Chapter 9 - The Market

"Are you not finished, yet?" Wei Zilin asked when the time for the class was over. She walked to Wei Liuying's direction with a frown on her face. If not because they have to come home together, it was clear that Wei Zilin would have long asked the coach to bring her back home first.

"I'm almost done."

Wei Liuying was using a cursive that was a bit smaller than her usual writing. The writing looked messier because Wei Liuying was hurrying, but it was still readable. Though, the teacher would need to put a bit more effort to recognize the writing.

Looking at the messy cursive, Wei Zilin's mouth sneered to form disdain. In their residence, the worst among the three of them were Wei Xiao Hua followed by Wei Liuying. It was to the point that even their father always felt exasperated when he saw the progress of his two daughters.

"Hurry up. I'm hungry."

"Yes."

Even though Wei Zilin was really impolite, Wei Liuying didn't mind in the slightest bit. The three of them have to go home together, so if someone got punished, the others have to wait. Because of that, Wei Liuying hurriedly finished the copying.

"Teacher You, I have finished."

"Bring it to me."

Teacher You took the bamboo scroll and looked at the writing. Seeing the messy writing, she sighed a bit. At the very least, it was still easy to read because the line was neat, and the writing was correct. Looking at Wei Zilin, who was already impatient, Teacher You accepted it.

She couldn't understand how these two girls could be so different when they all came from the same household.

"Alright, you can leave."

"Thank you, Teacher You."

The two girls walked out of the room. Wei Xiao Hua was in a different classroom because she's two years older compared to the two of them. They rarely met with each other since the class was always separated.

Wei Xiao Hua was sitting near the carriage with her servant behind her, holding an umbrella. It was nearly evening, but the sun was still glaring hot above them. Many other girls were also trying to evade the sun as they walked under the shades.

"Second Sister, Third Sister," Wei Xiao Hua greeted when she saw the two of them. "Is the class difficult today?"

"Third Sister is getting punished again," Wei Zilin said. Her tone was filled with mockery even though her expression was still fairly polite. "Did you manage to pass the teacher's strict assessment?"

"Fortunately, I'm fine," Wei Xiao Hua replied with a smile.

Wei Zilin looked at Wei Xiao Hua with confusion in her eyes. After all, she knew that she had to wait for her two siblings over and over. It was to the point that it has become a habit that whenever they came to the academy together, the other two would be punished.

Did Wei Xiao Hua wake up from the wrong side of the bed today?

It was extremely rare to see her go out of the class without getting punished at all.

Wei Liuying's gaze flickered, but she refrained from saying anything. Looking at the calm yet determined gaze on Wei Xiao Hua's eyes, she felt a sense of danger from her. It was as if a sleeping tiger was slowly making her way out after the door was forcefully opened.

"Let's go back home."

"I want to visit the market today," Wei Xiao Hua said with a smile. "It has been some time since the last time I bought something for the New Year."

During New Year, it was common for them to get new clothes from their parents. However, the one who took care of these were usually their mothers, and since Wei Xiao Hua didn't have a mother, she had been quite neglected. Wei Liuying knew that her own mother wouldn't bother to buy new clothes for Wei Xiao Hua.

Even if she did, it would be just one to give face in front of Wei Hong.

Wei Zilin frowned. "Why should we head to the market? I want to go back home and rest."

Winter had just passed not long ago, so the temperature was still fairly cold. It was fine when it was afternoon because the sun was glaring hot. But when it was evening to night, it would be cold. For pampered young miss, it would be a torture.

"I want to take a look," Wei Xiao Hua insisted. "There's still time before it's time to go back home too."

"If I don't want to go, will you insist?"

"In that case, I'll be heading off myself. You can return back and tell Father that I'll be going off to visit the market."

Wei Zilin's face changed. "You dare!"

"Why not?"

The two women were looking at each other with a fierce glare. They were instructed to stay together because it would be dangerous for them to go alone. Besides, Wei Hong wanted to make sure that neither one of them would try to do something funny behind his back when no one was watching.

And if something happened to Wei Xiao Hua, the one whom Wei Hong blame would be Wei Zilin first because she's older than Wei Liuying.

"Fine, but if you take too long, we'll leave you," Wei Zilin said in annoyance. She had no other choice but to give in because she knew that it wouldn't do her anything good.

Wei Xiao Hua smiled. "I'm only going to check some things then we can go back."

All along, Wei Liuying kept quiet and watched everything unfolded before her. She followed the carriage and got inside while her brain was still thinking about her first sister, who seemed to change overnight. There were some things that were unexplainable about Wei Xiao Hua, and Wei Liuying couldn't pinpoint what it was.

The carriage was moving steadily to the market. After it had arrived, Wei Xiao Hua came out. This time, she was wearing a veil to cover her face. After all, it was quite unbecoming for an unmarried noble lady to not cover their face when they were outside.

"She's just heading to a clothing store?" Wei Zilin's tone was filled with disdain.

Wei Liuying looked at Wei Zilin, but she didn't speak. Wei Zilin's mother was the most favorite concubine among all the concubines that Wei Hong had. Because of that, Wei Zilin was quite pampered as her father would side with her unless it was concerning Wei Xiao Hua.

"You're going to come out?"

"I want to take a walk," Wei Liuying replied softly and put on her own veil. Her legs slowly brought her out of the carriage as she swept her gaze across the street. The market was located not far from their residences, so it would be fine for her to walk around.

"Miss, it's cold outside. Please use the coat."

"Thank you."

Xiao Qing helped Wei Liuying to put on an outer coat before Wei Liuying walked a few meters. There were several stores in front of them, but then she stopped in front of one of the stores. It was a sweet store, which was famous for its Chestnut Cake and several other delicious cakes.

It was quite famous in the Capital City, but the price was sky-high. Only those who came from noble families could possibly enter.

Wei Liuying didn't have any intention to enter. She merely stared at the cakes that the shop owner showed on the stalls. Even if she wanted to, she didn't have the money needed to buy the cakes. There were also so many servants waiting on the line to buy the cake.

"Ah, the line is really long."

Hearing a sudden complaint, Wei Liuying raised her head and saw a male servant. He was dressed up in a plain brown robe with his hair tied into a bun. From his appearance, he should be around 16 or 17 years old. His dark brown eyes were scrutinizing the line before him with a hint of annoyance. Clearly, he didn't expect to see the simple shop to have so many customers waiting on the line.

Wei Liuying frowned. The man's attire was simple, but she could see the pin that he used. It was exquisitely made, and only those who served high ranking officials or the Imperial Family could possibly use it. She turned around, intending to leave.

"Oh, Miss, you're not going to line up too?"