Chapter 42 Embarrassment

Seeing that Yu Qinghuan wanted this box, Hu Shang's face was full of joy, and he stretched out his hand to Yu Qinghuan:

"This box is different from the previous one. Madam, you need to add another five taels."

Yu Qinghuan was stunned. He only had so little silver on him, and he had just given it all to Hu Shang. Where could he find another five taels of silver now?

"I don't have much money with me today. Can you give me a discount?"

Hu Shang did not give her a chance to negotiate the price. He said with embarrassment, "Madam, butterflies from the Western Regions are rare. This price is already very reasonable."

Yu Qinghuan had no choice but to look at the original box, "Forget it, give it to me..."

However, before she could finish her words, Mu Huaian next to her gave her some silver.

Mu Huaian still didn't dare to look directly at Yu Qinghuan at this moment, and said in a hoarse voice: "I'll give it to you."

Yu Qinghuan was stunned and hurriedly pushed the silver back, "No, how can I spend your money to buy things..."

Mu Huaian handed her the silver again: "I have silver, a lot of it."

What he meant was that he was not short of money, but he didn't want Yu Qinghuan to be unhappy because she couldn't buy what she wanted because she didn't have enough money.

Yu Qinghuan was speechless. It was not a question of whether he had a lot of money or not.

The key point is that I want to use this thing to please the prince, and it is inappropriate to let Mu Huaian pay for it on my behalf.

Seeing the two men in a stalemate, Hu Shang, who was standing by, stretched out his hand and took the silver from Mu Huaian's hand, smiling, "Five taels from you."

Yu Qinghuan: “…”

She had no choice but to accept the things, after all, she really had no money at the moment.

Hu Shang immediately packed up the things and gave them to Yu Qinghuan. He then took a book from a drawer beside him and stuffed it into Mu Huaian's pocket with a meaningful smile. "This is a gift from our shop to you, my dear."

After escorting the two out of the shop, Hu Shang continued to promote other items in his shop. "If you two like them, come back another day. I have other styles that can also add interest to your boudoir. They are no less beautiful than the butterfly patterns in the Western Regions."

He could tell at a glance that the young man was shy and clearly inexperienced, but the lady was unrestrained and more beautiful than any of the other women who had come to purchase butterflies from the Western Regions.

When this butterfly color is used, I don’t know whether this young man who has never had any experience with men can withstand it.

...

The two walked out of the store. Yu Qinghuan held the box in her hand and thanked Mu Huaian, "Thank you so much today. I'll return the money to you another day."

Mu Huaian smiled, "No need to return it. The zither strings you gave me that day were worth more than five taels of silver."

In fact, if he hadn't mentioned it, Yu Qinghuan would have almost forgotten about the zither strings. "Since you say so, I won't be polite."

She got on the carriage with the box in her arms, thinking that it was really worth making friends with Mu Huaian.

On the way back to the manor, Yu Qinghuan looked at the book beside Mu Huaian and remembered that it was given by Hu Shang just now. She pointed and asked, "What book is that?"

Mu Huaian then remembered that there was a book, and immediately took it and opened it to read.

Yu Qinghuan immediately leaned over curiously, wanting to see what the book was and why Hu Shang was smiling mysteriously.

The moment the page was opened, Mu Huaian first saw the words written at the top of the page: "Phoenix Flying Double Style", and next to it was a man and a woman in an entangled posture.

The woman in the painting is half-hanging in the air, leaning against the wall, with her legs on the man's shoulders, like a phoenix and a phoenix flying together.

The moment Yu Qinghuan saw it, she immediately realized that this was a fire avoidance diagram, and this Phoenix Flying Double Style was something she and Xie Zhili had used just last night.

The scene of last night flashed through her mind, and the tips of her ears instantly burned red. She hurriedly shrank back and pretended not to see it, but because she was too anxious, the back of her head hit the wall of the carriage with a dull thud.

Mu Huaian was awakened by the muffled sound. He quickly closed the book with a "snap".

The only sound in the bumpy carriage was the rumbling of wheels. Mu Huaian's Adam's apple rolled a few times, and he felt that the booklet in his hand was very hot!

It's not like he hadn't seen a fire avoidance diagram before, but this was his first time seeing one in front of a girl. He explained in a hoarse voice, "The Hu merchant just gave it to me. I didn't know what it was beforehand."

If he had known, he would definitely not have taken it, let alone opened it in front of Yu Qinghuan.

Yu Qinghuan laughed dryly twice, "He is a bit frivolous, how could he give you a book like this..."

Mu Huaian looked at him and thought that he didn't look like the kind of person who would like to watch this kind of thing. It seemed that Hu Shang didn't have very good eyesight.

At this time, Mu Huaian had quietly stuffed the book into the deepest part of the cushion.

To avoid the atmosphere being too awkward, he took the initiative to change the subject, "I haven't seen Miss Yu's calligraphy yet. I wonder if there will be a chance in the future?"

Yu Qinghuan looked up in astonishment, clutching the Western Region Butterfly Box in her hand and asked him blankly, "This one?"

Mu Huaian was also stunned. He followed her gaze to the box of Western Region Butterfly Colors. Suddenly, he remembered what Hu Shang said about "adding fun to the boudoir". His face under the jade mask instantly turned red to his ears.

He hurriedly explained, "No... That's not what I meant, I..."

Mu Huaian had never encountered such a situation before and didn't know how to explain it for a moment.

He didn't know if Yu Qinghuan had misunderstood his words and thought he wanted to see her paint on her body with Western Region butterfly colors, but that was definitely not his intention.

The mask Mu Huaian wore today covered his entire face. Although Yu Qinghuan couldn't see the expression on his face, she could hear panic and embarrassment in his words.

Who would have thought that Young Master Mu, who was once famous in the capital, would be in such an embarrassing situation.

Mu Huaian was about to explain himself again, but Yu Qinghuan burst out laughing, "I know what you want to say, but that's not what I meant. Don't be impatient."

The light coming in through the car curtains passed over Yu Qinghuan's cheek. Her red lips were curved, and her eyes were full of cunning, which was very beautiful.

The skin where Mu Huaian's jade mask was pressed against was burning, the tips of his ears were red, and his originally calm heart was now beating wildly.

Do all women look this beautiful when they smile, or is she the only one?

At this moment, the carriage suddenly ran over a piece of gravel and the body of the carriage shook violently.

The two of them were thrown forward and almost collided. Mu Huaian grabbed Yu Qinghuan's shoulders and tried to support her.

In a panic, Yu Qinghuan's hand accidentally brushed against Mu Huaian's mask, and there was a "click" sound, which was lost in the rumbling sound of the wheels.

When the carriage stabilized, the two of them were very close. Yu Qinghuan's eyes were full of shock, "Your face..."

Mu Huaian looked puzzled, but the next moment, through Yu Qinghuan's eyes staring at him, he clearly saw what he looked like without the mask.

The hideous scar on his side was twitching with his heartbeat. He hurriedly let go of Yu Qinghuan, retreated backward, and hit his back heavily against the car wall.

Mu Huaian's face turned pale as he hurried to pick up the fallen mask. His hands were shaking with panic. He wanted to put the mask back on his face, but it fell off again.

His knuckles were blue from gripping the mask, and he looked disheveled. He didn't even dare to look up, for fear of seeing in Yu Qinghuan's eyes... the fear and disgust he had seen in others' eyes.