Chapter 282: Extremely Auspicious Symbolism [Many Thanks for Everyone's Support

Dining on the second floor of Pan Tower,

they had just encountered such an incident, and by the time it was resolved, it was nearly past the Wei hour (around three in the afternoon).

In truth, Xu Xu Zaijing had never intended to interfere much in the first place;

he simply planned to wait for the Yamen Runners to arrive and hand the people over to them.

However, after learning the full story within the private room,

he realized that this Eldest Miss of the Guo family was not black-hearted; her interest rate was merely ten percent, and she had lent out her entire capital.

As Rong Rong Xian had said, lending at such interest was akin to performing charity; even the temples should reserve a spot for her.

Especially given what the servant woman mentioned later—that the family needed funds to secure a position for someone joining the military.

Thus, these few men had casually intervened; since the ruffians had brought silver, they did not have to dip into their own pockets,

merely utilizing their respective influence, which money could not buy.

In this way, they protected the reputation of this Eldest Miss, but whether the Guo family's Eldest Miss could survive henceforth would depend on the Guo family themselves.

Chai Chai Zhengzheng sighed with deep emotion inside the carriage.

It was merely because, during these past days,

she had repeatedly recalled some of her previous hardships,

and combined them with Qi Heng's earlier words about 'a hero saving a beauty,'

leading her to conduct a slight deduction in her heart.

If the Heir of the Prince of Yan had not, through a strange twist of fate, come into conflict with Xu Xu Zaijing,

and had not provoked Xu Xu Zaijing into causing a great disturbance in the feudal territory,

her best possible outcome might have been to enter the Prince of Yan's Wang Fu as a secondary consort, together with Miss Gao and bringing substantial dowries.

Perhaps that so-called bandit stronghold would also have been annihilated to give the Chai family an explanation,

as for whether those annihilated belonged to the Prince of Yan's direct lineage...

Chai Chai Zhengzheng shook her head slightly, cleared the Zhong De Xiang Fa from her mind, and said:

"Let us go; we shall also descend to take a look."

Yun Mu lifted the carriage curtain,

and the mistress and servant descended from the carriage,

just as they heard a shop steward speaking at the entrance:

"Gentlemen, please behold this inkstone; it originates from Duanzhou in Guangnan East Circuit, bears no eyes on its surface, is valued at two guan, and costs one hundred wen for a single throw!"

Hearing the steward speak, the scholars around, whose attire was not particularly luxurious, began whispering among themselves, with some already proposing to pool their money, sell it off once won.

Observing these somewhat shabby scholars, the steward placed this inkstone on a table by the door,

then picked up another inkstone and approached Xu Xu Zaijing, Shen Herui, and others who were surrounded by servants, saying:

"Young Masters, this is the inkstone that this Young Master examined earlier; it has not yet been cut or polished."

Before the steward could finish his sentence, Qi Heng beside them sighed:

"Brother Hai has excellent taste! Truly a fine inkstone! These few stone eyes are well-positioned, pure, moist, and lustrous! Truly a supreme grade; may I ask the price?"

After Qi Heng spoke, Gu Gu Tingye and the others all nodded and looked questioningly at the steward,

"Replying to this Young Master, the original price is one hundred guan."

Xu Xu Zaijing, however, frowned slightly, examining it closely, with a look of contemplation in his eyes.

Seeing Xu Xu Zaijing's expression, the steward paused slightly and asked:

"Does this Young Master find something inappropriate?"

Xu Xu Zaijing smiled: "Not at all."

After speaking, Xu Xu Zaijing turned to Hai Chaojie and said: "Brother Chaojie, I find the symbolism of this pattern extremely auspicious; why not simply purchase it!"

Upon hearing these words, the steward immediately broke into a smile.

And upon hearing Xu Xu Zaijing's words,

Gu Gu Tingye beside them curiously beckoned to the steward,

then, along with the others, examined the stone closely, yet they could discern no 'pattern.'

