Chapter 85 Don’t Fall for Me—It’ll Lead Nowhere

Chapter 85: Don't Fall for Me—It Won't End Well

"That would be wonderful, I'll be waiting."

Qi Chengyun smiled a little too sweetly, and Yuan Lin couldn't bear to watch.

Master, you're being way too obvious, you know that?

The silver was accepted, the chat was done, and Qi Chengyun saw that Xi Qianyue was about to leave again. He was racking his brains, thinking of how to stretch out their time together a bit longer.

"How do you get along with your brothers at home? Where are they studying? Need any help? I could help get them into a good academy."

After racking his brain, Qi Chengyun finally landed on another topic.

But Xi Qianyue gave a cold snort: "Aside from my own brother, I wouldn't lift a finger for those half-brothers of mine. My brother's just three or four, and he's already studying under a xiucai scholar for his first lessons. By the way, I'm the one who connected that scholar with the Great Scholar Yancan. I hope he aces the imperial exams this time!"

Qi Chengyun frowned. Where the heck did this xiucai come from?

"I'm really confident in him. With the Great Scholar Yancan's guidance, he's bound to pass. He's also really appreciative—he's already promised me that no matter how far he climbs, he'll keep teaching my Xun Geer, my younger brother."

"Sounds like you're pretty invested in him?"

"I wouldn't say I'm that invested. It's more like, sincerity for sincerity. Or you could call it a trade of interests. Either way, it works out fine. Whether it's mutual support or a clean deal, neither side comes out short."

Hearing her say "a clean deal," Qi Chengyun's mood lifted a bit.

"If your brother or you ever need anything, just come to me. I'm more capable than you think. Hmm... we're partners, right?"

Xi Qianyue felt a faint stir inside. She could talk casually herself, but for someone from ancient times to talk like this was odd.

"Anything," huh? She could go to him for anything?

He echoed her word "partners," and it sounded a bit awkward coming from him.

Xi Qianyue got up to leave, joking: "There's a saying I once heard. Don't fall for me—it won't end well. I'm heading back now. Thanks for the silver."

Xi Qianyue sure didn't dawdle—she walked straight out the door.

How could Qi Chengyun miss that Xi Qianyue was flat-out rejecting him?

Yuan Lin looked at him with a pitying face, which made him snap irritably: "What are you staring at? Never seen a man before?"

Yuan Lin quickly looked away, walked to the door, then rushed back: "Master, Miss Xi just ran into the Third Young Master."

Qi Chengyun shot to his feet, and Yuan Lin hissed urgently: "Master, if the Third Young Master sees you go over, he'll get suspicious of Miss Xi. That wouldn't be good for her."

Right, if he went running over, the third brother would see that something was going on between Xi Qianyue and him.

That wouldn't be good for Xi Qianyue at all.

Although An Yi and An Er protected her on a daily basis, the third brother had many hidden guards around him.

Qi Chengguang clearly saw Xi Qianyue coming out of the private room that the sixth brother favored, and he also knew that the sixth brother was inside that room.

Was this the sixth brother's woman?

Xi Qianyue saw the gorgeously dressed noble young master in front of her and didn't even raise an eyebrow: "Excuse me."

Qi Chengguang laughed: "And what if I don't?"

Xi Qianyue was quite taken aback: "The corridor is this wide—why must you stand right in the middle?"

"Naturally, because this young master stands wherever he pleases."

The shopkeeper wiped a cold sweat and made a gesture of invitation: "Third Young Master, please don't make things difficult for the patrons. The Sixth Young Master is in the private room—shall this old man lead you there?"

Qi Chengguang sneered coldly, and the person beside him gave a hard shove, pushing the shopkeeper to the ground.

"When the young master is speaking, what business does an old thing like you have getting in the way?"

Xi Qianyue was speechless. And who was this person now?

Was this a plot and character that appeared later?

She didn't recognize him, and she had no idea!

Qi Chengyun walked out of the private room with Yuan Lin: "Since Third Brother has come to find me, why delay over such trivial matters?"

Only then did Xi Qianyue realize that this man with the cold, sharp eyes before her was actually the third brother of the Sixth Young Master Qi!

It seemed the brothers didn't get along.

"If you brothers have matters to settle, please settle them elsewhere. No need to block my path, is there?"

Qi Chengguang looked at her with amusement. This woman had quite a nerve.

"I was just joking—why must Sixth Brother take it so seriously? You're being far too sensitive and cautious."

Qi Chengguang strode forward, forcing Xi Qianyue and her party to quickly step aside as his group passed by.

Xi Qianyue said nothing more and went straight downstairs with her maidservants.

Yuan Lin breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

He had been worried that Miss Xi might clash with the Third Young Master. Then things would have been impossible to resolve.

It wasn't until she reached the bottom of the stairs that Xi Qianyue's face showed her indignation.

The shopkeeper hurried over to apologize, his expression conflicted: "Please, Miss Xi, be magnanimous. The Third Young Master and our Sixth Young Master have never gotten along, so he deliberately made things difficult for you. It's just... in any case, please don't take it to heart, Miss Xi."

Xi Qianyue nodded and said no more, boarding the carriage.

"Qing Rong, from what you can tell, what status does the Qi family hold? I know they're wealthy and noble, but they seem even more aristocratic than I imagined."

Qing Rong said hesitantly: "Miss, Qi is the imperial surname."

Xi Qianyue pressed her hand to her forehead: "So then, what exactly is their status? Are they imperial clansmen? Sons of commandery princes? They can't be princes, can they?!"

At this point, she wasn't even sure of herself anymore.

"I'm not really doing business with a prince, am I? I hope their status isn't that high, otherwise, what would I do?" Xi Qianyue muttered to herself. "There are plenty of people surnamed Qi—after several generations, who knows how many impoverished clan descendants there are. I just hope they're not really princes. Princes don't open shops, do they?"

The more Xi Qianyue thought about it, the more she felt they couldn't be princes. Would a prince need to open a shop?

Her maidservants also tried to reassure her. Although their mistress was very capable, a merchant's daughter associating with a prince—however you looked at it, it wasn't a good thing.

They didn't dare imagine that if Young Master Qi really were a prince, what would happen to their young lady in the future? Marry him?

Marrying him as the Primary Consort was impossible, and even the Secondary Consort was out of the question. So then, become a concubine?

With that thought, she would rather he were not a prince, but a prince's son.

Just being business partners, opening a shop to make money—wouldn't that be a much easier relationship to manage?

Xi Qianyue was still a bit speechless. In the original book, Yang Xingxian and Bai Zhining had altered their plot, but it didn't change anything.

That task—it couldn't possibly be about overthrowing this dynasty, right?

Otherwise, why would she just happen to run into royalty?

It was all so complicated—it made life so tiring!

As they passed by Qi Jing's place, Xi Qianyue sent Qing Bi to check on him.

"Mr. Qi is Xun Geer's teacher, so he must be studying hard lately. Take him some bread."

Qing Bi took the loaves of bread wrapped in oil paper and, knowing the way well, went into the alley.

Zhang Shi was quietly doing needlework with her elderly nurse when she suddenly saw a beautiful maid coming toward her gracefully.