Chapter 26

Chapter 26

When Xia Ximo returned to the East Courtyard Guest Room, she found it filled with even more items than before.

In addition to the incense burners and hanging scrolls, a folding screen and a wardrobe had been added. The once-desolate guest room was now so packed that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to describe it as “bustling.”

Seeing Xia Ximo enter, Tianqing stepped forward and offered a hand warmer. “Miss Xia, you’re sensitive to the cold. Try this.”

“I’m not afraid of the cold.”

Glancing at the cumbersome object, Xia Ximo had no intention of taking it. However, Tianqing was surprisingly bold; she reached out, took Xia Ximo’s hand, and forced the hand warmer into it.

“Your hands are so icy, how can you not be cold? This is the coldest time of the year. You were dressed so thinly before; I’m afraid you must have suffered quite a bit from the frost.”

Xia Ximo was momentarily stunned by those words.

The warmth of the hand warmer was, for her, essentially useless. Yet, in that instant, she truly felt a flicker of warmth.

Tianqing seemed delighted that she had accepted it. “I had the kitchen brew some chicken soup,” she added. “Drink some to warm your body, Miss.”

With that, she hurried out with light steps.

Looking down at the hand warmer, a strange sensation flickered through Xia Ximo’s heart. The Soul-Ferrying Lantern trembled suddenly, and Wuyou emerged from within, stretching his limbs.

“This little girl is quite nice. She seems to get along well with you.”

Xia Ximo ignored him, so he continued, “But according to your agreement with Ren Fengjue, you’ll only be staying here for seven more days at most.”

“Why not take advantage of these seven days to go out and look around?”

“Not interested.”

“…”

Wuyou was about to say more when Tianqing returned from outside, carrying a soup bowl. As she lifted the lid, a rich aroma immediately wafted through the air.

Wuyou tried his best to sniff with his non-existent nose. “That smells incredible!”

Xia Ximo’s stomach growled in response.

Sometimes, being human was much more troublesome than being a ghost.

Tianqing smiled. “Drink some chicken soup first to fill your stomach, Miss. Dinner will be ready shortly.”

Though Xia Ximo remained expressionless, she obediently picked up the spoon and began to drink. She had to admit that while all food served the purpose of filling one’s stomach, this chicken soup was more fragrant and delicious than anything she had eaten before. Her physical senses told her that she liked this very much.

Tianqing stood quietly to the side, watching her. She thought that while Miss Xia seemed cold on the surface, she was actually quite cute. At the very least, she was straightforward and honest, without a hint of pretense. Dealing with someone like that was actually the easiest thing in the world.

Thus, with a sense of anticipation, she tentatively asked, “Miss Xia, the shopkeeper of Tianxiang Pavilion said that a new shipment of goods will arrive tomorrow. Would you like to go and see for yourself?”

Xia Ximo’s instinct was to refuse, but for some reason, the words died in her throat. In that moment, she listened to the voice in her heart.

“You arrange it.”

Wuyou, floating nearby: “…”

***

A carriage came to a halt in front of Tianxiang Pavilion. As the door opened, two people stepped down.

One was a maidservant in green who had a charming and lovely smile. From her poise alone, one could tell she came from a noble household. The other woman wore a white brocade cloak; she had a slender figure and peerless beauty, but her overall aura was so cold and distant that people didn’t dare look at her for long.

Any woman in the capital who could frequent Tianxiang Pavilion was bound to be wealthy or of high status. Even if they had never met face-to-face, most knew of each other’s backgrounds. This woman, however, was clearly a fresh face.
Ever since she had stepped through the door, eyes from both floors had been gravitating toward her-some probing, some curious, and even some filled with disdain and hostility.

Xia Ximo remained entirely oblivious to the scrutiny. She had little patience for the various powders and rouges the shop assistant was describing. Only when Tianqing tested a cosmetic on her would she offer a brief, “You decide.”

In no time at all, they had selected quite a collection of rouge and powder.

Tianqing smiled and said to Xia Ximo, “Miss, please have a seat for a moment. I asked the manager to set aside a stick of Persian indigo yesterday. Let me go upstairs and ask about it.”

With that, she lifted her skirts and lightheartedly made her way up the stairs.

With nothing better to do, Xia Ximo found a place to sit. However, a moment later, a loud slap echoed from upstairs, followed by a shrill female voice: “What kind of lowly creature from the backwaters thinks they’re worthy of Persian indigo?”

The voice was loud and arrogant, dripping with unmistakable mockery.

Then came Tianqing’s trembling voice: “Miss Zhuang, but we reserved this indigo… we even paid a deposit in advance…”

Downstairs, Xia Ximo abruptly stood up.

She went straight to the second floor. From a distance, she saw a woman in lavish clothing surrounded by a crowd, picking through cosmetics. Tianqing stood to the side, her left cheek flushed and slightly swollen, a clear handprint visible on her skin. She had obviously just been struck.

Xia Ximo’s appearance immediately drew everyone’s attention. Upon seeing her, Tianqing instinctively covered her face, opening her mouth to explain.

“Who hit you?” Xia Ximo asked coldly.

Tianqing hesitated, afraid to answer. However, the woman in the lavish dress glanced at Xia Ximo askance, tilting her chin up with an air of immense arrogance.

“I did. What are you going to do about it?”

Someone nearby immediately chimed in with a laugh. “Whose lowly servant is this? Truly, she has eyes but cannot see Mount Tai. Didn’t she bother to ask who Miss Zhuang is? In all of Shangjing City, who would dare compete with Miss Zhuang for anything?”

The commotion was so loud that many people on the first floor looking for entertainment began peering up at the second floor.

Everyone present knew the identity of the woman in the fine clothes. She was Zhuang You, the daughter of the Censor-in-Chief, Zhuang Hu. She was notorious in the capital for being spoiled and domineering.

Zhuang You relied on the fact that her aunt was the current Empress and that she was betrothed to Prince Yu. Consequently, she never showed any respect to the noble daughters of Shangjing.

Even now, knowing full well that the last stick of Persian indigo had been reserved, she ignored the other party’s status and forcibly claimed it as her own.

Most people were used to such behavior; if you crossed her path, you were simply considered unlucky. After all, the Zhuang family’s backing was formidable. There were very few families in the capital who could afford to go head-to-head with them.

Faced with the cold mockery, Xia Ximo remained unruffled. She took a few steps closer to Zhuang You and asked out of the blue, “Which hand did you use?”

Zhuang You remained haughty, still refusing to look at her directly. Instead, she pointedly toyed with the Persian indigo in her hand, continuing her indirect insults.

“It really is a rare treasure. Even nameless cats and dogs want to fight over it.”

No sooner had she spoken than her hand suddenly moved uncontrollably. She hurled the Persian indigo away, and it shattered instantly on the floor.

This move caused the onlookers to gasp in shock. Even Zhuang You herself was stunned.

“I…”

She stood up in frustration, seemingly bewildered by her own actions.

But then, an even more bizarre scene unfolded.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Zhuang You raised both her hands and delivered two resounding slaps to her own face.