Chapter 60 Huang Yue

Yun Qian and Yun Bai had relied on each other for survival, enduring hardships along the way.

She was accustomed to a life of poverty, even though she knew her brother had earned a lot of money now.

But for her to suddenly spend such a large sum of Spirit Stones—equivalent to "several months of food money in the past"—to buy a piece of clothing, Yun Qian still felt very uncomfortable.

Shen Qi was even more so. She rarely came to the East Market to shop—because she knew that most of the shops here were gathering places for the wealthy with exorbitant prices.

She hurriedly pulled Yun Qian, as if to say: "This is too expensive, let's not get it."

Yun Qian also began to lose heart and turned to look at her brother.

Shen Qi also looked at Yun Bai.

Suddenly, a strange voice greeted them: "Greetings, everyone. I saw that the young lady liked this ru skirt. As the saying goes, a fine horse deserves a fine saddle. I simply felt that the young lady's beauty rivals that of Xi Shi, and the ru skirt's tailoring is masterful. I truly felt that they were a perfect match, so I took the liberty of buying it as a gift for the young lady. I hope you do not mind."

A man dressed like a Confucian scholar walked toward them.

The man was around twenty years old, wearing a treasure-blue ramie silk zhiduo. He had a jade pendant and a sachet hanging from his waist; although his belt was plain, it had a faint jade luster, unlike ordinary ones. He was fair-skinned and clean-shaven, with a square Face, broad forehead, and phoenix eyes. He stood out in the crowd as noble and proud. He was followed by two servants, indicating that his status was not low.

A smile played on the corner of his mouth as he bowed to the three of them.

While he was speaking, his servant had already taken out a Storage Pouch filled with Spirit Stones and handed it to the shop assistant.

Since ancient times, a fine horse has been paired with a fine saddle, and a hero with a beauty.

"Who are you?" Yun Qian was slightly wary of this sudden stranger.

"It was my presumption." The man bowed to Yun Qian again. "I am Young Master Huang Yue from Jing'an. Greetings to the three of you."

Jing'an! The three of them were shocked upon hearing this. This was the name of the capital of the Human Race. Anyone who dared to identify themselves like this was a descendant of a prominent Family from the capital.

"Your Excellency, what is your business?" Yun Qian didn't care about any prominent families and said with some displeasure.

"I saw that the young lady loved this item very much, but seemed to be short on funds. I could not bear to see that. A gentleman helps others fulfill their wishes, and I also wanted to make friends with the young lady." Young Master Huang Yue's expression was gentle, and he stared fixedly at Shen Qi. "May I ask the names of the two young ladies?"

"My name is Yun Qian, he is my Brother Yun Bai, and she is my sister Shen Qi," Yun Qian said.

At this moment, Shen Qi saw the people behind Young Master Huang Yue. Her expression changed, and she hurriedly lowered her head in panic.

"Miss Shen, I am offering this item as a gift. Would you do me the honor of accepting it?" Young Master Huang Yue stared at Shen Qi passionately. When he had seen this Miss Shen from afar, he had been involuntarily dazed. The woman before him was like a Fairy among flowers, a Goddess of the Luo River, fresh, gentle, and moving.

He had seen countless beauties, and there were many who were even more beautiful than Shen Qi. But this Miss Shen had made him fall in love at first sight, unable to control his feelings.

Fortunately, he remembered his Family teachings: a gentleman's emotions should be expressed within the bounds of propriety. Seeing the other party looking like a startled little deer, Young Master Huang Yue thought it was due to his rudeness, so he had to reluctantly look away.

Shen Qi held Yun Qian's arm tightly, her behavior showing some fear. She declined, "I have only just met you, so I cannot accept your gift."

Yun Bai seemed to have become an outsider. Young Master Huang Yue did not speak to him either, only eager to chat with Shen Qi.

Watching Young Master Huang Yue wanting to look at Shen Qi but feeling embarrassed, Yun Bai couldn't help but find it funny, and also a bit speechless. This person's phrase "a fine horse deserves a fine saddle" implied the next part, "a hero deserves a beauty." This was implying who was the beauty and who was the hero.

It did have a bit of that aristocratic Family descendant flavor.

Fortunately, Yun Bai was no longer a naive boy, and he didn't care much about Young Master Huang Yue's intentional or unintentional disregard for him.

Instead, it was Shen Qi's reaction that made Yun Bai somewhat puzzled.

"Ahem, Shen Qi, since this dress suits you so well and you like it, let's buy it. As we agreed before, let it be a gift from me, and also a token of gratitude for your care over these past few days, all right?" Yun Bai interrupted them.

"Ah, okay, okay, thank you, Brother Yun." As soon as Shen Qi heard Yun Bai's voice, it was as if she had found a savior. In her panic, Yun Bai seemed to be her only lifeline, and she agreed hurriedly without even fully understanding what he had said.

Yun Bai was puzzled. He could see that Shen Qi was truly very afraid, but afraid of what? Could it be that she knew this Young Master Huang Yue? But Young Master Huang Yue seemed to be meeting Shen Qi for the first time. And how could Shen Qi know a Young Master from the capital?

