Chapter 137 – Unruly Girl
“Who was the poor one that couldn’t even afford a bracelet and had to claim the ruby on it was fake?” Gu Ye never allowed anyone to talk smack about her. She walked to the young lady clad in red and squeezed the girl to the side. “Shopkeeper, show me the embedded ruby bracelet!”
“You!” The girl stamped on her feet and said angrily, “Who are you calling poor? Who wouldn’t be able to afford that damned bracelet? We just think it’s not worthy of that much money!”
“Who said it’s not worth fifty silver taels? You guys are ignorant. Look at the five rubies. It’s an authentic bloody red color. It’s beautiful and pure, flawless. The rubies were embedded in just the right place, eluding its nobleness and gracefulness. If it was in the capital, just one ruby would be worth more than fifty silver taels!” After she finished examining it, she casted an arrogant side glance at the young lady as if saying “ignorant country bumpkin!”
The girl stamped on her feet. If the woman wasn’t there to stop her, she would’ve pounced on Gu Ye and started to scratch her. Receiving the woman’s gaze, the lady’s chest heaved up and down, taking a deep breath.
Sneering, “What’s the point of saying all of this? If the bracelet is actually that nice, why don’t you buy it? Oh, I know! Look at your shabby outfit. You don’t seem to be able to afford the jewelry! Then why are you here trying to argue? Scram! Get lost!”
“Can’t afford it? Stop judging us by our looks! I wonder who, of the two of us, actually can’t afford this huh?!” Gu Ye took out five ingots of ten silver taels and slapped it against the table. “Shopkeeper, wrap the bracelet up for me!”
Gu Li’er hurriedly tugged on Gu Ye’s clothes and shot her a gaze. That was fifty silver taels. Even if they saved all their income for a decade, they might not have enough! It wasn’t worth showing off to buy a bracelet that couldn’t even be used for food!
The girl clad in red detected their movement and snorted. “You should listen to your mother and sister. You’re going to endure the consequences for trying to look cool. Fifty silver taels is probably your family’s annual income right? If you use it all to buy a bracelet, then how is your family going to survive?”
“Heh! At least I had fifty silver taels to spend and look cool. Why don’t you try and look cool too huh? Some people may act wealthy and glamorous on the surface but they don’t even have money on them. Who gave you the guts to call someone poor huh?” Gu Ye crossed her arms over her chest and copied the girl’s sharp tone.
“You— just you wait! I’ll have my father teach you a lesson!” The girl stamped her feet and left the jewelry store crying.
“Wow, I scolded you and now you’re going to bring your father over huh? Let’s see. What sort of father could raise a daughter like her?” Gu Ye was fearless. It seemed as if she wasn’t afraid to knock them out with her drug before leaving. What? They’ll chase her to the mountains?
“Young lady, watch your mouth!” The beautiful lady’s face turned ashen with anger. She knew that they were the ones at fault which was why she barely said anything.
Gu Ye lifted her brows and sneered, “How come you didn’t tell your young miss to watch her mouth when she was insulting us? I’m just copying what she did to us. Shopkeeper, I want the bracelet. Wrap it up for me.”
The shopkeeper of the jewelry store could tell she wasn’t from a wealthy family from her outfit but he was unable to distinguish her identity from her temperament and imposing manner when she was insulting people. Maybe…she was a young miss from a family who wanted to disguise herself when leaving the house? What was today? Why are there so many prominent people in town?
Gu Li’er hastily said in Gu Ye’s ears, “Are you crazy? You could buy so many things with fifty silver taels, yet you choose a bracelet! Your Fifth Grandfather will scold you once he comes back!”
“Sister Li, don’t worry. I won’t suffer a loss! If I take this bracelet to the capital, I could actually sell it for two hundred silver taels. When my grandfather returns, I’ll have him take me to Yan City so I can sell it for at least double the price!” How could Gu Ye let herself suffer loss with that money grubber personality of hers? She had her own plan.
While the two parties were completing the transaction, the woman said, “Wait! Shopkeeper, shouldn’t you treat your customers fairly? I was looking at the bracelet and I haven’t decided whether or not I wanted to buy it yet and you’re already selling it to someone else. Isn’t that unfair?”
“Fine! I’ll give you the bracelet as long as you can pay fifty silver taels!” Gu Ye could tell that the woman didn’t have that much silver. She smiled mockingly. “If you can’t afford fifty silver taels…I’m buying the bracelet then.”
The beautiful woman’s expression turned worse. She was just a concubine and received less than five silver taels a month. Fifty silver taels was a lot of money.
