Chapter 38: I Am the Shopkeeper

Pan Yueqing looked at Qi Sian beside her, who was in high spirits, and couldn't help rolling her eyes inwardly. It all started an hour ago. Qi Sian bluntly said that a life-saving favor should be repaid with a涌泉 of kindness, and then he asked Pan Yueqing to go shopping with him.

Qi Sian bought a Kunlun slave mask and put it on his face, while Pan Yueqing changed into men's clothing.

"Ahead is Jinyuzi. It's the best store in the East Quarter," Qi Sian raised his hand and pointed to the inconspicuous store at the end of the White Sand Workshop, where it bordered the Jade Wall Workshop. Although the store looked unremarkable, the four pillars supporting the arcade-style porch were actually made of hundred-year-old pear wood. The gold-plated and carved patterns at the joints were obviously the work of a master.

Pan Yueqing followed Qi Sian and stooped to enter through the half-drawn bamboo curtain. They walked straight through the octagonal house with a plaque that read "Yiyuan".

After Pan Yueqing went in, she saw several familiar people. The first one that caught her eye was Liu Ya, who was now holding a beauty's round fan and accompanying Zou Yingru of the Zou family.

Zou Yingru was the only daughter of the King of Eastern Pearls and was also Pan Miaoqian's close friend.

"The hairpins, earrings, and other ornaments here are quite good. Go and take a look for yourself. I have something else to do and will come to find you later," Qi Sian whispered to Pan Yueqing. Then, before Pan Yueqing could react, he disappeared through an unknown hidden door. Pan Yueqing let out a slight sigh. Qi Sian had a fickle temperament. Last time, it was only because he was injured that she could take advantage of his injury to restrain him. Now it seemed that without external help, she was no match for Qi Sian at all.

In the room filled with nobles adorned with jewelry, they were listening to the maids serving them as they introduced the items in a low voice. Pan Yueqing just stood there for a while when a maid, who was heavily scented with rose perfume, came up to her and said softly, "Is there anything you need, Miss?"

Women in the Northern Qi Dynasty also liked to wear men's clothing. Pan Yueqing, with her bright eyes and white teeth, was obviously a noblewoman who had changed into men's clothing to go out and have fun. The maid followed closely behind Pan Yueqing, thinking that such a young girl who hadn't seen much of the world was the easiest to deceive. So she said, "Miss, take a look at this agate hairpin. It's a very rare treasure. Look at the agate inlaid on this hairpin. There is a naturally formed 'lovesick tear' inside. This hairpin only costs fifty taels of silver. You definitely won't suffer a loss, Miss."

Pan Yueqing glanced at the so-called "lovesick tear" held in the maid's hand and smiled gently.

The maid thought Pan Yueqing was interested, so she ordered someone to wrap up the hairpin. Pan Yueqing felt something was wrong when she heard this. She didn't want this item, so she said, "Wait."

The maid's smiling face suddenly froze a bit. She said to Pan Yueqing in a low voice, "Do you have any other instructions, Miss?" "I don't want this so-called lovesick tear," Pan Yueqing said softly.

The maid's face lost its smile immediately. "Miss, the rule of Jinyuzi is that there are no returns or exchanges."

"I haven't bought this item either, so I don't need you to return or exchange it," Pan Yueqing's face was no longer kind. She could see that this maid was trying to force her to buy it.

The maid sneered. "If you can't afford it, you don't have to come to this Eryuan. The items in the Yiyuan outside are more suitable for you, Miss."

"If you can't afford it, just forget it. Why are you asking for a return? It's just a matter of a few dozen taels of silver. Which family are you from? Don't you even have this little pocket money?" At first, it was a noble young master whose name couldn't be remembered. He was hugging a maid in his arms and winking at Pan Yueqing. Then more and more people started to mock her one after another.

Pan Yueqing's face didn't change at all. She looked around at the noble young masters and ladies surrounding her and chuckled. "I finally understand what true stupidity is. Even being a fool can give one a sense of superiority."

"Who doesn't know that Jinyuzi has the best reputation?! If you can't afford it, get out!" With the support of the crowd, the maid seemed to be no stranger to handling such matters. She scolded Pan Yueqing confidently.

Pan Yueqing glanced at the maid, bypassed her, picked up the so-called "lovesick tear" agate hairpin, and hooked her finger at the noble young master who had mocked her first. "Didn't you say it's just a matter of a few dozen taels of silver? What if you paid a few dozen taels for something that could be bought for just a few taels outside?"

"How is that possible!" The young master angrily stepped forward and got closer to Pan Yueqing.

Pan Yueqing held the hairpin towards the sunlight outside the window, and with a click, she took off the agate on the hairpin. She pointed at the "lovesick tear" in the agate. "Take a closer look. Is there a thin white line around this agate?"

The noble young master stared wide-eyed and after looking at it, he exclaimed in surprise, "There really is!"

The noble young masters and ladies around them started whispering and passing the agate around. While they were all looking at it carefully, Pan Yueqing stood there with her arms crossed. "This so-called lovesick tear is actually made by splitting the agate in half, chiseling a hole, filling it with water, and then sealing it. A 'lovesick tear' is extremely rare and it's really too cheap to sell this hairpin for only fifty taels, isn't it?"

She had only seen an agate with a "lovesick tear" once when she was by the Empress Dowager's side.

"So what? As long as the agate is good," Zou Yingru recognized Pan Yueqing and chuckled as she stepped forward slowly. She had heard how Pan Yueqing "bullied" her good friend Pan Miaoqian, and with Liu Ya adding fuel to the fire, she just wanted to teach Pan Yueqing a lesson. "Didn't everyone come to Eryuan to buy the craftsmanship of the artisans in Jinyuzi?"

Pan Yueqing smiled gently and ignored her.

"As for you, since you don't want to buy it, how can you damage the jewelry of Jinyuzi without permission?" Zou Yingru raised her beautiful eyes, and the smile on her face was full of mockery. The maid suddenly realized something, stepped forward and snatched the agate that Pan Yueqing had taken off, and pointed at Pan Yueqing's nose and scolded, "Our store's rule is that if you damage property without the permission of the shopkeeper, you have to pay ten times the compensation!"

That was five hundred taels!

Pan Yueqing crossed her arms and looked coldly at the maid, sneering. "What about forcing customers to buy and deceiving them?"

"Go and talk to our shopkeeper!" The maid said proudly. The shopkeeper was often elusive, and the only thing known about him was that he had a great background. "If you don't dare, just obediently pay five hundred taels of silver!"

Pan Yueqing certainly didn't want to really pay five hundred taels of silver. Seeing more than a dozen servants surrounding her, she looked around but didn't see Qi Sian's figure. Suddenly, she remembered the jade pendant given by Mr. Hong. She took out the jade pendant and held it in front of the maid. "Do you recognize this jade pendant?!"

Mr. Hong had said that the entire East Quarter was his property, and this jade pendant was his token.

Zou Yingru chuckled. "An unknown jade pendant. Who do you expect to recognize it?"

"Stop." Amidst the jeers, a young man emerged from the hidden door. He had a delicate face, but now his face looked pale. The maid was shocked when she saw the young man. All the maids and servants bowed hurriedly to the young man. "Manager Xue."

Unexpectedly, Manager Xue trembled and carefully said to Pan Yueqing, "Miss, could you please lend me the jade pendant to take a look?" Pan Yueqing silently handed the jade pendant to Manager Xue. After examining it, Manager Xue bowed deeply to Pan Yueqing. "This subordinate, Xue Ying, greets the shopkeeper."