Chapter 161 The Temple Fair Incident
The owner of the jewelry stall was a middle-aged woman. She said with a smile, "Young lady, you have a good eye. The hairpin in your hand is the treasure of my stall. It originally cost eight taels of silver, but I see that you like it and that it suits you well. So, give me seven taels, and let's make a good connection."
Liu Ya, Liu Qing, and Liu Xiangxiang all looked enviously at the hairpin in Liu Ye's hand. They liked it too, but it was too expensive. They couldn't afford seven taels of silver. The three of them only had a little over 100 coins on them.
Liu Ye paid seven taels of silver without even haggling. She put the hairpin in her hair, turned around, and continued shopping. The three young ladies quickly followed. At the same time, they realized something: Liu Ye had really become rich. She actually spent seven taels of silver to buy a silver hairpin. You know, seven taels of silver would last them two years. If they had seven taels of silver to buy clothes, they could have bought so many outfits. They were so envious.
Liu Xiangxiang nudged Liu Ya and whispered in her ear, "You should find a way to get Liu Ye to buy us jewelry. I also want to buy a silver hairpin to wear."
Liu Ya whispered, "Don't dream about it. She won't buy it for us. Maybe we can get it if we flatter her."
Liu Ye bought a big bag of rice cakes from a rice cake stall and ate them as she walked. Liu Ya and the others were so tempted that they just smacked their lips, none of them daring to ask for any, hoping that Liu Ye would give them some.
That's impossible. Liu Ye is eating now just to make them jealous. She buys other food whenever she sees it, no matter how ridiculously expensive it is. Before long, she's carrying a bunch of snacks. Liu Ya tries to help her, but she ignores her and continues shopping as if they don't exist. They want to follow her, so she'll make them drool.
Not far away, Young Master Zhao came out of his shop. He immediately spotted Liu Ye and was overjoyed. Bai Zilin wasn't with Liu Ye, so this was a perfect opportunity for him to poach her.
"Miss Liu, you've come to the temple fair too."
Liu Ye looked at Young Master Zhao walking towards her and said with a polite smile, "I heard there was a temple fair, so I came out to take a stroll. I didn't expect there to be so many people."
Young Master Zhao smiled and said, "There are even more people inside the temple. Miss Liu hasn't gone yet, has she? I haven't gone either, let's go together. By the way, why didn't Brother Bai come with you?"
Liu Ya, Liu Qing, and Liu Xiangxiang stared wide-eyed at the elegantly dressed Young Master Zhao, their eyes gleaming with greedy intent. They quickly moved to Liu Ye's side, hoping to attract Young Master Zhao's attention.
Young Master Zhao also noticed them. Compared to the three ugly women, Miss Liu looked even more beautiful, and he was determined to win her over.
Liu Ye made up a reason on the spot: "Brother Bai has gone to the south again. I guess he won't be back until the New Year. Let's go, I'll go pray to the God of Wealth and pray for good fortune. The noodle shop is not doing well and has closed down."
Liu Ya grabbed Liu Ye's arm and looked shyly at Young Master Zhao, saying, "Big sister, who is this young master? Please introduce him to us..."
Young Master Zhao looked at Liu Ye in confusion. Could it be that these three ugly girls were her sisters? They really didn't look alike at all.
Liu Ye shook off Liu Ya's hand, her face turning cold as she said rudely, "Who's your older sister? Don't try to get on my good side. You've been following me like a leech for half a day already, are you going to keep doing it? Have you no shame!"
Upon hearing this, Young Master Zhao grabbed Liu Ye's arm and pulled her to his side: "What's going on? Are they bad people following you? Should I take them to the yamen?"
Liu Ya was so frightened that she hurriedly explained, "No, we're not bad people. We're Liu Ye's sisters, sisters born of the same parents. Big sister, we're your own sisters! How could you treat us like this? Please explain to the young master!"
Liu Ye turned to look at Young Master Zhao and said with an embarrassed expression, "I used to be a bit slow-witted, so the Liu family cut off all ties with me and kicked me out of the Liu family. Now that they see I'm better, they've all come back. Sigh, it's so hard for me without Brother Bai. They even came to my house yesterday and made a scene, insisting on staying at my house. I refused, and now they're bothering me again today..."
Upon hearing this, Young Master Zhao exclaimed, "So that's what happened!" She looked at the three sisters with displeasure and said, "This is where you're wrong. Since you've all broken off your engagement with Liu Ye, why are you still bothering her? Get out of here! I don't want to see you!"
The three girls looked at Liu Ye with aggrieved expressions, as if she had bullied them. Liu Ye rolled her eyes, finding it amusing: "Why are you looking at me like that? Get lost and don't show your faces in front of me again. Based on what you did to me before, you won't get anything out of me!"
The three young ladies showed no intention of leaving, ignoring Liu Ye's words and standing still, looking at Young Master Zhao with aggrieved expressions. Liu Xiangxiang winked at Young Master Zhao and tossed him a bunch of spinach.
Not to be outdone, Liu Ya put her dirty fingers in her mouth, pretending to be innocent and naive to seduce Young Master Zhao. Liu Qing was even more direct; she unbuttoned her collar, revealing her oily black neck covered in grime, and her local dialect was full of swear words. Liu Ye found it so offensive that she wanted to rub a brick against it.
Young Master Zhao couldn't stand it any longer. He grabbed Liu Ye's hand, pulled her along, and quickly disappeared into the crowd in the blink of an eye.
Liu Ya and the others chased after him but couldn't find him. However, remembering what Young Master Zhao had said, they hurried back to the temple to look for him.
Young Master Zhao didn't take Liu Ye to the temple, but instead went into the shop next door. Liu Ye pulled her hand back and thanked him gratefully, "Thank you. If it weren't for Young Master Zhao's timely appearance, I really wouldn't know how to get rid of them."
Of course, these are just polite words. If she wanted to get rid of Liu Ya and the others, she would have done so long ago.
Young Master Zhao smiled, but felt very disappointed. He clenched his fist, feeling the lingering warmth in his hand: "Miss Liu, you're too kind. We're friends, so it's only right that I help you. This gold shop is mine. Please feel free to choose whatever you like; I'll give it to you."
Just as Liu Ye was about to refuse, she was interrupted by a voice from upstairs.
"Oh my, brother, you're so generous! You're not even this generous to me. Miss Liu, you're really something! You're the first person my brother has ever said such a thing to me!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhao Xinbao came downstairs in an arrogant manner, accompanied by several young ladies, including the daughter of Magistrate Liu, Miss Liu.
Young Master Zhao glared angrily at Zhao Xinbao and scolded, "What nonsense are you talking about? Miss Liu is my friend. What's wrong with me giving her a gift? You even took less than you should have from my shop. Apologize to Miss Liu right now!"
Liu Ye subtly curled the corners of her lips. No wonder the name sounded so familiar; it was Zhao Xinbao. That brat has such a foul mouth. Did she eat shit before leaving home? Otherwise, why would she be spewing filth from her mouth like that?
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