After daybreak, the customers who ordered the rice dumplings yesterday came to pick up the dumplings with the receipts. The customers who habitually came to eat breakfast were a little disappointed. The store didn't sell any other breakfast today. There were only rice dumplings in the pot! Some people had to settle for the next best thing and wanted to buy some rice dumplings, but were told that they had been ordered.
Later, two carriages stopped at the Jiang family's shop. People got off and got on again, and the shop was empty. No one knew who they were, but they actually carried several sacks of zongzi on the carriages.
"Thank you for your hard work yesterday. Let's go back and have a rest." Jiang Miao distributed the agreed overtime pay to everyone. After everyone left, Jiang Miao also took Pei Mu and Jiang Yu to the yard.
Although Jiang Yu was tired, she had a bright smile on her face. Even though she had walked this road many times, she still enjoyed looking at the shops and people on both sides, as if the freshness these things brought her would never fade. For a girl who had never left the house since she was a child, Liang Jingcheng was really amazing.
"Sister Xiaoyu, do you want to buy those things?" Jiang Miao saw that Jiang Yu's eyes always stayed on a small stall, which was filled with rouge, powder, and some small accessories. Although the quality of the things on this stall may be different from those in the store, the price is very friendly.
Jiang Yu shook her head quickly, her hands kept waving, her face flushed with shyness. She was always shy to express her preferences.
"If you like it, buy it. It's a good opportunity for you to come here. I've never given you anything. Go pick some and I'll pay." Jiang Miao didn't say anything and pulled Jiang Yu towards the stall. Jiang Yu always worked very hard and never took advantage of being a relative of the boss to be lazy. Jiang Miao always treated this optimistic and positive girl as a sister.
Jiang Yu refused again and again, but still couldn't persuade Jiang Miao, so he had to stand in front of the stall, staring at the things on the stall awkwardly, trying to pick out the cheapest ones and then pay for them himself.
The guy who was setting up the stall saw that she was just staring at the items but not touching them, so he said, "Girl, if you like something, just try it. I think these things are suitable for you."
Jiang Yu smiled shyly, but she didn't pick and choose like other customers. She looked around and her eyes were fixed on a red string bracelet. There was a translucent bead in the red string, which was shaped like a water drop and looked like a small raindrop.
She picked up the bracelet, and the stall boy immediately said, "You have good taste, girl. The beads on this bracelet are rare glass beads. It will definitely suit you well."
Jiang Yu paused when she heard this, which was rare. Although she didn't buy things very often, she understood the stall owner's subtext.
Jiang Miao had been staring at her from the side, and when he saw that she was about to put it back, he reached out to stop her.
"Brother, how much is this bracelet?"
"It's not expensive. You can buy it for only sixty coins."
Jiang Yu was frightened when he heard this, and put the bracelet back despite Jiang Miao's obstruction. Sixty cents could buy a large bundle of red string. If he brought it back to Jiangjiawan, all the girls in his family would be able to use the red string to tie their hair.
"It's okay, it's not expensive, take it. And take these too..." Jiang Miao saw that she obviously liked the things but gave up because the price was too high, so he paid the stall owner directly and put the red rope bracelet in Jiang Yu's hand.
The scene of the two siblings getting along is very heartwarming, but in the eyes of some people, it has become a standard of Jiang Miao's "unfaithfulness to her husband".
"Brother Cunguang, what are you looking at?" One scholar patted another scholar.
"Brother Yunqing, look at the person standing by the stall over there. Does he look familiar?" The scholar named Cun Guang nodded and motioned Zhao Yunqing to look ahead.
Zhao Yunqing took a closer look and said, "He looks familiar. The young master beside him also looks familiar... Oh, right! Isn't this the person who often comes to the Imperial College to give gifts to Prince Pei?"
"It's him. I recognized him right away. He and Pei Che have an engagement, but look at what he's doing now?" His tone was full of mockery.
Wu Cunguang came from a poor family, and he was always somewhat dissatisfied with the children of noble families in the Imperial College. He called the children of noble families who were not as good as him in academics "wanku". When someone appeared who was better than him, he would be jealous and feel sour that they were able to win the first place only because of their family background.
Among all the children of noble families, the one he disliked the most was Pei Che. He felt that he relied on his good looks to show off everywhere. No matter where he went, he could always focus everyone's attention on him.
Zhao Yunqing asked, "There is another woman beside him, could she be his sister?"
Wu Cunguan shook his head with a mysterious expression on his face: "Brother Yunqing is immersed in books all day long and is so ignorant of romance. Have you ever seen him take his sisters to the street to buy things? There is something wrong with these two people at first glance."
Zhao Yunqing frowned slightly: "Don't be too arbitrary in everything, be careful not to ruin their reputation. I see that they act calmly and their eyes are clear, they are definitely not the kind of people you said. Besides, what does this have to do with us? Let's do what the teacher told us first."
The two of them came to this street to look for a craftsman who was good at repairing calligraphy and paintings. When their teacher showed them a painting that he had borrowed from somewhere else, he accidentally tore a hole in it. If they didn't have it repaired, they would never be able to borrow anything again.