But the Lord had taken in a concubine lately who wore a bracelet with two gems embedded. She always bragged in front of her, saying that the Lord spent two hundred silver taels at Tongfang Store for her. If she bought this bracelet, then she’d be able to brag in front of her too. But…
“Who said we can’t afford fifty silver taels? Even five hundred silver taels is nothing to me!” Hearing this arrogant voice, the beautiful woman’s voice brightened and she couldn’t hide her joy.
Gu Ye turned to see a short fat man appearing in front of the jewelry store. The arrogant young lady wearing a red dress was now wearing the expression “just you wait, see.”
Gu Ye quickly took the bracelet from the shopkeeper’s hand and shouted at the short fat man, “Hey! Fatty uncle, you came late. This bracelet is mine now!”
“Father, look at her…she’s just a damned country bumpkin, yet she has the nerve to talk smack about us. Father, we can’t let her go!” The girl was rather angry seeing Gu Ye’s proud gaze. She stamped on her feet as if trying to trample over the jewelry store.
The short fat man narrowed his eyes and finally got used to the dim surroundings in the store after a while. He shifted his fierce gaze at Gu Ye and was about to release his anger when a surprised gaze flickered by. Then he squeezed his face into joy on his chubby face. He scurried over so fastly that it didn’t seem possible with his figure. He shouted towards a person nearby, “Eldest master, we found her!”
Everyone was shocked by his actions. Gu Ye wrinkled her brows. Did they have reinforcement? She silently calculated in her heart. How much drowsy drug did she need to knock everyone out?
Almost in the blink of an eye, the short fat man hurried back and smiled at Gu Ye. “Lady Gu, please forgive us. Don’t stoop yourself to their levels. I will apologize on their behalf if they have offended you.”
The beautiful woman and the girl clad in red stared flabbergasted at the Lord’s change in attitude. The girl wanted to say something when she was stopped by the woman who wore a meaningful glance. Based on her understanding of the Lord, he must have his own motive. She was a concubine that was about to lose favor so she mustn’t let her daughter cause more trouble. Otherwise, their days would be even more difficult.
“You must be up to no good if you’re trying to be nice to me!” Gu Ye muttered whilst confused.
The short fat man nodded repeatedly and said, “Lady Gu, your preachings are right. You might not remember me. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m from the Baicao Pharmacy’s Zhao Family’s fifth branch’s second oldest son, Zhao Deshun. Half a month ago, I came with the family head to the nameless town and I had the honor of meeting you…”
Gu Ye furrowed her brows and searched through her memory. She thought…there was indeed a person that followed Family Head Zhao and Third Master Zhao from the Baicao Pharmacy. Most of her attention was drawn to the handsome twins of Jimin Pharmacy at that time. Why would she pay attention to anything else?
She finally knew why this short fat man was being so respectful. She nodded and was about to say something when her gaze brightened and landed outside the jewelry store.
A handsome young man walked in. His back was against the warm and bright sun as he slowly walked. There seemed to be a gentle yellow halo around him and his handsome features turned more gentle. It felt as if the spring wind had blown past and spring had arrived.
“Eldest master, this is Lady Gu, the person the family head wanted you to search for. Who knew we met her here!” The man started laughing, his features scrunched together making him look a bit silly.
The handsome young man smiled at Gu Ye, his voice warm yet magnetic. “Lady Gu, I am Zhao Minglin from the Baicao Pharmacy. Nice to meet you.”
Gu Ye took several glances at him and then smiled. “Master Zhao, you’re too polite. You must be here for the medicine. Sorry, I’ve already signed a two-year contract with Jimin Pharmacy. The medicinal ingredients I concocted will be theirs exclusive.”
“It’s fine. There’s time in the future. I came here just to befriend you.” Zhao Minglin’s smile remained on his face, his gaze turning more gentle.
Gu Ye always respected people he didn’t understand and kept far away from them. In her past life, she had suffered from these people’s hands. They would praise and uplift you when you still have value but once you’re worthless, they would kick you away without hesitation.
Although Master Zhao was handsome, her instinct told her he was dangerous and not someone she could control. She smiled and said, “Sorry, I don’t be friends with males!”
Zhao Minglin didn’t know why the girl suddenly changed expressions but he quickly found a reply as he was well-accustomed to these situations. “Lady Gu, it’s my bad! I meant that I hope we will get a chance to collaborate in the future.”
“You should’ve said this earlier! I despise people beating around the bush.” Since he said his intention, Gu Ye didn’t need to put up an act. “It’s too early to say right now. After all, there’s still two years. Maybe something might happen. Say…what if I’m not who you think?”