They were about to close the gate when they saw Zhang Rongfang enter the courtyard.
Jin Xiu immediately felt resentful.
"Young Master Zhang, won't you invite me in for a seat? Do you live in such a big courtyard all by yourself? Are you really that free?"
"No need, we've only just met," Zhang Rongfang said, turning around with a smile.
"Besides, it's not really appropriate for a lone man and woman to be alone in a room."
Jin Xiu blinked; the more the other person acted this way, the more intense her curiosity became.
She has been a very curious person since she was a child. She looked more like a boy when she was young, but she gradually grew up and became beautiful.
Only then would her status at home be slightly better.
But many of these positions come from those old men with disgusting eyes.
This situation made her constantly yearn to escape that difficult Lineage.
After her status improved and she had some spare money, she slowly began to practice martial arts. Although it was just ordinary fist and foot skills, she was able to protect herself against ordinary people.
As a result, my courage has increased considerably.
I'll just go in for a quick look and then come right out. The gate is open, so it's no big deal.
Jin Xiu didn't care. Hadn't she already had enough disgusting attempts to take advantage of those old men in her Lineage? She could always find ways to avoid those cunning old foxes.
What trouble could an eighteen-year-old greenhorn possibly cause? Zhang Rongfang's eyes were strange; he had never seen anyone so proactive.
Having said all that, he said no more.
"In that case, please come in. My humble abode is rather unsophisticated, so please be careful not to trip on the steps."
He moved aside, blocking the doorway, and gestured for us to enter.
Jin Xiu smiled sweetly, lifted her skirt, stepped over the threshold, and entered the courtyard.
The entire courtyard's decorations immediately caught her eye.
The first thing you see is a wooden stake.
Thick, heavy wooden stakes pierce the ground, arranged in a neat, crisscrossing pattern.
Under the shade of the trees, there are stone tables and benches.
"Please sit in the courtyard for a while, I'll make you some tea." Zhang Rongfang arranged for Jin Xiu to sit down on the stone bench.
"OK."
Jin Xiu glanced at the half-open door and tried to come up with an explanation for herself.
Zhang Rongfang did not invite him into the inner room to avoid suspicion.
In terms of security, the gates here are wide open, and passersby can see what's going on inside, so there's no need to worry.
She watched Zhang Rongfang leave as he went to boil water for tea, recalling what had just happened.
At first, everything was normal when the two met, but towards the end, the other person started acting strangely.
He had no lingering feelings for her, made no attempt to keep her, and had no intention of going on a second date with her.
The most outrageous thing is that he didn't even take her home first.
She was, after all, a weak woman, and a rather beautiful one at that. How could he, a martial artist of the highest rank, simply ignore her after meeting her? Thinking this through, Jin Xiu pondered carefully, vaguely sensing that something about Zhang Rongfang seemed off.
"By the way, Mei Sha mentioned this Zhang Rongfang. He suddenly came to Wu Mountain to live with his sister. So what was he doing before? Running so far away alone, even if he had joined the sect, would be a huge expense. Where did he get so much money?"
Judging from this, Zhang Rongfang definitely has a secret! Jin Xiu's curiosity was piqued.
She was bold; she glanced at Zhang Rongfang's location in the kitchen, then pretended to get up, patted her skirt, and acted as if she were just casually twirling around.
Soon, she reached the door of the inner room, gently pushed it open, and went inside.
Inside the inner room, there was a bed, a wardrobe, a desk, a bronze mirror, a water tank, and a lamp base in the corner.
She walked lightly to the desk, which was clean except for a wooden tube on the edge containing many small hollow bamboo tubes of unknown purpose.
Jin Xiu's heart stirred, and she suddenly thought of the descriptions mentioned in some novels.
Her curiosity was immediately aroused.
She immediately looked around, quickly reached for a bamboo tube, looked at it, and then put it back.
I looked up at Zhang Rongfang, but he hadn't come over yet.
She quickly opened the drawer and glanced at it.
Inside the desk drawer were some neatly arranged Little Booklet, two identity Wen Die, and a thick stack of large Treasure Note! Each note was worth one hundred taels! This stack was worth at least three thousand taels!!
Jin Xiu's eyes widened suddenly, her breathing became rapid, she looked outside again, and touched the Treasure Note with her fingers.
Then gently close the drawer and pull out the next drawer.
But when she heard footsteps outside, she quickly pretended to be nonchalant and wandered around the house.
"The tea is here."
Zhang Rongfang slowly walked over, carrying a freshly brewed teapot and cups.
He glanced around and saw that Jin Xiu had gone into the inner room. Without saying anything, he also carried the wooden tray into the inner room.
He put down the tea, dragged the wooden table to the front door so that it could be seen by passersby, then knelt at one end of the table and gestured for the other person to sit down as well.
"Thank you." Jin Xiu calmed down and knelt down on the other side as well.
"Speaking of which, I have a pretty good impression of you. Are we friends now?" She gave a sweet smile.
"Of course it counts." Zhang Rongfang nodded and smiled.
"Can I come visit you often in the future?" Jin Xiu pressed on.
"Of course."
The two sat down together and talked about martial arts training, what delicious local specialties Wu Mountain had, and what books they had read.
The atmosphere became increasingly harmonious.
Not long after, Jin Xiu realized it was getting late, so she got up to say goodbye and left.
Zhang Rongfang escorted him to the gate of the courtyard, hailed a carriage, put him in the carriage, and then closed the gate and returned.
Back in the inner room, he glanced at the table, reached out and stirred the wooden tube a few times, making the bamboo tube inside rattle.
