Chapter 2

Chapter 2

At my words, Yu Hebai’s brows drew together.

He was an elegant scholar, and he had never cared for calculating silver and gold.

In the past, the moment I so much as mentioned such matters, he would become terribly annoyed and tell me not to taint myself with such mercenary vulgarity.

Just as I expected, his expression turned cold.

“I taught you to read for years, yet I still couldn’t cure you of this calculating habit.”

“You are a mere mortal, the daughter of a merchant family. With the Goddess before you, it is already merciful that no one has made you kneel and worship. How dare you still raise your voice and disturb her peace?”

I was indeed the daughter of merchants. My family ran an inn.

What I did day in and day out was greet guests, see them off, and work the abacus.

If I had been some young lady from a great household, then naturally I would not have needed to be so calculating.

But I was not.

My family was the most ordinary sort among all those families in the streets and alleys who did business big and small.

If we did not know how to calculate, we could not earn our own living.

We relied on ourselves. We prayed neither to gods nor Buddhas. Why, then, should we kneel and bow to a Goddess whose authenticity we could not even know?

I wanted to explain this to him clearly.

But Yu Hebai was too stingy to spare me even half a moment of patience.

He reached out a hand, indicating that I should offer up the contract in mine.

“Since you brought it here, there is no need to take it back.” He lowered his eyes wearily and looked down at me. “I will destroy my copy myself. From now on, do not mention the engagement again.”

I was unwilling to let him have his way.

I took a step back and tucked the contract into my sleeve.

“When you repay the money, I’ll return the contract.” My eyes were wet, but I showed him a slick, worldly smile. “I’m not asking for much. Three times the amount will do.”

All these years, my family had spent no little effort and worry on him.

If he returned only the original amount, wouldn’t we have suffered a loss for nothing?

He said I was the daughter of merchants. He said I was calculating.

Then I would not let down this reputation and let him profit from me for free!

Yu Hebai stared at me, contempt showing on his face. “You truly are greedy by nature…”

“Greedy by nature is still better than being known as someone who repays kindness with ingratitude.”

I kept smiling, just as I did when urging guests who owed room fees to pay up, provoking him with shameless persistence. “I heard immortals can turn stone into gold. What, the Goddess you painted doesn’t even have that little ability?”

Not far away, the Fairy Maiden rested her chin on one hand.

Earlier, when she heard Yu Hebai speak of breaking the engagement, she had reached out to catch a falling blossom, lowered her eyes to smell it, and smiled faintly.

But now, she suddenly cast a glance at me from afar. Her gaze was like a viper flicking out its tongue, licking across my face.

I abruptly turned my head to look at her, yet her smile was still gentle as ever.

As if everything just now had only been my imagination.

Before Yu Hebai could speak, the Fairy Maiden came over with graceful steps.

“Yu Lang, there is no need to say more.”

The Fairy Maiden’s figure was lithe and soft, and so was her voice. “Yu Lang has just passed the metropolitan exam. This is precisely the time when he ought to cherish his reputation.”

“If he were forced into accepting gifts from those local gentry and powerful families, damaging his good name and affecting the palace exam, that would be most improper.”

Her words were clear and orderly, as if she were very familiar with all the rules of the imperial examinations.

But would an immortal really know mortal affairs so well?

I was full of suspicion.

Yet Yu Hebai treated her words as if they were a divine decree. “The Fairy Maiden’s insight is profound.”

His handsome face was pious, making the Fairy Maiden smile sweetly.

She turned to me. Her red lips parted lightly, delivering an oracle. “Miss Shi, if you want to claim silver and gold, come retrieve it at noon tomorrow.”

“When the time comes, beneath this osmanthus tree, there will be what you desire.”

She was calm and certain, and gratitude appeared in Yu Hebai’s eyes.

But I was unwilling to simply obey her arrangement. I questioned her aloud. “Why? Can’t you give it to me now?”

A trace of shadow flashed across the Fairy Maiden’s face with extreme speed.

In the blink of an eye, she was all smiles again.

As though kindly taking pity on a foolish mortal, she answered my confusion. “Turning stone into gold is not the work of a single moment.”

“However, Miss Shi, your greed knows no bounds, and you have shown me disrespect. I must give you a minor punishment.”

The Fairy Maiden was dressed all in white, shimmering with flowing light.

The autumn sunlight was golden, yet it could not shine into those deep, black eyes.

She seemed to be smiling and not smiling, unfathomable as the heavens.

My fingers curled slightly. “What do you mean… a minor punishment?”

But she did not answer. She only toyed gently with the fallen blossom at her fingertips. “If you kneel and kowtow now, I can still spare you.”

Pity appeared on Yu Hebai’s face.

“Wangyue, kneel quickly.” He condescended to admonish me, as if I were some sinner who did not know what was good for her. “The Fairy Maiden is benevolent. As long as you perform the rite of kneeling and kowtowing, she will not hold this against you.”

I clenched my fists.

Then I spat hard at the two of them. “In your dreams!”