The young man, seeing Ye Qingcheng frowning, felt a rush of panic and quickly pulled his friend's hand off his shoulder.
Upon hearing this, Jing Xiu's heart was filled with annoyance. She wondered what her mistress was thinking, coming to a place like this. "You scoundrel, your words are truly unpleasant."
What Jing Xiu didn't know was that at this moment, her mistress was feeling quite delighted. The more people who gathered, the better. The more people there were, the more people would witness her beauty.
Haha!
The young man's friend's eyes sharpened. "Hey, try saying that again." As he spoke, he reached out to hit Jing Xiu. Ye Qingcheng's eyes narrowed, and she quickly pulled Jing Xiu back. "What? Does sir intend to strike someone?"
The young man quickly pulled his friend back. "No, no, he's had a bit to drink, so his actions aren't very refined. Miss need not mind."
Ye Qingcheng smiled. "Then I must apologize to sir. Yuan Niang was just being rude to you, she meant no harm." She then bowed to the young man with a steady demeanor. "Yuan Niang is my maid. She was just being overly protective of me, but she didn't intend to offend sir. I hope sir will forgive her."
Seeing Ye Qingcheng step forward, the young man's face instantly lit up with a smile. "It's nothing, it's nothing."
At this moment, a blush spread across the young man's face. "May I know miss's name..."
"Sir," Ye Qingcheng interrupted him. "My family are foreigners. My father is here on business, which is why I begged to come to the capital. We originally intended to dine, but we are unfamiliar with the surroundings and accidentally wandered into this place. I apologize, this humble one will take her leave now."
With that, she pulled Jing Xiu away with a somber expression, but the young man blocked their path. "Ah~ Miss, I... I didn't mean anything else, I... I..."
Ye Qingcheng's gaze was cold. She stared at the young man sternly. "Sir, I haven't read many books, but I understand a principle: birds of a feather flock together. We are not related, yet you immediately ask for my name. I cannot tell you. My father always cautioned me not to reveal myself casually outside. Therefore, sir, please do not stop me."
Then, she sidestepped and pulled Jing Xiu away.
Jing Xiu was stunned. As soon as they were outside, she couldn't help but ask, "Miss, didn't you say we were going out to have fun? Why are we leaving?"
Ye Qingcheng instantly shed her aloof demeanor and returned to her original self. "Silly girl, this is called playing hard to get. I deliberately spoke when all eyes were on me to maintain my cool persona, to let them know I come from a scholarly family with strict household rules, and they can't just invite me out for fun. Don't worry! He will come looking for me. In a few days, we'll go boating."
Jing Xiu seemed to understand but not quite.
Ye Qingcheng sighed. "Turn around and look at the window on the second floor of the restaurant. See if the young man from before is looking at me."
Jing Xiu turned to look. Indeed, the young man was standing by the window, looking in their direction. His once sharp gaze softened the moment Jing Xiu looked over, and he gazed at Ye Qingcheng's retreating back with adoration.
Jing Xiu's expression immediately turned annoyed. She ran to the young woman and said something, but the young woman walked faster.
The young man's earlier smile turned grim. Behind him, his friend was kneeling before the young man, pleading. "Young Master Liu, I was wrong. I never expected she was the woman you fancied! If I had a hundred times the courage, I wouldn't dare to strike the maid beside her!"
Onlookers, who were enjoying the drama, chattered incessantly. "Tsk, tsk. Are you blind? Didn't you see the way Young Master Liu looked at that woman? You still dared to rush forward. How foolish."
"Exactly! We saw it at a glance and didn't dare to disturb them. But you, you went straight to them."
"What's more annoying is that you've given that young lady a bad impression of our Young Master Liu."
One after another, they spoke, causing the friend to lower his head in shame.
Young Master Liu watched until Ye Qingcheng turned the corner and disappeared from view before turning back to the crowd. "Do you know what the lady said? Birds of a feather flock together. She lumped me in with you all."
The crowd remained silent.
Young Master Liu waved his hand. "Alright, you can get up. A man's knees are made of gold; don't lose yours here."
The friend eagerly stood up. "Heh heh! Young Master Liu, I'll go investigate this young lady's family right away."
Hearing this, Young Master Liu shot him a glance, then slapped him across the face.
Some of the onlookers, never one to shy away from stirring trouble, chimed in. "You idiot! Thousands of people come to the capital for business. If you, this simpleton, try to investigate, how long will it take? You'll only find out after they've all left! Young Master Liu's father has forbidden him from ever stepping foot outside the capital."
The person who had spoken, covering his face, shrunk back to the side.
Someone suggested, "Since she already has a bad impression of you, why not go all the way and kidnap her directly?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he was met with Young Master Liu's murderous gaze.
The person knew he had said the wrong thing and slapped himself.
Throughout the entire exchange, Young Master Liu hadn't uttered a single word, but his stance was clear: no one was allowed to touch her.
Ye Qingcheng didn't leave her residence for several days. The first reason was to give the young man the impression that she had been scared away by them. The second was to make them think she had already left.
It wasn't until the fifth day that Ye Qingcheng, with her usual makeup, dressed herself up. This time, she wore a light purple base with a blue primary color, a cross-bodice ruqun, and a one-piece half-sleeve cross-bodice skirt. While there were slight changes from her previous attire, the overall appearance was not drastically different.
The two walked the streets. Jing Xiu was incredibly excited, like a little sister, pulling Ye Qingcheng to look at everything fun, but they only looked, not buying.
Meanwhile, Ye Qingcheng maintained an air of noble elegance and propriety, like a young lady yet to be married.
After browsing for a long time, they both became hungry. Ye Qingcheng wanted to eat at a restaurant, but Jing Xiu shrewdly took out Ye Qingcheng's monthly allowance to show her.
Ye Qingcheng choked. "Why is this month's allowance so little?"
Jing Xiu carefully put the monthly money away. "Mistress... your monthly allowance was never much. The money for Bi Xi's treatment last time, that was from our own funds, remember!"
Ye Qingcheng's eyes widened. "I thought it was from the Regent's Mansion! I didn't realize it was from our own pockets. Alas, what injustice!"
Jing Xiu pulled Ye Qingcheng towards a wonton stall. "Mistress, the wontons at this entrance are delicious, unlike anything you'd find in a restaurant!"
Ye Qingcheng sighed. "We have no other choice."
At the same time, the despondent Young Master Liu was tormenting a flower, saying, "She stays, she goes. She stays, she goes." As the last petal on the stem swayed precariously, Young Master Liu tearfully plucked it. "She's gone...? Have we truly met but not to be?"
Just then, a servant rushed in frantically, causing Young Master Liu to roar, "Who allowed you in? Get out!"
The servant hurriedly explained, "Young master, I saw her, I saw her!"
Young Master Liu raised an eyebrow, his irritation evident. "Saw what? Speak quickly."
The servant swallowed. "It was, it was that young lady..."
Young Master Liu's eyes lit up. "What did you say? You saw her, she hasn't left? Then where is she now?"