Well, look at that. She was the target again.
She had originally thought this young lady might have some connection with Xia Linchuan and that she would get to enjoy some gossip. Who would have thought the gossip would end up being about her?
Before Jiang Zhiyu could say anything, the two young ladies standing behind that woman covered their mouths and began laughing, whispering something to each other.
Jiang Zhiyu could not hear what they said, but the other customers nearby who were choosing jewelry also covered their mouths, trying to hide their laughter.
She had originally decided not to bother with them, but after hearing those mocking laughs, she looked at the options that appeared before her and decisively chose “Fight back.”
Jiang Zhiyu was not angry at all. This kind of childish malice was nothing in her eyes.
She calmly glanced down at the official young lady and said in an unhurried manner, “Yes. Is there something you need?”
Although she came from an ordinary family, she showed not the slightest trace of fear when facing the daughter of an influential official. This caused the surrounding customers to turn their gazes toward her.
Xia Linchuan’s hand, which had been selecting jewelry, paused.
He had imagined that Jiang Zhiyu might feel wronged after being humiliated, that she might cry, or perhaps find herself unable to respond. These were problems that she would inevitably face after marrying him with her original background.
But as long as he was there, he absolutely would not let these official young ladies leave without paying a price.
What surprised him was that his future principal wife was extraordinarily… calm.
At this moment, a young woman wearing a pale blue sleeveless vest stepped forward from behind the official young lady. The two looked like close friends from the same social circle.
The woman smiled as she spoke, appearing to address Jiang Zhiyu, but in reality, every word was directed at the official young lady.
“Sister, that was not very well said. You asked the question incorrectly.
Since she is the future wife of Lord Xia, then naturally she will become the future principal wife of the heir. No matter what, we should address her respectfully as…”
She deliberately paused, leaving everyone hanging.
After a moment, she took small steps around Jiang Zhiyu, walking halfway around her. Her gaze swept over Jiang Zhiyu again before she curled her lips slightly.
“However, I have never heard of Miss Jiang from any family in the capital. I wonder which household she comes from?”
What a clever question.
There was no prominent official family in the capital with the surname Jiang. In other words, she was forcing Jiang Zhiyu to announce her own family background and humiliating herself in the process.
The official young lady put on an expression of sudden realization and deliberately exclaimed, “Ah!”
“I remember now. Is it that guduo shop in one of the city streets? I believe the owner’s surname is Jiang. But compared with the famous Fan Lou in the city, I am afraid such a place is rather beneath notice. No matter how delicious the food is, it is still only a humble little eatery.”
Her words sounded polite on the surface, but the insult was unmistakable.
The words “guduo shop” reached the ears of everyone present, and the meaning could not have been clearer.
The future principal wife of the heir was nothing more than the daughter of a street vendor, someone of extremely low status.
Knowing exactly what they were implying, smiles appeared on the faces of the young lady and the women behind her.
Jiang Zhiyu gave a cold laugh.
So after going around in such a big circle, all they wanted was to belittle her family background and humiliate her for supposedly being unworthy of Xia Linchuan.
At this moment, Xia Linchuan reached out and drew Jiang Zhiyu toward him, intending to take her away from this troublesome place. His eyes had already turned sharp.
“I will take you home first.”
Jiang Zhiyu gently pressed down the hand he had placed around her.
What a joke.
She was not some soft persimmon that anyone could squeeze whenever they pleased.
A smile appeared on her lips, even more courteous than those of the young ladies, and her tone was exceptionally gentle.
“This young lady certainly has excellent sources of information. My family does indeed run a guduo shop. My parents’ cooking skills are truly beyond reproach. Our family is not wealthy, so we can only afford to run a humble little eatery. However, as far as I know, quite a few influential officials and nobles in the capital have eaten there. Could it be that you are saying the identities of those distinguished people are only worthy of eating at our humble little shop and that they are not worthy of going to Fan Lou?”
“You!”
