"Xiao Ying!" she sobbed, "Why am I so unlucky? This shop has closed down, where am I supposed to go? I have no brothers or sisters, my parents died a long time ago, where can I go all by myself? Am I supposed to beg for food? Even if I were to beg, no one would give me a single copper coin..."
Su Xiaoying could only comfort her, saying, "It's not like the business will go bankrupt. Besides, you women usually have some valuables; you can sell them and get some money back."
Yi Mei's eyes suddenly lit up. She raised her head, rubbed her eyes, and stared blankly for a long time.
Then he asked Su Xiaoying, "Where are you from?"
Su Xiaoying said, "I'm just like you, I have no parents or siblings, and nowhere to go."
Yi Mei sniffed hard and said, "I'm sorry, you should leave. I can't even support myself, let alone afford to hire you." She added, "You're lucky this time, you don't have to pay."
Su Xiaoying was taken aback.
Yi Mei stood up unsteadily, sniffling, and walked towards her room, slamming the door shut behind her.
Su Xiaoying watched her retreating figure for a long while before giving a bitter smile and muttering to herself, "In the dead of winter, where are you taking me again? Do you think I could build a Peach Blossom Manor out of nowhere?"
Su Xiaoying slowly stood up and began tidying up the New Year's Eve dinner. Under the dim, flickering light, her figure was vaguely reflected, and her faint shadow was cast alone on the old, dilapidated wall of the Linjiang Villa.
Princess Taizuki
Yi Mei is gone.
It was in the early morning of the second day of the Lunar New Year.
Su Xiaoying had considered many possibilities regarding the closure of Linjiang Villa, but he never imagined that Yimei would actually leave. He recalled the night before New Year's Eve, when Yimei tearfully complained, "Xiaoying! Why am I so unlucky? This shop is closed down, where am I supposed to go? I have no brothers or sisters, my parents died long ago, where can I go all by myself?... Even if I beg, no one will give me a penny..."
Su Xiaoying looked around the empty, dilapidated inn, speechless for a long time, and then let out a long sigh.
He didn't want to leave. Firstly, the ferry crossing on the Dagou River was still frozen. Secondly, when he discovered Yi Mei's disappearance, he remembered something very important: if Yi Mei never came back, then this Linjiang Villa might become his own property. He could plant a peach tree next to Linjiang Villa and then rename Linjiang Villa to Peach Blossom Villa.
Su Xiaoying suddenly wished that Yimei would never come back.
Wandering the world sounds like a wonderful thing. The word "wandering" itself seems to carry a story. Just like the handsome Wu Yifeng, who was famous throughout the southeast, born into a prestigious family and with immense wealth, used his iron-faced landscape fan and his two elegant and gentle gazes to stir up countless young ladies' springtime fantasies and haunt their dreams!
However, Su Xiaoying was a very self-aware person. He was neither handsome nor rich, so the romance of wandering the world was basically not directly related to him.
—Besides, even someone like Wuyifeng died in the end!
Su Xiaoying felt that Peach Blossom Manor could indeed become a goal for him. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this riverside manor had become the starting point of his new life.
Unfortunately, this time, Su Xiaoying's good dream didn't last long either.
Good dreams are always hard to come by. Even if you have one occasionally and laugh out loud in your dream, you often can't remember it during the day.
Su Xiaoying is now as frustrated as if she couldn't remember a wonderful dream.
Although the woman who disturbed his sweet dreams was beautiful, Su Xiaoying, despite her displeasure, had to admit that she was indeed a very, very beautiful woman.
Su Xiaoying first saw this woman at night, around 9 PM. That day, there were no stars, only a bright moon. The still-unmelted snow on the ground reflected the bright moonlight, creating a scene that was both hazy and clear, pristine yet shrouded in radiance. Su Xiaoying didn't realize at the time that the sky and earth were actually the same; the captivating atmosphere was entirely due to the allure of that beautiful woman.
At that time, Su Xiaoying only caught a glimpse of her back.
“Young master,” the beautiful woman said without turning around, “this humble servant is Mingji.”
Su Xiaoying stared blankly for a moment before saying, "Oh."
Mingji said, "My master will be visiting Linjiang Manor tomorrow at 3:45 PM to deliver a visiting card. Please pass it on to Miss Dong."
Su Xiaoying said, "Oh! But... this young lady..."
