Chapter 119 Arrival in Xuzhou, Trouble at the Silver Shop…
On the 25th day of the fifth month of the 17th year of Tianchen, a clear summer day, on the official road of Xuzhou.
Before they knew it, they had been traveling for more than twenty days straight, and finally arrived in Xuzhou. During these days, they had been traveling mainly on small roads, traveling day and night without rest.
The weather is getting hotter and hotter. Unlike the intermittent heat of the past few days, the weather is becoming increasingly muggy as June approaches, and it's not much better in the mornings and evenings.
However, the carriage was cool, with the spirit flame lamps burning quietly, emitting a refreshing coolness. The coolness wasn't cold or damp, but rather a gentle cooling effect, subtly bringing a sense of comfort in the quiet of summer.
There is one drawback: the lamp's energy needs to be gathered, meaning it should be used in a closed space; otherwise, its temperature control effect will be greatly reduced.
...
Amidst the chirping of cicadas that seemed to come from nowhere, Qin Tianshu opened the car door. The scholar, standing by the driver's seat, said, "We're very close to Rebirth City now. Should we stop there for a while?"
Qingyu: "Gengsheng City, isn't that a detour?"
Gengsheng City is not in the center of Xuzhou, but is located on the border with Qingzhou. So they now have two directions: one is Gengsheng City, and the other is Qingzhou. However, if they continue towards Qingzhou, it will probably take several more days before they see the city.
The woman got up from the daybed and strolled over to the long table where Wen Chuan was sitting reading a book. The young man was dressed in purple and looked handsome with a hint of coldness, but his eyes softened unconsciously when he looked at the girl.
He looked up at her, and they smiled as their eyes met.
Wen Chuan said to the scholar by the car door, "If it's nearby, let's go take a look and buy some things too."
Qingyu: "That's true, Xuzhou Rebirth City... It's a pity it's not autumn now. I heard that the chrysanthemums there are the most famous in the whole country."
A gust of cool air hit him, and Qin Tianshu didn't even want to close the car door. The young man fanned himself and sighed, "These days, traveling is really..."
At that moment, Qingyu walked over to the swing chair. The woman first sat down with a smile, then lazily swayed on the swing and said to Qin Tianshu,
"Only in this kind of weather is your fan useful."
It always felt strange, especially in winter when it snowed.
Qin Tianshu: "..."
Not far away, Zhang Xuan was sitting on the daybed with Cai Cai in his arms. The boy laughed when he heard this, "Brother, a palm-leaf fan is not as useful. Do you want me to get one for you?"
"It's not as good as yours, so you're the one who'll do!"
Qin Tianshu said irritably, then the scholar looked at the road in front of him and whipped his horse, "Then it's settled, let's go to Gengsheng City."
"They should be here soon."
"...Don't close the car door."
...
Rebirth City.
They said we were almost there, but we arrived close to evening, just when the summer sun wasn't too strong.
The carriage slowly drove into the city. There were already many vendors and pedestrians on the street. The lively voices of the people could be heard, and the people in the carriage couldn't help but laugh.
There was no other way; I had been traveling for many days and hadn't had a proper rest in a long time. Hearing and seeing all this today, I couldn't help but relax.
They hurriedly found an inn to stay at, and before Wen Chuan and Qin Tianshu could even book rooms at the counter, Zhang Xuan rushed out from the backyard. "Sister Qingyu and the others went straight to the street to shop, saying they'd shop for a while before eating..."
Wen Chuan: "..."
Qin Tianshu: "...Let's go, let's go too."
Zhang Xuan: "Oh."
...
Somewhere in Rebirth City.
The young man sat peacefully, holding a well-behaved black cat, silently gazing at the sky outside the window.
The man opposite him sat with a commanding air, his brow furrowed as he stared at the young man in purple.
"What are you looking at?"
"I didn't see you."
Why are you yelling at me? I didn't do anything to you.
"Oh."
...
On the street, Qingyu and Fanxiang walked side by side and soon entered a jewelry store.
"Linglang Pavilion".
Lin Fanxiang looked up at the sign and read it aloud. Qingyu, who was standing next to her, turned her head and said, "It seems that Shengjing also has this. I remember we visited it before."
"Okay, let's go take a look around first."
As they spoke, they leisurely stepped into the Linglang Pavilion. It was summer, and the decorations and goods sold in the silver shop were quite different from usual.
The fan blades turned slowly, bringing a refreshing coolness to the ice. In the spacious and well-ventilated room, various items were sold in different categories, including hairpins and jewelry, dressing utensils, tableware, and even some decorative art pieces.
Qingyu immediately became interested; the place was cool and beautiful, a rare find indeed.
The woman strolled around gently and soon saw the place selling fans. The fans had silver ribs and silk surfaces, and upon closer inspection, they had exquisite patterns. They could be used to cool off in the summer and also to match clothing.
Qingyu summoned Fanxiang, and the two carefully selected the fans. Soon, a female shop assistant came to introduce the fans to them so that they could make a better choice.
