Chapter 23: Return of the Pearl
Shen Mingzhu smiled. “It doesn’t matter. As long as Cousin Xingnong likes it.”
She secretly felt smug in her heart. One person’s goodness is shown through another person’s wickedness.
This bastard dared to ask for so much. Good!
With this comparison, everyone knows who is good and who is disgusting.
“Miss, you are really too kind! You always give her things, but she treats you like a fool! Look, as soon as you said you would give it to her, she picked three more bolts of satin. Satin! It’s hundreds of copper coins a bolt! Three bolts cost more than one tael of silver! How shameless of her!”
Two people who hadn’t paid attention to what Xingnong had asked for now looked at Xingnong with different eyes, full of disdain.
“Miss, this kind of person is greedy. Be careful not to give her anything!”
“She originally wanted two Zhang of hemp cloth, but when she heard someone say they would give her something, she asked for three bolts of satin. Isn’t this robbery? I’ve never seen someone so shameless! Don’t give it to her!”
Shen Mingzhu smiled. “It’s okay. Cousin Xingnong is not that kind of person. Usually, she doesn’t want anything I give her. Cousin Xingnong, what else do you want? You can pick some more if it’s not enough!”
Xingnong didn’t pay attention to her this time.
At this time, the maid came out with two Zhang of black hemp cloth and said to Xingnong with a smile, “Miss, two Zhang of black hemp cloth is twenty copper coins. Three bolts of satin are one and a half taels of silver in total. The two together are one tael and five hundred and twenty copper coins!”
Everyone: “…”
Shen Mingzhu and Madam Yao’s expressions changed.
Someone said in surprise, “Did this girl originally want three bolts of satin?”
Someone nodded and said, “I wanted to say just now that the girl originally bought three bolts of satin!”
The maid selling the cloth: “Yes! She picked three bolts of satin as soon as she came in! What’s wrong?”
Xingnong lowered her head and took out the two silver ingots and twenty copper coins that she had prepared long ago.
The maid took Xingnong’s silver.
Shen Mingzhu came back to her senses and immediately said, “Cousin Xingnong, we agreed that I would give it to you!”
She quickly took out two taels of silver fragments and handed them to the maid. “I’ll pay.”
Madam Yao also hurriedly said, “Yes, Xingnong, we’ll pay!”
This time, they couldn’t bear to feel distressed about the one tael of silver. If they didn’t buy it for her, their reputation would be ruined!
Xingnong glanced at them indifferently. “Are you done acting? Don’t bother me!”
Shen Mingzhu thought of something and backed away in fear.
The maid selling the cloth glanced at Xingnong and then at Shen Mingzhu, not understanding what had happened. She gave Xingnong five hundred copper coins in change.
Xingnong took it, stuffed the three bolts of cloth into her back basket, and left directly.
It wasn’t until Xingnong left that everyone came back to their senses.
“What do you mean by ‘Are you done acting?’?”
“You still don’t understand? She didn’t want to give the satin at all. She pretended to be generous and deliberately offered to give it. She thought the other person only bought two Zhang of hemp cloth, but who knew she also bought three bolts of satin? She became reluctant! So she asked the maid to say some words to humiliate the other person, so she wouldn’t have to give the satin? ”
“Tsk tsk. If she was reluctant, she shouldn’t have said she would give it! Did anyone force her?”
“Maybe she didn’t plan to give it from the beginning. She did it on purpose. Didn’t you hear the girl ask her if she was done acting?”
“Disgusting! Pretending to be generous!”
Shen Mingzhu and Madam Yao had no way to explain themselves and fled in a hurry.
They were worried about being recognized.
They would never go to this cloth shop again!
~
In the carriage, the more Shen Mingzhu thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong. “Do you think that bastard knew I wouldn’t give it to her and deliberately agreed? She always refused before!”
Madam Yao shook her head. “I don’t know, but that bastard has changed since she reported to the officials and was beaten with a board! You should provoke her less in the future.”
Even Madam Yao couldn’t guess what she was thinking!
