Chapter 228 – The spider starts to weave (1)

It happened that Xuesong Courtyard also needed some items to be purchased. After Ji Man left Old Madame’s courtyard, she went over to Qian Lianxue’s place to ask her what she wanted to buy.

Qian Lianxue covered her mouth, then she looked at her for a long time while coughing. “Madam, are you going outside yourself to buy these items?”

Ji Man nodded with a smile. “It’s best to do things yourself. After all, even if you send your personal servant girl to do something, there are times when a mishap will still occur. Don’t you think agree?”

Danzhu was standing behind Qian Lianxue. Her eyelids slightly twitched when she heard these words.

She had just blatantly admitted that she had been the one that knocked Danzhu unconscious and taken the letter.

Qian Lianxue’s expression looked a bit unnatural as she handed over the list of items.

Ji Man was still smiling as she stood up and left the room with Dengxin.

Right now, it was as if there was a plaque hanging on her body that had the words, “come and kill me if you can”.

After they returned to Feiwan Courtyard, Ji Man spent sometime dressing herself up.

That night, Ji Man had Dengxin remain in Feiwan Courtyard while she sneaked over to Ning Yuxuan’s study by herself. She wanted him to go with her when she went shopping tomorrow.

“Do you think I have so much free time right now that you can treat me like an errand boy?” Ning Yuxuan was slightly discontent. “Why do you want me to go shopping with you? I’m very busy.”

Ji Man smiled very sweetly. Holding his hand, she swung it left and right. “The streets haven’t been very safe lately. If I go out by myself, what will I do if I encounter danger?”

Ning Yuxuan pursed his lips and said, “Then, send someone else to go. You don’t need to go yourself.”

Regardless if it was ancient times or modern times, men dislike accompanying women in shopping. Ji Man copied Wen Wan’s style and twisted her body around his like it was fried dough. “It’s so rare for me to be in the mood to do anything. Please. Come with me.”

She could feel that Ning Yuxuan had recently become gentler towards her. An ancient woman’s greatest asset was a man’s indulgence and softhearted feelings towards her. Wen Wan used to have this, but she hadn’t used it effectively. Now that she saw the stirrings of those feelings towards herself, she naturally had to use it well.

Ning Yuxuan felt quite helpless at her hounding. He impatiently waved his hand and said, “Fine. Go back to Feiwan Courtyard for now. I’ll wait for you at the back gate tomorrow.”

As expected, this person was behaving sneakily as usual, that would work perfectly with her plan. Feeling quite satisfied, Ji Man obediently returned to Feiwan Courtyard.

Guibai, who had been standing to the side during their conversation, saw the serious expression that appeared on the marquis’s face after Nie Sangyu left. He couldn’t resist his impulse and asked, “Marquis, do you want to bring more people during tomorrow’s outing?”

“No need.” Ning Yuxuan shook his head. Feeling a bit vexed, he asked, “But, what should I wear tomorrow when I accompany that woman on her shopping trip?”

All of his clothing was incomparably luxurious. If he wore his usual clothing, there was no way that he wouldn’t be stared at like a circus attraction by the commonfolk.

Guibai hadn’t expected that his master would worry over something so minor. He let out a short laugh. “My lord, if you don’t mind, this subordinate has a set of clothing that was just made and hasn’t been worn yet. You can borrow it to wear.”

“Alright.” Ning Yuxuan’s eyebrows relaxed. Looking at the crown prince’s letter, he returned to his work and deftly wrote out a reply.

—

The next day, Ji Man walked to the back gate. She had only brought along two lower-ranking servants with her to carry her purchases. Arriving at the back gate, she saw Guibai’s familiar figure sitting on the carriage’s driver seat and waiting for her. She dismissed the servants she had brought along and happily stepped into the carriage without any worries.

As soon as she lifted the carriage’s curtain, she saw Ning Yuxuan’s impatient face.

Holding the shopping list she had given him, he looked at her and asked, “Why are there so many items?”

If there were only a few items, what reason would she have for staying out longer? Ji Man slightly smiled. Since she had this bodyguard coming with her, she naturally felt very confident. No matter who came to attack her, she wouldn’t feel scared. Even if she died, she would be dying together with Ning Yuxuan. Based on this point alone, Nie Sangyu wouldn’t count it as her failing the mission.

She was wearing a soft green dress today, and she looked much livelier. It was just a simple dress, not expensive at all. Actually, it matched Ning Yuxuan’s average-looking clothes quite well.

Right after Ji Man left the estate, another servant came out of hiding and followed after the carriage.

—

Inside an antique ceramic store, Ji Man was holding a vase and haggling, “No matter how I look at it, this item isn’t worth fifty silver taels. At most, it’s worth ten silver taels.

There was an assortment of vases and containers on the shelves in front of them. Just by how the vases were thin enough that sunlight could pass through them, customers could easily see that these vases were all top-tier goods.

Ji Man had seen a fiery red vase that she liked and was currently bargaining.

However, Ning Yuxuan felt that her bargaining was too extreme.

It seemed that this store’s business had become better after they came inside. Several people had followed them inside and were looking around the store too.

Without saying a word or making a sound, Marquis Moyu stepped to stand behind Nie Sangyu.

This group of people had been following them during the entire shopping trip, from the back gate’s flowerbeds to the streets and now to this ceramic store. He always had a good memory for faces. Even thought these people had taken the special effort of changing their outer garb, he still recognized them.

Looking at the woman in front of him that hadn’t notice anything was off and was focused on nitpicking the vase that she was holding in her hand, Ning Yuxuan inwardly smiled. She really was very clever. Once again, she had involved him in something bad.

With a sour expression on his face, the shopkeeper said, “Madam, this vase is an antique. It’s absolutely impossible to buy this vase for ten silver taels.”

Ji Man still wanted to say more, but the shelves in front of her tottered. It seemed as if someone had accidentally bumped into it. A moment later, the shelves rapidly started to fall down on her.

Countless vases fell onto the floor and shattered into pieces. Ning Yuxuan gritted his teeth and blocked the falling shelves from hitting her. Protectively nestled in his arms, Ji Man sharply looked at the nearby people.

As the shopkeeper was screaming, “Watch out!”, the people behind them had already taken out their daggers and were aiming them at Ji Man.

Translator Ramblings: Ji Man seems so reckless right now. It doesn’t feel like a recklessness that comes from thoughtless overconfidence, more like she doesn’t care if she dies or not.