Zhan Chun - Chapter 88
At this point, she laughed, her eyes sparkling. She circled around Yichun twice, then immediately smiled warmly, took her arm, and said softly, "This young lady is beautiful. She and Young Master Shu are a match made in heaven. I have other incense here. Just tell me what you like, and consider it my gift."
Shu Jun blocked Yi Chun, who was about to speak, behind him and shook his head, saying, "Don't try that. Money is money, and fragrance is fragrance. You can't fool my wife."
The beauty pouted and walked away.
Yichun said softly, "Why were you so mean to her?"
Could it be that with his wife in charge, he's deliberately treating everyone else like passersby? "You think she's a good person?" Shu Jun glanced at her sideways. "She'll cheat and swindle you all. She could sell you out and you'd still be grateful to her for the rest of your life."
Yi Chun smiled. "I know whether she's lying or not. You don't need to worry about me getting into trouble all the time." Shu Jun couldn't help but gently pinch her cheek. "Would it kill you to lean on me once in a while? You're so unromantic."
As they were talking, a servant in blue hurried over and bowed his head, saying, "Young Master Shu, my master has been waiting for you for a long time. Please follow me."
Shu Jun nodded, took Yi Chun's hand, and said with a smile, "Let's go. The host of this conference is an elder of mine. I'll take you to meet him."
The courtyard was lush with trees, providing ample shade. The owner sat in a small building, dressed in simple clothes with a copper hairpin. On the mahogany table sat a pot of tea and three jade teacups.
Upon seeing Shu Jun and his wife arrive, he did not stand up, but merely smiled and nodded, gesturing for them to sit down. "So you finally brought your wife to see me." The host smiled slightly, his eyes crinkling with deep wrinkles, his hair already gray, and for some reason, he always seemed a little tired, making one involuntarily worry about his health.
If you look down his chest, you can clearly see his empty trouser legs and the iron wheelchair beneath him; it turns out he is disabled.
Yichun hesitated to bow to him, but didn't know how to address him. Shu Jun whispered, "Call him Uncle Wang. He was the one who helped me with money in the past."
Yi Chunxiong respectfully greeted him, "Uncle Wang."
Uncle Wang smiled and took out a brocade box from his pocket and handed it to her, saying, "I rushed out to the villa without bringing anything good with me, so take this little thing and play with it."
Inside the brocade box was a pair of deep green jade bracelets, as clear as spring water. Even though Yi Chun knew nothing about jade, she could tell they were of the finest quality and quite valuable. Yi Chun hesitated for a moment, instinctively wanting to refuse this generous gift. But Shu Jun had already taken out the bracelets without ceremony and put them on her wrists. He looked them over and chuckled, "They're very beautiful. Thank you, Uncle Wang."
The three drank tea for a while and chatted about everyday things. Yichun suppressed several yawns—it was very cool here, and the incense burning in the burner made her feel weak all over, and she really wanted to take a nap. Suddenly, Uncle Wang changed the subject and said in a low voice, "You've always been smart, much smarter than your parents. Since you're smart, you know what the consequences would be if your identity were exposed. Hiding forever is not a solution."
These words came out of nowhere and were completely unexpected, leaving Yichun momentarily stunned.
Shu Jun's expression was mocking as he calmly said, "Uncle Wang, what happened at Dongjiang Lake that day greatly surprised me. When did a senior like you become a lackey of the Yan Clan?"
Uncle Wang slowly shook his head, his voice low, "Who in this world would turn down money?"
Shu Jun looked at him helplessly, but saw him smile with a hint of shrewdness, and say, "Don't worry, no matter how much money you give me, I won't reveal your family's whereabouts to them."
"...You greedy old devil!"
If there is anyone in the world who loves money more than Shu Jun, that person is definitely him.
Uncle Wang laughed a few times, then finally took the letter out of his pocket and casually tossed it to him, "A letter from Sect Leader Yan to you."
Shu Jun didn't shy away from him. He quickly tore open the letter, which contained a letter, two thousand-tael silver notes, and a piece of jade broken in two. The first thing he did was to hold the silver notes between two fingers and examine them closely, his eyes crinkling with a smile. "Sect Leader Yan certainly knows how to do things; he's very generous."
He glanced at the broken jade pieces, pursed his lips slightly in a childlike manner, and thoughtfully pinched the two pieces of jade before quickly putting them into his pocket.
The letter was only opened at the very end.
The letter was short, containing only two lines, both specifying the time and place, presumably arranged by Sect Master Yan. At the bottom of the letter was a line of small, delicate writing: "More than ten years have passed since we parted. How are you, my old friend? I return the old belongings. I await your arrival, young hero."
He casually tore up the letter and tossed it behind his mind, then silently led Yichun to her feet.
Uncle Wang said, "The carriage is in the backyard. Old Xu has been waiting for you all morning."
Shu Jun sighed and looked back at him, "You sold me out and you're still so self-righteous, I really admire your ability."
Uncle Wang smiled, his eyes gradually sharpening.
“Shu Jun,” he said, “it’s not a solution for you to keep hiding. We all know this was done by your father and has nothing to do with you, but who told you to have such a father? Before, you were a carefree wanderer, so you didn’t care about anything. But now that you have a wife, and you’ll have children in the future, will you be like your father, leading your whole family to hide everywhere?”
He took a breath and said, "Things always need to be resolved. If you're capable, you shouldn't be hiding everywhere, but should go up to them and make things clear!"
Shu Jun looked at him with a strange expression. "You're still as eloquent as ever, but you've got one thing wrong. I've never needed to hide from the Yan family."
He looked down at You Yichun, and she looked up at him; both of them had the same thing in their eyes: arrogance.
"If they want to see me, they first need to have the ability to find me and invite me. If they can't even do that, why should I, Shu Jun, come to their door?"
Uncle Wang was speechless.
Sure enough, there was a carriage parked in the backyard, driven by a middle-aged man surnamed Xu, whom Yichun had seen once in Yangzhou.
He was very smooth and humble, bowing and scraping before the two juniors, saying repeatedly, "The sect leader has not yet arrived in Jiangcheng. It should take about a day and a half. Do you two have any places you would like to visit? If so, please don't hesitate to tell me."
Shu Jun smiled and said, "I've heard that the Yellow Crane Tower in Jiangcheng is very famous. Since we're here, wouldn't it be a pity not to go and see it?"
Old Xu went to drive the carriage with a smile, seemingly not angry at all. Uncle Wang saw the two of them off to the carriage, then suddenly remembered something and said, "Do you want that jade marrow incense?"
Shu Jun instinctively wanted to refuse, but then she remembered Yi Chun saying that it smelled very good and the longing look on her face. Her heart softened, and she nodded and said, "Alright, I'll take it."
Uncle Wang smiled slyly, “Since that’s the case, give me a thousand taels. I spent five years making that incense to such exquisite quality; it’s the best for calming and soothing the nerves. I originally wanted to sell it for two thousand taels, but since Yan’s debt is on my head, I’ll give you a discount of half. Consider the remaining thousand taels as repayment of your debt.”
Extortion, absolutely extortion. Shu Jun had traveled all over the country and had never encountered incense that cost two thousand taels of silver.
He immediately lowered the curtain. "No, thank you. Old Xu, let's go."
Uncle Wang grabbed the windowsill, "Five thousand five hundred taels."
"Old Xu, let's go!"
"One thousand taels!"
Shu Jun turned to look at him, grinning, "If you ask me, it's at most ten taels. Would you sell it or not?"
Uncle Wang tossed him a sachet. "Deal!"