Hearing the sound, Ji Yinshu withdrew her gaze from the eaves, stood up, and walked toward the front courtyard. Just as she entered the front hall, she saw that seven men and women had somehow entered the pavilion in the outer courtyard.

Among them were three women and four men!

An elderly man stood at the outermost edge. A black beard hung from his mouth, and he appeared to be around fifty years old. His body was still quite robust, though his clothes were half-soaked through. While folding up his umbrella and placing it aside, he raised his wet sleeve to wipe the raindrops from his forehead. Turning to look at the overcast sky where rain was falling, he said with furrowed brows, “We were just about to reach Yanjing City, but it had to rain at this moment. Truly, misfortunes never come singly.”

He sighed in lamentation!

Beside him, several young fellows were organizing the belongings they had moved into the pavilion.

Among the three women, one sat on a stone stool wearing a long purple dress with a white cloak draped over her body. Her long hair flowed freely, and simple yet very beautiful ornaments adorned her head—especially that phoenix silver hairpin, elegant yet precious, very eye-catching. The woman wore a thin veil over her face. Though her exact features couldn’t be discerned, her brows revealed an extraordinary temperament—noble and magnificent, gentle as water…

Such a woman must surely be stunningly beautiful.

Sitting beside the woman was a pretty young girl. The girl wore red clothing, dressed neat and clean, appearing to be only seven or eight years old. Perhaps because she was hungry, she was currently gnawing on a steamed bun. But being cold, hard provisions after all, after taking a bite, it seemed difficult to swallow. She chewed in her mouth for a long while without swallowing.

Another woman in blue was probably a maid, currently wiping the rainwater from the veiled woman’s body with careful movements.

Ji Yinshu observed them inside and out.

Those people appeared hurried, and they carried packs on their backs—clearly outsiders passing through this area. They had apparently encountered the heavy rain here and had no choice but to stop, accidentally barging in and treating this place as a shelter from the rain.

The two maids caring for Ji Yinshu, A’Yi and A’Jiao, also heard the commotion and hurried over.

“Who are those people? When did they come in?” A’Yi looked confused.

Compared to A’Yi, A’Jiao had a bolder temperament and much more courage. She stepped forward and said, “I’ll go chase them away. How could they just come in without even asking? So completely lacking in manners!”

A’Jiao rolled up her sleeves to go over, but Ji Yinshu stopped her, saying, “Forget it. It’s also a matter of being convenient to others. Don’t be too particular.”

“But…”

“Go have the cook prepare some hot food and bring it over. I see they must have been traveling for quite a while and are surely hungry.”

A’Jiao was shocked. “Miss, aren’t you being too kind? We don’t even know who those people are.”

“Alright, I know what to do. Why aren’t you going to prepare it quickly?”

“Oh.” A’Jiao went reluctantly.

The people in the pavilion noticed someone had come to the hall inside. The middle-aged man immediately took the umbrella from the side, opened it, waded through the puddles of rainwater, and walked to the outside of the hall. With an apologetic expression, he looked at Ji Yinshu standing inside and said, “Miss, I’m truly sorry. We’re heading to Yanjing City, and unfortunately it suddenly started raining heavily. Our carriage outside suddenly won’t move. Seeing there was a place to rest here, we presumptuously barged in. I hope you won’t take offense. If you don’t want us to stay here, we’ll leave immediately.”

His tone and manner of speaking were unlike ordinary common folk. Though his clothing wasn’t too fine, the fabric wasn’t poor either. He was probably a steward or the like from some wealthy household.

Ji Yinshu said with a smile, “It’s alright. You may stay.”

“Thank you so much, miss. We’ll just stay in the pavilion and absolutely won’t come over to disturb you.”

“I see this rain won’t stop anytime soon. Everyone should come into the hall to shelter from the rain. The wind is strong outside and it’s still blowing rain. If you stay like that, you’ll probably catch a cold, and that would be troublesome.” Ji Yinshu kindly invited them inside.

The man already felt somewhat embarrassed for barging in without permission. Not only did the owner of this place not blame them, but she even invited them in to shelter from the rain—they had truly encountered a great benefactor!

But he still felt rather uncomfortable. The man bowed and said, “Miss, you’re truly a living bodhisattva, but there are so many of us—it’s inconvenient to come in. We’re afraid of dirtying your noble premises. We’ll just shelter from the rain in the pavilion. It’s no trouble.”

