Astonishment flashed across Bai Yue's gaze when she finally understood the man's identity. The Crown Prince! It really was the Crown Prince in front of her! No wonder his voice sounded familiar...
With her head down, she tried to take a peek at him and unexpectedly met his penetrating gaze. Even without his crown prince attire, his presence was still imposing and she couldn't help squirming a little, averting her gaze as if she had been caught doing something shameful.
Finally, after a - very long - while, Ji Mo Yuan turned his attention back to the owner of the shop, his back facing Bai Yue once more. Next to him, Tang Lu scratched the back of his head in bewilderment. What was wrong with his master today?
"My lord, I swear I never planned to rebel! I... I admit that I did try to sell a counterfeit to you because of my greed." Admitting this left a very bitter taste in his mouth and pulling out all his teeth would probably be far more pleasant. "Although not made by the famous Ouyang Cao, for the painting to be of such high quality and similar to his own art, it must have been done by one of his students. Seeing your illustrious person in this lowly one's shop, I believed only someone like you would appreciate it and thus dared to bring it out."
Ji Mo Yuan let out a soft snort and shifted his eyes away from the painting. In his past life, he had been too arrogant and simply didn't care about the origins of the painting scroll. Dressed grandly with the Crown Prince seal hanging on his belt to display his identity, he not only bought the scroll but also felt proud of himself.
Later, when his father Emperor received the gift, he had been truly disappointed by Ji Mo Yuan. Thinking back, that was undoubtedly the starting point of the Emperor's loss of confidence in Ji Mo Yuan's capacity to rule over the country in the future.
Coming here today was only because the Crown Prince wished to see whether going incognito would change the attitude of the owner of the shop. Yet the truth was, expensive clothes were enough for the man to take out the scroll. He probably had done so many times before and Ji Mo Yuan was the only one willing to buy it back then.
Now, with Bai Yue standing behind him, he truly felt like an idiot.
"Enough, forget it!" he snapped, feeling utterly exhausted. "Just don't do it again in the future."
His fingers closed around the painting and he rolled it up before shoving it in his servant's hands.
"My money..."
Facing the trembling man, the edges of Ji Mo Yuan's lips curled into a sneer. "Money? Be grateful I'm not reporting you."
Then glancing back at Bai Yue, his pounding heart skipped a bit and he said coldly, "Since we scared the miss, be sure to serve her well. Or else..."
His voice trailed off but the owner scrambled to his feet and bowed repeatedly. "Yes, yes, I understand!"
He really understood all too well and could even hear the sound of money slipping through the gap of his fingers, forever out of his reach.
Ji Mo Yuan nodded at Tang Lu and then turned around to go out of the shop. As he passed by Bai Yue, his steps paused and the side of his body which was close to her started tingling.
"Miss, my apologies for the troubles," he told her but she didn't answer, merely giving him a slight nod without looking away from the floor.
Tang Lu opened his mouth to scold the rude girl but a glare from his master stopped him.
"Then... Farewell."
The fresh breeze touched his cheeks when he stepped outside the shop, clearing his mind. Ever since he first met her, Ji Mo Yuan had done his best not to think too much about Bai Yue. She was his father Emperor's concubine. Not someone he could set his eyes on. Even after his rebirth, aside from wishing to stop her from dying the way she did in his past life, he never intended to stop her from marrying his father. However, here she was, so different. What happened?
"Tang Lu, get everything you can on the current state of Count Zhong's manor once we go back."
"Yes, master."
Count Zhong? That little man? What could His Highness want with him? That Bai Zhang Wei was only good at flattering the Emperor.
...
Back in the shop, Bai Yue shook her head to snap out of her thoughts and walked to the counter.
"Are you alright?" she inquired softly.
"Ah..." the man sighed and knocked on his forehead. "I really thought I was done for."
Recalling what she knew of the cold Crown Prince, Bai Yue offered no words of comfort. "That's right. I'm not sure why you are still here." Alive.
"You, can't you be less blunt? Don't you see I'm in shock?"
She shrugged. "Trying to sell such an obvious counterfeit, you must have known this could happen."
"Of course not," the man quickly denied. "Little girl, let me tell you, there is a big difference between being reported for this and being accused of instigating a rebellion." He shivered and rubbed his arms. "My soul flew away when he said this. Rebellion? With who? Do I look like a one-man army?!"
"You certainly don't." The owner was a middle-aged man with a potbelly and thin arms. If the army consisted of men like this, it wouldn't be long before the state of Zhou was invaded. "And don't worry about your soul. You look so energetic. It looks like it came back safely."
Se took out a jewelry box from her bag and placed it on the counter to open it. "How much can I get with four boxes like this one?"
The man blinked and looked at the box. He opened his mouth to say he needed to see everything in order to make a decision but suddenly stilled. The whole situation made no sense at all. Two men threatened to report him and left his shop with a beautiful painting without paying. One of them even ordered him to serve the girl well. A 'scared' girl who failed to run away from the shop when he was threatened. And now she was taking out only one box and didn't let him see the content of the others?
He had been scammed!
"How dare you try to scam me with your two little friends?!" he flew into a rage and spat out. "Think I won't understand what's going on? That I won't dare to report you because of your threats? Ah! Our country has laws! I won't let rats steal me and get away with it!"
Obviously, he ignored the fact that he tried to sell a counterfeit, feeling he was in the right.
Grabbing her thin arm over the counter, he gripped her tightly. Bai Yue started, not understand what was going on. A whimper left her mouth when his fingers dug into her skin and she tried to shake him off.
"Let me go!"
"Ah! I'm going to report you, little thief! You and your friends will all end up in prison! See if you dare to scam an honest man like me again!"
"Stop it! I didn't do anything! Let go of me!"
She used her other hand to scratch him but he pushed her away violently and she fell, her backside throbbing with a piercing ache. The man stood over her. Ripping her veil off, he sneered in disgust. Really just like a street rat.
"See if this old man doesn't drag your shameless self to the patrol guards!"
The situation escalated too fast and Bai Yue felt overwhelmed. It wasn't good! If someone found out who she was, it would be the end of her!
Desperate, she struggled and managed to grab a hairpin in her bag. Waving it widely, she stabbed the man in his throat and blood spurted from the wound, splashing her face.
They both froze and the man brought a hand up to his throat. The blood was warm. It ran down heavily from his throat like a river.
His eyes flickered and shifted to the disheveled girl sprawled on the floor.
"Mur-mur-murder-" was all he managed to say before his legs stopped supporting his weight.
As he fell, his head smashed into the counter and his body hit the floor with a thud, a puddle of blood forming beneath him and staining the floor.
Bai Yue stared at the blood, pale and her eyes open wide. Blood... There was so much blood. Around her. On her hands. On her face.
She saw red everywhere.