Chapter 36◇
◎This is mine◎
Zhengqian Street is a famous snack street in Beijing, and it is usually very lively.
Feng Ran thought she was just passing by Zhengqian Street. She looked at the snacks on Zhengqian Street with some regret, pouted, rubbed her stomach, and comforted herself in a low voice, "I'll comfort you in a couple of days! I'm going to accumulate merit today, this is a big deal."
The voice wasn't loud or soft, but Duan Jingchuan was quite close, so the whispered words immediately reached his ears and touched his heart. His eyes were filled with laughter, and he didn't say anything more. Instead, he led the dejected Feng Ran forward until they stopped in front of a stall.
Suddenly stopping in her tracks, Feng Ran almost bumped into Duan Jingchuan's arms, but luckily he braced himself with his hand and she managed to keep her balance.
Looking up, she finally saw what was in front of her. Her little eyebrows furrowed. "Didn't you say you were going to do something good? Why did you bring me here to eat? Did you change your mind?"
Xiuer, following behind, couldn't help but burst out laughing. It turned out that the princess consort hadn't realized the prince had brought her here to eat the whole way. She was really adorably silly.
Feng Ran and Xiu'er were already quite familiar with each other, so she didn't care that Xiu'er was mocking her. She continued to stare at Duan Jingchuan with a rather resentful look.
Duan Jingchuan feigned anger, "Do you think I'm a person who doesn't keep their word?"
Feng Ran immediately reacted with a surge of survival instinct, "No! My husband is the best! My husband is the greatest! Even a fart from my husband is real!"
Feng Ran put a lot of effort into these words, attracting all the attention around her. Some disdainful glances turned hostile towards Feng Ran the moment they saw Duan Jingchuan's face, as if they were mortal enemies from a past life.
Even the small vendor selling cakes in front of him trembled, and a cake was ruined.
The smile froze on Duan Jingchuan's face, and it looked like it was about to crack.
The pastry vendor in front of them was very perceptive, fearing a fight might break out between the young couple, and quickly asked, "Young master and lady, would you like some pastries? My pastries are the best."
Having already reached the vendor's stall, how could Feng Ran possibly give up the delicious food? She made a move to reach into her pocket for some silver, but before she could, Duan Jingchuan's slender fingers had already placed a piece of silver into the vendor's hand.
When the vendor saw the one or two taels of silver, his brow twitched, and he waved his hand repeatedly, quickly returning the silver. "Young man, do you have any copper coins? Five copper coins will do; I really don't have change for this silver."
Duan Jingchuan's hand, holding the silver, froze for a moment. He looked at the silver in his hand with a somewhat innocent expression. Just as he was about to utter the words "no need to look for it," Feng Ran reacted immediately, taking the tael of silver from Duan Jingchuan's hand and handing five copper coins to the vendor. "Thank you, sir. Here are five coins. Just give me back the pastry that was shaking earlier."
Duan Jingchuan watched as Feng Ran stuffed the loose silver coins in his hand back into her pocket, and asked with considerable confusion, "Does Madam have no money left?"
Feng Ran touched her nose and said with a fawning expression, "Husband, I only have five copper coins on me. Would you mind giving me this silver?"
Duan Jingchuan smirked. Although he asked if it was okay to give it to her, he was quick to take the silver. Now he couldn't even see a trace of it.
She turned back and gave Xiong Qi a questioning look. Xiong Qi then looked at Xiu'er with a questioning look. Xiu'er looked at Feng Ran innocently. Goodness, this whole cycle has started.
After exchanging glances, Duan Jingchuan understood everything. It was clear that Feng Ran was a little money-grubber, carrying silver in her pocket and still eyeing the one or two taels of silver in his hand. She was a money-grubber to the extreme.
Xiuer couldn't help but grumble inwardly. The princess consort's silver box was almost overflowing, yet she still claimed to be poor.
The cake vendor didn't give Fengran the damaged cake; instead, he picked out a new one.
Holding the warm cakes in her hands, Feng Ran ate them with great relish. After taking a couple of bites, she noticed the three people surrounding her staring at the cakes in her hands. She asked timidly, "Do you want some?"
Xiong Qi and Xiu'er both shook their heads.
Duan Jingchuan chuckled enigmatically, "If I get hungry too, would you like to give me another five coins to buy one?"
Feng Ran bit her lip and reluctantly handed over the cake she had only taken two bites of, saying, "I only took two bites, the rest is yours."
Duan Jingchuan wasn't interested in the pastries in Feng Ran's hands, but rather in her greasy little mouth. However, he couldn't do anything intimate in public, and in fact, he didn't dare to do so even in the mansion.
She coughed lightly. "You eat it yourself, I'm not hungry yet."
With a whoosh, Feng Ran abruptly pulled back her outstretched hand, took a big bite, and the cake, which was as big as her face, was instantly reduced by more than half.
For some reason, Duan Jingchuan unconsciously compared his and Gaobing's status in Feng Ran's heart.
After thinking for a moment, he shook his head again. He was really obsessed. How could he have such a strange idea?
