Chapter 44 is difficult to handle.

As the crowd surged forward, Jiang Xi held Shang Yuji tightly in his arms, carefully moving in the direction of the crowd's flow.

After the villagers of Shangmiao, who had kept their merits hidden, dispersed as if nothing had happened, the two were no longer in the place they had just been.

Having escaped the surging crowd, the two were disheveled, with a few stray hairs sticking out and swaying in the wind, proclaiming their existence. Even their clothes could not escape the fate of being squeezed and wrinkled.

The two were like birds preening each other's feathers, cleaning each other up little by little.

Jiang Xi took off the pom-pom that had become misplaced during their escape, pressed down her stray hairs, and then put the pom-pom back on.

Shang Yuji brushed aside his wrinkled clothes, and Jiang Xi's fingers twitched slightly, suppressing the tingling sensation left by her touch.

After getting ready, she realized that the two of them had been pushed to a spot not far from the city gate, and, in a daze, she felt that the people standing at the city gate looked very familiar.

The more I looked at that image of a weary, thin but hale and hearty old man, the more familiar it seemed.

Outside the city gate of Yangzhou.

The road leading to the city gate was bare and brown with clods of earth exposed by the cold winter, covered with unmelted snow. The chilly wind made the long sleeves of the two old men flutter in the wind.

"Why don't you stay another day, after New Year's Day, before you leave, senior brother?"

The smartly dressed man, with his back to the city gate, stroked his long beard and said solemnly, "I'm getting old, and I can't bear to see the sorrow of parting."

Yan Qing continued, "They would never guess that I would depart at the most joyous moment."

"Ahem." Fang Mu coughed lightly, his eyes somewhat unfocused, and said, "Aren't you going to say goodbye to Miss Shang?"

"Hey!" Yan Qing clapped his hands, his eyebrows dancing with excitement. "It's all so I won't tell that little brat. You have no idea how difficult she is!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a soft voice came from behind Yan Qing: "Tell me carefully, old man, what exactly makes me so difficult..."

"What a joke!"

Yan Qing jumped up and turned around in surprise, only to see Jiang Xi carrying Shang Yuji in one arm, while the little girl he had just mentioned was glaring at him with an unhappy expression.

To conceal their arrival, Shang Yuji deliberately had Jiang Xi carry her, then instructed him to use his internal energy to approach, concealing his footsteps. Because Fang Mu was facing the city gate, he naturally noticed the two people walking behind them before Yan Qing.

As for tricking his senior brother, it was just something he did on a whim.

Shang Yuji crossed her arms and raised her voice, "What, the person who asked me for amulet money not long ago, is now finding me difficult to deal with?"

Yan Qing never expected that his rare moment of speaking would be seized upon by the speaker, who stubbornly insisted, "Look at this person, quick-witted and disrespectful, isn't that just the kind of person who's difficult to deal with?"

If he says that, Shang Yuji will have to have a serious talk with him.

She asked Jiang Xi to put her down. As soon as she landed, she was about to roll up her sleeves to reason with him when Jiang Xi stopped her: "It's cold, no way."

Shang Yuji abandoned her attempt to show off by rolling up her sleeves and instead looked up at Yan Qing, saying, "So you're talking about respect now? You weren't saying this before!"

The two argued about it, while Fang Mu chuckled and watched his senior brother get a rare scolding.

In the end, Yan Qing realized he was in the wrong and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Hey—I won't argue with you, you little brat! I'm a magnanimous man!"

This commotion, however, completely dispelled the sorrowful atmosphere of parting.

Knowing that trying to hold on would only cause more sorrow, it was better to wish the other person well. With a mournful sigh, Shang Yuji pulled a purse from her sleeve.

"Here you go. The journey is long and there will always be times when you need money. I don't have time to go back right now, so this is all the money I have on me."

Jiang Xi followed suit and took out his own money bag. Since he had bought the money bag himself, he didn't feel bad about giving it away as well.

Yan Qing refused, and Shang Yuji didn't insist. She gave the money bag to Jiang Xi, patted his arm, glanced at him, and then asked him to help Yan Qing carry the chest.

"Elder Yan, since you won't accept our offer, you can't refuse our help to give you a ride, can you?"

Having already refused them once, Yan Qing couldn't very well refuse again. He figured it wouldn't hurt to escort them a little further, so he let them have their way.

Jiang Xi took Yan Qing's chest, and the four of them walked a little further. Shang Yuji couldn't help but bicker with Yan Qing, almost making Yan Qing's beard stand on end in anger.

"You difficult little girl!"

"Thank you for the compliment."

"I'm not trying to compliment you, so I'll stop here!" If he kept going any further, he'd end up arguing with her about who was right.

That cunning little girl!

Yan Qing snatched the box from Jiang Xi's hand, slung it over his shoulder, and fled in a hurry.

After watching him leave, Shang Yuji and the other person returned to the city with Doctor Fang. The festive atmosphere of New Year's Day had not yet dissipated, and Doctor Fang could not bear the cold outside for a long time, so he went back to the clinic first.

Shang Yuji and Jiang Xi looked at each other, realizing that they were penniless and had no chance to stroll around the streets. After a moment's thought, they decided that they couldn't leave empty-handed and could just browse without buying anything.

As dusk fell, taverns and shops, eager to cherish this rare festive occasion, lit their lamps, the bright red flames dispelling the gloom and allowing the grand feast to continue.

