“How are you so fickle?” Yan Mu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Yesterday, I ran out in tears, but then I accidentally bumped into Qi Er,” Hua Ping said with some embarrassment. “His old mother at home was urging him to marry, so he came to the residence to hide for some peace and quiet.”
“Then?” Yan Mu’s gossipy nature had been awakened.
“Qi Er comforted me, and said I looked good in pink,” Hua Ping shyly said. “He even ate the dishes I made.”
“In short, I think Qi Er is better,” Hua Ping emphasized.
She wanted to say something else, but saw that Yu Yuan was already coldly looking over.
Hua Ping shrank back, she stammered a hurried goodbye to Yan Mu, then left in a panic.
Yan Mu turned her head to look at Yu Yuan, but only saw his obedient appearance that he’d somehow reverted back to.
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“Pke usw cwzzu bla ulpvlaeyu?” Zyd Yw tldvzu rkdnble Zw Zwyd.
“R eked’v.” Zw Zwyd zssjle kddsnldv. “R esd’v zkjl bla, ps kv’p clvvla vs ekalnvzu yde lqqknkldvzu alflnv bla.”
Fs, Zw Zwyd’p oyu sq alflnvkdt psxlsdl’p nsdqlppksd kp vs ekalnvzu pyu vbyv vblu’al wtzu?
Mbl nsadla sq Zyd Yw’p xswvb pzktbvzu vokvnble.
Fbl jdlo Zw Zwyd’p rlapsdyzkvu, ps pbl eked’v csvbla vs yatwl okvb bkx, yde fwpv vwadle yaswde yde zlqv.
Zw Zwyd qszzsole, pvyukdt nzsplzu clbkde Zyd Yw.
“Gb Yw, eke ulpvlaeyu’p pzllr-ykekdt kdnldpl osaj olzz?” Zw Zwyd vldvyvkhlzu ypjle.
“Cwkvl tsse, R bye y ealyxzlpp pzllr,” Zyd Yw nypwyzzu pyke.
Yu Yuan observed Yan Mu for a long while, and seeing that she had no memory of what had happened yesterday, his mind was set at ease.
The two accompanied each other out of the residence.
The street market in the capital was very lively, and Yan Mu bought a lot of food and strolled around as she ate.
She went out for two purposes.
One was to do market research to see what kind of novels were sold in the bookstores in the capital, and the other was to find a shop in a bustling area to sell books in.
Yan Mu and Yu Yuan looked at several bookstores, and all of them sold proper books for the imperial examinations. There were some that occasionally sold a few books for entertainment, but they were mostly local annals that introduced regional customs and conditions.
Yan Mu flipped through a few pages and lost interest.
She would only read these kinds of local annals for information in the early stage of starting to write a new book.
This era was really short of entertainment, and even novels had only a few different themes.
After reading them, Yan Mu had a general impression in mind.
After determining the book genres in the competing bookstores, Yan Mu started looking for a shop.
With big boss Chu Cong backing her up, she didn’t have to consider the cost when she looked at the shops.
Wherever was prosperous, Yan Mu would look at the shops.
Soon, she found a shop for sale.
The location of the shop was great, but strangely, no one had inquired about it.
Yan Mu pulled an agent aside to ask, and learned that the shop was actually haunted.
……
Although she was someone who had seen the God of Web Novels, Yan Mu still didn’t believe in this.
Besides, the shop was located in the heart of the capital, with a restaurant on its left, a teahouse on its right, a clinic opposite, and a private school behind.
This area was the best Yan Mu had seen today.
Stores were just like a ranking list1榜单 (bǎngdān) – list of people or entities ranked highest according to some metric; list of successful applicants for college admission, you had to snatch for them.
The difference was that placing on the ranking list required strength and data, while snatching a shop required real money.
With Chu Cong, her bankroller daddy, supporting her from behind, Yan Mu was determined to get the shop, and would never give up such a fat piece of meat.
The agent was a dark-faced man in his forties, and he stood by the door, hesitant to enter.
