Chapter 584 – National Treasure

“After the New Year passes, I will send someone to your family to propose marriage. After that, you will become my special someone. But before that, why don’t you let me have a small taste of you?” Zhu Junyang pestered her shamelessly. He only had one goal——to get close with her.

“Do you think I will agree to your proposal just because you asked? You have yet to pass your observation period and your observation period has been extended. As for how long it will be extended, it will all depend on my mood!” Yu Xiaocao refused to yield even an inch to him and planned on properly teaching this guy a lesson!

Zhu Junyang pondered for a moment and then put on an act like he was an abandoned and heartbroken puppy. When Xiaocao let her guard down, he suddenly wrapped his arms around her delicate, soft, and slim body, confining her two arms on the left and right side of her body. He smiled slyly at his success and said, “I’ve caught you! Give me a kiss, just one kiss!” He leaned his face towards her as he spoke.

“Ahem! Cough cough!” An untimely voice suddenly flowed towards them at the door of the tent. The darkness in the tent gradually faded as the bright light poured in from the door of the open tent.

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Zhu Junyang reluctantly released the fuming little girl in his embrace. He clenched his teeth as he turned to stare at the familiar figure standing by the door of the tent. He wished he could tear that person into pieces. He gnashed his teeth and asked, “May I ask why Chief Steward Su is here?”

“It’s nothing really, I just wanted to check on Xiaocao since she hasn’t come out from the tent for a while!” Su Ran raised his eyebrows at him provocatively, but, when he turned to face Xiaocao, there was only a gentle smile on his face, “Xiaocao, I have hunted a male deer just now. The quality of the antler is quite good, so I came here to ask you if you want it.”

“Yes, I want it!” Yu Xiaocao took this opportunity to kick Zhu Junyang’s lower waist, climbed out of the tent, and walked up to the large sika deer. She instructed Hou Xiaoliang to help her cut off the sika deer’s antlers. She also put the deer penis and deer blood inside her luggage. These medicinal ingredients are very effective when used to treat certain symptoms of andrology. Once she made it into medicine, she was certain that its stocks would sell smoothly in the capital.

Zhu Junyang couldn’t help but frown when he saw how enthusiastic she was while she instructed people to tidy up the deer: Was the little lass suspicious of his capabilities in bed? Was she preparing ahead of time for their future happiness? He didn’t need it at all, okay? His physical strength and energy were extremely good, okay? If she didn’t believe him...then she could try him out?

Zhu Junyang had just coaxed the little lass, so he didn’t dare to stroke the tiger’s whiskers by voicing his thoughts out loud. He was parched after eating roasted venison, but he could only lean pitifully against the tree and watch the small tent from afar. The quiet breathing sound from the small tent made him unable to sleep all night.

Su Ran was resting on one of the thick branches on the tree not far from him. He would glance at him mockingly from time to time. Zhu Junyang had nowhere to vent his anger, and now all the bottled-up anger throughout the day exploded. He dragged Chief Steward Su to a distant place from their camp and fought three hundred rounds with him. Cough. Cough. It was purely a spar to compare their martial arts; it was not what you were thinking!

Xiaocao was awakened by the birds’ chirping the next day. She was feeling quite refreshed when she walked out of her tent, but she was immediately started by the ‘giant panda’ above her. If she remembered correctly, they were currently in Northeast China, not Sichuan. Why was the country’s national treasure here? But upon closer inspection of the ‘giant panda’, she realized that it was merely Zhu Junyang who was in a bad mood. Each of Zhu Junyang’s eyes was beaten up, donning matching symmetrical bruises.

“Oh my! What happened? Did you develop those dark circles under your eyes because you didn’t sleep well last night?” Yu Xiaocao couldn’t help but tease him.

Zhu Junyang narrowed his swollen phoenix eyes at her and handed her the toiletries in his hand. He gently tapped her head a few times and said with his silver tongue, “I ate too much venison last night, so I was parched. Last night, I kept tossing and turning while I tried to sleep because I was thinking of you all night. As a result, I became like this! You are the main culprit!”

Yu Xiaocao burst out laughing, and her crisp laughter startled the birds that were perched on the nearby trees. She went into her bag and took out a small bottle that smelled of medicinal herbs. She opened the lid and scooped out a green gelatin textured ointment and helped him apply it around his eyes.

A cool and refreshing feeling quickly spread around his swollen eyes. After the little lass finished, Zhu Junyang could already feel that most of the swelling and pain around his eyes had faded away. He was certain that it was not an illusion.

“Your ointment is very effective; I will be taking it.” Zhu Junyang shamelessly took the small porcelain bottle from and raised his eyebrows somewhat proudly at the white silhouette in the distance.

Yu Xiaocao applied some mint-flavored tooth powder on her toothbrush and carefully brushed her small teeth. This tooth powder was a product that had recently been launched by ‘Blossoming Beauty’. It was much more effective than the green salt that noble ladies usually used to brush their teeth. Not only did it taste sweet, but it also helped whiten the teeth. The mint fragrance that remained in the mouth after someone finished brushing their teeth kept their breath fresh and clean all day long!

Soon after this product was launched, the upper-class ladies and nobles rushed to her shop like ducks for this product. Even the menfolk in their family would secretly use their tooth powder to brush their teeth. As a result, the ladies would often notice that they were running out of the tooth powder when they were brushing their teeth.

Without any other choice, the noble ladies would buy a box for everyone else in the family the next time they visited Xiaocao’s shop. Even the young children of the houses received them. The young children used the sweet fruit-flavored tooth powders instead of the mint-flavored ones. There were a total of five different flavors, all of which were deeply loved by children.