“I wonder what your family’s surname is and who your relatives are. Are they somehow more distinguished than all those influential officials and nobles?”
She deliberately paused, then imitated the young lady from earlier and let out a deliberately surprised “Ah!”
“Or perhaps you mean that your family is not as distinguished as those officials and therefore is not worthy of eating at my family’s guduo shop? It is no problem at all. If you want to try it, I can have one bowl reserved for you another day. Consider it a gesture of friendship.”
The young lady’s face turned red and then white with anger. She pressed her lips together stiffly, clearly never expecting this supposedly crude street girl to have such a sharp tongue.
Although there were quite a few customers in the shop, it had become frighteningly quiet at this moment. One could practically hear a pin drop.
The candlelight inside the shop illuminated the faces of those young women, revealing a wonderfully varied collection of expressions.
“Yes, my Xiaoyu said she wants to be friends with you. Would you be willing to do her the honor, Miss?”
The seemingly gentle and refined Xia Linchuan finally spoke, breaking the deadlock.
Yet the moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere around them became even colder.
He was clearly making it even more impossible for the young lady to save face.
Everyone fell silent as they looked toward Miss Jiang. There was no need to say anything more about just how much weight she carried in the heir’s heart.
The young lady twisted her lips, her expression extremely unpleasant.
Jiang Zhiyu looked at the several official young ladies standing opposite her. They exchanged glances and lowered their heads, no longer daring to look at her. Even their maids did not dare make a sound, all of them staring intently at the tips of their shoes. Even their breathing seemed unusually clear in the silence.
“Why have you stopped talking?”
Jiang Zhiyu deliberately asked the question.
【System Message: Congratulations, user has completed “The Noble Young Lady’s Provocation.” The probability of the God of Wealth dropping a rare treasure has increased.】
Oh, so this mission was not pointless after all.
Xia Linchuan stood beside Jiang Zhiyu without saying anything else, but wherever his eyes went, they remained fixed on her.
From the moment she gently pressed down the hand he had extended to take her away, to the moment she calmly and fearlessly responded to every insult, and finally to now, when she stood quietly beside him with her head slightly bowed, his gaze had never left her.
The faint coldness in his eyes, the distant indifference he usually showed toward the world, had somehow melted away without him noticing.
A very faint smile, one that others could hardly detect, now lingered in his eyes and at the corners of his lips.
He suddenly remembered leaving He Man Lou with her earlier.
When he had waited for her after she fell behind, he had watched her approach. Her steps were somewhat larger than those of ordinary women, and when the wind lifted her skirt, she did not bother to press it down. She simply walked toward him openly and naturally, standing beside him with clear spirited eyes.
Now, seeing her silence these people with just a few words, he found her even more interesting.
His Xiaoyu was like a little cat with its claws out, and no one could bully her.
The young lady finally realized that the situation had gotten somewhat out of control. She came back to her senses and forced a smile onto her face, just as she was about to say something when Xia Linchuan suddenly spoke.
He was not speaking to her.
“Shopkeeper.”
Xia Linchuan gently drew Jiang Zhiyu closer and turned slightly toward the shopkeeper. His voice was calm, carrying a trace of distance.
Rather than saying that he had not taken those official young ladies seriously, it was more accurate to say that he was deliberately ignoring them.
“Is there still a private room available upstairs?”
The shopkeeper’s forehead was covered in sweat. He had been worrying about how to bring the situation to an end, so the moment he heard Xia Linchuan’s words, he hurriedly nodded and made an inviting gesture.
“Yes, yes, there is. Heir, Miss Jiang, please take your seats. Please follow me to the third floor.”
Xia Linchuan stood between Jiang Zhiyu and the several official young ladies, separating them. Then, without touching her directly, he guided Jiang Zhiyu up the stairs with an arm held protectively around her.
The meaning of his actions could not have been clearer.
No irrelevant people were permitted to disturb them.
The young lady’s face turned even paler.