Wu Cunguan felt a little bored and was about to say something in defense, but he saw that the man had left the stall and walked away with the woman and the child.
Not long after they returned to the Imperial College, rumors began to spread, and then they became more and more widespread and more and more outrageous. When Han Qin heard the news the next day, his face was full of disbelief.
"Hey, Su Jin, do you know where A Che has gone?" Han Qin went to Pei Che's residence but couldn't find him. He turned around and saw Su Jin sitting in the pavilion leaning against the railing with a distant look in his eyes, and no one knew what he was looking at.
Su Jin was suddenly interrupted and looked a little unhappy. After seeing Han Qin's anxious face, he said, "The Dean summoned me. What do you want?"
Han Qin was speechless: "The news has spread everywhere, and you still ask me why I look for him?"
"That's right. I just heard that someone saw Brother Jiang spending a lot of money on the street just to win a beautiful woman's smile. And then the two of them behaved very intimately in the street, they were almost doing something immoral!" Han Qin told Su Jin the rumors he had heard in vivid detail.
Su Jin sneered, "Nonsense!" How could anyone believe such a rumor? And from his point of view, Han Qin clearly didn't believe it either, he just wanted to watch the fun.
The two were sitting in the pavilion and talking when they suddenly saw Pei Che walking towards them from the path beside. Han Qin called him, and Pei Che looked up and saw them, and walked straight over.
"Ache, what is the reason that Siye is looking for you?" Compared to the unrealistic rumor, Han Qin was more concerned about this matter.
Pei Che smiled slightly: "Siye ate the rice dumplings made by A Miao two days ago, and he couldn't forget them, so he asked me to ask about the location of Jiang's shop, saying that he would send someone to buy them." In fact, this was something Pei Che had extracted himself. Li Siye talked about a lot of things, from the customs of various places to the customs of his hometown, and then he mentioned the rice dumplings inadvertently. At that time, Pei Che wanted to laugh, and he also felt a little proud. This emotion came very suddenly, but he didn't reject it.
"So that's how it is." Han Qin nodded. "I didn't expect that this old man is still so greedy at his age. By the way, Che, I just heard a piece of news about that person in your family. Do you want to hear it?"
"About A Miao? What's the news? Don't keep me in suspense, just tell me directly." Pei Che's face turned a little serious.
Han Qin repeated to Su Jin what he had just said to him. After Pei Che heard it, his expression became very strange and unpredictable.
Han Qin said hurriedly: "This is just a rumor. You also know the people in the Imperial College. Normally, they look as gentle as the breeze and the bright moon, but when they spread such gossip, their true nature is revealed."
Su Jin looked at him strangely, wondering how he had the nerve to say that about others
"Who first spread this rumor?" Pei Che asked.
Han Qin said, "I asked around for you. The people who spread the rumor are those who live in the South House. Among them, two people have been to the Imperial College. I think it must be one of these two people who spread it."
"Which two?"
"Wu Cunguang and Zhao Yunqing, they went out for Master Xu."
"It's Wu Cunguang." Pei Che said confidently after hearing this.
"Why do you say it's him?" Han Qin frowned and thought about it, but couldn't figure out what grudge Wu Cunguang had against them.
"I'm not familiar with him. But I know Zhao Yunqing. He is an upright person who adheres to the gentleman's style and believes in not saying or listening to anything inappropriate. With his character, he would not spread rumors." After eliminating one, the answer is naturally another.
"Then let's go find him and see what his intentions are. Why did he make up such a rumor to slander Brother Jiang?"
"The bell just rang. I'm afraid he has already left the Imperial College. Let me go and ask A Miao first, and then I'll settle the score with him when I come back." The Dragon Boat Festival holiday starts tomorrow, and we can leave in the afternoon.
"Are you going to look for Brother Jiang?" Han Qin became interested. "How about this, we go with you?" It's not fun at home anyway.
Pei Che wanted to refuse, but he couldn't stand Han Qin's many excuses, and even dragged Su Jin into it.
"If you want to go, then go ahead. Just don't talk nonsense when you get there. By the way, where's Ah Chen?" Since the other two were going, Pei Che naturally didn't mind taking one more person with him.
"His servants had been waiting here before, saying that there was something going on in the mansion and wanted him to go back quickly." Han Qin said.
"Forget it then. Go pack your things first, I'll wait for you downstairs."
Pei Che watched them leave, his brows tightened instantly. Which woman would Jiang Miao be so intimate with? Could it be that he was the hero who saved the beauty? Or...
With a lot on his mind, Pei Che walked quickly down the mountain. The carriage was already waiting there, and after he got on and sat down, he wanted to leave. Fortunately, he remembered Han Qin and Su Jin, so he waited patiently on the mountain.
While waiting for someone, he frequently lifted the curtain of the car window and looked up the stairs, eagerly hoping that they would appear soon. It seemed that he rarely felt this anxious.
go to school,
(End of this chapter)