klisemfg Chapter 302: Zhao Ning'er's Suspicion
Chapter 302: Zhao Ning'er's Suspicion
Chapter 302: Zhao Ning'er's Suspicion
"Sister Ji, are you...are you going to...sell me to a brothel?" Zhao Ning'er said with her head down and her eyes dim. She spoke very softly, not daring to raise her voice.
"What? A brothel? That explains why you seem a little unhappy," Ji Meiqing said, not answering Zhao Ning'er's question, but simply covering her mouth and laughing. Seeing Ji Meiqing's cheerful smile, Zhao Ning'er felt a chill in her heart. She suspected Ji Meiqing genuinely wanted to sell her.
"Don't worry, I won't sell you." Zhao Ning'er looked up, her eyes filled with joy. Ji Meiqing took off Zhao Ning'er's headdress, not even looking at Zhao Ning'er's reaction, and prepared to return to her room. As she reached the door, Zhao Ning'er called out to Ji Meiqing, "Sister Ji, thank you." Ji Meiqing walked out without turning back. Remembering Zhao Ning'er's words, she smiled.
Back in my room, looking at the jewelry in my hand, I felt something was off. Suddenly, something occurred to me, and I quickly went outside.
After walking for a while, Ji Meiqing saw Zhao Lei standing in front of a candied hawthorn stall not far away. Just as Ji Meiqing was about to go over and greet him, she saw the stall owner point at Zhao Lei and say, "If you don't have money, stand aside and don't block my business." Ji Meiqing was furious; they were all a bunch of money-grubbing people.
Zhao Lei walked over angrily and saw Ji Meiqing approaching, her face grim, seemingly angry. Zhao Lei blushed, lowered his head, and dared not speak, awaiting Ji Meiqing's judgment.
Zhao Lei kept his head down, and Ji Meiqing's scolding voice didn't reach his ears for a long time. When he looked up, he saw Ji Meiqing glaring at the owner of the candied hawthorn stall and saying, "Boss, don't always look down on people who don't have money." As she spoke, she threw a silver ingot on the stall, took five candied hawthorns, and turned to give them to Zhao Lei.
"Sister Ji... Sister Ji, you should eat it yourself," Zhao Lei said, trying to refuse. Ji Meiqing ignored him and shoved the food into his hand, saying, "Take it. I have something to do. Go back quickly and don't let your sister worry."
Zhao Lei looked at Ji Meiqing with gratitude, then quickly headed towards the inn with the candied hawthorn. Ji Meiqing watched Zhao Lei leave, then turned to look at the candied hawthorn vendor. He looked at her awkwardly, but she rolled her eyes at him and left.
Ji Meiqing walked for a while and stopped in front of a jewelry shop. Upon entering, she saw jewelry hanging on the walls and laid out on the floor, all more exquisite and beautiful than in other shops. The workmanship was delicate, smooth, and without major flaws. The owner, seeing a customer, quickly greeted her.
"Young lady, you seem to have your eye on that piece of jewelry? Our shop is frequently frequented by nobles from the palace," the shop owner said proudly. Ji Meiqing remained silent, leaving the shop owner standing there awkwardly. Ji Meiqing wandered around the shop, picked up two or three earrings, but decided the others were unnecessary and unattractive, so she didn't take any more.
Just as he was about to take out some silver from his sleeve, he stopped and said, "Boss, you said that noble people from the palace often come here, so do you make hairpins?" The boss, seeing that he had a big business opportunity, immediately said, "Of course I can, and the price is negotiable."
Ji Meiqing saw through the boss's plan and said, "Just use ordinary iron and coat it with gold." The boss's smiling face instantly fell, but he didn't want to miss out on a business that had been handed to him, so he stammered and agreed.
Rongcheng.
As late spring arrived, the peach blossoms slowly faded. Every day, Li Ming would pick up peach blossoms near the peach trees by the shed. He would sift through the blossoms he collected, throwing away the rotten ones at the base of the trees as nourishment for the trees to bloom the following year. Late spring was drawing to a close, and the beginning of summer was approaching. In summer, although the weather was hot, there would be a lot of rain, and thunderstorms were common.
After sorting out the usable peach blossoms, Li Ming quickly placed them in a bamboo sieve to dry. It was midday, and the weather was quite hot. Li Ming, who had been sitting in the drying shed, came out to turn the blossoms over, hoping to dry them more thoroughly. For some reason, the sun was unusually scorching today. After standing under it for a while, Li Ming was drenched in sweat, and the sweat almost dripped onto the peach blossoms. He quickly wiped it away.
Rouge, who was not far away, walked over with an umbrella. Seeing that Li Ming was sweating profusely, she took out her handkerchief to wipe his sweat. As soon as she touched Li Ming's cheek, Li Ming quickly pulled away, his face turning red, and wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeve.
Rouge smiled with her head down and held an umbrella for Li Ming: "Brother Ming, I meant well, but you avoided me. I'm so heartbroken." Rouge said this while pretending to be sad, leaving Li Ming at a loss for what to do.
"You...you don't cry, I didn't mean to, after all, men and women shouldn't touch each other," Li Ming stammered. Rouge chuckled, looking at Li Ming. He really was an honest man. I've been so obvious, Rouge thought to herself. "What's wrong with touching each other? I was just wiping your sweat, I wasn't doing anything else." Rouge looked at Li Ming with her big eyes, as if to say, "Do you want to do something?"
Li Ming realized that his words were only making the situation worse, and he was speechless for a moment, silently fiddling with the peach blossoms in the bamboo sieve. Rouge, seeing that she had amused Li Ming to the point of silence, giggled. She pulled Li Ming into the shed, worried he would get too hot.
The two of them found a stool and sat by the door, watching the sunlight outside. Li Ming would occasionally move the peach blossoms. Perhaps he was too tired, because Li Ming fell asleep leaning against the wall. Yan Zhi looked at Li Ming, her heart feeling inexplicably full. Seeing Li Ming asleep, something seemed to stir within her; perhaps she had fallen for the simple, honest, and genuine Li Ming before her.
For some reason, the sky, which had been clear and sunny just moments before, suddenly turned dark and gloomy. Dark clouds filled the sky, and a cool breeze blew. Looking at the weather, Rouge knew it was going to rain. The peach blossoms were still drying outside; if they got wet, all her efforts would be wasted—these were the last batch of peach blossoms to bloom this year. But seeing Li Ming asleep, Rouge didn't want to disturb him. So she went outside on her own.
Originally thinking it wouldn't rain for a while, Rouge was surprised to find that it started raining as soon as she stepped outside. The pattering raindrops pattered against her, and a chilly wind blew, making Rouge shiver. Ignoring the chill, she carried the large bamboo sieve by herself. "Oh dear, how can it be so heavy?" Rouge exclaimed as she tried to lift the sieve, struggling to move it, but she wouldn't let go.
"Why didn't you tell me it was raining? You were just being stubborn," Li Ming said reproachfully as he appeared out of nowhere, taking the bamboo sieve from Yan Zhi's hand.
Even though she had been scolded, Rouge still smiled foolishly at Li Ming's nervous expression. Seeing that the rain was pouring down, Li Ming quickly carried the bamboo sieve into the shed, and Rouge followed him.