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"Miss, I have no grudge against you. Why are you deliberately looking for trouble with me?" In the simple teahouse, the richly dressed young man said to Li Xia in a respectful and humble tone.
Li Xia looked up and down at the man in front of her. He had a handsome face and an extraordinary demeanor. He did not seem to be an ordinary person, but from the fight just now, his kung fu was definitely much better than hers. However, he never fought back and was not angry. He did not look like he was going to cause trouble for the Qin family.
However, if he didn't want to cause trouble for the Qin Mansion, why did he stare at the door of the Qin Mansion in this small tea shop for seven or eight days in a row
Li Xia was very confused but couldn't guess what the other party was thinking, but it didn't seem appropriate to question the other party directly.
She smiled and said, "It's just that I've seen you sitting here drinking tea for many days in a row when I went out. I thought it must be fate, so I wanted to come over and say hello."
The young master understood the meaning of Li Xia's words and bowed, saying, "Miss, your way of greeting is really unique. I am grateful for your advice. However, I saw that Miss must have just started learning martial arts not long ago, so I didn't respond for fear of accidentally hurting Miss."
He could tell at a glance that she had just started learning martial arts, which meant that he was quite skilled in martial arts. Li Xia said, "Young Master, you have a good eye. You just learned a little bit and you wanted to show off everywhere, so you made the mistake just now."
"It's okay, Miss, as long as you didn't hurt yourself." After saying this, the young man looked at the empty tea bowl on the table and said, "The tea in this shop is good. Miss, you live across the street. It's a great treat. But I have something else to do today, so I can't treat you to tea."
There are such small tea shops all over the streets of Beijing. A pot of tea costs only three cents. What good tea leaves can be used? They are just the scraps thrown away as garbage by rich families. How can the taste be good
After just a few words, Li Xia had already concluded that there was something wrong with the person in front of her, but she replied calmly: "Since you have something to do, let's meet again next time if we are lucky enough."
"Then I'll take my leave."
After the young master finished speaking, he turned and left. At the same time, Li Xia gave Xu Yan a look, and Xu Yan immediately understood and followed.
After the two men left, Fu Wenyu frowned and said, "Miss, I just noticed the jade pendant that person was wearing. The totem is very special, and it seems that only the princes and nobles can wear it."
Li Xia showed a hint of surprise when he heard the word "royalty".
In the past two years, the Qin family has done good business and has made many contributions to the court. Whenever there is a disaster, the Qin family will be the first to collect the supplies needed for the disaster and send them there. His Majesty even specially bestowed a plaque to commend the Qin family.
In addition to this honor, Li Xia also has a very good relationship with General Daoqi and Prime Minister Zhou. Therefore, many princes, nobles and officials in the capital are interested in making friends with the Qin family, and several of them even bought shares in the Qin family's shops.
But having seen so many princes and nobles, Li Xia had never seen one as strange as the young man just now.
Li Xia was puzzled. She was so obsessed with the matter the whole day that she couldn't even eat.
The Qin family now has a large business and extensive interpersonal relationships. Most people dare not offend the Qin family, but as the saying goes, a big tree attracts the wind, and there may be someone who can't stand it.
When dealing with business, you'd better be careful in everything.
Seeing that Li Xia had only eaten a little for lunch, Wei Ziyi went to the east end of the city and bought Li Xia's favorite osmanthus cake. Afraid that Li Xia had no appetite and he could not persuade her, he found Kang Kang.
Only the little guy Kang Kang can cure Li Xia's temper.
Kang Kang took a piece of sweet-scented osmanthus cake from his father and handed it to Li Xia, saying in a baby voice, "Mom, I'll give you something delicious to eat."
Li Xia looked at the little guy who had grown taller, picked him up and put him on his lap, ready to take the cake, but the little guy dodged his hand. He said, "Mom, Kang Kang will feed you."
Li Xia smiled when she saw this, opened her mouth and ate the cake in Kang Kang's hand, then touched his head: "Kang Kang is so filial, come and have a bite of mother's."
Hearing that his mother wanted to kiss him, Kang Kang immediately leaned forward and put his little face on his mother's neck and said coquettishly, "Mom, can you take Kang Kang out to play tomorrow? I haven't taken Kang Kang out to play for a long time. Don't you like Kang Kang?"
"Kang Kang, little guy, mother loves you so much. You are my favorite."
"Humph, no, you like daddy now. Mom used to coax Kang Kang to sleep, but now mom coaxes daddy. You sleep with daddy every night. I want mom to tell me a story, but the nurse won't allow it."
As Kang Kang spoke, he felt very aggrieved. He pouted and began to wipe his tears, feeling extremely aggrieved.
In the past, Li Xia and Wei Ziyi had a dull relationship. Both of them focused on Kang Kang and spent more time on him. But now, Li Xia and Wei Ziyi are husband and wife, and they are newlyweds, so naturally they spend less time with their children.
