Talk

Jiang Nian didn't expect Xiao Yingzhu to say that. He looked at his face for a moment before smiling back.

"Since you are so polite, I will leave these questions to you."

Xiao Yingzhu's gaze searched Jiang Nian's face meaningfully for a moment. After listening to what she said, the smile on her lips deepened, as if she was vaguely expecting something.

The front hall was silent for a moment, and from the tangled branches outside the warehouse at the back came the melodious chirping of one or two birds.

The air was filled with the light and astringent smell of medicinal herbs. Jiang Nian turned his eyes away slightly, avoiding Xiao Yingzhu's sight, in order to cover up the thoughts that were gradually darkening in his eyes.

From the time before he answered Xiao Yingzhu to the time after he said what he was thinking, there was no obvious change in Xiao Yingzhu's expression.

He allowed himself to speculate, was it because he allowed himself to know, or was it because his speculation had gone astray?

It touches upon the real core content, but Jiang Nian is not too familiar with Xiao Yingzhu at the moment, so it will definitely not work to just put the words on the table.

But having these speculations is much better than having no clear thoughts.

The fog in front of me gradually cleared up, and the cooperation with Xiao Yingzhu also gained more confidence.

There was no need to find out anything else that Xiao Yingzhu had not told him for the moment, so Jiang Nian turned his attention to the storage room.

While they were talking just now, Uncle Xu left the front hall. This must be the first time he encountered this kind of sales plan, and he wanted to take the account book to check it again.

Fuling, who had been following her, knew that she could not disturb her conversation with the Duke, so she followed Xu Bo to the storage room.

Therefore, there were only Jiang Nian and Xiao Yingzhu in the front hall.

Xiao Yingzhu stopped talking and turned her gaze to the scales on the wooden platform.

The tea-white plain brocade robe he was wearing matched the dark medicine cabinet behind him in color unexpectedly. The light in the hall, which had dimmed slightly due to the late hour, acted like a filter, reflecting this picturesque scene.

The atmosphere was perfectly quiet. Jiang Nian felt a rare sense of relaxation when he was alone with Xiao Yingzhu, without having to tense up to think about the other person's rhetoric. Just as he turned around to check the prices in the drugstore, a visitor walked in.

The visitor did not foresee that Uncle Xu, who was usually in the pharmacy, was not there. Instead, there were two unfamiliar people. He was about to ask something, but his tone was a little hesitant and tentative, and he asked Jiang Nian.

"I previously deposited a prescription here, and Shopkeeper Xu asked me to pick it up at this hour. Could you please...?"

prescription?

Jiang Nian then looked at the small box of ground powder placed next to Xiao Yingzhu's wooden table. It seemed that Xu Bo had been interrupted by what Jiang Nian had just instructed him to do, and he had not yet weighed and packed it.

The guest followed Jiang Nian's gaze and saw the familiar medicinal powder. He nodded and said, "That's it. May I trouble you..."

He looked at Xiao Yingzhu who was standing in front of the wooden platform. When he saw Xiao Yingzhu's face, his words stopped. He seemed a little uncertain and his voice dropped slightly.

"My dear brother?"

“…”

Xiao Yingzhu raised her eyelids coldly and looked at the guest. Jiang Nian suppressed the inexplicable smile in her heart. Just as she was about to interrupt and ask for his help, she saw Xiao Yingzhu, who had been motionless, actually moved the scale to the position of the fixed star, slightly pinched the medicinal powder and poured it on the scale plate for weighing.

Jiang Nian never expected that Xiao Yingzhu would use a scale. He couldn't relate to his identity as a Duke, so he looked at Xiao Yingzhu in surprise.

Xiao Yingzhu lowered her eyes and put the herbs into the big ticket bag, folded it into a square bag shape, and then picked up the rope and placed it on the table in front of her.

From Xiao Yingzhu's white and slender fingers to the noble-looking brocade clothes on him, the customer looked at Xiao Yingzhu's face again tentatively - he always felt that he didn't seem to be here to visit the store.

He hesitated for a moment, and after glancing at Xiao Yingzhu a few more times, he reached out and took the square bag from the table.

Because he felt a noticeable chill when his hand approached Xiao Yingzhu, he inexplicably felt worried that his hand would be chopped off. After the customer took the square bag, the movement of retracting his hand instantly accelerated several times.

After carefully thanking Xiao Yingzhu, he noticed that the atmosphere in the store was a little off, so he quickly turned around and walked out of Liangdu Pharmacy, breathing a sigh of relief at the end.

It seemed as if he was still a little scared of the one-sided conversation he had just had with Xiao Yingzhu.

Watching the guest gradually walk away, Jiang Nian withdrew his gaze with amusement. Just as he turned his head, he was caught off guard and met Xiao Yingzhu's gaze.

The smile on Xiao Yingzhu's lips was colder than usual, and her eyes were dark and cold, without any emotion. She bent her white and slender fingers and tapped the table lightly, with a smile on her face.

"Miss Jiang, do you think this is funny?"

Jiang Nian slightly shifted his gaze, tried hard to adjust his expression, and then suppressed the corners of his lips that seemed to be about to turn up because of wanting to laugh, lowered his eyes and replied innocently.

"Your Highness, you are overthinking it. This is the first time I've seen Your Highness do such things, and I'm a little surprised."

Xiao Yingzhu stared at Jiang Nian's innocent face for a few seconds, narrowed her eyes slightly, and then hummed a laugh with a slight raise at the end.

