Great Ying Dynasty.
Southern Territory, Southern Capital City.
It was the end of the season, the time when merchants of all trades went to inspect the accounts of their shops.
Shen Qingyao, an orphaned merchant’s daughter, was no exception.
The carriage rumbled along the bustling streets of the city.
Inside the carriage, Shen Qingyao wore an emerald-green silk dress, draped with a matching sheer outer layer. Her long hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her appearance was breathtakingly beautiful.
She gently fanned herself with a round silk fan, gazing leisurely through the window screen at the outside world. Her eyes, though lazy, held a trace of shrewdness cultivated from a merchant family.
“Miss, should you wear a veil later?” her maid Xiao Mei routinely asked. Her young mistress’s beauty was too striking, and Xiao Mei always felt anxious whenever they went out.
“No need, we’ll enter through the back door,” Shen Qingyao replied calmly, her voice clear and crisp.
In this life, she had been reborn here. Though she was an orphaned merchant’s daughter who lost her parents early, she was fortunate to have an uncle who held the rank of a third-grade general protecting her. Ordinary people dared not bully her, so there was no need to hide her appearance when visiting her own shop.
The carriage soon stopped at the back door of the Brocade Gallery.
“Boss, you’re here!” a shop assistant greeted her with a beaming smile.
Shen Qingyao, holding Xiao Mei’s hand, stepped down from the carriage. Her gaze fell on the assistant’s face, carrying her usual scrutiny and composure.
“You’re Xiao Wang, right?” she asked, slightly frowning.
The assistant’s mouth twitched. “Boss, I’m Xiao Ma. You saw me last season.”
“Hehe!” Xiao Mei couldn’t help but chuckle.
Her young mistress always struggled to remember the names of the shop assistants.
Xiao Ma?
Shen Qingyao was trying hard to recall.
Just then, a familiar voice suddenly sounded from behind her.
“Qingyao?”
Hmm?
She paused slightly. Was it her uncle?
She immediately turned and looked up, her gaze following the voice until it landed on an open window on the second floor of a tavern across the street.
The distance was close, and the view was crystal clear.
Inside the window stood three men dressed in luxurious attire. Among them was her uncle, Liu Hui, looking at her with a warm smile.
However.
Her gaze lingered on her uncle’s face for only a moment before it was firmly captured by the man standing beside him—dressed in dark robes with ink-black hair, his appearance strikingly elegant.
That man was also looking at her.
He stood by the window, his imposing posture as straight as a pine tree. His eyes were pitch-black, like deep pools, and at this moment, they were fixed on her with an intense, undisguised scrutiny and curiosity.
It was not the gaze of an ordinary man captivated by beauty but rather a sharp, piercing look—as if someone from the clouds was looking down upon the mortal world.
Involuntarily, Shen Qingyao felt a chill in her heart.
A strange sense of danger crept up her spine and rushed to her mind.
She recognized him.
This was the Southern Prince, Song Jiuchen.
But his gaze…
She hurriedly shifted her eyes back to her uncle, forcing a sweet smile onto her lips.
“Greetings, Uncle,” she said, pretending not to know the man, her voice as steady as she could manage. Clutching her round fan, she glanced at the sheer outer layer half-draped over her arm, wanting to pull it up but feeling it would be too deliberate.
Unbeknownst to her, the man took in her subtle reaction. As his gaze swept over her fair and smooth arm, a faint, teasing smile flickered at the corner of his lips!
Inside the open window, Liu Hui smiled at her, naturally noticing her tension. He then glanced at Song Jiuchen beside him.
Seeing him staring intently at his virtuous niece, Liu Hui also glanced at Xiao Che beside him, who was doing the same. After a moment of silence, he asked Shen Qingyao with a smile.
“Here to check the accounts?”
“Yes.” Shen Qingyao nodded obediently, keeping her gaze fixed straight ahead, yet she could still feel that cold, stern stare clinging to her, making her scalp tingle.
Liu Hui knew she wanted to leave as soon as possible and also understood it was inappropriate to introduce the two men beside her to her.
Because their statuses were worlds apart.
He said gently, “Then go attend to your matters.”
