One of them is a hairpin, one end of which is a round flower made of gold sheets. There are eight independent petals around a sunflower-shaped pistil, and each petal has a concave layer. The protruding parts are made of gold wire to make a net pattern, and behind the petals, there are eight more petals to set off. At first glance, it looks like a blooming mountain chrysanthemum, very fresh and elegant.
Xia Yue's eyes were reluctant to move away, and she couldn't help but reach out to pick it up.
The shop assistant was a very shrewd man. He read the buyer's expression and immediately asked someone to hold up a bronze mirror for Xia Yue to try on. At the same time, he praised the hairpin, Xia Yue's vision and appearance to the sky.
Xia Yue raised her eyes and asked, "How much?"
The waiter narrowed his eyes and gestured: "Sixty taels."
He Xiang took a deep breath. She knew that the things in Linlangfang were not ordinary and the prices were ridiculously high, but she didn't expect them to be so expensive.
Xia Yue lowered her eyes slightly.
It's not that she is short of money, but the money left by her father is for Zi Jin's future emergency use. How can she be so willful
Xia Yue forced a smile at the waiter and said, "Let me take a look at something else." Then she reached out and awkwardly took the gold hairpin out of her hair.
The waiter hurriedly stopped her and advised: "Miss, you look as beautiful as a fairy when you wear it, so why don't you take it?"
Seeing her continue to move, the waiter said, "And you don't know, this item has a long history, girl, you may..."
Suddenly, a voice behind him suddenly sounded: "What's the origin? Tell me about it."
When she turned around and saw that it was Shang Rui, her brows suddenly frowned. The more she hated someone, the more often she would run into him.
The guy probably just wanted to put some thought into keeping Xia Yue, but he didn't expect to be asked so casually by Shang Rui. He was stunned and didn't know how to answer for a moment.
The boss came out from the inner hall and continued what the waiter said, "It's just a rumor. It is said that when Emperor Taizu was young and had not yet ascended the throne, he met a woman in the countryside and exchanged a golden hairpin with her. Later, they became his first wife. The master in our workshop accidentally got a picture of it and spent a lot of time making it according to the picture."
Shang Rui smiled when he heard this, but naturally he didn't believe it.
The shopkeeper added, "This kind of street legend is just for good luck. It's suitable for the girl to wear it herself, or for the gentleman to give it as a token of love."
Xia Yue had no intention of paying any money, but seeing the shop assistant being so welcoming, she didn't want to turn down his enthusiasm. She was just worrying about not being able to get away, when she saw Shang Rui walking in like a sucker, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief and took the opportunity to put the hairpin back into the box.
The boss was very good at observing people's expressions and immediately turned the box in front of Shang Rui.
It can be seen that she was also very attracted by the hair accessories. She couldn't help but glance at it sideways again, feeling a little reluctant.
Shang Rui saw her expression and smiled faintly: "How much is the silver? I'll buy it."
When Xia Yue heard this, she walked out of the shop with He Xiang.
Turning the corner and crossing Zhengyang Street, I happened to run into a nobleman's procession. Passersby avoided me.
He Xiang couldn't help but ask the vendor next to her: "Who is this gentleman?"
The fruit seller whispered, "It's Master Xu."
Xia Yue asked: "Which Lord Xu?"
The young man muttered: "You are from other places, right? There are only a few people in the current dynasty who can be called Lord Xu, Lord Xu, King of Wei." That man was Shang Rui's uncle—Xu Jingye.
He was named "King of Wei" and was a favored minister in front of the emperor. He had been favored for many years, so naturally his chariots and horses were very impressive.
Xia Yue and He Xiang stood in the crowd and watched together.
Just as the group of people approached, an old man with silver hair on the opposite side unexpectedly rushed out from the alley on both sides, ignoring the horseshoes and wheels, and threw himself in front of the ceremonial guard leading the way, crying: "I have grievances, grievances, grievances—"
The word "injustice" sounded more and more miserable when the old man shouted it out.
By the end of Emperor Shizong's reign, the dynasty's prosperity seemed to be on the horizon, but it was rare to stop the carriage of a low-ranking official in public in the imperial capital.
