Reflecting on this, she thought and said,
"Forget it, we can't manage this matter. If there's excitement, better not to join in, being prudent and keeping oneself safe is best!"
As the old saying goes, in the Itinerant World, those who die are the ones with quick mouths and quick hands; lying low when troubles arise is the true secret to staying alive!
Once Gu Shi Yi put it this way, Li Yaner and Big Boss both understood, their eagerness to go see what was happening subdued. Thus, they stayed one more day in Twin Sages City. The next day, when Gu Shi Yi went out to make purchases, she found that the street was inexplicably crowded with more pedestrians than usual. She pulled a street vendor selling roasted sweet potatoes to ask what was going on, and the vendor looked her up and down with a grin, saying,
"This young man seems to be in good shape; why not give it a try too?"
"Try what?"
Gu Shi Yi asked, and the vendor laughed, saying,
"Isn't the Yin Family of our Twin Sages City looking for a son-in-law? The news spread, and many unmarried men from the city went to sign up. Whether you're married or not, young man, why not sign up as well? Once you get there, someone will test your constitution, and even if you don't make it into the Yin Family, there's silver to be had!"
Having said that, his gaze swept across Gu Shi Yi's chest,
"You're tall, young man, and your chest muscles are very well-developed. Are you a trained warrior?"
Gu Shi Yi laughed and patted her chest, saying,
"Of course, this was specially trained, but... I'm already married, and my... that... my wife won't allow it!"
Upon hearing this, the vendor nodded in understanding and even treated Gu Shi Yi to a roasted sweet potato, lamenting,
"You know, when it comes to choosing a wife, whether she's beautiful or not isn't the main concern; you can't marry someone too fierce. Being able to marry someone like the Eldest Miss Yin of the Yin Family, who's as beautiful as a flower, gentle and virtuous, and even a lady of Great Cultivation, now that would truly be the blessing of eight lifetimes!"
Gu Shi Yi then asked,
"Big brother, have you seen the Eldest Miss Yin of the Yin Family?"
The vendor laughed and said,
"I've been selling roasted sweet potatoes on this street for seven or eight years..."
He extended a sooty finger that was black with coal dust and pointed ahead,
"The Yin Mansion is right on our street. Sometimes, when Eldest Miss Yin comes back to the city and passes by this street, I've seen her a couple of times..."
"Oh... really?"
Gu Shi Yi feigned great interest and asked,
"So is the Eldest Miss Yin as they say, sinking fish, falling geese, closing the moon, and shaming flowers?"
The vendor chuckled and said,
"Isn't it so? I've seen it with my own eyes; she really is beautiful. My wife could reincarnate a hundred and twenty times and still not match up to a single hair on that lady..."
As he reached this point, he paused and added,
"But well..."
"But what?"
"But she's just too pretty, looking almost unreal..."
"Are you saying Eldest Miss Yin looks like a fairy?"
The vendor reminisced a little and then slowly shook his head,
"To say she's like a fairy, yes, in a way she is, but... it's just like those Buddhas in temples, something is missing... just a bit of liveliness..."
"Ha ha..."
The vendor laughed again,
"But regardless, Eldest Miss Yin is quite something, especially beautiful... certainly prettier than my wife..."
"Oh..."
Gu Shi Yi munched on the sweet potato, her eyes looking deep as she watched behind the vendor,
"Big brother, why don't you pick out some soft ones for me, I'll buy a few!"
The vendor joyfully wrapped a few in wax paper for her, taking the copper coins and asking,
"Brother, are you planning to buy these for lunch?"
Gu Shi Yi shook her head,
"No, I was thinking that you might not be able to do business later today, so I decided to buy a few from you!"
I'm afraid you might get beaten later and won't be able to do business; it'll be even harder to explain when you get home!
Just as he handed over the goods, someone had grabbed hold of the vendor's ear from behind and asked in a gruff voice,
"What did you just say, that even if I reincarnated one hundred and twenty times, I wouldn't match up to a single hair on that lady?"
Within moments, the street could hear the pitiful cries of the roasted sweet potato vendor. Gu Shi Yi, with her head tucked in, hurried forward with the warm roasted sweet potatoes and passed by the Yin Mansion. Indeed, there was a long line already stretching from inside the mansion out to the main road.