Heartless
"It seems that your identity as a son-in-law has become famous." Bai Miaoke joked with a smile.
The two of them strolled along the street, receiving countless looks and whispers from passers-by. Bai Miaoke had excellent hearing and heard a few words saying that it was a pity for such a handsome young man to be someone else's son-in-law.
She sighed, feeling sad for the women who were talking about her. Women should be more confident! What kind of man is not worthy of her? Why are you making such a fuss?
After strolling around until noon, the two went back to the restaurant they had visited last time. This time, without waiting for the waiter to ask, they found a seat by the window in the lobby and sat down.
This is also Bai Miaoke's habit. When she was performing missions in Yueying Pavilion in the past, she often had to observe the actions of the target to be assassinated. Then the position near the window was the most convenient whether for killing or escaping.
The waiter came to greet the two of them, and Bai Miaoke ordered a few local specialties that she wanted to eat last time but didn't: West Lake vinegar fish, braised pork with preserved vegetables, shredded pork with red oil, and chrysanthemum tofu.
Before the ordered dishes were served, a few plates of exquisite dim sum were delivered. The waiter bowed and said, "This is what our lady gave to our distinguished guests. It is also a local specialty. Please try it."
"Who is your young lady?" Bai Miaoke asked curiously.
"It's our young master." The waiter said as he looked towards the corridor on the second floor. Bai Miaoke also followed his gaze.
I saw a woman leaning against the railing. She was wearing a lilac dress with a scarlet flower in her hair. One could tell her character just by looking at her clothes.
Seeing Bai Miaoke and Lu Yu coming towards her, the woman nodded to them gracefully, then walked downstairs in a hurry.
Bai Miaoke and Lu Yu looked at each other and saw confusion in each other's eyes. It seemed that neither of them knew the purpose of this woman's visit.
In the blink of an eye, the person was close. Looking closer, the woman's almond-shaped eyes were rippling with water waves, and her palm-sized oval face was brightly made up. She smiled and said, "I am the young owner of this store. You can call me Yun Niang. I see that you two have a connection, so I want to make friends."
"My name is Yingyue, and this is my husband..." Before Bai Miaoke could finish her introduction, Yun Niang said, "Yu Xiucai, right? I have heard of you for a long time."
Bai Miaoke was confused. They had only been in this town for less than a week, so how could they have heard of him for so long...
Lu Yu nodded expressionlessly in response.
Yun Niang enthusiastically introduced the snacks in their store. Bai Miaoke was quite interested in these southern pastries. There were many styles that were different from those in Beijing. She could learn some from them and ask the chefs in Lanyue Pavilion to improve them.
She was listening to Yun Niang's introduction with great interest, but Lu Yu's face beside her became increasingly darker.
While Yunniang was talking about pastries, she kept glancing at Lu Yu from time to time, and it was almost obvious what she was thinking.
Only Miss Bai, who was immersed in stealing pastry skills and returning to Beijing to make a fortune, was unaware of this. She even felt that this woman had a cheerful and generous personality and was very congenial, and they had a very pleasant conversation.
Lu Yu couldn't stand it any longer, and coughed lightly to draw someone's attention: "What's wrong with you?"
"It's time to eat, my lady." Lu Yu said, emphasizing the last two words.
"Oh, why haven't the dishes been served yet?" Bai Miaoke looked for the waiter.
"Please wait a moment, I'll go and urge them." Yun Niang tactfully stood up and said goodbye. Before leaving, she glanced at Lu Yu meaningfully before leaving gracefully.
As soon as the person left, Lu Yu said coldly: "I didn't know you were so interested in making pastries."
"The pastries here are very special, and this Yun Niang is quite interesting." Bai Miaoke picked up a piece of pastry and put it into her mouth.
Looking at her heartless appearance, Lu Yu really couldn't tell whether this person cared about him or not, and a breath of air was stuck in his chest.
After dinner, the two of them strolled home. As they walked on the road, Bai Miaoke was still looking around with great interest. She was very curious about many of the new things in Jiangnan.
As she chattered, Lu Yu gradually forgot the depression in his heart and, like her, observed the people's lives in the south of the Yangtze River, which were very different from those in the capital.
When she came to a weapons shop, Bai Miaoke couldn't help but go in and take a look, and found that this unremarkable little shop actually had whips made of dragon tendons.
"How much is this whip?" Bai Miaoke had only heard of it before, and this was the first time she saw it.
"Young girl, you have really good eyesight. This whip is made from dragon tendons. It can bear a weight of ten thousand pounds and is indestructible by swords and guns. It is the treasure of our store." The shopkeeper introduced it incessantly.
"Boss, can I try it?" Bai Miaoke asked while touching the fine lines on the whip.
"Sure, sure, feel free to try it, this whip is very strong." The shopkeeper said with a smile.
Bai Miaoke didn't waste any time. She took off the whip and swung it. It was light, flexible and tough in her hand. It was indeed a good thing.
She glanced at a long knife hanging on the wall, swung the whip to wrap around the blade, and fought against the rope that fixed the long knife. With a little force, the rope broke, and the knife was thrown to the ground by the force.
Bai Miaoke took the whip back and praised, "It is indeed a good thing."
"Of course. It only costs one hundred taels of silver and you can take it away." Seeing that Bai Miaoke was knowledgeable, the shopkeeper became more attentive.
"It's so expensive! I can't afford it. You should keep it for your store." Bai Miaoke pulled Lu Yu and left.