After Feng Ran and her group had walked away, the people around them began to whisper among themselves.
A woman in her twenties looked on in a daze. “Whose young master is this? He looks unfamiliar. He’s so handsome and refined. How could he marry such an unsuitable wife?”
The man next to him scoffed in dissatisfaction, "He might be a gigolo. Didn't you see that the madam took all the money from his hand?"
"If I looked like that, I'd be willing to be a kept man."
"Don't even think about it. That couple is no ordinary person, and they have guards with them. Be careful what you say."
The woman, who had been daydreaming, snapped back to reality and continued to entertain the guests with great enthusiasm, not forgetting to retort, "I was just thinking about it; I can't even afford to eat myself."
After silencing Feng Ran, Duan Jingchuan led her through a maze of turns into a relatively quiet alley.
As soon as you step inside, the quietness of the alley contrasts sharply with the hustle and bustle of the outside world, and instead, it has a more human touch. From a distance, you can hear what seems to be some children chattering away.
Finally, the group stopped at the entrance of a large courtyard, and Xiong Qi went up to knock on the door.
"Who is it? You're not looking for me, are you? I haven't gotten myself into any romantic entanglements these past few days." A young man's voice rang out, his frivolous tone evident even before he saw the person.
"Go open the door, what nonsense are you spouting in front of the children?" A middle-aged woman's voice followed closely behind, and the two seemed to know each other very well.
"Okay, okay!" the young man replied with a laugh.
A moment later, a series of dragging footsteps approached from afar, finally reaching the door. Someone pushed the door open, nostrils flared, and demanded menacingly, "Who is it!"
Before Xiong Qi could even speak, the young man saw Duan Jingchuan in front of him, his eyes widened, and he jumped up dramatically as if he had an epileptic seizure, shouting, "Jingchuan?!"
The young man, dressed in crimson, looked like some dissolute young master. When he saw Duan Jingchuan, he acted as if he had seen a ghost, and his voice trembled slightly.
Duan Jingchuan nodded and chuckled.
Before Duan Jingchuan could speak, the young man quickly looked around and, seeing that no one was around, breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to tug at Duan Jingchuan's sleeve when he suddenly remembered something and quickly withdrew his hand. Instead, he tugged at Xiong Qi's sleeve, nagging as he pulled Xiong Qi inside, "Come in quickly."
When the woman in the courtyard heard no sound from outside the door, she called out at the top of her lungs, "Young Master Zhao, who is it?"
Upon hearing the voice, the young man immediately sprang to his feet like a rooster with its feathers standing on end, shouting, "Nobody's here! Don't come out! Tell the kids inside not to come out!"
He only breathed a sigh of relief after the door was completely closed, revealing that only Duan Jingchuan and his group, along with the young man, were inside.
Duan Jingchuan remained silent throughout, simply following the young man's footsteps. The light smile on his lips couldn't hide his good mood.
Feng Ran's eyes kept darting between the young man and Duan Jingchuan, secretly wondering what their relationship was.
The young man, still unable to hide his shock as he looked at Duan Jingchuan's face, was about to say something when he realized they were too close. He hurriedly took four or five steps back before anxiously asking, "Jingchuan, why are you out? Did something happen at home?"
"Also, why did you run out alone without a sedan chair? What if you get frightened? No, no, come with me into the inner courtyard right away. My room is very quiet. Go and sit for a while."
Feng Ran finally discovered that there was someone even noisier than her.
They remained completely silent while the man opposite them rattled off a long string of words. However, judging from his actions, he seemed quite familiar with the socially awkward girl, and they must have had a lot of contact on a daily basis; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to avoid her so naturally, yet show such thorough concern.
The young man stared at Duan Jingchuan cautiously, afraid that he might show any discomfort on his face. However, after staring for a while, he noticed that in addition to the smile on Duan Jingchuan's face, there was also a hint of teasing in his eyes.
The young man flew into a rage, "Who are you? How dare you impersonate Jing Chuan! I'll tear you apart!"
After saying that, the young man pounced on Duan Jingchuan. He and Duan Jingchuan were about the same height. The young man pressed down on Duan Jingchuan's face, his fingers constantly rubbing the edges. After pulling several times, Duan Jingchuan finally pushed the young man away with a helpless look. "Are you sure now?"
This push away was all it took for Duan Jingchuan to notice the tears in the young man's eyes.
The young man seemed to realize he had overreacted. He wiped his eyes with his expensive robe and gently patted Duan Jingchuan's shoulder. "You're all right now, you can come out."
Seeing that Duan Jingchuan looked relaxed and showed no sign of helplessness or aversion despite his efforts to rub, push, and pat her, the young man was so excited that he hugged Duan Jingchuan tightly and said repeatedly, "That's so good, that's so good."
Duan Jingchuan let him hug him and patted his shoulder in a good-natured manner.
Feng Ran, watching from the side, was not very happy. The little socially anxious person was hers, and she could breathe in it every day. It was such a pleasant thing. What if someone else picked up a different scent and she didn't like it anymore?
She moved gracefully behind the young man, grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back, emphasizing, "This is mine, mine!"
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