Cuddling with the Cold Female Protagonist – Chapter 19
by Little PandaVolume 2: The Captivating Splendor of Jingdu
Bringing Trouble Upon Oneself
Following Ji Qingchi’s suggestion, early the next morning, Su Yi asked Yanshen to fetch some silver, and the group prepared to go shopping while avoiding their many relatives.
Since transmigrating to this place, it was Su Yi’s first time going out shopping, and she was extremely excited. While she was eagerly urging Yanshen to withdraw more silver, Ji Qingchi had someone call Feng Ruoqing over, fearing Su Yi might get too excited and collapse on the street.
As soon as Feng Ruoqing arrived, she noticed that the two servant girls by Su Yi’s side became alert, staring at her with eyes as big as copper bells, as if afraid she might try to seduce their lord.
Faced with Ji Qingchi, about whom there had been rumors of ambiguous relations with her, and the highly vigilant servant girls, Feng Ruoqing stood there with her medical bag, feeling caught between a rock and a hard place.
She was so awkward she didn’t know where to put her hands, until Su Yi, who had been happily spinning her wheelchair in circles, spotted her and cheerfully waved, “Miss Feng, come quickly, let’s go shopping together.”
Feng approached her and, to ease her own awkwardness, carefully examined Su Yi’s complexion, “Not bad, the young lady’s [ε°ε§ | xiΗo jiΔ | young lady] health seems much better.”
“It’s all thanks to Miss Feng’s excellent medical skills,” Su Yi praised with a smile.
This wasn’t mere flattery – Feng Ruoqing’s medical skills were indeed exceptional. Previously in Feng City, her mother had consulted countless doctors, but none could diagnose her poisoning.
Yet Feng Ruoqing had immediately identified it and helped contain the poison – a testament to her exceptional medical expertise.
“The young lady is too kind.”
Ji Qingchi then approached lazily, giving her a glance, “Is Miss Feng truly just an ordinary physician in a common medical hall?”
“This humble one’s medical skills come from my shifu [εΈε | shΔ« fu | master], who is indeed just an ordinary physician.”
“Is that so? May I ask your esteemed master’s name?”
“A person of the wilderness needs no fame for saving lives. My shifu never reveals their name to others.”
“Oh?” Ji Qingchi narrowed her phoenix eyes, staring at her like a leopard eyeing its prey, “Your master truly has the bearing of a gaoren [ι«δΊΊ | gΔo rΓ©n | person of great wisdom].”
“It’s just that my shifu considers herself a rustic person, unworthy of sharing her name with others.”
Seeing that Ji Qingchi was about to probe into her background, Feng Ruoqing quickly changed the subject, “Young Lady Su, we should leave soon, or else you won’t be able to handle the sun when it comes out.”
Su Yi had been watching their taiji-like [ε€ͺζ | tΓ i jΓ | metaphor for indirect conversational sparring] exchange with great interest, but Feng Ruoqing’s reminder made her remember her weak constitution.
Though eating melon [εη | chΔ« guΔ | modern slang for watching drama unfold] was fun, her health was more important.
She coughed once and turned to Ji Qingchi, “Fulang, everything’s ready, shall we depart?”
Ji Qingchi’s previously aggressive demeanor instantly vanished, and she smiled shyly at Su Yi, “Whatever my Wife Master says.”
Su Yi felt half her body go numb from the shock, her smile stiff but forced. “Then let’s go.”
Yanxue Kingdom, being a fictional country, mixed characteristics from many dynasties. The author probably didn’t do thorough research – the governmental system resembled the Han and Tang dynasties, while the customs and commercial prosperity were more like the Song dynasty. The streets had everything – not just shops and vendors, but even monkey shows and acrobats, making it incredibly lively.
This was Su Yi’s first time out shopping, and she was so happy she could almost fly. With Yanshen pushing her wheelchair, she looked at jewelry in shops on the left, cosmetics at stalls on the right, and bought two small wooden gourds as decorations, her face beaming with joy.
