Chapter 145 Plum Blossom

The onlookers were whispering to each other, some sympathizing with the old man, others just enjoying the excitement, but no one dared to step forward. The fat man looked like someone who was not to be trifled with.

Pei Ji frowned. In broad daylight, at the foot of the imperial city, such a bullying and bullying act actually occurred.

As an official appointed by the imperial court, he could not sit idly by and watch. He subconsciously wanted to stand up.

However, someone was faster than him.

Almost at the same time when the fat servant started to push the old man, a green shadow passed by like the wind.

Pei Ji only felt a flash before his eyes, and when he looked again, Xie Wuqi had come down the stairs and appeared in the crowd.

His movements were astonishingly fast, and he didn't seem to use much strength. He just pushed and pulled casually, and the two servants who were about to commit the crime cried out in pain, staggered to the sides and fell back, almost falling on their butts.

Xie Wuqi stood in front of the old man who was huddled in fear, still with that lazy smile on his face, looking at the fat businessman: "Boss, don't be so angry. If you have something to say, talk it over nicely. It's not polite to use force."

The fat man was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting that Cheng Yaojin would appear in the middle of the road.

He looked Xie Wuqi up and down, and seeing that he was dressed in ordinary clothes and didn't look like someone powerful, he immediately became arrogant again: "Who are you? Where did you come from? How dare you meddle in my business? Get out of here! Or I'll beat you up too!"

Xie Wuqi was not angry. Instead, he bent down and picked up the largest piece of porcelain from the broken pieces on the ground. He held it in his hand, looked at it carefully, and even held it up to the sunlight.

"Boss, you said this is a jade huchun vase from the official kiln?" he asked slowly.

"Nonsense! How can it be worth fifty taels if it's not from the official kiln?" The fat man put his hands on his hips and spit flew everywhere.

"Oh?" Xie Wuqi's lips curled up, his smile carrying a hint of obvious sarcasm. "But I see, the body is a bit rough and loose, the glaze isn't lustrous enough, and the inscription on the bottom...tsk, it's written so crookedly, like a dog crawling. If the master craftsman of the official kiln was this good, he would have been beheaded long ago, right?"

Everyone around heard it clearly and immediately burst into low laughter.

The fat man's face instantly turned the color of liver: "You, you are talking nonsense! You know nothing!"

"I don't quite understand." Xie Wuqi played with the porcelain fragment and smiled, "I just know that a real official kiln jade pot spring vase has a dignified shape, jade-like glaze, and sounds like a chime. Your pile of fragments..."

He gently kicked the porcelain pieces on the ground with his toes, making a dull sound. "Listen to this sound, it's as muffled as a broken gong. Besides, if this bottle is really that valuable, why would you just put it on the stall like this? Aren't you afraid that someone will take it away?"

He paused, his eyes sweeping over the other fancy-looking porcelains on the fat man's stall, and said meaningfully, "I see you have quite a few similar official kiln treasures here. Boss, your business is quite impressive."

As soon as these words were spoken, the discussion around them became louder.

Everyone was not stupid, and they immediately realized that this fat man was probably a scammer who was trying to extort money from people! The old man was just unlucky and had run into a trap!

The fat man's trick was exposed, and he immediately became angry and pointed at Xie Wuqi: "You! You are slandering me! You are ruining my business! Beat him! Beat him to death!"

The two servants pounced on him again.

Pei Ji upstairs' eyes fixed, his hands already on his waist.

He carried a soft sword with him. Although Xie Wuqi seemed to know some boxing and kicking skills, the other side had more people...

But his worries were completely unnecessary.

Xie Wuqi's body swayed, and he easily avoided a fist from a servant. At the same time, he hooked his foot seemingly inadvertently, and the servant lost his balance and fell to the ground with a thud.

Another servant swung his fist at him, but Xie Wuqi didn't dodge. He just stretched out two fingers and tapped lightly on the pulse point of the servant's wrist.

"Ouch!" The servant felt his entire arm suddenly become numb and weak, and it dropped limply, his face full of horror.

Xie Wuqi barely moved, still standing there calmly. He brushed off the nonexistent dust from his hands and smiled at the stunned fat man, "Boss, are you still going to fight? Or... how about we go to the government office and discuss the origins of these 'official kiln treasures' of yours?"

The fat man looked at the servant who was groaning on the ground and unable to get up, then looked at Xie Wuqi's deep smile, and finally realized that he had hit a wall. His face turned from red to white, and then from white to blue, and cold sweat broke out.