On this journey, Xiaocao had brought seven to eight cases of tooth powder, and it was enough to last more than half a year. However, on the way here, Zhu Junyang and Sir Su each robbed a case from her. If they stayed in this horse farm for a year, there wouldn’t be enough tooth powder for the three of them!

She used warm water to wash her face, then she applied some moisturizing skincare on her skin. Xiaocao was acting a little narcissistic as she touched her tender and bouncy skin. Compared to the young ladies in the capital, Xiaocao’s appearance was only average, but the condition of her skin was unrivaled. The young ladies that she frequently played with all envied her skin. They said that her skin looked so moist that water could probably be squeezed out of her skin!

She recalled the time when she first transmigrated here. Her whole family had yellow and dry skin, like a bunch of starving refugees. Even though her family members’ skin could not be compared to hers, their skin was still rosy, healthy, and moist now. The daily maintenance of one’s skin was very important.

“Little lass, do you have any skincare products that are suitable for me?” When he saw how his little lass’s skin was almost transparent under the morning sun, a sense of crisis abruptly arose in Zhu Junyang’s heart. He touched his face. Although his face was not rough, it was far inferior compared to the little lass’s skin. He was already seven to eight years older than Xiaocao. If he didn’t take good care of his skin, would he be mistaken as the little lass’s father if they went out together in the future?

Yu Xiaocao was calmly drinking the fragrant and sweet glutinous rice congee and chewing marinated cucumbers. But when she heard his question, she almost choked on her breakfast. She forced herself to swallow the congee in her mouth and looked at him like she had just seen a ghost, “Jun Yangyang, are you being possessed by a lonely spirit from the wild? I gave you a set of men’s skincare products, but you bestowed it to one of your subordinates because you said skincare products were products for women. So, why did you suddenly ask me about men’s skincare? What made you upset to the point that you asked this question?”

“I’m upset by you!” Zhu Junyang gnawed on a bite of dried meat and chewed it vigorously, “I only have this handsome face that can attract you. If I become ugly one day, wouldn’t you abandon me? Stop talking nonsense and just tell me whether there is any!”

“Jun Yangyang, you’re being too modest!” Yu Xiaocao examined his face carefully for a while before she said, “To tell you the truth, your skin is in pretty good shape. But because you often stay outdoors, your skin lacks moisture. I have a bottle of immortal water. You just need to apply a layer of it on your skin after you wash your face every day. I promised you that you will look magnificent and dominate all other men in terms of appearance in three days!”

“Get lost! Why would I want to dominate a group of men? If I want to dominate, then I will dominate a group of women!!” Zhu Junyang rolled his eyes at her.

Yu Xiaocao took out a small porcelain bottle and looked at him with a smile yet not a smile. She made sure to emphasize every word as she spoke, “Oh? Royal Prince Yang has such a big appetite for wanting to dominate a ‘group’ of women! Humph, what a womanizer!!”

Zhu Junyang hurriedly clarified his mistake and said, “Don’t nitpick at my words. I merely followed after what you had just said. Little lass, I haven’t even settled your score yet for teasing me and you’re already trying to counter-attack with my words.”

Yu Xiaocao cutely stuck out her tongue at him and grabbed the dried piece of meat from his hand. She took a large bite of the dried meat and chewed. Zhu Junyang took the small porcelain bottle from her and uncorked it. A calming fragrance emerged from the porcelain bottle. It was the same scent that Xiaocao exuded all year round, could it be...

“Does this have something to do with that stupid stone?” Zhu Junyang saw that Su Ran was standing quite far from them, so he leaned towards Xiaocao’s ears and whispered the question in her ear, making sure that only she could hear him.

[You’re a stupid stone!] A golden ray of light shot out from Xiaocao’s wrist. Along with the divine stone’s words, Zhu Junyang’s body suddenly became numb all over and for a moment, he lost all ability to control his body. If he had met a martial arts expert, this moment of inability would have cost him his life.

[This divine stone was created in the ancient time and trusted by Goddess Nuwa. You are a mere mortal, yet you dare to act so disrespectfully towards this divine stone. This divine stone will allow you to reflect over your mistakes, so don’t repeat this mistake again next time, or else I will not forgive you as easily as this time!]

The golden light materialized into a palm-sized golden cat. It walked up to him proudly and took the last piece of dried meat from his hand and rewarded it to Little Black who was drooling by the side!

Since they were hunting deep in the mountains, how could she not bring Little Black and Little White? They were able to single-handedly fight a tiger and together, the two of them can even fight against black bears!

Su Ran walked towards them with a bowl of rice. He was a true southerner because he liked rice more than pancakes, steamed buns, and steamed stuffed buns. The rice they brought along was Japonica rice. It was thin, slightly green, translucent, and had a captivating aroma. A person could still eat a full bowl of this rice even without side dishes like vegetables and meat.

This type of rice was known as Green Essence Rice in ancient times. It was actually produced by one of the ordinary provincial counties around the capital. Perhaps it was because of the county’s geography and climate, but the Japonica rice could only be grown there. However, the Japonica rice they brought along their trip was produced in the Imperial Plantation. It was able to successfully grow there thanks to Xiaocao’s handiwork.

Not only did the Japonica rice grown by Xiaocao taste better, but it also had great health benefits. Unfortunately, the Japonica rice grown in the Imperial Plantation was only offered as a tribute to the imperial court and was not sold to the public. In the rice market, people could only buy ordinary Japonica rice. The food produced by the Imperial Plantation was used to supply the masters in the imperial palace and the majority of it was used as rewards to be bestowed upon meritorious officials of the court.

As for meritorious officials of the court, there were two of them present on this trip. With Official Yu and Royal Prince Yang present on this journey, they will never lack Japonica rice.