West of the capital, Seventh District, in front of Yu Yi Fabric Store.
Xie Yu's leg had improved greatly. She couldn't do high-intensity movements like running or jumping, but slow walking was fine.
She didn't bring her wheelchair or cane, walking down from the carriage, curiously observing the surroundings.
Besides the fabric store, there were also restaurants, chess halls, and other establishments nearby. Pedestrian traffic was light, but everyone wore fine silks, adorned with jewels, clearly from wealthy backgrounds.
The fabric store in front of them had three full stories, almost the size of a small shopping center. The exterior walls were glossy reddish-brown, decorated with large patches of fabric in different colors and materials. Even the staff outside were well-dressed and attractive.
"I've never been here before. The customers look rich."
Shen Changyin, following her down from the carriage, said: "Seventh District has always catered to nobility and wealthy merchants. A dish here costs six to seven times more than elsewhere, so ordinary people don't come here."
"And you, Third Highness, usually explore ordinary markets in the east of the city."
Xie Yu lowered her gaze. "I see. I guess I'm just too poor."
They entered the store.
Though called a fabric store, it sold not only fabrics from all over the country but also trendy small items like velvet flowers, accessories, toys for children, etc.
A staff member followed them, eagerly explaining: "The first floor is mainly fabrics and small items. The second and third floors have ready-made clothes, and skilled tailors are available to adjust garments."
Both nodded. They weren't used to being followed while shopping and dismissed the staff.
They first wandered in the small accessories section. Most people there were young women around sixteen to twenty, shopping with friends, joking and teasing each other, crowded like small animals.
Xie Yu and Shen Changyin, elegant and beautiful, completely different in type, immediately drew attention. The girls whispered and giggled as they discussed them.
Seeing the flushed, playful faces, Xie Yu understood—it was puberty; all young women behaved like this.
"Third Highness?"
They turned to see Minister Zhang from the Ministry of Rites, accompanied by her wife, holding hands and bowing politely.
"I didn't expect to see you two here. Buying clothes? Why isn't the staff following you?"
Xie Yu noticed both women wore identical hairpins. "We asked them not to follow, to be more comfortable, and we didn't reveal our identities."
Minister Zhang nodded and bowed.
As they were about to part, a brave little girl ran up, tossing a velvet flower into Xie Yu's hands.
Xie Yu instinctively caught it. She looked at it, wanting to return it, but the girl in white had already hidden back with her friends, cheeks red, staring at her.
Before she could react, another figure swiftly approached Shen Changyin. Xie Yu reached out to block, but caught the flower meant for Shen Changyin herself.
This time, it was a girl in purple, about sixteen. Seeing her flower intercepted, she blinked. "It's not for you."
She pointed to Shen Changyin: "It's for her."
Then pointed at the girl in white: "She's my friend, she likes her. I like the one next to her. I won't compete for the same person."
Xie Yu laughed and cried at the same time.
It seemed she and Shen Changyin had been completely claimed by these teenagers.
She handed the flower to Shen Changyin. "Fine, fine, I won't steal it. I'll give it back later, alright?"
The girl in purple nodded happily.
Shen Changyin snorted lightly, refusing to take it.
Xie Yu held both velvet flowers. "I'll keep them for her, I'll return them later."
The purple girl nodded, ready to go back to her friend.
Shen Changyin said suddenly: "Don't you see I'm her fiancée? Yet you're giving us flowers?"
The teenagers froze. "You two are… a couple?"
She said with considerable confidence, "It's fine if you don't like me. There's no need to find an excuse. I just wanted to give you flowers."
Then she ran off.
Leaving behind Xie Yu, Shen Changyin, Minister Zhang, and Minister Zhang's wife, standing there together.
Minister Zhang laughed. "The two princesses truly have celestial beauty. Even buying things, you're still admired. Those two girls were also quite brave and straightforward."
Shen Changyin replied coolly, "Reckless."
She added calmly, "Giving flowers without first checking whether the person you like already has a partner."
Minister Zhang looked a little awkward. "Uh…"
She glanced at the deliberately maintained thirty-centimeter distance between Xie Yu and Shen Changyin, hesitating to speak.
"Perhaps the two of you really don't look much like a couple."
Xie Yu stepped in to smooth things over. "Why argue with teenagers?"
Following Minister Zhang's gaze, Shen Changyin also examined herself and Xie Yu, then compared them to Minister Zhang and her wife. Only then did she realize the difference.
Minister Zhang and her wife wore matching jeweled hairpins, held hands, and stood shoulder to shoulder.
