Not long after, a maid returned with news—what Qin Yunyun had said was true. Madam Mao had agreed to let them go out and had even arranged guards and older maidservants to accompany them. Madam Xu, the eldest young madam, would also be joining them.

  The maid conveyed Madam Mao’s words: “Madam said, if the young dies wish to go out and enjoy themselves, they need only say so. According to the customs in Shu, young dies may go out freely. Only one rule: they must be mindful of their status and not expose themselves openly.”

  Xu Peiwei beamed. “Mother still spoils me the most! In Shu, there aren’t so many rules. Girls go out to stroll the streets all the time. These past few days, since I’ve been back, I’ve felt stifled. Mother is the best!”

  Qin Yunyun teased, “You! It’s not just that Aunt spoils you—she also sent Big Sister-in-w to keep an eye on you, afraid you’ll run wild.”

  “Cousin, you’re younger than me by a few months, yet you speak like you’re my elder sister.”

  The two cousins bantered cheerfully, ughing and teasing each other. Xu Peiwei called for Nanny Yang to make the arrangements. The young dies freshened up, and Xu Peiwei’s maids went to find her a veiled hat.

  The Qin girls had already brought veiled hats of their own, so they didn’t need to prepare further.

  Everything was ready quickly. Nanny Yang came in to report that the eldest young madam was already waiting at the second gate.

  Once they exited the residence and boarded their carriages, the young dies chattered excitedly, everyone in high spirits.

  Madam Xu rode in her own carriage, while Xu Peiwei and the three Qin sisters shared another.

  On the way, Xu Peiwei said, “Cousin, Dongyin Temple was quite renowned in the past. Mother once said that back then, the royal family often invited high monks from the temple to the pace to preach. I don’t know why, but it declined over time. Even so, it’s still a fine pce. Every year, countless nobles and officials go to burn incense there.”

  Qin Yunyun added, “Exactly. That’s why so many shops opened up at the foot of the hill. And not to mention—the vegetarian meals at the temple are said to be among the finest in the capital. Even the shops at the foot of the hill opened vegetarian restaurants. If one couldn’t eat in the temple, they’d eat at one of the shops to catch a bit of Buddha’s blessing.”

  As they chatted, Qin Lulu listened intently, occasionally asking a question or two. Qin Shuying, too, listened quietly.

  Before long, the carriage reached the spacious road at the foot of Dongyin Temple’s hill. As expected, the street was lined with shops, mostly catering to officials, noble families, and the middle css.

  Yesterday had been the first day of the month, so today, the street was nearly empty. The carriage rolled steadily along the wide road. Behind the thin gauze curtains, the young dies could see the street clearly, but no one outside could see them.

  This gauze curtain served the same purpose as their veiled hats. Many noble households in the capital had begun using them for their carriages, allowing the dies to look out without being seen.

  Suddenly, Qin Shuying spoke up. “Ah… Cousin Wei, isn’t that banner up ahead the Mu Family’s Peach Crisp? It’s Grandmother’s favorite! Stop the carriage—I want to buy some to bring back for her.”

  Xu Peiwei was momentarily stunned, ready to refuse, but then realized she couldn’t. This was a granddaughter’s filial piety—it would look bad to deny her.

  Her eyes shifted, and she said, “No need to rush. I’ll have someone buy it for you.”

  “How could that do?” Qin Shuying replied lightly. “If someone else buys it, it’s their filial piety. Only if I buy it myself will it count as mine.”

  That made it impossible to refuse. Besides, Xu Peiwei was preoccupied with other thoughts and nodded without much consideration. Qin Yunyun seemed about to object, but it was too te.

  Then she thought again—what harm could it do? There were so many people around; what trouble could Qin Shuying possibly cause?

  Xu Peiwei gave a few instructions, and Nanny Yang reyed them to the guards. The guards hurried ahead to notify those at the front. Madam Xu’s maid then informed her, and she allowed the carriage to stop at the roadside. The three or four carriages behind them also halted.

  Qin Shuying stepped down, wearing her veiled hat. Ziteng and Luye hurriedly followed, coming down from the carriage behind to accompany her to the peach crisp shop.

  Cailuan, Caiying, and Xu Peiwei’s maids also trailed closely behind.

  Inside the shop, through her veil, Qin Shuying carefully selected a few types of pastries. The shopkeeper quickly packed them and weighed them.

  After a moment of thought, Qin Shuying said, “It’s rare for us to come out today. Ziteng, Luye, you two should pick some things you like as well. You can eat them yourselves or give them away—it doesn’t matter.”

  Ziteng smiled and stepped forward to choose. Luye replied sweetly, “Thank you, Miss!”

  Luye began to select generously. “Two packs of red bean, two packs of mung bean, two packs of salty and crisp, two packs of chestnut filling…”

  By the time she finished, she had chosen over a dozen packs!

  Cailuan’s eyes widened. This peach crisp was famous and delicious, so naturally, it wasn’t cheap. A single pack costs several coins.

  The Qin family wasn’t among the wealthiest aristocratic families. Usually, the maids only got to taste crumbs when the young dies had leftovers.

  Ziteng also picked four or five packs. Altogether, they had nearly twenty packs. Each pack cost two hundred copper coins—that was more than four taels of silver, enough to cover four months of a maid’s wages.

  The two shopkeepers busied themselves fetching, weighing, and wrapping the pastries.

  Qin Shuying stood quietly at the counter, poised and graceful.

  While they bought pastries, other customers came and went, mostly women. Some were young dies from humble families who did not wear veils; others were wives or daughters of officials who did.

  Ziteng’s gaze fell upon one such veiled woman who entered midway. She watched her closely.

  As the woman brushed past her, she lowered her voice and whispered something to Ziteng. No one else noticed.

  After the woman stood aside, Luye teased Qin Shuying cheerfully, “Miss, with so many treats, I’ll grow fat eating them.”

  Qin Shuying ughed. “You? Do you have any weight to gain? That’s how you should be.”

  Luye blinked pyfully. “As long as Miss thinks so, that’s all that matters.”

  Both Ziteng and Luye chuckled softly.

  Once everything was packed, Qin Shuying paid. Luye spread her arms out dramatically. “These are all mine. Don’t be like the girls from the Lu family, who always want to snatch the good things!”

  Caiying and Cailuan, who had reached out to help, could only pull their hands back.

  Ziteng and Luye couldn’t carry everything at once. Each carried several packages per trip and had to make two trips to load everything onto the carriage.

  Once back on the carriage, Ziteng said deliberately, “Cailuan, you all be careful. These peach crisps are expensive—don’t crush them.”

  Cailuan and the other maids almost choked from anger.

  Cailuan snorted coldly. “Such arrogance! It’s just a few peach crisps. Do you think we’ve never eaten them before?”

  Luye retorted, “These are for the Old Madam. You dare look down on them?”

  “You—!”

  Cailuan was so angry she nearly cursed aloud. Caiying tugged her sleeve to stop her, so she could only gre fiercely at Luye and turn her head away.

  Luye wasn’t finished. She added casually, “Well, it makes sense. With your family’s good fortune, of course, you wouldn’t care about the Old Madam’s peach crisps.”

  Cailuan finally snapped. “Who said anything about the Old Madam’s peach crisps? I was talking about yours!”