Chapter 18 The Young Man
The sudden rain had just stopped, and the downpour that had lasted from midnight to three o'clock in the morning had finally let up by five o'clock. By dawn, the sky was already clear. How could someone who knew so much about last night's weather possibly have a good sleep? Although he kept urging himself to fall asleep quickly, the more he tried, the more restless he became, and it wasn't until dawn that he managed to doze off for a bit. A black carriage had been waiting outside the Gan estate gate for some time, and the diamond-shaped emblem on the carriage's canopy was particularly eye-catching. The Gan family's servants, who had been ordered to block anyone from visiting today, showed even more respect on their faces, but everyone knew that this symbol was a mark of the Zhu family's carriages.
The Zhu family's business has always been handled by underlings, even the one from the Lei family wasn't an exception. Who would have thought that today they would be waiting respectfully in front of the Gan estate at dawn? And to think that the person sitting inside the carriage was actually Master Zhu! The doorman was so nervous he didn't know whether to stand or go inside, as there was rarely any interaction between the two families on normal days. How surprising that the other family's big shot would personally come to their doorstep today! Could it be that their young master knew they were coming and had issued a ban on receiving guests?
At this moment, Qi Xian was still fast asleep, having all sorts of strange dreams. Although Gan Jing had given the order to not receive guests, he wasn't entirely unaware of the situation outside. It wouldn't do to keep dragging things out like this. Moreover, just looking at the people from the Zhu family made him feel sick. He slightly tilted his head and put down the account book, heading towards the door. The gatekeeper saw that the young master had come out himself and let out a sigh of relief, hastily making way for him.
"This isn't General Lei, is it? I said why didn't you people come in and report earlier, causing our General Lei to wait outside for so long." Gan Jingming spoke lightly, his face still cold as ice. The doorman was puzzled, wasn't this Young Master not allowing him to announce the visitor? However, he also knew that the Zhu and Gan families were sworn enemies, and the young master had his own reasons, so he didn't say anything more.
Lei Yi was also a courteous person, and being treated coldly in front of the Gan Manor was also within his expectations. "Gan Gongzi is aware of my master's appointment with Liu Gongzi today. I, Lei, have been sent by my master to escort Liu Gongzi, so I trouble you, Gan Gongzi, to please relay this message." As soon as he finished speaking, a young man wearing a blue brocade robe emerged from inside, stretching his waist. This attire was borrowed from Gan Jing, and originally, Gan Jing's physique was much taller and larger than Qiuxu's. The clothes didn't fit well, but after Qiuxu's subtle adjustments, they now seemed tailored to her size. However, in Gan Jing's eyes, it looked like a child wearing adult clothes, which was quite comical.
But his gaze quickly shifted to the maid named Qing'er behind Qi Xi: what's feared is an internal enemy! Qing'er hung her head, and without looking, it was clear that Young Master's glare could kill: "Qing'er, I was just about to bring water for Seventh Young Master to wash up when I heard voices outside saying they were looking for him. That's when I told Seventh Young Master." Her voice grew smaller, knowing she couldn't avoid a scolding from Young Master today, and at the same time, pitifully looked towards Seventh Young Master.
Qī xiū què shì qiǎn qiǎn yī xiào: "Gān xiōng zǎo, léi zǒng guǎn zǎo, yī dà zǎo gān xiōng de huǒ qì bié nà me dà ma, yǒu kòng jiù dǎ dǎ tài jí quán, zuò ge chén liàn shén me, huí tóu wǒ qǐng nǐ hē chá." Yī biān shuō zhe yī biān yě suí zhe léi zǒng guǎn de zhǐ yǐn, shǎn shēn jìn le nà liàng hēi sè de mǎ chē, jiàn dà shì yǐ rán bù kě cuǎn huí, gān jìng yě shì yǐ zuì kuài de sù dù jiāng ā guān yě sāi jìn le mǎ chē.
She finally decided to meet with Master Zhu, although she was nervous in her heart, but on the surface, she pretended to be as calm as Gan Jing. She knew that she must look particularly ridiculous now, and had seen Ah Guan covering his mouth and laughing many times earlier. In fact, the Gan family's residence was not far from the Tianfu Teahouse, and after a short while, the horse carriage stopped, and Li Zhuang, the owner of the teahouse, came out to greet them: "Oh, what wind brought Master Lei here? Please come in, please come in."
Lei Yi seemed to be skeptical of Li Zhuang's words, but carefully attended to Qi Xian as he got off the carriage. After all, Li Zhuang was a cunning person who knew that there must be a noble person in the carriage, so he took a step forward to help. When he saw Qi Xian again, his face didn't show much embarrassment, as if he had already forgotten about the incident where he gave him a dirty look yesterday. At this moment, Qi Xian was too lazy to bother with him and glanced up at the second floor before following Lei Yi inside. Today's sunlight seemed particularly dazzling.