Mingji delicately pinched a paper envelope, as elegant as a plum blossom petal, between her left index and middle fingers, while her right hand folded its hem. Her dress billowed without wind, the hem of her skirt swaying gently like the gentlest breeze in the world. The light silk gauze brushed against her white hand, and in that instant, the paper envelope touched her silk dress and fell to the ground.
When Su Xiaoying looked up again, the soft, flower-like shadow had already disappeared into the distant snow and moonlight.
Su Xiaoying quickly ran a few steps and picked up the envelope.
The color of the paper envelope resembled that of plum blossom petals. Su Xiaoying examined it from all angles, then unceremoniously pinched the side and tore it open, revealing a paper card as thin as a cicada's wing.
Su Xiaoying's expression immediately changed.
If Mingji were to watch him open the envelope and take the letter, she would be so angry she would vomit blood, because Su Xiaoying's expression was like that of a beggar who hadn't eaten for five days, suddenly seeing a juicy roast chicken.
Su Xiaoying stared at the visiting card for a long time, then suddenly sighed and exclaimed, "My God! It's gold!"
Su Xiaoying was overjoyed, and after half an hour of happiness, he suddenly remembered that there wasn't a single girl surnamed Dong in this Linjiang Manor—perhaps Yi Mei was surnamed Dong? Su Xiaoying sighed; he didn't know. Then he convinced himself that since that was the case, the gold was his.
He had already forgotten about the beautiful Mingji and her mysterious master, because it was none of his business. What he needed most now was money. Actually, you couldn't blame him; his Linjiang Manor was completely out of supplies, and even the rats were almost gone.
"Mingji passes on gold foil, waiting for the moon to laugh until she kills."
This is a widely circulated saying in the martial arts world, and also a saying that makes people turn pale.
Unfortunately, Su Xiaoying was neither a member of the martial arts world nor understood its affairs.
At three-quarters past noon the next day, Fu Daiyue, accompanied by Mingji, leisurely arrived from afar. The reason it was described as "from afar" was because Su Xiaoying had absolutely no idea where the two of them had come from. Su Xiaoying only knew that in his twenty-six years of life, it was only then that he truly understood what it meant to be handsome and refined, what it meant to be elegant and cultured, and what it meant to be utterly unique in heaven and earth!
The two of them must not be earthly beings, but rather celestial beings.
Su Xiaoying then jumped up abruptly—there aren't many people who could make him jump up like that while basking in the sun. He straightened his clothes, feeling somewhat ashamed, and said, "You two have come at an inopportune time; the shop is already closed." As he spoke, he involuntarily glanced at Ming Ji.
Mingji smiled faintly and said, "This young master has accepted the invitation."
Fu Daiyue smiled faintly. When he smiled, his brows seemed to be serene and distant, and his expression was as pure as a jade spring. He said slowly, "Excuse me, please grant me an audience with Miss Dong."
Su Xiaoying said lazily, "I was just about to tell you that there is no girl with the surname Dong in this shop, only me. There was a girl with a bad temper a few days ago, I don't know if her surname was Dong or not, but she left a long time ago and will never come back."
Fu Daiyue asked calmly, "So, you're in charge of this store now?"
Su Xiaoying nodded and said, "It's me, I'm all alone now."
Fu Daiyue lowered her eyes, thought for a moment, and asked, "What is your surname, sir?"
Su Xiaoying was startled, then burst into laughter and said, "My name is Su Xiaoying, and I'm a helper at this shop. Sir, why are you being so polite?"
Fu Daiyue sighed, his eyes suddenly becoming somewhat melancholy.
That melancholic gaze was the most captivating weapon for a young girl. For a fleeting moment, Su Xiaoying suddenly doubted the stories she had heard about Wuyi Peak. Could there really be a man in the world more capable of making young girls swoon than the young man before her?
Fortunately, Su Xiaoying was not a young girl, so his expression did not change much, and he did not lose his manners in front of this pair of celestial beings.
However, Mingji's beautiful eyes suddenly opened. She covered her slightly fluttering sleeves, stepped back, curtsied, and said softly, "Young master, I made a mistake."
Su Xiaoying smiled and glanced at the five-pointed plum blossom nail at her feet, saying, "Young lady, has your young master never praised you for how your sleeves flutter like clouds when you throw hidden weapons?"
Mingji's expression remained calm and unchanged; she simply bowed her head and stood before Fu Daiyue.
