Chapter 122
Chapter 122
When they came out of Jingguan Hall, they happened to see Lady Rong and Xia Ximo walking toward them.
From the expression on the Marquise’s face, it was clear that Xia Ximo must have said she wanted to leave the manor.
“This child… You only stayed one night. Can you truly not keep me company for two more days?”
Though there was a note of reproach in Lady Rong’s voice, the reluctance in her eyes could not be hidden at all.
Xia Ximo did not like too much contact with people, but with her, she was quite patient.
“I have other things to do. I can’t keep delaying them.”
She had already said this several times, patiently and repeatedly.
Lady Rong sighed helplessly.
She pulled Xia Ximo over to Ren Xuan and, astonishingly, ignored Ren Fengjue and Yan Zhengchu beside him entirely. “That temperament of hers is exactly the same as Ah Wei’s. Since I can’t keep her here, I can only let her go.”
At the mention of his wife’s old friend from her maiden days, Ren Xuan saw that she was about to cry again and hurriedly coaxed her. “All right, all right. From what I can see of Ximo’s temperament, it would be a wrong to confine her to the inner residence. If she wants to go out and see the world, then we should let her broaden her horizons.”
As he spoke, he could not help thinking of his own younger brother.
Was Ah Yao not the same?
“Someone, have Yang Jing select twenty capable guards.”
“And go ask whether Ren Rong has returned. If he has, tell him to prepare four carriages with four horses each at once, and hang the plaque of my Renxuan Marquis Manor on them.”
“Also prepare one thousand taels of ready silver, five hundred taels of gold, and banknotes from the various money houses…”
“Madam, and clothes, jewelry, and the like…”
As Yan Zhengchu listened, he clicked his tongue inwardly and could not help secretly counting on his fingers.
Just how much money was that?
To his surprise, Xia Ximo said, “There’s no need for that much.”
“One carriage is enough.”
She glanced at Ren Fengjue and asked him, “After leaving the capital, how long can one hundred taels of silver last?”
This question stumped Ren Fengjue again.
Seeing that he could not answer, Yan Zhengchu could not help speaking up. “It depends how you spend it. Once you’re outside the Imperial City, prices will be a little lower.”
Then, counting on his fingers, he began explaining at length. “If you stay at an inn, an ordinary room is less than one hundred copper coins a night. A mid-tier room costs another hundred wen or so, while a superior room might go up to over a thousand wen.”
“As for food, that also depends on what you eat. A steamed bun with a bit of pickled vegetables costs two copper coins. A bowl of plain noodles costs ten copper coins. If you have rice and dishes, it’ll be about ten to fifteen copper coins, and if you add meat, at least thirty…”
“Of course, those are all prices at ordinary inns. If you go somewhere expensive, one hundred taels might not be enough for a single night.”
He explained it all in perfect order, but everyone else’s expressions varied.
He knew it. There was simply no explaining these things to people from wealthy noble families!
But Xia Ximo asked him, “Based on what you just said, how long would one hundred taels last?”
“Half a year at most. At least three to five months.”
After hearing Yan Zhengchu’s answer, Xia Ximo seemed to consider it for a moment before saying to Ren Fengjue, “Then the one hundred taels you gave me is enough.”
Only then did Ren Fengjue snap out of his daze and ask her, “Is Miss Xia planning to leave the capital immediately?”
Xia Ximo replied, “Once I find the other ghostly entity from Fu Tower, I’ll leave the capital.”
Ren Fengjue said, “In that case, perhaps we will be traveling the same road.”
The moment those words left his mouth, the other three all looked at him in unison.
Yan Zhengchu’s eyes were clearly saying-hadn’t you just said you were going to Mount Yunhe? You changed your mind this quickly?
Ren Fengjue said to him, “I’ll have to trouble Daoist Yan to use the Soul-Seeking Spell first and track down that ghostly entity.”
“Ahem…”
Yan Zhengchu was just about to seize the chance to bring up payment.
Unexpectedly, Ren Fengjue volunteered it of his own accord. “Two ingots of gold.”
Yan Zhengchu immediately broke into a beaming smile. “Then this matter is easily settled.”
Listening to their exchange from the side, the Marquise could not help feeling faintly worried. But Ren Xuan quietly put an arm around her shoulders and murmured, “I have already told him everything about Ah Yao.”
Hearing the Marquis say that, Lady Rong understood.
With Ren Fengjue’s personality, ignorance was one thing. But once he knew, how could he possibly do nothing?
“Father, Mother.”
Ren Fengjue walked over to his parents again and said, “Leave the matter of Miss Xia leaving the capital to me. I will make the arrangements.”
Both Ren Xuan and Lady Rong could tell that their son had feelings for Xia Ximo. Although the engagement between the two of them had already been dissolved, they still hoped the pair could spend more time together and nurture some affection-even if they ended up getting along as siblings.
After exchanging a glance, they nodded in agreement.
Since Xia Ximo refused to accept any clothes or jewelry, when she left the Marquis Mansion, Lady Rong firmly pressed a colored jade bangle into her hand as a keepsake.
On the way back to the Ren Residence, Yan Zhengchu very tactfully climbed into Yu Lang’s carriage.
Xia Ximo, meanwhile, rode with Ren Fengjue.
On the road, Ren Fengjue thought back to the scene when the letter dissolving their engagement had been written, and his heart still stirred slightly.
Then, thinking of what Lady Rong had said about taking Xia Ximo in as an adopted daughter, he finally could not hold back and asked, “Did my mother… say anything to you?”
Xia Ximo said, “She said a great many things.”
But most of what Lady Rong had spoken about were things from the past between herself and Xia Ximo’s mother.
For some reason, Ren Fengjue felt a little uneasy. Choosing his words carefully, he asked, “Did she mention… taking you in as an adopted daughter?”
Xia Ximo parted her thin lips. “No.”
“That’s good…”
He all but breathed a sigh of relief. He did not even know why he cared so much about such a thing.
Xia Ximo gave him a strange look, but she did not ask another word.
When they returned to the Ren Residence, everyone in the household was deeply anxious. Since the group had been gone all night, none of them had slept well.
Now that Xia Ximo had obtained the letter dissolving the engagement, she knew it was time for her to leave the Ren Residence.
So she called Tianqing into her room and told her directly.
Tianqing had originally been all smiles, but when she learned Xia Ximo was leaving, that smile instantly froze.
She knew that once Xia Ximo left the Ren Residence, she herself would have to return to the Marquis Mansion.
At the thought, sorrow surged up inside her, and tears spilled from her eyes.
Seeing her cry so miserably, Xia Ximo was both confused and at a loss.
Tianqing choked out, “Miss, you’ve treated me so well. I can’t bear to part with you. I don’t want to go back to the Marquis Mansion. I want to leave with you.”
Xia Ximo said, “At least the Marquis Mansion won’t let you go without food or clothing. You can live a comfortable life with no worries. What good would there be in following me?”
Tianqing kept sobbing. “Although I haven’t served you for very long, I know you’re a good person, Miss. You’ve truly been good to me…”
“…Good?”
The word “good person” was truly unfamiliar to her.
In the fragmented memories she had of her life before death, they all seemed to call her-the she-devil.
After her death, she had been cast into the Nine Abysses because of the words “guilty of the most heinous crimes.”
She could no longer remember much beyond that.
But she knew she was certainly no good person.
Xia Ximo’s face remained expressionless, but her eyes flickered slightly. She said, “Don’t say foolish things. I’m not as good as you think. Stay in the capital and live the good life you’re meant to have.”