There were quite a few people browsing in the jewelry store at the moment, but Qingyu and Fanxiang had extraordinary temperaments and excellent looks. The two of them together were even more beautiful and complemented each other perfectly. Even though they were not well-known women in Xuzhou City, they couldn't help but attract attention.
"My lady, look at this round fan. The ribs are made of southern rosewood, with delicate grain and a faint woody fragrance. It feels warm and comfortable in your hand... The fan surface is made of cicada-wing gauze, a specialty of Hangzhou, as thin as clouds..."
"This round fan is even more exquisite, with its ribs made of bent silver strips and its surface engraved with a lotus scroll pattern... The fan surface is made of Suzhou kesi (silk tapestry), woven stitch by stitch to depict a banana leaf after the rain, with even the veins of the leaf clearly visible, making it both breathable and elegant..."
The saleswoman introduced each item one by one, and Qingyu and Fanxiang watched with great interest. Just then, Qingyu strolled leisurely along the counter displaying the goods and her eyes fell upon a round fan hanging there—
The fan ribs gleam with silver light and red glass. The fan is as thin as mist, with twin lotus flowers outlined in red gold. The stamens are inlaid with fine diamonds, and the edges of the petals are adorned with silver lines. From afar, it looks like the lotus flowers blooming in the Milky Way. Upon closer inspection, it has a golden and red glow, like a magnificent sunset.
"That fan..."
"Let's go take a look first."
As Qingyu and Fanxiang were talking, they walked over to the round fan and examined it closely. The female shop assistant, however, looked troubled and said, "You two don't know this, this fan..."
"This is what I decided!"
Following the sound, a woman dressed in a rich pink dress interrupted them. She looked to be about the same age as Qingyu and the others, with a pretty face but a hint of disdain.
It's worth mentioning that before Qingyu and the others could speak again, another woman in green appeared beside them. She had a long sword hanging at her waist, and the scabbard was also very beautiful. She was both heroic and gentle, a truly beautiful female swordswoman.
They must have come together. The woman in pink greeted her warmly with "Ruoxin," then embraced her. Ruoxin, seeing the situation, first smiled helplessly, then apologized to Qingyu and the others.
"This is a fan that my friend ordered beforehand."
Qingyu smiled as she looked at them. Since the fan already had an owner, they naturally wouldn't say anything more.
Qingyu: "In that case, please, young lady."
As they were talking, Qingyu and Fanxiang turned around, thinking of going to look around somewhere else. But the female shop assistant looked troubled. She walked up to the "Ruoxin" fan and whispered something. It seemed that the fan was not ordered by the woman in pink, and that the fan was special... The atmosphere suddenly became a little strange.
Qingyu didn't care. It was just a fan, and she wasn't particularly fond of it. Besides, it was a custom-made item displayed so prominently. If she argued about it, she wouldn't know if it was the customer's problem or the shop's problem. It was a waste of time. She was hungry and was thinking of going to find Wen Chuan and the others for a meal.
The woman turned to leave, but Fan Xiang grabbed her arm.
Qingyu looked at her with some confusion, "What's wrong?"
Lin Fanxiang first smiled and shook her head, then stepped forward to the female shop assistant and the woman in pink. The aloof woman said calmly, "Why are the jewelry pieces that Linglang Pavilion customizes for its customers displayed on the counter?"
The waitress looked embarrassed, while the woman in pink next to her blinked and said, "They put it in the wrong place. They were just apologizing to us."
Lin Fanxiang: "Linglangge's custom-made jewelry has always been personally delivered to customers at the specified time and place. From the moment it leaves the warehouse to the moment it is inspected, it is kept separate from other products sold. How could it be mixed up to this extent?"
Qingyu understood immediately. Fan Xiang must know the owner of this jewelry store, otherwise she wouldn't be familiar with such procedures. And with the fan hanging in such a conspicuous place, it couldn't possibly be a custom-made ornament.
The saleswoman panicked upon hearing this and quickly said, "That's not true. This fan is just hanging here as... it's not for sale."
Qingyu: "...Your jewelry store is really something else. One minute you say it's custom-made, the next you say it's not for sale. Are you deliberately trying to fool your customers?"
Lin Fanxiang frowned. "Call your manager out here."
Seeing that more and more people were looking their way, the woman in pink became flustered. She looked at the woman in green beside her, tugged at her sleeve, and whispered, "Ruoxin... I..."
Li Ruoxin calmed herself down and then said to Qingyu and Lin Fanxiang,
"To tell you the truth, this Linglang Pavilion is owned by my family, and this fan was just picked out by my friend. We just didn't want to argue with you, so we simply said it was custom-made."
"You own this place?"
Lin Fanxiang actually laughed at this moment. She looked the female swordsman in green up and down and asked, "May I ask your name, young lady, and how you came to be the owner of this silver shop?"
The woman lowered her eyes for a moment, then raised her chin and said firmly, "Li Ruoxin of the Li family of Qingzhou."
"The Li family of Qingzhou..."
