Chapter 61 Night Market

  Two days after returning from Nanqiao Lane, Shen Changyu sent an invitation to Chen Yun to drink on the painting boat.

  Chen Jiong refused.

  He still fetches water and reads books every day, and in his spare time plays chess with Li Balang.

  Every now and then, they would also go out at night to stroll through the night market, with their nephew and niece following behind them.

  Thanks to Li Balang, everyone has someone to look out for each other, and Dajie is not worried either, so she lets them go with peace of mind, and even gives Chen Jing some pocket money.

  When Chen Jiong returned, he would buy some seasonal fruits, such as plums and cherries; sometimes he also bought some wine, like Huang Gan wine and Qing Mei wine, which both Da Sao and Qing Yun liked; sometimes he would buy some small snacks, such as stir-fried rabbit meat and Su Qian sugar, never returning empty-handed.

  The elder sister-in-law and Qingyun were both very happy. No matter how old a woman is, she likes these small gifts more than receiving clothes or jewelry.

  Life seems to have become much more wonderful all of a sudden.

  The relationship between family members is more harmonious.

  The elder sister-in-law has already treated Chen Jing as an adult and no longer restricts him. After several incidents, the elder sister-in-law felt that Chen Jing was very cautious and would not be deceived by others outside, so she encouraged him to make more friends.

  As for making friends, Chen Jiong's attitude is casual and he doesn't have much interest in superficial social interactions.

  One time while strolling through the night market, his sister-in-law reminded him: "Take a look and see if there's any good incense. Summer is approaching, buy some incense back to drive away mosquitoes and relieve the heat, don't get anything too expensive."

  Chen Jing said: "Okay, I've taken note of it."

  Li Balang, however, did not want to go to the incense shop and thought buying incense would damage his masculinity. He said to Chen Xiang: "I'll take Wen Gong and Rongniang to eat venison, you can come find us after you've finished shopping."

  "Alright, don't go far." Chen Jing said.

  He knew that venison shop and had been there several times.

  They then split into two groups.

  Chen Jiong found a perfume shop and told the owner his intention. The owner took out several perfumes for him to choose from, boasting about them non-stop. Chen Jiong asked the price and then slowly made his selection.

  Then someone gently patted his shoulder.

  He slightly tilted his head and, with the help of the bright candles in the shop, saw a plain yet delicate face.

  She was Xiwen, the famous courtesan of Wanyunjian.

  Xiawen wore a low bun, with tortoiseshell hairpins inserted at the temples, wearing a lotus-colored jacket and an official green skirt, without makeup, accompanied by a maid and a guard, came out to stroll through the night market, like a noble lady.

  She saw Chen Jing turn his head, knowing that he hadn't mistaken her for someone else, and smiled. Her eyes curved upwards, like two crescent moons, without a hint of coldness or arrogance, like a mischievous child, paired with that perfect and flawless face, looked extremely adorable.

  "What a coincidence, Xiwen...!" Chen Jing smiled and exchanged greetings with her before continuing to select his incense.

  "What a coincidence." Xi Wen bowed and stood aside to watch. Chen Jing was very serious, seemingly knowledgeable about the matter, she found it strange and asked with a smile: "You still use incense?"

  "It's for driving away mosquitoes and relieving the heat, not for fumigating clothes." Chen Jing explained, "It's what my elder sister-in-law wants."

  "Oh..." Wen Xiu smiled, "You're still so afraid of your sister-in-law?"

  She said this to tease Chen Jing. Last time at Wanjun Pavilion, Chen Qi had mentioned that Chen Jing was afraid of his sister-in-law, and Xiwen still remembered it.

  "Don't be afraid." Chen Jiong said.

  "Really?" Xi Wen tilted her head, smiling lightly as she asked, thinking Chen Jing was bragging. Her tone was playful and teasing, with a hint of naivety and innocence.

  Chen Jiong smiled and didn't answer, changing the subject. He asked her: "Do you have a favorite incense? If you like it, take it back with you. I'll pay for it, consider it a gift from me."

