Shen An looked at the man who only spoke a few words to the person who had been about to arrest them, and the person didn’t dare to speak back and let them go unconditionally.
At this point, Shen An was even more certain that the man’s identity was not simple, and she just wanted to stay away from him to avoid causing trouble with someone she shouldn’t mess with. Earlier, Shen An noticed the expression on the man’s face when he saw Wei Jinyu, and she thought he might be an old acquaintance of Wei Jinyu, but she couldn’t be sure whether the man was an enemy or a friend of Wei Jinyu.
Shen An carefully examined the servants brought by the man and saw that they were all staring at them intently. Shen An secretly swallowed and thought to herself that when one was under someone else’s roof, one has to bow one’s head. She had no choice but to thank him: “Thank you very much for helping us out, sir.”
“It’s nothing. I just can’t stand it when people bully others. It’s a small matter, and you don’t have to be so polite, miss.” The man opened the fan in his hand and fanned himself, pretending to be elegant.
“No matter what, I am very grateful to you, sir. If there is anything I can do for you in the future, please feel free to ask, as a token of my appreciation.” Shen An’s tone was sincere, she just wanted to repay the favor as soon as possible and not have any further involvement with this person. She still didn’t know if this person was harmful to Wei Jinyu.
“Okay, then I won’t be polite, since I actually have something that I would like you to help with. I don’t know if you’re willing or not, but as long as you are, I will naturally accept your kindness.” The person waved his fan, glanced at Shen An, and then at Wei Jinyu.
“Please tell me your request, as long as it is within my abilities, I will not refuse,” Shen An replied with a stiff smile.
“Haha, how could I make things difficult for you? You can definitely do this task.” The person waved his fan again and said, “I happen to want to go to the teahouse for tea, and it’s no fun going alone. Would you and your brother accompany me for a cup of tea? It can be considered as helping me, how about that?”
The person looked at Shen An, and although he was asking, there was no room for negotiation.
“Sir, this may not be appropriate. How could drinking tea be considered helping? Isn’t that right, Jinyu?” Shen An didn’t want to stir up trouble, but she didn’t know whether or not her little scheme was already exposed. She nudged Wei Jinyu with her elbow where the person couldn’t see.
“What’s wrong, Jiejie (1)?” Wei Jinyu was puzzled and didn’t know why Shen An had bumped into him.
“Jinyu, didn’t you say you wanted to go fishing just now?” Shen An smiled and looked at Wei Jinyu with a smile and made a gesture with her eyes, which was not visible to the man.
And at this moment, Wei Jinyu was just lost in thought, feeling strange about the person in front of him. He couldn’t quite describe the feeling, neither liking nor disliking the person.
But Wei Jinyu had an instinctual aversion to being with this person, and said to him, “Thank you for your help, kind sir. Since you said earlier that it was just a small gesture, there’s no need to have tea together. I believe, as someone of your status, you must have many people who would like to have tea with you. Goodbye.”
Although Wei Jinyu’s intelligence had dropped significantly after being poisoned, his tone of voice when talking to Shen An was still instinctively influenced by his past habits.
Wei Jinyu nodded at the person and pulled Shen An away without looking back.
The person watched as they walked away, and then smirked with a mysterious expression.
“Ah, nothing’s changed even after all this time. You can’t stand anyone touching the things you like. Sigh, when will you ever be normal?” The person murmured to himself only after their figures disappeared.
“My lord, what should we do now?” The hidden guard behind the person spoke up.
“Forget it, let’s go back. It seems like we didn’t leave empty-handed this time, don’t you think?” The person looked at the speaking servant with a playful expression.
The guard just lowered their head, and the person smiled and was about to leave, but suddenly remembered something.
“Oh, by the way, follow them and find out where they live. It will come in handy later.” The person’s mouth curled up as he instructed the servant.
“Understood.”
The guard had no objections and went to carry out the order.
Meanwhile, Shen An, walking some distance away, seemed to sense something and shivered. Her police intuition told her that someone was following them. She looked around cautiously but didn’t find anyone suspicious.
At this moment, Wei Jinyu grabbed her arm. “Jiejie, someone is following us.”
“You felt it too? Can you pinpoint their exact location? I can’t find them!” Shen An complained in frustration.
“Well, he’s less than a yard behind us. He has strong inner energy, so it’s normal that you can’t see him.” Wei Jinyu looked at Shen An’s expression and secretly laughed before comforting her.
“Not bad, so you’re stronger than him?” Shen An’s mood instantly brightened, patting Jinyu’s shoulder to show her praise.
Wei Jinyu frowned slightly at the pat, his body trembling, and then he brushed off Shen An’s hand and rubbed his shoulder.
“Anyway, do you have any way to shake off our tail?” Shen An pondered, changing the subject under Wei Jinyu’s accusatory gaze.
“Shake him off?” Wei Jinyu scratched his head, feeling unsure.
