Sensing his nervousness, Yue Jiaojiao looked up and squeezed his palm to comfort him.
“Madam, this is my manager.”
“I’m the manager of this jewelry shop,” the manager said as he carefully held the silver hairpin in his hand. He squinted his eyes and looked at it carefully. “The workmanship of this hairpin doesn’t look like it’s made by the masters in the capital. It looks like it’s commonly used in the Jiangnan area.”
Zhao Zhan couldn’t help but ask anxiously, “The Jiangnan area? It would take half a month to get here from Jiangnan, even on a fast horse. If one were to travel slowly on a carriage, it would take more than a month.”
“That’s right.”
The manager handed the hairpin to Zhao Zhan with both hands before speaking again.
“The silk jewelry line in the Jiangnan area is extremely exquisite and delicate, and it is more beautiful than what we have in the capital.
“Especially the tip of this hairpin. There is a curved mark carved on it. This is only sold in the famous Beauty Pavilion in Jiangnan. The price of your wife’s hairpin will not be less than two hundred silver.”
Zhao Zhan pursed his lips.
‘Could it be that the girl of my dreams is a Jiangnan woman? Then, how did she come to Wangshan all by herself from Jiangnan, and how did she fall off the cliff all by herself?’ As soon as he thought of the pain that his lover might have suffered, Zhao Zhan felt as if his lover had been cut open.
“Does your shop have any jewelry similar to this silver hairpin?”
“Madam, you flatter me.” The manager shook his head with a bitter smile. “The items from Beauty Pavilion are not for sale here. If my small jewelry shop dares to imitate their items for sale, I’m afraid I can’t even think of establishing myself as a proper jeweler. Madam, may I interest you in what we have here? If there’s anything you like, I can give you a discount.”
“We’ll take a look around. If you’re busy, you can go first. Thank you for just now.”
“Then I’ll get one of my best workers to entertain you.”
Seeing that the manager had already gone upstairs, Zhao Zhan was still deep in his own thoughts, unable to extricate himself. Yue Jiaojiao saw his furrowed brows and knew what he was thinking. She shook his arm, not wanting him to sink into his negative emotions.
“Zhao Zhan, can you buy me some jewelry?” Yue Jiaojiao’s eyes curved into crescents as she looked at him with a smile. “Look at my hair, isn’t there something missing?”
“I’ll get you whatever you want.” Zhao Zhan stared at his lover. “As long as you like it, we’ll buy it.”
If it wasn’t for the people coming and going in the store, he would have held her in his arms impatiently.
“Let’s pick out a piece of jewelry for each other. You’ve been using a piece of cloth to tie your hair all day long.” Yue Jiaojiao poked his bun. “You’re going to do business in this town in the future. How can you look this sloppily?”
“Alright,” Zhao Zhan repeated. “If you don’t like the things I picked, tell me, okay?”
Yue Jiaojiao raised her chin and nodded her head reluctantly.
She picked out a hairpin with only dark patterns embedded in it for Zhao Zhan. The color of the hairpin was dark, so it was not eye-catching if he used it to tie his hair.
“How about this one?” Zhao Zhan looked through everything in the shop and handed a hairpin to his heartthrob.
The top of the slender silver hairpin was inlaid with a round pearl.
“Your taste is as good as ever.” Yue Jiaojiao scratched his chin, her face full of praise. “I like it very much.”
“Zhao Zhan? Oh? I’ve finally found you!”
Fang Tianliu’s attendant breathlessly rushed into the shop with his hands on his knees. “Fang Tianliu has been beaten!”