"You, you are so cruel!" He said this harshly in a cowardly manner, and no longer cared about the stall. He yelled at the two servants, "Waste! Get out of here!", then he squeezed through the crowd and ran away in shame, not even taking the porcelain pieces on the ground with him.

There was a burst of cheers and applause all around.

The old man had escaped death and was about to kneel down and kowtow to Xie Wuqi: "Thank you so much, benefactor! Thank you so much for saving my life!"

Xie Wuqi quickly reached out to support him, saying gently, "Old man, this won't work. Please get up. Be careful when you go into the city next time, and stay away from stalls like this."

He fished out some small change from his pocket and stuffed it into the old man's hand: "You've been frightened. Go buy a bowl of hot soup to calm your nerves."

The old man thanked him profusely and then left, wiping his tears.

The crowd gradually dispersed.

Xie Wuqi stood in the mess, the sunlight shining on his blue robe, as if it was coated with a layer of gold.

He bent down, picked up the largest piece of porcelain, tossed it in his hand, then shook his head and threw it into the trash can next to him.

After doing all this, he seemed to remember something, raised his head and looked towards the window on the second floor of Taibai Building.

Just in time, he met Pei Ji's condescending gaze.

Xie Wuqi grinned at him, revealing a row of neat white teeth, and the sunlight was so bright that it was a little dazzling.

He also raised his hand and waved at Pei Ji. His posture was relaxed and at ease, as if he had just casually swatted away an annoying fly.

Pei Ji stood in front of the window with an expressionless face.

Xie Wuqi downstairs seemed like two completely different people from the seemingly unrestrained and uninhibited scholar he had just talked to upstairs.

Dexterous and observant.

This person is definitely not as simple as he appears.

Pei Ji looked at his relaxed smile, but instead of feeling relieved, he felt as if something was gripping him even tighter.

He had originally thought that Xie Wuqi was just a charismatic figure with some flair for martial arts, relying on their childhood friendship to impress Luo Zhaohan. Now it seemed he was wrong.

This person hides very deeply.

Like a gust of wind, you think you have caught him, but he has already slipped through your fingers without leaving a trace.

Would such a person really be like he said, that his feelings for Luo Zhaohan were just out of affection? Would he really leave so easily?

For the first time, Pei Ji felt a strong sense of uncertainty about this marriage arranged by his parents.

He looked at the man in blue downstairs who was bathing in the sunshine and smiling brightly. A dark light gradually settled in the depths of his eyes.

Xie Wuqi clapped his hands, straightened his robe which was not at all messy, took a step, and walked back into Taibai Tower slowly.

The sound of footsteps came again on the stairs, still unhurried.

Pei Ji slowly sat back in his seat, picked up the teacup and took a sip.

The tea had gone cold again without me noticing.

The footsteps went up the stairs slowly, tap, tap, tap, and each step seemed to knock on people's hearts, with a lazy echo.

Pei Ji sat there, not moving, and did not take a second sip of the herbal tea in his hand. His fingertips unconsciously stroked the smooth wall of the cup.

The sunlight from outside the window shone in obliquely, covering half of his body in the light, but the light seemed unable to warm him. Instead, it made the other half of his profile hidden in the shadows look even colder and harder.

Xie Wuqi is back.

He was still the same, with a smile on his face. He walked back to the table, lifted his clothes and sat down again. His movements were so smooth that it seemed as if he had just gone out for some fresh air instead of going downstairs to deal with a minor incident.

"Tsk, disturbing my peace." He picked up the pot of tea, which was beginning to cool, and refilled himself half a cup, shaking his head. "It's a good day for tea, but something like this happened. It ruins the mood."

As he spoke, he looked up at Pei Ji. His amber eyes were too clear in the light, with a hint of inquiry in them, but it also seemed as if he was just asking casually, "Did you scare me, Brother Pei?"

This question made Pei Ji sneer in his heart.

He was the commander of the Gyeonggi Patrol Battalion and had walked through countless sword fights. How could he be frightened by the extortion of a mere ruffian downstairs?

"Master Xie, you're joking." Pei Ji's voice was emotionless. "Master Xie, you're quite skilled and have a good eye."

His words sounded like praise, but in fact they were pointing out something.

I can see clearly that you are not an ordinary scholar.

Xie Wuqi seemed not to understand the meaning, or rather, he didn't care at all.

He waved his hand with a smile, not caring at all: "Well, what's with all that skill and vision? It's just that I've traveled a lot and seen a lot of rubbish, so practice makes perfect. You can't just stand by and watch an honest person suffer, right?"

He said it lightly, clearing himself of all charges, as if his nimble moves and the insight that had exposed the deception were just a natural reaction.

