Jiang Qingci probably really thought that she was tactfully borrowing money from him, so he immediately said that there was still more than thirty taels of silver he received from the public this month. If it was not enough, he could go to a few shops and collect it. Two or three hundred taels come up...
This result was something Chu Yao never expected.
Her suspicion that he had other intentions for her now seemed completely unfounded. He spoke sincerely and seemed more anxious than she was, as if he was ready to go home and withdraw the money.
Chu Yao felt ashamed for her suspicion of him. He was a humble and upright gentleman with a warm heart. How could she think of him as a dirty person?
Really ashamed.
"Jiang Yameni misunderstood, I didn't want to borrow money from you." Thinking about what he said just now, it was like crying about poverty. Chu Yao didn't know how to explain to him at this moment, "I just said casually. That’s all, don’t take it seriously in Yanei.”
But how could Jiang Qingci not take it seriously?
He had been influenced by his father since he was a child, and he was very good at observing people's words. Just now she clearly showed a look of shame. She must be thin-skinned and shy to speak out about borrowing money, so she gave such tactful hints.
He understood her embarrassment and also cared about her face, so he followed her words and said: "If you are really in trouble one day, just tell me. Although I can't give out too much money, I can raise it from here and there." Once you get it together, five or six hundred taels will not be a problem..."
Seeing that he did not continue to insist on this matter, Chu Yao breathed a sigh of relief: "Yes, I thank Jiang Yanei first."
Two days later, the sweet water shop officially opened. The price of the new shop was the most favorable. There was a buy one, get one free sign hanging outside the shop, as well as the name of the recommended sweet water. The milk and mint dish attracted special attention, and the most people bought it. The business was very good. It's hot.
Jiang Qingci brought many friends, sisters at home, and servants and maids to come to support him. The small shop was packed with guests, and there was an endless stream of guests.
Chu Yao and Qiu He were so busy that they didn't eat all day long. After closing at night, Jiang Qingci came over with a food box. There was still some plum wine left in the Tianshui shop. The three of them drank together under the moonlight to celebrate today's opening. big sale!
Qiu He had never drank wine before, and he was greedy for the fruity and sweet flavor of the plum wine, so he couldn't help but drink a lot. Soon he was so drunk that his eyes were blurry. He looked at Jiang Qingci and Chu Yao, without saying anything, and just started giggling. laugh.
"Silly girl, what are you laughing at?" Chu Yao was also a little tipsy. She was happy from the bottom of her heart that the shop opened successfully today. Seeing Qiu He smiling, she couldn't help but laugh too.
Jiang Qingci saw that both of their sisters were drunk. It was getting late and he couldn't stay with them as a man, so he wanted to leave.
Chu Yao stood up to see her off, but Jiang Qingci took out a stack of silver notes from his sleeve pocket and handed it to her: "Ayao, there are five hundred taels of silver here. You can use it. If it's not enough, I’ll go back and gather some more…”
Chu Yao suddenly became more awake. He really took the temptation the day before yesterday seriously, and he actually came over with money today.
It's all her fault. She made him misunderstand by saying things like that?
"Jiang Yanei, I'm really not short of money. Please take it back." She declined.
But Jiang Qingci insisted: "Don't meet me anymore. I know you were embarrassed to say it that day. As a friend, how can I see you trapped by money? Just keep it and wait for a while." The store has made money, it won’t be too late for you to pay me back slowly..."
"It's really not necessary. It's all my fault. How could I say those nonsense words to you? I really didn't mean to borrow money from you." Chu Yao felt regretful and annoyed at the moment. She didn't know what to say, "I How should I explain it to you?"
The slender white hand held the banknote and kept delivering it to her. When she refused to accept it, the other hand simply took her hand and forced the banknote into her hand: "You don't have to explain anything to me. , I understand everything..."
"You don't understand. You don't know what I'm thinking at all?" She thought of him as a villain with evil intentions. How could she have the nerve to accept his money?
She tried her best to pull her hand back, but he held it firmly. Just now he was just holding the back of her hand, but now his backhand was touching her palm. He suddenly pulled her closer and looked down at her. The warm aroma of cypress enveloped her in an instant. His voice trembled softly, With joy and expectation: "Then what are you thinking about? Can you tell me?"
"I..." She was so close to him all of a sudden, and her heart was frightened like a drum, as if she was set on fire, and she instinctively wanted to escape.
But he didn't allow her to escape. The hand holding the banknote blocked her retreat from behind and landed on her lower back...
Qiu He on the side sighed "Wow", then covered his eyes, but then quietly opened his fingers to peek...
Chu Yao was panicked. Things developed beyond her expectation. Now it seems that ambiguous words will only deepen his misunderstanding. If he wants to eliminate the misunderstanding, he can only say everything clearly.
"Then I'll tell you straight, I hope Yameni won't be angry," Chu Yao broke free from his restraints, pulled out, stabilized her mind, and spoke to him with clear eyes, "Yameni has helped me many times before. Because the Yameni is willing to help others and support the weak, but I am discordant in my heart. I misunderstood that the Yameni has ulterior motives for me. I guessed that as a divorced woman with no face and money, what the Yameni wanted was the antique calligraphy and painting from before? That’s why I came up with that. The temptation of the day..."
After she said this, Jiang Qingci was really surprised: "You actually think of me like this?"
Chu Yao felt ashamed: "My wife is a shallow-minded woman who judged a gentleman with a villain's heart. She not only misunderstood the good intentions of the yamen, but also thought of the yamen as a treacherous person. She really shouldn't..."
