Looking at Ning Xueyan’s mischievous look, the young man in white could not help smiling. He sat opposite her and looked around. Suddenly his face sank. “Where have your maids gone?”
“Tell me first, where is your servant?” Ning Xueyan smiled and asked Ming Yuanhua. What a coincidence that she could see Ming Yuanhua here.
After Ming Yuanhua knew her situation and her misfortune, he had no longer ignored her.
“There was a man who was surreptitiously speaking to someone when I saw him. He looked like he was from your house, and I wanted to ask if there was anything wrong, so I followed him.” Ming Yuanhua smiled indifferently and took over the teacup from the owner of the tea house.
The rescuer talked with the one who was rescued and they drank tea together. Seeing this, the crowd felt bored and they all dispersed.
“Let me guess, is that person the reputable second son of the Xia family?” she asked in a pleasant mood. Ning Xueyan took a sip of the tea and put down the teacup, stroking the handle.
“My cousin, you already knew it even though you didn’t see it. Have you known this in advance?” Ming Yuanhua didn’t expect that Ning Xueyan had foreseen it. He frowned and felt that something was wrong. “Has he followed you in secret recently?”
The man was Xia Yudong indeed, and Ning Qingshan seemed very obsessed with him. Why did she firmly believe that Ning Xueyan would be interested in Xia Yudong? How could Ning Qingshan have no idea what happened previously at home? Or was Ning Qingshan thinking that Ning Xueyan would believe that Xia Yudong was framed and she would feel sorry for him?
Ning Qingshan repeatedly made her encounter Xia Yudong. When they were in the Third Prince’s courtyard, Xia Yudong had no chance to show up. Ning Qingshan actually wanted to help Xia Yudong be the “hero”.
Xia Yuhang was very kind to his younger brother. It was only a few days after that matter and he already had forgotten about it.
“Where is he now?” Ning Xueyan’s long eyelashes flickered, and the smile in her eyes became cold.
“In the alley over there. I knocked him out in the back and asked my servant to question him. If I knew he was going to set you up, I would have killed him.” Ming Huayuan was an expert and he didn’t think too much at that time. When he knew that Xia Yudong was going to hurt Ning Xueyan, he became angry.
“Cousin, don’t worry. Listen to me first.” Ning Xueyan smiled and stopped him. She approached him and whispered. Ming Huayuan listened and nodded. And then in the end, he stood up and said goodbye to Ning Xueyan. Ning Xueyan didn’t say anything. She just stood up and gave him a bow.
Watching him go away gently, Ning Xueyan put on a soft smile.
Ning Qingshan happened to see all of that when she returned and she could not help showing a proud smile. But in the next moment, she put on a panicked face and rushed over. She grabbed Ning Xueyan’s hand and said, “Fifth Sister, what happened? I just heard that some punks have come and harassed you. Are you okay? I should have left Qingyu with you.”
“I’m fine. A young man happened to save me just now,” Ning Xueyan said shyly.
“Who was the young man? Do we know him? We must let Father go to thank him tomorrow,” Ning Qingshan asked with concern.
“Let’s talk about it tomorrow. Third Sister and Fourth Sister, have you finished shopping or you want to continue?” Ning Xueyan seemed unwilling to talk about it. She stood up and walked out of the tea house.
Ning Qingshan had achieved her goal. “Ning Xueyan finally has taken a shine to Xia Yudong, but I should be patient. Since he has helped her today, they will be tied together in the future.” Ning Qingshan stopped asking and caught up with Ning Xueyan. They walked shoulder to shoulder to look at the lanterns.
Along the way, most of the shops were decorated with a few different types of lanterns at their door—some of them had puzzles, and some of them had only a half couplet. If passersby could figure the puzzles out, the shop owners would give them some money as a gift that was not valuable but exquisite.
These were ordinary celebrations. Large shops had built countertops in front and hung various lanterns on both sides. There was no puzzle on the lanterns because the one who hosted the celebration would act out on the stage in order to guess the puzzles.
Because normal people could attend, people would like to watch. No matter if they could guess it or not, people would laugh on and off, and everyone looked more and more excited.
Ning Xueyan’s group was standing in front of one of the stages. The stage was more eye-catching than other ones because there was a person sitting on the high platform like a master. He was the handsome and charming Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Min, Wen Xueran. And his young servant was standing behind him.
It was a surprise that a Princely Heir like him would join the celebration and enjoy the happiness with people. It was very rare.
His beautiful eyes could seduce people. When he looked at the crowd, those young women screamed in low voices, blushing. Everyone knew that Wen Xueran was a well-known handsome man and his face was even more beautiful than a woman’s.
