Yunling glanced at him and said sarcastically:
"Don't pretend, you know exactly what I want to say and what I want to do."
"Shall we go inside and talk?"
"Oh no, once you enter a den of thieves, there's no going back. Gold and silver will be forgotten. Let's settle this right here."
Lu Yinghuai raised his eyebrows, revealing a smile that was hard to conceal. He was actually glad that the man had said that from now on, gold and silver would be irrelevant, rather than that he himself would be an irrelevant person from then on.
"I recently acquired some medical books. I wonder if my second brother would be interested?"
Yun Ling was taken aback for a moment, then immediately thought of Yun Chu. Yun Chu must like him; that old man was adept at manipulating people. But this matter was one thing, and it couldn't be confused.
"I am interested, but... it's just... it's just..."
Lu Yinghuai didn't wait for her to finish speaking before walking straight into the shop, ignoring Yunling's calls.
Yunling had no choice but to follow him upstairs. She was surprised to find that her small table was still there, next to Lu Yinghuai's large table, and it didn't look out of place at all.
But she didn't sit down next to him. Instead, she plopped down on the recliner and naturally picked up the newly acquired jade pendant in her hand.
"So that's what Master Cai polished?"
"No, this is a treasure I got from that little workshop on Panlou Street. That fellow couldn't come up with ten strings of copper coins, so he used this to pay for it. I really like it; it looks quite like... quite nice."
Yunling coughed twice and then clutched the small jade pendant tightly in her hand, not wanting Lu Yinghuai, that old geezer, to see it.
"Like what?"
"It's nothing, I misspoke."
Lu Yinghuai didn't miss Yunling's little action of clutching the jade pendant in her hand. If she had said something wrong, why would she tighten her grip like she was hiding something? There must be something fishy going on, and that something fishy is probably related to him.
Just imagining his own thoughts filled Lu Yinghuai with immense joy, and the messy debt he had just encountered now seemed utterly ordinary.
"I wonder if Lingniang has ever heard the phrase 'a gentleman is like jade.' When I was a child, I was naughty, and my mother was afraid that I would become a spoiled brat, so she gave me a jade Guanyin. Guanyin has a compassionate image, and jade is extremely warm and smooth. I always remind myself to be a person as warm and smooth as jade."
"Jade Guanyin? Where are you wearing it?"
Yunling was curious to see what this Jade Guanyin looked like, that she could possess such magical power to transform such a scoundrel into such a gentle and refined person.
"Come here, let me take a look at you."
"There's no need for me to come over. My eyesight is excellent. I'll naturally see it when you hold up the jade."
Lu Yinghuai shook his head and said:
"No, this jade Guanyin has been blessed. It cannot be taken off or moved around casually, otherwise it will lose its efficacy."
"Has it been blessed?"
These words immediately piqued Yunling's curiosity. Cai Dongjia had mentioned the matter of consecration, and now Lu Yinghuai had brought it up again. She wanted to see if the consecrated item could emit light, so she stood up and walked to Lu Yinghuai's side.
Lu Yinghuai also stood up, but went around to the towel rack to wash his hands. He put his hands in the basin and then scrubbed them very carefully, as if the more he scrubbed and the more water he splashed, the more devout he was.
Yunling was stunned, and became even more wary of this consecrated jade artifact.
"You don't need to be so restrained. If this results in punishment, it will only be my fault, not yours."
Yunling nodded blankly. She really wanted to say maybe we shouldn't watch it, but the show had already gone on so far. If she said she wouldn't watch it, wouldn't Lu Yinghuai have wasted his time? So she didn't say anything and waited for the person to reveal himself.
Lu Yinghuai sat back in his seat and gently pulled a rope from his collar. A flawless white jade Guanyin was tied to the rope.
Yunling dared not defile it, so she simply put her hands behind her back and leaned forward. For some reason, although she did not touch it, she felt a heat. Upon closer inspection of the jade Guanyin, even someone like her who was not very good at examining jade knew that the quality was poor.
“Hey, this jade…”
Yunling raised her head slightly, and her nose accidentally brushed against Lu Yinghuai's cheek. When their eyes met, Yunling hurriedly stepped back, but she slipped and fell to the ground with a thud, bouncing up a bit.
Lu Yinghuai finally snapped out of the tension of staring at Yun Ling. He looked at Yun Ling sitting on the ground, then at his own hand that hadn't yet been extended, feeling a little embarrassed.
To avoid Yunling's wrath, he quickly sat down beside her and asked softly:
"Does it hurt?"
This was of no consequence to Yunling, but not wanting to arouse his suspicion, she could only lie through her teeth and say:
"It hurts a little bit, just a tiny bit."
"Sorry, I didn't notice."
Yunling didn't know what this had to do with whether he paid attention or not; it was clearly her own business, so how could she blame others? She smiled and said:
"Hey, your jade Guanyin..."
"As you can see, most people think that you need to wear good jade to bring jade, but that's not necessarily true. If the jade is to be consecrated, the quality is not that important. What's important is whether the monks or nuns you invite have enough spiritual power."
This broadened Yunling's horizons. She nodded, and then heard Lu Yinghuai say:
It's like the saying in the village: "A humble name makes a child easier to raise."
"Can these two things be linked together?"
For some reason, Lu Yinghuai blurted it out, unsure if it would lead anywhere, and continued rambling:
"There is another very important thing I need to tell you: anyone who sees the jade Guanyin must give me a corresponding jade plaque so that I will not be implicated."
"Did you make this up on the spot?"
Yunling couldn't help but complain. If this guy hadn't mentioned the jade pendant, it would have been fine. But now that he'd mentioned it, it always seemed like he was thinking about it. Besides, she had just been playing with the jade pendant. What a coincidence!
Lu Yinghuai was indeed after that jade pendant, and she had Cai Dongjia polish it. In any case, the jade pendant polished by Cai Dongjia would be better than the ones from Panlou Street. Why didn't she collect those? Why did she choose this one?
So he likes this, he likes this the most, even if he has bad intentions, he still wants to get it, and in doing so, he gives himself a reason to give her a gift later without having to think too much.
Therefore, he could only pretend and try his best not to let Yunling see his expression.
“This is true. If Lingniang doesn’t believe me, she can come home with me and ask my mother. She will then know the whole story. Is that alright?”
Yunling didn't think much of it this time and directly stuffed the small jade token into his hand. She didn't want to go home with him, much less ask Madam Lu.
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