Fields of Gold

“Mhm! Not only can we do a jadeite trade, but we can also set up a stone betting shop near the stained glass factory! The jade rocks transported from there can be put on site for people to buy with a marked price. Like gambling, if the value of the jadeite is higher than that of the original jade rock, then you win the bet! If not, then you lose! One shall know that it’s hard for even immortals to break jade. The jade stone is mined in the mountains and wrapped within a thick layer of stone. Is there jade inside? How much? How’s the quality? It’s all based on luck or experience…” 

In her previous life, Xiaocao had seen a movie about stone betting. She knew a little about stone betting, and thus sounded quite believable. In actuality, she didn’t know the slightest about stone betting. But she had the little divine stone as her cheat ah! If this was her previous life, she might have gotten rich overnight with a trip to Tengchong! 

[It’s a pity that you were so stupid at that time. You had this divine stone beside you for so long, yet you didn’t initiate the process of recognizing the master. What an idiot!] The little divine stone roasted her. 

[Who knew that there would actually be a little sprite hidden within an unassuming, little multicolored stone. I used to be an atheist, so I never expected that there would be so many immortals and demons in the world!] Yu Xiaocao roared back in her mind. At that time, she had picked up the little divine stone by chance and tied it onto her wrist with a red string. Who would have thought that such a cute, little thing could be summoned with one’s own blood! 

[You’re the one who’s cute, your whole family is cute!!] It was the dignified divine stone who could be ranked among the deities if it cultivated up another level. But it was actually called cute by a young human girl, and she even called it a little thing. There was no way that it was going to tolerate it! 

Yu Xiaocao replied in a matter-of-course manner, [Of course I’m cute—everyone loves me. It’s pitiful that no one loves you. You got abandoned by your master and punished by your master’s friend to cultivate in the human realm. If you hadn’t encountered me, who knows how many more years it would take for you to see the light of day again!] 

[This divine stone exhausted all my spiritual power in order to save your soul, lest you have to suffer the cycle of reincarnation. Is this how you should treat your life savior?] The little divine stone was angered because of her teasing. 

[Ok, ok, ok! You have worked hard and achieved great merit. You’re the best. You’re the most amazing, okay?] Yu Xiaocao comforted the angry golden kitten perfunctorily. Seeing its cute and proud appearance, she couldn’t help but kiss its little ear. 

She saw the color of the golden kitten’s face gradually darken, and it was close to a light pink color. It turned out that the proud divine stone would also be shy. Yu Xiaocao felt that it was very interesting. When she moved closer to kiss its small head, she suddenly noticed that her hands were empty. Someone had snatched the little kitten away! 

She looked up and found Zhu Junyang glaring at her with a displeased expression…to be exact, he was staring at her red lips. Perhaps it was the effect of the mystic-stone water on her body that caused her lips to appear pink like a spring peach blossom. It looked glossy and moist as if she had put on a layer of pink lip gloss. Her mouth was very small yet plump. After looking at them for a long time, one would have the urge to kiss her.

At this time, it felt like this for Zhu Junyang. However, his future mother-in-law and younger brother-in-law weren’t too far away. He had this thought in mind, but he didn’t have the guts to act upon it. He could only glare fiercely at the little lass and silently threatened, ‘I’ll deal with you in the future!’ 

‘Such a huge vinegar jar—he’s even jealous of a kitten!!’ Yu Xiaocao felt very speechless. 

The little divine stone felt very embarrassed, ‘This divine stone was harassed by a weak human girl. Will those shameless immortals laugh at me when I return to the celestial realm? No way, I must cover up this matter and never let others know!’ 

Yu Xiaocao glanced at Zhu Junyang and asked, “I’m telling you something serious. What nonsense are you thinking about? Stone betting and jadeite are definitely profitable businesses! But it’s an inhospitable environment there. So I reckon that it won’t be peaceful on the road.” 

“Leave it to this prince. I guarantee that you will get a satisfied answer in a few days!” Although Zhu Junyang didn’t know much about jadeites, the lass was very excited when she mentioned it. Therefore, it must be a profitable business.

As for stone betting, he was more optimistic about this. In the capital, there were a bunch of profligate sons of wealthy families who had money on hand and no place to spend them. They would be very interested in gambling. An example would be the entertainment club in the suburbs. Horse racing was the most popular and profitable activity. He pondered about it in his heart. If the stone betting business was managed well, it would earn money faster than horse racing! After all, who could resist the temptation of getting rich overnight? 

After they left Wisdom Jade Pavillion, the group went to eat at the nearby Zhenxiu Restaurant. Originally, they had wanted to meet the groom and congratulate him. Unfortunately, the decoration of Zhenxiu Restaurant’s main hall was in full swing. It was all managed by a steward, and Third Young Master Zhou was nowhere in sight. There were only a few days before his wedding, so that guy was probably very busy! 

Yu Xiaocao glanced at the main hall, which was decorated in a very festive manner. It seemed like Third Young Master Zhou didn’t forget to promote his own business even on his wedding day. He was inspired by her hairpin ceremony and decided to hold his wedding at his own restaurant! Her hairpin ceremony was one of the first in the capital to be so grand and unique. Since then, many families followed suit and held their daughter’s hairpin ceremony at Zhenxiu Restaurant. 

The cost of holding a hairpin ceremony wasn’t cheap, but more importantly, it saved a lot of work and gained a lot of face. It didn’t matter that it was expensive because there were plenty of families in the capital who didn’t lack money. 