Though she’d been here for five or six years, she had been beauty-conscious in her previous life. Seeing these cosmetics and jewelry made her completely forget about female sovereignty.
Ji Qingchi, long used to her behavior, calmly walked behind her, but Feng Ruoqing was shocked. Watching Su Yi buy seven or eight boxes of rouge, she swallowed hard and stammered, “Does… does Young Lady Su like these things so much…”
Though women in Yanxue Kingdom wore dresses, appreciated beauty, and used powder and lipstick, few bought cosmetics and jewelry, as these were considered items of seduction. These were things men bought to please women, and besides men, only women who served other women would buy them.
Ji Qingchi calmly said, “Perhaps when someone’s been ill for long, they tend to like such things.”
“Is that so.” Feng Ruoqing gave her a difficult look, thinking to herself that no wonder Young Lady Su was willing to marry this cross-dressing Miss Chi – so they had that kind of relationship.
Suddenly, Feng Ruoqing’s gaze towards her became very gentle.
Ji Qingchi noticed her look. Though this doctor who couldn’t even tie up a chicken [ζζ ηΌιΈ‘δΉε | shΗu wΓΊ fΓΉ jΔ« zhΔ« lΓ¬ | idiom meaning extremely weak] hadn’t said anything, somehow, she seemed to see encouragement in her eyes.
What nonsense – what was there to encourage about her? Had this doctor’s brain been soaked in water [θεθΏζ°΄ | nΗo zi jΓ¬n shuΗ | idiom meaning become foolish]?
Ji Qingchi frowned, but before she could say anything, Su Yi’s surprised voice came from ahead. “Who are you?”
She quickly turned around to see Su Yi being protected by Yanshen and Gancao, holding two boxes of rouge in each hand, looking puzzled at the people in front of the counter.
There stood a tall, slender young man of sixteen or seventeen, with red lips and white teeth, wearing a moon-white [ζη½ | yuΓ¨ bΓ‘i | pale white with blue tint] long robe covered with a gauze garment embroidered with green bamboo and orchids, fresh as morning dew, his bearing elegant and particularly gentle.
Two male servants stood beside him, now like Yanshen and Gancao, protecting their master.
“Which establishment’s wild servant girl are you, daring to snatch our young master’s rouge?!”
Su Yi was too beautiful and had taken the rouge, making the two male servants instinctively assume she was from some women’s establishment, specifically serving women.
Su Yi and that young master had simultaneously reached for a jasmine-extract rouge. They both extended their hands, but Su Yi was quicker and grabbed it. The young master gave her a light glance without saying anything, but his male servants, assuming her status was low, were especially rude. Taking advantage of Su Yi being in a wheelchair, they stood directly in front of their young master, intending to teach her a lesson.
Ji Qingchi didn’t understand their implied meaning, but these people bullying Su Yi was absolutely unacceptable.
Though the two male servants were men, they were specially chosen for their strength. Yanshen and Gancao, being mere servant girls, were clearly no match for them and were pushed aside in two moves. After pushing them away, the two continued to grab for Su Yi.
Seeing the situation turn bad, Ji Qingchi quickly left Feng Ruoqing, stepped forward, and easily pushed away the two male servants from behind. Standing like a pine tree in front of Su Yi, shielding her, she looked contemptuously at the young man before them, “Who are you, and why are you troubling my Wife Master?”
“Your Wife Master?” Suddenly pushed aside, the two male servants’s demeanor weakened considerably. After hearing Ji Qingchi’s words and glancing at Su Yi behind her, they asked, “So you’re saying that wild girl is buying rouge for you?”
“What we buy is none of your business.” Ji Qingchi coldly looked at them, “What, are you lonely in your spring boudoir [ζ₯ιΊε―ε― | chΕ«n guΔ« jΓ¬ mΓ² | reference to unmarried women], too old to find a marriage, with no one to buy you rouge, so you’re taking it out on others? Heh, servants will always be servants, so short-sighted.”