“Alright.” Shen Qingyao felt as if she had been granted a reprieve. She quickly curtsied, turned swiftly, ignoring the oppressive gaze that seemed to follow her like a shadow, and almost fled in haste through the back door of the gallery.
She was utterly unnerved!
Xiao Mei and Xiao Ma hurriedly followed.
Inside the latticed window.
Liu Hui smiled and explained to Song Jiuchen beside him, “Your Highness, that young lady just now is a niece of mine, surnamed Shen.”
Song Jiuchen did not respond. He half-squinted, his gaze calm as it followed the disappearing flash of emerald-green skirt downstairs until it vanished completely into the gallery door.
After a moment of silence, he replied very faintly, “Hmm.”
Then he turned and left the windowsill.
No one could glimpse the flicker of keen interest that flashed in the depths of his profound eyes!
The backyard of the gallery.
Xiao Mei patted her chest, still fearful, and whispered, “Miss, that man in the middle just now… was that the Southern Prince?”
Shen Qingyao walked on, clutching her round fan tightly, her brows furrowed deeply. “If it wasn’t him, who else could it be?”
Yet she was utterly perplexed. Why would a noble of such exalted status as the Southern Prince, a figure from the clouds above, condescend to come to a place like this?
And that look he gave her just now—so focused… ugh.
She grimaced slightly.
“Miss,” Xiao Mei also lowered her voice worriedly, “The Southern Prince was staring at you the whole time! Could he possibly…”
“No.”
Shen Qingyao quickly interrupted, feigning composure as she rolled her eyes. “Don’t speculate wildly. The Southern Prince has very high standards when choosing women. How could a mere orphaned merchant’s daughter like me possibly catch his eye?”
She said this as if to convince Xiao Mei, but even more to reassure herself.
Yet the unease in her heart did not completely dissipate with this self-comfort.
Forget it, better to hurry and get busy. Perhaps keeping occupied would make things better.
Counting more banknotes—that relieves stress.
That night, on the second floor of Drifting Clouds Teahouse.
Shen Qingyao soaked in the warm water, eyes closed, resting her mind.
After a busy day, indeed, the unease in her heart finally began to fade slowly.
Then.
Xiao Mei, while combing her long hair, brought up the old matter again: “Miss, I… I still feel uneasy…”
As she spoke, she tilted her head to look at Shen Qingyao’s face. “If the Southern Prince really takes a fancy to you, what will you do? General Liu probably couldn’t protect you either, right? Shouldn’t you make plans early?”
“Tsk! You girl…”
Really bringing up the very subject one wishes to avoid.
Amidst the misty steam, Shen Qingyao had already opened her eyes. Xiao Mei’s question left her gaze complex and grave.
“Plans? What plans?”
She shook her head, pursed her lips, and scooped a handful of warm water to pour over herself.
After a pause, she said, “I can’t just run away because of wild guesses, can I? Where could a weak woman like me go to settle down? Leaving my uncle would make me even less safe. And what about this vast family business? Can I just abandon it?”
Xiao Mei thought for a moment after hearing this. “That’s true.”
“So, let’s not worry about troubles before they come. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it!”
Shen Qingyao, talking to herself, comforted herself once more.
The next day at Chen hour, after breakfast, she leaned against her own windowsill, looking across the way.
Opposite was another teahouse, its window directly facing hers.
The teahouse owner was Mo Niang, her sworn rival, though she hadn’t seen that woman around these past few days.
“Miss.”
Just then, Xiao Mei hurried in. “Miss, there’s a man in brocade robes downstairs, carrying a sword. I’ve never seen him before, but he says he was sent by General Liu and is looking for you.”
“…”
Shen Qingyao was momentarily stunned. Sent by her uncle?
She quickly lifted her skirt and rushed out of the accounting room, stepping into the corridor to look down.
Standing in the main hall below was a man in brocade robes, holding a sword. He appeared quite imposing and was rather handsome.
However, the man was a stranger. Not only had Xiao Mei never seen him before, but she herself had never noticed anyone like him around her Uncle Liu!
Instinctively, her guard went up.
A sense of impending danger surged from deep within her heart!