Bai Zhi’er pinched the chubby belly of the ginseng with her little hand.
The little one tilted her head, scrutinizing it with so disdain.
"Oh dear, not even a hundred years old, and I dug you out before you even had a full month! I’m really sorry about that."
She offered it to the nearby dogs: "Does anyone want to eat this?"
The other watchdogs ca up, sniffed it, then turned their heads away to show disinterest.
Only Big Yellow reluctantly gave Bai Zhi’er so face, licked it once, then stuck out his tongue and ran off.
Bai Zhi’er shook her head helplessly, muttering, "If none of you like it, I’ll just have to take it back to give to Brother Fu Ce!"
She tucked the ginseng into her little bag.
The Xiu Luo Envoys exchanged a silent glance.
It seed like they had overheard sothing they shouldn’t have.
Why suddenly, did they feel a bit sympathetic towards the Marquis?
Just then, soone nearby rebuked loudly, "You actually dug up my ginseng!"
Bai Zhi’er turned her head to see a woman with a bamboo basket, storming over.
She looked at Bai Zhi’er, who seed unfamiliar, though dressed decently, she was a stranger.
The woman furrowed her brow and said, "Where did this outsider co from, digging things up all over without asking, and taking ginseng, stuffing it into her own bag!"
The dogs around Bai Zhi’er imdiately began barking ferociously in response.
The woman sharply declared, "Keep barking, and I’ll kill you all for stew!"
Big Yellow lunged forward, nearly biting the woman’s sleeve.
Bai Zhi’er reached out her small hand, stroked Big Yellow’s head, signaling for it not to get angry.
The Xiu Luo Envoys also placed their hands on the hilts of their swords at their waists, ready to protect the Princess at any mont.
Bai Zhi’er asked softly, "Auntie, you say this is your ginseng, are you the one who buried it here?"
The woman, seeing the little one looking so genuine, with eyes clear and bright, replied confidently, "Nonsense, who else would have buried it if not ?"
The little one asked again, "How long have you buried it for?"
The woman furrowed her brow, answering offhandedly, "More than half a month, my husband bought it from the market, people said burying it in the dirt could make it live longer, so I did."
Bai Zhi’er tilted her little head, curiously saying, "Then that’s not right, you see on this ginseng’s roots, they are covered with soil."
"If it’s just half a month, the soil wouldn’t stick, it would fall off with a shake. This shouldn’t be yours then!"
The woman showed a fleeting hint of guilt in her eyes, assertively reaching out, "You’re asking so much just because you don’t want to give it back, huh!"
"So young, yet you dare to steal, and when caught, you want to keep it, if you don’t return it to , I’ll call your parents and see how they taught you!"
A Xiu Luo Envoy drew his sword an inch: "How dare you, you..."
Bai Zhi’er raised her hand, stopping them from speaking.
The little one smiled sweetly, directly handing the ginseng to the woman.
"You say it’s yours, then you hold onto it well!"
"It was mine all along! Smart move on your part." The woman rolled her eyes.
She hastily put the ginseng into the basket, ready to leave.
Suddenly, Bai Zhi’er said sweetly, "But Auntie, I’ve heard that every mountain is alive, and if you take sothing from it, and it’s unhappy, you’ll have to pay a price."
"There’s a legend, you know, so people took a few mushrooms, and the Mountain God was upset, made them kneel the whole way down the mountain."
"I hope the ginseng really is yours, otherwise what if you have to kneel all the way down the mountain!"
The woman glanced at her askance, "Scare ? Little girl, you’re still too young for that! The ginseng is mine, let the Mountain God co and punish , haha, how ridiculous!"
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