Jiang Zhiyu’s eyes curved with delight. She proudly tilted her head as she walked, then whispered, “How was that? Was I impressed?”
Xia Linchuan smiled indulgently, his voice carrying a hint of lightheartedness.
“You were the most impressive.”
The private room on the third floor was even quieter than the one below, and its furnishings and decorations were more elegant and distinctive.
The window was half open, allowing the breeze to pass through the room.
Several celadon vases stood on a shelf against the wall, each holding a few freshly cut branches of osmanthus. The tiny golden flowers clustered together, releasing just the right amount of sweet fragrance.
This time, the shopkeeper personally carried several brocade boxes into the room. He placed them on the rosewood table beside the window, arranged them neatly in a row, and opened them one by one.
Inside lay numerous pieces of jewelry Jiang Zhiyu had never seen before.
Under the candlelight, the exquisite translucent jade pieces emitted a soft, warm luster.
The shopkeeper eagerly began introducing them.
“Heir, Miss Jiang, these pieces all arrived recently. They are made from Hetian jade, the finest white jade.”
As he spoke, he handed the pieces over for the two of them to examine.
“Please look at this jade hairpin, heir. It is carved in the shape of a magnolia blossom. The carving was done by an old master craftsman from Suzhou. You will not find a second one like it anywhere in the capital.”
Xia Linchuan did not take it.
Instead, he looked toward Jiang Zhiyu beside him.
The remaining light inside the room fell across half of her profile, dyeing the fine, soft hairs on her face a faint golden color. She was looking down at the hairpins and jade ornaments with great concentration. Her long eyelashes cast a small shadow beneath her eyes, while her lips were slightly pursed as though she were carefully considering something.
Before, he had only been drawn to her pair of bright, sparkling eyes.
Now, he suddenly realized that her features were exceptionally beautiful as well.
“Which one do you like?”
He asked.
Jiang Zhiyu looked up at him, a trace of surprise in her eyes.
Was this a signal that the God of Wealth was actively giving her a reward?
Her lips immediately curved into a delighted smile, and her gaze honestly settled on the magnolia hairpin.
The white jade was so warm and lustrous that it seemed to contain a layer of moonlight. The head of the hairpin had been carved into a half opened magnolia blossom, the edges of its petals carrying the faintest hint of green, as though they still held the morning dew.
The center of the magnolia was an exquisitely translucent white, making the entire piece look like a lifelike flower about to bloom.
There were no unnecessary decorations. It was simple and understated, yet exceptionally elegant, making it impossible to look away.
With a sincere and slightly foolish smile, Jiang Zhiyu said to Xia Linchuan, “This one.”
A trace of tenderness flashed through Xia Linchuan’s eyes. Almost without thinking, he reached out and gently rubbed the top of her head.
Then he turned toward the shopkeeper, his voice returning to its usual calm tone.
“Wrap it up.”
This was the first time they had ever had physical contact.
Jiang Zhiyu could still smell the clean medicinal fragrance lingering on his sleeve when he raised his hand.
【System Message: Congratulations, user has obtained one Linglong Pavilion magnolia hairpin.】
She was secretly delighted.
The shopkeeper was naturally overjoyed as well, repeatedly praising the young madam for her excellent taste and the heir for his discerning eye.
While the shopkeeper was wrapping the magnolia hairpin, Xia Linchuan suddenly seemed to think of something.
“Do not wrap it. Give it to me.”
He stood facing her. He was more than half a head taller than Jiang Zhiyu.
At that moment, the candlelight illuminated half of his profile, outlining a clear and distinct jawline. He lowered his eyes, his gaze falling upon her hair. His expression remained calm and unreadable, yet he looked exceptionally serious, as though carefully examining something.
Jiang Zhiyu began to feel a little uncomfortable under his stare.
She had washed her hair that morning, so what was he looking at? Had he noticed something strange?
“What are you doing?”
What was he planning to do?
In the next moment, Xia Linchuan took the magnolia hairpin, raised his hand, and gently inserted it into her hair.