No matter how handsome a man was, he wasn’t worth her risking her safety.
Yun Qiya’s retreat was subtle enough; after leading Helu away, she pretended to buy something from the waiter. To make it convincing, she even shelled out an extra twenty copper coins for a plate of dried jujubes.
The battle in the neighboring private room remained fierce. The scholars had likely worked themselves into a genuine rage; they shoved and jostled, knocking over two screens. Even the table and chairs where Yun Qiya had just been sitting were sent tumbling.
“It’s a good thing we dodged them in time.” Yun Qiya didn’t particularly care for dried jujubes, so she stuffed the entire plate into Helu’s hands.
When people were in the heat of a brawl, they lacked any semblance of reason.
The sickly man sitting in the private room to the left showed no reaction whatsoever. He sat as still as a monk in deep meditation, as if the clamor and chaos outside had nothing to do with him.
*He’s still sitting there?* The fight was practically at his doorstep.
With a loud crash, the screen shielding the sickly man finally succumbed, bringing a gust of wind that ruffled the fur of his fox-skin cloak.
The waiter shouted, “That’s another eight taels of silver! Quick, get it on the tab!”
According to the laws of Great An, those who damaged the property of others during a brawl were required to pay triple the value in compensation.
Atop the fallen screen, two scholars were still locked in a struggle, neither willing to yield.
The man remained indifferent to the farce before him, until he suddenly and expressionlessly spat out a mouthful of blood.
The waiter, who had been gleefully tallying the bill, shrieked at the sight. “Honored guests, please stop fighting! You’ve frightened the guest next to you so much he’s coughing up blood!”
This guest was dressed exquisitely; he clearly wasn’t an ordinary citizen. He absolutely could not be allowed to die in their teahouse!
The two men in the heat of battle looked up simultaneously, catching sight of the blood staining the man’s lips. His face was deathly pale; he looked as though he might drop dead at any moment.
Their impulsive rage vanished instantly, replaced by trembling fear. “Young Master, are… are you alright?”
The man used a snowy-white handkerchief to wipe the corner of his mouth, his face unreadable. “You may continue. Do not mind me.”
The two scholars shuddered. “…”
*We want to continue, but we’re more afraid of you dropping dead right here.*
Yun Qiya gave Helu a meaningful look. It was time to go; this was no longer a spectacle they should be watching.
The mistress and servant began to slip away on tiptoe. They hadn’t gone more than a few steps when the Imperial Guards, clad in bright armor with sabers at their waists, came charging up. The two of them quickly shrank back into a corner.
The Imperial Guards swiftly determined the cause of the commotion. They hauled the brawling scholars away, emptying their purses to compensate the establishment for its losses.
With the excitement over, the heads peering out from the other private rooms all retreated.
“Honored guest, we’ve disturbed your enjoyment of the tea today. Your expenses for the day will be covered by the manager,” a waiter said, propping up the overturned screens and serving a fresh pot of hot tea to Yun Qiya, who hadn’t had a chance to leave yet. “We hope you will continue to grace our humble shop with your business in the future.”
“Thank you for the hospitality,” Yun Qiya replied, acknowledging the attentive waiter. “Does the storyteller downstairs come to your teahouse every day?” Saving a bit on tea money was a nice bonus.
“It’s hard to say. Sometimes the wealthy households in the city invite him to perform at birthday banquets,” the waiter answered. “If he hasn’t been invited elsewhere, he usually comes to our shop to tell a tale on the fifth and tenth of every month.”
“Thank you for telling me.” Yun Qiya thanked him and waited for the storyteller to finish the entire segment before rising to leave.
As she reached the door of the private room, she saw that the screen next door was open. The man in the fox-skin cloak stood in the hallway, now flanked by two attendants who had appeared out of nowhere.
With the storytelling over, the teahouse had lost its earlier liveliness. The faint sound of a pipa drifted up from below. Yun Qiya paused, gesturing for the other party to go first.