Hai Chaojie, draped in an embroidered winter robe, paused in surprise, exchanged a smiling glance with Xu Xu Zaijing, then nodded and said:

"Very well; I shall follow Jing-ge'er's advice."

As soon as Hai Chaojie finished speaking and waved his hand, just as the young servant was about to pay, a female voice came from behind them:

"Wait!"

Hearing the voice,

everyone turned to look, seeing precisely Chai Chai Zhengzheng approaching, accompanied by her female attendants.

The steward, peering through the gaps in the crowd, also saw Chai Chai Zhengzheng, but his eyes held some confusion.

Once he clearly recognized the several female attendants behind Chai Chai Zhengzheng, the steward's eyes widened,

for he seemed to have seen those female attendants before,

outside the screen, when he had previously paid respects to the Eldest Miss of the household!

Walking close to the group, Chai Chai Zhengzheng squatted and bowed respectfully, saying:

"Young Master, please forgive us; this inkstone is no longer for sale in the shop!"

"However, you may enter the shop and choose any piece to take away, regardless of its value; consider it a gift from the shop!"

The steward, holding the inkstone and now clearly recognizing the person, hurriedly bowed deeply and said: "Greetings to the Proprietor!"

Hearing Chai Chai Zhengzheng's words, Shen Herui and several other sons of officials were all greatly surprised,

while young servants and attendants who had clearly seen the carriage Chai Chai Zhengzheng had exited offered hints about her identity from the side.

Hai Chaojie smiled and said:

"Since the shopkeeper will not do this business, let it be; there is no rule about taking things away after entering the shop without buying."

Chai Chai Zhengzheng bowed her head and said:

"Young Master was willing to pay for our business, yet I, a humble woman, halted the transaction; the fault lies with us, and we ought to compensate the Young Master."

Having spoken, Chai Chai Zhengzheng raised her head, extended her hand, and said:

"Please!"

"Brother Chaojie, let us go in and take a look; if we truly find something we like, it will not be too late to buy it then."

Hearing Shen Herui's words from the side, Hai Chaojie nodded.

Rong Rong Xian, who had changed clothes nearby, rolled his eyes and chimed in:

"Let's go, let's go, let's go! Go in and take a look!"

As he spoke, he dragged Chang Feng and Gu Gu Tingye, who were beside him, inside,

making a great show of wanting to display his wealth.

Because their respective elder brothers were present, the young ladies from the other families also disembarked from their carriages one after another and entered the shop with great enthusiasm.

Hai Chaojie, however, did not enter directly; instead, he waved toward a carriage not far away,

and soon a young lady descended from the carriage, supported by a female attendant.

Chai Chai Zhengzheng stood politely at the doorway, waiting for that young lady to approach.

Upon reaching the shop entrance, that young lady and Chai Chai Zhengzheng smiled and nodded to each other.

"Miss Chai, this is my younger sister, Da Niangzi Chaoyun."

Hai Da Niangzi Chaoyun likewise smiled and performed a formal bow to Chai Chai Zhengzheng, while Miss Zhu Zhu Jian and Baoxiu behind her hurriedly squatted to bow as well.

After returning the courtesy, Chai Chai Zhengzheng extended her hand and said, "Please, come inside."

The crowd moved inward,

while at the entrance, Xu Xu Zaijing stood there, watching Seeing Seeing Qingcao wipe Little Xiao Xiaotao's mouth corner.

One of Xu Xu Zaijing's hands was also reaching toward the chubby Minglan, targeting the several candied fruits in her hand, as if he were begging for the 'reward' belonging to his female attendant, Seeing Seeing Qingcao.

Minglan, for her part, tightly guarded her snacks.

Seeing someone approaching, Xu Xu Zaijing smiled and nodded, whereupon Minglan seized the opportunity to run into the shop.

Hai Da Niangzi Chaoyun smiled and performed a formal bow.

The two female attendants beside her, upon seeing Xu Xu Zaijing and Seeing Seeing Qingcao, also smiled from the bottom of their hearts.