Xu Jingye raised his hand to stop the accompanying soldier who was about to scold the old man, rode his horse forward, and said kindly: "Old man, I was only a military officer in the past. If you have any grievances, you should ask someone to write a petition and submit it to the government. I can't make the decision on unjust cases."
He spoke in a low voice, but every word was sonorous and rich. Even on the crowded street, his voice was still clear and impressive, with a sense of majesty.
He Xiang tugged at Xia Yue's sleeve and whispered, "So impressive."
Xia Yue sneered coldly, saying that it was just hypocrisy.
The old man still prostrated himself: "Only you can decide what is on my mind. Otherwise, I will not be able to rest in peace even after I die."
"Oh?" Xu Jingye was quite puzzled and dismounted. "What's the matter, old man? Just tell me in front of so many villagers." He bent down patiently to help the old man up, but he didn't expect that the old man spat in his face the moment he raised his head.
The incident happened suddenly and the guards around were caught off guard.
The old man shook off Xu Jingye's hand that was supporting him, took a few steps back, and laughed loudly towards the sky.
"You bastard! Your Xu family was originally just a bunch of slaves raised by my David Dynasty. Thanks to the late emperor's kindness, you and your sisters were given honor and glory. But you secretly colluded with the inner palace to harm my late emperor. This is disloyalty; you forged the imperial edict and disobeyed it. For your own selfish desires, you established a new emperor. This is disloyalty; you ignored the late emperor's kindness and wiped out the prince's family, destroying my David's bloodline. This is unkindness; now you have killed the late emperor's descendants, strangled the King of Wei, and dared to covet the throne of a different surname. This is unrighteousness!"
Hearing this, Xia Yue bit her lower lip, looked at the old man deeply, and clenched her hands tightly. Every word the old man said pierced her heart and made her angry. If it weren't for these people, if it weren't for them, how could Zi Jin's family be destroyed.
However, she didn't expect that Shang Rui had followed her at some point, standing beside her, and they stopped to watch together in the crowd.
The old man continued, "You are a disloyal, unloyal, unkind, unjust traitor, but you are appointed as a first-rank official and have a hereditary title. How can we, the loyal men of the emperor, not feel wronged? How can the people of the world not feel wronged?"
Shang Rui sighed leisurely: "This old man is very courageous."
Xia Yue didn't care what he said, she just tensed her nerves and stared at that place through the gap in the crowd, fearing that the old man would be harmed innocently.
"I hope you will kill yourself with your sword as soon as possible to pay tribute to the spirit of the late emperor. You bastard, just kill me. Today, I only regret that I am too weak to kill you..."
When the old man was about to say the last few words, he was stopped by the guards next to him and his mouth was covered. He tried his best to say the last few words, but his mouth was still blocked in the end.
Xu Jingye was neither angry nor annoyed. He calmly raised his sleeve to wipe the spit off his face and walked up to the old man: "It was just a trivial matter that the old gentleman scolded me just now, but you shouldn't insult the emperor and the empress dowager of our dynasty. The guards under me were just afraid that the old gentleman would say something disrespectful again, so they offended you. Now I have no choice but to hand you over to the court judge, and they will naturally deal with you strictly according to the laws of our dynasty." After speaking, he had the old man tied up and sent to the yamen, and he got on his horse and continued on his way.
Seeing that there was nothing exciting to watch, people dispersed.
Xia Yue looked at the old man's staggering steps as he was pushed around, and a complex feeling suddenly arose in her heart.
Shang Rui looked at the old man's receding figure and shook his head, saying, "He is over fifty years old and loyal, but it's a pity that he is just a scholar's ambition when it comes to doing things. He is just blindly loyal."
When Xia Yue heard the word "blind loyalty", she suddenly turned to look at him and said, "He's just a sixty-year-old man, you don't have to be so mean."
"It's not that I'm mean. These people have read a lot, so it's inevitable that they are pedantic. He lost his life today just for the sake of venting his anger. Besides, a scholar doesn't even curse people that harshly. If he really wanted to be an enemy, it would be much more useful to hide his true nature and do something in this mixed capital."
