Chapter 97 - Would You Mind?

Yang Yingxue fiercely pinched her own palm so as not to lose her composure. The Second Prince worked as their coachman? What a great honor!

Xia Jingqiu repeatedly urged them. “Then hurry up and go. It’s getting late. Don’t make His Highness wait for too long.”

Hearing this, Baili Anning looked at Shen Ninghua half-smilingly. She suggested with a wink: are they seeking patronage?

Shen Ninghua smiled without saying anything.

Because she was going out, Shen Ninghua purposely changed into a loose dress. Baili Anning’s clothes were also very mediocre. Therefore, from the way they dressed, Yang Yingxue was the most eye-catching.

When they went out of the back door, they saw a carriage parked by the side of the road. On the carriage’s shaft sat a tall and upright man dressed in black. He was the Second Prince Baili Jinchuan.

Seeing the Second Prince’s handsome face and extraordinary temperament, Yang Yingxue was instantly stunned. She thought that those artsy-fartsy men in Jiangnan who were always holding a fan were fascinating enough. Now, it seemed that she was really a frog in a well and short-sighted in the past. Only such a man as the Second Prince who was handsome and elegant was worthy of everyone’s admiration, and those so-called respectable young masters she knew were just ordinary men.

Hearing the noise, Baili Jinchuan hurriedly turned around with a smile on his face. “Ninghua, there you are.”

Shen Ninghua looked up and saw his smiling face. She nodded slightly and took half a step back to let Baili Anning get on the carriage first.

Princess Anning also knew that it was a bit inappropriate to bring her Second Brother here without prior notification, so she hurriedly stepped forward to dissipate the awkwardness. “Second Brother, did you bring enough money today? We are going to a lot of places.”

Baili Jinchuan looked at silent Shen Ninghua, and his eyes flashed slightly. Then he nodded to Baili Anning. “Don’t worry, I’ll be responsible for making all the payment today. You can just focus on enjoying your shopping.”

“Haha, that’s great. Ninghua, hurry up and go, so that my second brother won’t go back on his word.”

Yang Yingxue was very surprised. She did not expect Shen Ninghua to treat the Second Prince so casually. Moreover, the Second Prince did not care at all. Instead, his attitude towards Shen Ninghua was rather flattering.

Seeing Baili Anning had gotten into the carriage, the Second Prince jumped down to help Shen Ninghua up. Then he discovered that there was actually another girl beside her who he had never seen before. He was curious. “Ninghua, she is…” Who was this girl that could be personally brought out by Ninghua?

Shen Ninghua introduced. “This is my aunt’s daughter, my cousin. Her name is Yang Yingxue. Cousin, this is the Second Prince.”

Seeing that the Second Prince was looking at her, Yang Yingxue blushed with excitement, and her voice trembled slightly. “Greetings, Your Highness.”

Baili Jinchuan made a gesture to hold her hand and stopped her from saluting. “It’s inconvenient to expose our identity since we are outside. There’s no need to stand on ceremony. Since you’re Ninghua’s cousin, you can buy whatever you like today and I’ll pay the bill.”

Baili Anning laughed. “Second Brother, when did you become so rich and generous?” Although she didn’t want Ninghua to marry Baili Jinchuan, she still found it funny to see her Second Brother, who had always been extremely arrogant, use money to flatter others.

Yang Yingxue’s hands and feet were a little stiff and she finally eased up after sitting in the carriage for a while. She was a little dissatisfied with Shen Ninghua for not reminding her in advance.

The carriage ran all the way and stopped at a restaurant about fifteen minutes later. The smart waiter immediately stepped forward and pulled the reins of the horse. “How many people do you have? There are high-quality private rooms upstairs. Would you like one?”

Baili Jinchuan turned around and waited for Shen Ninghua and the others to get off the carriage before saying to the waiter, “Is the Plum Hall available?”

“Yes, Master, it’s still available.”

“That’s good. Let’s go upstairs.”

The waiter swiftly announced, “Four people for the Plum Hall!”

Although Shen Ninghua and Baili Anning had tried their best to dress in simple clothes, their bearing was outstanding. In addition, Yang Yingxue’s clothes were a little too formal. They attracted the attention of the surrounding people as soon as they appeared.

However, because Shen Ninghua deliberately lowered her head to avoid attracting people’s attention, most people naturally focused their gazes on Yang Yingxue. Many people sighed.

“She’s really as beautiful as jade.”

“Yes, what a combination of intelligence and elegance…”

Yang Yingxue blushed more. She looked at the Second Prince through the corner of her eyes, but unexpectedly met his gaze, which caused her cheeks to blush completely. She quickly lowered her head. However, because she was too nervous, she did not notice the steps under her feet and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Baili Jinchuan, who was standing by her side, reacted quickly. He pulled her sleeve to support her.

“Miss Yang, watch your step.”

“Thank you, Second Master.” Yang Yingxue’s face was so red that it seemed to be burning. Her heart almost jumped out of her chest and felt an infinite sweetness in her heart. The Second Prince must have been paying attention to her all the time. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to pull her just in time.

Baili Jinchuan, however, did not care and forgot about this trivial matter in the blink of an eye. If he met a girl like Yang Yingxue in the past, he might have the mood to develop a romantic relationship with her. But now, he was completely obsessed with Shen Ninghua and didn’t have mind for others. Besides, after seeing the precious pearls and jades, who wanted to look at the sand and rubble?

But Shen Ninghua noticed the whole scene. It seemed that she did it right to bring Yang Yingxue with her. With Yang Yingxue in the middle, it saved her the trouble to face up to Baili Jinchuan.

