The walk back to the inn was unusually quiet. Apart from the sound of their footsteps, there wasn’t a single other noise to be heard.
Fu Xianyan was quiet by nature, while Xu Ancheng and Qin Qiwu were also keeping perfectly silent to maintain the illusion that Ji Zhaoxi was asleep.
Every now and then, water from the ground splashed onto their trouser legs. Fu Xianyan gazed at the dim sky, feeling Ji Zhaoxi’s breathing against his back. A trace of confusion flashed through his eyes.
Why did it feel as though she wasn’t sleeping soundly at all? Her breathing wasn’t even in the slightest…
At that very moment, Ji Zhaoxi was staring blankly at the droplets of water hanging from the nearby eaves.
Xu Ancheng and Qin Qiwu looked at Ji Zhaoxi, both wanting to speak yet holding back.
As soon as they arrived at the inn, Fu Xianyan was wondering how to put Ji Zhaoxi down when, in the next instant, his back suddenly felt lighter. Ji Zhaoxi had jumped down on her own.
“Bet you didn’t see that coming. I actually woke up ages ago,” Ji Zhaoxi said smugly.
Before Fu Xianyan could react, Ji Zhaoxi dashed upstairs, not forgetting to grab her sword along the way.
Fu Xianyan: …
Xu Ancheng coughed awkwardly, pretending he hadn’t seen anything.
Qin Qiwu also gave an embarrassed smile. “Miss Ji certainly has plenty of energy, doesn’t she, Young Master Fu?”
Miss Ji really had gone out of her way to provoke him.
She hadn’t expected that after pretending to be asleep, Miss Ji would even go and announce it to Young Master Fu herself.
Fu Xianyan was silent for a moment before letting out a laugh.
“Miss Qin, Young Master Xu, I’ll head upstairs first.”
Qin Qiwu and Xu Ancheng silently watched Fu Xianyan’s retreating back.
The back of Young Master Fu’s robe was a little damp, and his trouser legs were splattered with mud. He looked rather bedraggled.
Xu Ancheng was a little worried. “Do you think Young Master Fu is angry?”
Qin Qiwu replied uncertainly, “He probably isn’t. Young Master Fu is broad-minded, and Miss Ji is usually so… good to him…”
Her voice grew softer and softer as she spoke.
All right, she wasn’t actually sure either. The two of them seemed to have never gone a single day without arguing…
Once they returned to their room, Xu Ancheng kept sneaking glances at Fu Xianyan.
But Fu Xianyan’s expression remained perfectly calm, leaving Xu Ancheng scratching the back of his head.
Miss Qin had asked him to observe whether Young Master Fu was angry, but he truly couldn’t tell.
Apart from smiling, Young Master Fu never seemed to have any other expression…
But Miss Ji was incredible. She could see all kinds of expressions on Young Master Fu’s face—fake smiles, amused smiles born of anger, cold smiles, mocking smiles, derisive smiles, despairing smiles, speechless smiles…
And many, many more.
Xu Ancheng suddenly realized that he still had a great deal to learn. He had to become as impressive as Miss Ji!
His expression immediately turned solemn, and he began carefully observing Fu Xianyan’s face.
The room next door was considerably livelier.
Ji Zhaoxi was curled up beneath the quilt, her face full of laughter. “Miss Qin, wasn’t I clever today?”
Qin Qiwu closed the window, a hint of amusement flashing through her eyes. “Miss Ji, you’re always saying that Young Master Fu is too calculating. Aren’t you afraid he’ll get angry?”
Ji Zhaoxi rolled over and yawned. “I’m not afraid of him. With that sickly body of his, he’d be knocked flat before he even got close to me.”
The lamp in the room was blown out. Qin Qiwu lay down on the bed and gave a soft laugh without saying anything more.
In the darkness, she couldn’t help touching the hairpin beside her pillow. The hairpin felt slightly cold, yet her heart seemed to be burning.
