Chapter 27 Pear Blossom Hairpin

Led by the Wanshang Alliance, many martial arts practitioners gradually arrived in Jingzhou City. These martial arts practitioners, aside from anything else, possessed great strength and were skilled at moving stones and carrying bricks.

During a break from work, Yang Bai inquired about it and learned that the Fulai Inns in various places had received instructions to set up time-limited commissions at the commission points of the Jianghu posting points in the inns.

During the reconstruction of Jingzhou, any martial arts practitioners who go to Jingzhou to help can receive a high salary.

To ensure order, the person who issued the commission, Huo Shengge, the leader of the Wanshang Alliance, appeared in Jingzhou to oversee the operation.

Huo Shengge made a deal with Li Wanjing, asking him to break down the reconstruction work into smaller parts, write them down on a notice board each day, and have the tasks taken by martial arts practitioners. Once the officials confirmed the task was completed, they could come to her to collect their wages.

The salary was entirely in her hands. All Li Wanjing had to do was agree to let her establish a branch of the Wanshang Alliance in Jingzhou and give her as much autonomy as possible.

Reconstruction is time-consuming, material-intensive, and manpower-intensive. Li Wanjing is not the kind of person who doesn't know how to be flexible. Since someone has offered him a convenience, he naturally accepted it.

When Shang Yuji went out to help, she noticed that more and more people were coming to Jingzhou, all working towards a common goal. She witnessed firsthand how quickly the city was rebuilt and revitalized.

Everything is developing steadily and positively.

.

Half a month later, the basic framework of Jingzhou had been established, with some details still to be filled in. Shang Yuji could not do much more by staying here any longer, so she decided to return to Yangzhou in a few days.

Doctor Yan originally planned to go to Yangzhou to talk to Huo Wei and take care of the matter entrusted to him by his friend. Although he was delayed for several days by the flood in Jingzhou, Huo Shenge also came to Jingzhou, so he went directly to Huo Shenge and told her about the matter.

Both of them are very reliable, so he can rest assured when he entrusts things to them.

With everything settled, Yan Qing felt relieved and followed Shang Xiaoni back to Yangzhou to see his junior brother and then study the Gu poison on Jiang Langjun's body together.

On the morning of the day of departure, Jiang Xi mysteriously took out an exquisitely crafted wooden box and said to Shang Yuji, who had just woken up and was still a little dazed, "Aji, this is a hairpin I'm giving you."

Shang Yuji took the wooden box and thanked her, saying, "Thank you, Xiqu... May I open it and take a look?"

"sure."

A warm, damp towel was gently placed on her face. She closed her eyes and waited for him to finish.

After wiping her face clean, Shang Yuji felt much more awake. She opened the wooden box, inside which was a silver-white pear blossom hairpin.

Judging from the craftsmanship and style of the hairpin, it must be quite expensive. Shang Yuji placed the wooden box on the dressing table, picked up the hairpin, and the hairpin made a crisp sound as it was shaken.

She turned to look at the person searching for the sandalwood comb, and asked with a light laugh, "You went out yesterday afternoon just to buy this?"

"Okay!" Jiang Xi responded. "Aji, sit down first, I'll comb your hair."

Shang Yuji sat down in front of the bronze mirror and put the hairpin back into the wooden box: "Then today I will wear this pear blossom hairpin."

"It's so beautiful, I love it."

"I'm glad Aji likes it!" Jiang Xi said, tying her hair up while happily thinking about buying another gift for Aji next time.

The Wanshangmeng branch was recently completed. At that time, people were struggling to make ends meet after the disaster and would not spend money on jewelry.

This pear blossom hairpin is one of the new items from the Wanshang Alliance for next month. Huo Shengge had it displayed simply for its appearance, and never expected anyone to buy it.

Unexpectedly, a handsome young man lingered outside the shop several times, and Huo Shengge happened to discover him. She sent someone to check his identity and found out that he was one of the first groups to arrive in Jingzhou, besides her and the Princess's caravan.

Although they seemed to belong to the same camp as the eldest princess, there were some doubts that Huo Shengge had been curious about for a long time.

For example, even though she had planned to go to Yangzhou, she heard about the floods in Jingzhou on the way, which was enough for her to rush to Jingzhou, but she still arrived in Jingzhou about ten days later than them.

The place where she turned around halfway was much shorter than the distance from Yangzhou to Jingzhou, yet the other person still arrived before her.

Besides them, the timing of the Princess's caravan's arrival was also suspicious. She had seen the doubts of the people of Jingzhou, but she understood that this was not a problem of the imperial court.

Judging by the distance, the imperial court might have only received the urgent report half a month ago. How could it be like the Princess's convoy, which seemed to have foreseen the flood in Jingzhou and arrived in Jingzhou before the urgent report even reached the capital?

Moreover, these days, while cooperating with Governor Li, it seems that the governor is helping to cover something up regarding her roundabout inquiries about the princess's convoy.

They definitely had some kind of deal she was unaware of.

Since that's the case, Huo Shengge stepped forward warmly and persuaded Jiang Xi, who had passed by many times, to stay: "Young master, which item in our shop have you taken a fancy to? Come in and have a look."

Jiang Xi took two steps back and quickly waved her hands in refusal, saying, "No, it's not necessary."

He had already asked the servant, and the hairpin he had his eye on cost three hundred taels of silver, but his wages, when calculated, would amount to at most one hundred taels. This was only because Ah Ji would occasionally be in a good mood and give him a raise to save up the money.

