If he had not said anything, it would have been fine. But the moment he spoke, Yue Chenqing became both angry and anxious, as if someone had fiercely stabbed at a painful spot in his heart. He shouted:
“That’s not true! My Fourth Uncle treats me especially well! No matter what attitude he has toward me, I respect him! It’s not your place to say anything!”
“I didn’t mean that…” Jiang Yexue saw that his face and neck had turned red from anger and was at a loss for what to do. “I only…”
“What do you only mean?! If it weren’t for meeting you, my Fourth Uncle would never have left! He originally promised to teach me how to choose spirit stones today! It’s all because of you! You made him leave!!”
Yue Chenqing was clearly very resistant toward Jiang Yexue. After shouting, he turned his face away, crossed his arms over his chest, and refused to look at him anymore.
Jiang Yexue was undoubtedly hurt by his attitude. He gave a somewhat forced smile, but still tried his best to ease their relationship.
“You’ve already started learning how to judge the quality of spirit stones?”
“Hmph!”
“This is very difficult. It truly requires careful guidance. If you are willing, I can also…”
Yue Chenqing smacked his lips and said:
“You can’t. I don’t want you to teach me. You can’t even compare with my Fourth Uncle!”
Jiang Yexue fell silent.
He lowered his eyelashes and, after a long while, said softly:
“You’re right. I truly cannot be compared with Chu Yi…”
“…Hmph!”
Jiang Yexue lowered his voice.
“Sorry.”
Yue Chenqing was not a bad-hearted person. In a moment of anger, he had spoken without thinking. After venting with a string of complaints, he had gradually calmed down.
Hearing the damp sadness in Jiang Yexue’s voice, Yue Chenqing probably felt that his words had been too harsh. He secretly glanced at Jiang Yexue, but because he still felt uncomfortable toward him, he quickly turned his gaze away again.
Just as the atmosphere had become awkward, the shopkeeper came out from the inner hall carrying two jars of pine oil.
The Yue family was a major customer of this general goods shop. He had no time to deal with Jiang Yexue first, so he hurried toward Yue Chenqing with a flattering smile.
“Oh! Young Master Yue! What an honored guest, what an honored guest! Come, come, please sit first. The things your household ordered arrived long ago. Please wait a moment, I’ll have someone bring them out for you—”
Yue Chenqing happened to find an excuse to escape the situation. He no longer needed to deal with Jiang Yexue, so he walked over to the counter, took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, cleared his throat, and said:
“We need to add these few things as well. They’re things my father and my Fourth Uncle usually need. Send them to my house together.”
“Of course, of course.”
The shopkeeper loved customers who added more goods at the last moment. He immediately accepted the paper and smiled as he scanned the list.
But suddenly, his smile froze.
Yue Chenqing leaned against the counter in a comfortable position and asked:
“What’s wrong? Are you out of stock again?”
“This…”
“Why have you been out of stock so often recently?” Yue Chenqing frowned unhappily. “Every time, you can’t prepare everything at once. My Fourth Uncle always thinks I’m useless because of it. Last time, he was already unhappy. If you’re missing something again today, then he…”
Just thinking about it made his hair stand on end.
Yue Chenqing shivered and said:
“I’ll just go to another shop.”
The shopkeeper immediately panicked.
“Ah, no! Young Master, you misunderstood! It’s only that a few items need to be checked again. Please sit. Everything you need here can be prepared.”
As he spoke, he turned his head.
“Ah Du, come here for a moment.”
The shop assistant hurried over. The shopkeeper pulled him aside and whispered to him for a while. When they returned, the shopkeeper’s face was once again filled with a warm and friendly smile.
“Young Master Yue, please come to the back courtyard first. Take a look and see if the goods satisfy you. I’ll have everything packed and sent to your residence as soon as possible.”
This was exactly what Yue Chenqing wanted—an excuse not to stay with Jiang Yexue.
Without another word, he followed the shopkeeper into the back courtyard. Once the warm curtain dropped, his figure disappeared.
This was someone else’s family matter, so Mo Xi did not interfere.
Jiang Yexue stood quietly in the corner with lowered lashes. His thin and weak figure was easy to overlook. He tried his best to appear calm and composed, but the embarrassment and sadness on his face could not be hidden no matter how much effort he made.
The shopkeeper had followed Yue Chenqing away. The assistant Ah Du came out from the inner hall carrying two jars of oil and handed them to Jiang Yexue.
“Elder Qingxu, I’m truly sorry for making you wait so long. Two jars of tung oil. Please take them.”
Jiang Yexue froze.
“What?”
“Two jars of tung oil. Your oil. Please take them.”
Jiang Yexue said:
“But I asked for pine oil…”
The “surprise” on Ah Du’s face was so obviously fake that it could only be called clumsy.
