Zhao Xuanjing raised his eyebrows and looked at her with a gaze filled in confusion.
Upon meeting this young lady, he had spent a total of two hundred and sixty silvers, including the prior meetings. In exchange, she had only given him a few general pieces of advice.
Some words were too mysterious to be understood, but the few he could comprehend, he committed to memory.
"Ms. Xie, your advice is really expensive." Zhao Xuanjing smiled, despite looking a little stiff.
"Let's talk about this amount of silver. Young Master is not willing to part with it?" Xie Qiao was as calm as ever, having nothing to lose. "The silver I received from you isn't much. Those who could afford it wouldn't feel a thing.. Plus, you offered me this amount of your own choosing without me asking."
Zhao Xuanjing agreed.
He had offered that amount of money willingly.
'This was the first time I did this.
'So I can't say she is greedy for my money.'
"Thanks, Young Lady. I hope to see you again in the future." Zhao Xuanjing felt that it was late now and he did not wish to chat further.
"Hmm, I'll definitely see you again." Xie Qiao nodded.
"..." Zhao Xuanjing looked askance at her, and deliberately pretended to be stupid, "You are about to leave for the imperial city soon. You're a businesswoman, but you haven't been to the imperial city before?"
Xie Qiao laughed.
"The way Young Master speaks is as if he were addressing a First Young Lady standing among a group of men. Everyone is proclaiming her to be their true love, yet you know it's just a lie." Xie Qiao rubbed her toes on the ground twice and spoke gently, "But don't worry, Young Master, even if I meet you in the Imperial City, I would pretend not to know you."
Xie Qiao's words were too straightforward, and it cracked at Zhao Xuanjing's cool indifference.
He was a bit sensitive in his identity. If this case was solved, it would be difficult to tell others that he had relied on fortune-telling.
It was not that the fortune-telling was bad, nor was he guilty about it.
Someone would use this to accuse him of not doing his job properly. That would only invite him more trouble.
"Then, I thank you, Young Lady," Zhao Xuanjing responded earnestly.
This Young Lady was so intelligent that it had thrown him off.
"I should be the one thanking you. After all, I am an unmarried lady from a respectable family!" Xie Qiao's tone was relaxed, a little prideful, even.
'As an unmarried Young Lady, how could I perform fortune-telling everywhere, and even get acquainted with a man?
'So pretending not to know each other is the best!'
Zhao Xuanjing's eyelids twitched, but he saw that Xiao Qiao was really serious about this.
After a while, Xie Qiao packed up her stuff and got into a waiting carriage.
Xie Qiao walked away euphorically without turning her head back. She did not spare the group of people accompanying her a single glance. The huge rooster at her side had her full attention. She gave it more care than anyone else, including the Young Master.
Zhao Xuanjing could not see anything amiss, but something felt odd.
"Young Master, is Ms. Xie really a noble and proud person?" Imperial Bodyguard Zhou could not help but sigh.
"How would you know? She seemed to be money-minded."
No matter how stubborn she appeared to be, she immediately changed her behavior when she saw silver.
Her facial expression changed faster than the flipping of a page.
"With so many people accompanying you, everyone could tell that you came from an unusual background. However, this girl wouldn't look at you any differently. She could quite possibly be a noble and proud person." Imperial Bodyguard Zhou spoke solemnly.
Zhao Xuanjing raised her brows, "Perhaps she thinks that there are too many ugly people around her, so she could not stand to look at them."
"..." Imperial Bodyguard Zhou's eyelids twitched.
'In the past few days, I feel that Young Master has become much gentler, and it is just an illusion!'
…
Xie Qiao was sitting in a carriage offered to her as a gift by the people of Floating Pavilion Town. The coachmen were all her own people, so she felt more comfortable riding the carriage.
After handling so many things by herself, her stepmother and stepsister were just about to depart from town. They caught up with one another after a while. The two teams slowly merged into one.
Pei Wanyue's eyes were now swollen like walnuts.