In the end, Yan Mu was a woman who had transmigrated, so she wasn’t afraid of these kinds of things and lifted her leg to go inside.
Yu Yuan pulled her hand back.
“What?” Yan Mu laughed and asked, “Do you also believe in ghosts and gods?”
“I’ll go check it out first,” Yu Yuan pursed his lips and said.
Naturally, he didn’t believe in them either, and he felt like someone was deliberately pretending to be involved with supernatural beings.
But whether there was really a ghost or someone pretending to be a ghost, he was still worried about letting Yan Mu in.
The teenager stood in front of her, his stance tall and straight like a winter pine tree.
He drew out the sword on his waist.
The sunlight fell on his sword, and the blade reflected a dazzling glint which could shake one’s heart.
“This…… according to the rules, no one is allowed to enter with a sword,” the agent softly said.
This rule was mainly to prevent the seller’s competitors from deliberately making trouble in the name of viewing the property.
The teenager looked at him coldly.
The sword slashed through the air with a swish.
The tip of the sword was only an inch away from the agent’s face.
“Get out of the way,” Yu Yuan coldly said.
“……” The agent didn’t dare to say anything more and obediently made way.
Yan Mu watched flabbergast from the side.
Since Yu Yuan had started working under Chu Cong, his aura had significantly sharpened.
In a trance, she seemed to see the powerful proud minister.
The sunlight shone on Yu Yuan’s shoulder, covering him with a layer of light.
The teenager’s expression was grave and stern, and his demeanor was as proud as a god’s.
Yu Yuan insisted on scouting ahead first, so Yan Mu had no choice but to stay behind with the agent.
The agent kept wiping his cold sweat and chanting Amitabha under his breath.
Yan Mu thought for a moment, then pulled out a silver ingot to hand over.
“I’m sorry, he’s been like this since he was a kid,” Yan Mu smiled apologetically and said. “You’ve worked hard today, here’s a tip.”
The agent shakily held out his hand but didn’t dare to take the silver ingot for a long time.
“Don’t panic, we’re all good people,” Yan Mu said seriously.
The agent’s hand shook even more.
What good man easily points a sword at people?
Initially, he saw that the teenager and the young girl in front of him were dressed in unusual clothes, looking like the nobles from court.
He didn’t expect the teenager to have a sharp temper.
He won’t be a mountain bandit from somewhere, right?
Seeing the agent’s face full of trepidation, Yan Mu could only helplessly stuff the silver into his hand.
“Don’t be afraid, he just looks a little fierce, but he won’t actually do anything to you,” Yan Mu comforted him.
Perhaps the heavy weight of the silver awakened the agent’s rationality. He stuffed the silver into his clothes and said with a sullen face, “Young lady, your husband is really too scary.”
Yan Mu was stunned, then automatically explained, “He’s not my husband, he’s my elder brother.”
Yu Yuan had just come out from the shop when he heard Yan Mu’s words.
His feet stopped and he pursed his lips in silence.
“Young lady, with such a brother, I’m afraid it’s not easy, right?” The agent asked sympathetically.
Yu Yuan’s lips pursed even tighter.
His gaze towards the agent was as cold as ice, almost able to freeze someone to death, but the agent was still babbling non-stop.
“Don’t say it like that,” Yan Mu laughed. “Although he always looks cold, he’s actually very gentle.”
“Young lady, you seem to like your elder brother very much,” the agent gasped.
Yan Mu was stunned, then said with a slight nod, “Mmm, I like him very much.”
Yu Yuan’s mood was inexplicably better.
He silently put his sword back into its sheath.
The agent was about to continue chatting, but when he saw Yu Yuan behind Yan Mu, his face suddenly changed and his entire body started shaking.
“Yu Yuan!” Yan Mu was very happy to see him.
“Mmm,” Yu Yuan nodded and said. “I’ve looked around and there’s nothing inside.”
She carefully observed Yu Yuan, and seeing that he was unharmed, she turned her head and said to the agent, “See, I told you there wasn’t a ghost.”
