After the Three Little Ones reunited with the grandfather and granddaughter, they began to stroll and eat in the West Market.Xiao Cui and her grandfather wanted to express their gratitude to Ankang, so they paid for everything along the way.Ankang was initially a bit embarrassed, as Xiao Cui and her grandfather worked hard to earn money, and she didn't want them to spend too much.However, the grandfather and granddaughter were exceptionally firm in their insistence, making it difficult for Ankang to say anything more.Although the grandfather and granddaughter were not wealthy, they could still afford to treat Ankang to some of the roadside snacks in the West Market.It is also very important to appropriately accept the other party's gratitude.Otherwise, a constant condescending charity would instead distort the relationship.The West Market sold many strange and exotic foods.Some were specialties from various parts of Great Xing, which, after being introduced to the capital, were appropriately improved to better suit the local palate.In addition, there were also some exotic foods that maintained their original characteristics, but because they were too unique, those who liked them loved them, while those who disliked them couldn't even stand the smell."Chief Steward Shang, won't you try some?"Xiao Cui was inviting the Three Little Ones to taste Marintong from the Western Regions, and seeing the old steward who had been silently following the Three Little Ones with a constant smile, she couldn't help but ask.Earlier, when Ankang introduced Chief Steward Shang, she said he was a trusted old steward of her family.Xiao Cui and her grandfather naturally had no doubts.Xiao Cui's grandfather knew that Ankang came from a wealthy and noble background, so it was natural for her to be accompanied by such a distinguished old steward.After all, the last time Ankang came to the West Market, she brought many powerful young guards.And Xiao Cui was even more aware of Ankang's true identity; the last time Ankang took her to the county yamen to report a case, although Xiao Cui stood behind, she heard some fragmented words, which were enough to guess Ankang's identity.Xiao Cui just didn't know exactly which Imperial family princess Ankang was.And this old steward named Shang made her heart stir even more.Previously, Ankang told Xiao Cui that if she had anything, she could go to Ping An Trading Company to find a Chief Steward Shang to deliver a message, and it was probably this person.Ping An Trading Company was indeed the number one trading company in the capital, and its strength was that of a hegemon.However, the actual power holders of Ping An Trading Company had always acted in a low-key manner, and few people even knew their surname.But now Xiao Cui had a vague guess, but she had to continue to pretend not to know.Ankang had her reasons for telling Xiao Cui to always call her Miss Li.She only needed to know that Ankang was Miss Li who saved her and her grandfather.To Xiao Cui's idea of inviting him to eat Marintong as well, Chief Steward Shang just smiled and politely declined.Speaking of which, for Chief Steward Shang, this was also a very novel experience.It seemed like this was the first time someone had invited him to eat Marintong, and it was a little girl at that.Chief Steward Shang merely glanced at the Marintong in the hands of the Three Little Ones, then nodded slightly at them.Li Xuan didn't know how Chief Steward Shang did it, but he understood his meaning.Chief Steward Shang was telling them that the food was fine and they could eat it with peace of mind.All the way, Chief Steward Shang had been doing this, inspecting every food item.After all, this was also Chief Steward Shang's duty, and the Three Little Ones naturally wouldn't make things difficult for him.After Xiao Cui and her grandfather treated the Three Little Ones to several snacks, they arrived at a noodle stall run by a Hu Merchant.This noodle stall was not large, but its business was very good, and many people were even standing to eat noodles.As soon as they approached the stall, they all smelled an incredibly fragrant aroma."Wow, what is this smell?"Ankang sniffed her nose and asked curiously.Li Xuan also sniffed twice and indeed smelled a very fragrant smoked meat aroma."Oh, what kind of food is this?"Li Xuan couldn't help but crane his neck to look at the bowls of the people who were eating noodles, but a quick glance didn't reveal anything special."It looks like ordinary noodles, but what is this smell?"At this moment, Xiao Cui's grandfather shouted to the stall owner:"Abu, set up another table!"The busy Hu Merchant boss looked up when he heard the voice, and a big smile immediately appeared on his face as he asked curiously:"Old Liu, is it your big birthday today?""You're actually willing to come to my place for noodles."This Hu Merchant boss, called Abu, spoke Great Xing official language with a strange accent, and his tone was full of teasing, seemingly having a good relationship with Xiao Cui's grandfather.Xiao Cui's grandfather's face immediately flushed, and he quickly urged:"Stop talking nonsense, one bowl for each of us, hurry up!""Alright, alright, you pay, you're the boss!" Abu nodded repeatedly, skillfully setting up another table behind his stall, then returned to cook noodles."Miss Li, let's go in and sit."The round table Abu set up was quite large, enough to seat all of them.At Ankang's signal, Yu'er and Chief Steward Shang also sat down.Otherwise, if they stood to the side, it would only make Xiao Cui and her grandfather feel uneasy.After a short while, Abu immediately served them the noodles.The aroma that Ankang and Li Xuan had smelled earlier suddenly became much stronger.The Three Little Ones couldn't help but swallow in unison.The noodles being served so quickly must have been Abu prioritizing them.After all, there were many other customers waiting for noodles at the stall.But even though Abu served them first, the others didn't say much.Li Xuan thought that there must be something special about this extra table.Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many people still standing and eating noodles; he estimated that there must be an additional service fee.Otherwise, the other customers would not have condoned their cutting in line."Miss Li, this bowl of noodles is very popular in our West Market, quickly try it."Xiao Cui said, handing Ankang a pair of clean chopsticks.Everyone at the table, including Li Xuan, had a large bowl in front of them.In the bowl were two-finger wide belt noodles, topped with smoked meat and onions; besides that, no other condiments were visible.But to have such a rich aroma, it was clear that there were many other spices in it.Seeing that everyone had received chopsticks, Ankang, under the expectant gaze of Xiao Cui and her grandfather, picked up a piece of smoked meat and noodles and put it into her mouth.The next moment, Ankang's eyes widened, and after a moment of stunned, she used her chopsticks to put more noodles into her mouth."Hiss—""So fragrant and spicy!"Ankang hissed, clearly having been quite affected by the spiciness.Seeing that Ankang liked the noodles, the grandfather and granddaughter who were treating them also breathed a sigh of relief.Originally, they were a bit afraid that Ankang would not be used to these foods, but looking at Ankang's current reaction, she seemed to quite like it.Seeing Ankang's reaction, Li Xuan also eagerly took a bite, and it was indeed fragrant and spicy, with a rich flavor.And the smoked meat in the noodles was also very delicious, with coarse muscle fibers, and he didn't know what kind of meat it was.Li Xuan looked closely again and found that the texture of the smoked meat had a slight green tint, and he immediately remembered the beef he had eaten at the Shi Zi Po Inn before."Oh, this should also be green ox meat."Li Xuan hadn't noticed before, but now he found that this green ox meat seemed quite common on the dining tables of ordinary people.Although the Three Little Ones usually ate Imperial Cuisine, encountering this exotic delicacy suddenly made them eager to eat.Li Xuan could taste that even though the ingredients in this bowl of noodles looked ordinary, the main source of the spicy flavor came from the invisible spices.Occasionally, some powder could be seen in the bowl, which was clearly the essence of this dish.Everyone else also picked up their chopsticks, and even Chief Steward Shang, at Ankang's request, sat down and ate a bowl of noodles with them.Chief Steward Shang ate very quietly, unlike the Three Little Ones and Xiao Cui, who kept making "shhh, ahhh" sounds.Fortunately, before coming to eat noodles, Xiao Cui had taken them to buy iced yogurt.The yogurt with ice shards, sweet and sour, was just right to relieve the spiciness for them.This was an indispensable birthday feast combination for Xiao Cui every year on her birthday.With iced yogurt and this bowl of smoked meat noodles, everyone at the table ate heartily and with great satisfaction.Xiao Cui and her grandfather were happy to see Ankang and the others eating with such relish.During the meal, Xiao Cui's grandfather got up to ask for some vinegar.But Li Xuan had already noticed that when Xiao Cui's grandfather was eating noodles, one hand was always tucked into his bosom, and then when he gave the vinegar to Abu, he handed over a handful of things.Li Xuan saw it was a piece of broken silver and a handful of copper coins, which should be the payment for the noodles.Seeing Xiao Cui's grandfather return as if nothing had happened, Li Xuan continued to bury his head in his noodles, pretending not to have seen the scene.But in his heart, he couldn't help but start doing math problems."Is this meal thirty to fifty coins per person?""That's really not cheap."Li Xuan knew that this probably included service fees for adding a table and cutting in line for them.But for the grandfather and granddaughter, who usually only ate flatbreads and steamed buns to fill their stomachs when setting up their stall, it was definitely a considerable expense.Even though the grandfather and granddaughter's rope knot business was better now, inviting Ankang to eat today was definitely a significant expense for them."They are simple people who know how to repay kindness."This meal, for the current Three Little Ones, was indeed nothing much.But for Xiao Cui and her grandfather, it showed their sincerity."Perhaps I can let them try."Li Xuan thought silently, then extended his tail and restlessly wrote on Ankang's hand.Ankang continued to chat with the grandfather and granddaughter, talking about daily life, pretending not to notice Li Xuan's actions.After a day of eating and shopping in the West Market, the afternoon was also coming to an