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Chapter 39

Li Xia swallowed the pastry in her mouth. "Not full yet."

Li Xin thought that perhaps Li Shan, who managed the kitchen, had been stingy with their meals. "Did the kitchen ration your food?"

"No, it\'s just that the food is not delicious. Every meal is just small millet porridge, steamed buns, and salted vegetables." If it weren\'t for Wu Auntie occasionally cooking some small dishes, Li Xia wouldn\'t have been able to bear it.

"You only eat those?" Li Xin thought about her own morning porridge, where she could choose from three varieties according to her preference, not to mention dumplings, noodle soups, bird\'s nest soup, and other delicacies. That very morning, she had even enjoyed beef porridge, the tender beef in the smooth porridge was quite delectable.

"Beef porridge?" Li Xia heard her.

Li Xin realized she had spoken out loud without meaning to, making Li Xia hear it. Worried that Li Xia might feel upset, she let out a faint "hmm" sound.

Seeing Li Xin\'s expression, Li Xia smiled, "Don\'t worry, I won\'t envy you. Yesterday, I had beef dumplings."

"You also ate beef?" Li Xin was somewhat surprised.

"I paid for that beef myself. Huang Auntie, the wife of the gatekeeper, bought it."

Li Xin was no longer surprised by Li Xia spending money on food. Regarding Mrs. Lu\'s tendency to ration their portions, she said, "Shall I speak to Mother about it?"

Li Xia stopped her, "No need. I can just eat something else. I heard there\'s a new restaurant opened on North Street that specializes in sour fish soup, made in the Guizhou style. They kill the live fish and cook it fresh, so the meat is tender with a slightly sour taste, incredibly fresh and delicious. Sister, let\'s go try it sometime." Li Xia\'s mouth was practically watering as she spoke.

"Alright, let\'s try it sometime," Li Xin was tempted by Li Xia\'s description. After coming to Liuzhou, she discovered that the local girls also liked to go out and wander the streets. Mrs. Lu didn\'t forbid the girls of the manor from going out as much anymore.

"Why wait? Let\'s go now and have lunch while we\'re at it," Li Xia felt she couldn\'t wait any longer.

She had never behaved so impulsively before. Li Xin, in a rare moment, wanted to experience acting on a whim and agreed to Li Xia\'s suggestion. "Okay, let\'s go find Mother." The two went to the Yan Gui Court to see Mrs. Lu.

Mrs. Lu was talking with Chunlu Granny and didn\'t look too pleased.

A servant came in to announce Li Xin and Li Xia\'s arrival. Mrs. Lu recovered her expression and smiled at them as they entered the room. The two girls paid their respects, then Li Xin approached Mrs. Lu. "Mother, Xia Xia and I would like to go out for a bit."

Mrs. Lu glanced at Li Xia, who stood still and composed. Turning her gaze back to Li Xin, she spoke affectionately, "Go ahead, take some silver with you and buy anything you fancy."

Seeing Mrs. Lu\'s ready agreement, Li Xin smiled happily. "Thank you, Mother."

The two girls, accompanied by maids, took a carriage straight to the fish restaurant on North Street.

It was not yet noon, but the restaurant already had many customers. Since they were young ladies, they requested a private room. Once inside, Li Xia instructed the young server Xiao Er, "Xiao Er, bring us a sour fish soup and a few of your signature dishes."

"Certainly, Miss. Please wait a moment," Xiao Er quickly went to inform the kitchen.

It was Li Xin\'s first time dining out, so she looked around the private room. It was not large, with the dining table occupying most of the space. A few landscape paintings hung on the walls, and a potted evergreen pine stood in the corner, lending an air of elegance.

Just then, Xiao Er brought in the sour fish soup and set it on the table. The golden broth in the white bowl, containing white fish meat, released an appetizing sour aroma.

"Sister, try it and see how it tastes," Li Xia beckoned Li Xin to sample the fish.

Li Xin took a bite and tasted it carefully. The fish had a slightly sour flavor but was fresh and tender. "It\'s delicious."

Seeing Li Xin enjoy the dish she recommended, Li Xia was delighted. The two polished off the sour fish soup along with the rice, feeling stuffed after eating so much for the first time. Although Li Xin felt a bit embarrassed, seeing Li Xia looking as contented as a lazy cat made her think it didn\'t matter.

Hearing the lively sounds from outside, Li Xia suggested going for a walk to aid digestion. Li Xin agreed, and the two left the restaurant.

"Let\'s head south. There are many jewelry shops in that area, we can see if there are any new styles," Li Xia decided to accompany Li Xin to look at clothes and jewelry she liked, since Li Xin had accompanied her to the fish restaurant.

Li Xin happily agreed, and they walked south down the street. This street mainly sold various clothes, jewelry, cosmetics, and other items for ladies and wives. Many girls and wives from within Liuzhou City came here to shop.

The two entered a jewelry shop. The madams of the jewelry shops had trained their eyes well, able to discern at a glance who had money and who didn\'t. As soon as Li Xin and Li Xia entered, Lady Hong approached them enthusiastically, "Welcome, young ladies. I am Lady Hong, the greeter of the Xin Qiao Pavilion."

"Lady Hong, do you have any new jewelry pieces for us to look at?" Li Xia was not particularly interested, so she took half a step back and let Li Xin take the lead in dealing with Lady Hong.

"Please, young ladies, follow me," Lady Hong led them upstairs to a private lounge area reserved for noble ladies and young misses, showcasing their status.

After serving tea and pastries for them to enjoy, Lady Hong soon returned with a few attendants, who laid out the latest jewelry pieces on the table for the girls to choose from.

While Li Xia\'s attention was more on the pastries, she knew to maintain some decorum when out in public. She ate two pieces and stopped herself, accompanying Li Xin in admiring the jewelry.

"These jewelry pieces feature the latest fashionable styles from the capital this summer," Lady Hong said, pushing forward a jade hairpin inlaid with red coral beads in a double knot design. Li Xin immediately took a liking to it, picking it up to examine it closely.

"Young lady, we have hairdressers here who can style your hair with this hairpin if you\'d like to try it on," Lady Hong suggested. The maid next to her, attuned to the cue, turned and went to summon a hairdresser.

"Little Sister, how does this hairpin look?" Li Xin asked Li Xia.

Li Xia studied it carefully, then gave her simple assessment, "Beautiful."

"Young lady, take a look at this white jade openwork plum blossom bead hairpin as well," Lady Hong handed the hairpin to Li Xia. Li Xia accepted it, examined it, and again said, "Beautiful," without further comment.

The maid soon returned, but without a hairdresser and with a red mark on her face as if she had been slapped.

"Take your time looking, young ladies. I\'ll be right back," Lady Hong smiled as she left the room, but her expression turned stern once outside. "Hong Zhu, what happened? Who hit you?" An attack on her subordinate Hong Zhu was an attack on Lady Hong herself.

Hong Zhu looked aggrieved. "I saw Lady Hong was being respectful to the two young ladies, so I went to summon Flower Two to do their hair. But halfway there, Lady Huang intercepted me, saying those in her room were important guests. I tried to stop her, and Lady Huang slapped me."

Lady Huang and Lady Hong had always been at odds. Lady Hong could discern the severity of the situation. "Lady Huang, which guests are you attending to?"

"The young misses of the Sun family."