Chapter 41

Su Qi’s wedding was scheduled for the 28th, at the end of the month.

Originally, the old bookstore was set to open on the 22nd, which happened to be the day Qin Yan was leaving.

Since the announcement had already been posted, Su Mi didn’t want to change it at the last minute, so she arrived early at Xishui Alley to discuss the opening with the new shopkeeper and let him take full control.

On the eve of the opening, in the most prominent location of Xishui Alley, an elderly man in his sixties looked up at the empty plaque above the shop.

He was slightly plump, with kind and gentle eyes. He was wrapped in a thick blue and white cotton coat. After looking for a while, he walked into the shop.

Inside the shop, there was a refreshing scent of camphor wood. Several rows of newly made wooden shelves were neatly arranged. There weren’t many old books on them for the time being, but shopkeeper Li wasn’t worried. In an old bookstore, the more books they opened, the more they would accumulate.

At the moment, he was more concerned about another matter, and that was the name of the shop.

Although his luck in the imperial examinations was not great, he was quite adept at being a shopkeeper and always managed to encounter good employers.

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“Hey, scholar.” Shopkeeper Li called out softly with a friendly smile on his face.

Jian Yujue turned around and met the shopkeeper’s gaze. “Is the old man calling me?”

When shopkeeper Li saw him turn around, he couldn’t help but be impressed by his handsome appearance. His voice was clear and refreshing, like the coolness of a lake in June. It was enough to make people feel favorably disposed toward him with just one glance. He couldn’t help but say:

“There’s a new old bookstore in Xishui Alley, and I am the new shopkeeper there. I happen to be thinking of a name for the shop on behalf of my employer, so I’ll be returning home later. If the scholar doesn’t mind, why not sit for a while and relieve this old man’s boredom?”

Since they were both scholars, if he directly asked the young man to borrow some candlelight, he was afraid the young man’s face would be lost. Shopkeeper Li was also once full of youthful energy. How could he not take care of the emotions of these youngsters?

Jian Yujue hesitated slightly upon hearing this. The street lamps along the road had dimmed quite early today, and their household had run out of tung oil. They were planning to gather some from the mountains tomorrow, but if he went back home, he wouldn’t be able to read.

Although the old man in front of him didn’t explicitly state it, it was implied that he wanted to borrow some candlelight from him.

Seeing his hesitation, shopkeeper Li walked over with a smile and patted his shoulder. “Why think so much? As a scholar, reading should be the most important thing.”

Jian Yujue pondered for a moment and said, “Then I thank the shopkeeper for the opportunity to borrow your light.”

Shopkeeper Li smiled. He underestimated this young scholar.

Xishui Alley was actually adjacent to Yong’an Street, but the rent and sale prices were much cheaper there. It was because the alley had only one entrance and was narrow, resulting in fewer people passing through and lower land prices.

Shopkeeper Li led Jian Yujue, and in no time, they arrived in front of the shop.

There were three lanterns hanging continuously at the entrance of the shop’s eaves, much brighter than Yong’an Street and almost no different from being indoors.

Shopkeeper Li watched as Jian Yujue calmly placed his woven case down and sat in the light and shadow. He held a book in his right hand and occasionally wrote something on the rice paper on the bamboo table with his left hand. Curiously, Li approached for a closer look and realized that he was silently transcribing the previous page of the book in his hand.

This ability to memorize without forgetting, even while multitasking, left shopkeeper Li somewhat amazed.

Unable to resist, he continued staring for quite a while before suddenly remembering that he hadn’t come up with a name for the shop yet. He sighed, turned around, and hurried back to the counter.

Supporting his old waist with one hand, shopkeeper Li waved several times on the white rice paper and then compared it to the entrance.

“Songzhu Shop? No, it’s not good. Baiwen Shop? It seems there’s already one on the neighboring street.”

They are not good; they are all too ordinary. Shopkeeper Li sighed and sat on a long bench to rest for a while.

…

Half asleep and half awake,shopkeeper Li squinted his eyes, lost in thought. Unconsciously, it was already approaching the end of the Hai hour. Jian Yujue put away his pen and paper, lightly dusted off his robe inside his jacket, and walked up to shopkeeper Li.

Seeing that shopkeeper Li seemed to be asleep, he stood by his side, intending to bid farewell when he woke up.

Shopkeeper Li had some worries on his mind, and he wasn’t actually sound asleep. At this moment, he felt some subtle movements and looked up to see Jian Yujue’s elegant and refined face. With politeness and kindness, he stood at a distance that was neither too close nor too far, just enough not to disturb him and to avoid seeing the contents of the rice paper in his hand.