However, the man showed no reaction. Seeing that he seemingly had no intention of moving, Yun Qiya nimbly slipped past him. The capital was vast, and she still had many places to explore.
“Miss, where is your purse?”
Once they were out of the teahouse, Helu noticed that the purse at Yun Qiya’s waist was gone.
Yun Qiya felt her empty waist, her mind buzzing. Her purse contained a ten-tael gold banknote, fifty taels in silver banknotes, plus a handful of broken silver and copper coins!
Her precious money!
“Master, what is it?” An attendant noticed the man’s expression was slightly off and stepped forward cautiously. “Your health is frail. We should return to the estate and have the Imperial Physician…”
The man ignored him, looking down at his feet. Something was pressing against his sole.
He slowly moved his foot, revealing a goose-yellow purse lying there, embroidered with the words “Peace and Health.”
*Peace and Health.*
He slowly bent down and picked it up. The purse was heavy, filled with quite a few items.
The attendant hesitated. Recently, a scam had become popular in the capital where people would intentionally drop a purse for others to pick up. Many commoners had fallen for it.
He wanted to warn his master not to pick up random purses on the street to avoid trouble, but before he could speak, a voice reached them.
Yun Qiya ran back up to the second floor of the teahouse. Seeing her purse in the sickly man’s hand, she performed a formal curtsy. “Thank you, Young Master, for picking up my purse.”
“How can you prove this belongs to you?” The attendant, knowing his master disliked speaking, stepped forward to negotiate with the woman who had suddenly appeared.
She was so stunningly beautiful that he couldn’t help but wonder if this was some sort of beauty trap. He had to be on guard.
“Inside the purse is one ten-tael gold banknote, five ten-tael silver banknotes, and some broken silver and copper coins.” Yun Qiya’s tone was polite. This person must be a high-ranking noble if even his attendants wore fine silks and black boots.
The attendant looked at the man, who handed the purse back to Yun Qiya.
Yun Qiya took the purse with both hands and opened it right in front of them.
The attendant’s expression shifted slightly. *What is she doing? Is the scam beginning?!*
“Thank you, Young Master.” Yun Qiya pulled out a ten-tael silver banknote and pressed it into the attendant’s hand. “The Young Master is a man of noble character and integrity for not pocketing found money. I am truly grateful.”
Given the man’s noble status, he likely didn’t care about ten taels of silver. But regardless of his identity, whether they could become friends didn’t matter—at the very least, she wanted him to know she was an upright person who knew how to repay kindness.
When one was away from home, their image had to be maintained through such gestures.
“Thank you again, Young Master. I shall take my leave.” Yun Qiya tightened the drawstring of her purse and tactfully turned to walk away.
The man’s identity was unknown; it was best not to associate too much, so long as they didn’t end up as enemies.
Watching the woman’s decisive departure, the attendant didn’t even have time to refuse the ten-tael banknote.
“Master?” Holding the banknote, he bowed toward the man, waiting for his command.
The man reached out and took the banknote. He pushed open the window facing the street and looked down.
The rising and falling cries of street vendors, carrying the scent of the mundane world, rushed in along with the cold wind.
“Thank heavens my precious baby was safely recovered.” Yun Qiya tightly clutched her beloved money bag as she walked out of the teahouse, sighing to Helu. “Helu, we’re still too poor.”
“Sigh.” Helu sighed along with her, then added a reminder, “Miss, Young Master borrowed ten taels of silver from you last month and hasn’t paid it back yet.”
She couldn’t remember how much money the Miss had spent on the Young Master, but she remembered every single copper coin the Young Master owed the Miss with perfect clarity. Helu was the Miss’s most loyal little lackey.
“Helu, look! They’re selling the fried dough snacks you like!” Yun Qiya bought a portion of the piping hot snacks and tucked them into Helu’s arms. “Eat up, then we’ll keep looking around.”
“Thank you, Miss!” Helu hugged the fried dough snacks, smiling happily. Her Miss was the best Miss in the world!
