Disqualified on the Spot!

"East Market." Ning Xiaohe said, "Before I went in, I asked Deacon Gu. He said the imperial capital has an East Market and a West Market. The East Market sells food and sundries, while the West Market sells medicinal herbs and cloth. This is the East Market."

Lu Chi looked up and saw that it was indeed bustling. The street was lined with stalls and storefronts on both sides, selling food, clothes, daily necessities, toys—everything imaginable.

The candied hawkers carried straw poles covered in red fruit as they weaved through the crowd. Steam billowed thickly from the bun sellers' steamers. Cloth shops hung bolts of fabric of every color outside their doors like flags. The spice shops could be smelled from half a street away, their scent rich and pungent. There were even more people here than on the street they had taken into the city. Lu Chi was nearly bumped into several times in the crush, so he eventually learned to stick close to the side of the street.

Ning Xiaohe walked ahead of him at an unhurried pace, but she was not taking in the sights. Her eyes remained fixed on the food stalls.

Lu Chi noticed that she had lingered for quite a while in front of a stall selling sugar-roasted chestnuts. The stall was small, with a large iron wok set over a stove. The wok was filled with black sand and chestnuts, and an old man continuously turned them with a large iron shovel. The chestnuts rolled around in the sand, their shells roasted glossy with oil. Golden flesh showed through the small cracks in their shells. Their sweet fragrance drifted outward in waves, mingled with the scent of caramel.

After watching for a while, Ning Xiaohe took a few coins from her sleeve and