Chapter 39: Ritual Wine

Editor: Atlas Studios

Perhaps it was the piercing power of her gaze that penetrated through the crowd, striking the pickpocket’s eyes like a blade.

The pickpocket instinctively sensed danger and scrambled up to run!

Oh… No one had ever escaped from Gu Jiao before!

Gu Jiao chased him into a side alley.

The pickpocket summoned all his strength, but Gu Jiao kept gaining on him, and in his panic, he seemed to have chosen a dead-end street. There was no way out ahead!

The pickpocket panicked and pulled out a dagger hidden in his sleeve as his blood surged.

“Stay back! Or I’ll kill you!” He roared in anger.

Gu Jiao didn’t even blink. With one foot on the wall, she sprang up and in a flash kicked the dagger from the pickpocket’s hand, sending it flying off.

The pickpocket’s eyes widened. In the next second, Gu Jiao landed a kick on his chest before he could even cry out, sending him sprawling on the ground.

Gu Jiao walked over coldly, used her foot to turn him over, and picked up the purse that had fallen from his sleeve.

Xiao Liulang was still waiting in the ox-cart, so she didn’t have time to waste on the thief. She didn’t intend to report to the officials and was about to leave when the thief quietly grabbed the dagger from the ground.

However, before he could attack, Gu Jiao stepped on his wrist, instantly breaking his bones.

“Ahh—” The pickpocket screamed miserably. He didn’t understand how she had done it. She hadn’t even looked back – did she have eyes in the back of her head?

“Catch him!”

Suddenly, several men rushed in from the end of the alley. After giving Gu Jiao a cursory glance, they dashed towards the pickpocket.

“Did you find it?”

A panting young master arrived at that moment.

Perhaps he had run too fast and was now out of energy. He leaned against the wall, gasping for air.

Gu Jiao walked past him.

He suddenly spoke, “Miss Gu?”

Gu Jiao stopped and looked at him, “Young Master Xiaoqin?”

The town was so small that she could bump into him even while catching a thief?

On the other side, the wardens who had seized the pickpocket came back. One of them handed a scroll to Young Master Xiaoqin, saying, “Young Master, we’ve found it!”

“That quickly? Wasn’t it said that habitual thieves are hard to catch?” Young Master Xiaoqin took the scroll.

The warden glanced at Gu Jiao and said, “She caught him.”

After the last incident, Young Master Xiaoqin’s impression of Gu Jiao had changed. Although Gu Jiao had extorted him a hundred taels of silver, he preferred her money-minded side to being beaten up by her.

“Thank you again,” Young Master Xiaoqin politely said.

Gu Jiao glanced at him, “Why do you keep getting robbed?”

Young Master Xiaoqin embarrassingly answered, “I suppose the news leaked, and I was targeted by the rival.”

He didn’t specify what news, and Gu Jiao didn’t ask.

Gu Jiao simply wanted to retrieve her purse and didn’t care about anything else. She ignored Young Master Xiaoqin and left without showing any emotion.

Watching her unhesitant figure, Young Master Xiaoqin furrowed his brows in confusion. Was she… truly not interested in him anymore?

“Young Master.” Another guard ran up, “I found a handkerchief on the ground, could it belong to the young lady just now?”

Young Master Xiaoqin immediately took the handkerchief and chased after Gu Jiao.

When he finally found Gu Jiao, she had already bought green onion pancakes and was back in the ox-cart.

“Miss Gu! Miss Gu!” Young Master Xiaoqin, a pampered scholar, had drained all his energy while chasing the thief. His pursuit now was solely powered by willpower.

He was panting heavily, leaning against the ox cart, unable to speak for quite some time.

The gaze of Xiao Liulang turned somewhat cold.

Gu Jiao shrugged, feigning innocence with a look saying, “This has nothing to do with me, I don’t know him.”

“You need something?” Xiao Liulang asked indifferently.