Meanwhile, she and Xie Yu truly looked like nothing more than polite, restrained companions traveling together.
She pressed her lips together, said nothing more, and simply picked up a pair of jade pendants nearby, tossing one to Xie Yu.
"Put it on."
Xie Yu fumbled to catch it, suspicious at the instruction.
Minister Zhang and her wife exchanged a glance, smiled subtly, and quietly left.
Xie Yu asked, "What are you doing?"
Shen Changyin answered calmly, "Before we came, I said I had given up pursuing you. That was true. But we are still a politically married couple. We need to put on an appearance. I don't want people gossiping outside."
When you staged a coup, you weren't afraid of gossip, Xie Yu thought silently, holding the jade pendant without moving.
Shen Changyin's gaze turned cold.
"Third Highness, if you don't want to wear the pendant, is it because you dislike it, or because you want the other one more?"
Xie Yu: "?"
"This has nothing to do with which pendant it is. I just don't like wearing them. Jade pendants are easy to steal, and walking around you have to keep watching them—it's tiring."
Shen Changyin smiled faintly. "When you wore the engagement pendant with the Shen family's eldest daughter, you didn't seem to mind the trouble."
"You even kept it on the night you escaped the palace to save your life. You cherished it quite a lot."
Xie Yu: "?"
A chill ran down her back. She immediately hooked the pendant onto her belt.
Her survival instinct fully activated. "Jade nurtures people. It's a good thing. Thank you, Lady Shen, for the gift."
Shen Changyin was barely satisfied.
Seeing no one around, she said, "Third Highness, today's incident reminded me that we should define the obligations of a political marriage. Otherwise, even a random child on the street can see there's something wrong with our engagement."
Xie Yu cooperated. "For example?"
Shen Changyin extended her hand, suspended in midair, but not toward Xie Yu.
Xie Yu stared at it for a long time, unsure what she was supposed to do.
Shen Changyin let out a soft laugh.
That cool sensation on her back flared again—like using a mint sanitary pad in summer.
Xie Yu quickly took that hand.
Seeing Shen Changyin's expression remain calm, she even raised their hands between them, trying to interlace their fingers.
Although Shen Changyin showed nothing on her face, she cooperated and interlocked fingers with her.
Xie Yu shook their joined hands. "Holding hands while shopping—this should be enough, right?"
"Let's walk forward."
Shen Changyin was pulled along. At first she stood still, but was soon dragged forward. As they walked, she said:
"You must wear this pendant for a full month. Wear it when attending court and when going out. After one month, we exchange."
The pair of jade pendants were red and white. A skilled artisan had carved one into a plum blossom and the other into a bird, based on the distribution of red. The craftsmanship was seamless.
Xie Yu's pendant had the bird. She glanced at it and asked Shen Changyin, "Do you want mine more? If you like it, we can switch now."
She didn't really care about the design.
Shen Changyin stopped walking again.
Xie Yu was ahead, Shen Changyin behind, their hands stretched between them.
Xie Yu turned back and noticed a faint flush on Shen Changyin's face.
Shen Changyin restrained herself before speaking. "I don't want the bird. I want the bird pendant you've worn."
Xie Yu tilted her head in confusion, like a sparrow hearing human speech.
Seeing that she still didn't understand, Shen Changyin lowered her voice and explained further.
"I want everyone to know that the pendant belongs to you, yet is worn by me."
Xie Yu suddenly understood.
Wasn't this basically the same as elementary school kids exchanging hair ties?
The moment she realized this, something inside her softened.
When it came to intimacy, Shen Changyin was really just a child too.
She nodded decisively. "Alright. We'll exchange after one month."
She tugged on Shen Changyin's hand. This time, Shen Changyin was lightly pulled along as they headed to the second floor's ready-made clothing section.
"Are there any other agreements that you want to enforce? Say them all today."
Shen Changyin said, "After we marry, you may not get too close to others. It would disgrace my image."
"Agreed."
"When we attend public banquets, we must act like a loving married couple."
"Agreed."
"You must drink the medicine left at the bottom of my bowl."
"Then you must give me high scores in poetry class."
Shen Changyin nodded solemnly. "If you ever need to write poetry, I can write it for you and sign your name."
Xie Yu covered her chest with her free hand. "So touching."
They arrived at the ready-made clothing section on the second floor.
Countless garments made of expensive fabric, with exquisite craftsmanship and unique designs, were displayed on wooden racks.
