SFS Chapter 111: Buying Jade
Chapter 111: Buying Jade
In "The Story of the Stone", the air pressure is terribly low.
All the customers were standing in neat rows, and in front of them stood the owner of "The Story of the Stone". He couldn't help but tremble all over, and his long robe made a rustling sound in the shop where you could hear a pin drop, which was extremely harsh.
Murong Yanhui sat on a counter with a grim face, looking down at the shopkeeper. His eyes were like sharp swords. Every time he looked at someone, that person seemed to be unable to bear the burden, and hung his head as if filled with shame.
Everyone was trembling like fallen leaves in the wind, yet full of doubts, not knowing how they had offended Murong Yanhui.
"How could anyone in your group not have seen Lili?" Murong Yanhui asked in disbelief. "It's okay for others, but how can you be the shopkeeper? Don't you even remember your customers?"
When Murong Yan pointed at him, the shopkeeper's knees suddenly went weak and he fell to his knees with a thud. Everyone was frightened and fell to their knees as well.
"I'm negligent, I'm negligent." The shopkeeper kowtowed like crazy, and the sound of "dong dong dong" made people feel uneasy.
"
There's no point in kowtowing. If you don't tell me where Lili went today, no one can go home!"
Murong Yanhui's tone was bad, his expression was bad, and his mood was even worse. Of course, this could not be entirely blamed on him. It was all because of the incident with the stalker. Naturally, the first thing Murong Yanhui thought of was that Yu Qingli had met with misfortune, and those people deliberately used the stalker to lure him away, and their target was all Yu Qingli.
Murong Yanhui was furious at the thought of having fallen for a decoy. Most of his anger was directed at the criminals, angry that they had dared to act right before his eyes. Some of it was at Yu Qingli, who seemed so clever, how could she have been kidnapped without a trace? But even more of it was at himself, angry that he had been so careless and lost the battle, thus causing Yu Qingli to disappear without a trace.
If the target of those villains was Lili, then Lili would have most likely been killed by now!
When Murong Yanhui thought of this, she felt like her heart was about to be crushed.
"Think about it carefully. If even a hair of my Lili falls off, I will bury all nine clans of yours with her!" Murong Yanhui's face was serious, leaving no doubt that he would do what he said.
Everyone lowered their heads and whispered to each other in panic. In order to survive, they tried their best to find the woman described by Murong Yanhui in their minds.
But most of the people who come to the store are women, and they all come for jade. Who would pay attention to another woman?
The more anxious the customers became, the more confused they became. Soon, everyone present had sweat on their backs. The long silence made the atmosphere in "The Story of the Stone" even more eerie.
No one dared to breathe, but just glanced at Murong Yanhui from time to time.
Suddenly, a woman kneeling in the first row slapped her forehead and cried out, "I remember now, I remember now."
She cheered as if she had won the jackpot, her greasy face shining with excitement.
Murong Yanhui's eyes lit up when he heard this, but his face remained expressionless. He only uttered one word coldly, "Speak!"
"Well, didn't someone just set off firecrackers? We all crowded to the window to watch, and everyone laughed at the shopkeeper for being so dishonest. Business was so good, but he still set off firecrackers to annoy others."
Murong Yan listened coldly and thought to himself, it was indeed that time, and he had fallen into the trap.
When he thought of this, his face became even colder.
The fat woman's heart sank, and she dared not delay any longer. She hurriedly said, "At that moment, the girl also squeezed to the window, looked around, and then ran downstairs."
"And then?" Murong Yanhui straightened up slightly, and his hand hidden by his sleeves slowly clenched into a fist.
"I thought this girl was a little strange, so I leaned over the window to watch. I saw her walk to the door, looked around to see if there was anyone, and suddenly she picked up her skirt and ran over there."
After the woman finished speaking, she turned to the thin woman beside her and said, "Weren't you watching with me at that time? You even said that the girl's clothes were beautiful."
The thin woman nodded upon hearing this, "Yes, yes, that's the girl."
The thin woman said, reaching out and patting the shopkeeper on the back, "Shopkeeper, how could you forget? It was the girl who asked you to show me that piece of unpolished jade over there."
The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment, then began to kowtow again, "Your Highness, the girl did ask me to show her the jade, but before I could greet her, she left because of the firecracker incident. As you can see, my shop was very busy, and the girl didn't buy anything. I, I really can't remember."
Murong Yanhui felt relieved when he heard the fat woman say that Yu Qingli had run away on her own. He knew that given Yu Qingli's personality, she might have taken the opportunity to slip away to get rid of him, but he was still worried and immediately ordered someone to go to the Prime Minister's Mansion to check.
After everything was done, the heavy burden on his heart was lifted, and Murong Yanhui's mood immediately brightened.
"Boss, come here." Murong Yanhui sat at the counter and waved to the boss.
The shopkeeper was trembling like a sieve, and walked cautiously to Murong Yanhui, looking up at Murong Yanhui.
This burst of lightning was incredible. The shopkeeper suddenly saw Murong Yanhui grinning. Her cold teeth looked like the flash of swords, which made his back cold.