Lei Yi led Qi Xian into the last room on the right side of the corridor and bowed out, coincidentally this room was where Gan Jing had invited him to drink tea yesterday. The round table in front of him was also filled with various pastries as it was yesterday, the lid of the teacup was slightly ajar, and the steaming hot air blurred his vision. His stomach made an uncooperative rumbling sound, but today was different from yesterday, Qi Xian still decided to pretend to be refined before Zhu Ye arrived. However, when the tea had lost its temperature, Zhu Ye still hadn't arrived, not even a servant came to greet him. Adding to the fact that he had been tossing and turning all night and clearly lacked sleep, now after waiting for so long, he was leaning against the back of the chair and was about to fall asleep.
Outside Tianfu Teahouse, horseshoes clattered again, and another black carriage stopped in front of the teahouse. Lei Yi had been waiting there for a long time.
Suddenly, the sound of pearls colliding with each other was heard, and Qi Mei sat up straight. Unexpectedly, it was a young man wearing a yellow goose jacket who came in. He had a golden silk belt around his waist, and a jade pendant hanging from his waist that looked like high-quality goods. Qi Mei rubbed her eyes, certain that this person's age did not match the title "Zhu Ye": "Who are you?"
The young man didn't rush to answer, and with a brush of his hand, he opened the folding fan in his hand. On the surface of the fan were written four characters in bold script: "Thousand Years Wind Liu". Qi Xiang let out a cold snort in his heart, another fake Wind Liu scholar. The young man smiled warmly on his face and sat down in the seat opposite Qi Xiang, only then slowly speaking: "I originally had an appointment with Master Zhu to meet here, I don't know why this young master is also here?"
That was a face that made all the women envy, such a warm and gentle smile was like a spring breeze that intoxicated people, but after seeing those heroes in Hei Shui Zhai, the young man in front of her just made her feel a bit girly: "I also happened to have an appointment with Master Zhu here, but I've been waiting for a long time and he still hasn't shown up, sigh, rich people really do have big attitudes, are you also here to discuss business with Master Zhu?" It turns out that when a person travels through time, the gossiping nature hidden in their body will also travel through time together. Waiting is boring, chatting about gossip makes the time pass more easily, no wonder they say that those who love life also love gossip!
Here is the translation:
"I've only heard that Master Zhu's father hasn't been well, and has been bedridden for some time. I remembered that a few years ago, we had obtained a Purple Jade Dragon King Ginseng from the north, which wasn't really for sale, but I wanted to give it to Master Zhu as a token of my father's goodwill. As a businessman myself, I don't know what kind of deal you plan to make with Master Zhu, if you don't mind me asking, please tell me and let me listen."
The young man gently swayed his folding fan while raising his teacup for a sip, the scene was as beautiful as a picture from a BL manga. Upon hearing this, Qi Xian's heart immediately cleared up, she thought that the most valuable thing on her body was the insect grass that Gan Jing treasured like a precious gem. Earlier, Gan Jing said that it was worth two ginsengs, but she didn't know how her insect grass compared to Master Zhu's Purple Jade Dragon King Ginseng. Since Master Zhu's father had been ill for some time, he must have come for the insect grass.
"To be honest, Master Zhu only said he had a business deal to discuss with me, but what exactly he saw in me, I'm not quite sure. However, after hearing what you just said, I think he probably came for the insect grass on my body." Qi Mei didn't hide anything, and there was nothing much to hide anyway. At this moment, she recalled the description of Master Zhu from Gan Jing's mouth, and her heart became even more uneasy. "Brother Ren seems to have dealt with Master Zhu before too. I've heard that no matter what Master Zhu wants, he'll stop at nothing to get it, regardless of whether the other party is willing to sell or not. Haven't you suffered many losses because of him?"
"Caterpillar fungus is a rare thing, young master must be worried that Zhu Ye will snatch it away? If you have such concerns, why not sell it to me instead? I'll take care of giving it to Zhu Ye as a personal favor. I'm sure he won't bother you again. As for the price, don't worry, I won't make you lose out - how about 5,000 taels?"
Qī xié yǎn qián yī liàng, dùn shí jué de zhè shì gè hǎo tí yì, jì kě yǐ dà zhuàn yī bǐ yòu kě yǐ bù yòng miàn duì nà ge bèi Gān Jìng shuō dé xiàng xié mó yí yàng de Zhū yé, dàng jì diǎn le diǎn tóu: "Wǔ qiān èr? Chéng jiāo."
"Five thousand taels of gold will be sent to your mansion later, as for the goods, if you trust me, you can hand them over to me now. Otherwise, you can also wait until you receive the payment and then give it to my servant. Rumors in the streets are often exaggerated, maybe one day you'll see him and feel that he's not like what people say." The young man seemed to have no patience and stood up again after a while, Qi Mei was still savoring his words, five thousand taels, gold! It turns out that thing is really as Gan Jing said, it's a treasure!
As she walked out of the Tianfu Teahouse, Qiuxi let out a long sigh of relief, and her heart finally fell back into place. But why did she still feel a faint sense of regret lingering in her mind?
