to be bought.
Just not too many.
The bathwater had cooled somewhat by now.
Bai Zhi washed her hair carefully with soap pods, then rinsed both her hair and body using the clean bucket of water on the floor.
She didn’t bother emptying the water afterward.
She’d deal with it tomorrow.