Chapter 8
"Xiaoyue'er, where are your parents?" She looked around but didn't see any adults accompanying her.
"Xiaoyue'er's parents are not here. Xiaoyue'er lives with her adoptive father."
Not here? Living with her adoptive father? Could she be an orphan?
"What about your adoptive father?"
"He's not home today."
Wait! What does this mean? Not home? Then who did she go out with?
"Who did you come with?"
What were her family thinking? They actually let a seven or eight-year-old girl wander around these busy streets alone? And dressed so extravagantly? While Yidu was known for its safety, there were still some scoundrels out there.
"I came here with Uncle Liefeng and Aunt Xue."
"Then where are they? Why aren't they with you?"
"Auntie Xue was here just now, but she met an acquaintance and left early because of something." Xiaoyue'er looked indifferent.
No way? Just like Li Fei's cousin? He'd abandoned her and disappeared the moment he saw someone he knew. It seemed like they were actually feeling quite the same pain at the moment.
"Isn't there an uncle?"
"Uncle Liefeng? He was originally in the pastry shop. When Aunt Xue left, she asked me to go back and look for him, but when I got back, I couldn't find him."
Isn't this the funniest thing she's encountered recently? The adults are busy with their own things and may not even notice that the child is missing.
"So, are you going anywhere else today?"
"Xiaoyue still needs to buy clothes. Daddy said I was too busy with clothes and that we didn't have enough clothes at home to change into, so he asked Aunt Xue to take me to buy some more clothes."
Buying clothes...then the only weaving shop in Yi that can match her status is "Nishang Pavilion", but I wonder if her family will wait for her there?
"Xiao Yue'er, can I accompany you to the Nishang Pavilion to wait for your uncle? Since you want to buy clothes, he may go there to look for you." Yi Luoyue tried her best to show the most harmless smile, not knowing whether the child would believe her.
"Okay!" Xiaoyue happily took her hand.
She looked at the little person who was clinging to her with a mixture of laughter and tears. She never liked close contact with people, but she couldn't refuse her approach.
"Miss?" Bai Die, standing beside Yi Luoyue, was also surprised. Even though the princess was traveling incognito today, dressed as if she were away from the palace, she still had the aura of a royal princess. Most people would avoid her, but this little girl was incredibly bold! And the problem was, the princess actually let her do what she wanted.
"No problem."
"I say, Xiaoyue'er... didn't your adoptive father teach you not to trust strangers?"
He stretched out his hands and pinched the little girl's chubby cheeks. It seemed that Xiaoyue was quite trusting of strangers! He didn't know how her adoptive father raised his children.
"Daddy hasn't told Xiaoyue, but sister is not a stranger."
How could there be such an irresponsible adult! She instantly felt a surge of disgust towards Xiaoyue'er's adoptive father.
"Wow... stop pinching... Yue'er's face isn't a meat bun."
"You little devil." After saying that, he deliberately rubbed her head hard.
"Let's go."
"Give me a pot of the best Yunlu and a few more of their signature dim sum."
As soon as they stepped into the private room upstairs in the teahouse, Li Fei ordered the waiter to take them to the private room.
"Okay! Sir, please wait a moment, I'll be right there." The waiter turned around and went downstairs to work.
After a while, when the two of them sat down, the waiter quickly brought them tea and snacks, but neither of them spoke yet.
He was kind enough to pour her a cup of tea.
"Why aren't you talking? I don't remember Miss Gong being mute."
Gong Mingxue just snorted.
"What are you humming about? Are you mad at me?" The creditor was not angry, but the debtor was.
He sighed softly and poured himself a cup of tea.
"What do you want?" She frowned.
"I just want to talk to you. Let's talk about the matter at hand. Miss Gong, I think I haven't offended you, right?"
"No." She shrugged. She must have offended him.
"Then you have this stern face...as if I've offended you."
"Don't mind, Mr. Li, I've always been like this."
Li Fei closed her eyes for two seconds, showing how much she disliked him.
"The cakes in this shop are delicious. Come, do me a favor and try some." He pushed a plate of cakes in front of her. As the saying goes, don't give gifts to people who smile at you, and be patient...
She picked up a piece of mung bean cake and took a small bite. She looked down on a playboy like Li Fei, but she had to admit that the dim sum in this teahouse was absolutely delicious.
Seeing Gong Mingxue graciously tasting the pastries, Li Fei, whose plan had succeeded, suppressed her joy and prevented the corners of her mouth from curling up.
"So what exactly do you want to talk to me about today?"
"I just went to Jade Pavilion to take a look. The shop owner said they haven't found the right jade powder to repair it yet. But I can't just leave the jade pendant there forever, so I took it back and will send it back when they can repair it."
Don't think he doesn't know who owns Biyuxuan. Since Gong Yuchen sent two jade pendants yesterday, he quickly took back the damaged jade pendants today. As long as Gong Yuchen wants to leave the items there, they can be repaired in a matter of minutes.
"Alas! What a pity to waste such a good jade pendant."
