Jiang Si knew she wasn’t the brightest person, but never had she felt so confused before.

How did this turn into him selling himself to repay a debt? Weren’t they just talking about showing gratitude a moment ago?

The young lady’s bewilderment drew a slight smile to Yu Jin’s lips, though his expression remained serious. “I’m truly ashamed that I have nothing of value except my strength. Why don’t I run errands for Miss Jiang from now on? Miss Jiang can pay whatever fair amount for the errands and record it until it reaches one thousand taels of silver. That will settle the debt.”

Yu Jin’s tone grew particularly earnest: “Please don’t overpay for the errands just because of Second Brother Jiang’s sake. That would defeat my purpose of showing gratitude and make me feel even more indebted.”

Jiang Si’s beautiful eyes widened in surprise.

Selling himself to repay a debt—and not even as a popular entertainer in a pleasure house, but just as an errand boy, insisting on market rates? Was he planning to stick to her for life?

A prince deceives her by claiming poverty just to be her errand boy—his intentions couldn’t be good.

That was exactly how he had pestered and tricked her in her previous life.

This shameless scoundrel!

“Men and women should maintain proper distance. I don’t need anyone to run errands,” Jiang Si said coldly.

“But wasn’t that man who left Tianxiang Teahouse running errands for Miss Jiang?” Yu Jin’s tone carried a hint of grievance.

A man?

After a moment’s thought, Jiang Si understood and grew annoyed. “Has Young Master Yu been following me?”

No wonder it was such a coincidence that Er Niu bit A-Fei’s bottom right after he left the teahouse.

At this thought, Jiang Si’s gaze fell on Er Niu with a complicated expression.

Both times she’d seen Er Niu, it had bitten someone’s bottom. She never knew Er Niu had such a habit.

Remembering how Er Niu used to affectionately lick her palm in her previous life, Jiang Si’s mouth twitched.

This wasn’t a good habit—it needed to change!

Though Er Niu couldn’t know its mistress’s thoughts, it seemed to sense her disapproval and whimpered while wagging its tail vigorously.

Yu Jin stroked the dog’s fluffy head and smiled. “Miss Jiang misunderstands. I was just taking a casual walk with Er Niu, but Er Niu…”

Yu Jin hesitated, unsure whether to continue.

Concerned about Er Niu, Jiang Si couldn’t help asking, “What about Er Niu?”

With her prompting, Yu Jin continued righteously: “Er Niu smelled Miss Jiang’s scent on that man, that’s why it wouldn’t let him leave.”

How infuriating—why would that man carry her scent?

Logic told Yu Jin that judging by the man’s dress and manner, he was likely just a street runner, and Jiang Si’s interaction with him couldn’t have been intimate. The man could only have been an errand boy.

But still, why was he so angry?

The Seventh Prince, nearly exploding with anger, maintained a perfectly calm smile, careful not to let the young lady notice his true feelings.

“What nonsense are you speaking?” Jiang Si’s cheeks flushed, wanting to kick Yu Jin.

“Woof! Woof!” Er Niu barked as if agreeing with its master.

Yu Jin smiled faintly. “That’s why I assumed he must be running errands for Miss Jiang since you had just met at Tianxiang Teahouse.”

“And so?” Jiang Si glanced at him sideways.

Yu Jin’s expression turned serious. “I believe I would be better at running errands than him, and while Miss Jiang has to pay him, I’m working to repay a debt, so it’s free.”

Jiang Si sneered. “But I find him more convenient to use. Moreover, Young Master Yu is my brother’s good friend. If I used you as an errand boy, my brother would be the first to object.”

She stepped back, her expression returning to normal. “Young Master Yu, stop with these impractical suggestions. If you have money to repay the thousand taels, then pay it. If not, let it be. We’re neither relatives nor close friends, and men and women should maintain proper distance. We should keep our distance from now on.”

“Miss Jiang makes a fair point.” Yu Jin lowered his eyes, his thick, long lashes casting shadows beneath, showing boundless loneliness.

Handsome people always had advantages—seeing his expression, even A-Man, who had been silent all along, couldn’t help but feel sympathetic.

Young Miss seemed a bit heartless.

Yu Jin quickly smiled again. “In that case, I’ll work hard to save money and repay Miss Jiang as soon as I have it.”

Without waiting for Jiang Si’s response, Yu Jin cupped his hands in farewell and patted Er Niu. “Er Niu, let’s go.”

Know when to retreat and return another day—that was the principle.

Yu Jin left promptly with his dog, leaving Jiang Si standing there as realization slowly dawned on her.

It seemed that scoundrel had tricked her again—what did he mean by ‘repay as soon as he had money’?

“Young Miss, they’ve already left.”

“Hmm?”

“Aren’t we leaving?”

The Young Miss seemed somewhat reluctant to leave.

“Let’s go.”

After walking for about a quarter-hour, the master and servant could see the main gate of Earl Dongping’s mansion. The usually quiet entrance was now surrounded by quite a crowd.

“Young Miss, has something happened at our mansion?”

Jiang Si stopped.

She had secretly escalated the confrontation between Divine Woman Liu and Second Madam into a citywide spectacle. Second Madam wouldn’t just sit idle.

Divine Woman Liu’s troubles must have caught up with her.

“Fourth Sister, so here you are.” Jiang Zhan hurried over, wearing a schadenfreude smile. “That fraudulent mystic has been confronted at our door.”

Jiang Si rubbed her temples and asked helplessly, “Second Brother wants to see Divine Woman Liu in trouble?”

“Of course! Though Second Sister and I don’t get along, we’re still family. This witch openly claimed Second Sister was possessed by evil spirits, causing her great embarrassment. How could I possibly like her?”

It was frightening to think about—Second Sister was already married and Grandmother’s favorite, yet she suffered so much from this incident. What if that witch had pointed at Fourth Sister instead?

Fourth Sister had no mother to protect her and had broken off her engagement. She might not have been able to stay in the Earl’s mansion if that had happened.

Jiang Si silently observed her brother.

“What’s wrong? Did I say something incorrect?” Jiang Zhan noticed Jiang Si’s strange look and rubbed his nose.

“No, Second Brother is right.” Jiang Si stood on tiptoe to remove a fallen leaf from Jiang Zhan’s shoulder.

Though her brother might not possess outstanding talent or subtle thoughts, his pure heart was unmatched by anyone.

Jiang Zhan smiled and pulled Jiang Si along. “Come, let Second Brother take you to watch the commotion.”

Jiang Si let Jiang Zhan lead her to a large tree in front of Earl Dongping’s mansion.

“Look, see that woman in blue? Her child died of diarrhea after drinking Divine Woman Liu’s charm water…” As Jiang Zhan spoke, he pressed something into Jiang Si’s hands.

Jiang Si looked down to find a box of sweet rice puffs.

“Try some, Fourth Sister. Lame Zhang’s sweet rice puffs from North Street are the sweetest.”

Jiang Si couldn’t help but laugh as she held the box of rice puffs.

Watching a spectacle while eating sweet rice puffs—is truly a capital city tradition.

On the stone steps of Earl Dongping’s mansion, the steward bowed to the woman in blue: “Our mansion only invited Divine Woman Liu to perform rituals. We had no idea she had caused deaths before. Please wait a moment, madam. If Divine Woman Liu harmed your child, our mansion won’t shield her…