The next morning, Yan Wushuang woke up on the tree and looked down to see Lian Sheng asleep with his head on the table. She suddenly became interested and casually plucked a leaf from the tree, flicking it towards the oil lamp on the table.
With a "ding-dong" sound, the oil lamp rolled to the ground. The noise startled Lian Sheng awake. He looked down and felt heartbroken, blaming himself, "How could I be so careless and knock over the oil lamp? What will I do at night? How will I study?"
He tried to salvage it, frantically scratching at the ground with both hands, but it was no use.
Yan Wushuang jumped down from the tree and walked into the room with an arrogant expression. Seeing his dejected look, she curiously asked, "It's just an oil lamp, why are you so sad?"
Lian Sheng said sadly, "A liter of lamp oil costs ten coins. I only have five coins on me, not enough to buy lamp oil. The imperial examinations are approaching, what should I do?" As he spoke, he began to cry with distress.
Yan Wushuang was displeased, "A grown man, why are you crying? So unmanly. Watch this." With that, she picked up the oil lamp and tried to use her divine power to make it brand new, but she couldn't change it at all. It remained as it was.
It was then that she was terrified to discover she had no divine power. She cried out in panic, "What's going on? What's going on? I have no divine power! I have no divine power!"
Lian Sheng, who had been very sad, couldn't help but laugh when he saw her foolishness, "Hahaha, are you trying to make me laugh?"
Yan Wushuang had no choice but to give up. Seeing him laugh, her guilt lessened slightly. She then asked him, "Now that the oil lamp is gone, what should we do?"
Lian Sheng finally remembered that he still had a basket of sweet potatoes in the kitchen, which he had carried back when he came to the city. He said, "I have an idea. We can sell the sweet potatoes, and that should earn us some more money."
"Mm, good."
He suddenly became worried again, "But the sweet potatoes are our food. It's fine if I eat one less meal, but you are a girl. How can your body withstand eating one or two fewer meals?"
Yan Wushuang laughed heartily at his words, "Look at you, so frail and weak. And look at me, strong and robust. I won't go hungry. Alright, let's go sell the sweet potatoes quickly."
After speaking, she pulled Lian Sheng towards the kitchen. In a corner, they found a basket of sweet potatoes. Lian Sheng picked out several to eat, and the rest were to be sold. Yan Wushuang picked up the bamboo basket and asked, "Where are we going to sell them?"
Lian Sheng smiled slightly and said to her, "You are a girl. I should carry the basket."
Yan Wushuang insisted, "I'll do it. You're too thin and weak. How about we sell them and then go eat a good meal?"
"Okay, let's go to the market ahead."
"Alright, let's go."
Saying this, the two walked out of the courtyard and headed towards the market.
Meanwhile, on Xue Gucheng's side, today was supposed to be the day he followed Aunt Gu to water the flowers in the garden. However, Wan'er heard that her father was going to court today. The Emperor was currently troubled by the drought in the northwest, and he would likely not return until evening. This meant she could go out and play for the whole day!
So, she secretly changed into men's clothing and came to find Xue Gucheng.
"Tianming, Tianming." She called him from afar.
Xue Gucheng stood up and looked towards her. Even in his servant's clothes, it was hard to hide his past handsomeness and elegance.
Wan'er ran up to him and said to Aunt Gu, "Aunt Gu, I'm borrowing Tianming for a day. I'll return him tomorrow."
Aunt Gu became worried, "Miss, if you sneak out without the master's permission and take Tianming with you, and the master finds out, I will be punished."
Wan'er was not worried. She said, "Don't worry, I've already told my mother, and she'll help me keep it a secret."
Seeing that her mother knew, Aunt Gu no longer stopped them, "Then Miss, please be quick and return soon."
"Thank you, Aunt Gu."
After thanking Aunt Gu, she grabbed Xue Gucheng and walked towards the garden exit. Xue Gucheng asked doubtfully, "Miss, where are we going?"
Wan'er said, "We're going to the market. There's lots of delicious food and fun things there."
"But, isn't it too much to sneak out like this?"
Wan'er heard his hesitation and cajoled him, "Don't you remember anything? And you appeared on the street. I guess there might be some clues there that can help you recall. So, do you want to go?"
Hearing her say this, Xue Gucheng also felt it made some sense, so he agreed, "Since Miss wants to go to the market, I'll accompany you."
"That's more like it." With a satisfactory answer, Wan'er was overjoyed.
So, she took Xue Gucheng out to the market to play.
