Chapter 196

Seeing Xi Yan leading the crowd about to leave, Hu Xiaotian called from behind: "Miss, wait!"

Xi Yan turned, her beautiful face showing an innocent, pure expression that made one unwilling to blame her.

Hu Xiaotian said: "The IOU is yours, whether to transfer it is your matter, but you littered paper scraps, which is wrong; according to Qingyun Xian's regulations, littering incurs a fine."

Xi Yan frowned slightly, her beautiful eyes veiled in a faint mist: "You want to fine me?" She thought she had misheard.

Hu Xiaotian nodded, speaking earnestly: "It's not me wanting to fine you, but the law requires it—fifty wen."

Xi Yan laughed hehe, her laughter making flowers tremble, dazzling the hall's guests; no one expected that Prince Long Yefang's two thousand taels of silver couldn't elicit a smile from her, yet Hu Xiaotian's fine of fifty copper coins made her happy to this extent, and observant people noticed her laughter seemed abnormal.

Xi Yan nodded and asked: "If killing a person, what would the fine be?"

The atmosphere on the scene suddenly turned eerie.

Immediately, guards surrounded Prince Long Yefang, as everyone felt an invisible, chilling killing intent silently spreading through the hall, which actually came from Xi Yan's body. Hu Xiaotian calmly said: "A life for a life, debts must be repaid—this has always been the principle."

The killing intent on Xi Yan vanished instantly, and her face suddenly regained its bewitching, alluring smile; the rapid change left people unable to react, and she said in a sweet voice: "I'll remember your words—don't forget what you owe me!"

Hu Xiaotian thought, "It's just one thousand taels of silver? With my current wealth as an official, it's nothing; worst case, I'll pay with my flesh." Looking at Xi Yan, the pretty girl, he really found her somewhat stirring, though this little lass had an indescribable sinister aura about her. Hu Xiaotian didn't know why he felt this way.

Prince Long Yefang came over accompanied by two guards: "Miss, why leave midway? Everyone came for charity. Having come, settle in; having started good, should finish good. Do you agree?" His attitude was amiable and refined. Hu Xiaotian stepped aside, coldly observing, smiling on the face, but he clearly saw the prince's true intention— I say, it's just to pick up girls; why bother with high-sounding words?

Hu Xiaotian said: "Your Highness Prince is right. Charity knows no order; love regardless of size, the miss hosting a personal event is also good."

Xi Yan glanced at him: "I haven't seen Sir Hu donate any treasure. As Qingyun Xian's parent-official, Sir Hu should lead by example." The actual county magistrate Xu Qinglian nearby had long been ignored; this guy seethed, thinking, "Parent-official? I am the one!" He could only think that; reality is harsh—tonight he is destined to be ignored, the protagonist's halo completely stripped away by Hu Xiaotian, not even a supporting role falls to him. He literally became an unnoticed extra.

Hu Xiaotian thought: "I don't have much gold or silver to donate, but I have endless essence to donate—want some?" Thinking such words is fine; in public, one cannot say such things anyway. He smiled and said: "What I donate can be said to be unparalleled in the world; only I have it."

Hu Xiaotian's words were extremely lewd; the watching women all blushed, most of them having lewd thoughts.

Hu Xiaotian basically wanted to lead everyone astray; he smiled at Xi Yan and said: "But I can't produce it now; I still need the miss's cooperation."

All the males on scene widened their eyes, many already gaping—I say. Can you be any more shameless? Prince Long Yefang's attention also shifted to Hu Xiaotian's face; that bastard's gall is huge! Flirting with a beauty in front of me? Can't you see I'm interested in this lass?

Xi Yan's expression remained calm as usual; she smiled lightly: "I don't know what Sir Hu wants me to cooperate with."

Hu Xiaotian pointed to the second floor and said: "There are too many people here; let's go to a private room to talk."

Xi Yan frowned slightly, but without hesitation she lightly stepped toward the second floor; Hu Xiaotian followed with steady steps, not forgetting to tell Shopkeeper Hu: "I'll be right back; I'll leave the charity auction here to you to host for now." Of course, he didn't bother to greet Prince Long Yefang.

Prince Long Yefang felt both envy and a hint of jealousy—how could Hu Xiaotian not be inferior to me? Why would that beauty favor him? Many men pondered it as unparalleled in the world, only I have it, still need the miss's cooperation; at first hearing it's not strange, but when connected, few works critique, this flavor immediately came out.

Xi Yan and Hu Xiaotian entered the second-floor private room one after another, and the door was closed from inside.

Although the charity auction in the hall continued, everyone's minds wandered; many looked up at the upstairs, a man and woman alone in a room—what exactly are they doing in there?

After waiting a while, people grew impatient; someone shouted: "Is Sir Hu done yet?"