Jiang Xi is working hard to save money, but whenever he sees something interesting or a delicious snack, he wants to buy some to take back to Aji.

However, he didn't regret it. The most important thing was that Aji was happy. He could buy other hairpins later!

Despite thinking this, Jiang Xi couldn't resist going inside and pointing to the snow-white pear blossom hairpin, asking, "Will this hairpin be sold in Yangzhou?"

Huo Shengge glanced at the hairpin he was pointing to and replied, "This is a new item. It depends on the master's arrangements. But young master, you can tell me your budget, and I'll try to get it for you."

"I have one hundred and five taels of silver and sixty copper coins... Is it really possible to get them?"

Huo Shengge could tell from the mix of small and large items that this was all of his wealth.

She smiled even more warmly: "Of course! With Jingzhou being rebuilt, hardly anyone visits our shop. You are our first customer, sir. So today I'll make the decision and give you a hundred taels. What do you think, sir?"

Jiang Xi was surprised that it actually worked, and quickly nodded: "Okay, then wait for me, all my money is in the manor, I'll get it tomorrow!"

"Yes, yes, thank you for patronizing our business, sir."

...This was because Shang Yuji was curious about the price of the hairpin and asked about it, which is how she found out the reason.

She was saying that with Jiang Xi's small private savings, how could she afford this hairpin that didn't look cheap?

The other party may have some ulterior motives, wanting to make some connections through this, but those things can be dealt with later when they happen again. Jiang Xi doesn't understand these intricacies.

Jiang Xi went to put her hair up, intending to ask for praise, but she keenly sensed her sudden change in emotion and hesitated, saying, "Aji, what did I do wrong? Should I not have bought this hairpin? Did I get scammed?"

His fingertips trembled, afraid that he had done something wrong and caused trouble for Aji.

Fortunately, the hair bun was almost finished, only needing the hairpin to be put on, so it wouldn't be messed up and require starting over because of his momentary distraction.

"How could that be? It wasn't your fault this time. The other party was intentionally trying to take the initiative. No matter how well we try to prevent it, there will always be times when we are careless, right?" Shang Yuji comforted her.

"Everything has a price. Sometimes it's best to settle a deal with a clear price. I have a way to resolve this, but I'll have to trouble Xi."

Jiang Xi, hearing that it could solve the problem, suppressed the soreness in her nose and said, "Aji, I'm fine, just tell me."

He couldn't let Ah Ji get into trouble; he wasn't going to be wronged!

Seeing that his eyes were slightly red and moist, Shang Yuji took the sandalwood comb and gently patted his arm: "Okay, sit down first, I'll tie it for you and talk to you at the same time."

"Should we still wear those hairpins?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly.

Before Shang Yuji could get up, she pulled his hand over and covered half of her face with it, mimicking his gesture, and rubbed it against him with a smile: "Wear it, why wouldn't I wear it? This is a gift from Xi Qu, so of course I have to wear it."

“Ah Ji…”

"Yes, I'm here."

"I...I put it on Aji, oh, Aji doesn't mind me, Aji is so good, Aji is the best..."

After the hairpin was put on, Shang Yuji stood up, took his hand, put down the sandalwood comb, and gently wiped away the falling tears with her free hand: "Don't cry. I really like the gift you gave me. You should be happy."

"I've caused trouble for Aji, I'm so sorry, Aji."

A weight pressed down on his shoulders, and he curled up, nestled in her arms, as if her embrace was the safest place he could find.

Shang Yuji put her arm around his back and patted him gently, coaxing, "Do you still want to hear my solution? Help me get rid of this hidden trouble?"

“…Yes, I want it.” His voice came from the side of his neck, somewhat hoarse and deep.

"Then get up and sit down. You can sit and cry slowly while I tie your hair up."

Jiang Xi reluctantly got up, holding her arms with both hands, and timidly looked up at her, her eyes glistening with tears and filled with tenderness. She whispered, "I'll tie it myself, no need to trouble Aji."

"What? You don't like my hair-tying skills?"

This time, he answered decisively: "No!"

"Then sit still."

"oh."

Brushing his smooth, black hair aside, Shang Yuji said, "I'll give you two hundred taels of silver later. You should take the money over there quickly to thank her for her kindness. Also, your elders at home don't want her to lose money, so they asked you to come back and make up for it."

Jiang Xi listened attentively, keeping her head still, and replied, "Okay! I understand."

"Whether she accepts it or not, give her the money and come back quickly, saying that the convoy is about to leave and you need to leave in time."

Jiang Xi blinked in the mirror, no longer shedding tears, but her tone was somewhat downcast: "So this gift was ultimately bought by Aji, it can't really be considered a gift from me..."

Shang Yuji laughed a few times: "Didn't I say I would make you suffer? So I'll make you suffer by taking a few months' less pay and make up for it with these two hundred taels."

"I'm not wronged, I still have Ah Ji to support me."

She tied her hair up and pinched the soft flesh on his right cheek without hesitation: "Yes, and so am I."

Jiang Xi quickly tidied up, cheered himself up, delivered the two hundred taels to the shop, listened to A Ji's words without saying a word, and hurried back before the caravan departed.

When Huo Shengge finally realized what was happening, she was both amused and exasperated, and exclaimed: "That Miss Shang is really calculating; she can't stand to suffer even the slightest loss."