"Eighty taels! I'll give you eighty taels." The shopkeeper tried to persuade him to stay.
If it were the Bai Miaoke of the past, she would definitely not hesitate, but unfortunately she had no money now, so she could only leave the store without looking back.
"I will make money." After taking two steps, Lu Yu, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke.
"Really?" Bai Miaoke asked with shining eyes.
Lu Yu had not yet realized the seriousness of the matter. He was still immersed in the girl's sparkling eyes and nodded with a smile.
As soon as the two returned home, Bai Miaoke couldn't wait to take the pen, ink, paper and inkstone to the stone table in the yard, and carefully brewed a pot of tea and placed it aside.
Then he went into the house and called Lu Yu: "Husband, come and paint for me."
Lu Yu was teaching Xiaofeng and Xiaoyu to read in the house. These two children were very smart and capable, but they had never received any enlightenment before, so Lu Yu began to use his free time in the past few days to teach them to read and write.
When he heard Bai Miaoke calling him "husband", he felt a sweet feeling in his heart, but also had some bad premonitions. According to his observation, when this lady called him "husband" in a sweet voice, it was probably not a good thing.
He responded and walked into the yard, and at a glance he saw Bai Miaoke sitting at the table, grinding ink seriously.
Seeing someone coming out, Bai Miaoke asked with a smile: "Can you help me paint?"
"It doesn't have to be too detailed. The faster the better. The most important thing is to make me look good."
"Okay." Lu Yu agreed with a smile. She didn't expect that he would like her paintings so much.
"Can I just sit here?" Bai Miaoke asked as she sat opposite him.
"Okay." Lu Yu nodded, his eyes falling on the girl's hair glowing in the sun, a little absent-minded.
"Draw quickly." Seeing that no one was moving, Bai Miaoke reminded.
Lu Yu came back to his senses, picked up the pen and started writing, and the outline of the girl appeared on the paper.
While he was painting, Bai Miaoke waited quietly with her chin in her hand, blinking her eyes at the man's downcast eyes and the widow's peak on his forehead.
After a cup of tea, Lu Yu put down the last stroke, picked up the tea on the table, took a sip and said, "The painting is finished."
"So fast!" Bai Miaoke stood up and leaned over to look across the table.
The girl on the paper has curved eyebrows and a sweet smile. She is sitting on a swing with her long hair fluttering in the air like a flying butterfly.
What Lu Yu was looking at was the girl outside the paper. She leaned over, and a few strands of hair fell on the white rice paper next to her, outlining an arc.
In Lu Yu's opinion, this was more vivid than the paintings he had drawn on paper. He looked up and wanted to talk to the girl.
But he was dazzled by the white scenery in front of him and forgot to speak. From his angle, he could see her lilac bellyband through the girl's collar, and the snow-capped mountains looming below.
Lu Yu's throat rolled unconsciously, and he turned his head away belatedly before saying, "Are you satisfied, my lady?"
"Satisfied! Very satisfied!" Bai Miaoke happily looked at the painting again and again, and then talked about her plan to make money:
"You paint quickly and well. Why don't we set up a stall and paint portraits for people? We can charge one tael of silver for each painting. If there are many people, we can earn at least ten taels in one morning."
"We can also charge according to the complexity. I think it would be a good idea to just go on that street today. What do you think?" Bai Miaoke told Lu Yu about her plan.
At the end, she added, "Husband~"
The Prime Minister opposite held his forehead and sighed. He never expected that her eyes were shining not because she was a good painter, but also because she had thought of a good way to make money.
He said with difficulty: "It's not appropriate."
"Why not? If you walk around the street more often, you might run into your subordinates who are looking for you earlier." Bai Miaoke continued to persuade.
Lu Yu was silent for a moment, and did not remind her that in addition to Rong Qing who came to rescue them, there might be a group of killers waiting for them.
Just as he was about to refuse, he met Bai Miaoke's expectant gaze, and he remembered the whip she liked very much in the afternoon, and then he remembered the silver whip that broke on the boat when she tried to save him.
Finally, he gritted his teeth and agreed: "You can give it a try, but if no one comes, forget it."
"Don't worry, there will definitely be no one to come and paint!" Bai Miaoxin vowed.
Then he skipped into the house holding his painting, and a clear voice floated behind him: "Get ready, we'll go tomorrow!"
Listening to the girl's laughing voice, Lu Yu wondered if he had been deceived again. He looked at the girl entering the room and gave a bitter smile.
I never thought that as a general's son and prime minister of a country, I would have to sell paintings on the street to make a living one day.
But for her happiness, he could tolerate it. Anyway, no one in this town knew his true identity, and what did Yu Lu do have to do with him, Lu Yu.
Therefore, not long after, the Prime Minister, who was said to be extremely noble, convinced himself and accepted the arrangement to sell paintings on the street the next day.
He even took the initiative to pack up the pens, ink, paper, inkstone and other tools that would be needed tomorrow, and asked Xiaofeng to go to the utility room to find a small wooden table and a few stools to take to the street.
Everything was ready, and the four of them had dinner together. On the table was a dish of chicken wings that Bai Miaoke had made herself to encourage Lu Yu.
The food was much better than the first time, and Lu Yu ate a lot of it out of courtesy.
But only he knew in his heart how much he hoped that Bai Miaoke's cooking skills would still be worrying, and it would be best if he got a stomachache and couldn't go out to sell tomorrow...
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