At this time, Yan Wushuang and Lian Sheng also arrived on the street and found a corner to set up a stall. Lian Sheng then began to hawk his wares, "Sweet potatoes, sweet potatoes, fresh sweet potatoes!"
As soon as the cries of hawking began, a woman came forward to inquire, "Young man, how much are your sweet potatoes?"
"One coin each."
"So cheap."
"Good things are cheap."
The woman picked and chose from the basket of sweet potatoes, selecting three that were relatively large. "I'll take these three."
"Okay," Lian Sheng said, and then he pulled out a few stalks of straw from the basket to tie the three sweet potatoes together. The woman also took out her purse and handed three coins to Lian Sheng.
Lian Sheng looked at Yan Wushuang and handed her the money, "Hold onto this for me first."
Seeing their affectionate interaction, the woman envied them, "This must be the young man's wife, right? She's so beautiful, and you two are a perfect match, truly made for each other!"
Yan Wushuang quickly explained, "No, no, no, we're just friends."
"Friends? Hahaha, that's fine too. You look so well-matched. Alright, I'll be going now."
"Goodbye, sister."
Yan Wushuang, somewhat helplessly, returned the money to Lian Sheng, "See? People are misunderstanding. You should keep it yourself."
Lian Sheng helplessly lifted his ripped pocket and said, "Look, how can I keep it?"
Yan Wushuang, very helplessly, could only keep the money for him.
Just then, a foppish young master walked over from a distance, followed by three or four attendants. One of the attendants saw Yan Wushuang, who was very beautiful, by the roadside. He nudged his master and pointed at Yan Wushuang, saying, "Young master, look, there's a peerless beauty."
The foppish young master looked closely and indeed saw a stunning beauty. Her transcendent beauty was like that of a fairy, striking his young heart.
He drooled and kept touching his chin, saying, "Indeed, she's a celestial being descended to earth. Let's go take a look."
"Alright."
So, the few ruffians walked towards the small stall and asked Lian Sheng, "Are you selling sweet potatoes?"
"Yes."
"How much are they?"
"One coin each."
"Good, I'll take this whole basket of sweet potatoes."
Although he said this, he couldn't hide his lecherous gaze towards Yan Wushuang. Lian Sheng carefully counted twenty sweet potatoes in total and said happily, "Young master, that will be twenty coins."
The foppish young master generously took out a silver ingot and placed it in Lian Sheng's hand, saying, "No need for change."
Then, he lecherously moved towards Yan Wushuang and asked, "Little lady, you are truly a national beauty, transcendent and refined. May I ask where you live? We can escort you home."
The attendants behind him chimed in, "We can escort the little lady home."
Yan Wushuang looked at these few bold ruffians and couldn't help but laugh.
The foppish young master, seeing her laugh, couldn't help but praise, "Little lady, you smile so beautifully, like a flower, making this brother's heart flutter."
As he spoke, he reached out to touch her. At that moment, Lian Sheng suddenly stepped in front of Yan Wushuang and said, "Since you've already bought the sweet potatoes, please leave quickly."
The foppish young master impatiently said, "Mind your own business! Who is she to you? Meddling!"
"She is my wife," Lian Sheng said firmly.
Yan Wushuang was surprised that he would say that.
Hearing Lian Sheng say that, the foppish young master and his group burst into laughter, "Look at your shabby appearance, and you think you have such a beautiful and generous wife? Stop joking. If you know what's good for you, get out of the way, or don't blame us for being rough."
Lian Sheng threw the silver he held and said angrily, "I'm not doing business with you anymore. Take the money and leave!"
"Oh, you refuse a toast and insist on a penalty. You're asking for a beating!" As he spoke, he swung a slap towards Lian Sheng. However, just as it was about to land on his face, it suddenly stopped. Everyone looked in unison to see that the foppish young master's hand was firmly grasped by Yan Wushuang.
Then, to everyone's astonishment, she stood up and kicked him flying.
At this moment, people around, hearing the commotion, also gathered. Wan'er, who was strolling with Xue Gucheng, saw that there was some excitement and pulled him over, squeezing into the crowd and clapping, shouting, "Good, good, well done!"
Xue Gucheng found the woman who was fighting very familiar, but he couldn't recall anything.
Just then, someone shouted, "How dare you hit my young master? You're tired of living! Attack!" Following that, the three or four men swung their fists and attacked.
Yan Wushuang pulled Lian Sheng aside and, with one kick each, knocked them to the ground with a few more swings.
The person who had spoken then scrambled to his feet in terror to help his master and complained, "Young master, I didn't expect this little lady to be a martial artist. We are no match for her."