  There were too many people who gave her gifts on ordinary days, so this remark shouldn't have caused any ripples in her heart. Chen Jing was just being polite and said it casually.

  Wan Jun Ge is a high-class brothel, naturally they have top-grade incense. A small amount of incense doesn't cost much money, it shouldn't be worth Wen's attention. Unfortunately, Wen heard and smiled brightly, saying: "Great, thank you Chen Gongzi."

  Then she chose a box of osmanthus incense and two boxes of Buddha's hand citron, used for fumigating clothes and making sachets, totaling three hundred coins.

  Chen Jing thought of the last time he helped Xi Wen recover from his illness, and Wan Niang generously gave him 3,000 taels. He felt that he had taken advantage of Wan Jun Ge's kindness. Now that he was offering to give Xi Wen something, it was less than half a tael of silver, which seemed a bit too little, so he asked: "Is there anything else?"

  "That's enough, these few boxes will do." Xī Wén smiled.

  She got along with men without being half constrained, nor was she aloof and indifferent, like a neighbor's younger sister. Chen Jiong repeatedly wondered how she got her reputation for being cold and elegant.

  Chen Jing doesn't know if she is really innocent or has high emotional intelligence. In any case, she gives people a feeling of being very considerate and able to think for others.

  Chen Jing didn't like to delve into others' inner thoughts. As long as the surface-level behavior was gentle and elegant, making people feel comfortable, he thought it was good enough.

  It's not like he's going to marry her, whether she's being sincere or not, what's the difference?

  So, Chen Jing didn't think deeply about the thoughtful expression on Xi Wen's face. He let his assistant pack up the things he and Xi Wen wanted separately, then paid for them.

  They parted ways at Xiangpu, Chen Yun and Xi Wen said their goodbyes.

  "Are you going home?" Wen asked him.

  "It's no use." Chen Jing pointed to the shop in front of him, "My friends are eating ahead, go find them..."

  "I'm hungry too!" Xiwen said, "What are you eating?"

  She seems to want to go shopping with Chen Jing.

  Chen Jiong glanced at the tall and sturdy guardian behind her. The guardian was about the same height as Chen Jiong, but two to three times thicker, looking particularly majestic, although wearing a plain silk robe, his eyebrows still had a fierce and sinister aura.

  "Are... aren't you going back a bit early?" Chen Jiong asked.

  "No need, I can play until next market day, mom has agreed." said Xiwen.

  The guard behind her had a solemn expression on his face, without any fluctuation.

  Chen Jiong could see that the guards and maids were all listening to Xiwen, and wouldn't stop her actions. Seeing this, Chen Jiong nodded and said, "Alright, let's go."

  Regret and smile again.

  She has a pair of particularly good-looking eyes, round and shiny, with pupils like black gemstones, shining brightly. When she's happy, she'll narrow her eyes and smile, very sweetly.

  She smiled with a pure and innocent smile, like an early spring-blooming flower, delicate and carrying the warmth of spring, touching people's hearts.

  If it weren't for knowing her, Chen Xuan would find it hard to imagine that someone with such a clean and bright smile could come from the entertainment industry.

  "This time, I'll pay for it myself." Xiwen said, following Chen Xuan's footsteps.

  "Alright." Chen Jiong said.

  Venison shop, and other snacks, such as pickled beans, fruit wood skewers, wild fox meat, stir-fried rabbit meat, glutinous rice balls, and rice cakes.

  Unfortunately, Wen's entrance did not attract the attention of other customers.

  She was accompanied by her maid and servant girl, dressed in simple yet elegant attire, which would lead others to assume she was a young lady from a wealthy family out for a stroll at the night market.

  For a young lady from a wealthy family, people might be curious, but they would never dare to come and flirt with her.

  "You all sit down too, order whatever you want to eat." Xiwen said to the nurse and maids behind her.

  The two of them were very obedient and said yes, then turned around and found a table with an open view to sit down.