The windows were open. A breeze drifted in, fluttering the ribbons of dresses, as if they might turn into immortals and leave the mortal world at any moment.
Xie Yu pointed around. "This one looks good. That one too. That one really suits you."
She selected several sets, but because of her injured leg, it wasn't convenient to try them on. She directly asked the shop assistant to reserve them and have them delivered to the princess's residence later.
The manager in charge of registering froze when she heard the name of the Jin Princess's Residence. Her hand trembled as she looked up, even stuttering. "Your… Your Highness…"
"Shh." Xie Yu raised a finger to her lips and winked. "Don't make a fuss."
The manager nodded vigorously.
Shen Changyin pulled Xie Yu away. "Add another rule. You are not allowed to blink at others."
"That's not allowed either? I can't just stare people down all the time."
"You know which kind of blinking I mean."
"A wink?"
"What is a 'wink'?" Shen Changyin awkwardly mimicked the English pronunciation.
Xie Yu stopped her, faced her directly, curved her lips, and gave her a wink with amber-colored eyes.
Shen Changyin's grip tightened. Her heart skipped a beat.
She nodded seriously. "That. You're not allowed to do that to others."
Seeing Xie Yu hesitate, she added, "If you act ambiguously toward others, it reflects badly on me. A political marriage should not harm my interests."
That made sense.
Xie Yu thought about it and nodded.
"My clothes are bought. What are you choosing?"
Shen Changyin had come today to buy two outer robes.
With summer approaching, the materials were lighter, mostly gauze.
They walked toward the outer robe section while chatting casually.
Xie Yu said, "By the way, I borrowed your agents earlier to investigate the case of collecting children's tears in Tiger Paw Village. They went through the black market and found nothing."
"But I've learned how to deal with superstitious people. I sent some agents to noble households disguised as maids, directly extracting information from potential buyers."
Shen Changyin asked, "Did you reach a conclusion?"
Xie Yu said, "Simply put—cosmetic obsession harms people."
"Children's eyes are clear, elderly eyes are cloudy. Eyes are an important marker of age, and clarity is universally considered beautiful."
"So there really is a pill made from children's tears. Supposedly, after taking it, one's eyes become lively and clear, making the user more beautiful."
"But this pill isn't sold openly. The agents said the noblewomen went to a specific place to buy it, consumed it on the spot, and were not allowed to take it away."
Shen Changyin said, "I assume you haven't found that place yet."
"Not yet, but it should be soon. My leg has mostly healed. I can't wait to join the investigation."
Xie Yu let out a long breath. "I don't mean to offend you, but I'm sick of staying home taking lessons with you. I want to investigate cases!"
As she spoke, a young woman passed by and bumped into Xie Yu, dropping her money pouch.
Xie Yu turned and called out, "Hey!"
The woman turned back. Her eyes brightened at Xie Yu's face, then calmed when she saw her holding hands with Shen Changyin. "Yes?"
Xie Yu gestured toward the pouch on the ground. "Yours?"
The woman looked surprised, quickly picked it up, and said gratefully, "Thank you, thank you. You're truly beautiful and kind-hearted."
"No problem."
After helping someone again today, Xie Yu turned back and found Shen Changyin watching her.
"What is it?"
Shen Changyin said, "Pouting your lips isn't allowed either."
Xie Yu widened her eyes. "Why not? That's a normal gesture. Everyone does it."
Shen Changyin replied, "But when you do it, it's very cute."
Xie Yu leaned her upper body back and looked at Shen Changyin. "Are you flirting with me?"
Shen Changyin shook her head. "Just stating a fact."
"I don't believe you. I want to add another clause to the agreement."
"Please speak, Third Highness."
"No flirting with me."
"That won't work."
"Won't work?"
"Mmm. Won't work."
Xie Yu widened her eyes. "Lady Shen, aren't you being a bit of a rogue? You feel out of character."
She grabbed Shen Changyin's shoulders and shook her lightly. "No matter what kind of monster you are, get off my fiancée and give her back to me. Return that cold, restrained Lady Shen."
Shen Changyin helplessly let her make a fuss.
Not far away, Minister Zhang and her wife, who had just gone up to the third floor, were watching this scene.
The wife said, "You told me these two ladies aren't truly lovers, yet here they are flirting."
Minister Zhang chuckled. "But if you asked them, they definitely wouldn't admit they're flirting."
The wife asked, "Are young people all like this nowadays?"
Minister Zhang replied, "Probably only these two. Their competitive spirits are both very strong."
—
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