Chapter 24: Meeting Qiao Zi Yu

The shop assistant glanced at Ye Xin Ran’s attire and immediately assumed she didn’t have anything of significant value. Lazily, he asked, “What are you looking to pawn, young lady? Clothes or embroidery?”

Ye Xin Ran opened her bundle and took out the scholar’s robe. “Please have a look. How much could this be pawned for?”

The assistant picked up the robe and, seeing it was just an ordinary brocade garment, replied indifferently, “Fifty wen.”

“Fifty wen?” Ye Xin Ran thought. “That’s way too little.”

She put the robe back into her bundle and then took out the jade hairpin. “What about this?”

The assistant, initially uninterested, immediately perked up at the sight of the hairpin.

The jade hairpin was crystal clear and warm in texture, clearly an exceptional item.

He took the hairpin and examined it closely, holding it up to the sunlight for a long moment before saying, “This jade is of fine quality, but the crafts manship is a bit rough. I’ll give you fifteen taels of silver for it.”

Fifteen taels was no small sum.

From her past reading experience, Ye Xin Ran knew that this amount could sustain an ordinary farming family for an entire year.

However, she took the hairpin back, tied up her bundle, and said, “Thank you, but I’ll check elsewhere.”

The assistant quickly asked, “You’re not selling? Is it too little? Why don’t you name a price, and I’ll see?”

Ye Xin Ran had no idea how much to ask for.

Her plan was to compare prices at a few shops, but seeing the assistant’s eagerness, she decided to try her luck. “A hundred taels?”

“A hundred taels?! Do you think this was worn by an emperor or an empress? How dare you ask for a hundred taels for such a tiny hairpin?”

The assistant was visibly annoyed.

Ye Xin Ran found his reaction strange.

“I left room for negotiation! You could start by halving the price to see if I agree, then we could haggle. You’re the one running the business, surely I don’t have to teach you this?”

“Fine, fine. We’re not wasting time with you. We’re not taking the hairpin, sell it elsewhere if you like!” The assistant waved her off impatiently.

Ye Xin Ran, unwilling to argue further, was about to leave when another assistant rushed out from the back, calling out, “Young lady, please wait! Our young master would like to see your hairpin.”

“Can he afford a hundred taels? If so, I don’t mind showing it to him.”

“Please hand me the hairpin, and I’ll take it to our young master for appraisal,” the assistant said.

“No way. The hairpin must stay within my sight,” Ye Xin Ran refused firmly.

If they took it inside, who knew if they’d switch it out?

The assistant hesitated until a voice called out from within, “Let her come in.”

The assistant immediately bowed and guided Ye Xin Ran inside.

The inner room was located behind the pawn counter and was several times larger. It was decorated in a traditional, elegant style, with incense curling up from a bronze censer, giving it a refined ambiance.

As Ye Xin Ran was admiring the room, a male voice suddenly came from behind her.

“Miss Ye, you went to such lengths just to see me.”

Turning around, Ye Xin Ran saw a refined gentleman standing there.

He wore a white brocade robe embroidered with cloud patterns, a jade belt around his waist, and had rosy lips and dark, sharp brows, a strikingly handsome appearance.

However, his demeanor was lofty and arrogant, and his gaze at Ye Xin Ran carried a distinct air of disdain.

Ye Xin Ran realized she knew this person.

This was none other than the “Brother Zi Yu” that the original host of her body had been infatuated with. She hadn’t expected to meet him here.

“Is this your family’s pawnshop?” Ye Xin Ran immediately responded.

“Don’t play dumb! You’ve clearly done your homework. Otherwise, with so many pawnshops on the street, why would you come to this one specifically?”

Ye Xin Ran felt the need to defend herself. “I truly didn’t know.”

“Liar!” Qiao Zi Yu lifted his chin arrogantly, refusing even to glance at her. “The jade hairpin in your hand is worth no more than fifteen taels of silver, yet you deliberately asked for a hundred. You even caused a scene at the counter to draw my attention, didn’t you?”

Ye Xin Ran thought: “Is this guy out of his mind?”

Before she could fully process it, he continued with something even more outrageous. “If you wanted to give the hairpin to me, there was no need to go through such lengths.”

Huh?

Ye Xin Ran was utterly stunned.

“Is he so narcissistic that he’s never been humbled by reality?”

“Forget it!” Seeing Ye Xin Ran remain silent, Qiao Zi Yu carried on with his own monologue. “I understand your feelings for me. But now that the engagement has been annulled, and you’ve married someone else, I’ll accept your gesture this one last time. Leave the hairpin, and don’t come looking for me again!”

“Leaving the hairpin is fine. Will you pay a hundred taels for it?” Ye Xin Ran ignored everything else and latched onto the part about leaving the hairpin.

“You”

Qiao Zi Yu was taken a back that Ye Xin Ran would actually ask him for money.

“How could you become so mercenary in just a few days?” he said disdain fully.

“Brother, you want my hairpin but don’t want to pay for it? Are you trying to get it for free?” Ye Xin Ran finally realized what Qiao Zi Yu was implying.

It wasn’t that she was slow.

She had just never encountered someone so shameless in her life.

“Vulgar!”

Qiao Zi Yu seemed unable to tolerate Ye Xin Ran anymore. Waving her away, he said, “Leave. Don’t ever come back.”

Ye Xin Ran was amused by his audacity.

Sure, you’re the son of the country magistrate, but that doesn’t mean you can summon people at will and dismiss them as you please!

She recalled how the original host of this body had once revered this young master like a deity, meticulously crafting sachets, handkerchiefs, and other trinkets to give to him.

Though they weren’t worth much, they were the best the original host could offer.

“Well, I wasn’t planning on asking anything from Young Master Qiao, but since we’ve run into each other today, why don’t you return all the things I gave you in the past? Now that I’m married, I’m worried my husband might be upset if he ever comes across them.”

Qiao Zi Yu sneered. “Those things? Who knows where they’ve been tossed. Rest assured, Madam Ye, there’s no chance of anyone else seeing them.”

“Tossed them out?” Ye Xin Ran feigned shock.

“Do you know how many nights I spent making those? I nearly ruined my eyesight working on them. Since you don’t want to return them, then compensate me with silver. That way, if they ever resurface, it can just be assumed you bought them somewhere.”

“So it all boils down to wanting money?” Qiao Zi Yu’s disdain for Ye Xin Ran deepened.

Previously, he had only found her ugly and hadn’t even wanted to look at her.

Still, his mother had once said that since the engagement was arranged by someone of importance and couldn’t be dissolved, he should focus on Ye Xin Ran’s virtues. Perhaps they could live in harmony as a couple someday.

But now, it seemed that she was not only unattractive but also vulgar beyond words.