Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 741 - 739

Chapter 741: 739

Xiao’er and the Fifth Princess were taking a leisurely stroll in the Imperial Garden.

The Fifth Princess knew that her parents and royal grandmother were concerned about her marriage. They even asked Xiao’er to persuade her. However, she had long decided not to marry another man. Once the sea was difficult to be water, she couldn’t accept others in her life. Though Xiao’er never mentioned it, after giving it some thought, the Fifth Princess voiced her belief: "Sister-in-law Xiao’er, I believe Brother Jiang is not dead yet." So, all your advice is in vain.

Xiao’er glanced at the Fifth Princess before returning her gaze to the garden, "I don’t plan to persuade you! If you don’t want to get married, then don’t. The palace will never run out of food for you. If you can’t stay in the palace, come to my house."

It’s always like this; the more the people around you push you to forget, the harder it is to do so. A healed wound should naturally fade with time until one day the scar is no longer there. However, if you pick at a healing wound, won’t it bleed again? How can it heal completely when it’s constantly being reopened?

So, Xiao’er thought the best way for the Fifth Princess to truly forget was to let her be. When the right person comes along, she will marry of her own accord, and no one can stop her.

In any case, someone with her honorable status won’t worry about marriage. Even as she ages, her in-laws wouldn’t dare to despise her.

The Fifth Princess: "....."

She had planned to speak about more, but Sister-in-law Xiao’er wasn’t giving her a chance to. Could they chat properly this way?

Xiao’er naturally didn’t know of the Fifth Princess’s frustration. Seeing that she wasn’t responding, Xiao’er continued, "After the New Year, your sixth brother and I will probably go to the fief for some time. If you don’t want to stay in the palace, you can come with us."

This tempted the Fifth Princess, but the thought of becoming a third party in their loving relationship disheartened her.

She shook her head, "Forget it, I am not going."

Hearing this, Xiao’er thought that there were still a few months to persuade her. They discussed some other topics before Shangguan Xuanyi came to find them.

Seeing this, the Fifth Princess tactfully left.

Shangguan Xuanyi walked hand-in-hand with Xiao’er towards the palace gate. Now, they could openly hold hands, unlike the past when they had to hide the act. How wonderful this felt!

"What did the Empress Dowager summon you into the palace for?" Yang Mei sent someone to tell him that the Empress Dowager had summoned Xiao’er. Worried that the Empress Dowager might give her a hard time, he immediately rushed over.

Xiao’er remembered the words of the Empress Dowager and started laughing, "The Empress Dowager says I’m corrupting manners! Aren’t you complicit in this corruption? Besides, I didn’t ask you to carry me. I could have lain on the table in the private room until I sobered up and then left on my own! That way, no one would know I got drunk!"

"Are you sure you were sleeping, and not doing heavy lifting?" Shangguan Xuanyi chuckled at the memory of Xiao’er continuously pulling things out of her pocket.

Xiao’er also laughed, recalling her silly actions then.

She wasn’t sure whether the Fifth Princess or Fu Ranhui remembered these incidents.

The two of them left the palace gate and got into a carriage.

In the carriage, Shangguan Xuanyi asked Xiao’er, "Do you have anything to do this afternoon?"

"Not really, I’m thinking about checking on the green walnuts this year."

Last year, Xiao’er pretended to be a man and sold green walnuts for two days. This year, she hadn’t been to that street to check on the green walnut market.

Last year, many vendors’ green walnuts were wild, and their quality varied greatly. Only her family and Du Yijin’s family had cultivated green walnuts for sale. They were the best in the business, and throughout the green walnut season, they had great business.

This year, she estimated there would be many more cultivated green walnuts. However, since their fruit trees had just matured, not only did they have higher yield, but also the quality of their fruits had improved over last year. Their business would definitely not be worse.

In the following years, probably many cultivated green walnuts will hit the market, causing the prices to drop a lot. In a year or two, the prices of these green walnuts will plummet due to oversupply.

After all, it’s a fad, and the enthusiasm for betting on green walnuts will decrease, with fewer people involved each year.

However, there will still be some real enthusiasts, as collecting walnut artifacts is good for one’s physical and mental health.

Shangguan Xuanyi held Xiao’er’s hand and half-protected her in his arms as they walked the distance.

Just as she had speculated, a lot of cultivated green walnuts had appeared. However, because it was the first year, the harvest was not great and each vendor’s supply was limited.

Next year, if the weather is favorable, a lot more green walnuts would have hit the market.

"Considering that in one or two years, green walnuts will be everywhere, should we cut down the walnut trees in the villa next year and replant with other crops?"

Otherwise, when walnuts become overly abundant, they would be hard to sell.

Xiao’er shook her head, "No need. Even if there is an abundance of green walnuts, the price for a pair of Green Walnut King would always be higher than selling other fruits by weight. Besides, I have other plans."

This place was crowded, and so Xiao’er did not disclose her plans.

She was not worried that the walnut trees would stop earning silver in a few years. If she couldn’t sell green walnuts, she could sell walnut powder, which was beneficial for the brain!

When the craze over green walnuts dies down, she planned to start buying walnuts from these farmers and processing them into walnut products. She could sell things such as walnut powder, walnut milk, donkey-hide gelatin cakes, walnut buns and more in supermarkets or at the Four Seasons Restaurant.

An unprocessed agricultural product is cheap, but once processed into various foods, the price is increased by more than double.

Shangguan Xuanyi heard her and didn’t say anything more. After all, Xiao’er’s ability to earn silver and maintain the family was much better than his own!

"My lady, given your ability to earn silver, your husband will rely on you for support in the future!" Shangguan Xuanyi jested shamelessly.

"Oh no, I accidentally married a man who is living off a woman! Can I return the goods?" Xiao’er lamented with a troubled look on her face.

"Goods once sold will not be returned!" Shangguan Xuanyi borrowed the tagline from some supermarket labels.

"Dishonest merchant! Poor me. I’ve got on the wrong boat!" Xiao’er glared at him in anger.

Shangguan Xuanyi laughed, "You only just realized? I am a heart-stealing thief! I’ve stolen someone’s heart and soul! Are your eyes and heart filled only with me?"

"Shameless! My eyes are filled with people from the entire street! Only your eyes have only me in them!" Xiao’er rebuked him playfully!

"Yes, even if the entire street is filled with people, you are the only one in my eyes!" Shangguan Xuanyi admitted frankly, his face filled with sincerity.

A passing literati was shocked by their conversation, almost dropping his jaw in surprise!

Who were these two? Was this kind of skin-crawling conversation supposed to be had on the street?

Embarrassed by Shangguan Xuanyi’s fervent confession and the envious or sick glances of passersby, Xiao’er suddenly felt her face heating up.

True enough, Shangguan Xuanyi was not one for joking! He even took this kind of mushy talk as fun.

Shangguan Xuanyi was indeed oblivious to the eyes of others, and he did not care how they looked at him.