Qin Huai’an’s face turned cold. “Lu Fengchun, this is a family matter of the Qin household. Mind your own business!”
“If it were just you and your lawfully wedded wife here, I wouldn’t interfere. But…” Lu Fengchun’s tone shifted as he looked at Liang Manyin. “Miss Liang’s affairs are hardly family matters, are they? Don’t blame me for speaking plainly. Since Qin Huai’an already has such a beautiful wife, it will be very difficult for him to divorce her just to marry you.”
“Nonsense!”
Qin Huai’an turned to Liang Manyin, explaining anxiously, “Manyin, I will keep every promise I made to you!”
Liang Manyin looked embarrassed. She tugged at his sleeve. “I know, Huai’an. Let’s just go back.”
The onlookers began to chatter.
“The newspapers said Young Mistress Qin was hideous! Seeing her today, those reports can’t be trusted.”
“Reporters are all the same! They turn white into black. Probably got paid off by some movie star!”
“What a disgrace! No betrothal gifts, no ceremony, yet they act so boldly in public! Shameless!”
“That’s not fair! Nowadays people talk about free love! I heard she forced herself into the family. Young Master Qin never even wanted to marry her!”
“Seeing is believing! The tabloids said she was so ugly she scared the groom away on their wedding night. Does she look like that to you?”
“It was an arranged marriage by the parents. Poor Young Master Qin is just a victim too!”
Their voices were loud enough for everyone to hear.
Jiang Ci let out a dry laugh. “Hideous? Scared you away on the wedding night? Qin Huai’an, is this how you defame me behind my back?”
“Lies! I would never do something so underhanded!” Qin Huai’an flushed red, denying it vehemently.
“You get so defensive when *you* are wronged. But when you wrong others, you never hesitate. I guess you don’t know how much it hurts until the knife cuts into your own flesh.”
Qin Huai’an laughed in anger. “Wronged you? Jiang Ci, you are really good at twisting words! Admit it—you came here today just to stalk me and Manyin, didn’t you?”
“Huai’an!” Liang Manyin pulled his arm again, looking uncomfortable.
“See? Even if she doesn’t want to be an accomplice to your nonsense.” Jiang Ci shifted her gaze away from Liang Manyin and shook her head. “Qin Huai’an, you really love to hear yourself talk. What point is there in stalking you? Do I get paid for it?”
“You!”
“Shh…”
Jiang Ci placed a finger to her lips, a mocking smile on her face. “I don’t have time to bicker with you. Excuse me, I need to buy art supplies or I’ll be late for my afternoon art class.”
Qin Huai’an wanted to argue more, but Liang Manyin held him back tightly.
“Why are you in such a hurry to leave, Miss Liang?” Lu Fengchun called out.
“This is between me and Huai’an. Please don’t trouble yourself, Mr. Lu.”
Liang Manyin pulled Qin Huai’an past Lu Fengchun and back into the boutique.
Jiang Ci snorted coldly and walked straight past them without a sideways glance, heading toward the art supply store.
***
**Inside the Fashion Boutique**
“Why did you stop me?” Qin Huai’an ripped off his tie, threw it on the sofa, and crossed his arms, turning his head away in a huff.
“You told me today was her first day of school. She’s a traditional woman who rarely goes out. How could she possibly be skilled enough to stalk you?”
“Why are you taking her side?!”
“I’m just being reasonable, Huai’an. She doesn’t seem like a rigid person. If you talked to her calmly, maybe she would understand that arranged marriages are outdated and agree to a divorce.”
“You always see the good in people. Do you really think a traditional girl who forced her way into this family just days ago can suddenly become a modern, enlightened woman overnight? You even had to study abroad for years to change your mindset! What makes her so special?”
Liang Manyin didn’t want to argue. She picked up a pearl-encrusted shawl and held it up. “Alright, let’s drop it. What do you think of this one?”
***
**Art Supply Store**
As soon as Jiang Ci entered, she realized someone was following her.
“So Young Mistress Qin attends Huaxi Girls’ School?”
Lu Fengchun twirled a paintbrush in his hand and moved closer to her, trying to strike up a conversation.
The last time he saw her, she was dressed in elaborate, traditional mistress attire. Today, with no makeup and her hair simply braided, she looked even more beautiful—fresh and pure like a lotus flower.
It made his heart itch.
“Mr. Lu is a busy man. I’m surprised you remember what the school uniform looks like.”
Jiang Ci subtly stepped back to create distance. She handed a fifty-dollar note to the clerk. “Please prepare one set of supplies for traditional Chinese painting and one set for Western painting. The best quality available.”
Lu Fengchun’s eyes narrowed. She didn’t even give him a chance to pay. Traditional women really were hard to approach—but he had plenty of patience.
“Allow me.”
He took the large packages from the clerk. “Such heavy things. How can I let a lady carry them?”
Since he already had them, Jiang Ci couldn’t exactly snatch them back. She walked out of the mall with him.
At the entrance, Lu Fengchun said smoothly, “Putting all this on a rickshaw will be too crowded. Why don’t you ride with me in my car back to school?”