Then I opened the drawer, and everything inside was clearly visible; nothing was missing.
He picked up two identity Wen Die, one bearing Zhang Rongfang's household registration and the other his Daoist Registry.
After confirming that nothing was missing, he was satisfied and closed the box, no longer paying attention to it.
***The next few days.
Jin Xiu would frequently send someone to invite Zhang Rongfang to take a walk along the river.
Wushan City is traversed by the Wujiang, and tourist boats that gather on the river from time to time to do business can be rented by customers for Hua Qian.
Zhang Rongfang declined twice, but was lectured by his sister. He had no choice but to spare some time to deal with Jin Xiu and take a boat trip to relax.
As time went by, the two gradually grew closer.
Just then, He Xinhong, the Chief Constable of Wu Mountain, suddenly died in his own residence.
Martial law was imposed throughout Wu Mountain.
Since the Huang Family was destroyed, another high-ranking official has been killed in such a short period of time.
This caused the people of Wu Mountain to have great doubts about the government's ability to govern.
Despite the tense external environment, Zhang Rongfang and Jin Xiu grew closer and closer.
Zhang Rongfang was happy to use Jin Xiu as a shield, so that her sister would no longer nag her like a madwoman every day.
Jin Xiu, for some reason, didn't seem to mind contacting Zhang at all.
As time went by, the two became more and more familiar with each other.
*** Fragrant Gathering Pavilion.
"Xiu Xiu, what are you thinking? How could you actually get close to that guy?" Lu Mei Sha couldn't understand her best friend's thoughts.
She initially paid the money, thinking her best friend Jin Xiu would decisively find an excuse to break up with that guy.
Unexpectedly, Jin Xiu not only didn't break off the relationship, but her interactions with that man surnamed Zhang became even more frequent.
This was something she simply couldn't understand.
"It's nothing," Jin Xiu said nonchalantly as she lightly applied Scented Powder to her cheeks.
"I didn't know before, but after getting to know him better, I found him to be a very honest and nice person. Let's get to know him first, anyway, I'm not as good as you, Miss Lu."
"Those who are poor should really think carefully about their future."
Jin Xiu is quite practical.
"But what about you?" Lu Mei Sha looked at her friend, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
"That guy surnamed Zhang has a bad temper, is easily angered and prone to violence, comes from a poor background, isn't very capable, and is overconfident, easily getting into trouble. What's so good about him?"
Jin Xiu looked at her with surprise.
"You're being a bit prejudiced. Zhang Rongfang has already entered the ranks. He's First Grade martial artist at eighteen, and he's also Daoist Registry. His future development is much better than those crooked and deformed people I've seen before."
You, Miss Lu Mei Sha, are born into Spirit Person, have Lineage, and have an older brother to take care of you, so naturally you look down on me. But I'm different."
She sighed.
"If I don't take advantage of my youth and beauty to find a rich and capable man soon, I might not have another chance if I don't meet the right one later."
Thinking of her mother's illness and those disgusting old men in the Lineage, she felt a deep aversion and couldn't wait to escape from there, taking her mother with her away from that nightmarish Lineage.
"Ugh, I don't want to hear you say that," Lu Mei Sha frowned. "It's only been a few days, what kind of spell did that Zhang guy cast on you? How did he change you so much all of a sudden?"
"It's nothing, I just want to." Jin Xiu smiled and continued to draw her eyebrows in front of the bronze mirror.
"Alright, alright, stop talking. Since Xiu Xiu is planning to make this a real thing, let's just go along with it. Don't ruin the friendship we've built up over the years," Xiao Long said softly from the side.
"You'll regret this! That guy comes from such a poor background, even if he has some talent, he won't rise to the top and will only become a minor official. With your qualifications, you won't want any of those rich young men who are pursuing you, and you'll end up with such a lowly guy."
Looking at her somewhat unfamiliar best friend, Lu Mei Sha felt a strange sense of loss, as if she had suddenly lost something.
She remembered that her brother and sister-in-law had initially wanted to match her up with Zhang Rongfang.
But now... "Alright, alright. Miss Lu, don't worry about it anymore."
A Ping peeled the lychee lazily.
"Xiu Xiu is right. Choosing those rich young men would be truly foolish. But if she doesn't choose them, what can we do if she wants to make it on her own? We can help her once, twice, or three times, but we can't help her forever."
Xue Jingping's words gradually calmed Lu Mei Sha down.
However, the inexplicable sense of loss in her heart still made her unhappy, and she even found Jin Xiu, her best friend with whom she usually had a fairly good relationship, less pleasing to the eye.
"Alright, I've already warned you. If you regret it later, don't blame me for not warning you."
She picked up the glass of wine in front of her, tilted her head back and drank it all, then turned and left.
The other three looked at each other in bewilderment.
Xiao Long sighed.
"Xiu Xiu, are you really sure? Mei Sha is only doing this for your own good. Don't blame her."
Jin Xiu remained silent for a moment.
"I dare not blame her, but my mother's illness still requires a constant stream of Hua Qian. I don't want to be played by those rich young men, but I also want to find someone who isn't afraid of those old folks in my family, and who also has the money to help my mother with her treatment."
After careful consideration, I realized that the best outcome for me would be someone who is capable, wealthy, from a poor background, and has connections.
After all, even with the same qualifications and a better background, people still wouldn't consider me.
"Xiu Xiu is very shrewd. Don't let her pure and beautiful appearance fool you; she's actually very perceptive," Xue Jingping commented.
The three of them fell silent for a moment.
Aside from Lu Mei Sha, the three of them each had their own troubles.