Chapter 48: You’re Ugly, But Your Thoughts Are Beautiful!

After lunch, when it was time to pay the bill, Little Yu took out all his money and handed it to the shopkeeper. “Shopkeeper, is this enough?”

“Young master, quickly put your money away. This restaurant is owned by the Wen family. You don’t need to pay for your meal here!” The butler quickly explained, seeing Little Yu pulling out so much money.

“Wow, Mu Rong sister, the shopkeeper says this is our family’s restaurant, so we don’t have to pay! We should come here often.” When Wen Yu heard it was his family’s restaurant, he recalled Mu Rong Shu saying at lunch that the food was delicious, and he thought it would be a good idea to bring her here often.

“Then thank you, Yu Er!” Mu Rong Shu didn’t expect this restaurant to be owned by the Wen family, which explained why the shopkeeper was always so warm when they visited.

“Mu Rong sister, I haven’t spent all the money I brought today. How about we go shopping later? I want to buy you a lot of things with this money.” Little Yu thought that since he hadn’t spent all his money yet, it didn’t count as treating Mu Rong Shu, so he wanted to buy her more things to thank her for making him snacks.

“Since you want to, let’s go together.” Mu Rong Shu was really touched by Little Yu’s cuteness and warmth, so she decided to spend the afternoon shopping with him.

Since the weather was quite hot, the group returned to the private room to rest for a while. Later in the afternoon, they went out for shopping.

Little Yu hadn’t had a proper chance to shop since returning, so he happily held his third uncle’s hand with his left hand and Mu Rong Shu’s hand with his right.

The streets had become livelier by the afternoon. There were vendors selling all kinds of snacks and trinkets, and even the candied hawthorn skewers that Little Yu loved.

“Mu Rong sister, I want to buy this. Do you want one?” Little Yu stood in front of the candied hawthorn stall, eagerly eyeing the skewers.

“Boss, one skewer please!” Mu Rong Shu ordered a skewer for Little Yu right away.

“Don’t you want one, sister? I have money.” Little Yu looked at Mu Rong Shu and wondered why she didn’t want any, especially since it was such a delicious treat.

“I’m not hungry yet. You go ahead and eat, and when I’m hungry later, I’ll buy one, okay?” Mu Rong Shu explained with a smile, seeing Little Yu hesitate.

Mu Rong Shu had been back in the capital for a while, but this was the first time she felt like she was shopping on a street food market like back in modern times.

Both Mu Rong Shu and Wen Yu were fascinated by everything, so they stopped at almost every stall to look around.

At one stall selling hairpins, Mu Rong Shu was deeply drawn to the unique and stylish designs. Each one was so beautiful that she couldn’t help but touch them all.

Seeing that Mu Rong Shu genuinely liked them, Wen Jing handed the shopkeeper a sum of silver. “Please wrap all of these up.”

The shopkeeper was momentarily stunned, not expecting someone to buy all the hairpins in stock, about ten or so and was caught off guard. Wen Jing thought the shopkeeper hadn’t accepted the silver properly, so he took out more, and only then did the shopkeeper realize what was happening. He quickly accepted the silver and said, “Young master, this amount of silver is enough. I’ll wrap these up for this young lady.”

The shopkeeper worked quickly, handing over the wrapped hairpins, along with the change.

“Zi Yu, you really didn’t have to buy so many,” Mu Rong Shu said, though she was very happy with the hairpins. She had only intended to buy two, but didn’t expect Wen Jing to buy the whole lot.

“It’s rare to see Shu Er so fond of something.” Wen Jing’s simple words made Mu Rong Shu happy. While the hairpins weren’t particularly expensive, his thoughtfulness and attitude meant a lot to her.

After shopping, Wen Jing naturally carried the items Mu Rong Shu had bought. The three of them continued shopping happily, occasionally stopping to try different foods, and Mu Rong Shu even bought some for Xiao Tao.

Just as they were enjoying themselves, a few people suddenly stopped them. One of the men, who appeared to be a young master, looked at Mu Rong Shu with a confident yet malicious gaze. He then struck a pose, thinking it was very handsome.

“Miss, what do you think of me? Instead of following this little pretty boy who only buys you cheap things, and with an extra burden, you might want to consider me. My father is the Duke of Ding, and I am his heir. If you agree, I’m willing to take you into my household. Right now, I only have one legitimate wife and three concubines.”

Mu Rong Shu nearly gagged. Who was this idiot? Was he out of his mind?

Wen Jing clenched his fists, worried that he wouldn’t be able to control himself and would end up harming this so-called heir of the Duke of Ding right then and there.

Although Little Yu was young, he clearly understood what this ugly man had said, calling his third uncle a pretty boy, calling himself a burden, and wanting to take Mu Rong Shu as a concubine. Little Yu was furious.

Xiao Tao, too, was so angry that she momentarily forgot to speak. This was the very Duke of Ding’s son who made young ladies in the capital tremble in fear. He had just married a legitimate wife last year and already took three concubines within a year. Now he was eyeing their young miss, did he have a death wish?

“Don’t you have a mirror at home?” Mu Rong Shu’s seemingly clueless question left everyone stunned.

The Duke of Ding’s heir stood frozen for a moment, assuming Mu Rong Shu was just some country bumpkin who had never seen a mirror. He smugly replied, “Our royal residence has all kinds of mirrors. If you wish to enter the royal palace, I can get you whatever kind of mirror you want.”

“You’re so ugly that you can only think about beauty,” Mu Rong Shu shot back. “I thought you had never looked in a mirror! You look like a toad, hopping around everywhere. I really don’t know where you get the courage from.”

Mu Rong Shu was ready to curse this man’s ancestors, he was a nuisance who didn’t even check the calendar before stepping outside to encounter her. If it weren’t for worrying about scaring Little Yu, she would’ve already taken action.

“You… you…” The Duke of Ding’s heir was so furious that he couldn’t even speak, his finger trembling as he pointed at Mu Rong Shu, his face contorted with rage.

“What? Are you stuttering? The Duke of Ding’s heir must be blessed by the heavens, ugly and a stutterer,” Mu Rong Shu didn’t back down.

The Duke of Ding’s heir was so enraged that he nearly fainted from the pressure. If his attendants hadn’t quickly caught him, he would have collapsed onto the ground.

“Take her… take her back to the palace. Let’s see who dares to stop me today!” The Duke of Ding’s heir, clearly enraged, had lost all sense of propriety and no longer cared that they were on a busy street.

As a few of his men approached to grab Mu Rong Shu, Wen Jing, Xiao Tao, and Er Zhu all stepped in front of her, blocking the way. Little Yu tightly gripped Mu Rong Shu’s hand, ready to do whatever he could to protect her, even if it meant holding onto the villain’s leg to give her a chance to escape.

“Little sister, take Miss and Wen Shao away first. Go around the corner ahead to ask for help. Old Master will pass by here around this time. I’ll hold them off,” Er Zhu said, his voice steady despite the danger. He had some martial skill, but against many opponents, it would be impossible to win. However, he owed Miss Mu Rong for her kindness, and even if it meant he would die here today, he was determined to protect her. His sister, loyal as ever, would also make sure Miss Mu Rong was safe.

As the two sides prepared to clash, a clear and crisp voice suddenly rang out.