end.Ankang suggested sending the grandfather and granddaughter, who had closed their stall early, back home, to which they naturally had no objection.Xiao Cui and her grandfather got into this luxurious carriage with Ankang, naturally filled with endless amazement.But as Ankang chatted with them, she gradually diverted the grandfather and granddaughter's attention from the carriage.Chief Steward Shang dutifully drove the carriage towards Xiao Cui's home.Xiao Cui and her grandfather lived in Baoning Ward, which was some distance from the West Market, so there was still some time left on the road for reminiscing."Xiao Cui, have there been any interesting things happening in the city recently?""I always stay at home and don't know much about what's happening outside."Ankang asked naturally.Hearing Ankang ask these questions, Xiao Cui naturally became interested.Xiao Cui was only sixteen this year, and she set up a stall selling rope knots in the West Market every day, so she had a lot of gossip in her belly.Normally, when she talked to her grandfather, it was always hit or miss, which was too boring.Men, especially older men, instinctively let useless words go in one ear and out the other.Whenever Xiao Cui shared interesting gossip with her grandfather, he would always just hum and haw, and not a single word would sink in.After a few times, although Xiao Cui felt bored, since her grandfather was the only person she could talk to, she still persisted in chattering to him.But over the years, Xiao Cui had noticed that her grandfather's hearing was getting worse and worse, and she didn't know if it was truly due to old age or if he was deliberately ignoring her.Now that Ankang actively asked Xiao Cui for gossip, Xiao Cui was naturally delighted."Miss, if we talk about the big events in the capital recently, it's definitely the matter of the female ghost claiming the lives of two scions.""I heard that two sons of high officials were killed by a female ghost who burned them to death with ghost fire because they had harmed a courtesan.""Recently, it's rumored that after the female ghost took revenge, her power greatly increased, and she specifically targets and silently burns to death the profligate young masters who cause trouble.""Because of this, many arrogant young masters haven't dared to show their faces these days."This girl Xiao Cui even had some storytelling skills; her words were vivid and lively, and she changed her tone and expression, almost stunning the Three Little Ones."This is about Third Young Master Hou and Zhao Four, right?"Li Xuan was the first to react; although there were some discrepancies in the details, it was largely the same matter.It's just that, through word of mouth, there's now an additional female ghost in the capital who specializes in managing scions.Li Xuan estimated that the misinformation probably contained many of the common people's simple hopes."I didn't expect this matter to be spread like this.""It seems the common people don't care much about the government's conclusions."In this matter, Xixi's uncle was pushed out as a scapegoat, and the government had already closed the case.But clearly, the common people had their own preferred version of the story.Ankang also glanced at Li Xuan, realizing that what Xiao Cui was talking about was the same incident they knew about."Is there really such a thing?""But this can also be considered evil receiving its just deserts; heaven has eyes."Ankang and Yuer gave enough reactions, which made Xiao Cui very happy.Isn't gossip told so that someone will cheer it on and chat about it together?Thinking of this, Xiao Cui gave her grandfather a resentful look, which made Xiao Cui's grandfather feel inexplicable."I'm not one of those scions, why are you glaring at me?"Xiao Cui's grandfather looked innocent.Xiao Cui was too lazy to argue with her grandfather; it was rare for someone to be willing to listen to her talk about these things, so she seized the opportunity to continue:"Besides the female ghost claiming the lives of the scions, there are many other rumors.""I stay in the West Market every day, and just standing there, I can hear a lot of things."Then Xiao Cui rattled off the latest rumors one by one, and among them, there was one thing that caught Li Xuan's attention."I heard that Hu Yu House on Flower Street in the East Market is going to be auctioned off these days.""It seems the original owner ran away after owing money, and the creditors are selling Hu Yu House to pay off the debt.""This matter has been buzzing in the West Market recently, and several famous Hu Merchant seem to be eager to get involved.""Miss, you might not know.""It's not easy for Hu Merchant to acquire properties in the capital; I heard there are strict requirements from the government.""But it seems this time, the Hu Yu House debt auction is different; the conditions for participation have been greatly relaxed.""Anyway, those big Hu Merchant in the West Market are all determined to get it."Hearing this news, Li Xuan couldn't help but be stunned.He clearly remembered that Aymu, the courtesan of Hu Yu House, was trying to seize the property of Hu Yu House.Speaking of Hu Yu House's property, Li Xuan remembered some other things."Was there something in the di hong bone ring that seemed to be related to Hu Yu House?"Li Xuan furrowed his tiny brow; his mind was starting to feel overwhelmed.