He was probably not someone skilled at lying. Halfway through his sentence, his face had already turned red.
“Is… is that so? The shopkeeper clearly said tung oil just now. Could it be that I heard incorrectly?”
Jiang Yexue did not understand what was happening.
“Then please go change it again.”
Ah Du looked troubled.
“Ah… you need pine oil? The pine oil has already completely sold out today. Perhaps you could come another day…”
“How many times are you going to make him run back and forth with those legs?”
A cold voice suddenly interrupted him.
Mo Xi walked over from behind, his expression displeased as he stared at Ah Du.
“C-Canghe Jun…”
Mo Xi’s gaze was sharp and cold.
“Tell me. Did you truly hear incorrectly? Or did the Yue residence happen to need pine oil as well, so you changed the order and sold it to them instead?”
“…”
The shop assistant did not dare lie to Mo Xi. His face grew redder and redder, but he could not say a word.
At this point, how could Jiang Yexue not understand?
He let out a quiet sigh and said to Mo Xi:
“Forget it. My shop is close by anyway. I’ll let Chenqing have it so he doesn’t have to run around anymore. The weather is cold, and it isn’t easy for him to make this trip. Besides, I know Chu Yi’s temper…”
Gu Mang, who had been standing nearby looking left and right, then touched the slave collar around his neck as if he were thinking about something.
It seemed he had decided that Jiang Yexue was a good person who had helped give him his “necklace.”
Suddenly, he flashed forward and ran toward the back courtyard like a shadow.
Before anyone could stop him, he dragged Yue Chenqing out.
Yue Chenqing was pulled by the collar of his fur robe. His small face turned red as he coughed repeatedly.
“Hey—cough, cough! What are you doing?! You little turtle, let go of me!”
Gu Mang dragged him all the way in front of Jiang Yexue before finally releasing him.
Yue Chenqing rubbed his neck, looking annoyed.
“Why did you do that…?”
Gu Mang copied what he had learned and said:
“Need pine oil.”
“You need pine oil?”
Gu Mang pointed at the awkward-looking Jiang Yexue.
“He needs it. I don’t.”
Yue Chenqing had no choice but to look up at Jiang Yexue.
But after only one glance, he turned his gaze away again and muttered:
“No. That’s something my Fourth Uncle needs…”
Gu Mang said:
“He came first.”
“…”
“Customers who arrive first go first.”
The shopkeeper also hurried out. When he saw the situation, he immediately became flustered.
He forced a smile and stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say.
At this moment, Yue Chenqing finally understood what had happened.
He was not an unreasonable person. He immediately turned around and glared at the shopkeeper with wide eyes.
“Shopkeeper, you wouldn’t do something like this, would you? Did you already promise to sell the pine oil to him, but then you were afraid I would leave if there wasn’t enough stock, so you changed your mind?”
The shopkeeper hurriedly said:
“N-no, that’s not it. I just heard incorrectly…”
Seeing his panic, Yue Chenqing understood even more clearly.
He shouted angrily:
“You’re still lying! You big bad dog!”
Jiang Yexue disliked causing trouble. He shook his head and said:
“It’s fine. I’m not in a hurry to use it anyway. Young Master Yue… keep the goods. I’ll take my leave first.”
After saying that, he supported himself with his cane, lowered his head, and slowly walked toward the exit.
After making Jiang Yexue suffer so many grievances one after another, Yue Chenqing’s conscience finally began to trouble him.
He stood there frozen for a moment, his expression unpleasant. Seeing that Jiang Yexue was about to push open the door and leave, he could not help but call out:
“Hey!”
The moment he shouted, Yue Chenqing already regretted it.
Damn it.
His father, uncles, and Fourth Uncle all disliked this person. If they found out he had spoken so much with him, wouldn’t they tear him apart?
But Jiang Yexue had already stopped.
Yue Chenqing could only force himself to speak.
“…That… that person… you… what are you going to use this pine oil for?”
“To make some talismans.”
“Oh…”
Yue Chenqing turned his face slightly.
After a moment, unable to suppress his curiosity, he hesitated before asking:
“Then… before, when Li Qingqian caused trouble, the Vajra Unbreakable Talismans in the city… were those the ones you gave to those poor people?”
Jiang Yexue did not answer.
Yue Chenqing felt rather awkward and glanced at him again.
Jiang Chenxue sighed and said:
“The weather is cold. Don’t run around everywhere anymore. Finish ordering your things and go home early. Don’t make your Fourth Uncle angry again.”
After saying this, he lifted the curtain and left the shop.
Only Yue Chenqing remained standing there in a daze.
Meeting Mo Xi’s gaze, Yue Chenqing looked wronged and confused.
“Canghe Jun, I…”
The matters of the Yue family were not something he could interfere in. Mo Xi did not say much.