Jiang Qingci was a little bit dumbfounded. Although he was surprised at first, when he thought about it, he was indeed quite passionate about her. He thought that she would understand his thoughts even if he didn't say it, but she didn't expect that she thought wrongly. Thinking that he had another purpose in approaching her.
"I don't blame you for thinking of me as a bad person. You are cautious, which is a good thing. I promise you, I have no intentions against you. I just admire you and appreciate you. You are different from other women I have seen. Same..." The beauty under the moon was slim and slender. She was stared down by his urgent gaze. Her cheeks were flushed and pale, and she was so panicked that she was confused, which made her even more pitiful.
Taking this opportunity, Jiang Qingci couldn't help but speak out what was in his heart: "Ayao, now that I know what you are thinking, are you also willing to listen to what is in my heart?"
At this point, Chu Yao simply gave up: "What do you want to say?"
Although he asked the question, he could roughly guess it in his heart.
"I...I actually..." Jiang Qingci was young and innocent. He blushed before he could say anything, and his words were rash and reckless, completely losing his usual calm and gentle appearance. "I...although I don't know where the love came from, but I love you... are you willing to wait for me... after I marry my wife, I will marry you as... my side wife..."
Chu Yaoyuan was still amused by his stumbling appearance, but when she heard the word "side room" behind "madam", she suddenly stopped laughing.
She didn't want to be sentimental before, thinking that a noble young man like him would never like her as a divorced woman. Now it seems that Jiang Qingci really likes her, but he likes her with the sense of a wealthy family. Knowing her past, he would not marry her to be the first wife, and take her in as a side room to pamper her. After a few years, the freshness has worn off, and I naturally let it go as I please.
Chu Yao shook her head. When her family was poor, she had never thought of being a concubine. Now that she has a good house and a shop, how could she be forced to be a concubine?
"In Jiang Yamen, the concubine is a concubine, and there is no such thing as marriage. Since ancient times, the wife has been the highest, and the wife is noble and the concubine is humble. I am a daughter of a good family. Although I have been married, I have my own bottom line. I would rather be a peasant couple than a public servant. Concubine..."
Seeing her refusal, Jiang Qingci hurriedly added: "I know this is wronging you, but you have divorced Renhe after all. I would like to marry you as my wife, but I'm afraid my family won't want to. Don't worry, I will I will definitely not wrong you..."
The more sincere his words were, the more ironic Chu Yao felt. She interrupted him and calmly explained to him, "You must not know the real reason why I reconciled with my ex-husband?"
"What's the reason?"
"The reason why my ex-husband and I reconciled was that I didn't want to be his concubine. Since I made this choice, why should I be your concubine now?"
Jiang Qingci choked on his words and looked at her blankly.
"I'll just pretend I haven't heard the word "Xin Yue" from you tonight." She returned the banknote to him. "It's getting late. Please come back."
The Qiuhe people on the side were already dumbfounded.
Jiang Qingci looked embarrassed. He thought he had a chance to win. If she knew what he meant, she would happily agree. However, he never expected such a result. His self-esteem was inevitably hurt. He couldn't hold back his face for a moment and said goodbye in a hurry: "Today It was my outrageous words that offended me."
There was a hint of fleeing in the departing figure.
Chu Yao stood there in trance for a few breaths, feeling as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her heart: This is all I have to say today, and he will probably not come to see her again in the future.
Suddenly she saw another tall figure following him. Chu Yao immediately thought of something and hurriedly went out to chase after him.
"Brother, stay!" She called to the figure, who looked back at her after hearing the sound. Chu Yao saw the thick stick in his hand and was a little scared for a moment. Fortunately, she chased him out, "He is not what you thought, you But you can't break his legs..."
"But the master said that any man who dares to get close to you will have his legs broken," the secret guard said, "I saw him hugging you..."
This secret guard was so stupid that he broke the man's leg before he broke it. The man deserved it, but Jiang Qingci was the son of Suizhou Tongpan. A scholar who was going to enter the official career in the future, if he was interrupted If I lose my leg, I'm afraid my future will be ruined.
"He didn't hug me, he just kindly lent me money. There was some pulling in the excuse, which made you misunderstand..."
The secret guard shook the stick in his hand and said honestly: "Actually, I won't break his legs today. I know he is Jiang Tongpan's son, so I don't dare to make my own decision. I have already written to the master to ask him about his situation." My opinion..."
"You wrote a letter?" Chu Yao said in surprise.
"wrote."
"What did you write?"
The secret guard scratched his head honestly, recalling the dry content on the letter paper, and spit it out like beans from the bamboo tube: "I wrote that Jiang Qingci accompanied you to report to the official, Jiang Qingci sent you home, Jiang Qingci helped you When you move, Jiang Qingci holds an umbrella for you, you pick gifts for Jiang Qingci, and you stay up late to make clothes for Jiang Qingci, and then ask the master, do you want to discount this person's legs? "
Chu Yao suddenly had a headache: "If you write like this, your master will misunderstand. I have already rejected him, and he will not come to me again in the future."
"So he does like you?"
"The ignorant boy is just impulsive. You can't take it seriously!" Chu Yao asked him, "On what day did you send that letter? Is it too late to write another letter to explain? I have paper and pen in the shop. You can go over and write to me now. Your master explains clearly..."
The secret guard looked confused: "You care about him so much, does it mean you also like him?"
"How could I like him? What a mother-in-law for such a big man like you..." Chu Yao saw him standing still, stuck in place like a wall, and said in desperation, "If you don't write , I will come and write it myself. By then our words will be different, it depends on who your master believes?"
