Chang Huan looked at Su Jiu's bumped cheeks and pointed to the candied hawthorn in her hand. "Does it taste good?"
"It's all right. It's sweet and sour but not as good as meat buns!" Su Jiu replied and then handed Chang Huan the hawthorn. "Here you go!"
"Chief, you always treat Chang Huan better!" Hu Dapao complained.
Su Jiu glanced at him, took a ball of hawthorn from the stick, and stuffed it into Hu Dapao's mouth. "Fine, here you go, eat it!"
Hu Dapao's bearded face smiled gleefully while chewing on the hawthorn.
Su Jiu's fingers were sticky with sugar. It felt uncomfortable and she wiped it on her clothes.
There were more and more people gathering by the side of the carriage, pointing and sneering at them. They caused a great commotion. Ji Yuxian stepped forward and went up the steps with his long legs. Perhaps it was because Su Jiu was sitting at a spot that was too high and too conspicuous, Ji Yuxian's attention was drawn.
He saw Su Jiu was sitting on top of a carriage with an indelicate posture, wiping her hand against her clothes.
His eyes narrowed as he pursed his red lips. He frowned as loathing flashed in his gaze.
It was so subtle that it was almost undetectable, but Jin Mi, the servant girl beside him, immediately noticed his disdain. She then reprimanded the attendants, "Chase those people away. Don't tarnish our Young Master's eyes!"
Jin Mi had followed Ji Yuxian for ten years and was treated as half a master. No one dared to defy her orders, so they began to chase people away.
Ji Yuxian remained expressionless as his long inky black hair flowed behind his back. He stepped up to the restaurant.
Of course, he did not know at this time that Su Jiu was the bride he was about to marry.
Su Jiu looked up and saw the man had entered the restaurant. After watching the commotion, she jumped down from the carriage. Hu Dapao and the others got down from the carriage as well. As they watched the crowd scattered, for a moment, they were a bit lost. It was getting dark, and the crowd had dispersed after watching the Eldest Young Master. Where do we go now? They thought.
"Excuse me, but are you Miss Su from Fuyang?" Suddenly, an attendant approached and bowed politely.
Qiao An went forward and said, "Yes, and you are?"
Behind the attendant stood a man dressed in brocade gown, smiling at them. "So Miss Su has arrived. I am Housekeeper Song of the Ji Manor. Our Young Master is busy, and he has no time to greet you. Thus, he has sent us here to attend you."
Housekeeper Song smiled, and his looked at Su Jiu up and down arrogantly as he appraised the dowry behind her.
Oh, their Young Master is indeed busy, Su Jiu thought. I have just seen how "busy" he was.
The Ji Family's attitude towards Miss Su was not surprising to Su Jiu at all. After all, the Su Family had called off the engagement at a time when the Ji Family was downtrodden. Now that the Ji Family were prosperous again, the Sus sent their daughter on their own initiative. People were obviously going to be on the Ji Family's side.
Even if the Ji Family threw Miss Su out of Shengjing City, normal people who know about the two families would have applauded!
But Su Jiu didn't care if they took Miss Su seriously. All she cared about was when they were going to get married.
If the Ji Family doesn't plan to marry Miss Su at all, wouldn't this all be a waste of effort? she thought.
Su Jiu was just about to speak, but the nanny stopped her. "So it's Housekeeper Song. We were delayed on the road for a while. Sorry for making you wait for such a long while!"
"It's been a while indeed!" The housekeeper yawned indolently and murmured, "Your journey must be taxing. We have arranged a place for the young lady. Please come with me!"
"Yes, thank you, sir!" Nanny answered politely.
It was good to have a place to live. The Ji Family was very benevolent. Although they only sent a small housekeeper to receive Miss Su, it was more than enough. Knowing what Su Family did when the Jis were out of power, even if the Ji Family did nothing at all, the Su Family could not have the right to complain.
Housekeeper Song got back into the Ji Family's carriage and Chang Huan hastened behind as they headed west on the long streets.
The west side of the Shengjing City was mainly consisted of large mansions where the rich and the noble people lived. As they move forward, fewer and fewer pedestrians on the streets could be seen. The streets were illuminated and were vastly different from the cold and dark mountains; everything about it seemed more prosperous.
Nearly an hour later, the carriage stopped outside a house in the southern part of west Shengjing. Su Jiu pushed the carriage door open and was about to jump. She was tightly held by the nanny who whispered, "You are now Miss Su!"
Su Jiu raised her eyebrow, but she followed the nanny's lead, stepping first onto a stool before getting off.
"Miss Su and our Young Master have not yet married, so you cannot live in the Ji Manor. This is a house owned by us. It may be a bit crude, so sorry for the inconvenience." Housekeeper Song raised his head, his tone arrogant.
"No, it's all right. The Ji Family has thought this through. I thank you on behalf of our young lady and my master and mistress!" the nanny smiled humbly.
"Then let's go in and have a look!" the housekeeper remarked and walked inside.
Hu Dapao looked at the Housekeeper's attitude and wanted to dig out his eyes and kick them around like balls, but Qiao An held him back.
They were reckless but not stupid, and they certainly knew why they had come!
As soon as they walked into the yard, the housekeeper suddenly turned around, frowned and hummed. "The attendants shall leave. Guard the outside!"
This time, before the nanny could stop her, Su Jiu exclaimed, "No!"
Housekeeper Song squinted at Su Jiu and grinned. "Miss Su, this is where you will live. Are you sure you want men to come in?"
Su Jiu's unrivaled beauty was delicate in the twilight. Her murderous aura combined with her unparallelled beauty formed a truly alarming presence. She replied nonchalantly. "These people were all sent by the Su Family to protect me. They were with me the whole time. If I live here, they will also live here!"
The housekeeper heard what she said, felt that there was something off. But he smiled indifferently. "As long as Miss Su is happy with it!" he said.
She is not married yet, he thought. But if she does not care about her reputation, what has that got to do with the Ji family?
As expected, it was a small place. There were four main rooms and a few chambers on the left and right.
If other people arranged such accommodations for their betrothed it would be fine, but the Ji Family was the richest in Daliang and Shengjing. The yard in which any of their lowest housekeepers lived in was at least twice as big, but they had arranged such a small yard for Su Jiu.
This wasn't arranging accommodation for the Su Family; it was clearly meant to embarrass them.
The nanny was well aware of this slight, but she still managed to maintain a smile on her face. "It's satisfactory. The house is clean and comfortable, so thank you!"
The housekeeper beckoned at an attendant behind him, who immediately brought up a bag of money. He threw it carelessly on the table and said with a smile, "Miss Su has come all the way here, these 100 taels of silver are a gift from our Second Mistress. Miss Su could use it to buy something!"
One hundred taels of silver were not a gift; they're clearly a slap to the face.
The nanny was getting more and more disappointed, but her expression still did not change. "Thank you very much for the Second Mistress's kindness. I am sure our young lady will visit in person to show her gratitude."
"There is no need for that; the Second Mistress is so busy that she does not have time to meet irrelevant people!"
The nanny's smile immediately froze, but she nodded. "Yes, of course!"
Su Jiu and Hu Dapao stared at the money bag. Their eyes lit up and did not notice what the nanny and the housekeeper said at all!
This Ji Family really is the richest, they thought. A random tip that they gave was 100 silver taels! We're getting rich!
Fortunately, in the gloom of the room, Qiao An blocked the light and thus the housekeeper did not notice Su Jiu's face. He said a few more words and bid them farewell.