Liu Bei POV

I closely inspected that girl, and though I couldn’t see her face from where I stood, I could tell from the s.h.i.+mmering points of light from her clothing and from her countenance that she was no commoner.

Yet, even though she wasn’t a commoner, she was fretting over a bit of money which made me feel like something was up.

Un… Ah, no good! I nearly got curious about her!

Too dangerous, too dangerous… If that comes to pa.s.s, then I would go up and speak with her, just as Yun Chang feared.

I felt relieved at myself for detecting this and hurriedly turned away and ignored her.

Besides, even if I wanted to help her, I can’t anyway. I don’t usually bring money when I come out so I don’t have any money to help her…

Eh? Just then, I found a small green silk pouch hanging by the shorter edge of Yun Chang’s Green Dragon Crescent Blade. It was small but heavy.

Could this be…?

I reached out and touched it, and when it shook, I could feel that it was dense and heard a crisp clink.

Ah… This is probably Yun Chang’s coin pouch…

“Umm! Mr Owner! Please let me buy this on credit, I’ll definitely pay you when I get my allowance next month!”

“No can do, I’m a travelling merchant, I’ll be leaving here by next month.”

Their voices could be heard once more. It seems like the girl is rather anxious.

Ah… Could this be fate?

On one hand, fate has handed me the coin pouch; one the other, I have met with this girl with money problems. Can I really not go and help her?

It will be difficult to refuse, I thought as I took down the coin pouch.

By the way, I should clarify that I am by no means. .h.i.tting on her. I am just trying to help her as a decent human being should so please don’t misunderstand me.

Ahem! I cleared my throat and stepped out only to realise that I couldn’t step away as the blade was planted into the ground and decided to yell out instead.

“Oi! The lady over there!” I yelled as I waved to her. My voice isn’t very soft so she should be able to hear me.

“Eh?” After she heard my yell, she looked about trying to find me.

“Over here! Over here!” I waved my arms once more.

Because this is important, I have to say it once more. I have no intention of hitting on her whatsoever. In a while, I will just lend her the money she needs and arrange for her to return it to me at a later time. If she doesn’t want to accept my aid, so be it, I won’t force it on her.

As I thought so, the girl finally saw me and turned to face me.

“Ah, would you be talking to me?” She said as she put down the seeds in her hand and ran over to me. When I saw this, I took down the coin pouch and prepared myself to deliver the script which I’d prepared.

“Ah, I can–” But when I saw her face clearly, I recognised who she was and my voice stopped short.

“Eh? You’re–” I uttered as I pointed at her while holding the coin pouch.

She too recognised who I was when she saw me, “Ah, you’re… Uncle right?”

As I sized her up once more, I saw that she was wearing a rarely-seen short sleeveless s.h.i.+rt with a long light blue skirt, overall a refres.h.i.+ng outfit which matched the season. Her eyes were meek and the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned which made it seem like she’s always smiling.

In summary, the impression I got from her was like a cla.s.s president, someone friendly and amicable who also commanded respect.

And since she called me uncle and she isn’t Liu Qi, it’s clear who she is.

“You’re… Liu Cong right?”

“Yes, I am.”

Liu Cong seemed like she was at a loss as to what to do and smiled uneasily as she saluted me, the basket in her hand shaking as she did so.

“Umm… Did uncle come to the market to buy some stuff as well today?” Liu Cong asked, shedding some of the formality she had while saluting me.

“Ah, yes I suppose so.” I answered. I gave my reply informally as I was by now used to dealing with new people all the time anyway.

At the same time, I hid my true intentions for coming out today as I still remained on guard against Liu Cong. If what Liu Qi said was true, then Liu Cong should be a rather devious person.

There’s also the fact that she’s in Lady Cai’s faction so it wouldn’t be wise to tell her too much.

“Liu Cong is out here today for?”

“Today’s my rest day.” Liu Cong said with both pride and relief mixed in as her smile widened, “I usually a.s.sist the Xiangyang officials with Jing state work. Today is my free day which I usually use to come out to the market.”

“Oh~ I see.” I nodded and recalled what my original intention in calling out to her was, “Ah, that’s right. I saw that you didn’t have enough money right?”