The mistress and servant stood at a street corner. Yun Qiya was so beautiful and charming that the woman at a nearby stall couldn’t help but steal glances at her while chatting.
When you encountered someone so good-looking, failing to take a few extra peeks felt as bad as not making any money at your stall.
“Did you hear? The Third-Place Scholar’s engagement was broken off.”
“Which Third-Place Scholar?” The capital saw a new one every three years. The one from five years ago was young and handsome, and the one from two years ago was refined and elegant; they had seen them all during the parade through the streets.
“The one from two years ago.”
Yun Qiya’s ears perked up. As expected of the capital, even the common people were better informed than elsewhere.
“Hah! Who would be willing to break off an engagement with such an outstanding gentleman?” a male vendor chimed in. “Aren’t they afraid of regretting it?”
“What do you men know?” the female vendor said, rolling her eyes. “I closed my stall late last night and saw that Third-Place Scholar escorting a young lady home.”
“Maybe he was just being kind…”
“Heh, I’d like to be ‘kind’ and escort a couple of handsome young men home too.”
“If you know, you know.”
Before the male vendor could finish, several female vendors crowded him out until he had nothing left to say, making him shrink back and stay silent.
The women were in the heat of their gossip. Noticing Yun Qiya nearby, one said to her, “Little girl, we’ve seen it all. If a man is kind to everyone, it means he’s a man of noble virtue. But if he’s only ‘kind’ to young and beautiful girls…”
“It means he’s a scumbag.”
Their interest piqued, the women began sharing various stories they’d heard about scumbags. Yun Qiya and Helu listened with great interest, unable to bring themselves to move for a long time.
“M-Master…” Up in the teahouse, the two attendants were breaking into a cold sweat as they listened to the words drifting up from below.
Stories about people drowning in latrines while cheating, or having their flesh pecked by roosters while peeping at women washing their feet—how could such filthy street talk be allowed to reach their master’s ears?
***
Zhou Yuzhi had received word from his family and had requested leave from his superior, hurrying home from the Hanlin Academy.
Horses weren’t allowed to gallop through the busy markets of the capital, so despite his anxiety, he could only move at a slow pace. As he passed a street corner, he happened to overhear snippets of gossip about “Third-Place Scholar” and “broken engagement.”
“The Third-Place Scholar might be somewhat good-looking, but marriage is about living together day in and day out. How can it work if a man spends all his time being ‘tender’ to other women? Little girl, don’t you agree?”
“You’re absolutely right, sister.”
Zhou Yuzhi tugged on the reins, bringing his horse to a halt. He turned to glare at the woman who had spoken. “Ignorant woman! How dare you slander a court official?”
The vendors recognized the Third-Place Scholar in his official robes on horseback and immediately fell silent.
“The official has misunderstood. We were discussing a fickle and flirtatious Third-Place Scholar from a storybook; we didn’t mention anyone else.” Yun Qiya glanced at the man on the horse.
*Oh, it’s that mediocre-looking guy from last night.*
Upon seeing Yun Qiya, Zhou Yuzhi’s sour expression turned tender in an instant. He said eagerly, “Miss, my surname is Zhou, and my given name is Yuzhi. I am a Compiler in the Hanlin Academy. May I be so bold as to ask for your esteemed name?”
The servant leading the horse saw his master preparing to dismount to talk to a beautiful girl and his face contorted in distress.
*Master, stop hitting on pretty girls! Your fiancée doesn’t even want you anymore!*
*Zhou Yuzhi?*
Yun Qiya’s gaze, which had been drifting away, snapped back to him.
*This thing is my ex-fiancé?*
*Great-grandfather, if your spirit is truly watching from above, you’d better bless me with wealth and good luck in the future, or else your conscience will never be at peace.*
*Just look at the kind of mess you picked for my ex-fiancé!*
She was so young and hadn’t even had the chance to do anything wicked yet, and already her life had such a massive stain on it!