Not long after, Hu Xiaotian's voice came from inside: "Soon, I'll be out soon!"

The hall fell silent, then a burst of laughter rose.

Prince Long Yefang's expression now looked somewhat embarrassed; he had repeatedly shown favor to Xi Yan, only to be coldly treated—unexpectedly, Hu Xiaotian's single sentence made that beauty obediently accompany him into the room; logically they shouldn't have any trouble. Even if Hu Xiaotian were outrageous, he wouldn't do anything outrageous in public.

Zhang Ziqian was also uneasy; he had long heard that the future son-in-law was dissolute and unrestrained, his reputation in the capital poor, and because of this the Hu family had specially sent someone to Xizhou to explain. Li Tianheng's attitude was "the innocent will clear themselves"; actually the Li family didn't know this Hu family young master either, their marriage alliance being purely political necessity. Li Tianheng seemed not to value this marriage on the surface, but deep down he doted on his daughter, so he sent Zhang Ziqian to create a chance encounter when Hu Xiaotian first took office, to test him. Zhang Ziqian's impression of Hu Xiaotian was still good; this young man, besides lacking the extravagant arrogance typical of officials' offspring, was quite talented, as seen from that couplet. However, Zhang Ziqian also understood that a single encounter cannot fully know a person, and during this time he also came to understand Hu Xiaotian's character from all aspects.

Today's affairs seem rather absurd, not to mention him and Xi Yan, a lone man and woman, sharing a room; since it's clear Prince Long Yefang has designs on Xi Yan, why make such a demand in front of everyone? Don't they realize that the more one is a royal offspring, the more they cherish their reputation? If this is mishandled, ten to* will offend Prince Long Yefang. Although Prince Long Yefang is a title without substance, he is after all the Emperor's son; offending him could bring no benefit.

Song the shopkeeper's influence obviously cannot compare to Hu Xiaotian's; after taking over the charity auction, there have been no exciting scenes—several items sold at the reserve price, and many even fell into the embarrassing situation of receiving no bids, naturally resulting in failed auctions.

Everyone's attention was focused on the man and woman who entered the private room.

The door of the private room finally opened, and Xi Yan stepped out first, her pretty face bearing two touches of crimson, making her look even more charming and exquisite; the earlier icy killing intent between her brows had vanished, replaced by a faint joy and shyness.

Hu Xiaotian followed suit, and as he stepped out he habitually tugged at his sash; someone in the hall shouted, 'He's out, Sir Hu is out!'

Someone else whispered, 'How could it take so long?'…

Hu Xiaotian cursed silently, 'It's been less than fifteen minutes total—this counts as long? These bastards wish I'd come out in three seconds, staying with a beauty; of course the time flies!'

Seeing Xi Yan's delighted expression, Prince Long Yefang felt curious as well—what exactly had Hu Xiaotian done in the room to make her so happy? This kid really has a way with women.

Hu Xiaotian saw their expressions and knew they were thinking nothing good; he silently cursed them for having petty minds, judging a gentleman by their own base standards.

Few noticed that Hu Xiaotian still held a sheet of paper in his hand; he stepped onto the stage, cleared his throat, and said, 'The next item up for auction is a portrait I collaborated on with this young lady.'

Song the shopkeeper came up to assist Hu Xiaotian in unfolding it; this was a sketch Hu Xiaotian had improvised with a charcoal stick. If placed in modern times, the drawing would be nice but not earth‑shaking; yet in this era, when nobody even had a concept of sketching techniques, its appearance could truly be described as shocking heaven and earth, moving spirits to tears.

No one would have thought a person could render a figure so complete in form and spirit, lifelike. Xi Yan's pretty face leapt onto the paper like a reflection in a bronze mirror; what is even more astonishing is that, using only black and white, it conveys a sense of light and shadow, making the portrait on the paper feel three‑dimensional.

Zhang Ziqian, considering himself well‑travelled and knowledgeable, had never seen such a technique; excited, he sprang to his feet and almost ran to the portrait, reaching out to touch it, but Hu Xiaotian stopped him: 'Don't touch!'

Zhang Ziqian's old face flushed; this brat's words were vague—he was stunned by the painting skill, he merely wanted to examine the paper's material, what it was made of, not to touch the young lady's face.

Hu Xiaotian didn't suspect Zhang Ziqian of ill intent; he merely worried that the old man's hand would smudge the drawing—charcoal smears at the slightest touch.

Only then did Prince Long Yefang realize the two had been shut in the room to paint; his mind instantly eased, recalling his own earlier suspicions, he felt a bit embarrassed and exclaimed, 'Excellent painting, excellent painting, marvelous brushwork bringing flowers to life, lifelike, splendidly beautiful, the painting is beautiful, the person even more so!'

Everyone echoed in unison, fearful of falling behind in their flattery.