So now, Kaede was more like the older sister as she led Xia Ji through the woods. Xia Ji, dressed in a kimono, could not move very quickly through the forest.
"Xia Ji, hurry! We need to pick more before all the villagers get them." Kaede pulled Xia Ji along as she searched for nonpoisonous mushrooms.
"Kaede, there seems to be a whole bunch over there..."
Following behind Kaede, Xia Ji looked around as well...
There was little entertainment in ancient times, especially for women.
And for Xia Ji now, aside from the Water Channel, searching for mushrooms like this was incredibly fun.
Although Xia Ji was no longer a princess, she was actually happier every day. She was free, and she could do many things she had never even imagined before. Though it was tiring... she was happy.
Of course, that was probably because Xia Ji had never done hard labor.
If she had to work herself to the bone every day just to put food on the table like the other villagers, she might have understood the hardships of commoners. But clearly, Xia Ji was different from those villagers.
Though she was no longer a princess, all the wealth of Tanihara Castle was in her hands—enough to last her a lifetime. Besides, Kikyo looked after her in the village, so no one dared bully her.
And with her current strength, ordinary people could not bully her anyway.
Kaede looked where Xia Ji had pointed and immediately spotted a huge cluster of fungi...
And they were a very famous kind of mushroom—nontoxic and delicious.
"Great! This alone is enough for everyone to eat!"
Kaede quickly pulled Xia Ji over to the mushrooms and crouched down, beginning to pick them...
But before they had picked even a third