Her actions were so sudden that while everyone was still in a daze, Xie Yuwen was the first to react. Just as He Xiang was about to bump into him, Xie Yuwen dodged to the side. Then he stretched out his fan to block He Xiang's way. Before He Xiang could even regain her senses, Xie Yuwen grabbed her with his other hand.
Seeing He Xiang being caught, everyone heaved a sigh of relief. But no one noticed that in the chaos, He Xiang and Xie Yuwen exchanged a glance.
He Xiang stopped struggling to run away. Instead, she put on a look of resignation and began to sob.
Xie Yuwen still wore his calm and gentle smile as he spoke.
"I'm afraid if I let go, this girl will run away again. Since I'm free today, why don't I take this girl to the yamen?"
After saying that, Xie Yuwen looked at Gu Jiangyue with a smile, as if asking for her opinion.
But only He Xiang knew that Xie Yuwen tightened his grip on her hand a bit more, as if he was determined to be the one to send her to the yamen today.
"Since the girl is in your hands, you can take her then."
Ji Yunsheng waved his hand indifferently.
Xie Yuwen just glanced at Ji Yunsheng and wasn't annoyed. He still quietly waited for Gu Jiangyue's answer.
"In that case, I'll have to trouble the Sixth Prince then."
Gu Jiangyue couldn't figure out the Sixth Prince's background. She didn't know much about him in both her past and present lives, and she didn't want to deal with him. If she had the time today, she definitely wouldn't let him take He Xiang. But since Huayan Tower had just opened and was short of manpower.
If she took He Xiang to the yamen, it would take half a day for a round trip. She didn't have that much free time.
Seeing that Gu Jiangyue had agreed, Xie Yuwen waved his hand and called two servants, telling them to escort He Xiang. Then they left in the direction of the yamen.
The matter was resolved, and the onlookers gradually dispersed. This was just a misunderstanding, and there were still as many people as usual going to Huayan Tower to buy rouge. Xi Yun and He Yunyan got busy again, while Gu Jiangyue was left idle.
She was thinking about what had just happened and felt something was off. Was He Xiang really just trying to affect Huayan Tower or get some money?
While Gu Jiangyue was still pondering the reason, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the purple-clothed man standing beside her. The purple-clothed man was explaining something to the person who had just spoken up for him. Gu Jiangyue was a bit curious and wanted to go over and listen. But before she could take a step forward, she heard the purple-clothed man let out a helpless sigh.
"I really don't have any money left."
The person who had spoken up for him still didn't want to leave. He grabbed the purple-clothed man's sleeve and insisted.
"You said you would give me money just now. With your attire, how could you not have any money?"
"A gentleman uses his words, not his hands!"
As the man said that, he was about to grab the jangling ornaments on Ji Yunsheng's clothes. Ji Yunsheng was speechless. He quickly dodged, blaming himself for speaking out just now.
This man was about to leave, but Ji Yunsheng called him back, saying that he had acted well and wanted to give him some more money. But when Ji Yunsheng reached for his money, he found that he didn't have a single copper coin on him. The money he had given the man just now was all he had.
As the master of Yaowang Valley, when had he ever been short of money? But this time he had left in a hurry and didn't bring much silver. If he had known he only had that much silver on him, he would have hesitated before taking it out.
After listening to their argument for a while, Gu Jiangyue understood the reason. Anyway, Ji Yunsheng had helped her just now. If it weren't for Ji Yunsheng holding He Xiang back, she might not have had time to call the doctor.
Gu Jiangyue simply took out a small piece of silver from her purse and threw it to the man.
"I'll give this silver to you on his behalf."
Hearing Gu Jiangyue's voice, the man turned around and saw a piece of silver flying towards him. He quickly reached out to catch it, then thanked Gu Jiangyue with a smile and left.
Seeing Gu Jiangyue coming and helping him pay the silver, the purple-clothed man straightened his clothes, greeted Gu Jiangyue, and said with a smile.
"I'm Ji Yunsheng. Thank you, Miss Gu, for your help!"
His voice was bright and clear. With a good-looking face and smiling eyes, but his words startled Gu Jiangyue. How did he know her surname was Gu?
Seeing Gu Jiangyue stunned, Ji Yunsheng smiled wickedly, seemingly very satisfied.
"Miss Gu must be curious about how I know your identity? Don't worry, I won't harm you. I'm just a bit acquainted with Xie Jiuan."
Ji Yunsheng had been in the capital for some time. He didn't stay here for nothing. Relying on his skills, he had gathered a lot of information in the capital. He got all the information by eavesdropping. But with just one sentence, he blamed the exposure of Gu Jiangyue's identity on Xie Jiuan.
Ji Yunsheng was quite curious about how Gu Jiangyue would view Xie Jiuan after learning that it was Xie Jiuan who had "betrayed" her.
Sure enough, Gu Jiangyue immediately noticed the implication in Ji Yunsheng's words. Could it really be Xie Jiuan who had told him? Gu Jiangyue frowned, finding it a bit strange. Logically, Xie Jiuan wouldn't do such a thing. But she had kept her business of opening the shop a secret, so there shouldn't be anyone else who knew about it.
"How can you prove that it was he who told you? What if I said my surname wasn't Gu?"
Gu Jiangyue still wanted to play dumb, but Ji Yunsheng burst out laughing first. His laugh was a bit wicked, but his tone was full of certainty.
"Why does Miss Gu deny it? I don't have any other intentions. I'm just short of silver recently and want to find a job here with Miss Gu. That's not too much to ask, is it?"
It really wasn't too much to ask. But the way he smiled wickedly made it seem like if Gu Jiangyue refused, he would tell everyone in the capital about her shop.
Gu Jiangyue originally thought this man would extort some silver from her since he was out of money. But unexpectedly, he directly wanted to stay in Huayan Tower and work for her.
Gu Jiangyue was speechless. This man didn't even know how to rob properly. But she also found it strange.
"Aren't you friends with Xie Jiuan? Why don't you go to him?"
Ji Yunsheng was taken aback. Gu Jiangyue had hit the nail on the head. If he went to Xie Jiuan now, Xie Jiuan might break his legs.
"I don't want to go. I want to be self-reliant. Unlike him, who is lazy and good-for-nothing."
Ji Yunsheng pretended to be nonchalant and flicked his bangs. Now he was being hunted down. If he didn't have a place to stay, he might starve to death after hiding for a few more days. Huayan Tower was protected by Xie Jiuan, so it was a good place.
Gu Jiangyue twitched the corner of her mouth, thinking to herself that if he wanted to be self-reliant, he shouldn't be threatening her.
Although Xie Jiuan wasn't very close to them, he had practiced martial arts since childhood, although he didn't show it. He could still hear what Gu Jiangyue and Ji Yunsheng were saying.
But there wasn't a single good word about him. Looking at Ji Yunsheng's smug face when slandering him, Xie Jiuan wished he could spit out a mouthful of old blood. He wanted to rush down right now to argue with him and have a fight.