The next morning, before the sky had even begun to lighten, Ji Zhaoxi was already up.
She had gone to bed early the night before. Before falling asleep, she had heard Qin Qiwu and Xu Ancheng sorting through clues. She had to admit, their voices were surprisingly soothing.
The moment she opened the door, she nearly collided with Li Fu, who was busy working. His forehead was covered in sweat, and his undershirt was soaked through.
Ji Zhaoxi asked in surprise, “You’re up working this early?”
Li Fu scratched his head. “Miss Ji, we have to clean up the inn before the guests get up.”
Ji Zhaoxi sighed and took out a few small pieces of silver for him. Li Fu accepted them, tears welling in his eyes.
“Miss Ji…”
Before Ji Zhaoxi could say anything, a lazy voice sounded from behind her. “What’s going on? It’s lively here so early in the morning.”
The moment Li Fu saw who was standing behind her, he grabbed his little bucket and ran off.
For some reason, this man always gave him a sinister feeling. A little like Zhang Shun…
Although Zhang Shun was dead, Li Fu would remember him for the rest of his life!
Ji Zhaoxi felt indignant. “They work this hard every day and earn so little, while those people stole so much official silver in one go.”
Looking at the angry Ji Zhaoxi, Fu Xianyan reached out and smoothed down a stray lock of hair that was sticking up. “Yes. Those people are especially awful.”
“The officials took the common people’s dates and didn’t even pay them!” Ji Zhaoxi was so furious that she punched Fu Xianyan.
They were already so rich, yet they wouldn’t even pay for the dates. They were utterly heartless!
Fu Xianyan let out a soft laugh and drawled, “When the time comes, will Miss Ji help them get their money back for the dates?”
“Of course.”
Once Qin Qiwu and the others uncovered the whereabouts of the official silver, she would definitely make those people pay the villagers back for the dates.
As they walked out of the inn, Ji Zhaoxi suddenly felt that something was off. She looked at Fu Xianyan suspiciously.
What was wrong with Fu Xianyan today? He agreed with everything she said. It was completely unlike him…
Ji Zhaoxi kept staring at him thoughtfully. Fu Xianyan finally found it impossible to ignore and said casually, “Is Miss Ji making up stories about me in her head again?”
Ji Zhaoxi said nothing. She sat down at a stall selling shaobing.
Resting her chin in her hands, she stared blankly at the children playing and chasing one another in the distance.
Fu Xianyan ate a shaobing while drinking porridge. His appetite had been growing larger and larger lately, thanks to a certain someone who was always stuffing her leftovers into his hands.
“Fu Xianyan, what kind of person are you?” Ji Zhaoxi suddenly asked seriously.
Fu Xianyan froze for a moment. He had not expected Ji Zhaoxi to suddenly ask him that.
“Miss Ji, didn’t I tell you before?”
Ji Zhaoxi frowned. “I forgot. Tell me again.”
When Fu Xianyan did not answer, she looked at him. “This time, I’ll remember.”
The reason Fu Xianyan was silent was because he had forgotten himself…
He stirred the porridge in his bowl with his spoon, his expression growing somewhat solemn. How had he lied to her back then?
Ji Zhaoxi was puzzled. “Why do you need to think about this?”
Fu Xianyan was silent for a while. Then he set down his spoon and looked at Ji Zhaoxi with a grave expression.
“I am Fu Xianyan. My parents are both dead, I have no relatives or friends, and I learned witchcraft from a young age…”
Ji Zhaoxi stared at him expressionlessly. “Stop pretending!”
Fu Xianyan was doing it again. She had known he was lying the last time, so she had not bothered to remember it. And now he was trying to fool her again.
Fu Xianyan’s eyes curved with amusement. “Miss Ji, I haven’t lied to you. You simply refuse to believe me.”
Ji Zhaoxi watched him resume drinking his porridge, then moved closer and asked, “When you said you had never eaten a sugar painting before, was that true?”
“True.”
“And when you said you had never eaten a shaobing before, that was true too?”
“Absolutely.”
“And when you said you only wore one layer of clothing in winter?”
“Yes. Wearing less makes it more convenient to draw blood.”
As Ji Zhaoxi thought back over the things Fu Xianyan had told her, everything suddenly fell into place. She had assumed he was joking with her at the time.
Ji Zhaoxi fell silent. The more she watched Fu Xianyan drink his porridge and eat his shaobing, the more her heart ached.
How could this man be so pitiful?
Ji Zhaoxi leaned closer, her voice growing softer and softer. “You really weren’t lying to me? Then you’re just too…”
Fu Xianyan glanced at Ji Zhaoxi beside him. Her lips were slightly pursed, and her eyes were exceptionally clear, as if his words had saddened her.
He watched her for a moment and suddenly felt that he might have gone too far. He had frightened her.
What he had said was true, of course, though he had concealed some things…
But Ji Zhaoxi was still looking at him.
Something in Fu Xianyan’s heart softened. His fingertips moved slightly, coming to rest against her forehead.
“Miss Ji, if you don’t eat your shaobing soon, it’ll get cold.”
Ji Zhaoxi wrinkled her nose, handed him the shaobing, and sighed. “You should eat more.”
Fu Xianyan’s eyes were filled with tenderness. He said softly, “It’s all right, Miss Ji. You eat it yourself.”
Ji Zhaoxi hesitated. “But this shaobing has gone a little soft. I want to eat one that’s piping hot and freshly made, with a nice, crispy crunch.”
Fu Xianyan: …
He silently took the shaobing from her hand.
Looking at Fu Xianyan beside her, Ji Zhaoxi suddenly thought he looked like a little bean sprout. She felt even more sorry for him.
The stall owner had been keeping an eye on them the whole time.
She had seen the two of them here many times.
The man ate so much every time, while the girl could only eat so little.
Although the man looked sickly, once he sat down, he was as solid as a mountain. Surely he could stand to go hungry for a little while!
But the girl just sat there watching him eat, looking so pitiful that it broke the stall owner’s heart.
The girl was not her daughter, but seeing this scene still made her heart ache.
Ji Zhaoxi was thinking about what breakfast to bring back later when, all of a sudden, a gigantic flatbread appeared in her line of sight.
It was three times the size of an ordinary shaobing.
Ji Zhaoxi was stunned by the enormous flatbread. “Boss, I don’t think I ordered this.”
Fu Xianyan was stunned too.
Without saying a word, the stall owner stuffed the giant shaobing into Ji Zhaoxi’s hands.
“Eat it. It’s piping hot, freshly made, and wonderfully crisp!”
Tears welled in Ji Zhaoxi’s eyes as she took out some silver. The stall owner stopped her.
“No need to pay. I just want to tell you something, girl. When you like someone, don’t listen to what he says. Look at what he does.”
Ji Zhaoxi nodded gratefully. “I understand.”
What a wonderful boss.
Looking at the enormous shaobing, Ji Zhaoxi’s old habit flared up again. She declared smugly, “The boss gave me this piping-hot, freshly made, wonderfully crisp giant shaobing. You don’t have one.”
Fu Xianyan burst out laughing. “Impressive.”
Ji Zhaoxi looked at the shaobing in her hands and suddenly felt reluctant to eat it.
But the greatest respect one could show a shaobing was to eat it carefully and reverently.
Ji Zhaoxi sighed, then regretfully nibbled away at it bite by bite.
The stall owner continued watching them. When she saw the way Ji Zhaoxi nibbled at the shaobing, her heart gave a pang.
That girl really looked as if she had been starving.
