Chapter 146

Chapter 146

Wang Ying and Lin Sui looked up to see the woman standing at the shop entrance, clearly hurling insults at them.

Having never seen the woman before, Wang Ying turned to Lin Sui and asked, "Do you know her?"

Lin Sui shook his head. "No."

Wang Ying stepped forward. "Ma'am, is there some misunderstanding?"

"Misunderstanding?" The woman pointed at Wang Ying. "Isn't your husband dead?"

Wang Ying immediately bristled, pointing back at her nose. "Your husband is the one who's dead! My husband is studying diligently at the prefectural academy. Why would you curse him?"

The woman paused, taken aback. "Oh, I must have mistaken you. It must be that young man whose wife passed away!"

Lin Sui nodded, instantly grasping the situation. "Are you Shopkeeper Wei’s wife?"

"You little hussy! So you know he has a wife!"

Wang Ying frowned, stepping in front of Lin Sui to shield him. "Watch your mouth. If you continue to curse, I won’t be polite!"

"You won’t be polite? I’m the one who won’t be polite! Seducing a married man—daring to do such a shameful thing and then not letting people talk about it?"

Lin Sui was furious. "What shameful thing did I do? It was your husband who was disrespectful first. I threw him out. How did it turn into me seducing him, according to you?"

The foolish woman scoffed. "How could my husband possibly be interested in you? You’re as skinny as a rail, and who knows if you can even bear children?"

Those words struck a nerve with Lin Sui. Before he could respond, Wang Ying shoved the woman out the door.

"Get out! If you have the ability, control your husband. If you come causing trouble at our shop again, we’ll call the authorities!"

The woman stumbled from the push, falling to the ground and beginning to wail. "Everyone, come and see! This little widower has no shame, seducing someone else’s husband and now trying to hit me. What kind of ice shop is this? More like a brothel!"

Many people gathered at the sound of the commotion, pointing and whispering about Wang Ying and Lin Sui.

Wang Ying grabbed a broom and charged at her. "How dare you spout such nonsense! If you have the ability, control your husband. Don’t come causing trouble at someone else’s shop!"

"Hit me, go ahead! My nephew is the Marquis of Wuping. If you hit me, you’ll regret it!"

"I don’t care what big shot you're related to! If you dare slander my brother, I’ll beat you to death and pay with my life!"

"Aiyo!" The woman dodged wildly, covering her head, while two maids and an older woman shielded her, taking several hits from Wang Ying’s broom before they all fled in a panic.

After they left, the onlookers dispersed. Lin Sui said anxiously, "Sister-in-law, did I cause trouble?"

"Don’t mind her. Let’s go inside."

Once inside, Wang Ying asked about what had happened. Lin Sui recounted the events of that day in detail. After finishing, he lowered his head and fiddled with his fingers, saying, "It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have driven him out that day. If I had explained things clearly to him, today wouldn’t have happened…"

"You did well. With that kind of ruffian, reasoning won’t work. Being polite might even make him think you’re playing hard to get. A hit was too good for him—if I were there, I’d have beaten him until his head was covered in bumps!"

Lin Sui chuckled but soon grew somber again. "She said her nephew is the Marquis of Wuping. Will we get into trouble for offending her?"

Wang Ying wasn’t sure either. "Who cares? If it comes to it, we’ll report it to the authorities. I refuse to believe they can twist black into white!"

Lin Sui guiltily lowered his head. The last time his cousin was arrested by the authorities, it had terrified them all. It hadn’t been long since then, and now this had happened. If this continued, the shop’s reputation would surely suffer.

"Don’t overthink it. Business has been slow these days anyway. Let’s close the shop and rest at home. We’ll sell vegetables again when the weather turns colder."

"Sigh…"

The next day, the shop was closed. Taking advantage of the break, Wang Ying went to check on the renovations at their new house.

Before leaving, she gave Lin Sui two strings of cash, telling him to go out shopping with Qing Yun and buy a couple of autumn outfits, so he wouldn’t dwell on things at home.

Qing Yun had also heard about what happened at the shop and comforted him. "Don’t listen to that woman’s nonsense. We’ve done nothing wrong. Let gossipmongers like her chatter away—just treat it like a dog barking."

Lin Sui forced a smile, but his mood remained heavy. He kept worrying that the woman would ask her cousin, the Marquis of Wuping, to cause trouble.

It hadn’t been easy for his cousin and sister-in-law to establish themselves in the prefectural city. He couldn’t let his actions ruin their future.

Qing Yun took his hand and shook it gently. "Alright, stop thinking about those things. Later, accompany me to buy some rouge and powder for the wedding."

"Okay."

The two got ready and went out. The weather was nice today—clear and crisp autumn skies. Though the temperature was still warm, the breeze was no longer sticky. The streets were filled with many women and young men out shopping.

They strolled slowly along Zhengyang Street. Passing by a stall selling sweet soup, Qing Yun bought two bowls. They sat on small stools by the roadside, sipping their drinks and watching the passersby.

"The wedding is in a little over two months. Just thinking about it makes me nervous. I wonder what married life will be like…"

Lin Sui said gently, "Uncle and Aunt Liu are good people, and Young Master Liu cares deeply for you. After marriage, your life will surely be harmonious and happy."

"What if it’s all an illusion? What if things change after I marry?"

"It won’t. With Cousin and Sister-in-law around, they won’t let you suffer."

"That’s true. If the Liu family dares to bully me, my brother might not say anything, but Sister-in-law would definitely charge over with a kitchen knife."