"Do you think I'm some old noble who doesn't do anything and just waits to be served?"

Jiang Nian shook her head and continued to blink innocently at Xiao Yingzhu: "Your Excellency is really overthinking it. I have no intention of speculating. Please don't belittle yourself."

Although it was not as bad as Xiao Yingzhu said, Jiang Nian did have some stereotypes about Xiao Yingzhu because he was from a noble family.

I always feel that he is the kind of person who rarely gets involved in trivial matters except for important government affairs and giving orders to his subordinates.

Especially in this era of clear class divisions.

No matter what he thought in his heart, Jiang Nian had always been clear about his relationship with Xiao Yingzhu. Although he had some prejudice against Xiao Yingzhu after he first met him and was coldly threatened by him, Jiang Nian knew very well that Xiao Yingzhu was not someone who could be easily fooled.

Moreover, he had reached the position of Duke at such a young age, and his strength should not be underestimated. In front of him, she naturally did not show any of her views or opinions on him, whether good or bad.

However, Xiao Yingzhu was indeed a little too sensitive to what he was thinking in her heart.

Does he care what others think of him?

But judging by the rumors that made him seem terrifying, he never took any action to stop it.

…and it’s not like he cares.

Jiang Nian looked away thoughtfully.

Xiao Yingzhu seemed to have no interest in what Jiang Nian was thinking. She just rested her hand lightly on the wooden table beside her, and her eyes fell on the medicine cabinet in the pharmacy.

The name of the Chinese medicine that he had just looked at countless times came into his sight again. There was silence in the front hall for a moment. Xiao Yingzhu suddenly turned his head and looked at Jiang Nian, who was thinking about something, with a raised lip.

"Ms. Jiang has always been very perceptive about making choices, and she often does things that are unexpected."

"Then in Miss Jiang's eyes, do you think Xiao is good or evil?"

He asked the question suddenly and Jiang Nian didn't react for a moment. Seeing that there was no other emotion in his eyes except for casual inquiry, he had to choose neutral words to speak.

"Since I'm actively making a deal with you, it's because I recognize your character."

Because she was thinking about something, her blinking speed slowed down a lot.

Meeting Xiao Yingzhu's gaze, Jiang Nian's tone was filled with inquiry.

"I wonder why you ask this question, Your Excellency?"

He seemed to have suddenly lost interest in Jiang Nian's answer. His slender white fingers gently lifted the small iron ring of the medicine cabinet, and his question seemed to be filled with only pure curiosity.

"Miss Jiang, haven't you heard of any rumors about me before cooperating with me?"

"Killing people like crazy, bloodthirsty like a demon?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the slight daze on Jiang Nian's face, and the smile on his lips was casual and cold.

"If that's the case, why did you choose to ally with me?"

Xiao Yingzhu's words seemed to be subtly guiding her, leading her to the core word that she could not touch, and tricking her into saying it out loud so that she could use it as a bargaining chip.

After Jiang Nian accidentally fell into the pit, he would slowly peel off her skin and exploit her to reveal the unspeakable things that she didn't want to reveal to anyone.

“…”

Jiang Nian sighed inaudibly. She had been talking to him for almost an entire afternoon with her nerves tense, and now the question came back again.

Xiao Yingzhu is a very suspicious person.

After realizing his motives and guessing his purpose with a slight possibility, Jiang Nian wanted to stop for the time being and not test the other party.

But just after a few words of casual chatting, Xiao Yingzhu cast his suspicion on her again.

It seems like he never gets tired of testing people's hearts.

Since Xiao Yingzhu still has some concerns about her, and she currently needs to rely on Xiao Yingzhu to complete her own things, she naturally cannot let his suspicion increase.

As if following his words, Jiang Nian seemed to have forgotten the fact that the two of them were involved in interests. She raised her fingertips and gently placed them on her chest, making a gesture of assurance.

"I trust you, and you trust me."

"Since you agree with what I have, I also want to ask for something from you."

"We all work to achieve our goals, so it's natural for us to become allies."

Jiang Nian met Xiao Yingzhu's gaze calmly, secretly suppressing his palpitations. There was no fear on his face, but he took a step forward, as if exchanging chips with him.

"Don't you think the same as me?"

“…”

Xiao Yingzhu seemed to be aroused by Jiang Nian's words. He fixed his eyes on Jiang Nian's face for a few seconds and suddenly laughed softly.

"Miss Jiang is as eloquent as ever. So what's the answer to my question just now?"

"I still want to listen carefully."

There is a bitter smell of traditional Chinese medicine at the tip of the nose.

Jiang Nian lowered his eyes slightly, and the box of medicinal herbs that Xiao Yingzhu had just looked at flashed through his mind. It was as if he was thinking of what was in his mind, and he only gave a light and superficial reply, avoiding the key point.

"Good and evil are both subjective. Which category do you belong to?"

When Xu Bo came back from the storage room after checking, he saw Jiang Nian still standing in the store and hurried to greet him.

"Just now I saw the young lady and the young master talking happily. I thought the young lady would go to talk with the young master somewhere else, but I didn't expect you to still be here. Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Enjoying the conversation?

And Xiao Yingzhu?

Jiang Nian recalled the cold sweat he had broken out in just before Xiao Yingzhu's questioning, and felt that he was a little speechless. He changed the subject, shook his head slightly, and smiled calmly.

"I do have one more matter to attend to."

"Can the prices in the pharmacy be lowered?"