Early the next morning, after making arrangements for the food stall at home, Yun Qingyi set out for the North Gate with Shuiling.
When they arrived, the city gates had not yet opened.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Yun Qingyi found a tea stall with a clear view of the gate and ordered two cups of tea while they waited.
People in this era rose with the sun and rested at sunset. The city gates opened at dawn and closed at dusk.
When they sat down, a few stars still lingered in the sky.
Looking up at the clear, unpolluted heavens, Yun Qingyi found herself falling even more in love with this world.
Dong… dong… dong…
The crisp sound of the morning bell rang out, signaling that the gates would soon open.
Morning bells and evening drums.
Life in ancient times was filled with rituals.
Everything moved more slowly, yet life seemed richer for it.
Yun Qingyi immediately stood up and pulled Shuiling toward the gate.
“Shuiling, you’ve seen that flower-selling grandmother before. Keep your eyes open and don’t miss her.”
Shuiling was puzzled.
They had met the old woman at the market before, so why were they waiting at the city gate? And with so many gates in the city, how could her mistress be sure the woman would come through this one?
But she knew better than to question Yun Qingyi.
Her mistress always had her reasons.
Following the flow of people into the city, the two searched the crowd for more than an hour before finally spotting a familiar hunched figure.
The old woman was carrying a large basket overflowing with flowers, moving slowly under its weight.
The moment she passed through the gate, Yun Qingyi hurried over.
“Grandmother, I’ve finally found you!”
Having searched for her at the market for over ten days without success, Yun Qingyi was so excited that her voice came out louder than intended.
The shout caught the attention of the guards at the city gate.
The soldiers who guarded the gates saw countless people every day and had developed keen judgment.
Noticing Yun Qingyi’s fine clothes and the carriage waiting nearby, they immediately recognized her as a noblewoman.
Seeing her stop a poorly dressed old woman, they assumed she had been cheated.
One of the officers hurried over.
“Miss, is there a problem?”
As he spoke, he eyed the old woman suspiciously.
Terrified, the old woman immediately protested.
“Sir, I’m only a flower seller. I’m a law-abiding citizen!”
Realizing the misunderstanding, Yun Qingyi quickly explained.
“You misunderstand. I want to buy her flowers.”
Once the officer left, the old woman nearly collapsed to the ground.
“Miss, I did sell you flowers before. If you regret buying them because they weren’t good enough, I’ll return your money.”
She wrung her hands anxiously.
“I don’t have the silver right now, but once I sell today’s flowers—”
Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Yun Qingyi quickly helped her up.
“Grandmother, you’ve misunderstood me as well.”
“Your flowers are wonderful. I’ve been searching for you at the market for over ten days but couldn’t find you.”
“Today, I’d like to buy all your flowers.”
She paused before asking gently:
“May I know where you live? I’d like to visit.”
“I want to purchase your flowers regularly so you won’t have to make these exhausting trips to the city anymore.”
The old woman stared at her in disbelief.
She had struggled all her life and never imagined such good fortune could happen to her.
“Miss, please don’t joke with an old woman like me.”
Without another word, Yun Qingyi took out ten taels of silver and placed them in the old woman’s hand.
“This is payment for today’s flowers. The rest is for you to keep.”
Words could deceive.
Silver could not.
The old woman thanked her repeatedly.
Yun Qingyi instructed the servants to send the flowers back to the Yun residence while Shuiling helped the old woman into the carriage.
Then they set off for the old woman’s home.
What Yun Qingyi didn’t realize was that her excited shout had attracted the attention of someone else as well.
Marquis Zhenyuan, Mo Yuxuan.
The day before, he had left the city to attend to some business. By the time he finished, the gates had already closed, forcing him to spend the night outside the city.
As fate would have it, he and the old flower seller entered the city at almost the same moment.
Watching Yun Qingyi’s interaction with the old woman and seeing her carriage turn back toward the countryside, he found himself inexplicably turning his horse around and following them.
He already knew she liked flowers.
What surprised him was just how much.
Along the way, Yun Qingyi chatted with the old woman and learned that her surname was Wang.
Old Madam Wang had two sons and one daughter.
Her daughter had married into a neighboring village, while her sons and daughters-in-law farmed at home.
Too old for fieldwork, she had reclaimed two mu of wasteland to grow flowers.
Every ten days, she brought her flowers into the city market to earn a little extra money for the family.
A carriage was much faster than walking.
In less than fifteen minutes, they arrived at Shanghe Village in the northern outskirts.
Old Madam Wang wanted to invite Yun Qingyi inside for tea, but Yun Qingyi was eager to see the flowers and headed directly for the fields.
“Miss Yun, these are the flowers I grow.”
“They started as a few wildflowers. I thought they were pretty, so I planted a few more.”
“I never paid them much attention. The more they grew, the more I thought city folk might like them, so I tried my luck.”
“I never expected to meet someone as kind as you.”
Yun Qingyi almost laughed.
Growing flowers wasn’t easy.
Even in the modern world, many people joked about being “plant killers.”
Yet Old Madam Wang had casually cultivated a thriving patch of edible flowers.
And every variety was exactly what Yun Qingyi needed.
“Grandmother, I’d like to buy all your flowers.”
“From now on, you don’t need to travel to the city anymore. I’ll send someone every ten days to collect them.”
“I’ll pay one hundred copper coins per jin. Does that sound fair?”
Old Madam Wang usually sold around twenty jin of flowers during each trip to the city, earning no more than six hundred copper coins.
Now she could stay home and earn money.
How could she refuse?
“Miss Yun, if I can provide fifty jin each time, you’ll buy all of it?”
She still couldn’t believe it.
To Old Madam Wang, fifty jin seemed like a lot.
To Yun Qingyi, it wasn’t nearly enough.
“Do you know anyone else growing these same flowers?”
“I’ll buy everything they have.”
Unfortunately, flower cultivation wasn’t a stable source of income, and aside from Old Madam Wang, no one grew them intentionally.
Though disappointed, Yun Qingyi was relieved.
At the very least, she now had enough flowers to fulfill the Fifth Prince’s order.
Having some supply was better than having none.
After paying Old Madam Wang the ten taels, they finalized the arrangement.
Since she had traveled all the way to the northern outskirts for the first time, Yun Qingyi wanted to explore further in search of new ingredients.
Quack, quack, quack…
A flock of ducks swam across the water while a little girl used a bamboo pole to herd them back.
When she spotted Old Madam Wang, she called out cheerfully:
“Grandma Wang, didn’t you go sell flowers today?”
“I sold them all and just got back,” the old woman replied happily.
“Out herding ducks again, Second Girl?”
Yun Qingyi looked closely at the ducks.
Large webbed feet.
Long necks.
Duck necks, duck feet, duck gizzards…
Her mind instantly filled with delicious snack ideas.
“Little sister, could you take me to your house?”
The girl nodded eagerly and led Yun Qingyi there.
The door was opened by the girl’s father, Zhao Wang.
Seeing such distinguished guests, he hurried to welcome them inside.
As Yun Qingyi looked around, she discovered that the family not only raised ducks but chickens as well.
She couldn’t help smiling to herself.
Perfect.
Now chicken feet could go on the menu too.