Xia Yue sneered, "I don't think anyone in the world can learn to be as sweet-mouthed as you are."
He replied: "It shows that I am different from the rest of the world."
Ming Lian happened to bring the horse over and Shang Rui climbed on it.
Xia Yue then caught a glimpse of the sandalwood box from Linlangfang in his hand, and guessed that he must have bought the gold hairpin. Thinking of what the shopkeeper had just said about men buying it as a token of love, she couldn't help but sneer, "I just hope that the girl who truly entrusted her love to you won't make a mistake."
Shang Rui heard this, looked at the wooden box in his hand, glanced at Xia Yue again, and wanted to say something, but finally kept silent. He clamped his legs around the horse's belly and drove the horse away, but after walking a few steps, he couldn't help but turn back.
"Since Miss Min is afraid that others will misjudge it, I might as well give this thing to you instead, so that it won't harm others." He sat high on the horse's back, looking down at her with his eyes lowered coldly, and then he threw the box out, which landed lightly and accurately in Xia Yue's arms.
Xia Yue subconsciously caught the thing.
"It's a reward for you. You're welcome." His tone was extremely contemptuous.
He was just passing by and happened to know that Xia Yue was in the jewelry store, so he went in to take a look out of curiosity. He noticed that she was lingering on the hair accessories but didn't want to buy them, so he simply bought them. Now he was not very happy because of her anger. He couldn't lose face, but he couldn't help but send her off, so this happened.
However, Xia Yue heard the last sentence as if she was sending away a beggar. In addition, he threw it to her in such a condescending manner. The anger that had been accumulating in her heart finally burst out. She threw the box in her arms to the ground, spat, and said, "Who cares?"
The box fell open, and half of the contents fell out. The snow piled up on the roadside had been trampled beyond recognition by the crowds of people who had just come to watch the excitement, and one end of the hairpin fell into the mud, stained and dazzling.
Shang Rui had never been treated so harshly in his life, and he immediately got annoyed: "Pick it up."
"Why?" She showed no sign of weakness and wanted to look up at him, but she felt that he was looking down on her and had an aura that was superior to her, so she turned her head and looked elsewhere.
"I asked you to pick it up." He suppressed his voice, already extremely angry.
"I won't!" She screwed it on too.
Shang Rui was furious. He shouldn't be such an irritable person, but for some reason he kept getting angry at her. Before she could say the next word, he grabbed her shoulders roughly, lifted her up, and threw her horizontally on the horse's back in front of the saddle. Then he raised the whip fiercely and galloped away.
"Young Master!" Ming Lian and Yao Chuang beside him hurriedly chased after him.
Shang Rui narrowed his eyes and shouted sullenly, "No one should follow me!"
Xia Yue was confused. She thought the worst outcome would be a fight or a slap from him, but she didn't expect him to force her out of the city.
She was carried by the horse, lying prone on its back in an awkward posture, which was extremely indecent. Moreover, the horse was running very fast, pressing against her chest and stomach, making it difficult for her to breathe.
For a moment, she wished she could fall off the horse like this, dying and becoming disabled would be better than being humiliated by him. But the next moment, she was afraid of falling off, so she had to pull her hands away and hold on to the horse's mane at her side.
Shang Rui rode his horse all the way with a gloomy face and said nothing.
She clenched her teeth and didn't let herself utter a word of begging for mercy or moaning.
But even if she didn't slide to the ground, every time the horse shook, her back and side ribs would hit the saddle, and the pain was so severe that she gradually forgot the cold.
The wind outside the city was extremely strong, and the gusts of wind calmed Shang Rui's mind. He wanted to teach her a lesson, but was afraid that she would continue to embarrass him. Now that he was sober, he suddenly felt that his behavior was ridiculous and gradually slowed down.
Their horses were walking on the official road, which was the only way to enter the imperial capital. Even in such a cold winter, there were people and horses coming and going. He was riding a horse with a girl on his back, which attracted more attention.
He found a fork in the road and walked onto the small path.
However, after walking for a while, they saw that the road ahead was covered with a thick layer of snow, and it was difficult to tell the depth. He was a good rider, but he was afraid that he might accidentally fall on her.