It was the one Xu Ancheng had given her that day. Whenever she thought about what Xu Ancheng had said, her ears grew warm.
The next morning, as soon as the sky brightened, Ji Zhaoxi and the others left the inn.
It happened to be market day. Before dawn, villagers from the surrounding countryside had already begun arriving one after another.
Stalls lined both sides of the street, but Ji Zhaoxi and the others weren’t particularly interested in them. They still hadn’t figured out the connection between the gambling den and the stolen government silver.
They had barely taken a few steps when a handkerchief suddenly drifted down from above and landed squarely in Xu Ancheng’s arms.
Xu Ancheng froze. His face immediately flushed bright red, and he stood there helplessly clutching the handkerchief.
He looked left and right, wanting to return this burning-hot problem as quickly as possible.
Ji Zhaoxi had plenty of experience with this sort of thing. She looked up.
Sure enough, several young women were standing by the railing on the second floor of a restaurant. The woman in the middle had a bashful blush on her face, and her eyes were filled with shy affection.
“May I ask which young lady this handkerchief belongs to…” Xu Ancheng asked anxiously.
He glanced at Qin Qiwu beside him. Qin Qiwu had lowered her head, her expression unreadable.
In his panic, he raised his voice. “I’m throwing it on the ground!”
The street was full of villagers out shopping, and they began teasing Xu Ancheng.
“Young man, just accept it! It’s a token of her affection!”
“That’s right, that’s right…”
Xu Ancheng grew frantic. He was afraid Qin Qiwu would misunderstand, but throwing the handkerchief onto the ground also went against the etiquette he had been taught since childhood.
One shouldn’t litter. Even when he killed someone, he would bury the body and fill in the grave afterward. He wasn’t the sort of person who caused trouble for others.
Fu Xianyan stood to the side, unconcernedly eating a steamed bun.
It was one of the buns Ji Zhaoxi had left over. She had bought too many, and there were still three remaining.
Just as Fu Xianyan was about to take another bite, the steamed bun in his hand suddenly disappeared.
Fu Xianyan: ?
Ji Zhaoxi wrapped the bun in the handkerchief and tossed it straight toward the second floor.
The young woman upstairs stared at the handkerchief and steamed bun that had suddenly appeared in her hands, falling silent for a moment.
Xu Ancheng’s mouth dropped open as he watched Ji Zhaoxi.
So that was an option?
As for the missing steamed bun, Fu Xianyan didn’t react at all. He simply continued eating the next one.
They had only walked a few more steps when a young man suddenly appeared beside Qin Qiwu, shyly addressing her in a low voice.
“This young lady, I…”
As he spoke, the young man offered Qin Qiwu a folding fan. Qin Qiwu awkwardly tried to refuse it.
“Thank you, Young Master, but I don’t need a fan.”
The young man refused to give up. “Miss, I only wish to make your acquaintance.”
Xu Ancheng gathered his courage and stepped to Qin Qiwu’s side. “Young Master, this young lady has already refused you. Please stop coming any closer.”
The man narrowed his eyes at Xu Ancheng. “What is your relationship with this young lady? Do you have the right to speak for her?”
Xu Ancheng was immediately at a loss for words.
Ji Zhaoxi coldly stepped in front of them. “I can speak for her. Come any closer and I’ll beat you up.”
She shoved the fan directly back into the man’s arms.
Xu Ancheng looked at Ji Zhaoxi with admiration. When would he be able to be as brave as Miss Ji?
But if he said something like that, would it offend Qin Qiwu…?
Before they had even finished walking down one alley, Ji Zhaoxi was already carrying a huge pile of handkerchiefs and folding fans.
She walked down the street with a look of utter despair. Just then, several more handkerchiefs floated down from above.
She was truly exhausted…
So this was the power of Qin Qiwu and Xu Ancheng’s charm?
Ji Zhaoxi was preparing to find somewhere to throw away all the things in her arms.
“Young master…”
At the sound of the voice, Ji Zhaoxi’s gaze sharpened.