Lin Sui chuckled and nodded, remembering how his sister-in-law had rushed out with a broom to defend him yesterday. Having a sister-in-law who treated him like her own brother was a blessing he couldn’t have imagined in several lifetimes.

He felt even more strongly that he shouldn’t cause trouble for them. He had to find a way to resolve this matter himself.

After finishing their sweet soup, they continued strolling. At a cosmetics shop, Qing Yun bought a box of rouge and a box of powder, spending over two hundred wen in total. The rouge box was made of ceramic, painted with a beautiful woman, looking exquisite and lovely.

Ancient cosmetics weren’t too different from modern ones—both were used to cover blemishes. However, the powder was particularly white, and the rouge especially red. Ordinary people rarely wore them, reserving such makeup for formal occasions.

Moreover, rouge and powder weren’t exclusive to women—men could wear them too. It was said that even the emperor would dress up and wear makeup during court sacrifices.

After leaving the cosmetics shop, they went to a clothing store. Lin Sui had grown quite a bit taller in the half year since arriving in the prefectural city. His old clothes had sleeves and pant legs that were too short, so it was a good time to buy two new sets.

The clothes he looked at were dark in color and made of rough fabric, costing only a little over two hundred wen per set.

"Shopkeeper, please let me try this one."

Qing Yun said, "This color is too dull for you. The sky-blue one next to it is much nicer."

Lin Sui shook his head. "I’ll take this one." If he dressed more plainly, perhaps he wouldn’t attract trouble.

The shopkeeper found a set in his size and handed it to him. "Young master, please go try it on."

Lin Sui took the clothes and went inside. Shortly after, he came out wearing the earthy yellow outfit, which made him look dull and dusty, even his complexion seeming less vibrant.

"Oh, this color is awful. It makes you look seven or eight years older."

Lin Sui examined himself in the bronze mirror and was quite satisfied. "I’ll take this one. Do you have another set just like it?"

After leaving the clothing store, Lin Sui first escorted Qing Yun home. Then, making an excuse that he wanted to check on the new house, he went out alone.

He first went to the Wei family's incense shop, intending to apologize to Shopkeeper Wei and ask him to reason with his wife, so she would stop spreading rumors about their shop.

However, when he arrived, only a young shop assistant was in the shop. It turned out that Wei Changgui had gone home yesterday and had scratch marks all over his face from his wife, so he couldn't come to work.

Unable to find anyone, Lin Sui bit his lip and decided to go directly to the Wuping Marquis. He had once met him briefly at Qingfeng Temple and wondered that if he still remembered. He planned to explain the situation clearly and take the blame upon himself if necessary, rather than letting his cousin and his wife suffer.

Despite being unfamiliar with the area, he asked around and eventually found his way to the Wuping Marquis's residence.

Lin Sui stood at the entrance, staring at the tall gate's name plaque. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, he mustered the courage to step forward and knock on the door.

After a short wait, a person appeared at the side door. "Who are you looking for?"

Lin Sui immediately grew nervous and stammered, "I—I’m looking for the Wuping Marquis. I have... have something important!"

The gatekeeper looked him up and down. "Do you have an invitation?"

"No..."

"Then please leave."

Lin Sui hurriedly stepped forward to block the door. "I really have an urgent matter to discuss with the Marquis. Could you please inform him?"

The gatekeeper said, "Hey, don’t put your foot in the door—I might accidentally close the door on it!"

Having no other choice, Lin Sui desperately knelt and kowtowed. "I beg you!"

The gatekeeper, being an honest man, was startled by his kneeling and quickly stepped aside. "Please get up! The Marquis isn't at the residence right now. If you really need to find him, try asking at the military camp to the west. You might find him there."

"Thank you!"

"No need, no need." The gatekeeper quickly closed the door, thinking to himself, *I wonder what this young man’s relationship with the Marquis is? I’ve never seen a young man come looking for the Marquis before...*

With this information, Lin Sui headed toward the military camp in the western part of the city. The camp was quite far from the city center—usually a half-hour ride on horseback—but it took him a full hour to walk there.

Exhausted and hot, his face flushed red, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and mustered the courage to approach. "I’m looking for the Wuping Marquis. Could you please help me pass a message?"

The soldiers guarding the gate, seeing he was a young man, didn’t shoo him away. Instead, they gathered around to tease him. "What do you want with our Marquis?"

"I have a very important matter."

"Oh? How important? Are there barbarians at the border or bandits causing trouble outside the city?"

Lin Sui stammered without giving a clear explanation, and only begged them to help relay the message, insisting he had to see the Wuping Marquis.

The commotion soon caught the attention of the Centurion. He chased off the teasing soldiers and asked Lin Sui about his purpose. "Wait here. I’ll go inside and pass along your message. Whether the Marquis agrees to see you, I can’t say."

"Thank you, sir!"

Old Tian excitedly ran into the camp. Li Mu was discussing matters with several subordinates when the interruption came. He frowned but told him to enter.

"Marquis, there’s someone outside looking for you."

"I’m busy."

Old Tian grinned mischievously and said, "It’s a young man."

The other veteran soldiers nearby immediately perked up. "What young man? How old is he? What does he look like?"

Li Mu was equally puzzled. "What young man?"

The Centurion said, "He’s quite young and very handsome. He specifically asked to see you, saying he has a *very important* matter to discuss."

The group erupted in excitement. "Marquis, you’re not being fair! When did you get a lover and keep it hidden?"

"Let’s go, let’s go take a look!"

"Stop all this nonsense! All of you stay here. I’ll go see who it is."