Jian Yujue saw that shopkeeper Li had awakened and bowed politely. “I’m Jian Yujue; thank you, shopkeeper.”

“No problem; I was planning to stay behind and think of a name for the shop,” shopkeeper Li replied while rubbing his eyes. Suddenly, he clicked his tongue and stopped his actions. “Your name is Jian Yujue? The top scholar from Qingzhou next door?”

During last year’s autumn examination, Qingzhou produced a sixteen-year-old top scholar named Jian Yujue. At that time, because Qingzhou was adjacent to the capital city, it caused quite a stir. However, there was no news about him in the spring examination afterward, and people thought it was just a fleeting fame. He also thought so; after all, there were many exceptional talents in their youth who later became mediocre.

“Yes,” Jian Yujue replied gently.

Indeed, he is Jian Yujue. Shopkeeper Li sighed. From what he observed just now, he shouldn’t be such an ordinary person. Why was there no news about him in the spring examination? Could it be that he failed and didn’t make it?

Shopkeeper Li didn’t know the twists and turns of the matter but didn’t want to reopen old wounds. He looked at the pile of shop names on the counter and changed the subject.

“Yujue, I’ve been thinking all night about the name for this shop but couldn’t come up with a good one. Since you have some connection with this shop, can you think of a name for me so that I can save some face for my employer?”

Jian Yujue, who had borrowed the candlelight today, had been thinking about how to repay the favor, so he didn’t refuse shopkeeper Li’s request.

After thinking for a moment, he spoke up, “What do you think of ‘Tingfang Shop’?”

“Being upright in the world, resolute, and unyielding”

Shopkeeper Li silently repeated it several times, a pleased expression appearing on his face.

“Good, good!”

On the official road leading to Chenzhou, there was a luxurious and majestic single-horse carriage. Although the interior was exquisitely decorated, the carriage was much smaller compared to a double-horse carriage. Su Mi sat beside Qin Yan, leaning against the right corner, afraid of crowding him.

“Lord, how long will you be staying in Chenzhou this time?” Su Mi couldn’t help but ask.

“Wait for me at Su Residence.”

“Mmm…”

Although Qin Yan didn’t answer directly, his implication was that he would come to pick her up. If Qin Yan stayed in Chenzhou for a few more days, she could spend more time with Mrs. Yu at home. Su Mi felt a flutter of excitement when she thought about it.

Qin Yan glanced at her and silently curled up the corners of his lips, flipping a page in the book he held.

It was a winter morning, and there was still some dew on the road, making the carriage move slowly. Su Mi opened the hanging gauze on the window and looked outside. They had just left the southern gate of the capital city and passed by several rural farmhouses.

Under the warm sun, several children sat on haystacks in the fields, playing with winter jujubes on grinding stones. Su Mi found it interesting; she remembered playing like that in her childhood.

Su Mi continued to watch the scenery outside, leaning over the window. After a while, a deep voice suddenly sounded in her ears, as if it were right next to her.

“What are you looking at?”

Startled, Su Mi turned her head and saw Qin Yan’s side profile, as exquisite as jade. He leaned in and encircled Su Mi in the corner, his left hand following the curve of her finger as he lifted the window screen, looking outside just like her.

From Su Mi’s perspective, his eyes were as dark as ink, his nose was high and straight, and his collar was unbuttoned, revealing the edge of his collarbone.

She hurriedly averted her gaze, feeling guilty. But probably because they were too close, the cool sandalwood scent on Qin Yan’s body wafted into her nostrils, and she suddenly recalled the pure white skin she saw under his collarbone when she wiped his body that day.

“Master, I was looking at… a few…”

“What?” Qin Yan turned his head and looked at Su Mi, his gaze seemingly smiling yet not.

As Su Mi watched his lips move so close to her, her face turned red, and she stuttered for a while. In the end, her mind went completely blank, and she decided not to speak anymore.

Qin Yan looked satisfied with Su Mi’s flustered appearance, finally withdrew his index finger from the window screen, and chuckled.

“There’s nothing interesting to see, so don’t look outside.”

Su Mi nodded and looked at Qin Yan. He had already returned to his seat, holding another book in his hands.

It seemed like the master didn’t care about her at all, but sometimes he seemed to care a lot. She couldn’t eat sweets, and now she couldn’t even look outside when sitting in a carriage. But should she look inside, then? There wasn’t much to see inside the carriage, either.