Just when the shopkeeper was so frightened that he couldn't even catch his breath, he suddenly felt the sky and the earth go dark. When he opened his eyes, he was already sitting on the ground. His right cheek was burning with pain. It turned out that Murong Yanhui had slapped him hard.
"How dare you neglect Lili?" Murong Yanhui pointed and said, "Bring me that uncut jade."
The shopkeeper dared not disobey, and hurriedly took out the unpolished jade tremblingly.
Although the jade looked rough on the outside, it gave off a warm feeling as soon as it touched the hand. The smooth and soft feeling reminded Murong Yan of the moment when she held Yu Qingli's hand after getting off the carriage.
Just with this little bit of interest, Murong Yanhui decided to take the jade.
"Shopkeeper, I heard that your shop has a rule that unless someone is destined to buy your jade, even if someone is rich, you won't sell it to them. Do you think this piece of jade and I are destined to be together?"
"Excuse me, Your Highness, excuse me, that's just a sales tactic used by a villain to attract attention."
The shopkeeper was a businessman after all, and businessmen are best at observing people's expressions. Seeing Murong Yanhui's expression ease, he immediately knew the position that the girl held in Murong Yanhui's heart, so he continued, "The prince and the girl both like this piece of jade, which shows that the prince and the girl are destined to be together. I am so bold as to give this jade to the prince."
At this moment, the person sent by Murong Yanhui came back. He whispered to Murong Yanhui that Yu Qingli had already arrived safely at the Prime Minister's Mansion and nothing happened.
Murong Yanhui was in a good mood and immediately felt that the shopkeeper's words were pleasant to the ears. He took the unpolished jade in his hand and weighed it, but was a little hesitant as to whether he should give this unpolished jade directly to Yu Qingli.
Seeing this, the shopkeeper hurriedly said, "Your Highness, this unpolished jade is actually a piece of warm jade. This warm jade is not as cold as ordinary jade. If it is polished into a jade pendant and worn all year round, it will be a sacred item for women to maintain their beauty and protect their bodies."
Murong Yanhui nodded slightly upon hearing this, "In that case, I will accept the shopkeeper's kindness."
"It is my humble honor, my humble honor." The shopkeeper kowtowed to express his gratitude, and was eager to send Murong Yan away as soon as possible, this plague god.
Murong Yanhui went downstairs happily with the unpolished jade in his hand. Everyone followed him to see him off. The crowd was so large that it immediately filled up most of the street in front of the "Story of the Stone".
Murong Yanhui was about to lift the curtain and get on the carriage when he suddenly turned around to look at the shopkeeper. Everyone was shocked again and thought to themselves that something was wrong, fearing that Prince Murong would do something weird again.
Murong Yanhui ignored the strange expressions of the crowd, reached into his purse, took out a tael of silver and threw it to the shopkeeper.
"Lili doesn't like me taking things from others for no reason. I will buy this unpolished jade from you."
Murong Yan replied, then jumped into the carriage and drove away.
The shopkeeper held a tael of silver in his hand and burst into tears. Oh, Heaven, Oh, Earth, a tael of silver, a tael of silver, is not even enough to buy a corner of the uncut jade!
The guests patted his shoulders sympathetically to comfort him, and said, "Boss, you are lucky to have met Murong Yanhui and only lost a piece of unpolished jade!"
In the extraordinarily luxurious carriage, Murong Yanhui lazily leaned on the cushion, his right hand suspended in mid-air, his slender fingertips playing with the uncut jade, with a slight smile on the corner of his lips.
Warm jade is a good thing. If Lili can wear it close to her body at any time... just thinking about it makes Murong Yanhui excited.
He sat up straight with a whoosh, thinking, Lili has an independent and unique personality, and he himself is even more extraordinary. The gift he gives her must reflect such unique characteristics, and he can't just find a craftsman to make an ordinary jade pendant for her.
What should he do? Murong Yanhui sat cross-legged, his right hand resting on his cheek, his mind constantly imagining Yu Qingli's gentle words and smile, searching for the best solution. Suddenly, Murong Yanhui's eyes lit up!
Wouldn't it be best if I could make a jade pendant myself and engrave my name and Lili's name on it? This way, the jade pendant would be unique in the world, and making it myself would further demonstrate my sincerity.
If Lili could accept her, then no man in the world would dare to say another word to Lili. Who would dare to compete with the woman that Murong Yanhui liked?
The more Murong Yanhui thought about it, the more she felt that this method was feasible. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that this method of giving the jade pendant was a way to kill two birds with one stone. Suddenly, she rolled over in the carriage with joy, muttering incessantly, "Lili, Lili, my dear Lili."
"Ah sneeze."
Yu Qingli, who was far away in the Prime Minister's Mansion, suddenly sneezed. She rubbed her nose gently, looked up at the sky outside the window, and thought that it was probably Murong Yanhui who was scolding her.
Mei Hong had already told her a general idea of what happened in "A Story of the Stone". Yu Qingli did not have the slightest pity for Murong Yanhui, but only felt sorry for the people because they had suffered from Murong Yanhui for no reason.
"He's so angry now. I'm afraid he won't bother me for a while." Yu Qingli murmured with her head down, and went back to reading as if she didn't take the matter to heart.