Chapter 118 The Young Master from a Prestigious Family is Most Afraid of Me
—"Mei Shiyu, the young master of the Mei family."
The young master of the Mei family who raised the money? Guan Ye remembered the person the accountant had mentioned. He was able to remain calm in the face of danger and raise so much money in just a few days; he must be very capable. They would recognize even faded banknotes, so he would surely recognize old friends who had long since left.
Seeing that Guan Ye remained silent for a long time, Xiao Ma asked suspiciously, "Why aren't you saying anything? Aren't you afraid that we'll reveal our identities to Mei Shiyu... What if he exposes us to the court...?"
“You only have one last coin left. If you don’t try, you’ll have no chance at all.” Guan Ye grabbed Xiao Ma’s sleeve and strode towards Gongcheng Money Shop. “It’s getting late. What are you dawdling for? Let’s go.”
Guan Ye had a strong grip and pulled Xiao Ma without any resistance. Xiao Ma staggered, but no longer hesitated.
"Guan Ye, let go." Xiao Ma vaguely saw a beautiful figure in pink looking at him. "Let go."
Guan Ye thought Xiao Ma was going to change his mind again, so she grabbed his wrist like she was holding a hammer and wouldn't let go. "You talk too much nonsense."
"Let go, let go first, I'll walk by myself." Xiao Ma pleaded, her beautiful figure approaching them. If Mei Xiaoqing saw her like this, it would be the end of her.
Guan Ye looked up and saw a girl in pink standing angrily in front of her. The girl was about the same age as Ji Yuan, and both had bright almond eyes like stars. Ji Yuan was innocent and naive, but this girl was burning with a fierce and unyielding spirit. For example, when she was standing with her hands on her hips glaring at her, she looked like she was going to devour her and Xiao Ma.
Guan Ye suddenly let go, and Xiao Ma stumbled and fell several steps. He barely managed to stand up by pressing his sword to the ground. He looked up and left and right at Guan Ye and Mei Xiaojing, who had met him in the narrow passage, and quietly hid behind the wall while rubbing his wrist.
Mei Xiaojing glanced at Xiao Ma's wrist, which was gripped red, and then looked at the red-clad girl in front of her. She was not only beautiful, but also tall. Her height reached Xiao Ma's ears. The vibrant red color complemented Xiao Ma's dark green clothes perfectly. Standing side by side, they actually looked quite good together... This was her own intersection. This was intolerable. If she could tolerate it, she wouldn't be Mei.
"What are you doing holding onto Xiao Ma?" Mei Xiaojing asked first.
Guan Ye spread her hands and looked at them. "I was afraid he would run away, so I grabbed him."
Mei Xiaojing's eyes widened in anger. "Xiao Ma has hands and feet, and he's not tied up by you. He can go wherever he wants. Who are you to him that you dare to interfere?"
Guan Ye scrutinized the girl's flushed, puffed-up face, and then recalled the pleading in Xiao Ma's words. She immediately realized that even Ma Lin, the smartest man in Xingguo Ward, had a hidden weakness.
"Why can't we do anything about him?" Guan Ye glared at the little horse by the wall. Suddenly, the little horse involuntarily shrank back. "Little horse, you're most afraid of me, little horse, tell this girl, isn't that right?"
"Yes, yes... ptooey, ptooey, no." Xiao Ma's tongue was tumbling out in a panic, and the more anxious he became, the less fluent he became. He wished he could pull his tongue out and straighten it. "Miss Mei, don't listen to her."
"Miss Mei?" Guan Ye feigned surprise, walking closer to Mei Xiaojing and looking her up and down. "Xiao Ma, you two know each other? When did you meet?"
Mei Xiaoqing was younger, and although she had a strong presence, she felt a little uneasy as the tall Guan Ye approached her step by step and kept asking about her and Xiao Ma. However, she still stubbornly insisted, "Xiao Ma has been to the money exchange several times, so why can't we get to know each other? And who are you? What is your relationship with Xiao Ma?"
“Xiao Ma,” Guan Ye tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at him, “you tell her.”
Xiao Ma clasped his hands and bowed repeatedly to Guan Ye, saying, "Guan Ye, Grandma Guan, I beg you, this young lady is not someone to be trifled with, please stop teasing me."
Guan Ye stopped teasing Xiao Ma, turned around and smiled at Mei Xiaojing, "My name is Guan Ye, are you Miss Mei? I was just playing with Xiao Ma, please don't take offense."
Mei Xiaojing was always more responsive to gentle persuasion than force. Seeing Guan Ye's respectful attitude towards her, a blush rose on her pretty face, and she became somewhat shy. She lowered her eyebrows, fiddled with her fingers, looked up at Guan Ye again, and said loudly, "My name is Mei Xiaojing."
“Since your surname is Mei, you must be a young lady from the Mei family.” Guan Ye stepped forward generously, pointed at Xiao Ma and said, “Xiao Ma was hesitant, so I held onto him because I was afraid he would run away halfway.” As she spoke, she leaned down and whispered in Mei Xiaojing’s ear, “Miss Mei, please don’t misunderstand.”
Seeing Mei Xiaojing's cheeks flushed red from afar, Xiao Ma was worried that Guan Ye was talking nonsense, so he quickly took a few steps over and pulled Mei Xiaojing aside, saying, "Guan Ye is just talking nonsense, don't listen to her."
"Guan Ye told me not to misunderstand you two." Mei Xiaoqing's eyes flickered. "Is she talking nonsense?"
Xiao Ma wanted to slap himself. "No, no... I thought she was talking nonsense. Guan Ye wasn't talking nonsense. She was telling the truth. There was nothing wrong with her..." As he spoke, he stretched out his reddened wrist. "Guan Ye, you're too strong. Are you like this with A Jiu too?"