  Chen Jie then brought Xiwen to the innermost corner of the shop, where he found Li Balang and his nephew and niece.

  Li Balang was shocked when Chen Jing suddenly brought a girl in.

  "This is Xiwen...". Chen Jing introduced, then turned to Xiwen and said, "This is Li Balang, a relative of my family."

  With sorrowful words and humble attire, he performed the rites.

  Li Balang also hastily stood up and exchanged greetings with her.

  The nephews and nieces also looked like adults, and they greeted Xiwen with courtesy, which made Xiwen delighted and repeatedly praised Chen Jing's nephews and nieces for being sensible.

  She also took off a golden bangle from her hand and gave it to Chen Jing's niece as a gift for their first meeting.

  In this era, when elders meet younger relatives or friends for the first time, they need to prepare a gift. If they like that young person, the gift should be more substantial.

  Elderly people giving jewelry they carry with them as gifts to children is a common occurrence.

  I didn't expect Xiwen's life skills in this aspect to be so proficient.

  But unfortunately, Wen Nai's bracelet was made of solid gold and weighed at least two taels, making it very valuable.

  "You're too polite," said Chen Jiong.

  "It should be." Xī Wén smiled and said.

  She and Chen Jing sat in a row, next to Chen Jing's niece.

  She seemed to be coming to this kind of restaurant for the first time, very excited, and ordered seven or eight dishes. When the food was served, Chen Jiong thought she would eat at most two mouthfuls.

  Unexpectedly, she had almost eaten half of everything.

  I have a good appetite.

  "It's delicious." She occasionally praised, like a gluttonous child.

  Chen Jing smiled beside him. Xi Wen looked like this, with a silly and cute expression, like a high school girl, innocent and natural, lively and lovely.

  Chen Jiong also likes girls with a good appetite, looking at them is pleasant and comforting.

  It was really worth paying for after finishing eating.

  She also paid for Chen Jing and his share.

  When it was time to part ways, it was already late at night, and Chen Jing and the others were going home.

  Xianwen still wanted to stroll around, but seeing Chen Jing wanting to leave, she couldn't hide her disappointment.

  Everyone bid farewell.

  "Who is that?" Li Balang asked as he stood up on his horse after Xiwen had walked far away. He had been holding it in for a whole night and didn't dare to ask Xiwen about her identity. When Chen Jing introduced Xiwen, she was vague with her words.

  "Wan Jun Ge's famous courtesan, I cured her illness last time, so we got to know each other." Chen Jing introduced. By the way, he also talked about Wan Jun Ge and Xi Wen's reputation in Wang County again.

  Li Balang was shocked.

  He looked back at Wen's figure and exclaimed in surprise: "Is she a famous courtesan?"

  It's hard to see that she's a famous courtesan. The girl smiled, her eyes curved like a porcelain doll, without any hint of worldly experience.

  However, upon further reflection, Wenxi is very generous in front of men. This generosity makes people feel comfortable and doesn't make them think too much at the time.

  But ordinary girls don't have that kind of sophistication. Ordinary girls, no matter how tough they are, always have a few points of shyness in front of strange men.

  Only this point is like a famous prostitute.

  "Does she have feelings for you?" Li Balang asked again.

  "I don't know," Chen Jiong said with a smile, "you'd better ask her."

  "I think she has some feelings for you." Li Balang teased Chen Jing, "You actually have such good fortune, it's enviable! That girl looks beautiful, her eyes can talk, and she must be charming in every way."

  "The women in the pleasure quarters, from a young age, are taught how to be charming and flirtatious with men. The affection they show you may not necessarily be genuine." Chen Jiong smiled and said, "Besides, Xi Wen doesn't even pretend to have any affection for me. Don't bother, she and I are just acquaintances."

  Li Balang was also skeptical of the emotions of women in the pleasure quarters.

  He just casually joked with Chen Jing for a few sentences.

  When Chen Jiong said so, his topic was also stopped.

  Four people carried their purchases back to Qi Wan Lane.

  ***

  I'm really sorry for updating so late~~