In order to arouse her guilt, he even took out the broken jade pendant from his arms and showed it to her. He didn't believe that she would not feel guilty. Moreover, he bet that Gong Mingxue didn't know that Biyuxuan was Gong Yuchen's property.
Was he still trying to blackmail her after whipping the corpse? Could she deny it?
"How long will it take?" She just wanted to know when she could get rid of this annoying guy.
"have no idea."
"So, roughly, how much silver is needed? Five hundred taels? One thousand taels?" If this matter is not resolved, it will always be like a huge stone pressing on her heart, making her unable to sleep or eat.
"Stop! What I mean is, we don't know how long it will take to repair it anyway, so you don't have to rush to give me the money."
"Are you so kind?"
Li Fei couldn't help but shake her head and sigh. Forget about whether it could be repaired. Even if it could be repaired, there was no telling if it could be restored to its original state. Besides, if it came down to money, five hundred? One thousand? Even ten thousand taels wouldn't blink an eye. Would he be short of her small fortune? Forget it. She'd already reported it to Her Royal Highness, so she could let her imagination run wild. That would save her from having to find an excuse to ask her out later.
"I'm curious, are you this indifferent to everyone, or just to me?"
“Does it make any difference?” she replied, sipping her tea intermittently.
Li Fei couldn't help but frown. There were so many willing women out there. How could he be so self-destructive? He just wanted to be with a plain-looking woman who didn't even treat him well.
"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave." Seeing that he didn't speak for a long time, Gong Mingxue planned to get up and leave.
"Where are you going?" He grabbed her.
"Go home! Now that we've finished talking about everything, of course I'm going home."
"What do you mean 'finished talking'? I haven't even started yet! Come back here." He pulled her back again.
"Just say it, don't do anything."
"Okay, okay, I won't move. It's not a big deal, it's just that your cousin sent someone to look for me last night."
"Cousin? What does he have to do with me?"
"He sent me two jade pendants as an apology."
Didn’t she tell her cousin about stepping on Li Fei’s jade pendant?
"You said?" She hesitated and asked cautiously.
Puff! Li Fei's mouth full of tea sprayed out.
"Wait, what did you say? What did I say? Gong Mingxue, who did you learn this skill of turning the tables on others?" God knows, he didn't even have time to dodge.
"Who told him that?"
"Has it ever occurred to you that he found it out himself?"
"Why is he checking on me?" Impossible, why would my cousin check on her for no reason?
"I heard that your father intends to marry you to His Highness Gong Yu?" Li Fei secretly observed Gong Mingxue's expression carefully.
"I heard that Mr. Li will become the prince consort."
"Rumor! Absolutely a rumor."
Could it be that this lady was really sent by God to deal with him?
"Forget it, don't worry about how he found out. I've already returned the items. However, if Gong Yuchen comes to me about this again next time, I won't be able to hide the fact that you damaged the imperial gift."
"You're threatening me!"
"How dare I."
"You..." She wanted to retort.
"Eat more, I'll pay. You'll be at a loss if you don't finish it."
"No need. This lady doesn't accept charity. Although the Anguo Mansion is not as good at making money as your Wucheng Mansion, it can still cost enough for a meal." After saying that, she took out a few taels of silver from her sleeve and put it on the table with a bang. She didn't want to owe him anything!
Watching Gong Mingxue walk out of the private room.
"Hey! Wait a minute, I'll find a carriage to take you back." Li Fei quickly chased after him.
Yi Luoyue and Xiaoyue'er were walking on the most bustling and prosperous street in Yidu, with Xiaoyue'er jumping and skipping in front.
"Sister, it's so lively here! I didn't expect Yidu to be so fun now." Xiaoyue raised the corners of her lips happily.
"Run slower, hey! Watch out for people!" The two were so busy laughing that they were completely unaware of the astonished looks that were cast on them by the people around them.
Poor Baidie was carrying several boxes of food in both hands. After eating and shopping along the way, they came to the most famous weaving shop in the city, "Nishang Pavilion".
The weaving workshop was filled with all kinds of cloth and silk, countless dazzling beads and ribbons, and all kinds of clothes and shoes for men, women, old and young, which made them dazzled.
Xiaoyueer caught a glimpse of a yellow and white Liuxian skirt embroidered with osmanthus flowers on the display stand. She was delighted and rushed over to it, pulling Yi Luoyue.
"Sister, what kind of flower is this?" She asked excitedly, pointing to the small yellow flowers of varying shades embroidered on her skirt with gold and silver threads.
“This is called osmanthus.”
"Osmanthus? Is the osmanthus cake we bought back then made of osmanthus?"
"Yes, it's made of this sweet-scented osmanthus. Only in this season will the sweet-scented osmanthus bloom. Don't be fooled by its small size, but it can emit a refreshing fragrance."
"The osmanthus cake is delicious, and the osmanthus flowers are beautiful too."
"Xiaoyue likes flowers very much?" From her clothes and attire, it is not difficult to find traces of flowers everywhere.
"Yeah. Xiaoyue likes all flowers."
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