Chapter 14
Watching Yuli and Xie Yao leave together, Xiyun’s smile faded. She took a deep breath, then felt a sense of relief.
She had gone to great trouble to dress up beautifully, wearing silks and satins she had never dared to dream of before. Yuli had even given her exquisite and valuable jewelry to wear.
It would feel like a waste not to go out.
Xiyun smoothed her neat hair, adjusted her hairpin, and decided to go out for a stroll before coming back to rest.
At the gate, she politely asked Jingyu, “It’s a rare day off. Do you want to go out together?”
With the master away, Jingyu’s serene smile relaxed slightly, and her expression looked a bit cold.
Jingyu slowly turned her head away. “Not interested.”
Xiyun saw that she didn’t even want to maintain a smile. Her usual thoughtful and considerate act towards her and Yuli must have been exhausting.
She didn’t mind for herself. She earned her living through her own labor and intelligence and didn’t need anyone’s approval.
But she couldn’t stand anyone looking down on Yuli.
Xiyun looked around and said, “Do you look down on my mistress?”
Jingyu was horrified. “Don’t you dare make baseless accusations!”
Seeing her strong reaction, Xiyun found it boring, pursed her lips, and walked away.
Seeing that she was really going out alone, Jingyu thought of how she had been in the palace for half a year and hadn’t seen the lively atmosphere of the city for a long, long time.
Jingyu called out to Xiyun, “I advise you not to go out.”
Xiyun stopped and turned around. “Why?”
Jingyu took two steps towards her. “…When the Mistress comes back and doesn’t see us, it will be hard to explain.”
Xiyun looked at her and smiled. “The Mistress is kind-hearted; she won’t mind. Besides, the Mistress wants us to be genuinely happy today, not just pretend to be happy to please her.”
Jingyu was still hesitant.
The Mistress was kind-hearted, but look at the one beside her. Just try putting on a long face and making the Mistress unhappy.
“Let’s go. I’m not familiar with the capital either. We can keep each other company,” Xiyun said, coming forward to pull on her sleeve.
Xiyun was very happy and enthusiastic. In the end, Jingyu was persuaded.
Jingyu put on a faint smile. “Wait for me to tell the others.”
Jingyu ran off lightly. Xiyun waited for her. After a short while, Jingyu returned, bringing two younger maids with her.
The four of them went out to have fun, talking and laughing together.
*
After leaving the second gate, Yuli got into the carriage. Inside, Xie Yao held her wrist, his grip relaxing a little, just gently caressing it.
The weather was hot. Yuli felt a little uncomfortable and wanted him to let go, but she didn’t dare to move. After a while, she reached for something on the small table and subtly pulled her hand away.
Xie Yao seemed not to notice.
It was hot, and the place where he had held her was slightly damp. It felt cool after he let go.
It was a bit stuffy in the carriage. Yuli wanted to lift the window curtain to look outside. Just as she reached out, Xie Yao held her hand again.
“We’re not there yet,” Xie Yao said.
I can still look even if we’re not there yet. Yuli grumbled inwardly, but then she thought that perhaps he didn’t want her to see the way from the residence to the outside.
Yuli didn’t insist on looking. Xie Yao took out a folding fan from somewhere and gently fanned the air. Yuli felt a little cooler.
Yuli asked him where they were going.
Xie Yao had already planned it for her. First, they would go to the West Market, then to a restaurant, then browse some jewelry shops and pastry shops, and then see where else she wanted to go.
The capital was a large city with a population of several million, famous throughout the world, a place that scholars, artists, and foreign merchants all yearned for.
On ordinary days, it was bustling with activity. Even if one were to play for half a year, there would always be an endless stream of new things to do.
Xie Yao had only arranged for the places most suitable for Yuli to visit.
Before going out, Yuli had talked to Xiyun. She was a native, after all, and knew the most famous places in the capital.
The first and foremost was the West Market, where the treasures of the world were gathered, with countless novelties to see.
