59 Chapter 55

Despite the mess he made in the study, Guanting's mind is still in chaos. He knows that he doesn't have the right to rebuke what his grandfather said after all what he have right now, a family with Qi Fan was what he wants.

His mind drifted to the day he first saw her with Xiuying and Lian in Qi Fu's garden. She was enchanting wearing a light blue hanfu and her hair was braided to the side decorated with pearls like a fairy who graced mortals by her visit. It was the first time he visited Qi Fu and he was aware why his grandfather brought him that day and it was to associate with Qi Chen, the most known merchant in Great Yan and to get acquainted with his betrothed which was arranged by his grandmother and Qi Chen's mother way before both children were born.

That time he only glanced at Xiuying and was shocked to see that the daughter of Xi Hui who is known as Great Yan's Lily of the Valley (a flower known for its beautiful appearance but eating large quantities will cause stomach aches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea) and Qi Chen who known to good looking like Song Yu (Song Yu was student of Qu Yuan who is known for his wit, beauty and being highly cultured in literature) turned to have a face full of freckles and red bumps or rashes that's why he decided to focus his attention to Qi Fan. Long Guanting don't know that Qi Fan at that age always give oily snacks to Xiuying resulting for her to have pimples. He didn't know that his reckless decision that day to pursue Qi Fan would cause for him to miss the chance of knowing the beautiful and talented Xiuying.

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Still feeling upset he decided to go out and roam in the market. As he is looking at the stalls selling hairpins, Guanting holds one of them it is decorated with cherry blossoms carvings one would see that its creator spent a lot of time to perfect it making the cherry blossoms life like. Remembering the first time he saw her in Qi Fu (when he was beaten black and blue by Qi Chen in Chapter 12) all his thoughts only further drifted to Xiuying's figure during the day she and her friends performed at the banquet as her jade like hands plucks the harp creating hypnotizing melody making its listeners' mind to imagine the scenery she wants them to see and to feel the emotions she wants them to feel. Guanting shakes his head, he knows as it doesn't do him anything good to chase after Xiuying. Although it is allowed for men to have more than one wife, the Xi family and Qi Chen swore for their family's daughters to be only married to men who won't take multiple wives and concubines making the men in their families to be one of the most sought after by madams and young ladies in the capital.

Seeing it is already late and his master lost in thought, Jin coughs lightly. "Master it is already late... should we pay for the hairpin?" Jin's question woke Guanting from reminiscing he put back the hairpin and choose a blue hairpin carved with pansy flowers.

"Pay the man for this one." after saying it Guanting started to walk back home without paying to much attention that at the other side of the road Xiuying was started to walk to the same stall where Guanting was. Jin decided to get the hairpin carved with cherry blossoms that his master was holding earlier but halted when a woman's hand get it before him, he was about to ask for it from the lady but immediately closed his mouth when he saw that it was Xiuying who didn't care for the identify of the man beside her and asked Xiao Hua to pay for it. Xue didn't come with the two as she was busy checking the accounting books that Xiuying abandoned to have a short break with Xiao Hua. If Xue was with them she would immediately recognized Jin as Guanting's trusted servant.

Without any chance to get the hairpin Jin decided run and catch up with his master who is now far away from the stall and knowing what Patriarch Long's message before they went out he decided to keep his encounter with Xiuying a secret from his master.