She had thought she would be cheated out of a sum of money and felt uncomfortable, so she wanted to teach her a lesson. She didn’t expect that it would be even more uncomfortable not to be cheated!
Madam Yao said regretfully, “We should have just paid the more than one tael of silver just now!”
Shen Mingzhu nodded. Thinking of everyone’s eyes and words just now, she felt so uncomfortable that she went crazy. Her reputation was gone!
God knows how hard it is to have a good reputation!
She couldn’t help but slap the maid directly. “It’s all your fault! Why did you spout such nonsense!”
The maid’s face was swollen from the beating. She looked at Madam Yao aggrievedly and lowered her head, not daring to refute.
~
Xingnong left the cloth shop. As she was passing the Welcome Inn, a simple and elegant black carriage passed by her and stopped in front of the restaurant’s steps.
✿✿✿
Xingnong glanced at it and recognized the carriage as belonging to the owner of the bead. She lifted her foot and walked over.
A cold and handsome figure got down from the carriage.
The morning sunlight fell on the man’s exquisitely handsome face. His fair skin was dyed with a layer of halo, as handsome as a god or a demon, captivating.
Chu Tiankuo got down from the carriage and saw Xingnong at a glance, but his eyes didn’t linger on her. He walked directly towards the Welcome Inn.
“Young Master, please wait.” Xingnong called out to him and walked towards him.
Songbai flashed in front of Xingnong and stretched out his hand to stop her, looking at her vigilantly. “Miss, please behave yourself!”
His Young Master was not close to women, but there were always shameless women who wanted to get close to him.
Chu Tiankuo turned his head and glanced at her, his expression indifferent. “What’s the matter?”
Xingnong took out the bead and held out her hand. “Your bead.”
Songbai’s eyes widened. “Why is this bead on you?”
Yesterday, Master said that the bead was missing. He had been looking for it all night and almost tore apart the courtyard and the carriage!
How could it be in her hand?
Did Master drop it on the road?
Xingnong: “I don’t know.”
Songbai was stunned for a moment. “…”
What kind of answer was this?
“Thank you, Miss.” Chu Tiankuo thanked her politely and courteously, then said, “Songbai.”
Songbai took the bead and said respectfully and politely, “Thank you, Miss.”
He didn’t expect this girl to be so poor and still return the lost item.
Songbai took it for granted that Xingnong had found the bead on the road again.
Xingnong thought for a moment and said to Chu Tiankuo, “I’m sorry, I accidentally touched your bead.”
This bead had a secret that shouldn’t be known to others. If the other party knew the secret inside the bead, he would naturally understand what she meant.
If he didn’t know the secret of the bead, then forget it. She wouldn’t remind him, so as not to cause trouble.
After Xingnong finished speaking, she turned and left.
Chu Tiankuo was stunned. Did she go in?
Songbai took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the bead clean before handing it to Chu Tiankuo.
Chu Tiankuo withdrew his gaze, took the bead, and habitually twirled it with his slender, fair fingers. He suddenly stopped.
It changed!
The inside actually changed!
He had thought she had just gone in and discovered the secret of the Creation Spirit Orb, but he didn’t expect…
Chu Tiankuo quickly looked up in the direction Xingnong had left.
However, on the bustling street, the petite and thin figure was no longer there.
She didn’t know which shop she had entered.
“Master.” Songbai was surprised to see that Chu Tiankuo wasn’t moving.
Chu Tiankuo withdrew his gaze and casually stuffed the bead into his pouch. Thinking of something, his movement paused. He didn’t put it in his pouch but held the bead in his hand. He lifted his foot and walked towards the Welcome Inn.
~
In the restaurant, Shopkeeper Zhao stood outside and bowed respectfully. “Young Master.”
Chu Tiankuo nodded and walked in.
Shopkeeper Zhao was a few steps behind and entered with Songbai. He asked in a low voice, “Does Young Master know that girl just now?”
“Yes. Master suspects that she is related to the Liang Family.” Master asked him to investigate her, didn’t he suspect her?
One more chapter added. See you tomorrow~