His face was perfect!
In the past, if people met him, they could only glance at him secretly. Now he was sitting on the high platform, and although the ladies blushed, they would not be willing to waste the opportunity, so they looked at the handsome Princely Heir with starry eyes.
On the platform, there were two kinds of items: earrings and hairpins!
On the left tray were five pairs of earrings, and on the right tray were five hairpins.
Each pair of earrings was exquisite, with ruby or opal on them, showing gorgeous colors, and everyone knew that they were treasures.
The hairpins were as valuable as the earrings on the other side. No matter if it was the gems, the bright lines, or the designs on the hairpins, they were all outstanding, making many women yearn and unable to move their eyes away. Although the handsome Princely Heir was adorable, they could not stop staring at the jewelry.
So, while the women gazed at the ornaments avidly, the Princely Heir, who was sitting on the stage, was looking at the women below in a good mood. It was his style to sit on the tall platform.
He was admiring the beauties, and he didn’t need to use any effort to find them!
Suddenly, his eyes met Ning Xueyan in the crowd. He was surprised and then he smiled at her proudly. He shook the folding fan in his hand, and then pointed to the tray held by his people, leading Ning Xueyan to look inside.
At this moment, the person on the stage was talking about the rules.
“People, the jewelry here are all the treasures of our shop. They can be regarded as boutique products. We don’t ask for anything from you. If any lady’s jewelry is more beautiful or valuable than ours, we will give one of the treasures to her for free. We won’t lie to you and the Princely Heir will guarantee it.
“This is our handicraft appraiser. Everyone knows our shop and we will not cheat anyone. We will never go back our word or not give out the gifts.”
The host was more than 50 years old and he was very smart. He had a ready tongue and a kind smile as if he was the manager of the shop behind. Then he reached out his hand, looking at Wen Xueran, indicating that he was the owner of the shop.
Being aware that they could get the jewelry on the stage, all the people became excited.
“What if other jewelry aside from earrings and hairpins are more valuable than these things?” someone couldn’t help asking.
“That won’t work. Our Princely Heir said that only earrings and hairpins can win the gifts and others cannot. If something is antique, we can’t tell its value.” The manager smiled and shook his head.
He was telling the truth. There was no way to compare the value of some items. So the competition between only earrings and hairpins was better. It was easier to tell which was more valuable.
From the crowd below, some people started to stand up and hand over things like earrings and hairpins, but certainly, none of them were more precious than those on the stage that Wen Xueran brought, so they all retreated.
After all, they were all treasures and could not be taken outside easily.
Looking at Wen Xueran’s somewhat disdainful eyes, the girls below became more vigorous, and more people came on stage. They took off earrings and hairpins and compared them with the exhibit above, but no one won.
“Young Lady, you can go up with this pair of earrings, maybe you can win,” the maid with Ning Qingshan couldn’t help saying to her.
“I don’t know if it is inappropriate!” Ning Qingshan seemed tempted, but she had to maintain her dignity as a noble lady, showing a little hesitation on her face.
“Third Sister, you can go up and take a look. Today, everyone should be happy, even if the emperor is with the people. Why do you care about that?” Ning Xueyan smiled slightly and tried to persuade her.
“Third Sister, I’ll go with you. The hairpin I wore today happens to be given to me by my grandmother. Maybe I can compare it to the exhibits.” Seeing the items on the stage, Ning Lingyun was very excited. However, before Ning Qingshan and Ning Xueyan wanted to have a try, she could do nothing but wait. So hearing Ning Qingshan’s words, she came forward and gave some advice.
Of course, Ning Qingshan was also very excited. She was going to the palace, and if she could wear these earrings and hairpins, she would look very gorgeous. So she didn’t hesitate but went to the stage with Ning Lingyun.
Everyone in the audience was so excited when they saw two such beautiful girls appear.
They all looked at them go on the stage. The appraiser came over and looked at the jewelry carefully before he shook his hands to the bottom, and stepped back. He was saying that they had failed.
The crowd laughed again.
As people laughed, Ning Xueyan saw Wen Xueran’s eyes fall on Ning Qingshan with an unknown meaning, but he covered it behind his bright eyes. People could only notice that he was looking at the two beauties, but only Ning Xueyan felt that at that moment, Wen Xueran was looking at the earrings in Ning Qingshan’s hand.
“Young Lady, these earrings…” Qingyu suddenly pushed Ning Xueyan’s hand and wanted to say something, but Ning Xueyan shook her hand to stop her.