Yun Bai did not show anything on his Face and smiled as he handed eight hundred Spirit Stones to the shop assistant.

Previously, Young Master Huang Yue's servant had handed the assistant eight hundred Spirit Stones, and now Yun Bai handed him another eight hundred. The assistant was now in a difficult position.

"This..."

"Assistant, can your shop make custom orders?" Yun Bai suddenly asked.

"Naturally, you can. This ru skirt is a ready-made garment of a certain size. If you want a custom order, the price will be slightly higher, requiring an additional two hundred Spirit Stones."

"No problem." Yun Bai gave the assistant enough money and let Yun Qian follow the assistant to find the tailor for measurements. "If this Young Master Huang is willing, you can sell this ready-made garment to him. I would trouble your shop to take measurements for this young lady and make another one."

The assistant finally breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

As the saying goes, beauty is a source of disaster; it was true. Two Young Masters were willing to spend two payments to buy the same dress just to compete for one young lady. In the end, it was still their shop that profited! The assistant muttered to himself.

Shen Qi went to the fitting room to take off the dress, and the assistant said he would take her to see the tailor in a moment.

Having managed to escape Young Master Huang Yue and also getting a new dress, Shen Qi breathed a sigh of relief. She cast a grateful look at Yun Bai and then went off.

"Qianqian, you should also look around the shop, and if there is anything you like, go and try it on," Yun Bai said.

Young Master Huang Yue looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

After sending Shen Qi and Yun Qian away, Yun Bai looked at Young Master Huang Yue. "Thank you for your kindness, Young Master Huang. Both of them are innocent and pure, and unversed in worldly affairs. If they have offended you, please forgive them."

Young Master Huang Yue's Face felt a bit hot. Feeling very embarrassed, he hurriedly waved his hands, saying "No, no" repeatedly, and quickly made an excuse to take his leave.

Since the beauty was ignoring him, what was the point of him staying here? This Miss Shen was avoiding him like a plague, which made him lose a lot of Face.

The two servants Young Master Huang Yue brought with him also left. Before leaving, one of them turned back to look in Yun Bai's direction.

Yun Bai didn't take it to heart. Although this Young Master Huang Yue was a bit presumptuous, he at least knew when to advance or retreat, did not pester them endlessly, and did not bully others by abusing his power. For a descendant of an aristocratic Family, this could be considered good upbringing.

Yun Qian also picked out a few pieces of clothing and dresses. The season had already entered autumn, and although the "autumn tiger" was still raging, they still bought some clothes for winter.

Then the three of them continued to wander around with the crowd. It wasn't until noon that they stopped in front of a shop and ordered a bowl of noodles to eat.

"So happy!" Yun Qian showed a satisfied expression and tucked into the steaming noodles with relish.

"As long as you two are happy, that's good." Yun Bai's mood was also bright. Only then did he speak out the doubt in his heart. "By the way, Shen Qi, why were you so scared when you saw that Young Master Huang Yue earlier? Do you know him?"

Shen Qi hesitated for a moment before speaking, her Face somewhat pale. "Um... I don't know this Young Master Huang. It was because I saw the two people behind him that I was afraid. Those two are servants from the Chen Family."

"The Chen Family?" Yun Bai was stunned. It was truly a case of "all that searching and it was right here." According to the time previously set by the mediation between the military and the State Religion, he would negotiate with the Chen Family early tomorrow morning. He had also told Yun Qian about this matter.

"Yes. Before I met Brother Yun, the two of us, mother and daughter, had no one to rely on. We had no choice but to go to a wealthy Family to work as servants. The reason I know how to apply makeup is that I learned it from dressing up the Young Miss of the Chen Family in the past. The Chen Family did not treat their servants well; they would beat and scold them at will, and they wouldn't pay wages on time."

"Later, I heard that people from the State Religion had arrived. The State Religion is powerful and willing to protect the weak. Most importantly, everyone is equal. I secretly found Brother Zhang Huai. Zhang Huai's Master, Great Master Jiang, is also from the Northwest and successfully became an Elder of the State Religion. With Brother Zhang's help, my mother and I escaped from the Chen Family."

Recalling the past, sadness appeared on Shen Qi's Face.

"So that's how it is!" After listening, Yun Bai's Face was filled with a hint of anger.

"How detestable!" Yun Qian was also filled with righteous indignation.

Just at this moment, Yun Bai noticed three people walking toward them not far away.

"Hmm?" Yun Bai signaled to Yun Qian and the other to be quiet.

"May I ask if you are Young Master Yun Bai?" The person leading them was dressed like a steward, with square eyebrows and thin lips. He wore a smile as he bowed to Yun Bai.

"It is I. Who are you?" Yun Bai returned the salute indifferently.

"I am Steward Chen Mao of the Chen Family," Steward Chen Mao said politely. "Young Master Yun, I have come this time at the instruction of the Young Miss to bring this Miss Shen beside you back."