The entrance to the jade gambling street.
With his hands behind his back, Qin Yucheng smiled at the girl, "If Hua'er needs someone to cut stones, the Li family shop happens to have a few experienced master craftsmen."
Upon hearing this, Su Hua gently shook her head. "Thank you for your help. Zichen knows how to cut stones, so we won't trouble the shop's craftsmen."
Actually, she didn't know that Xiao Jinhan was even skilled at stone cutting. However, neither the stone cutting masters at the Liu family shop nor the Li family shop were as reliable as Xiao Jinhan.
After all, given her daring actions when her space first swallowed the jade, if the jade in the stepping stone was truly what the space needed, the bracelet's reaction upon unearthing the jade would have been enormous.
Qin Yu nodded knowingly, glancing at the man carrying the jade out of the corner of his eye, and smiled gently, "Then Hua'er, go ahead and get busy. If you need any help, you can send someone to Tianxiang Tower or the jade shop to find me."
"Okay." Su Hua replied with a smile, and then got into the carriage with Xiao Jinhan and the other children, including Su Dalang.
"Brother, where did your usual shrewdness go? Didn't you prepare a table of seafood at Tianxiang Restaurant a long time ago? Why didn't you say so?"
Sister Su loves seafood the most, if you tell her that she definitely won't leave." Qin Yingxian watched the carriage gradually disappear into a small dot, then looked at her brother's expression, and stomped her feet in anger.
"Xiao Jinhan is so good at handling things. He never misses a chance to make a scene when it's time to step in. If you keep waiting like this, Sister Su will be snatched away by him!"
"What's your hurry? If you want to eat seafood, go to Tianxianglou yourself." The boy blushed slightly at his words and headed towards the jade shop.
"Is this a problem with the seafood?!" Seeing that he was stubborn, Qin Yingxian quickly pulled him back. "Sister Su is so nice. Let's not even talk about Xiao Jinhan. Just look at that Liu Lin from the Liu family. He saw Sister Su for the first time today, and his eyes have been glued to her the whole time."
If I were your older brother, I would have gone after him long ago. If you don't make an effort now, don't wait until later to regret it..."
"Regret? Regret what?" Before the two could finish speaking, Wei Jianjia stood three steps away with a smile, "What are Yingxian and Yucheng talking about? Tell me so I can hear it too!"
Qin Yingxian shut her mouth, her interest immediately waning. "It was just a joke. There are so many good stones on display at the jade gambling fair today. Don't you want to take a look, cousin?"
"Of course I want to go and see." Wei Jianjia raised her beautiful eyes, looked at the young man beside her, pursed her lips for a while, and finally said gently, "Yu Cheng, would you like to come with me to take a look?"
The voice was still gentle, but this time, it clearly carried a heavy sense of expectation.
Qin Yucheng paused for a moment. "I still have some things to take care of. The Li family shop has received a new batch of raw stones. If my cousin takes a liking to anything, she can take it. Just ask the shopkeeper to put it on my tab."
Upon hearing these blatant words of rejection, coupled with that all-too-familiar "cousin," Wei Jianjia's hopes vanished, replaced by a soft laugh.
She raised her hand and grabbed Qin Yucheng's sleeve. The bright red wide sleeves contrasted beautifully with the moon-white brocade robe. "Yucheng, wait a moment. I'm returning to the capital tonight. Let's have lunch together at noon as a farewell meal, shall we?"
"Is my cousin going back?" Qin Yucheng asked, slightly surprised.
"Hmm." Wei Jianjia lowered her eyes slightly, her gaze fixed on the overlapping sleeves of the two of them. "I received a letter from home asking me to go back early. I was planning to talk to you this afternoon, but Yu Cheng is busy. Surely you can find time to have a meal with me?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Yucheng nodded gently, "Then Yingxian and I will go to Tianxianglou to bid farewell to my cousin."
***
At the same time, Xiao Jinhan's carriage entered the end of Tongxin Alley in Tangshan Prefecture, the Yu family stronghold.
Looking at the alley with the same name, and the restaurants and outposts with the same layout, Su Hua couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement. "If I didn't know I was in Tangshan Prefecture, I would probably think I was in Qingshui County right now."
Xiao Jinhan smiled and explained, "This Tongxin Lane was named by my maternal grandfather. However, it is only Tongxin Lane in Tangshan Prefecture. In other prefectures, it is not the same."
Su Hua instantly understood. These restaurants were part of the dowry that the old Prince Gong had given to Xiao Jinhan's mother. The phrase "shared heart and mind" naturally meant that he hoped the person she had chosen would share the same heart with her. Parents love their children and plan far ahead. Unfortunately, no matter how much consideration they had, they could not overcome the human heart.
On the surface, the Yu family's stronghold looked no different from an ordinary residence. This was Su Hua's second time visiting the stronghold; the first time was when she dealt with the Wang family's group in Qingshui County.
At this moment, the stronghold was very quiet, as if it had been cleared out in advance, with only a white-haired servant remaining.
He was about sixty years old, with white hair and beard, but his complexion was very ruddy. As soon as he saw Xiao Jinhan, he could hardly contain his smile. "Young Master, you've arrived! Have you eaten yet? How about this old servant goes and prepare some dishes for you now? Fresh chicken, duck, and fish have just been delivered from the estate..."
“Uncle Zhou, there’s no need for you to go to all this trouble.” Xiao Jinhan affectionately pulled him along, a slight smile playing on her lips. “I came here today to ask Uncle Zhou to help me cut a few pieces of fabric.”
"Slicing jade?" Uncle Zhou hesitated for a moment, then finally noticed a large basket of jade on the ground, and a cat and a dog beside it. "Oh my, whose little girl is this? She's so pretty. And these two little babies, a little tiger, they're all so handsome..."
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