He only shook his head and left together with Jiang Yexue.
They accompanied Jiang Yexue back to his refining shop.
By the time they said their farewells, it was already close to evening.
While walking on the road, Gu Mang suddenly asked:
“Mo Xi, that Jiang Yexue… why did he give the oil to White Bird?”
“White Bird?”
“Just the one… who said I was a little turtle.”
Mo Xi finally understood.
Gu Mang was talking about Yue Chenqing.
Yue Chenqing wore a thick white fur robe, and the collar was lined with a circle of fluffy fur, so Gu Mang had called him “White Bird.”
Mo Xi explained:
“Because Jiang Yexue is his older brother.”
“If he is his older brother, does he have to give things to him?”
Mo Xi was silent for a moment before saying:
“No. It is because he considers him important in his heart, so he is willing to give things to him.”
“Like the senior brother who gave you roast goose?”
Mo Xi’s heart moved.
“…You think that senior brother considered me important?”
Gu Mang thought carefully and replied:
“Roast goose tastes good. He gave it to you. You are important.”
Mo Xi looked at him strangely and did not answer.
After a while, he asked:
“Then the person who gave you the sachet before… do you think he is important to you?”
Without hesitation, Gu Mang said:
“Important.”
Mo Xi’s face instantly darkened.
He gritted his teeth.
“You think he is important, but he may not even think highly of you. Otherwise, I have taken you in for so long—how come I’ve never seen anyone in the royal city care about you?”
Gu Mang lowered his head and said nothing.
Mo Xi felt hurt by the words himself, so he retaliated by stabbing at the person who had wounded him.
“You’re just being sentimental. A single sachet was enough to fool you. If that person truly thought you were important, he should have come looking for you. You fell into danger several times—he should have come to save you. Did he come?”
Gu Mang answered quietly:
“No.”
“If he didn’t come, why do you still stubbornly think he is important?”
“Mm… important.”
Mo Xi was silent for a moment.
Then, almost with resentment, he gave a cold laugh.
“How interesting. Who exactly is this great hero? Why don’t you introduce me to him?”
This time, Gu Mang only shook his head sadly.
He lowered his eyes and stopped arguing.
He looked somewhat hurt.
The two of them had an unpleasant exchange and no longer spoke.
They walked side by side in silence for a while.
When they were almost reaching the crowded market district, Mo Xi finally spoke to him again.
“There are many people here. Put on your cloak.”
Gu Mang obediently did so.
As they walked along the road, Mo Xi was still thinking about what Gu Mang had said earlier. His emotions were restless and unsettled.
When they passed by a tea stall, he went over, bought a bowl of cold tea, and stood there drinking.
Gradually, the sounds around them grew louder.
“Ah, look! It’s Canghe Jun…”
“My husband, sob…”
“Don’t say that! He’s obviously my husband!”
Although Mo Xi was in the royal city of Chonghua, he was not someone who stayed indoors all day and never showed his face. However, whenever passing women saw him, they still could not help but turn their heads.
Mo Xi was born with an exceptionally handsome and enduring appearance.
Especially his lips.
Although they were thin and pale, the shape of them was extremely attractive. They had the kind of perfect color and form that made people stare until they unconsciously wanted to kiss them.
Unfortunately, despite having such tempting lips, his eyes carried the coldness of snow that had accumulated for years.
Whenever he looked at anyone, his expression was always filled with impatience, giving off an untouchable, restrained aura.
Yet even so, it could not extinguish the admiration in the women’s eyes.
And at some unknown point, a saying had begun circulating in Chonghua:
Everyone said that Canghe Jun appeared aloof and cold, but when one looked at his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs, then looked at the fierce decisiveness he displayed whenever his temper erupted…
Tsk, tsk.
One could already imagine what he would be like in bed—enough to make someone feel as if they had ascended to heaven and descended into hell.
For example, at this moment, the second floor of a nearby brothel had gathered a group of beautiful women dressed in colorful clothes.
They would only receive guests at night. During the day, they were idle, so they were sitting beneath the second-floor corridor eating snacks and chatting.
When they saw Mo Xi, they naturally could not avoid whispering among themselves.
“I can guarantee that once this man gets into bed, he won’t be some gentle and polite type.”
The brothel madam cracked sunflower seeds and waved her fan as she made this judgment.
The girls gathered around her immediately burst into giggles.
One young woman said sweetly:
“Godmother, you’re just making things up. Canghe Jun keeps himself pure and has never entered places of pleasure. How would you know what he’s like in bed?”
“Cut it out. You girls are too young and haven’t seen enough people.”
The madam tapped the girls around her jokingly.
“I may not be good at anything else, but my eyes for judging men are extremely sharp.”
She pointed her fan toward Mo Xi’s distant figure.
“If you ever had the chance to sleep with him, I’m afraid he’d leave you missing half your life.”