“Ah! Well, you’re just a kid. Looks like I need to show you my anti-surveillance skills. Stay close to me,” Shen An smiled slightly and helped Wei Jinyu straighten his hair, which he had messed up earlier
“Anti-surveillance skill? What’s that? Is it very powerful?” Wei Jinyu only caught on to the unfamiliar term.
“That’s not the point. The point is to follow me closely. Got it, you silly goose?” Shen An couldn’t help but feel helpless. How did she accidentally use modern slang that Wei Jinyu wouldn’t understand?
“Okay, I’ll definitely keep up! And, I’m not silly!” Wei Jinyu denied it firmly. He didn’t want Shen An to think less of him.
Shen An couldn’t help but smile wryly in her heart. She took Wei Jinyu and suddenly ran towards the crowd. The crowded group instantly engulfed them. The hidden guard realized something was wrong and hurriedly followed, looking for Shen An and Wei Jinyu’s figures in the crowd, but they were nowhere to be found.
Once the guard had gone far enough, Shen An and Wei Jinyu emerged from a large vegetable basket, looked at each other and smiled, and quickly ran in the opposite direction of the hidden guard.
The guard didn’t realize that he had been fooled until he reached a less crowded area and searched for Shen An and Wei Jinyu again. But where were they?
“Damn it!” The guard punched the stone wall with his hand, leaving deep finger marks. His martial arts skills were evident.
At this moment, Shen An and Wei Jinyu had run to another, more bustling street.
Shen An felt like they had nothing now, not even a place to stay.
Restlessly, she reached up and ran her hand through her hair. Suddenly, she felt something and took it out and realized it was a silver hairpin..
“Not bad. Every cloud has a silver lining. How could I forget about these?” Shen An breathed a sigh of relief, weighed the silver hairpin in her hand, and felt it was still in good condition. She thought it could sell for a good price.
Shen An started pulling Wei Jinyu around to look for a pawnshop. The first few they found did not offer ideal prices, so they continued their search.
After a while, they finally found the largest pawnshop in the city. Shen An believed this shop would give them a fair price, so they pulled Jin Yu inside.
“Miss, are you here to pawn something or redeem something?” A smart-looking waiter ran up to Shen An.
“Pawn something.”
“Okay, this way, please. I’ll go and fetch the boss.” The waiter led Shen An and Wei Jinyu to a table and offered them tea while they waited.
The decor of the pawn shop made Shen An feel like they were in the modern world. It was similar to modern-day shops, so she sat down and relaxed.
“The boss is sitting next to the lady over there. Whether you want to pawn or redeem, it’s better for the boss to check them out.” The waiter’s voice could be heard even before he arrived.
“Okay, I’ll go take a look,” replied a magnetic voice.
Shen An sipped her tea while observing, thinking the boss might be an old man, but she didn’t expect him to be such a young gentleman.
Shen An held the teacup with both hands and took small sips while keeping an eye on the gentleman.
“Miss, are you here to pawn something?” The young boss greeted Shen An.
“Yes.” Shen An put down her teacup, stood up, and bowed politely to the boss.
“Miss, you are so elegant and refined, with the demeanor of someone from a wealthy family. Coming here to pawn something must mean that you have some difficulties. How much are you asking for it? But it doesn’t matter, please tell us,” the boss complimented.
“Since the boss himself has said so, I will be straightforward. I believe that with your discerning eye, you can see that these things are worth more than 200 taels (2) of silver. But since I rely on my parents at home and my friends outside, why not just settle for 200 taels? We can consider it a friendly transaction, how about that?” Shen An proposed.
“Haha, you are quite the businesswoman. But as you said, let’s consider it a friendly transaction. Miss, you said 200 taels, so it’s 200 taels! Waiter, bring two silver notes,” The boss waved his hand towards the waiter.
“Great!” the waiver grinned.
“I can tell that you’re a straightforward person. If I encounter any difficulties in the future, I will definitely come to you for help.” Shen An joked with the boss.
“Judging by the way Miss speaks, it seems that something unfortunate has happened.” The boss picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then looked up at Wei Jinyu.
“Yes, my younger brother and I have fallen on hard times and are penniless, so we can only sell our belongings.” Shen An thought of her parents’ murder and couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” the boss expressed sympathy before turning to Wei Jinyu and jokingly saying, “But this person next to you, at first, I thought he was your beloved.”
“Boss, you’re kidding.” Shen An politely denied it when she heard the boss’s misunderstanding.
“Here you go, boss. These are 200 taels,” the waiter returned with two silver notes and handed them to the boss.
Footnote:
1. Jiejie is a Chinese term that refers to an older sister or a female friend who is older than oneself. It can be used as a term of endearment or respect.
2. Tael is a unit of weight traditionally used in China and other parts of East Asia, particularly for measuring precious metals like gold and silver.