She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 685 - 683: The Eighth Day of the Lunar Month

Chapter 685: Chapter 683: The Eighth Day of the Lunar Month

The second day was the eighth day of the first lunar month, a day Jiang Yifan had been looking forward to for a long time. Although he had made plans before the new year to take Ye Xinyan out on this day, no matter how eager he was, he couldn’t disturb Duke An’s Mansion too early.

He sent word to the Ye family that he would come to pick up Ye Xinyan at the Si Hour on the eighth day.

Since they were going to stroll through the bustling streets, Ye Xinyan didn’t wear very extravagant clothing or jewelry. The simple pieces she wore included a jade bracelet given to her by Jiang Yifan.

Madam Yin had reminded Ye Xinyan two days in advance to wear the floating jade bracelet given by Jiang Yifan when going out on that day. On the morning of the eighth, Madam Yin even supervised personally, only stopping when she saw Ye Xinyan put the bracelet on her wrist with her own eyes.

As Madam Yin put it, it didn’t matter where the bracelet was worn, or who else saw it, but it was essential for Jiang Yifan to see it.

Ye Xinyan was helpless. Knowing that Jiang Yifan was already waiting outside the Second Gate, and being hurried by Madam Yin, she deliberately pulled down her sleeves to cover the jade bracelet on her wrist as she walked out amidst the teasing laughter of Qi Jiaer and the others.

Outside the Second Gate, seeing the grown-up pony also waiting there, Qi Jiaer felt a sense of imbalance. He stepped forward and greeted Jiang Yifan eagerly, then, grabbing the sleeve of Jiang’s clothing, said, "Lord Jiang, can I ride a horse too? I’ve grown up; a small pony would be fine for me."

Jiang Yifan shifted his gaze towards Qi Jiaer, who stood behind him, and saw Ye Xinyan climbing onto the carriage with proper manners, following Nanny Jin’s guidance without a sideways glance.

He patted Qi Jiaer’s hair bun and smiled, "From here to the City God Temple is but a short journey. Even if you ride a horse, it won’t make much of a difference. You should ride in the carriage with your sister, otherwise, she’ll be bored sitting by herself. These past few days, I’ve been looking around; if I find a good pony, I’ll buy it for you, and we can ride it when we have the chance to go out."

Qi Jiaer turned to glance at the carriage, thinking that if his sister were alone in the carriage, she would indeed be bored. And there’s the pony—the one for him.

He immediately nodded, "Alright, alright, alright. I’ve saved my New Year’s money, lots of silver pieces. Lord Jiang, you just need to help me take a look; I can buy it myself."

Their group was quite large. Ye Xinyan took the carriage with Nanny Jin, Jiu Yu, and Qi Sanshun, along with Qi Jiaer and Jiuhua, converging at the street corner outside Duke An’s Mansion to meet Guan He, Zi Ning, and two guards from the Qi family.

Although the weather on the eighth day of the first month was still a bit cold, the bone-chilling coldness was gone under the sunlight. Although most of the shops on both sides of the street were closed, there were many pedestrians. Every so often, there were street vendors setting up stalls along the street selling all sorts of things.

The group, basked in the warm sunshine, arrived on the street outside the City God Temple, stored their horses and carriages at the previously agreed place, and walked on foot to the bustling open space in front of the temple.

The City God Temple was always bustling, and at this time, it was even more crowded. The broad open space was filled with various street performances and food vendors, and there were also stages set up for opera performances.

Beyond that was the Western Market.

Normally, the Western Market was where people set up street stalls and conducted small business. Those from outside had no real status, and it was mostly populated by common folk and servants from large households coming to buy goods. People of status seldom visited this area. However, during this time of the year, the shops were all closed, and the streets were filled with performers and stalls selling various trinkets and snacks that couldn’t fit inside the temple grounds.

Qi Jiaer and Qi Sanshun had visited the year before last, and this time they were still as excited as ever. The large open space in front of the City God Temple was filled with all kinds of stalls, and there was a constant crowd cheering, probably for jugglers or magicians performing their arts.

People, rich or poor, who had not yet finished celebrating the New Year, were all here for fun. They continuously walked into one stall and crowd, and then continuously left, heading to the next one.

Initially, Qi Jiaer held Jiang Yifan’s hand, but after passing two stalls, he became dazzled. Unintentionally, he had let go of Jiang Yifan’s hand and instead grabbed Qi Sanshun and Jiuhua’s, dashing back and forth among the group, one moment admiring wooden swords and ice monkeys among other trinkets, the next moment surrounding a snack stall, discussing what tasty thing to eat with Qi Sanshun and Jiuhua.

They were followed by Zi Ning, Nanny Jin, and a few guards. Although Jiuhua was a child, his status was different. Even though he ran along with Qi Jiaer, he was also mindful of where the adults were.

Gu He would call them back when they were about to leave their sightline.

Qi Jiaer and Qi Sanshun’s motto for coming out today was to eat tasty treats, watch magic tricks, and enjoy acrobatics, so Qi Younian had put plenty of Copper Coins and pieces of silver in their pouches. To save room in their stomachs for snacks, both of them had only a bowl of porridge for breakfast, eagerly awaiting the chance to indulge themselves here.

Soon enough, Qi Jiaer was nibbling blissfully on a deep-fried sweet dough ring, wrapped in oiled paper, in one hand, and holding a sugar figurine in the other. Qi Sanshun and Jiuhua each had a crunchy salty cake, its crust crispy and golden with a filling of salty vegetables and minced meat mixed inside.

Even Zi Ning had a small bag of malt sesame candy in her hand, watching Qi Jiaer while chewing on the sticky, sesame-flavored malt sugar balls.

Qi Sanshun, who had grown up a bit, still showed some childishness, excited to join the crowd, and buy snacks. Yet, he also took care of Qi Jiaer, making sure not to let him wander off alone.

In Ye Xinyan’s memory, she rarely mingled in ordinary street markets. Even when she went out during festivals, she was mostly surrounded by maids and old woman servants, covering her nose and mouth with a handkerchief, picking less crowded spots, or disdainfully craning her neck to see the items and food at the stalls only after the interested crowd was driven away.

Since she came to this era, this was her first time at such a crowded and bustling place. Ye Xinyan was surprised to find out that Guan He actually bought himself a skewer of candied haw to eat, one that had bean paste in it.

Watching such a tall man with amazing combat power casually walking through the crowd, eating a skewered candied haw..., Ye Xinyan suddenly understood what it meant to be ’eyesore’.

Walking like this, it didn’t take too many steps before Jiang Yifan was by Ye Xinyan’s side.

Ye Xinyan glanced at Jiang Yifan sideways and quietly drew back her sleeve to completely cover the bracelet on her wrist. She couldn’t let this guy see it, for if he did and thought she was deeply in love with him, what would she do if he became smug?

Jiang Yifan seemed not to have noticed her subtle movement and asked casually, "I heard Brother Jia say that you had a very simple breakfast, just to save room for snacks here. Why don’t you eat something to tide you over?"

"No need, my breakfast was quite adequate." What did he mean by ’you all’? She, Ye Xinyan, was a grown-up, and an ancient young wife at that. How could she be seen eating out of a paper wrap in the street?

Therefore, her breakfast was fairly substantial.