Fu Daiyue smiled and said, "Assassin Yi Mei, your reputation is well-deserved."
Su Xiaoying said, "You've got it wrong, I'm not the assassin Yi Mei."
Fu Daiyue smiled calmly and said, "When she returns, please tell her that my servant and I are waiting for your arrival."
Su Xiaoying sighed, "She won't be coming back."
Fu Daiyue said with a faint smile, "She will come back."
Su Xiaoying said, "If you don't believe me, let's make a bet!"
Fu Daiyue glanced at him and said with a faint smile, "Alright, how about the stakes?"
Su Xiaoying laughed and said, "I didn't expect someone as refined as you to like gambling! Alright, I'll bet a string of copper coins."
Fu Daiyue said calmly, "I'll bet one hundred taels of silver."
Su Xiaoying was taken aback and asked, "How much?"
Fu Daiyue said, "One hundred taels of silver."
Su Xiaoying was stunned for a moment, then sighed and asked, "How could you dare to gamble so much? How did you know she was coming back? Even I didn't know!"
Fu Daiyue said calmly, "With a helper like you, how could she not come back?"
Su Xiaoying was taken aback again.
When he came to his senses, he could no longer see their faces, only smell their fragrance; the two people were already far away. He could only see their white and azure clothes, which seemed to sway briefly in the distance.
The oriole's beak pecks at the red blossoms, the swallow's tail touches the green ripples on the water. At this time, the ice and snow that covered the Dagou River had long since melted into warm, green spring water in the forest, flowing along with the lush green grass into the mountain streams.
As spring arrives and all things come to life, the land is teeming with vitality, and people's moods naturally lift. Yi Mei walked briskly, almost bursting into laughter on her way back to Linjiang Villa. Her bundle was bulging with forty-nine heavy, gleaming taels of silver, along with several genuine five-hundred-and-fifty-taels silver notes.
Yi Mei was in high spirits. She had already run to the gate of Linjiang Villa, and her momentum had not slowed down. She casually swung her hand and pushed the gate open with a bang, then jumped inside.
The noise startled Su Xiaoying.
Su Xiaoying turned her head and scratched her head, her eyes filled with undisguised disappointment, but she smiled and said, "Boss lady, you're finally back."
Yi Mei asked curiously, "Why are you still here?"
Su Xiaoying said sullenly, "You've employed me for two years."
Yi Mei tossed her bundle aside and said, "Not bad, you keep your word! Go get me a bowl of water." As she gave the order, she looked around and, seeing that the room wasn't covered in dirt, she beamed even more.
Su Xiaoying had no choice but to go and pour her some water.
Suddenly, Yi Mei remembered something and asked, "You were penniless, how did you survive these past two months?"
Su Xiaoying suddenly remembered something and said dejectedly, "Boss lady, as soon as you came back, I lost another string of gambling debts. I didn't get paid last month, so you have to pay me for the next two months."
Yi Mei took the bowl and gulped down a few mouthfuls, wiped her mouth, and casually asked, "Who did you bet with again?"
Su Xiaoying said, "He is a rich young master."
Yi Mei asked curiously, "Which rich young master?"
Su Xiaoying honestly replied, "I heard her name is Fu Daiyue, and she has a pretty maidservant with her."
Yi Mei choked on the water she was drinking, coughed twice, and then calmed down. She glanced at the seemingly innocent Su Xiaoying, pondered for a while, and muttered to herself, "Ming Ji passes on the gold foil, waiting for the moon to laugh and kill."
Yi Mei's expression suddenly turned very serious, and she asked, word by word, "What did you and Fu Daiyue bet on?"
Su Xiaoying said, "I bet you won't come back."
Yi Mei hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Where did you put the gold foil name card?"
Su Xiaoying's face suddenly turned just as ugly as Yi Mei's. After thinking for a moment, he said in a tone that didn't concern him, "They should have been sold long ago, otherwise, what would I eat?"
Yi Mei was speechless for a moment.
Su Xiaoying asked, "How did you know there was a gold-leaf name card?"
Yi Mei looked into his eyes and remained silent for a long time. Suddenly, she sighed softly and said, "Aren't you going to Ruijin Mountain? I'll pay you two months' wages. You should leave now."
Su Xiaoying said, "It's springtime now, flowers are blooming, what's the point of going to Ruijin Mountain? Do you think there's still frost and sea of clouds?"