Editor: Sahloknir

—Crack!

Wang Zhancheng entered Shi Qing’s courtyard to see his delicate, jade-like little cousin on the veranda with a long, red whip in hand.

He didn’t know what material that whip was made of, but it left an impressive number of marks on the ground despite how little force Shi Qing could muster.

“Great!!”

Although Wang Zhancheng didn’t play with whips himself, there were many young masters back in River City who loved them. He had seen their performances, so he could not help but applaud and call out to Shi Qing.

Shi Qing stopped waving the whip and looked up. Seeing that it was Wang Zhancheng, a smile appeared on his face. “Cousin is here?”

As soon as the maidservant waiting nearby saw the little master stop, she

hastily draped the cloak she was holding over his shoulders and carefully tied the straps. Otherwise Shi Qing might catch a cold.

Another maidservant came forward with a tray and took the whip from Shi Qing before retreating.

As Wang Zhancheng strode forward, Shi Qing took the handkerchief handed to him by another maidservant and wiped his hands. He asked,

“Has cousin rested enough? How about we go out to eat for lunch today?”

“Yes, I’m feeling much better after my nap.” Wang Zhancheng, who wasn’t actually very tired said as he chuckled and looked around. He breathed a sigh of relief when Jiang Bieyu was nowhere to be seen.

Then he asked, “Cousin, that manservant you had with you earlier, is he not here?”

“I sent him to run some errands.”

Shi Qing’s expression didn’t change.

In reality, Jiang Bieyu was asleep in the secret room under the bed in his residence.

This guy had stayed up for three days and two nights to rush here. Then he used up the rest of his energy by holding Shi Qing.

The only reason he didn’t fall to the ground straight away was because of his protagonist halo.

To prevent this guy from suddenly dropping dead, Shi Qing forced him to rest a while.

Father Shi was the one who had that secret room built during the manor’s construction. After all, they lived in troubled times. If the worst were to happen, the jewels and money hidden inside would be enough for the Shi family to live on.

Shi Qing wondered what expression Father Shi would make if he found out that his son had hidden a man in the secret room that the Shi family used to hide their gold and silver.

He dismissed the idea after a second.

In front of him, the tension finally drained from Wang Zhancheng’s shoulders.

It was good that he wasn’t there.

His whole body relaxed as he began to speak more freely, “Cousin, why did you recruit such a person to be your manservant? I get scared just looking at him. Aren’t you afraid?”

“What’s there to be afraid of? He’s just a servant after all.”

Shi Qing’s expression didn’t change as he badmouthed Jiang Bieyu, “He may look fierce, Cousin, but he’s actually quite shy and dependent on others.”

Wang Zhancheng was only half convinced. “But it seems to me like his eyes are quite deadly.”

“That’s just a facade he puts on.”

The little master smacked his lips like he wanted to vent all his anger towards Jiang Bieyu by badmouthing him.

“Actually, he faints at the sight of blood and is as timid as a mouse. He only pretends to be fierce so that others won’t laugh at him.”

He said it so matter-of-factly that most of Wang Zhancheng’s remaining doubts were put at ease.

He hesitantly glanced at Shi Qing.

This little cousin was born with good features. He had pretty eyes that always looked like they were smiling at others and beautiful lips that were slightly curved. He had a pleasing appearance at first glance.

On closer inspection, you would see that every part of him was immaculate.

Paired with his fair skin and delicate accessories, Shi Qing seemed like a work of art that made people want to gasp and admire him carefully.

It was no wonder that Wang Zhancheng had always felt like his little cousin seemed to be made of jade.

Afterall, he was also a facecon.

Shi Qing’s appearance aside, he doubted that his little cousin was as altruistic and selfless as others seemed to think. However, Wang Zhancheng was sure that Shi Qing wouldn’t lie to him.

With this in mind, Wang Zhancheng relaxed slightly. “That’s good. Cousin, where are we going to eat?”

He happened to recall what his aunt had said when he greeted her. She told him that Qing-er was a stubborn lad that loved to play tricks on people.

But his fair-featured and kind little cousin didn’t seem to fit the description given by his mother at all.

Perhaps all mothers just think their children stubborn.

The smile on Wang Zhancheng’s face became more and more genuine as he thought of this.

Shi Qing raised an eyebrow and tightened the cloak around him.

“We’ll naturally be going to my Shi family’s restaurant to sample their drunken duck dish.”

“Oh that’s right. Cousin, since you want to do business in Crane City, do you want to join the Chamber of Commerce as well?”

