Qi Jingyi couldn’t help but give Yang Ruxin a cold look, thinking to himself that this was all the doing of the Yang Family, wasn’t it? But he couldn’t afford to say much anymore and simply waved his hand, "Let Gu Yao go fetch the water. I must be off now, if there’s any news, have Gu Yao inform me." Then he took Weng Ji and quickly ran off.
Yang Ruxin chuckled softly, having solved one issue, could the other be far behind?
The other, Qi Yong, was busy flirting at that moment, and the object of his affections was none other than Yang Ruyu.
And this Yang Ruyu had been following her younger aunt Yang Baihe to the town, staying directly at the Tian Family’s home. Yang Baihe treated this second niece of hers like a servant, but the food at the Tian Family was good, so Yang Ruyu endured it. Moreover, given what had happened to her father and fourth uncle, she was even less willing to go back.
Early in the morning today, for some unforeseen reason, Yang Baihe insisted on returning to the village. Yang Ruyu had no choice but to follow. But once they got back to the village, they didn’t even return to the old Yang Family home; instead, they went straight to the Gu Family’s place. Only then did Yang Ruyu realize the reason for her younger aunt’s seemingly erratic behavior when they spotted the person they were looking for in the fields.
One wonders what Mrs. Yang An would feel, knowing that her beloved daughter and granddaughter had returned but didn’t visit her first.
Initially, when she saw Yang Baihe chasing after Young Master Qi, Yang Ruyu felt quite jealous, but she didn’t expect that today her luck would be good, and there was another young master around. His demeanor did not lose out to Qi Yong in the slightest, so she also started to get some ideas.
Why should Yang Baihe be the one to marry into a high-status family? Yang Ruyu considered herself the belle of the local towns, the one truly deserving of riches and honor.
Yang Ruyu was beautiful, young, and knew how to put on a good show. With Yang Baihe as a foil, she was the perfect picture of a coy and bashful white lotus flower.
Qi Jingrong did not expect to find such a refined girl in the countryside and took an extra glance at her.
Yang Ruyu immediately seized the opportunity and sighed with apparent resignation, "Please don’t mind it, young master. My younger aunt has such a temperament. But she truly fancies Young Master Qi. These past few days, she has been so lovesick that she couldn’t eat or sleep. Knowing that Young Master Qi had arrived today, she hurried over at once..."
"You mean your younger aunt fancies my eighth brother?" Qi Jingrong furrowed his brow. This girl was from the Yang Family as well. Was she related to Yang Ruxin then? He had investigated Yang Ruxin and knew some of the family grudges, but he was not very familiar with the personnel at the old Yang home, let alone their temperaments. "Then you are..." His heart enjoyed a bit of schadenfreude. If his eighth brother truly brought a coarse village girl home, it would sure stir up drama with the emperor and empress mother.
"It turns out to be Young Master Qi." Yang Ruyu bowed gracefully, "My name is Yang Ruyu, the eldest daughter of the second branch. Oh, and that Yang... Ruxin is my cousin..."
"I am Qi Kang. I am ranked tenth at home," Qi Jingrong nodded. "On the streets, beauty named Ran Ruyu..."
"... is unmatched in this world," Yang Ruyu blushed.
"Have you read books?" Qi Jingrong was pleasantly surprised.
"My elder brother is a scholar, about to sit for the Scholar examination. I just learned a few characters from him usually, but I wouldn’t dare say that I’ve studied..." Yang Ruyu glanced at Qi Jingrong with blushing cheeks, "Are you a scholar too?"
"I..." Qi Jingrong’s impression of Yang Ruyu increased substantially, but just as he was about to speak, he suddenly sneezed twice without warning and managed a slightly embarrassed smile, "The weather’s a bit chilly..."
"Young Master," Yang Ruyu offered her handkerchief with a red face.