"Miss Xie is very generous; I am truly humbled." Shen Qiyin spoke modestly, but the half-smile on her face betrayed a completely different story.
"I'm just curious, did you pay for this 140 taels of silver yourself, or did the Vice Minister's office pay for it for you?"
Xie Qing's heart tightened.
Shen Qiyin continued, "If you show off your power and then make the Feng family pay the bill, then it's not surprising. After all, it's someone else's money, so of course they won't feel bad about spending it."
Her words sent a chill down Xie Qing's spine.
She quickly looked at Feng Ruoying beside her, only to see that the latter was also looking at her, looking at her blankly as if seeking confirmation.
Now that things have come to this, she could only put on a brave face and pretend to be calm, saying, "Miss, you underestimate us. My Xie family has plenty of money."
Feng Ruoying blurted out instinctively, "Then why do you always spend my monthly allowance on clothes?"
Xie Qing: "..."
"Ying'er, I'm doing this to avenge you!" Is she stupid? How could she turn around and sabotage her!
“…Oh.” Feng Ruoying lowered her eyes: “I’m sorry, cousin.”
That's clever of them.
The sisters did not take this much silver with them when they went out, so they had to ask the servants to go back and get it while they stayed in Qingyin Pavilion to wait.
Chen Xiyin did not leave during this time.
Feng Ruoying found it strange: "Why aren't you leaving? What are you waiting for?"
"Just wait and see how ridiculous it becomes."
"Where did this joke come from?"
"If someone makes a big boast and then can't get their money back, maybe this flute will come back to me eventually."
"Impossible!" Feng Ruoying said through gritted teeth, "My cousin's maid will bring the money back soon, I'm sure of it!"
Shen Qiyin was silent for a moment, then asked her with a puzzled look, "Why are you chewing on that thing?"
Finally, he muttered to himself, "No wonder my breath tastes so bad..."
After saying that, she silently moved away from Feng Ruoying.
Feng Ruoying was absolutely furious.
Fortunately, Xie Qing's maid returned in time. After paying the money, Xie Qing quickly pulled her away, afraid that if they were a step too late, Feng Ruoying would pounce on Shen Qiyin and bite her.
However, when she passed by Shen Qiyin, she said, "Since it is fate that we meet, I would like to advise you, young lady, that you should have self-awareness and not covet what does not belong to you."
“There are some ordinary bamboo flutes over there, which would be more suitable for a young lady like you.”
Shen Qiyin remained silent upon hearing this, letting her walk away from him.
After they left, the manager of Qingyin Pavilion took out some silver and gave it to Shen Qiyin.
Fifty taels of silver.
"These ten taels are yesterday's deposit," the shopkeeper said, beaming. "These forty taels are your share of the profits."
turn out to be--
As soon as Shen Qiyin saw Feng Ruoying, she guessed that she might come to cause trouble, so she made a deal with the shopkeeper in advance that she would help him sell the flute at a high price, and they would split the profit of the difference from the original price 50/50.
However, there are now five taels more.
She was puzzled.
Now that she had the money, she no longer had the motivation to ignore the stinging sensation in her throat and speak. She simply tilted her head slightly to show her confusion.
The shopkeeper, understanding the situation, explained, "The young lady has put in a lot of effort for this, so naturally she should take the lion's share."
He spoke politely, but Shen Qiyin did not readily believe him.
As the saying goes, no merchant is honest.
She didn't believe he would be so kind.
The reason they handed over the money they had already received was probably to "keep quiet," otherwise, if word got out, it would be difficult to do business in the future.
Shen Qiyin was not a meticulous person, so she did not point this out.
She glanced at the rows of flutes and gestured to the shopkeeper to bring out the flute she had actually ordered yesterday for her.
To everyone's surprise, the shopkeeper looked troubled: "...To tell you the truth, a distinguished person has also taken a fancy to the purple jade flute you ordered."
"He's upstairs right now. Why don't you go up and discuss whether you can part with him?"
The shopkeeper's attitude was clear: he opened the shop to make money and didn't want to offend anyone, so he didn't say who he would sell to and let them decide for themselves.
Shen Qiyin could tell from his tone that the other party was someone she couldn't afford to offend, so she had no intention of making things difficult for him. She simply asked him to lead the way so she could meet the so-called "noble person".
Upon reaching the second floor, Shen Qiyin immediately spotted the man sitting by the window.
Dressed in black, he exuded a cold and austere aura.
Isn't he a benefactor?
Not only did the shopkeeper not dare to offend her, but she couldn't afford to either.
Xiao Yan turned around when she heard footsteps. She wasn't surprised at all when she saw Shen Qiyin, clearly knowing from the start that it was her downstairs.
He parted his thin lips slightly and sparingly uttered a single word: "Sit."
With his well-defined knuckles, he picked up the purple clay teapot on the table, poured a cup of hot tea, and placed it on the seat opposite him.
The shopkeeper quietly withdrew.
Shen Qiyin walked over expressionlessly.
She curtsied to Xiao Yan before sitting down opposite him.
There was a long box on the table, which Shen Qiyin guessed contained the purple jade flute she wanted.
Noticing her gaze, Xiao Yan cut to the chase and asked, "You want this flute?"
"now that……"
He uttered only one word before his face contorted with pain.
I don't know if it's because I talked too much just now, but my throat hurts terribly and I sound a little hoarse.
She intended to take a sip of tea to moisten her throat before speaking, but unexpectedly, a piece of paper and a pen suddenly appeared in front of her.
Xiao Yan withdrew his hand, and the half of his face not covered by the mask showed no expression.
Shen Qiyin immediately picked up a pen, wrote down two characters with a "swish swish swish" sound, and then held it up to show him.
Thank you.
Xiao Yan's expression remained indifferent.
Shen Qiyin put down the paper and continued writing, then showed it to him again.
I do want this jade flute, but if you also desire it, then I will give it to you.
Xiao Yan's eyes flickered slightly, and he suddenly said meaningfully, "Not going to make money off me?"
Chen Xiyin was slightly taken aback.
He quickly realized that this person had arrived at Qingyin Pavilion before him and must have already seen the scene downstairs.
It's just unclear whether he's deliberately bringing this up now to put her in his grip, or simply to tease her.
Her mind raced with a thousand thoughts, but she showed no sign of it on her face.
[Not profitable]
I respect you, sir, and would never betray you.
This was essentially an admission that she had just tricked the Feng Ruoying sisters.
Xiao Yan's gaze was piercing: "You are quite frank."
Shen Xiyin lowered her head and picked up her pen.
A moment later, he looked up and held up the paper.
I tell adults everything I know.
Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow: "Really?"
Shen Qiyin nodded vigorously, her face displaying an expression of utter loyalty.
"Then let me ask you, that day at Jing'an Temple, was it you who set up a scheme to have someone witness Feng Heng and Shen Ruyin's secret rendezvous?"
Shen Qiyin's gaze suddenly froze, and she tightened her grip on the edge of the paper slightly.
Xiao Yan's eyes were as deep as the sea as he stared intently at her.
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