Just as they entered the Plum Hall and sat down, the door of the room was knocked on before they could take a sip of tea.

Baili Jinchuan stood up and opened the door. Fifth Prince Baili Jinze and Chu Junyi walked in one after the other.

“I just saw a figure and thought I was mistaken. Second Brother and Anning, you are really here. Oh? Ninghua is also here.” Baili Jinze said.

Baili Jinchuan interrupted him and said, “Fifth Brother, what are you doing here with Master Chu?”

“It just happened that we met at the door, by chance.”

By chance? Was there such a coincidence in the world that you arrived right after they came in?

Chu Junyi glanced at Shen Ninghua and smiled. “By chance, indeed. What a coincidence. This is fate. Second Master and Miss Anning, where are you going? Shall we hang out together?”

Baili Jinchuan’s heart was filled with anger. The stroll was already ruined by Baili Anning and Yang Yingxue’s existence. With Baili Jinze and Chu Junyi, what’s the point of the stroll!

“How can I waste your time? We’re just taking a random walk and will be back in a while. If you have something important, you can just go and do it.”

Baili Jinze went straight to the table and sat down. He picked up a cup of tea and took a sip. “We haven’t had anything to do recently. Second Brother, you know that. I’ll follow you around.”

Baili Jinchuan’s smile was somewhat unnatural.

Unexpectedly, Chu Junyi followed the Fifth Prince and sat at the table as well. “I was just wandering aimlessly on the street and didn’t have anything important to do, so I’d like to follow you and the young ladies around. Second Master, would you mind?”

“I don’t mind.” The corners of Baili Jinchuan’s eyes twitched. Since they had said so, the two of them would definitely not leave. What was there for him to mind?

Baili Jinze held the teacup to hide the smile on his lips. He turned to Yang Yingxue whom he had never seen before and asked, “This young lady looks very unfamiliar. Whose daughter is she?”

Just as Shen Ninghua was about to speak, Yang Yingxue stood up and saluted. “Your Highness, my name is Yang Yingxue. My father is the Rank Five Class A Left Supervisor recently transferred to the capital.”

Shen Ninghua smiled and shut her mouth. She picked up the teacup and drank two mouthfuls of tea leisurely. It seemed that this cousin wanted to pave the way on her own. This was good, so that if Yang Yingxue caused any trouble in the future, she didn’t have to offer a helping hand.

Seeing that Shen Ninghua remained silent, Baili Jinze instantly lost his interest. He nodded slightly and said, “Nice to meet you.” The daughter of a Fifth Rank Class A official was not worth his attention.

Baili Anning reached out and pulled at Shen Ninghua’s sleeve. Her expression was filled with contempt. “Ninghua, is she your cousin?”

Shen Ninghua knew what she was thinking. “Yes, that’s right.”

“What a fool. If you introduce for her, then no matter who she is, people will give you some face and treat her with respect. But she chose to speak for herself! If we throw a brick down randomly in the capital, it will hit a number officials’ children. Does she think a mere Rank Five Class A inspector is powerful already?” Baili Anning used to live in seclusion in her own palace, but she was still a princess of the royal family. In just a short period of time, she had already grown up, and her speculation of people’s minds was very accurate.

Shen Ninghua patted her arm and said, “Don’t you like the snacks here most? Hurry up and eat. Don’t shout about being hungry later.”

“Ah, I didn’t even notice it if you didn’t tell me. Leave some snacks for me. I want to bring them back to eat. The pastry chef here is really good at cooking.”

The two of them spoke in a very low voice so that Yang Yingxue did not hear them clearly. She only saw the expressions of the people around her and vaguely realized that she had done something wrong. Her expression immediately became embarrassed. She did not want to lose face in front of the Second Prince.

Everyone finished eating and rested for a while. Then, they got up and went to the Treasure Pavilion opposite the restaurant.

Baili Anning took the lead and pulled Shen Ninghua in. She shouted, “Where is the shopkeeper? Take out your most fashionable jewelry. Don’t try to fool us with the inferior ones, or I’ll smash your signboard.”

“Coming, coming. Your Ladyship, please be merciful. I will bring you the best treasures of our store. You can choose whatever you want, and I will give you a nice price by rounding down the number, okay?”

Shen Ninghua chuckled. They had bought a lot of jewelry here. The shopkeeper was very funny. Every time they shopped here, they always felt very comfortable. “Then, Anning, you need to pick a good one. The shopkeeper said that he would give you a nice price. You’d better pick one with the fraction part of the price being 99 taels of silver. This can save you a lot of money.”

The shopkeeper immediately wrinkled his face and begged for mercy bitterly, “Your Ladyships, please be merciful. The income of the store is meager and I have a family to feed. Please let me earn some money.”

“Haha, that’s a good idea.” Baili Anning took up a phoenix hairpin and examined it. “But I don’t think it’s enough. We’ve bought so many things before, so why don’t you give us something free of charge? This hairpin is not bad. Just use it as a gift for us this time. Shopkeeper, quickly wrap it up.”

“Your Ladyship, this bead hairpin is worth five hundred taels of silver. You really have a good taste.” The shopkeeper had a bitter smile on his face, but the movements in his hands were swift. Just as he finished speaking, he had packed up the bead hairpin.

Yang Yingxue pulled Shen Ninghua’s sleeve and said, “Cousin, this shopkeeper is really pathetic. How can we bully him like this? Quickly persuade Miss Anning.”

As soon as she said this, everyone immediately became quiet.