The two walked slowly, stopping and starting. The long street was bustling with people, the sounds of gongs and drums, hawkers' cries, and string and wind instruments rising and falling. Peddlers and laborers came and went in a lively and prosperous scene.

Walking through the crowd, collisions were inevitable. Shang Yuji covered her shoulder, apologized to the person she bumped into, and looked up to see a Taoist priest dressed in a gray robe that was very different from what was worn on New Year's Day. The priest made eye contact with her and was then called away by his companions.

"Yunxiao, are you alright?"

Shang Yuji hesitated and asked, "I should be... alright, right?"

Why did that person's eyes look so shocked, as if they had seen something incredible?

Fortunately, the matter came to an end, and after a day of playing outside, they finally returned home to rest.

When the day ended and Shang Yuji was ready to go to bed, she saw a bulging ball of bedding—it was Xiao Jiang, who had been lying in bed warmly for a long time.

Shang Yuji stood by the bed, her gaze deep, without uttering a word.

As the shadows fell, Jiang Xi, who was the first to notice someone had appeared, lifted the corner of the blanket, blinked, and smiled, "Aji, come on in, it's warm under the covers."

Considering how dutiful he was, Shang Yuji decided to put his impulsive act of going to bed aside for the time being, and that getting into a warm bed was the most important thing right now.

Ultimately, as expected, Jiang Xi stayed on through her own efforts.

.

At noon on New Year's Day, the Yang family gang...

Someone delivered large boxes of New Year's gifts, and Yang Bai learned upon inquiry that they were from Miss Shang.

Inside were not only fabrics for making clothes for the elderly, but also spirits for gang members, trendy teas, and sweets for children.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Fang hesitated and asked, "Chief, are the gifts we gave enough?"

Yang Bai was at a loss for words: "Isn't it enough that Miss Shang knows our feelings...?"

After distributing the New Year's gifts, someone from the gang rushed in to report: "Gang leader! A spoiled brat from Hezhou who came to Yangzhou to pay New Year's visits has taken a fancy to Miss Shang and her friends and wants to abduct them!"

"What? They've really walked right into a trap." Yang Bai was worried about whether their return gift was enough, but unexpectedly someone deliberately walked right into her trap and helped her give Miss Shang a proper gift.

Because they usually did small favors for the people of Yangzhou, the Yang family maintained a friendly relationship with the locals and had a lot of influence among them.

Therefore, after returning from Jingzhou, in order to protect Miss Shang from public opinion, the Yang family members would occasionally mention, while completing their daily chores, that the girl and her husband living on Lotus Road in the west of the city were good customers and great philanthropists, by recounting their thrilling experiences in Jingzhou.

Gradually, with the promotion of the Yang family gang, Shang Yuji and Jiang Xiqu's reputation rose among the people.

As for the Yangzhou aristocratic families who wanted to target the two who were not of significant size, they were instructed by Yi Ning to be careful and not to be so tactless as to offend the nobles when they went to Jingzhou.

The powerful families wouldn't dare to make a move. Rumor has it that Miss Yi came from the capital and works under the Princess. Doesn't that mean that Shang Yuji and Jiang Xi's trip is also backed by Her Highness the Princess?

Someone whom Yi Ning would call a benefactor must be no ordinary person!

Maybe they're just pretending to be weak while actually being strong. They might provoke someone one day and then disappear forever the next!

The combined efforts of the Yang family and Yining created the impression among the people of Yangzhou that the two were to be admired from afar but not to be trifled with.

Anyone who dares to mess with Jiang Xi should recognize his relationship with Miss Shang. As soon as Miss Shang is mentioned, he will become as soft as mud and easy to talk to.

If we could praise Miss Shang a little more for her beauty and kindness, we might be able to persuade people to spend money to buy the goods in the shop.

Thus, Shang Yuji, who had been worried that Jiang Xi's constitution might attract strange people and was considering whether to restrict his movements, put aside her doubts and boldly let him go out.

He even remarked more than once that the atmosphere in Yangzhou was more simple and unpretentious than that in Kyoto.

At least it's not a drama where seeing a beautiful woman makes one forget their feelings, become ruthless, and start a blatant act of force and robbery.

Soon, news of the spoiled brat who had harassed the two reached Yang Bai. She smiled and slammed her hand on the table, saying, "Men, grab your weapons and get to work!"

.

After walking for an hour, there was an inn ahead. It would be dark soon, so Yan Qing carried his chest and decided to stay at the inn for the night.

He took out some silver from his sleeve to pay for the room, then took the wooden plaque upstairs. When he checked the chest, he found that two money bags had been stuffed into it at some point.

One is exquisite, embroidered with plants and flowers, a common sight in shops; the other is simple, serving only as a storage container.

The money pouches of the exquisite ones look fuller and bulging, while the simple ones have less.

That's what they say, but neither of them were his money pouches. They were taken out by Shang Xiaoni and Jiang Xiaozi in front of the Yangzhou city gate, which he refused to accept.

After thinking it over, Yan Qing could only guess that Jiang Xiaozi had probably slipped it into his chest when Shang Xiaoni offered to take her a little further.

No wonder the girl gave her purse to Jiang Xiaozi; she was planning to secretly slip it into his chest. She even bickered with him while giving it away, probably to distract him and prevent him from noticing their actions.

Yan Qing took the two money pouches out of the chest, carefully put them away, and could only sigh:

"I told you, this little girl is the most difficult to deal with..."