Pei Ji didn't respond.

His eyes fell on Xie Wuqi's washed-out blue shirt, which seemed to have been stained with dust from the work he had done downstairs. Xie Wuqi noticed it himself and casually flicked it with his fingers, his movements natural, without any embarrassment or discomfort.

This person seems to be unusually indifferent to material possessions and the opinions of others.

This kind of indifference is not a disguised righteousness, but a true indifference.

Pei Ji felt very uncomfortable seeing this trait appear in a man who might have a special relationship with his fiancée.

"Master Xie just said that he would leave Jiangzhou when he had seen enough?" Pei Ji brought the subject back, his voice still calm, as if confirming an insignificant matter. "I wonder how long it will take?"

Xie Wuqi picked up the teacup and blew away the non-existent foam on it. His eyelashes drooped, making it impossible to see the true emotion in his eyes.

"That's hard to say." He took a sip of tea and said slowly, "Jiangzhou may be small, but it has everything. There's delicious food, fun things to do, interesting people... Who knows, one day I might run into something like what I just did, and I'll need to speak out against injustice. Wouldn't that make life even more fulfilling?"

He raised his eyes and looked at Pei Ji with a smile: "Brother Pei, don't you agree? In this life, plans can never keep up with the rapid changes."

He kicked the ball back lightly, his words were very precise, he neither promised to leave immediately nor said he would stay for a long time, but instead emphasized a kind of unpredictability of taking things as they come.

Pei Ji's fingers holding the teacup tightened for a moment.

Just then, footsteps were heard at the stairs again, this time a little hurried.

A capable man in an ordinary gray cloth shorts came up quickly, took a quick look, and walked straight to Pei Ji, leaning over and whispering a few words.

Pei Ji listened without changing his expression. He nodded slightly, and the servant immediately bowed and retreated, disappearing silently at the stairs.

During the whole process, Xie Wuqi seemed not to notice and just drank his tea. He even leisurely dipped his fingers in the tea and unconsciously drew some patterns on the table.

Pei Ji turned his gaze back to Xie Wuqi and spoke calmly, as if the incident had never happened: "Speaking of which, Master Xie and Zhao Han have known each other since childhood, so he must be very familiar with her preferences."

Xie Wuqi paused his fingers as he drew the pattern, then continued without looking up, a nonchalant smile in his voice: "Who remembers childhood things so clearly? It's nothing more than the things little girls like, flowers, plants, sweet snacks and so on. It's been so many years, people will change. What does Sister Zhaohan like now? Brother Pei, your fiancé, don't you know better than me?"

He cleverly threw the question back again, his tone relaxed, even a little teasing, as if he was really just chatting.

But Pei Ji was not led astray by him.

"People do change." Pei Ji's voice deepened, his gaze fixed on Xie Wuqi's nimble fingers. "But some things, deep down, can't change. For example, I don't like sweets, but I love the bitter taste of Yunwu tea."

Xie Wuqi's fingers paused for a moment this time. Although he quickly resumed his movements, the momentary stagnation did not escape Pei Ji's eyes.

On the table, the water stain vaguely outlines what seems to be a simplified winter plum blossom?

Plum blossoms, Luo Zhaohan. Her name contains the word "Han", and she loves plum blossoms the most in her life.

Pei Ji's heart felt as if it was suddenly stung by something, and a subtle but sharp pain spread.

According to the information he found, when Luo Zhaohan returned to his hometown last year and met Xie Wuqi, it was Bai Mei who planted the seeds in the courtyard.

Xie Wuqi finally raised his head, the smile on his face seemed to fade a little, and in those amber eyes that always smiled, something else was clearly reflected for the first time, like an undercurrent suddenly surging beneath the calm surface of a lake.

He looked at Pei Ji without saying anything.

Pei Ji no longer concealed his feelings, his eyes sharp as a knife, staring directly at Xie Wuqi: "Master Xie seems to remember it very clearly."

Xie Wuqi looked at him for a moment, and suddenly, the corners of his mouth slowly curled up again, but the smile did not reach his eyes.

"Brother Pei invited me for tea today," he began slowly, his voice much deeper and slower than before. "So you're not here to discuss Jiang Feng and taste the new tea, but to check my household registration?"

He leaned forward slightly, looking at Pei Ji across the mahogany table. His eyes were no longer lazy, but sharp. "Why go around in circles? If you want to know something, just ask directly. Sister Zhaohan and I have known each other since childhood, so our relationship is naturally different from others. But this relationship is clean and aboveboard, and has never crossed the line. I wonder if this can put Brother Pei at ease?"