In the evening, Yu Shu returned home. Jing Chen answered the door. He helped Yu Shu move the cart in and followed behind her. Yu Shu could see that he had something to say, but she pretended not to see it. Before he spoke, she stopped Yu Xiaoxiu, who was moving firewood back and forth between the courtyard wall and the kitchen.
"Xiaoxiu."
Yu Xiaoxiu was still upset about Yu Shu forcing her to go to school in the morning. When he heard Yu Shu calling him, he answered reluctantly, "I'm back."
Yu Shu understood his mood. She took out a paper bag from the hidden compartment of the cart and waved it at him. "Don't bother. Go wash your hands. I bought you a pair of new shoes. Try it on. If it's too tight, I'll change it on the street tomorrow."
The siblings were also amenable to coaxing but not coercion. Yu Xiaoxiu looked at the smile on Yu Shu's face. "Oh." He quickly went to wash his hands.
"Xiaoyu …" Jing Chen wanted to take this opportunity to explain what happened in the morning. However, he was interrupted by another pair of shoes that Yu Shu placed in front of him.
"Here, yours."
The weather had turned cold. Wearing cloth shoes had already frozen their feet. Yu Shu bought a pair of thick boots for Yu Xiaoxiu and Jing Chen. It was an old shoe shop recommended by the old shopkeeper of Sun Ji. The stitches were tight and the shoes were layered with cotton. It was enough for winter wear.
Jing Chen took the greenish-gray boots from Yu Shu's hands and stroked the smooth surface of the boots. A smile appeared on his face that had been solemn for the entire day.
"Well, let's try it on first."
Watching Yu Xiaoxiu and Jing Chen happily change their shoes, Yu Shu felt proud. What was this called? She gave them a date after hitting them.
Xia Mingming leaned against the door with her arms crossed. "Where's mine?"
Yu Shu glanced at her. "If you want to wear it, buy it yourself. Don't you have money?"
Xia Mingming had long been accustomed to Yu Shu's temperamental temper. Although he was dissatisfied in his heart, he did not argue with her. She did have some money with her, but it was all left behind by Xia Jiangying. She had spent most of it before. Because he still needed to provide for a few servants, he did not dare to use them recklessly before the Xia Jiang Clan arrived. She lived with Yu Shu because she knew that money was important. She would not be as indifferent as before.
The new shoes fit her feet very well. Yu Shu bought all the clothes in the family, so it would be strange if she bought the wrong one. Yu Xiaoxiu excitedly paced back and forth in the room in his new shoes. He had long forgotten about his quarrel with Yu Shu in the morning.
Looking at Yu Shu's expression, Jing Chen knew that she was no longer angry, so he did not bring up the topic of martial arts again. He didn't want her to be unhappy. Anyway, he practiced swordsmanship at night, so she wouldn't know if she slept soundly. It would not be too late to tell her after a while when his body was better.
During dinner, Yu Shu once again brought up the matter of Yu Xiaoxiu going to school. Yu Xiaoxiu only hesitated for a moment, then obediently nodded and obeyed Yu Shu's intention. She then said to Jing Chen, "If I go to school during the day, won't Brother Jing be alone at home? What about lunch? "
The school that Yu Shu had her eyes on, which provided lunch and a place for students to rest, was located in the north of the city. It was far from home, so it was inconvenient to come back at noon.
Jing Chen shook his head. His expression was normal. Just as he was about to answer, Xia Mingming knocked on the edge of the bowl with his chopsticks and said to Yu Xiaoxiu in a bad mood, "What do you mean by alone? Don't you still have me?"
Yu Xiaoxiu said disdainfully, "You only know how to eat. When have I seen you cook? Having you is equivalent to not having you. You are not even as good as Brother Jing. At least he can cook noodles."
Xia Mingming: "…"
Jing Chen said, "Don't worry, I can take care of myself."
Then he looked at Yu Shu. This sentence was clearly meant for her. Yu Shu put a mouthful of food into Xia Mingming's bowl to comfort her hurt little heart. She said to Jing Chen, "When Xiaoxiu goes to school, I will be back at noon."
From Huixing Street to Qiu Guifang, it was not close, but not far either. It was less than an hour's journey. Yu Shu did not go home before because the business was bad. Now everything was better and there were a few regular customers. It would not be a problem for her to go home at noon.
Since the "head of the family", Yu Shu said so, the matter was settled. After dinner, everyone was busy with their own things. When the night was dark, they washed up and went to bed. The sister and brother whispered through the screen, "Xiaoxiu, are you angry that your sister insisted that you go to school?"
"No, why would I be angry with you?"
"Haha, that's true. Well, you can go for a few days first. If you are really not used to it, we can come back, okay? "
"Okay. Sister, go to bed early. You must be tired after a day. "
"Okay, I'm going to bed."
It was so good to have a caring brother. Yu Shu rubbed on the pillow and hugged the quilt to close her eyes. Tomorrow, she had an appointment with Xue Rui to gamble in the north of the city. She wanted to sleep well tonight and make a lot of money to save for Xiaoxiu's tuition.
Ten taels, twenty taels, thirty taels … Yu Shu counted silently and soon fell asleep.
***
Before Yu Shu went out, she deliberately used the six lines of divination to make a complete hexagram. What made her happy was that she had finally seen good fortune in the past few days. Judging from the hexagram, her trip would be smooth.
"I'm leaving. I may be late at night. Don't wait for me. Eat first."
Yu Shu used the excuse of going to the north of the city to copy books and left without pushing the cart. She had a good rest last night and was full of energy. She ran out of the alley as if she was flying.
