She had to admit, even though this was an ancient, technologically primitive era, the produce was spectacular. Without a drop of modern chemical fertilizers or pesticides, the radishes were massive and crisp, the leafy greens were vibrant, and the quality of the raw ingredients easily rivaled the premium organic aisles of her past lives.
As she browsed, her dark eyes swept over the vendors themselves.
It was a fascinating study in the brutal class divide of a matriarchal empire. Just as women in ancient, patriarchal histories had been forbidden from leaving their inner courtyards while poor women had no choice but to toil in the fields, the exact same rule applied to the men here. The delicate, high-born sons of noble matriarchs were locked away behind high estate walls, their faces hidden from the world. The men sitting on the footpaths selling cabbage and lotus roots were obviously from the lowest, poorest rungs of society, forced out into the public eye just to survive.