“Thank you for the kind offer, Mr. Lu. But I have just married into the Qin family. It would be improper for me to be seen with an unrelated man. Otherwise, people might really say I am unworthy and give my husband an excuse to take a new wife.”
“Don’t you think that’s unfair? Qin Huai’an can gallivant around town freely, yet you have to worry about gossip just for taking a ride? Why not be like the modern women who believe in equality?”
“It is easy to know the truth, but hard to practice it. I am afraid my cultivation is not deep enough yet. I hope Mr. Lu can understand the difficulties of being a woman in this era.”
“Since you put it that way, I cannot force you.” Lu Fengchun glanced at his subordinate waiting nearby. “What are you standing there for? Take these things and put them on the Young Mistress’s rickshaw carefully.”
“Yes, Sir!”
“Goodbye, Mr. Lu.”
Jiang Ci got into her rickshaw and left.
Lu Fengchun stood there watching her go for a long time before getting into his own car.
His subordinate couldn’t help but ask, “Fifth Master, why didn’t you just put the stuff in the car and force her to come with you? She would have had no choice!”
“Idiots! You can’t appreciate fine food! Do you think I’m that impatient? From experience, women who speak softly but stand their ground are the hardest to win… but also the most rewarding.”
“Then why are you…”
“The harder they are to approach, the more devoted they become once they fall for you! You’ve been with me all these years and still don’t understand that logic?”
***
**Afternoon – Songjiang Chamber of Commerce**
Qin Yanchi sat behind a mahogany desk in the president’s office, holding a pen, carefully reading and signing documents brought by his secretary.
Zeng Juemi leaned casually against the desk, popping grapes into his mouth one by one, looking utterly bored.
Secretary Su watched him, trying desperately to hold in his laughter, his hand clenched into a fist against his nose.
Zeng Juemi noticed immediately. “What are you laughing at? I’m dying of boredom here! When will you finish signing these stupid papers?”
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
His subordinate Cao Mengxuan walked in and whispered something in Zeng Juemi’s ear.
“She sent Lu Fengchun away with just a few words?” Zeng Juemi’s eyes lit up like a dog finding a new toy. “And when she came out of school, she told the driver to go to a gambling house? Which one?”
“Daxin Gambling House.”
Zeng Juemi slammed his hand on the desk. “Ninth Brother! Are you done yet? Let’s go watch some stone gambling together!”
Qin Yanchi didn’t even look up. “I don’t understand anything about that. What’s the point?”
“Oh come on! You’ll learn by watching! It’s way more exciting than buying finished jewelry!” Afraid Qin Yanchi would refuse, he quickly added, “I booked a private room at Xinghua Restaurant anyway. After watching, we go straight to dinner. They even sent me the playbill! The famous Rongchun Troupe is performing tonight—*Su San Escorted to Court* and *Catching and Releasing Cao*!”
“All things you like. When did I ever say I enjoyed opera?”
“You are so hard to invite!” Zeng Juemi lost patience, grabbed the stack of documents, and waved them threateningly. “Are you coming or not? If not, I’m throwing these away!”
“Second Young Master! Don’t be impulsive!” Secretary Su’s eyes nearly popped out.
“Alright, alright. Stop messing around. Let’s go.”
Qin Yanchi sighed, picked up his hat and coat, and walked out. Zeng Juemi tossed the papers back to the secretary and scurried after him like an excited puppy.
***
**Daxin Gambling House**
This place wasn’t owned by the Qin family. It was a second-tier establishment, much smaller than the one run by the Second Branch, with a more limited selection of stones.
To avoid attracting attention, Qin Yanchi had the driver stop at the street corner. The two men walked the rest of the way alone.
Qin Yanchi always kept a low profile, and everyone inside was focused on the stones, so nobody noticed them enter.
“There she is…”
Zeng Juemi nudged Qin Yanchi with his elbow and pointed forward.
Qin Yanchi looked up and saw Jiang Ci standing there in her student uniform.
She wore her hair in a single thick braid, with soft bangs covering her forehead, revealing only her slender eyebrows. Her face was bare of any makeup, looking fresh, clean, and elegant like a water lily.
Qin Yanchi was stunned.
He hadn’t expected the wife of the Main Branch to look like this. Before meeting her, he had only a vague impression of a stuffy, old-fashioned lady—like a generic mask one draws for a stranger.
“How about it? Even you are stunned, right? Told you she’s a beauty…” Zeng Juemi grinned.
“Nonsense!” Qin Yanchi snapped back to his senses, frowning and scolding his brother-in-law. “Watch your words.”
Zeng Juemi ignored him, craning his neck to look. “What is she looking at? Usually people touch the stones to feel them…”
At that moment, Jiang Ci was staring intently at a piece of rough stone with a yellow sand skin, looking thoroughly confused.
This was the strangest image she had seen so far with her ability.
Inside the stone, the core was a solid, dense white mass. Surrounding it was a thick layer of misty, semi-translucent material, like layers of white gauze.
Unlike previous stones, she couldn’t see the distinct white energy threads she had learned to associate with translucency.
There was no clear boundary between the two layers, and the shapes were rounded and smooth.
It looked exactly like… a jade fried egg.
What on earth kind of jade was this?