"What's wrong?"
Zhu Jiayu wiggled her feet, looking at Wei Qinglou with confusion, not understanding what the connection was between being barefoot and being a girl.
In the distance, the sky was adorned with dazzling lights. The young man in front of her had strong eyebrows. Zhu Jiayu stared at him for a while before finally noticing his slightly red earlobes.
"It's nothing." Wei Qinglou turned his face away uncomfortably. "It's cold and dewy tonight, I'm afraid you'll catch a cold."
Although he said this, Wei Qinglou thought to himself, it seems that Zhu Jiayu really likes him very much, and has even forgotten the proper distance between men and women in front of him.
He stared straight ahead at the pool, watching the reflections of the two people on its surface. A gentle night breeze blew by, rippling the water and scattering their reflections into a jumbled mess.
He unconsciously shifted his gaze to Zhu Jiayu's face.
To be fair, Zhu Jiayu was beautiful; even in the capital, she was no less attractive than the noble ladies.
"What are you looking at me for? Drink some wine."
Zhu Jiayu picked up the wine pot, waved it at Wei Qinglou, then withdrew his hand, tilted his head back, and took a sip.
"Why would you suddenly decide to drink?"
"If there is injustice in your heart, then drink it." Zhu Jiayu looked up at the moon, her toes splashing in the water, shattering the moonlight in the pool. The lights in the distant sky were also rippled in the water, kneaded into scattered fragments of light. "If there is injustice in the world, a sword can eliminate it. If there is injustice in your heart, only wine can dispel it."
She was already slightly drunk, her words were soft and weak, and her eyes were flushed, like those flower spirits and mountain demons in fox and ghost legends who only come quietly at night, who can be happy or angry, and can destroy the hearts and souls of mortals and damage the cultivation of Taoists.
What grievances are you harboring?
He had heard a little about what Zhu Jiayu had been doing recently, and she was doing a great job. Now, among all the embroidery shops in Suiping City, the Zhu family's business was the most booming.
She's already very capable.
Zhu Jiayu was taken aback by his question. She put down the wine pot, looked deeply at Wei Qinglou, and then looked away. She seemed to have sobered up, or perhaps she was only slightly drunk for a while. With a wistful yet clear-headed expression, she said, "It's nothing."
What injustice could there be? It's nothing more than the heartache and helplessness of a young girl whose heart is fluttering with love realizing the huge gap between her family background and that of her sweetheart.
Wei Qinglou smiled slightly: "You like me, don't you?"
"Do you want to go to Yujing?" he paused, then asked.
It wasn't a very sincere inquiry; in terms of demeanor, it actually looked more like a joke.
A nonchalant, flippant jest.
This wasn't really a big deal for him. With Zhu Jiayu's abilities, he could probably expand the Zhu family's business to Yujing sooner or later, though it would be much harder. But with his help, Zhu Jiayu could achieve this effortlessly, and even becoming a royal merchant wasn't out of the question.
The prerequisite is that Zhu Jiayu is willing to go to Yujing with him.
As for their identities, he thought Zhu Jiayu should understand—after all, their family backgrounds were really not a good match.
What separated them was an insurmountable class divide, which destined her to never stand beside him or walk alongside him.
If Zhu Jiayu was somewhat confused before, now that he heard him say this, he was completely clear-headed.
She began to sort out the circumstances of each encounter with Wei Qinglou, and finally understood what had made him have the illusion that "she liked him".
However, even though it seemed that she was at fault, Wei Qinglou's condescending tone, which implied a condescending attitude, still displeased her.
After a moment of stunned silence, Zhu Jiayu slightly curled her lips: "Is it because you two..."
"People from wealthy families and with good looks are always worried that people who are much poorer than you will take advantage of you or fall in love with you easily?"
She stood up and dusted off her skirt: "I don't know about others, but I have a bit of a temper. After a not-so-pleasant misunderstanding with someone, I tend to be particularly impulsive, like now—"
She paused, then kicked Wei Qinglou into the pool with all her might.
Wei Qinglou was dumbfounded.
The guards lying on the courtyard wall not far away were also dumbfounded.
"Aren't we...going to help?"
"Help what? Didn't you hear the young master say before we came that no matter what happens, we shouldn't act rashly? Doesn't that mean if his life isn't in danger, we don't need to show our faces?"
"They're not in any immediate danger?"
"Is this... is this flirting? The young master doesn't seem too angry."
Wei Qinglou didn't have time to be angry; he was just taken aback.
How is that possible?
Zhu Jiayu didn't have time to teach this self-righteous young man the art of being truly precious. In her view, Wei Qinglou wasn't someone she could easily guide onto the right path with just a few words. Perhaps he would only understand after experiencing hardship. Even if she were interested in Wei Qinglou, she would be disheartened by his words and choose to stay away from him. Unless, of course, she harbored ambitions of marrying into wealth.
Besides, she neither admired Wei Qinglou nor had any intention of climbing the social ladder by marrying him.
Of course, she aspires to higher places, to drink the finest wines, and to witness the most breathtaking scenery. But she will not curry favor with or flatter anyone. She has her own path, and she will only walk her own.
Although she hasn't found the way yet.
"If my words and actions have given you the wrong impression that I like you, I'm sorry," Zhu Jiayu said with a smile, though her beautiful face, though gentle, seemed devoid of warmth and emotion.
She simply said, "But let's keep things separate. Your impolite words made me unhappy, so my way of repaying you is to let you experience how I feel. That's not too much to ask, is it?"
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