Chapter 59
The people around them began to address her as Princess. King Jing’s expression softened a lot, but he had no intention of correcting them, nor did he mention anything to Li Yu.
Li Yu was still thinking that if King Jing mentioned it, he could refuse. After all, they weren’t husband and wife, and it wouldn’t be good if people misunderstood. But since King Jing didn’t mention it, he couldn’t take the initiative to talk to King Jing. He also couldn’t explain to the people himself, which would make it seem like he cared a lot about being called Princess. So Li Yu sullenly was called Princess by many people, but he couldn’t refute because of all kinds of concerns.
Li Yu regretted coming out to shop. Why didn’t the big bastard say anything, and he was led by the nose!
Wang Xi had come to this market once, and he quietly introduced it to King Jing and Li Yu. If the masters were interested, he could lead the way. The imperial bodyguards were responsible for protecting King Jing, and King Jing was responsible for protecting Young Master Li. So although there were many onlookers, King Jing and his group weren’t actually affected.
King Jing gave the simple topographic map Wang Xi drew to Li Yu, as if he was the one in charge.
Li Yu could only shop for two hours, and he couldn’t waste time on unnecessary pleasantries, so he took it without saying anything.
Wang Xi’s topographic map was simple and easy to understand at a glance. It turned out that the market was divided into two entrances, the north and the south. They were now at the north entrance, and there were many shops and stalls along the main road. There was also a restaurant, and there was a juggling troupe from in Jue. Li Yu knew that it was impossible to visit every corner of the market, so he went to the busiest place to take a look. The restaurant was said to be the largest restaurant in this area. Although it was opened by locals, the chefs were all from Jin Jue. It was said that Jin Jue’s people were good at cooking cattle and sheep, so the restaurant’s signature dishes were roasted whole lamb and various kinds of meat skewers. Li Yu was very interested.
Li Yu couldn’t help but swallow his saliva. “Your Highness, let’s slowly walk south along the main road and look at the roadside stalls. Then, we’ll eat in the restaurant and watch the acrobatics.
After that, we’ll return to the southern entrance. What do you think?”
Li Yu’s plan was reasonable, and King Jing had no objections. He signaled Wang Xi to carry it out.
Wang Gonggong immediately ordered a bodyguard to run to the restaurant and book the best private room. Roasted whole lamb was a dish that required a lot of effort, so it could not be made in a short time. He could also order the restaurant to make it first. It seemed that Young Master Li and His Highness would walk around for a while. By the time they arrived at the restaurant, it should be ready.
Li Yu and King Jing walked and strolled as planned.
Wang Xi was right. Many shops in the bazaar were selling unique products. Li Yu had only read one or two sentences from the original book.
The people of Jin Jue liked shiny gold ornaments with bold and imposing lines. They mainly liked bracelets and masks. Bracelets and masks were usually painted with the Jin Jue country’s golden crow totem.
Li Yu also liked shiny things. These gold ornaments were placed in the open-air stalls. Every time Li Yu passed by a shop, he would stop and look at it curiously.
King Jing found a white jade hairpin. The tail of the hairpin was made into the shape of a rare fish, and the eyes of the fish were inlaid with ink. King Jing felt that the hairpin was well made. Although the material was a bit rough, it had the spirit of a small fish. Therefore, he asked for the hairpin to take a closer look.
When King Jing was looking at the hairpin, Li Yu was happy. It turned out that the big bastard also liked jewelry.
While King Jing was looking at the hairpin, he sneaked to another stall. King Jing immediately noticed him. He handed the fish-shaped hairpin to Wang Xi and followed Li Yu from afar with his bodyguards.
He knew that ever since Xiaoyu came to the bazaar, his eyes were glued to the things along the way. King Jing thought that there was no harm in letting the carp spirit play with it for a while.