Young Master Xiaoqin was startled by the sound, looked at Xiao Liulang, and an embarrassed expression appeared on his face: “Ah… Master Xiao is here too…”

Xiao Liulang: So you chased after me while I was away?!

Young Master Xiaoqin handed over the handkerchief in his hand: “Miss Gu, you dropped your handkerchief.”

Gu Jiao took a look and said, “It’s not mine.”

“Ah…” Young Master Xiaoqin became even more embarrassed. He had chased all the way and it was not hers, feeling somewhat ashamed.

In his haste, Young Master Xiaoqin tilted, and the painting in his arms fell out, landing precisely on the ox cart, spreading out at Xiao Liulang’s feet.

It was a painting of the misty rain in Jiangnan, featuring mountains, rivers, and a canopy boat in the rain. Even Gu Jiao, who knew nothing about calligraphy and painting, thought this painting was full of rich and expressive strokes, creating a far-reaching artistic conception.

Obtaining this painting was not easy; his father had instructed him to take good care of it after he got it, not to be seen by others.

Now that the painting was suddenly exposed, Young Master Xiaoqin was originally quite nervous, but seeing Gu Jiao staring at the painting with evident curiosity, he suddenly did not rush to collect the painting.

He proudly said, “This is a masterpiece by the young master of Zhaodu! It’s called ‘Spring Mountains in Misty Rain’, drawn by Young Master during his travels in Jiangnan when he was twelve. The Young Master’s paintings are priceless, and I bought it for a high price from a friend!”

Gu Jiao picked up the painting, her eyes widened: “He could paint so well at twelve?”

Her shocked look was rather charming, and even the red birthmark on her face didn’t look ugly in Young Master Xiaoqin’s eyes.

Young Master Xiaoqin then boasted even more: “This was just a casual sketch of his. Allegedly, he discarded it for not being satisfied with it, and it was secretly preserved by a servant. If you like it… you can take a longer look at it!”

Gu Jiao: “…”

Xiao Liulang’s glance lightly swept over the painting, and he casually said, “It’s a fake.”

It took Young Master Xiaoqin a moment to realize that he was referring to the painting before he stamped his feet: “Nonsense! This painting is clearly authentic, how can it be a fake?”

Xiao Liulang said, “It’s a fake.”

Young Master Xiaoqin raised his voice, “How can you tell it’s a fake?”

Xiao Liulang seemed to think it was a waste to even glance at him: “How can’t you tell it’s a fake?”

This comment was too arrogant, as if implying that the painting was atrociously forged, full of flaws at every spot.

Young Master Xiaoqin finally couldn’t restrain his anger: “What do you know? Do you, a poor scholar, understand painting? I’ve had it professionally appraised! This is indeed the Young Master’s work!”

“He never painted this one.” Xiao Liulang nonchalantly said.

“How do you know he didn’t paint it? Do you know him?”

As soon as he said this, Young Master Xiaoqin laughed himself.

How could a country cripple possibly know the prestigious young master of Zhaodu?

The master of Zhaodu has many sons, and each one a young master. But there is only one who gets addressed as the young master of Zhaodu.

Young master of Zhaodu is the legitimate son of the Duke of Xuanping, his birth mother is Princess Xinyang, both are greatly loved by the current emperor.

He ascended to Jinluan hall at the age of three, becoming famous after a battle with a group of scholars! He entered the Guozijian at four years old, read through the national book hall at five years old, and mastered the languages of six nations!

The head of Tianxiang Academy is on the list of the four top scholars of Capital City because one has to be at least eighteen to make the list, and his imperial examination scores remain unsurpassed because this young master has never participated in it!

He was appointed as the libationer of Guozijian by the emperor at the age of twelve, and emissaries from five nations came to congratulate this young libationer, a truly resplendent and unparalleled figure in Zhaodu!

Unfortunately, the young master, despite his unparalleled origin and brilliance, tragically died in a sudden fire at the Guozijian and was reportedly burned alive.

He died on New Year’s Eve, only fourteen years old.