The women who lived surrounded by the world of pleasure instead laughed even more happily.
“Godmother, I’d love to be made so lost in pleasure by him.”
“You girls only know how to talk big.”
The madam rolled her eyes and used her fan to gesture toward Mo Xi.
“Look at his legs, his shoulders, his back, his waist. Do you think he’s some sickly-looking Wangshu Jun? If you really got into bed with him, you’d be crying so hard you couldn’t even catch your breath!”
“Giggle, that’s still better than those men who finish after only a few moves.”
The more they spoke, the more vulgar their words became.
Yet against those delicate, flower-like faces, there was an indescribable sense of sadness and helplessness.
They all knew—
A good man would never sleep on their beds.
No matter how much tenderness and sincerity they carried in their hearts, they could only offer those feelings to the old men, ugly men, and endlessly lustful men who came to seek their services.
In the end, they would still be hated by those men’s wives and looked down upon by respectable girls from good families.
The laughter gradually faded into loneliness.
One girl looked at Mo Xi’s back from afar and softly sighed.
“Ah…”
She said nothing else, but the sisters around her gradually fell silent as well.
In this world, a charming and handsome man was not tempting enough.
A cold and handsome man was not attractive enough.
But a man like Mo Xi—
A man with passion and a strong personality, yet still proper and restrained, cold and distant—
That was the kind of man who truly made women’s hearts ache with longing.
But who did his heart belong to?
“I really envy Princess Mengze.”
Suddenly, a singing girl covered her lips with her fan and whispered.
“Who in all of Chonghua doesn’t envy Princess Mengze?”
Another woman beside her curled her lips.
“Being born beautiful really is fortunate. Other people liking her would already be enough, but I heard Canghe Jun also refuses to marry anyone except her. Once she recovers her health, he plans to marry her. Ah, it truly makes others jealous.”
“Wait, wait, who else likes her? Tell me.”
“All those young noblemen like her. What about Jinyun Jun, Fengya Jun, Wangshu Jun…”
“Pfft. How could Wangshu Jun possibly like her? He only loves himself.”
“I heard that Gu Mang also liked her before.”
“…That must be nonsense. Gu Mang likes everyone. He has no sense of commitment.”
However, when Gu Mang’s name was mentioned, the women still became somewhat excited.
A pretty young girl asked:
“Speaking of which, Godmother, I heard from others that when you followed the army before, Gu Mang always came looking for you.”
The girls burst into laughter again.
Their godmother had once been one of Chonghua’s most famous courtesans.
Her personality was sharp and fiery, and people called her “Little Pepper.”
Now she was only in her early thirties, and even when she glared angrily, she still carried the charm of that former “Little Pepper.”
“Stop teasing me. Why are you bringing me up?”
“We’re curious! Godmother, teach us some techniques.”
“That’s right. It must have been because Godmother had such charming methods that Marshal Gu liked you.”
The madam rolled her eyes.
“Gu Mang? Don’t mention him. That flirt who changed companions every three days—what’s there to talk about?”
She paused, then added:
“If he hadn’t fallen out with His Majesty, if he hadn’t become a traitor, if he were still that famous Marshal Gu from back then, I guarantee he could have played with every single one of you.”
Thinking about it, she clicked her tongue.
“He really was a romantic at heart.”
But they did not know—
The “romantic” person their godmother spoke of was precisely the man standing beside Mo Xi at that very moment, obediently wearing a cloak.
Gu Mang watched as Mo Xi finished his third bowl of cold tea and asked:
“Are you still thirsty?”
Mo Xi glanced at him coldly.
“What are you doing?”
Gu Mang said:
“It’s evening. Time to eat.”
Mo Xi was still upset.
“Go find that person who gave you the sachet.”
Gu Mang stubbornly said:
“Find you.”
Mo Xi became even more irritated.
“…You call me whenever you want and dismiss me whenever you want. Do you think I’m your servant?”
Unexpectedly, Gu Mang pointed at himself and said:
“I am the slave. You are the master.”
“…”
“But you are not my master.”
A hint of confusion appeared between his brows.
“Jiang Yexue said the back should have a name carved on it. You said there was no need to carve a name on the back. Why?”
Mo Xi gritted his teeth.
“Because I don’t want you.”
Gu Mang froze again.
His eyes became confused.
He repeated:
“You don’t want me. Other people don’t want me either. Gu Mang has nobody who wants him…”
“No one wants Gu Mang?”
“Yes.”
Although Mo Xi had intended to hurt him, to belittle him, he did not understand why the person who became increasingly uncomfortable was himself.
He returned the tea bowl to the stall owner.
“No one wants you. Let’s go.”
“Where?”
Mo Xi replied irritably:
“Weren’t you hungry? I’ll take you to eat.”