“This shop is the property of King Xiang mansion, but unfortunately, one night, the mansion suddenly caught fire and everyone was burned to death,” The agent softly said. “This shop was originally a bookstore, and King Xiang’s youngest son loved to come here. Come to think of it, it’s strange. Ever since the little prince was burned to death, the sound of children crying could often be heard in this shop. Things would also mysteriously disappear, so it scared away several buyers.”
King Xiang?
Yan Mu recalled the outline that she wrote.
According to the storyline, King Xiang was a hereditary king2His king title was inherited who remained neutral between the First Prince’s party and the Second Prince’s party.
But King Xiang had military power in his hands, so when the First Prince failed to draw him to his side, he was afraid that he would transfer his allegiance to the Second Prince’s party, so he set a fire.
Back then, she wrote this paragraph just to highlight the brutality of the struggle for the imperial throne, and didn’t write about King Xiang in detail.
As for that little prince, he was another creation of the world.
“Well, let’s just stay here for one night today,” Yan Mu thought for a moment and said. “If nothing happened, we’ll buy the shop tomorrow.”
After speaking, she turned back to Yu Yuan, “Do you have anything to do tonight?”
“No,” Yu Yuan shook his head.
Having accepted their tip, the agent had no reason to disagree, so he just told them to keep safe.
As night fell, Yan Mu and Yu Yuan lit all the lanterns in the courtyard.
Both of them were now spending Chu Cong’s money, so they didn’t feel any heartache lighting the candles.
The entire small courtyard was as bright as day, making it look more livable and not so eerie.
After all, the shop was once the property of a royal family, so the layout was extremely elegant.
The shop had two floors, and it was arranged in a square layout surrounding a small courtyard.
The flowers and plants in the courtyard had long since withered, and only the pines and cypresses still had a hint of green.
Yan Mu gestured beside the flower bed and asked, “What do you think should be planted here? If we really buy it, we shouldn’t leave it empty, right?”
“Isn’t Uncle a gardener? Why don’t you ask him?” Yu Yuan looked at Yan Mu’s back as she busied about and a gentle look appeared in his eyes.
Recently, Father Yan had been so busy learning about gardening that he even ate and lived in the flower nursery.
The two had not seen him in a long time.
“No, it’s my shop, I have to decorate it myself.” Yan Mu was a little stubborn for a change.
Specks of light reflected in her eyes, giving her an air of cleverness.
“Wuu……” She pondered for a moment and asked, “How about planting some Chinese bellflowers?”
“Aren’t Chinese bellflowers Yu Yuan’s favorite?” Yan Mu asked, all smiles.
Something seemed to hit his heart.
The flower that he’d casually mentioned was so clearly remembered by the young girl.
Yan Mu actually remembered it from so long ago.
Yu Yuan felt warm inside.
For a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
There were thousands of words3千言万语 (qiānyán-wànyǔ) – an idiom; having a lot of things to say buried in his heart, but the words that came out were, “That’s fine too, the bellflowers can be used as medicine, so when the time comes, they can be sold as side income.”
Yu Yuan’s hostility and indifference that he showed towards others were completely gone.
He spoke clumsily, and seemed to have reverted back into that easily shy little teenager again.
Yan Mu smiled, seemingly used to Yu Yuan saying things that his heart didn’t mean.
She went to an open space and said to him, “I also want to put a parasol here, and put a few tables under it, so that the customers can read in the courtyard.”
Then she came to an old Chinese scholar tree and said to Yu Yuan, “If we tie a swing here, I’m sure it’ll be very relaxing.”
Yu Yuan nodded and noted down all of Yan Mu’s words in his heart.
Suddenly, the tops of the old tree moved without wind, and a few leaves lightly fell.
Yu Yuan looked up and saw a dark shadow leaping through the trees.
Edited by: Gaze
Translator’s Note: Wishing all my dear readers a Happy Winter Solstice, Merry Christmas, and happy holidays in advance!!!!! 🥳🥳🥳
Maybe the little prince actually survived and had been in hiding there all these time.
wuuuuuuuu smort guess 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 yeah xD his identity will be revealed in later chapter