Chapter 9.2: Awkwardness (2)
The driver forlornly said, “The carriage wheels are broken, we probably can’t go any further.”
As such, they could only get down the carriage. Fortunately, they weren’t too far from the jewellery store, and would only have to walk for 15 mins.
The rest of them didn’t think too much about it and it was only Xie Rong whose eyebrows furrowed.
Given that the road was so wide, why was their carriage hit?
Holding Xie Zhen’s hand, and ensuring that she stuck closely to him, he said, “Little lamb, follow me”.
After experiencing that episode of danger, Xie Zhen had become more obedient and followed her older brother closely. “Big brother, why did the people collide with our carriage earlier on?”
Xie Rong likewise couldn’t figure it out, and was worried that it was still dangerous. If it wasn’t for his younger sister’s disappointment, he would have brought her home immediately.
To console her, he said “It’s probably due to carelessness”.
“Oh.” Xie Zhen didn’t continue asking.
The streets were filled with activity. Before, they hadn’t been able to see it clearly on the carriage, but as they walked on the streets they could truly understand what it meant to be shoulder-to-shoulder with someone.
Jugglers and acting troupes were everywhere, as well as sweet and pastry sellers. In the end Xie Zhen was still a child, and as she played to her heart’s content, she quickly forgot the earlier scare and looked around curiously.
Still, the best performance was held by the opera troupe in front of Li Yuan Chun. From afar, the sounds of the play attracted many people, until the crowd was practically airtight, leaving no spaces in between. Wanting to see, Xie Zhen pulled at Xie Rong’s hand, saying, “Big Brother, let’s go there!”
Xie Rong stopped moving and shook his head, saying, “No way, there are too many people there.”
Steward Wang also strongly discouraged her, as that place was the most chaotic, and it would be a target for troublemakers.
Xie Zhen continued begging but as they remained unmoved, she had no choice but to give up.
Gao Xun and Li Yu caught up with them from the back, and in order to please Xie Zhen, said, “If Ah Zhen wants to see, I’ll go with you next time to listen to them.”
Xie Zhen immeditely agreed “Sure!”
Immediately, Xie Rong coldly glared over at Gao Xun. Rubbing his nose, Gao Xun pretended not to see it.
If one were to call Xie Zhen little fairy, then Xie Rong was the cold and emotionless judge. Just one look from him could instantly kill someone; the less courageous would definitely be unable to take it.
As they walked past the acting troupe, the crowd suddenly dispersed; the crowd like a tide, scaring a few children into moving back. Looking inside, they then realised that the performance had ended, and the opera troupe was getting ready to leave.
Clutching tightly to Xie Rong’s hand, Xie Zhen braced herself as several grown men knocked into her. She hadn’t experienced that sort of chaos before, and was shocked silly, only remembering to hang on tightly to her brother.
Steward Wang kept the young master and young miss together and guided them forward, alongside Gao’s household servants who had come to help out.
However, after the acting troupe finished up, they came towards their direction and just so happened to block their way. Steward Wang’s elbow was heavily hit by someone and as he let go his grip, Xie Zhen was forced out from the protective circle. Taking two steps back, she carelessly looked around and realised that her surroundings had become unfamiliar, and in just a moment, she could no longer spot her big brother or the steward.
Immediately, tears appeared at the corners of her eyes and she couldn’t help but cry, “Big brother…”
Just then, a pair of hands grabbed her, and brought her into a side alley.
Thinking that it was a bad person, Xie Zhen struggled and shouted, “Who’re you? Let me go!”
Li Yu’s voice came from the front, “Don’t speak!”
Abruptly, she forced herself to stop tearing up. The familiar voice seemed like a lifesaver to her, and as she wiped away her tears with her sleeve, she followed Li Yu into the small alleyway.
The alley was quite narrow, and only just managed to fit the two of them. Inside, they could even smell the putrid scent of some kind of rotting thing. Li Yu and Xie Zhen hid inside silently, neither of them saying a word. A long time later, she finally opened her mouth, whispering, “Big Brother Xiao Yu, what happened just now?”
Li Yu himself didn’t know what had happened, but he only felt that the opera troupe earlier made him feel uneasy.
They had purposefully surrounded them, and blocked their way, forcing them to disperse and lose track of each other. If he hadn’t run away quickly, he could’ve been caught by them.
Thinking back to Gao Xin’s earlier warnings of illegal slave traders, be furrowed his eyebrows.
After waiting for a while, he surreptitiously looked out, and only after seeing that the street was relatively peaceful did he bring Xie Zhen out.
Despite looking around a few times, he still didn’t manage to find Xie Rong and Gao Xun. Thankfully Xie Zhen was quite brave, and didn’t mind it. Walking forwards, she tightly grasped Li Yu’s hand, pitifully saying, “Big Brother Xiao Yu, don’t leave me.”
Startled, Li Yu brushed her off. “There’s no need to hold my hand anymore.”
Before it had been a special situation, so he’d been willing to hold her hand, but afterwards there was no need to anymore.
Still Xie Zhen disagreed, and again she took his hand. “What if both of us get lost again?”
Li Yu told her it would happen, and brushed her hand off again.
Despite this Xie Zhen refused to relent, and started pestering him.
Li Yu wanted to brush her off again, but turning his head he saw that she was about to cry again. If he rejected her, she’d probably really start crying. Then, he suddenly realised that she was afraid.
Hesitating, he finally relented, and expresionlessly continued to walk.
Translators Comments:
Happy Chinese New Year! 新年快乐，万事如意，狗年旺旺旺！Sorry for the (incredibly) late post😅
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