Although children have limited ability to express themselves, their thinking is very sensitive. Kang Kang does not understand the change in the adults' identities. He only knows that his father and mother don't play with him most of the time, so he thinks that his parents don't like him as much as before.
When Li Xia heard this, she glared at Wei Ziyi and said with a smile: "Your father is to blame for this. Your father is disobedient and still needs to be coaxed even though he is so old."
Wei Ziyi blushed when he heard this and quietly defended himself, "I, I didn't."
"Look, Mom, Daddy still doesn't admit it." Kang Kang was eager to tell the truth.
Li Xia pinched Kang Kang's little face and explained, "Kang Kang, Daddy and we are all family. Mommy not only loves you but also Daddy, you know? Daddy also loves you and Mommy, so don't feel wronged. How about Daddy and Mommy take you out to play tomorrow?"
"good!"
"By the way, Kang Kang, you have been learning Kung Fu from Uncle Xu recently. Let me see how you are doing."
After Li Xia learned martial arts, he realized that this kind of thing really needs to start from children, so he immediately arranged for Xu Yan to be Kang Kang's master. Xu Yan said that Kang Kang had good muscles and bones, and as long as he could persevere, he would definitely achieve something in this area.
Children are eager to get praise from their parents, so they have a strong desire to perform. As soon as Li Xia said so, they started immediately. Although they have small arms and legs and low martial arts skills, their movements are very standard.
After reading it, Li Xia praised: "Kang Kang, that's great. Let's go out and play tomorrow. It's up to Kang Kang to protect mom and dad's safety."
"Okay! Kang Kang will protect you."
As the family of three was talking, Xu Yan, who was sent to follow the young master from the tea shop, came back.
Wei Ziyi has a soft personality and likes to worry too much. Li Xia doesn't want him to worry, so she lets him take Kang Kang out.
After the two left, Li Xia asked, "What's going on?"
Xu Yan: "I saw the young master enter Prince Ning's mansion, so I hid on the roof and observed for a while, and heard them call this man Jiu Ye."
Prince Ning's Mansion is the residence of His Majesty's biological brother, the Sixth Prince. The Sixth Prince's family members are also frequent customers of the Qin family shop, so Li Xia is quite familiar with Prince Ning's Mansion.
In the prince's mansion, he was called "Master Jiu" by the servants.
Li Xia pondered over this title and remembered what Fu Wenyu said.
The late emperor had nine sons. The eldest son is the current emperor, who is forty-six years old this year, and the youngest is already twenty-four. However, at this age, the ninth prince is still unmarried.
Li Xia had heard some rumors in the streets that the Ninth Prince liked to linger in brothels, spend his days in debauchery and playing around, and had many concubines at home, but the position of princess had always been vacant.
It was embarrassing for a prince to delay marrying a princess. His Majesty tried to force the marriage several times, but the Ninth Prince threatened with his life, leaving His Majesty helpless. In the end, His Majesty was too lazy to care anymore.
But if this man was really the Ninth Prince, Li Xia couldn't understand why a prince with such a noble status, power and influence, and no shortage of gold and silver, would guard the Qin family's door every day
Seeing that Li Xia had not spoken for a long time, Xu Yan took the initiative to ask: "Miss, if this person is really the Ninth Prince, what should we do?"
"First determine their identity and send someone to secretly monitor them. Do not act rashly before you have a clear idea of their purpose."
"Yes, ma'am."
******
The next morning, Li Xia fulfilled her promise and went out to play with Kang Kang, Wei Ziyi and of course Fu Wenyu also went with them.
The Ninth Prince’s purpose is not yet clear, and no one knows what he is up to. It is better to be careful when going out.
Today is market day and the streets are very busy. Li Xia took Kang Kang to see a lot of new things. Kang Kang wanted this and that, and Wei Ziyi spoiled him, so he bought a lot of things without realizing it.
Fu Wenyu followed behind carrying things, keeping his eyes on Li Xia at all times to make sure no accidents happened.
"Mom, I want a candy man."
"I haven't finished the candied haws in my hand yet, you are not allowed to buy more."
"But the sugar figures are so cute. Look at the little tiger and kitten. They are so beautiful. Mom, please buy one for me." Kang Kang shook Li Xia's hand and acted coquettishly.
Li Xia did not approve of children eating too much sweets as it would cause tooth decay, so she refused firmly.
When Kang Kang saw that his mother refused to buy him any candy, he looked at Wei Ziyi. Wei Ziyi didn't dare to go against Li Xia, so he picked Kang Kang up and said, "Kang Kang, let's buy the candy figures another day, okay? Look, there are people playing with monkeys in front, let's go and watch the monkeys, okay?"
As soon as Kang Kang heard the little monkey, his eyes were immediately attracted. He looked at the crowd and asked curiously, "Where is the little monkey?"
"It's in that crowd. Everyone is watching the little monkey show. Why don't we go too?" Wei Ziyi said.