In the twinkling of an eye, it was the day of Third Young Master Zhou’s wedding. The guests of the wedding naturally had to dress more festively. Yu Xiaocao wore a moon-blue colored beaded top-jacket with narrow sleeves and a pinched waist red outer gown with embroidered hems. It was embroidered with soft, elegant patterns using silver silk threads. On the bottom, she wore a lake colored silk gauze pleated skirt. There were faint multicolored flowers between the pleats, and golden flowers woven on the azure stripe on the hem. She was covered with a pale mauve colored ferret fur cloak with plum blossom patterns. She didn’t have a lot of accessories on her head. The red coral hair-ornament inlaid with diamonds was particularly eye-catching. The bright red color was embellished with bits of broken diamonds that looked like stars falling from the sky. When complemented with the lass’s fair jade-like skin and pair of big, bright eyes, she looked as delicate and dazzling as a porcelain doll. 

Zhu Junyang, who came to pick Xiaocao up to go to the wedding together, saw that she had ‘carefully’ dressed up for another person, but that person wasn’t him. Moreover, it was for another man. He couldn’t help but feel extremely jealous. He wished he could hide this delicate and beautiful maiden so that he would be the only one who could see her beauty. 

“Why are you just standing there foolishly? It’s getting late, so let’s go!” Seeing the flash of amazement in his eyes and his dazed expression, Yu Xiaocao’s vain heart felt an unprecedented satisfaction. This ugly duckling could also turn into a swan when dressed up!   

However, compared with the handsome man in front of her, her appearance was only 70% as good as the other party’s. But she already felt very satisfied. Ay…this guy’s looks was too law-defying. The heavens were too partial towards him! She was originally a delicate beauty, but when she stood beside him, she had directly turned into an ugly duckling. 

It was thanks to her careless attitude and strong heart that she didn’t feel inferior and despair under his radiating aura. ‘Ay…this man must have saved the entire galaxy in his previous life, and thus he was able to meet such a great woman like me in this life—pfft!’ She couldn’t hold back and laughed. 

“You…do you need to wear more clothing? I heard that it’s cold today!” Seeing the lass’s slender waist and delicate figure under her cloak, Zhu Junyang had an urge to wrap her up tightly with clothes. 

Was it cold…today? Yu Xiaocao looked up at the bright sun in the sky. Compared to a few days ago, today was a rare day of fine weather! Then she looked at her clothes. She wore a jacket on the inside, and the cloak she had on was extra thick… She shook her head and said, “I’m wearing more than enough! I’m wearing two layers of woolen trousers inside the dress, so I’m not cold at all! If I add on more clothes, I’ll feel so heavy that I won’t be able to walk properly!” 

‘If you can’t walk, then this prince can carry you!’ Zhu Junyang almost said that out loud, but he knew that if he did, the lass would look at him with an angry expression and roll her eyes at him. “Alright! Then hold this brazier. Wrap it with a piece of cloth to avoid burning your hands… Also, when you go out, put on your hood and scarf.” 

“Aren’t you being too over? It only takes a few steps to reach the carriage, and then I’ll enter the house again after getting off the carriage. How cold would I be?” Although Yu Xiaocao said this, she felt very pleased inwardly that she had trained such a warm man for herself. In the ancient times, when male chauvinism was so widespread, there was such an attentive and considerate man waiting for her love. What more could she ask for?   

Mhm…she must swiftly take in this pretty boy, so as to not be intercepted by others who noticed his good qualities! When he mentioned the matter of the marriage proposal in the upcoming year again, she would stop keeping him in suspense and go along with him. Her parents and family members should probably arrive in the next few days, right? 

“What are you thinking about? You’re not even looking up. Did you almost trip on the threshold?” She felt a strong hold on her hand. The warmth of the warm and strong palm transmitted to her hand through the cotton gloves. Under his help, Yu Xiaocao crossed the high threshold and reached the carriage. Yet he was still unwilling to let go of her hand and directly supported her onto the carriage. 

“Have you…settled on Royal Prince Yang?” Lady Fang, who had entered the carriage first, looked at her daughter with a slightly complex expression. On one hand, she was very happy to see Royal Prince Yang being so considerate and good to her daughter. On the other hand, they weren’t an official couple after all. If they acted so intimate in public, would it lead to people gossiping about them?

Yu Xiaocao nodded her head without any hesitation. She wasn’t really someone from ancient times, so it wasn’t her style to be reserved. 

Lady Fang smiled helplessly and said, “In this case, tell him to quickly come to propose the marriage!” This was to avoid bad rumors about her daughter if it got dragged out for too long.   

“Mhm! He plans on getting someone to calculate a good day to have his elders come over to propose the marriage after the first month…” It was just a marriage proposal. They would have to wait at least until she reached the age of eighteen for the actual wedding. She had already held her hairpin ceremony that represented adulthood, but in her mind, one would only be considered an adult when one reached eighteen. It was very dangerous for girls, who weren’t fully developed, to get married and give birth too young, okay? 

However, that guy, Zhu Junyang, wasn’t that young anymore. He didn’t seem to oppose the idea of her getting married after the age of eighteen. Could it be that the emperor, who was also a transmigrator, said something to him? If that guy could wait, what was her rush? She thought that it was too early to get married at eighteen! In her previous life, a young girl of this age was still a senior in high school ah!