A finely dressed young nobleman leaned out of the carriage window, resting one hand on the sill as he gazed at her with a half-smile.
From about thirty paces away, he called out loudly, “Hey, Fourteen! Have you decided to marry me yet?”
His intimate tone suggested they shared some secret relationship.
Had he not suddenly appeared, An Jiu would have almost forgotten such a person existed! What puzzled her most was how this fop recognized her in male attire, with a low-brimmed hat nearly concealing her entire face. Could it be that her stalker wasn’t Wei Yuzhi’s subordinate, but someone sent by Hua Rongjian?
Passersby, recognizing Young Master Hua, began to stop and stare in An Jiu’s direction, quickly forming a crowd of onlookers.
Hua Rongjian alighted from his carriage and walked towards her under the public gaze. He appeared slightly tanner than a few months ago, dressed in a deep blue brocade robe with subtle patterns and a black fox fur coat. The somber colors made him look more mature, yet his irritatingly flirtatious manner seemed to have only intensified.
An Jiu felt an urge to give him a sound thrashing.
“Tsk, tsk, how did you end up in such a disheveled state?” Hua Rongjian asked with a grin, clearly delighting in her misfortune. After a pause, as if recalling something, he added with feigned sympathy, “I heard your family met with misfortune.”
“Indeed, we did!” An Jiu retorted expressionlessly, immediately pinning the blame on him. “Could it be that you, having failed in your marriage proposal, took revenge in secret out of shame and anger?”
Given Hua Rongjian’s countless misdeeds, those who heard this couldn’t help but grow suspicious.
“Would I stoop so low over such a trivial matter? If I were to ask the Mei family for you, how could they refuse?” As he spoke, he walked over to hold An Jiu’s horse, vowing earnestly, “I would never do anything to anger a beauty.”
“Is that so? Then who was that scoundrel who fought me without provocation?” An Jiu sneered.
However, An Jiu had underestimated Hua Rongjian’s shamelessness. He looked up at her with a surprised expression, declaring indignantly, “My goodness, what a scoundrel indeed! Tell me who it was, and I’ll teach him a lesson for you.”
The news that Young Master Hua was personally acting as a horseboy for a woman spread like wildfire down the entire street. In no time, quite a crowd of curious onlookers had gathered.
An Jiu, unaccustomed to such attention, felt tense. Suddenly, she could no longer sense the presence of her stalker.
“Get lost!” An Jiu yanked back the reins and sped up, leaving Hua Rongjian behind.
“Hey!” Hua Rongjian turned to his servant. “Untie the horse, quick!”
“Young Master, aren’t we going to Ruiyun Pavilion?” the servant asked.
Hua Rongjian snapped irritably, “Which is more important, a wild woman or a wife? Use your brain!”
Seeing his anger, the servant hurried to untie the horse from the carriage. Hua Rongjian, not waiting for a saddle, leaped onto the horse and galloped after An Jiu.
An Jiu found an inn, paid for a room, and had a servant take her horse. She entered the room, locked the door from the inside, then climbed out through the back window.
Hua Rongjian followed her to the inn and knocked on the door for a while. Receiving no response, he kicked it open.
The luggage was still inside. Hua Rongjian untied the bundle and rummaged through it carelessly. “Such worthless junk, and she still bothers to carry it around!”
When leaving, An Jiu had only taken the token given by Chu Dingjiang, some silver, and a dagger she always kept on her person. These were the only valuable items she possessed. The rest – clothes, cloak, and hat – were left at the inn.
Hua Rongjian circled the room, noticing that all windows were closed except one, which was unlatched. “She escaped right under my nose!”
He pushed open the window and climbed out.
Outside, the bright sunlight shone down as Hua Rongjian noisily trampled across the roof tiles, drawing attention to himself.
If a young nobleman from a prestigious family took a liking to a suitable young lady, he would typically proceed discreetly, quietly sending people to discuss the marriage. Only after reaching an agreement would the matter be made public. However, Hua Rongjian not only lacked discretion but also had a talent for stirring up a citywide commotion.
Two hours later, half of Bianjing knew that the Hua family’s second young master had finally set his mind on marriage, and rumors spread that the woman he fancied was a tigress.
Upon hearing this news, Old Madam Hua wept with joy.
At that time, the trend of keeping courtesans was quite popular among scholars and didn’t carry much shame. Hua Rongjian’s fondness for dalliances was a minor issue, but he also kept a male companion in a brothel, leading to unsavory rumors. There had been cases in Bianjing of young noblemen falling in love with other men, and when their families intervened, they committed suicide together. Old Madam Hua had always been terrified of such an outcome. Now that her son seemed to have changed his ways, how could she not be excited? She would gladly welcome the bride into their home, even if she were a tigress or a demoness.
An Jiu, however, remained oblivious to all of this.
She found her way to the government office, intending to enter using Chu Dingjiang’s token, when she suddenly heard a commotion.
“Ha! There’s no one in all of Bianjing that I, Hua the Second, can’t find,” Hua Rongjian shouted from afar. “Mei Fourteen, stop running! Let’s have a proper talk!”
People on the street stopped to watch.
Previously, An Jiu’s spiritual sense couldn’t detect Hua Rongjian’s inner power, but now she could discern that he was only at the fourth level.
This was considered quite skilled among young noblemen, but An Jiu, accustomed to seeing those at the eighth, ninth, or even transcendent levels, thought him truly incompetent.
Hua Rongjian leaped down from the rooftop. “I have something to discuss with you.”
An Jiu was used to hiding in the shadows, to being invisible. But Hua Rongjian, whether intentionally or not, always seemed to expose her to public scrutiny, leaving her at a loss.
“Come with me,” Hua Rongjian said, unusually serious.
“Fine,” An Jiu agreed curtly, tucking the token into her clothes.
An Jiu had planned to follow him to a secluded spot and knock him unconscious, but after walking for a while, she realized her mistake. Following such a high-profile person meant there was no such thing as seclusion. She could only lower her hat to conceal her face.
Boarding Hua Rongjian’s carriage, An Jiu’s powerful spiritual sense could still feel countless gazes upon them.
Hua Rongjian poured a cup of water and handed it to her. “To calm your nerves.”
An Jiu lowered her eyes. His long, clean fingers held a Jun porcelain teacup. A sliver of light from the carriage window fell on the back of his hand, shimmering slightly with the carriage’s movement and refracting brilliantly in the tea.
An Jiu averted her gaze, ignoring him.
“Still angry, are you? I’ve been thinking carefully about it lately,” Hua Rongjian said sincerely. “I deeply regret and feel terrible about fighting with you.”
His overfamiliarity, as if they had known each other for years despite having met only a few times, made An Jiu extremely uncomfortable.
He sighed, tilting his head back to drain the tea, and confessed with infinite sorrow, “To think that I, Hua Rongjian, unparalleled in elegance and charm, would fight with a woman. Worst of all, I didn’t even win!”
An Jiu’s lip twitched. “If you have nothing important to say, you’d better shut up before I’m forced to take action.”
Hua Rongjian’s sorrow vanished instantly, his eyes curving into a smile. “A gentleman uses words, not fists. Don’t be crude. How about we use our mouths instead…”
Two muffled thuds followed as An Jiu’s fist connected with Hua Rongjian’s face, causing his head to knock against the carriage wall.
“Mei Fourteen! Don’t hit the face!” Hua Rongjian raged. “What if I’m disfigured? Do you know how many ladies would be heartbroken? Aren’t you afraid of divine retribution?”
“Are you selling your smile or your body that you need a pretty face to win people over?” An Jiu scoffed.