The stalls on the main road were crowded with people. Li Yu finally found a place with fewer people and walked over. This stall specialized in selling bracelets and masks. Li Yu’s admiring gaze lingered on the rows of masks that were hung up high. The masks in this stall were painted with a thick layer of gold powder. The forehead of the mask was a Jin Jue, and the tail of the Jin Jue was decorated with beautiful peacock tail feathers. It looked simple and mysterious.
After Li Yu finished looking at the masks, he went to look at the bracelets. Imitating King Jing, he excitedly picked up a golden bracelet and carefully observed it under the sunlight. Sure enough, there was also a Jin Jue carved on the inside of the bracelet, just like the rumors said. Li Yu touched the golden bracelet with his fingers. He felt that the golden bracelet was very smooth.
Except for the Jin Jue carved on the inside, there was no other decoration. He tried to put it on his hand. The thick and heavy golden bracelet on his thin wrist made him look like a nouveau riche.
After trying it out, Li Yu felt that it was not suitable and wanted to take it off.
However, when the stall owner saw that Li Yu had come alone and did not know Li Yu’s identity, he smiled and said, “Since this customer has put it on, it means that the golden bracelet is fated to be with you. This is the rule of our Jin Jue. Please don’t let this fate down and buy it.”
The stall owner was stocky and had a full beard. His eyebrows were deep like those of the Jin Jue people. The moment he opened his mouth, he asked Li Yu to buy the golden bracelet for fifty taels of silver. Li Yu was slightly embarrassed. He had only tried it on for a short while, and it was so expensive. Could it be that he had encountered an ancient version of forced sales?
In the distance, King Jing sensed that something was wrong and wanted to go forward. Suddenly, he saw Li Yu scratching his cheek and revealing a mischievous smile.
King Jing was speechless.
King Jing paused for a moment. He seemed to have accidentally discovered Xiaoyu’s troublemaker.
King Jing thought to himself. After all, Xiaoyu was a carp spirit. As long as there was no danger, he could do whatever he wanted.
Li Yu carefully recalled that the stall owner did not tell him that he could not try the golden bracelet on. He looked at the other stalls and saw that a bunch of customers had tried the golden bracelet on as well. The other stall owners did not say anything either. Only this stall was different. Li Yu understood that he had probably accidentally stumbled into a scam shop and was scammed.
Li Yu was not anxious to deal with this kind of person. He said leisurely, “Uncle, when I wanted to wear it, you didn’t say that I have to buy it. Why are you saying it now?”
“It’s not too late to say it now.”
The stall owner simply acted shamelessly. “My golden bracelet is an item with spiritual energy. If you wear it, the spiritual energy will be absorbed by you. If you don’t buy it, how can I sell it to others?”
Li Yu was speechless.
She could even come up with this kind of twisted logic?
Li Yu weighed the golden bracelet in his hand. It was quite heavy. He estimated that it was worth a lot of money, but it was definitely not fifty taels of silver. Li Yu heard from Wang Xi that ordinary people could live for a year with ten taels of silver. How could he spend five years to buy an ornament?
Moreover, he did not have any money. He was in charge of fish farming in King Jing’s residence.
The “work” he had to do every day was really easy. His food and clothing were all provided by the residence. Li Yu himself did not think of asking for a monthly salary. He was a bookworm. Why should he care about these worldly possessions? Even if he had space, he would leave it for other important things.
Although he was covered with a gold-threaded seaweed quilt every day and woke up on a wide silver stone bed, he was actually penniless and had no savings. He was a poor fish. No matter how he looked at it, he could not afford this golden bracelet. He also did not want to waste money to encourage unhealthy practices. It would be best if he could teach this stall owner a lesson.
“Uncle, I’m sorry. Fifty taels of silver is too much.” Li Yu said straightforwardly.
No matter what you say, so what if I don’t buy it?
The stall owner’s eyes widened. He could not be wrong. The material of this young man’s clothes was woven from the best ice silk. Even the jade beads casually tied diagonally around his waist were all full of water. Therefore, he was sure that this young man was a noble. But how could a noble not be able to take out fifty taels of silver? How could he act like he was very free and wanted to bargain?