"Who is Ajiu?" Mei Xiaojing asked innocently.
“Yes…” Xiao Ma winked, “He’s Guan Ye’s lover.”
Guan Ye showed no embarrassment and pointed to the gate of the Mei Family Money Shop ahead, "Miss Mei, may we go in?"
“Of course.” Mei Xiaojing hurriedly led the way. “The Mei family’s money shop is always open. Anyone who comes to do business can come and go.”
“What if…were not here to do business?” Guan Ye asked again.
Mei Xiaojing smiled broadly, "My cousin and I are even happier when our friends come to visit."
Guan Ye glanced at Xiao Ma, then at Mei Xiao Jing's slender back, ran two fingers across Xiao Ma's eyes, and gave him a thumbs up.
As winter deepened, Mei Shiyu's lung disease worsened. After Mu Chenbi's nighttime visit to the money exchange, Mei Shiyu had been bedridden for several days. He knew he wouldn't die so easily, but if he couldn't do anything and was controlled by others, what difference would it make from death?
"Is Young Master Mei ill?" Smelling the medicinal soup in the corridor and seeing Mei Xiaojing leading him into the inner room, Xiao Ma vaguely felt that something was wrong.
Mei Xiaojing's eyes reddened. "He's been lying in bed for days, barely eating anything, and he's lost a lot of weight. Xiao Ma, do you think... my cousin isn't going to die?"
"Pah, pah, pah!" Xiao Ma was so anxious he wanted to stomp his feet. How could someone so old still speak so recklessly? "Young Master Mei has a strong destiny, how could she die? Can't you think of something good? Guan Ye, you talk to her."
Guan Ye affectionately patted Mei Xiaoqing's shoulder. When her mother was sickly, she worried that one day she would wake up and find her mother dead beside her, with few living relatives left. Guan Ye understood Mei Xiaoqing.
“The young master of Xingguo Ward has been weak and crippled since childhood, but he’s still living a good life,” Guan Ye comforted him. “He runs a school on the island, teaching everyone to read and write rain or shine. He’s still the one who’s doing the best. I’ve heard that the weaker you are, the longer you’ll live. You should believe me.”
"Really?" Mei Xiaojing wiped her eyes. "The young master of the Pei family you mentioned, has he also come to Rongdu?"
Guan Ye shook her head. For a moment, she suddenly missed Pei Chu. The young master was insightful. If he were here, he could definitely point out the way for everyone who was confused. "He stayed on Canglang Island. In his opinion, there was no better place than there."
"It would be great if he came to Rongdu." Mei Xiaojing, being a child, said whatever came to mind. "If my cousin could meet him, the two of them would definitely get along very well."
"Who's come to Rongdu?" Mei Shiyu's low, hoarse voice came from inside the house.
Mei Xiaojing pointed to her ear at Guan Ye Xiaoma, pushed open the door and smiled mischievously, "Your ears are really sharp; you could hear what we were saying even through the door."
Before meeting Mei Shiyu, Guan Ye had been wondering what kind of person the famous young master of the Mei family was. The strong smell of medicine in the corridor made Guan Ye realize that the young master of the Mei family, like Pei Chu, was a sickly person with great wisdom. They were born into prestigious families and were very talented, but for various reasons they were trapped in this small world and could not fully display their talents.
But when Guan Ye finally saw the renowned Mei Shiyu in person, she realized that he was different from Pei Chu. For example, when Mei Xiaojing opened the door, Mei Shiyu was still holding a half-eaten Bazhen cake in his hand. When he saw the guests behind Mei Xiaojing, Mei Shiyu flicked his finger, and the cake crumbs scattered all over the floor.
"Mei Xiaojing." Mei Shiyu's face darkened as he straightened up with one hand and hurriedly wiped the crumbs from his mouth with the other. "Why didn't you take the guests to the main room to wait for them? You brought them into my room without even saying hello. It's really...unseemly!"
Mei Xiaojing looked aggrieved. "I was thinking that since you and Xiao Ma hit it off immediately, he's not exactly an outsider."
“Then…” Mei Shiyu looked at Guan Ye, “I’ve never seen that girl before either.”
Guan Ye quickly covered her eyes and turned her back, saying, "Young Master Mei, you don't know, my eyesight isn't very good, I didn't see anything."
Mei Xiaojing suppressed a laugh as she draped a fox fur coat over her cousin, smoothing out even the fur collar, and asked, "Cousin, may that young lady turn around now?"
Mei Shiyu took a deep breath and coughed as a sign of acknowledgment. He then looked at Xiao Ma and asked, "Did my sister blurt out that I was sick and asked you to come see me?"
“Miss Mei, she…” Xiao Ma glanced at Mei Xiaojing’s lovely face, “She didn’t say anything. It was me… who wanted to come and see you, Young Master Mei.”
"Looking for me?" Mei Shiyu asked curiously, a little color returning to his pale face. "Last time you left before I could finish speaking. What's wrong? Is something the matter?"
Guan Ye carefully observed Mei Shiyu's appearance. He was very handsome, but his face was pale and haggard. The inner room was dimly lit, and he leaned against the bed, his posture very much like Pei Chu. However, he was different from Pei Chu. In Guan Ye's memory, when Jiang Muyun was alive, Pei Chu was gentle and affectionate, as broad as the sky. After Jiang Muyun sacrificed himself in the furnace, he became a different person. He stared at the unseen and intangible ghostly figure outside the window, his face with an eerie calmness, and his deep eyes as unfathomable as an abyss.
Mei Shiyu, standing before me, looked sickly, but his eyes were resolute and wise. He quietly observed the two uninvited guests, his dark eyes lowered, and calmly waited for them to state their purpose.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