He slowed down again, but after a while, she still didn't beg for mercy.
"If you feel uncomfortable, just tell me and I'll let you down." He said slowly.
She gathered all her strength, held back her trembling lips, and after a long while she stubbornly uttered three words: "You're dreaming."
He raised an eyebrow and paused while holding the reins: "It's a pity that you are a woman with your temperament. You are as stubborn as a donkey."
But she didn't have the energy to respond to him.
He looked around and saw that further down was the bottom of the ditch. The snow was thicker than elsewhere and he was afraid there would be no place to step, so he planned to let her go after he climbed the steep slope.
He held the reins, afraid that the horse would slip while climbing the slope, so he whipped the horse again and urged it with a sound, and the horse obediently jumped up. This light jump made Xia Yue's waist and back hit the hard saddle hard. When the second blow was about to come, she couldn't help but pull out her other hand to block it. She was already exhausted, so she stretched her left hand back, but the strength was not enough and she didn't have a good aim. When her hand fell, it actually touched his crotch.
She shrank back suddenly as if she was stung, her face flushed. Instantly, she decided to rather die than be treated so humiliatingly by him, so she let go of the horse's mane, pushed with both hands at the same time, and fell off the horse's back.
He reached out and grabbed it quickly, but unexpectedly, it was still empty.
Seeing her fall to the ground and the horse's four hooves about to step on her, Shang Rui pulled the reins hard, and the horse's front hooves suddenly flew into the air. At the same time, he rolled over and quickly pulled her out from under the horse's belly.
There was a steep slope below, and he protected her with his arms as they rolled down.
Fortunately, the snow was thick, and she didn't encounter any hard objects after rolling a long way. When they stopped at the bottom of the ditch, he let her go and shouted angrily, "Are you going to die?"
However, this time, Xia Yue did not refute him tit for tat as he expected.
She huddled in the snow, head buried, and didn't move for a long time.
He was stunned for a moment, raised his upper body suspiciously, kept a distance from her, and then lowered his head to look at her.
Her eyes were tightly closed and her little face was wrinkled, as if she was trying to endure the pain.
"What's wrong? Where does it hurt?" He asked her while checking her from top to bottom. He pulled out the hairpin in her hair and felt around her head with his fingers, finding nothing unusual. He then pressed her neck, then her shoulder blades and elbows. When he touched her palms, she groaned in pain.
It turned out that when she fell to the ground just now, her left palm touched the ground first, and it seemed that her palm was fractured. Fortunately, it was not broken, but just slightly dislocated.
Shang Rui frowned and stood up to look around. It was a vast expanse of land, and he could not find anything useful. There were a few houses not far away. The horse had just been frightened, but it did not run far away and was already waiting for him on the other side of the hillside.
He avoided her injured part and gently helped her sit up. Every time he moved her body, she frowned, and the dislocated bone seemed to move a little more.
Sweat wet her hair, and the snow stuck to her body and neck melted into water due to the heat and slid into her collar. He felt a little soft-hearted and said, "How about I carry you to see a doctor?"
She raised her eyes tremblingly, looked at him, and shook her head slightly.
Seeing this, he couldn't help but feel unhappy again.
But then she heard her ask weakly: "Can you heal injuries?" She and Mu Yuanzhi had studied medicine for some time, and they knew that the best way to treat this kind of bone injury was to reposition it immediately, otherwise the dislocation of the fracture would become more and more serious, and might even pierce the skin.
Shang Rui had played with swords and guns with his brothers when he was a child, so naturally he had rich experience in treating injuries.
He said, "I know a little, but I'm afraid you can't bear it."
She pursed her lips and said firmly: "I'm not afraid."
He looked at her, not knowing what he was thinking, then picked her up and walked to a bare tree trunk a few steps away. He cleared the snow with his bare hands and let her sit down against the tree trunk. Then he took out his short knife and cut a branch from the tree. After landing, he cut it into a short piece and tore the corner of his inner clothes. After doing all this, he lifted the palm of her left hand and touched it carefully to confirm the fracture. Then he held her hand with one hand and put the other hand on her shoulder.
Xia Yue was sandwiched between him and the tree trunk, with no gap.