Because Qi Wenting disappeared without a trace, Xu Ancheng and Yi Roujing were worried about influencing Zhou Zeyuan and Yuan Xiangyu, so neither of them attended the wedding, and they haven’t been in contact recently.

Yi Roujing felt very apologetic towards Yuan Xiangyu, but the painful lesson made Yi Roujing understand that nothing is more important than life.

"The boat Qi Wenting used to flee by smuggling had an accident at sea; fortunately, it hadn’t reached international waters and was still within our country’s jurisdiction. Currently, the South Sea Coast Guard has captured him, and the Jing City Public Security Bureau has sent people to bring him back. The organization he led has been confirmed destroyed, and this matter is over."

On June 21st, Xu Ancheng shared the good news with Yi Roujing early in the morning.

"Really." Yi Roujing sighed in relief upon hearing the news and couldn’t wait to share it with Wang Qiushuang. There’s no longer any safety risk.

That afternoon, Yi Roujing had no classes and went to the small Western-style house on Yuanxue Lane to pick out some items herself. The Zhou Family and Yuan Family didn’t lack anything, so Yi Roujing planned to pick out two jade stones to make a pair of gold-embedded jade bracelets for Zhou Zeyuan and Yuan Xiangyu.

The storeroom of the small house mainly contained the dowry of Xu Zongyin’s mother. The Zheng Family had been a prominent merchant family for hundreds of years, and the dowry was all antique calligraphy, paintings, and gold and silver jadeware. There were quite a few raw jade stones.

Xu Zongyin had already given all this to Xu Ancheng and Yi Roujing to use and dispose of as they pleased. Yi Roujing chose after careful consideration and picked a pair of yellow cat’s eye stones. Yuan Xiangyu’s personality was like the sun, and this color suited her best.

However, the yellow of the cat’s eye stone was somewhat different from that of gold; the cat’s eye stone was more transparent. After also selecting some small golden fish, Yi Roujing left Yuanxue Lane and went to the jewelry store Xu Ancheng had introduced.

This jewelry store is located in a small alley, not far from Yuanxue Lane, and Yi Roujing arrived at Wutong Lane after a 20-minute walk. The store is at the end of the alley, with no sign and no notice of its business. Its customers are mainly old clients, and the store doesn’t usually serve walk-in customers.

Yi Roujing knocked on the door, and it was opened by an old man in his sixties or seventies, wearing a gray long gown, a long beard, and a Lei Feng hat on his head.

"Elder Tong, hello, I..."

"I’m not Elder Tong, what do you need from Elder Tong?" the old man asked.

"I would like Elder Tong’s help to make jewelry," Yi Roujing said softly, stepping a bit closer.

"What jewelry, I don’t make jewelry. Who makes jewelry nowadays?" The old man waved his hand dismissively. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"I was introduced by Xu Ancheng, I..."

"Ancheng introduced you?" The old man began scrutinizing Yi Roujing, "What is your relationship with him? Could it be that you’re the young wife he married in the countryside?"

Yi Roujing twitched her mouth, "Yes, that’s me."

"Oh wow, that kid has such good fortune, you must be a unique beauty out in the countryside," the old man joked, "Come in."

"Thank you for the trouble." Yi Roujing followed him inside and then saw what the interior of this small courtyard looked like.

Elegant dwellings over water, these four words flashed through Yi Roujing’s mind.

The courtyard was transformed into a garden with a pond. The left and right wings were removed, all used to create the garden and pond. The garden was on the left, and the pond on the right.

By now, in late June, the lotus flowers in the pond were budding, ready to bloom, a breathtaking sight.

A wooden covered walkway started at the cobblestone steps in front of the main house, suspended over the pond, passing through the lotus pool, finally leading to an artificial hill. Upon stepping onto the hill, there was a pavilion where tea sets were placed, and from this distance, Yi Roujing could see the steaming tea cups.

The former western wing has become a sea of flowers. Yi Roujing, with her limited knowledge of flowers, could only describe it as remarkably beautiful.

"Keep up," the old man reminded her when he saw Yi Roujing standing still, as a graceful stone path led from the gate to the main house. The main house had three rooms, each with a small side room on either side.

The old man led Yi Roujing to the middle main room, which was quite spacious. Entering the main door, the first sight was wooden furniture in ancient style, with two main chairs and three more on each side. The left side had an eight-immortal table, used as a dining table, while on the right, by the window, was placed a divan, with two stools beside it.

A door opened at the bottom of the right wall, separated by a curtain, connecting to the room on the right, which was likely a bedroom.

"Have a seat. What kind of jewelry do you want made? Show me the materials," the old man waved to a seat, indicating for Yi Roujing to sit, and knocked on the high tea table between the two chairs.

"What are you staring at?"

"Elder Tong, the person..."

"You’re quite slow, aren’t you? That’s me," the old man rolled his eyes, feeling a sense of exasperation at Yi Roujing’s cluelessness.

Yi Roujing twitched her mouth again. Was she slow? She was a high-achieving student from Jing University.

"Xu Ancheng’s a smart fellow, but he married a clumsy one. Funny how fortunes go," Elder Tong mused.

"I’m not clumsy." Yi Roujing sat down, not forgetting to defend herself, "I was excellent in academics."

"Being smart and doing well in school aren’t necessarily related," Elder Tong stated seriously.

Yi Roujing didn’t know what else to say, so she silently took out a jade bag, which contained the cat’s eye stones, and a small rough fabric bag, which held a few small golden fish.

"Elder Tong, I want to make a pair of gold-embedded jade bracelets as a wedding gift for a newlywed couple," Yi Roujing explained.

"The items are passable," Elder Tong said, inspecting the cat’s eye stone against the light. "But your color choice; using green, red, or blue cat’s eye stones might be more attractive, wouldn’t it?"

With an inexplicable look in his eyes, Elder Tong continued, "Well, it works, I suppose. Come back in three days to pick them up."

"Deposit..."

"We’ll settle that once it’s made. Oh, and bring your kid along when you come. I still haven’t seen him," Elder Tong said, a bit dissatisfied, "Xu Ancheng hasn’t been forthcoming; you should be more initiative-taking."

Yi Roujing blinked, thinking it was her first meeting as well.

"Never mind, you’re too clueless to think of such things; blame it on Xu Ancheng. Maybe he thinks I’ll bully his wife and son to tears," Elder Tong clicked his tongue, a bit upset.

"Would Elder Tong like to come to our house for a meal?" Yi Roujing asked softly.

"I’m not going to Baiqian Village," Elder Tong said proudly.

"Beiluo Lane," Yi Roujing explained, "My mother’s cooking is delicious, though we recently have a patient who just got out of the hospital and a newborn at home. I wonder if Elder Tong would find it noisy."

"It might be a bit noisy, but I’m not opposed to coming. In that case, don’t bother coming in three days; I’ll deliver it to Beiluo Lane. What number is it?"

"Number 58," Yi Roujing replied.

"Hmm, noted," Elder Tong nodded. "Before you go, would you like to have a cup of tea in my pavilion? I noticed your eyes were almost glued there."

Hearing this, Yi Roujing felt both amused and helpless, "Then I’ll bother Elder Tong."