Just as she was looking for a carriage to the north of the city, she saw a carriage coming from the street and stopping in front of her. The curtain of the carriage was lifted and she saw Xue Rui with one hand on the windowsill. He smiled at her and said, "Little brother, where are you going? Do you want to hitch a ride?"
Yu Shu suppressed the smile on her face and cupped her hands at him. Following his words, she pretended to ask, "I'm going to Qianyuan Street in the north of the city. Is it on the way?"
Xue Rui crooked his finger at her. "Get in the carriage."
"Thank you, Young Master." Yu Shu lifted the curtain and climbed into the carriage. She sat opposite him. The two looked at each other and laughed at the same time.
"Haha …"
"Didn't we agree to meet on Qianyuan Street? Why did you come to pick me up?" Yu Shu asked.
"I woke up early, so I drove here. I'll take you to change your appearance." Xue Rui picked up the purple clay teapot on the octagonal incense table and poured a cup of tea for her.
Yu Shu took it and asked in confusion, "Appearance?"
Xue Rui nodded and glanced at the clothes she was wearing. "You can't wear this."
Yu Shu lowered her head to look at the brown robe on her body, then she looked at the brocade clothes and jade belt on Xue Rui's body. She raised her head and took a sip of tea. "This is my best set of clothes. I've just found a tailor to make it for me a few days ago. Why do I have to wear gold and silver to go to that kind of occasion with you?"
"That's not necessary. However," Xue Rui looked apologetic. "I'll have to trouble you to change into women's clothes."
"Huh? Why? "
Xue Rui said helplessly, "This is indeed the stinky rule set up by the host of the banquet this time. Besides those Shifters who received the invitation to attend the banquet and are allowed to attend on their own, all the other outsiders have to bring female Shifters with them when they enter the banquet."
"Is that so?" Yu Shu squinted at Xue Rui. "You didn't tell me this when we were talking."
Xue Rui sighed. "I haven't been in the capital for two years. I only found out that the owner of this gambling house has set up this rule when I met a friend yesterday. Because I've already replied to the invitation, it's not good for me to reject it now. Ah Shu, just treat it as helping me out."
He spoke kindly. Yu Shu couldn't refuse even if she wanted to. She was the one who owed him a favor and wanted to earn money. Wouldn't it be troublesome if she was picky and looked down on him?
"Okay, let's change."
Xue Rui didn't expect her to agree so readily. He was slightly surprised.
Yu Shu looked at his expression and smiled. "What's wrong? I'm willing to change. Are you not willing?"
Xue Rui shook his head. "I thought you don't like to dress as a woman. I'm prepared to spend a lot of time to persuade you."
Yu Shu looked calm. "I don't like it. The main thing is that it's more convenient and safer to dress as a man when I'm outside. But today, I'm going with you. You're the young master of the Xue family. It won't matter if I'm a man or a woman when it's my turn, right? "
It was rare for Xue Rui to hear Yu Shu tell him frankly instead of guarding against him like before. His mood was a little strange. He felt that the relationship between them was getting closer. He couldn't help but feel happy. He smiled and said, "Of course. With me here, you can rest assured."
Yu Shu lowered her head to sip her tea again, a smile hidden in her eyes. It seemed that this guy with the surname Xue was not as difficult to deal with as she had imagined. Now that he was her sugar daddy, a few words could make him happy, so why not?
"This tea is good. It's sweet." Yu Shu took the teapot and filled it with water.
Xue Rui said, "If you like it, I'll give you a catty later."
Originally, he didn't drink much scented tea. He liked it slightly bitter. Today's tea was specially prepared for Yu Shu by the servants yesterday.
This jasmine tea was the favorite taste of the noble ladies in the north of the city. Only two big teahouses sold it. Tea leaves were not allowed to be sold. The day before yesterday, Second Aunt Xue got two catties of it and treated it like a treasure. Because Xue Rui loved tea, she reluctantly gave half of it to him. It should be known that he gave it all to someone else as if the tea leaves were really weighed by catties. It was unknown whether he would cry or laugh.
"It's better not. It's a waste for me to drink such good tea." Yu Shu didn't need to think to know that this tea was good. She waved her hand and spoke the truth. "In the eyes of a poor white man like me, it's all to quench my thirst. There's no difference."
If this was said by someone else, it would inevitably be unbearably vulgar. If it was said by an elegant scholar, it would inevitably be difficult to avoid frowning. However, it was said by Yu Shu and heard by Xue Rui. It had a different meaning.
Xue Rui had always admired Yu Shu's personality of saying whatever was on her mind. Hearing her words, he unconsciously smiled. "You're right. For people who don't understand tea, even the best tea is used to quench their thirst."
The two of them had a congenial conversation. Unknowingly, they arrived at the boundary between the north and south of the city — Qianyuan Street.
The carriage turned into a side street and stopped at the entrance of an alley. Yu Shu followed Xue Rui out of the carriage. They entered the alley and came to the front of a clothing shop.
There were no customers in the shop. There was only a shopkeeper who was dozing off and a tailor who was measuring cloth. Xue Rui stepped forward and patted the counter. The shopkeeper suddenly woke up. He took a sip of water and looked at the customer. He rolled his eyes and put on a smile. "Gongzi, do you want to buy shoes or clothes?"
Yu Shu was still looking left and right at the silk hanging on the wall. Xue Rui reached out and pointed at her. "Find a set of clothes for my younger sister."
Yu Shu turned her head and raised an eyebrow at him. "Which one is your younger sister?"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