How could that work!

This rain would only intensify. Added to the wind rising in the forest, it would cause the heavy rain to blow sideways. Even in the pavilion, they couldn’t avoid much rain.

Considering all this, Ji Yinshu said, “Don’t be polite with me. This rain will probably last the entire day. You can’t stay outside the whole time. If something happens, that would be bad! I’ve already instructed people to prepare hot food. Come in and eat a little, more or less. There’s also a stove inside to warm yourselves. Don’t catch cold.”

“This…”

“You men might be fine, but the three young ladies traveling with you have delicate constitutions and probably won’t be able to endure.”

The man’s expression showed worry. He turned to look at the three women in the pavilion, thought for a moment, then cupped his hands and bowed to express his gratitude. “Since it’s like this, then thank you very much, miss.”

“No need. Come inside.”

“Alright.”

The man waded back through the puddles to the pavilion and said something to those people. But because the sound of rain was growing louder and louder, nothing could be heard. However, the veiled woman looked over toward Ji Yinshu.

Their eyes met.

Through the misty drizzle, the woman’s eyes were as clean as a clear spring.

It must also be said that the woman’s eyes were very similar to Ji Yinshu’s eyes!

Soon, those people rustled about tidying up their things, placing them in the corner of the pavilion. Then the seven people walked toward the hall. Everyone wiped the mud and water from the bottoms of their feet outside, shook off the rain from their bodies, and only then came in.

“Wow, this place is so beautiful.” The seven- or eight-year-old little girl looked delightedly at the furnishings in the hall, turning several circles.

“Ning’er, don’t be rude.” The veiled woman pulled her to her side and gently scolded her. Then she looked toward Ji Yinshu, bent slightly, and said, “Thank you, miss, for not blaming us for barging in without permission and for not disdaining our wet condition. Instead, you invited us in to shelter from the rain. Thank you.”

The woman’s voice was very pleasant to hear.

Like the sound of rainwater dripping on pebbles.

Crisp with gentleness.

Ji Yinshu smiled. “No need to be polite. Since you’ve come, you’re guests. Make yourselves comfortable.”

The woman thanked her several more times in succession.

Afterward, Ji Yinshu instructed A’Yi to prepare hot tea for them and brought several dry towels for them to dry the rainwater from their hair. The care was quite thoughtful.

During casual conversation, Ji Yinshu learned that they were from Minnan. The veiled young lady’s surname was Liu, called Liu Yunyan. She was the young miss of a wealthy household in Minnan. The little girl beside her was her biological younger sister, called Liu Yunzhu, only nine years old this year. The middle-aged man was her attendant, Uncle Qiao. This time they had come to Yanjing City to escort Liu Yunyan to participate in the triennial Courtesan Competition. Along this journey, they had rushed against time, and just as they were about to reach Yanjing City, who knew they would encounter heavy rain. The horses also refused to move, so they had no choice but to stop here, thus accidentally barging in.

Ji Yinshu didn’t know that Yanjing City actually had a Courtesan Competition. A’Yi told her some things about this Courtesan Competition.

Who would have thought the Qujiang people were so refined and elegant!

Ji Yinshu saw that the young lady appeared to be a beauty. If she went to compete for the title of courtesan, she had great prospects.

Soon, A’Jiao had two cooks prepare a table full of dishes.

Those people thanked them repeatedly.

This rain fell for a long time and showed no signs of stopping even into the afternoon.

Ji Yinshu naturally carried her good deed through to the end, instructing A’Yi and A’Jiao to clean out several rooms for them to temporarily stay.

They felt truly embarrassed, but the heavy rain outside made it impossible to leave.

Ji Yinshu said, “Even if you set out for Yanjing City now, you wouldn’t make it in time. Though my place isn’t spacious, there are rooms available. You should stay here tonight and leave early tomorrow morning.”

“We never imagined we’d encounter such a good person as you while traveling away from home.” Uncle Qiao said.

“It’s merely a small effort. Besides, there are no inns nearby and no other places to shelter from the rain—only this one place of mine. If I drove you out, what kind of person would I be? Please stay with peace of mind.”

“Thank you.”

A’Yi led them to their rooms.

A’Jiao then said to Ji Yinshu, “Miss Ji, you’re truly such a good person. No wonder the young master treats you so well.”