Wang Zhancheng nodded. “Are you talking about the Chamber of Commerce led by you, Cousin? I’ve heard a few things about it. People are saying you founded this organization to protect the merchants who are powerless. What a righteous thing to do!”

He sighed, “Although the world is chaotic nowadays, merchants are still not given the respect they deserve. Those as successful as you, are still in the minority. Most are looked down upon by the magistrates, sneered at by the nobles and avoided by the commoners. Cousin, you creating a bastion of safety for all merchants so we can band together is really admirable. I’m in awe of what you’ve managed to accomplish.” Sigh.

“I’m actually a bit embarrassed. Despite being older than Cousin by a few years, I lack your foresight and mental acuity.”

The little master listened to his cousin with a puzzled expression.

“What bastion of safety? Doesn’t Cousin know that the purpose of this Chamber of Commerce is just to facilitate the exchange of news among us merchants?”

Wang Zhancheng: “…”

Half the wind was taken out of his sails. “…In order to exchange…news?”

“Of course. What else could it be for.”

Wang Zhancheng: “…”

He took a deep breath. “But if it’s for the sake of exchanging news then Cousin has still done good! Now we can all share information so the less informed merchants will no longer have to fear being scammed.”

Thinking about it like this, his little cousin has done a good deed after all!

Yes, that’s right!

This has to be it…

Shi Qing cruelly shattered his hopes. “What Cousin said is true, but the greatest benefit of the Chamber of Commerce is that merchants who join it have to pay an annual membership fee of one thousand taels a year per person.”

“But don’t worry Cousin.” The little master added in a particularly thoughtful manner, “You’re my cousin, so naturally I won’t charge you. You can just join for free.”

Shi Qing had a smug little smile on his face. A breeze blew by, highlighting his ‘refined and gentlemanly’ demeanour.

“No need to thank me. We’re relatives after all.”

Wang Zhancheng: “…”

His whole face had stiffened into a mask.

His image of his cousin, the one he had been looking forward to meeting all this time, the one he had foregone sleep for during the journey here…

It had been completely obliterated.

Pieces still remained before, but now they had all been ground into dust.

While his heart was breaking in two, Wang Zhancheng remembered what his aunt had said to him. A question rose in his mind.

Could it be? Could his cousin actually be a bad natured person who liked to play tricks on other people??

The next few days made him completely dispel this thought.

As the host, Shi Qing took him to eat and play all over Crane City. He gave him a tour around the department stores and oversized markets here, as well as that free school that could accommodate several thousand people. They also went to visit the library brimming with books that could be borrowed for free.

Even though his little cousin kept insisting he did it all for money, Wang Zhancheng didn’t believe him anymore after personally witnessing what a difference Shi Qing’s contribution had made for the commoners, merchants and poor scholars.

His cousin must be a gentleman who does good in secret!

Ai, he really sympathized with his cousin. Even though he was clearly such a good person, his mother thought that he was stubborn.

Perhaps the stubbornness his aunt was referring to was just something small, like not studying properly as a child.

That was what Wang Zhancheng had thought…

Until the fourth day he arrived at Crane City.

With an army at the city’s doorstep, Crane City surrendered and opened its gates. Jiang Bieyu, who was known as the devil incarnate, led his troops inside.

As soon as he raised his eyes, they immediately zeroed in on Shi Qing who had to drag Wang Zhancheng out to see what all the ruckus was about.

That pair of light-coloured eyes were overflowing with tenderness.

Wang Zhancheng, who was sitting beside Shi Qing and already wholeheartedly believed that Jiang Bieyu was just a cowardly and harmless servant: “…”

Cousin!! You lied to me again!!!

Author’s Corner

I expect to finish this story tomorrow!

I love Big Yu so much! He’s like a wild horse who insists on doing things his way no matter what. I end up having to follow him around and pitifully plead, “What else do you want to do Master? Please control yourself Master, I don’t want this novel to get locked, ah”. How pitiful…

Randomly handing out red pockets~

Night night

…I was reported again.

Again.

No idea who did it. Is it fun? If you don’t like it then you don’t have to read. Do you have nothing better to do than report me once in a while? I’m so frustrated. I can’t even write about Big Yu giving Qing-er a chill with his cold hands without being reported. This is supposed to update in the morning, but that report caused some little angels to only see the chapter in the afternoon. I might just explode.

If the person responsible is still reading, then here’s my response to you:

You’ve really made me mad

But the angrier I get, the harder I want to work

Oh yeah, there’s going to be more tomorrow

I’m going to write more so my little angels will have plenty to read

I won’t let you get your way

Hehehe