"Okay! Dad, let's go quickly. Mom, you should follow us. Let's go see the little monkey."
Children's attention is always easily distracted. Wei Ziyi held Kang Kang and squeezed into the crowd, and Li Xia quickly followed.
Two men were leading a little monkey. The little monkey was doing juggling according to the instructions of one of the men, while the other man was holding a plate and asking everyone to give some silver.
It's not easy for street performers either. Li Xia also took some change and threw it into the plate, then accompanied Kang Kang to watch the little monkey's performance attentively.
Just as everyone was watching intently, a galloping carriage suddenly appeared from somewhere. The horses on the carriage were obviously frightened, and the driver could not control the horses at all. He had to shout at the top of his voice, asking everyone to make way.
There were many people watching, and they were thrown into disarray by the sudden collision with the carriage, unable to disperse. Seeing that the carriage was about to rush towards Li Xia, Fu Wenyu quickly threw away the things in his hands, hugged Li Xia and hid to the side.
When Li Xia deviated from the carriage track and was no longer in danger, Fu Wenyu was ready to rescue Wei Ziyi and Kang Kang again, but it was too late.
Just as the two were about to be hit by the carriage, a blue figure jumped onto the horse's back. No one knew what trick the figure used, but the horse suddenly let out a long cry to the sky and immediately knelt down.
Li Xia was shaking with fear as he looked at Wei Ziyi and Kang Kang, who were only a foot away from being hit.
She really couldn't believe what would have happened if the carriage hadn't stopped.
Li Xia rushed over to check if Wei Ziyi and Kang Kang were injured. After confirming that they were not injured, the stone in his heart fell to the ground and he relaxed.
But the moment she came to her senses, tears started streaming down Li Xia's cheeks.
Fu Wenyu looked at Li Xia and said apologetically, "Miss, it is my fault that I failed to take care of my son-in-law and the young master."
Li Xia wiped her tears and calmed herself down, preparing to thank the savior who stopped the carriage. However, she did not expect that the savior was the young man she had met in the teahouse yesterday, the Ninth Prince.
Li Xia pretended not to know the true identity of the Ninth Prince, bowed to him and thanked him, "Thank you for your help, young master."
The Ninth Prince nodded, looking past Li Xia to the child in Wei Ziyi's arms, and said with concern: "It's just a small favor, Miss, don't worry, just hope the child is okay."
Kang Kang was frightened and didn't cry at first, but when he heard these words, he burst into tears. Wei Ziyi tried to comfort him, but he couldn't stop the crying.
In response to the concern of her lifesaver, Li Xia politely replied, "I have checked and found that he is not injured. He is probably crying because he is frightened."
"That's good, but I would like to remind you that when you go out with your child, you should bring more servants with you, otherwise it will be easy to go wrong."
Fu Wenyu is an extraordinary martial artist, and she also knows some self-protection skills. Besides, the Qin family has no enemies now, and nothing has happened in the past many times they have come out. So Li Xia did not bring more people with him, after all, it would not be fun if there were too many people.
But it just so happened that an accident happened this time, and the other party was also concerned about her, so she replied: "Thank you for the reminder, sir. I will be careful next time I go out."
"The young lady and her family are all safe and sound. I have something important to do, so I'll take my leave now."
After saying this, the Ninth Prince was about to leave, but Li Xia quickly stopped him, "Sir, you have something to do, so I won't keep you here to talk any more. But please leave your name and address so that the Qin family can repay you for saving my life."
"Miss Qin, you are too polite. This horse was frightened and disturbed the people. It was just a small effort to stop it. It can't be said that I saved his life."
It was rumored that the Ninth Prince was uneducated and a playboy, but the man in front of him was obviously humble, polite, generous and well-mannered, which was completely different from the rumors.
"Since you said so, I won't waste your time."
After saying that, Li Xia bowed and saluted as a thank you, but the Ninth Prince had just taken two steps when he saw Kang Kang crying and stopped.
He asked, "This child is crying so sadly, can I comfort him?"
The Ninth Prince added, "Whenever my child cries, I can comfort him with just a few words and he will stop crying. My family members all say that I have a natural affinity with children."
The Ninth Prince was his savior, and the savior asked to hold the child, so Wei Ziyi handed Kang Kang over.
The Ninth Prince carefully held Kang Kang in his arms, wiped away Kang Kang's tears with the back of his hand, then touched Kang Kang's little bus and made a face.
Sure enough, Kang Kang was attracted by this funny face and immediately burst into laughter.
After making Kang Kang laugh, the Ninth Prince touched his little face again, and reluctantly returned Kang Kang to Wei Ziyi, saying, "It seems that I really have a connection with children. Since the little prince is no longer crying, I will take my leave now."
After saying that, the Ninth Prince turned and left, and Li Xia looked at Kang Kang, who had stopped crying, and fell into deep thought.
Her intuition told her that the Ninth Prince and Kang Kang seemed to have some connection.