Su Ruanruan lowered her veil and turned to leave, but he quickly grabbed her arm.
"Young master, please have some self-respect!"
Zeng Yuan wanted to maintain his image as a scholar in front of others, so he quickly let go of Su Ruanruan's arm.
"It was my rudeness, please forgive me, young lady."
He glanced at the embroidered handkerchief in Su Ruanruan's hand. "This handkerchief belongs to me. My servant was clumsy and frightened you. Please forgive him!"
Su Ruanruan handed him the embroidered handkerchief, saying, "Since it belongs to you, young master, I will return it to its rightful owner."
Zeng Yuan wanted to say something more, but Su Ruanruan had already turned and left.
Zeng Yuan held the embroidered handkerchief to her nose and sniffed it. A rich fragrance of osmanthus wafted over, which must be her scent.
Su Ruanruan put the load back on her uninjured shoulder and turned to leave.
But those eyes brimming with autumn water and that face blushing like peach blossoms were deeply imprinted in Zeng Yuan's heart.
"Go and find out who this girl is and which family she belongs to."
The servant had his head down and couldn't see Su Ruanruan's face from his angle, but he had been following the young master and naturally knew that this girl was the woman who ran a stall at the academy, so it shouldn't be difficult to find out.
Su Ruanruan didn't turn around to look at him, and leisurely strolled around the street under the guise of Su He.
Finally, we stopped at the stall of the uncle selling chili sauce.
...
Su Ruanruan carried her load and walked towards the south of the city, where there were many laborers waiting to work.
One steamed bun costs two coins, two steamed buns plus two large spoonfuls of chili sauce cost five coins.
Buy ten steamed buns and get one free.
Buy ten steamed buns with chili sauce, and get two more steamed buns free.
They couldn't possibly buy so many steamed buns, but they were reluctant to give up this small bargain, so they started buying them in groups of several people, and then splitting the extra steamed buns among themselves.
In no time, the steamed buns in the basket were sold out.
The chili sauce didn't cost much; after deducting the cost, it should have brought in forty or fifty coins.
Su Ruanruan hid in a secluded corner, counting the copper coins in her hand.
That was a mistake; there weren't enough steamed buns.
This area in the south of the city, where laborers gather, is a good place to sell these cheap foods.
But Su He insisted on staying at the Fengshui Bridge. She remembered that Zi Wu had once advised her to leave that place.
Unfortunately, she wouldn't listen and was only focused on Mu Bai.
As Su Ruanruan was sighing, she noticed several constables patrolling in the distance. The tallest one was someone she recognized very well.
She quickly put away the copper coins, then hurried away with her empty carrying pole.
They wandered around other places until dark, then bought two steamed buns before returning to their place in Suhe.
They also greeted the elderly lady next door and the blacksmith uncle very warmly.
Once she returned to Soho's house and locked the doors and windows, she took off her veil.
That evening, Zeng Yuan found out the true identity of the woman selling steamed buns and wearing a veiled hat.
"You said her name is Su He? She really does live up to her name."
The attendant said, "Young master, do you still remember the sensational flower thief kidnapping case? Miss Su was one of those girls. She now lives in Qu'er Lane and makes a living by selling steamed buns."
"only……"
"Just what?" Zeng Yuan glanced at his attendant.
"But she was a girl whose virginity was taken by a lecherous thief."
Zeng Yuan twirled the handkerchief in his hand, looking at a pot of camellias in full bloom by the window. "Tsk... what a pity. Such a beauty has been picked by someone else."
The attendant was puzzled. What kind of beauties hadn't their young master seen? Why was he sighing over Su He?
"Young Master, I've heard that Miss Su is pretty, but she's not exactly a beauty in our area, is she? Why are you sighing?"
"Not stunningly beautiful? Am I seeing things, or are their standards just too high?"
Although he could only see half of her face, Zeng Yuan could already imagine what an absolutely stunning beauty lay beneath the veil.
Why have I never seen her before?
Qu'er Lane? That's where poor people live. No wonder I've never seen her before.
In the middle of the night, after they had fallen asleep, Su Ruanruan got up to steam buns.
While the others in the courtyard were tidying up, Su Ruanruan had already left with her load on her back.
Zeng Yuan didn't sleep all night, his mind filled with that stunningly beautiful face, and he appeared in Qu'er Lane before dawn.
Even after Su Ruanruan had walked away, he remained standing there, gazing into the distance.
Su Ruanruan saw Zeng Yuan and his servant, but she pretended not to see them.
Just then, Aunt Li came out to splash water and saw a well-dressed young nobleman staring blankly at a beautiful woman's back.
"Young master, do you know Su He?"
“Su He.” Zeng Yuan realized that the woman was indeed Su He.
In public, he was gentle and refined, with a smile on his lips. "I guess we know each other."
Aunt Li suddenly realized that Su He had met such a young master before, and she had never heard Su He mention him.
When she looked up again, the young master had already gone after Su He.
"Please wait, young lady."
Su Ruanruan raised an eyebrow, pretending not to hear.
Until a man dressed in crescent-white robes blocked her path.
Both were dressed in white, but Mu Bai's gaze was unforgettable, while his only feeling was disgust.
Su Ruanruan took a step back. "Is there something you need, young master?"
"Don't you remember me, young lady?"
Su Ruanruan shook her head. "I don't remember."
Zeng Yuan frowned, and for the first time, he began to doubt his own charm.
In the past, which of those girls wasn't completely infatuated with him?
Even the prostitutes did everything they could to get him to stay overnight.
Yet no woman has ever failed to remember him.
Whether she genuinely couldn't remember or it was a ploy to play hard to get, it didn't matter.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