Yuli was very much looking forward to the West Market, but she thought that such a place would surely be shoulder-to-shoulder, with only a sea of heads to be seen.
The carriage stopped in a quiet alley. Xie Yao got out and helped Yuli out. Yuli used the strength of his arms to jump down.
Xie Yao’s arms stiffened for a moment, holding nothing. Yuli was about to let go of him and walk forward.
Xie Yao turned and held her tightly, his palm slowly moving up to hold her above the elbow.
Yuli was forced back to his side. She sighed inwardly. He might as well just turn me into a pendant and hang me on himself.
But after holding her, Xie Yao gradually relaxed his grip, just holding her wrist, and finally, only hooking a few fingers.
Yuli walked a little ahead. Xie Yao’s fan swayed gently in front of his chest. She felt a cool breeze all the time and didn’t feel hot.
After walking for a while, they reached the West Market. To her surprise, it wasn’t very crowded.
Although it was more lively than Xihe County, it wasn’t shoulder-to-shoulder. At least she could walk freely, sometimes fast, sometimes slow.
Yuli’s interest was piqued, and she pulled Xie Yao to walk faster.
Xie Yao followed her at a leisurely pace, cooperating when she pulled him, and tightening his grip when she wanted to let go, always keeping her within an arm’s length.
Gradually, Yuli no longer felt controlled. Instead, she was afraid of getting separated from Xie Yao and treated him like a pendant to keep an eye on.
Ancient things were all handmade. The things used by the common people were a bit rough, but if they were carefully crafted and polished by artisans, they were even more exquisite than modern industrial products.
Although Yuli was just wandering around without a destination, she could tell good from bad.
But she was a pragmatist. Unless she particularly wanted something, or it was particularly useful, she would just look and touch, not pull out her money to buy it.
Especially the things carefully crafted by artisans; they were all very expensive. The money she had brought was not much, so she could only choose to buy the few things she wanted most.
But Yuli was very satisfied just by looking.
She saw an umbrella shop. Whether it was the workmanship, the design, or even the paintings on the umbrella surface, they were all several times better than what her unscrupulous father made.
She took a fancy to a sky-blue umbrella. The ribs and handle were round and delicate, feeling as smooth as silk to the touch. The surface of the umbrella was even more exquisite, with excellent painting and the artistic conception of leaving blank space.
She wanted it, but such an umbrella must have taken a long time to make. There was no need to even ask the price.
Besides, she lived in Mingyue Residence and rarely went out in the rain. Even if she did, she wouldn’t lack an umbrella. She just touched it a few times, looked at the surface, and looked back again when she left.
In this way, Yuli looked at the fan shop, the tea shop, and the incense shop, but didn’t buy a single thing.
Finally, she saw fresh flowers. There were her favorite hibiscus and camellias. This time, she couldn’t hold onto her wallet no matter what.
It was the height of summer, and she also bought a few lotus flowers.
Unexpectedly, the fresh flowers were very cheap. She chose many, wishing she could buy a few of each kind.
In the end, she had an armful of flowers. A single sniff felt like being in a sea of flowers.
Holding the flowers, Yuli couldn’t hold Xie Yao’s hand.
Xie Yao thoughtfully took the flowers from her and handed them to a man in brown clothes standing nearby.
Only then did Yuli realize that she had been so engrossed in the flowers that she had neglected him.
He took the flowers, and her empty hands were replaced by his.
Yuli was overjoyed at having bought the fresh flowers and happily held his hand.
After walking a few steps, Xie Yao suddenly raised his hand and brought it close to her chin, touching it lightly.
Yuli was slightly startled and turned to look at him. He was smiling faintly, holding a handkerchief in his hand.
“The flowers just now had dew on them, and it got on your face.”
Only then did Yuli realize it was true.
Xie Yao wiped her face again and looked at her bangs. “You’re sweating.”
Saying this, he carefully wiped her forehead. His eyes followed his fingertips, moving slowly across Yuli’s face, making her face even hotter.