The foppish young master said, "Hurry up and leave! This is embarrassing!"
After watching the show, Wan'er pulled him away. Yan Wushuang, by chance, caught a glimpse of a figure that looked very much like Xue Gucheng. She hurried forward and grabbed the person. When the person turned around, it was just a passerby. The passerby said unhappily, "What do you want!"
Yan Wushuang, disappointed again, apologized, "Sorry, I mistook you for someone else."
She then returned to Lian Sheng's side and, finding that the silver ingot had not been picked up, excitedly picked it up and gave it to Lian Sheng, "Lian Sheng, look, this silver is still here."
Lian Sheng said disdainfully, "I don't want money from someone like that."
Yan Wushuang persuaded him, "Look, your sweet potatoes are all ruined. If you don't take it, where will you earn ten coins? Don't be silly, take it. We're going to have a big meal today."
Lian Sheng then smiled and praised her, "You were so cool just now."
"I think so too."
Laughing and chatting, they picked up the scattered sweet potatoes and then chose a restaurant to eat.
Meanwhile, Wan'er had brought Xue Gucheng to the street where they had met. Xue Gucheng closed his eyes and tried to recall carefully, but he couldn't remember anything. However, he smelled a special fragrance in the breeze, a familiar scent, but he couldn't remember anything now.
Seeing that he had thought enough, Wan'er pulled him to a nearby mask shop and pointed to a floral mask, saying, "Look how beautiful it is."
As she spoke, she picked it up and put it on Xue Gucheng to show him. Xue Gucheng, seeing that she liked it, said, "Since you like it, let's buy it."
As he spoke, he was about to take out money to buy it. At that moment, Wan'er quickly took out money and bought two masks, one for herself and one for Xue Gucheng.
"Put them on and see how they look?" Wan'er pleaded.
Xue Gucheng had no choice but to put on the mask. Wan'er then put on her mask and, holding his hand, they wandered the street.
At this time, Yan Wushuang and Lian Sheng had arrived at a restaurant called "Carefree Pavilion" and went up to the second floor, sitting by the railing.
She casually looked down at the street and saw two people wearing masks walking by below. They were holding hands, looking very intimate.
She thought the man behind looked very much like Xue Gucheng, but she couldn't be sure. Her Xue Ge would not be so close to others. She guessed it was just that their heights were similar, so she didn't think much of it.
Just then, the waiter also brought the dishes, "Here are your dishes for the two of you. Please enjoy."
He then served the dishes one by one and retreated.
Lian Sheng beckoned to her, "Miss Wushuang, try it quickly. These are all good dishes."
Yan Wushuang picked up her chopsticks and took a bite, her eyes widening with joy, "It's delicious. It's a pity there's no wine."
"That's not a problem." As he spoke, Lian Sheng turned his head and called out to the waiter, "Waiter, bring us a pot of good wine."
Yan Wushuang quickly called out, "Bring several pots."
"Alright!"
Lian Sheng looked at her in surprise and asked, "Why drink so much wine?"
"You don't know, people like me who uphold justice love to drink."
"But you can't drink this much at once."
"I'm known as 'a thousand cups without getting drunk.' You can try if you don't believe me."
"Let's try then."
As they were talking, the waiter brought the wine and placed it on the table, "Here is the wine you ordered for the two of you."
"Okay, thank you."
"You're welcome. Enjoy your drinks." After speaking, he turned and left.
Yan Wushuang drank more than half of a bottle in one go. Lian Sheng was directly shocked, staring at her with his mouth agape.
"What, are you afraid to drink?" Yan Wushuang provoked.
Lian Sheng refused to be outdone, uncorked the bottle, and took a large gulp. He was then choked and coughed repeatedly.
"If you can't drink, then don't. I'll drink," Yan Wushuang advised him.
"No, we agreed to drink together, so you can't drink alone." As he spoke, he raised the wine bottle again and started drinking.
Yan Wushuang laughed heartily, "Since you insist on drinking, I'll drink with you."
As she spoke, she also started drinking. They drank for an unknown amount of time until Lian Sheng fell asleep on the table. She also felt she had had too much, so she helped Lian Sheng up and walked downstairs. Just as they were about to go out, the waiter chased after them, "Miss, Miss, you haven't paid yet."
Yan Wushuang then remembered to pay. She took out the silver ingot and handed it to the waiter. The waiter ran to give it to the shopkeeper. After the shopkeeper made change, he had him return it to Yan Wushuang.
Yan Wushuang took the money, put it in her怀, said "Thank you," and then took Lian Sheng back.