The stall owner said with a dark face, “At most forty-five taels of silver, no less.”
Li Yu sighed, “Uncle, I can’t take out forty-five taels of silver.”
The stall owner still had some hope. Every time he cut down the price, he cut it down to twenty-five taels, but this young man still did not intend to pay. The stall owner was a little anxious.
“Then how much can you take out?”
“Uncle, I’m sorry. I forgot to bring money when I went out today.” Li Yu smiled and stuck out his tongue.
The stall owner almost fainted from anger, “Why did you go shopping if you didn’t bring money?!”
Li Yu said innocently, “Uncle, didn’t you tell me earlier that I have to buy the gold bracelet if I wear it?!”
The stall owner was so angry that he wanted to chase him away. Just as he was about to shed all pretense of cordiality and scold him, he caught a glimpse of a tall young man standing diagonally behind the young man. Behind the young man stood a large group of attendants. The young man raised his head with a cold expression and looked at the stall owner with murderous intent.
The stall owner’s heart trembled. He realized that this young man was the young man’s backer. His lips opened and closed, but he swallowed the words he was about to scold back into his stomach.
Li Yu was completely unaware that someone was backing him up. Seeing that the stall owner did not say anything, Li Yu put the gold bracelet back on his hand.
The stall owner was confused by his confusing behavior. He whispered, “You, you don’t have money and you don’t want to buy it. Why are you still wearing it?”
Li Yu said honestly, “Uncle, didn’t you say that I sucked away the spiritual energy of the gold bracelet? Now that I’m wearing it for a while and let it absorb my spiritual energy, I can sell it to someone else!”
The stall owner, ” …”
The stall owner had just said that the gold bracelet had a spiritual energy. If he immediately denied it, it would be like slapping his own face.
The stall owner glanced at the young man in the distance uneasily. Perhaps he was hallucinating when he was in danger, but he felt that the young man’s cold face had become even colder.
The stall owner helplessly watched as Li Yu rolled the gold bracelet around and played with it in all kinds of ways.
Some passers-by looked at Li Yu curiously. Some were also interested in the gold bracelet because of this. The stall owner thought that the stall owner had come, but Li Yu said in a rough voice, “Did you bring enough money? The stall owner’s rule is that once you wear it, you have to buy it.”
When the passers-by heard this, they shrunk their necks and hurriedly walked away.
The stall owner was angry and anxious, but he did not dare to get angry. In the end, he could only beg Li Yu to return the gold bracelet to him and go somewhere else.
Li Yu said with a smile, “Uncle, I wish you a prosperous business. I’ll come again next time!”
Ancestor, please don’t come again. The stall owner prayed in his heart.
Li Yu consciously left for a while. King Jing should still be looking at the hairpin. Li Yu wanted to go back the way he came to find King Jing. When he turned around, he saw that King Jing was standing behind him with a smile on his face. He was like an iron wall that could not be more solid.
“Your, Your Highness!”
Li Yu was tongue-tied. So the big bastard had been here all along?
Then wouldn’t he have been seen haggling with the stall owner and teasing him?!
As a person who was pleasing to the heart, his image in King Jing’s mind would probably be shattered.
Li Yu was a little nervous. King Jing walked up to him with a smile and rubbed his head. He took out a white jade hairpin with a fish-shaped tail from his sleeve and carefully inserted it into Li Yu’s hair.
Li Yu, “???”
When Li Yu first transformed into a human, the system made some adjustments to his hair and made it longer. Therefore, no one said anything about his hair. Li Yu himself felt that when in Rome, do as the Romans do, so he did not pay much attention to it. Moreover, every time he transformed, he was in a hurry. It was good enough that he had clothes to wear. He did not have time to braid his hair or tie it up. Usually, he would just simply drape it behind his head. King Jing thought that he liked it this way, so he did not ask too much.
Now that he had received a hairpin, Li Yu stared at the small round fish at the tail of the hairpin, entranced.
King Jing gave him a hairpin with a fish because he was called Li Yu?
King Jing really liked fish too much.