Sensing Chai Chai Zhengzheng's somewhat curious gaze, Hai Da Niangzi Chaoyun offered no explanation.

As everyone entered the shop, Seeing Seeing Qingcao and Miss Zhu Zhu Jian remained behind, chatting and laughing.

Chai Chai Zhengzheng extended her hand and said, "Please, look around as you wish."

The Hai siblings nodded.

Like the others, they began strolling through the spacious shop.

Rong Rong Xian looked at Chang Feng, who was demonstrating how to breathe onto an inkstone and grind ink, with an expression of sheer surprise.

Chai Chai Zhengzheng brought her female attendants over to Gu Gu Tingyi, who was examining an inkstone, and whispered:

"Have you found anything you like?"

Gu Gu Tingyi shook his head, then said:

"Chai Zhengzheng, do you think it would work to carve a pattern of a delightful cat on this inkstone, just like the one on the ear protectors?"

Chai Chai Zhengzheng nodded with clear conviction:

"If you ask, it certainly can be done!"

Gu Gu Tingyi looked at her happily and said, "Good! Then I shall place an order here with you! I will give you the pattern in a few days."

"Mm!"

Shortly after, Chai Chai Zhengzheng whispered:

"By the way, are the Hai family and the Xu family related? Their female attendants seem quite familiar with one another."

Without turning his head, Gu Gu Tingyi replied:

"Mm. You could say they are related; my eldest brother's sitting mentor is the master of the Hai household, Da Niangzi Chaoyun's father."

"Among the people Jing-ge'er saved outside the Shenbao Temple earlier was Da Niangzi Chaoyun!"

"When the Hai family specifically went to the Xu residence to express their gratitude, my eldest brother went as well!"

Chai Chai Zhengzheng nodded:

"Oh!"

As the two were talking, the shop steward walked over to the side,

and handed over the piece of inkstone that Hai Chaojie had taken a liking to earlier.

Chai Chai Zhengzheng took it from Miss Yun Mu's hands and examined it together with Gu Gu Tingyi for a few moments, but they could not discern any pattern within it,

so she said:

"We had better go and consult those young masters!"

"Yes."

The steward approached Hai Chaojie, smiled, and spoke a few words.

Hai Chaojie said nothing in response; after requesting paper and brush and drawing for a while, he called out to Shen Herui and Xu Xu Zaijing:

"Come, take a look and see how this is!"

Xu Xu Zaijing took the drawing, looked at it, and said, "Great minds think alike."

Shen Herui, standing beside him, also nodded.

This conversation drew the attention of the others; after passing the drawing around to examine it, Qi Heng held the paper and said:

"Hiss, with carving like this, I'm afraid not even a thousand guan could buy it."

After speaking, Qi Heng handed the drawing to that steward,

who had not yet had a chance to look at it; upon receiving it, his eyes widened,

for on the paper were depicted seven stars positioned exactly where the stone eyes lay on the inkstone,

along with a figure standing atop an ao fish, a brush pointing directly into the inkstone's grinding pool, and a finger indicating the fourth of the seven stars,

while the stone eyes scattered irregularly around those seven stars had become the eyes of that figure and the ao fish.

The steward looked at the drawing, then at the inkstone, and struck his forehead in vexation.

This inkstone, so perfectly natural and imbued with the auspicious meaning of 'Kui Star Pointing to the Dipper, Solely Occupying the Ao Head,' must be worth an astronomical price!

Trembling violently, he passed the drawing to Yun Mu before collapsing onto the ground,

while after finishing the drawing, Chai Chai Zhengzheng lifted her head to look at Xu Xu Zaijing.

But she heard Xu Xu Zaijing say to Hai Chaojie: "The auspicious meaning is excellent, but you must still strive hard in your studies, otherwise it will be useless!"

Writer's block is too painful!

Posting first, editing later.

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Bowing again!

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No more updates tonight.

Goodnight, everyone,

if there are any typos or awkward passages, please do not hesitate to point them out, esteemed readers!

(`) Heart fingers.

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(End of Chapter)