Qingyu muttered something under her breath, then couldn't help but chuckle. She leaned closer to Fan Xiang and asked in a low voice, "Whose jewelry store is this anyway?"
Lin Fanxiang pursed her lips, looking at Li Ruoxin with a hint of speechlessness.
"Linglang Pavilion, Linglang Pavilion, what do you say?"
Qingyu: "..."
Ling... Ling An... Lin...
Li Ruoxin wasn't afraid of them at all, since she genuinely believed that the jewelry store was owned by the Li family.
Seeing this, Lin Fanxiang was quite helpless. She glanced at the waitress indifferently, not intending to make things difficult for her, and asked, "Where is your manager?"
The shop assistant looked troubled. She glanced at Li Ruoxin's side, then at Lin Fanxiang's side, and finally said helplessly, "Our manager is outside right now and is not here... But what this Miss Li said is correct, our owner is indeed the Li family."
As the shopkeeper finished speaking, the woman in pink who was the first to buy a fan laughed, "I've already told you that these are our fans, but you still don't believe me. You have to make it sound like this."
Qingyu sized up the woman in pink, then curled her lips and said, "We came here to buy things, not to see who owns this jewelry store. What, other shops welcome customers when they open for business, but here, it's just you who get to come?"
"Regardless of whether this fan is good or bad, it's not surprising that a guest would take a liking to it since it's displayed here."
"But you two, just to lie about the fans, you claim to be the owners. So what? Although I don't understand business, I know that once these goods are on the counter and in the account, even the owner can't just take them in and out at will, can they?"
"Oh, it's also possible that your Linglang Pavilion doesn't have this rule... In other words, everything in this pavilion now is leftovers that you don't want anymore?"
The onlookers laughed at first, then became somewhat suspicious. Although there weren't that many people, the sound was undeniably jarring, and some even quietly echoed it.
"Exactly, if you didn't know better, you'd think Linglang Pavilion was deliberately making fun of its guests."
"...So, it seems...the things in this pavilion might really be..."
"But who exactly are these two young ladies... No one has ever seen the owner of Linglang Pavilion before..."
"Who knows..."
...
What are you saying?!
The woman in pink was angered by Qing Yu's nonchalant yet disdainful attitude. The teasing of the people around her only added to her frustration. She took a few steps forward but was stopped by Li Ruoxin, who told her not to act impulsively.
Lu Zhitao stopped, looked at Qingyu and smiled, a hint of smugness in her expression. "Do you know who I am?"
Qingyu: "..."
Some people among humans are really strange. If you don't tell me, how am I supposed to know who you are?
I don't care who you are!
Suddenly, a boy's loud voice rang out from outside the door. Looking in the direction of the voice, a boy dressed in black strode into the Linglang Pavilion, with two swords hanging at his waist. His appearance and demeanor were extraordinary.
It's Zhang Xuan.
Qingyu raised an eyebrow; his timing was perfect.
Although he didn't know what had happened, Zhang Xuan could tell that Qing Yu and the others had a dispute with the two people opposite them, especially Lin Fanxiang, whose expression was indifferent, but subtle changes in her expression still showed that she was somewhat unhappy.
Seeing this, Zhang Xuan walked directly between the two groups and first addressed Lu Zhitao from a superior position,
"Since you've asked and seem so confident, I might as well guess who you are."
"The demon-suppressing envoy Lan Yuncheng and the two deputy envoys of Xuzhou are all men, not women."
“Aside from the Lan family, only the Guo and Su families in Xuzhou deserve my respect, or perhaps the sword cultivator Cai Danglu… at least they are people of equal cultivation to me…”
"Well then, let's guess further back. I came from Shengjing and haven't seen you in Jingzhou, so it must be Qingzhou?"
"Fang Buyan, the demon-suppressing envoy of Qingzhou, suffers from blindness. He does have a female deputy envoy named Lian Miao, but I heard that she is already thirty years old and is not a young woman."
"The governor of Qingzhou does have a daughter, but I haven't heard of her having any achievements in cultivation..."
"Thinking about it again, it's the cultivators from the Duanmu, Ji, and Li clans of Qingzhou..."
"Hmm...you don't seem like it at all..."
"Alas, young lady, you have such a big mouth. It's a pity that I, Zhang, really don't know who you are."
The young man glanced down at Lu Zhitao, his expression calm as he slowly listed the powerful figures from several states. He didn't recite many names, but rather proceeded gradually, eliminating them one by one, guessing their identities one by one—
"What kind of skill is it to bully women!"
Li Ruoxin was angry to see Lu Zhitao so frightened by Zhang Xuan that she dared not say a word and her eyes were brimming with tears!
What guessing? He's clearly mocking Zhi Tao for being unknown in Kyushu, relentlessly pressuring and bullying a weak woman! How can a grown man have the nerve to do this?!
The woman gripped the hilt of her knife and stepped forward, separating herself from Lu Zhitao. She looked up and stared directly at Zhang Xuan, her eyes resolute and even righteous.
"Come at me if you have a problem!"
Zhang Xuan: "..."
Where did this idiot come from?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