Today, Xie Yao was wearing a turquoise scholar’s robe, a stark contrast to his usual light-colored attire, which made his skin look even fairer.
The two of them stood together, and every man and woman who passed by couldn’t help but look at them.
After wiping her face, Xie Yao asked if she was hot.
Yuli was a little hot, but she still wanted to look around. She was also afraid that he was hot, so she hesitated.
Xie Yao looked at her for a moment, then reached out and took an umbrella from the side, opening it over her head.
It was the sky-blue umbrella with pure white gardenias that Yuli had admired but not bought just now.
Yuli’s eyes lit up. She looked at Xie Yao. His expression was normal. “Let’s go. This is better.”
Yuli turned back, her heart belatedly accelerating.
He had probably been watching her all this time, and observing her so meticulously.
But Yuli didn’t feel repulsed. She was not a naive university student, nor was she the seventeen-year-old girl she was now. She had lived in a big city where human relationships were indifferent. She knew how precious it was to have someone care for her so attentively.
She didn’t know how expensive this umbrella was. She regretted not asking the price.
Yuli didn’t wander around anymore, nor did she dare to look at things too much. She bought some fresh spices for herself, a cloth ball for Xuemi, and then prepared to leave.
When they reached the gate of the West Market, Xie Yao led her into a side alley. Yuli found it strange. She turned to look and saw a sea of heads moving under the sun on the distant main street. In front of them were cheval de frise and guards in black armor on duty. It looked like a lockdown.
The scene flashed by, but it sparked many associations in Yuli’s mind. Just now in the West Market, she seemed to have heard a vendor complain that there were few people today. Could it be that Xie Yao had blocked the road and only let a few people in?
Just for her to shop?
Xie Yao’s expression was normal, with a faint, inscrutable smile.
No way… Yuli suddenly felt like a heinous criminal.
Xie Yao sensed something and said, “I heard that some shops in the West Market have been robbed recently. The prefect is investigating. That should have been the prefect passing by just now, hence the lockdown.”
Yuli: “Mm.” That’s right, it must be like that.
Next, they went to a restaurant. Yuli paid attention. Although it was carefully arranged, she could still see traces of the place having been cleared out.
But the shopkeeper and waiters who came to welcome them showed no signs of anything unusual. They were not neglectful of the distinguished guests, nor were they overly solicitous to the point of being uncomfortable.
If Yuli didn’t know Xie Yao’s true identity, she would definitely not have realized that this entire meal was under his meticulous arrangement, so as not to expose his identity as the regent, while also giving her the most relaxed and pleasant experience.
Yuli was a little uncomfortable at first, but seeing Xie Yao at ease, truly enjoying himself with her, she also relaxed. Since he had arranged everything, it would be a waste not to enjoy it.
On the shopkeeper’s recommendation, Yuli tried some of the capital’s specialty dishes. They were actually not as delicious as what Uncle Hu made, but she still praised them politely.
After leaving the restaurant, they went to a jewelry store and a pastry shop.
At the jewelry store, they happened to run into two men, one tall and burly, the other fair and slender. Yuli was curious why two men would be browsing a jewelry shop and thought they were plainclothes guards arranged by Xie Yao.
After they went in, the shopkeeper sized them up, became particularly attentive, and led them directly to a private room in the inner chamber.
Yuli guessed that this was not pre-arranged by Xie Yao and relaxed a lot. She looked around the private room and happened to see something the shopkeeper hadn’t had time to put away.
It was a long piece of jade, smooth and translucent, shaped like a large mushroom, but with a small cap and a large stem.
Yuli was stunned for a moment. Her view was blocked as a waiter came and took the thing away.
As a veteran of high-intensity internet surfing in the modern era, and considering the two men she had just met, Yuli immediately guessed what it was.
Yuli’s face grew hot. Just then, Xie Yao came and held her hand, his fingers intentionally or unintentionally stroking her palm. Yuli felt as if her whole body were on fire.