“Ah… Un, I’m sorry uncle had to see that.” She giggled and scratched the back of her head. For som reason, I could sense that she was afraid of me.

“I was planning on buying some flower seeds but I didn’t think that they would be so expensive.”

Flower seeds huh… Seems like these sisters differ greatly in both personality and interests.

Liu Qi would be a lot cuter if she was a little more like Liu Cong, I thought as I opened the coin pouch.

“Here, take what you need.”

“Ah! No no no! I don’t need it!” Liu Cong hurriedly stepped forward and stopped me when she saw what I was doing.

“How can I let uncle pay for my own personal hobby?”

“Aiya, it’s not as if you weren’t going to return it to me.” I said and ignored her as I pulled out some coins and put them into her hand, “Besides, even if it weren’t you, I was planning on lending anyway.”

What I really wanted to say is that it would have been better if it were not Liu Cong.

“Ah, this…” She seemed at a loss as she looked about while looking at me and the money in her hands.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Or are you saying you won’t return it to me?”

“No way! I’ll definitely return it as soon as I receive my allowance from mother!”

(TL: Can handle state affairs, cannot receive salary.)

“Hahaha… No problem, I know.”

It was just a joke but she took it so seriously.

“Well then, hurry along. It’ll be terrible if someone else buys it first right?” I said as I pointed at the flower stall which seemed to be more bustling than before.

“Ah! That’s right!” Liu Cong tapped her head and bowed before hurrying along to the flower stall while yelling, “Umm, please wait here for me!”

As she yelled, she jogged over to the flower stall with light steps, counting the coins in her hands as she did so. She then walked into the flower stall and placed the right amount of coins in the stall owner’s hands, who then counted them and kept them before very quickly placing the seeds she wanted into a box and handing it to Liu Cong.

As she received the intricate little box, Liu Cong appeared to be so elated she almost seemed like she was going to jump for joy. But when she detected my gaze, she moderated herself and headed over to where I was.

“How was it? You got it?”

“Un, yes.” She gave a reply before giving me very formal thanks befitting an official, “Many thanks to uncle for your great a.s.sistance for without which I would not have been able buy my heart’s desire.”

“You’re exaggerating it, it’s a bit too much to put things that way.”

Feels a bit like Liu Qi. Ah, please let me preface what I just said by saying that I don’t mean anything bad by that.

“Hehehe,” She rubbed her head as she said to me in a proper manner, “Ah, but I’ll definitely repay this debt to uncle as soon as I can!”

“Haha, I got it already, don’t worry about it.” I waved my hand and did my best to look as nonchalant as possible. This serious att.i.tude of hers is really alike Liu Qi. But really, we owe your father so much already. Just take this little bit as a sign of friends.h.i.+p.

And to be honest. even though I’ve been here for so long, I still don’t know the currency units, nor do I know about the value of different goods.

Back when we were still on the north, I’d almost grasped the units and values pf various things but after coming to the south, I realised that the currency was significantly different. The sizes and characters on the coins were different, and though Zi Zhong has explained them to me countless times, I still haven’t memorised them yet.

In any case, the money I gave to Liu Cong can’t be too much. When I go back later, I’ll just let Yun Chang know and it should be fine.

“Alright, but thank you very much uncle.” She bowed once more and gingerly opened the box she held and looked inside happily, “I finally managed to get these.”

As I looked at her happy face, I began to feel pleased as well.

Speaking of which, the feud between Liu Qi and herself should have begun from some event in their childhood right? With the inheritance struggle, new differences and grudges will have undoubtedly piled up. I don’t know what Liu Cong thinks of this herself, nor if she is personally involved in the struggle but it appears that she is different from Lady Cai and Cai Mao. This display of innocent joy is far too real for it to be a show. At least, that’s what I think.

As I thought so, I casted my eyes onto the contents of the box and saw that it was filled with seeds and not just a few.

“By the way, what’s the purpose of buying so many flower seeds?”

“Ah, this is…” Liu Cong seemed to be at a loss and frowned at my question. This meant that I had likely stepped on a landmine.