“You!” The two male servants instantly turned red with anger and made to step forward to teach βhimβ a lesson.
Ji Qingchi coldly watched their movements, standing immovable like a boulder, while her hand hidden in her sleeve secretly touched a copper coin.
If they dared come forward, they would taste what it’s like to have their teeth scattered across the ground.
“Wait.” Before they could act, the previously silent young master called out to stop them.
The two male servants immediately knelt down, “Young Master, please forgive us.”
The young master didn’t look at them but stepped forward lightly and bowed to Ji Qingchi, “Young Master, I sincerely apologize. I have failed to discipline my servants properly. They have offended you and your Wife Master today. Please accept this rouge as a gift.”
He called over the shopkeeper, pointed at the rouge in Su Yi’s hands, and after casting a dismissive glance at Su Yi’s clothes and determining she was a person without official rank, said languidly, “Shenzi [ε©Άε | shΔn zi | auntie], I’ll pay for them.”
Ji Qingchi frowned. This young master was clearly looking down on them, his apology carrying an air of arrogance that was infuriating.
Moreover, he had remained silent when his male servants were about to hit someone, and only after she had easily pushed them away did he put on this fake apologetic act – clearly showing his hypocritical nature.
Just as she was about to speak, Su Yi timely wheeled herself forward, “No need, it’s just rouge money, our family can afford it.”
She turned to look at Yanshen, “Go pay.”
“Yes.” Yanshen took out silver to give to the shopkeeper, and as she was about to put the money bag away, Su Yi suddenly said, “Give me another tael of silver.”
Though Yanshen didn’t understand what she wanted to do, she obediently took it out and gave it to her.
After receiving the silver, Su Yi threw it directly at the two male servants prostrating on the ground, “Earlier, my fulang said you two young master had no money to buy rouge. Here’s some silver for you both. Use it to buy some rouge and nice clothes to fix yourselves up, and hurry to get married, lest you go out with bitterness in your hearts, barking like dogs everywhere.”
As the saying goes, “Even when beating a dog, one must consider its master”, and her throwing the silver was like throwing bones to dogs, making all three master and servants change color simultaneously.
The male servants’s faces grew even redder with anger, but they dared not speak while still prostrating. Their young master’s temple veins pulsed several times before he suppressed his anger. He gave Su Yi a cold smile and asked, “May I inquire which official’s daughter you are, miss?”
In the capital, land was worth its weight in gold, and it was where officials and nobles gathered. Throw a stone in the street, and you might hit an official.
So this young master asked to confirm her status – if she was of low birth, he could use his authority to crush her; if she was of noble birth, today’s incident would be forgotten.
Su Yi smiled brilliantly and met his gentle face, speaking word by word, “We are all citizens of Yanxue Kingdom, all subjects are Her Majesty’s children, and this is the capital beneath the Emperor’s feet. Of course, I am the Emperor’s child.”
Her skill at deflecting force with minimal effort was profound. Her few sentences made the young master’s temple veins bulge, his previous jade-like gentleness completely gone. Worried that Su Yi might truly be someone important and that offending her would bring trouble, the young master took several deep breaths before flicking his sleeve, “Let’s go!”
He strode out of the rouge shop, his two male servants hurrying after him, “Young Master, wait for us!”
After they left, Su Yi turned her wheelchair, smiling sweetly and foolishly, planning to happily continue examining her rouge.
Who knew that as soon as she turned around, she’d meet Ji Qingchi’s teasing gaze.
Su Yi’s heart suddenly jumped – surely not, surely not, the female protagonist couldn’t be wanting to snatch her rouge? Weren’t the strong, independent women of Yanxue Kingdom supposed to dislike such things? Could it be that after staying by her side for so long, the female protagonist had changed and become weak like her?
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