The Eldest Young Master of the Ji Family? Su Jiu thought. This is the man I am going to marry.
She blinked her eyes. With a wave, she declared, "Let's check it out!"
Su Jiu wasn't at all curious about her future husband. She just wanted to see exactly how rich her victim was.
By the time they arrived, the restaurant was full of people. The crowd stood on their tiptoes as they watched.
Su Jiu and the others could not see the situation ahead. They could only see that on the left-hand side there was a five-story grand restaurant. It had glazed blue tiles, majestic arches and pillars that were made of carved jade. Looking up, there were characters in calligraphic writing that were engraved in gold: "Jingqin Restaurant."
"It is said that one year when the Emperor was travelling incognito and dined in a restaurant owned by the Ji Family," Qiao An said. "The food was delicious, so the Emperor penned a treasured scroll for them. Looks like it was those two words!"
Su Jiu looked up again and stared at that writing. How dazzling and brilliant!
The commotion grew louder as the sound of galloping horses approached. Su Jiu could not see anything so she became more curious. Then she shouted, "Dapao!"
Dapao stretched out his hand in understanding.
Su Jiu leaped up, her feet touching his palms, as she sat atop Dapao's shoulders.
This time she could see a little farther through the moving crowd. The crowd blocked one side of the road but made a wide way for the opposite side. The sound of galloping rang in the air as a few dark horses charged towards the restaurant. Su Jiu's eyes widened.
She did not know what candied hawthorn was, but she was well-versed in horses.
These were pure-blooded Ferghana horses. Their entire bodies were dark yet as glossy as the moon. They were extremely rare and one couldn't buy them even with all the wealth in the world. But now she saw four at once!
These four magnificent horses drew a carriage which was as stunning as they were. Auspicious beasts were engraved in the corner of the carriage as the sunset reflected on it. They twinkled and shimmered vividly.
As the carriage got closer, the people around them were even more excited and the crowded forward.
However, Su Jiu was surrounded by only a few other people who was surprised and disgruntled at a woman riding atop a man's shoulders. In ordinary civilians' opinion, even a wife should not ride on her husband's shoulder, especially in public!
Su Jiu of course did not care. She only stared unblinkingly as the four horses came closer and the cheers grew louder and louder.
The carriage stopped in front of the Jingqin Restaurant. The four horses stopped at the exact same time, which astonished Su Jiu.
The carriage door was still closed, yet some servants had laid out a carpet with golden thread in front of the restaurant and extended it all the way to under the carriage.
The carriage door opened. A maiden came out. She was probably a servant girl based on her obedient demeanor, but the material she wore was so intricate that even a rich young lady might not be able to afford.
With a proud aura, she stood beside the carriage reverently.
She stood side by side with a young guard, who looked identical to her. They could be twin brother and sister.
A hand reached out from the carriage. It looked as if it was carved from the finest jade. It was fair and slender, with well-defined bones and joints. It was elegant like bamboo and jade.
At the sight of this, sudden excited screams rang in the air. Women blushed as they stared unblinkingly at the hand. They murmured a name under their breath as they pushed forward.
With this chaos, Su Jiu could no longer view what was going on ahead.
However, the hand had really intrigued her. She wanted to know what the owner of the hand looked like. Even sitting up as tall as she could, Su Jiu still couldn't see. Thus, she glanced at the carriage next to them, grinned, and then leaped.
Standing atop the carriage, she was finally able to get a clear view.
Su Jiu sat down cross-legged and saw the man get out of the carriage. He was in a long, red robe under a snowy white cloak. His inky black hair was like satin and his face…
Su Jiu didn't know how to describe it, but she just felt that even the gorgeous sunset paled in comparison!
She had never seen someone like him: a man more beautiful than women but without the slightest feminine softness. She had only looked at him from afar but already felt his aloof elegance and commanding presence.
He wore white fur coat, red robes, and he had ink black hair. These three colors were her least favorites, but he made the combination unexpectedly attractive!
There was a moment of silence, and then all the women erupted in a frenzied burst of screams and pushed forward. "Eldest Young Master!"
"Eldest Young Master!"
A woman began to cry, covering her face. "If he spares me a glance, I would be willing to die for it!"
"If the Eldest Young Master looks at me, I would be willing to be his maidservant!" another woman said before she placed her hands on her chest and screamed excitedly.
Su Jiu browsed around the exhilarated women in horror.
Chang Huan, Hu Dapao and the others couldn't stand the crying and howling of these women, and they all leaped up on top of the carriage.
Then things grew a little stranger.
Most of the women's gazes were fixated on Eldest Young Master Ji, while others looked up at Su Jiu in dismay.
Su Jiu sat in the middle, as Chang Huan, Ah Shu, and Hu Dapao sat around her. Even Qiao An sat behind Su Jiu.
Four men sat around a woman atop a carriage to watch the scene -- in itself was a scene to behold!
The crowd looked up to see if some silly girl had come out. However, the young lady's face was beautiful, and her gaze was lucid. How could she be out of a clear mind?
The people around were either surprised, despised them, or cast their disdainful gaze and whispered as they stood around the carriage.
It was humiliating for the nanny as she curled up her knees and sat on the shaft of the carriage, covering her face with her sleeves.
Outside the Jingqin Restaurant, the supervisor stood on both sides, bowing to greet Ji Yuxian, the Eldest Young Master.
From afar, Su Jiu could still see the man's thin lips slightly curled up. They carried a touch of nonchalance and pride. His elegance was carved in his bones.
Hu Dapao and Chang Huan stared and they grit their teeth. "It's really unfair. He is as good-looking as a lady, and still has so much money!"
It is so unfair that the richest and most beautiful man in Daliang Country is the same person, they thought. If we can only rob one person for fairness, it would have to be him!
"So this is the Eldest Young Master Ji, the Master of the Ji Family! What a powerful aura!" Qiao An murmured.
Su Jiu chewed a hawthorn in her mouth as she said coldly, "How flamboyant! Wearing a fur coat in September, isn't he afraid that he will die of heat!"
September was beginning to get cold, and people had to wear padded jackets if they left their house early. But at the sight of the white fur coat, Su Jiu felt that the man was wearing it deliberately just to show off his wealth.
A man in the crowd glanced at Su Jiu, shook his head and smiled. "Why would the Eldest Young Master need to show off his wealth?" he asked her. "And it is not a fur coat, it is a tapestry cloak. It took Miss Zhihui three years to weave the fur from Tianshan snow foxes one by one to make it!"
The man waited with a proud expression for Su Jiu and the others to respond and exclaim in astonishment.
Su Jiu chewed the hawthorn in her mouth, her face sour. "Who is Miss Zhihui?" she asked vaguely.
The man was startled. Regardless of age, whether young or old, everyone in Shengjing City had heard of Robes Square's Lan Zhihui.
"You are not locals, aren't you?"
Qiao An clasped his fists and said, "We just entered Shengjing City today!"
The man smiled in understanding. No wonder! He thought. He didn't explain anything else and went on watching the commotion.