Chapter 448: “A Peerless Beauty in the Mortal World”

Early the next morning, it was another clear, sunny day. The vendors of Lexiang County were already out setting up their stalls. The streets and alleys were filled with the enticing aroma of snacks and the calls of hawkers.

On one long street, a young woman in an ivory-white dress walked gracefully along.

Her beauty was astonishing. Her brows arched like distant mountains tinted with mist, her eyes sparkled like autumn water, deep and expressive, as if hiding a thousand unspoken words—or like a bottomless, crystal-clear spring that stirred endless imagination.

Draped casually over her right shoulder was a finely crafted cloth satchel, plain and simple in appearance, bulging with unknown contents.

As she passed a steamed bun stall, the middle-aged vendor saw her and instinctively clutched the money pouch at his waist.
“Yo! Lass, you again? I didn’t bring my coin pouch today—don’t you go getting any ideas!”

“Uncle Liu, listen to yourself! I’m not here to sell anything today. I just caught a whiff of your buns and thought I’d try one,” the white-dressed woman said with a bright smile.

“Oh?” The middle-aged vendor eyed her warily. “I’ve already bought two brushes, a hairpin, and a set of wooden tops from you…”

“Other than the hairpin—which my wife actually liked—the rest were useless! She scolded me for ages because of it!”

“You better not try to trick me again today. Go find someone else. That guy over there selling candied hawthorns—go fool him instead.”

Hearing this, the woman frowned slightly, looking disappointed.
“Uncle, I didn’t expect your standing at home to be so low.”

“Think about it—brushes add scholarly flair, and your child can use them… those wooden tops are good for health and exercise! How could they be useless?”

As she spoke, she reached into her satchel. The middle-aged vendor instinctively stepped back, tightening his grip on his money pouch.

“Lass, don’t! I’m scared! I really didn’t bring money!” he gulped. “I’ll give you two buns, just don’t start anything weird!”

The next moment, the white-dressed woman pulled out a folding fan, and with a whoosh, opened it to reveal the words: “A Peerless Beauty in the Mortal World.”
“Uncle, take this fan home—Auntie will definitely be overjoyed!”

“Tell me, what woman wouldn’t be flattered by such a title?”

“I don’t have money!” the vendor insisted.

The woman folded up the fan and changed the subject: “How much is one red bean bun?”

“Three copper coins.”

She placed three coins on the counter. “I’ll take one.”

Wait, did I misjudge her?

She’s not trying to peddle wares today—she really came to buy a bun?

But… she did try to get me to take the fan earlier!

As he watched her pick up the bun and take a bite, the vendor unconsciously relaxed his grip on his money pouch and accepted the three coins with a clink.

The pleasant jingle of coins rang out. As he looked up, he met her meaningful gaze.

“Uncle?”

“Hmm?”

“Didn’t you say you didn’t bring money?”

“Uh… old age, poor memory…”

“Oh.” The woman waved the folding fan. “Then I’ll just gift this to you. Take it home to Auntie.”

Without another word, she set the fan down and walked off.

Watching her leave, the vendor was suddenly struck with guilt.
“What a sin… I’ve watched that child grow up, and I treated her like a thief!”

“She really just came to buy a bun… and even gave me a fan to please my wife…”

“Next time, when that lass comes again, I’ll definitely buy a few trinkets… they’re not that expensive anyway…”

Meanwhile, the white-dressed woman strolled along, munching on her bun and glancing around.

“Next time Uncle Liu will definitely buy something from me. What should I bring?”

“Oh right, there’s still a full set of shadow puppets at the shop that haven’t sold yet…”

“Miss! Please wait!” a slightly nasal male voice called out beside her.

She turned to see a richly dressed man in silk and satin.

His clothes were of high quality, but the jade pendant at his waist looked rather cheap.

Probably from a family in the silk business—has some money, but not much.

Striking up a conversation just because of my looks… another dull man, the woman thought as she quickly sized him up.

The silk-clad man had already started introducing himself:
“I am Le Zeyan from Ziyan County. My family runs a silk business.”

“Upon seeing your beauty, I was utterly captivated!”

“I imagine you would look even more dazzling in fine silk.”

With that, he raised his hand, and the middle-aged steward behind him fetched a bolt of silk from their carriage and offered it to her.

The silk-clad man added gracefully, “Please accept this gift.”

The stench of money can’t be masked… The woman reached into her bag and pulled out two herbal plasters.
“I have two patches here—they treat bad breath. Want some?”

“Yes!” the man replied quickly. “How much?”

“One thousand gold per patch,” she said flatly.

“That’s…”

Just as he began to say “that’s fair”, he choked and swallowed the words. Before he could recover, she was already walking away, leaving behind a casual, “Forget it if you can’t afford it.”

It was obvious to anyone with eyes that she was rejecting him—but the silk-clad man refused to give up. He had never seen such a stunning woman in his life!

He chased after her with a few quick steps.
“Miss, may I know your name?”

She replied without turning: “Qin Hao!”

Huh?

Such a delicate lady, but such a bold name?

He caught up again. “Miss, where do you live?”

A flicker of irritation passed through her eyes.
“Qin Martial Hall. Now kindly stop following me.”

“Ah! My apologies!”

The silk-clad man backed off but continued to stare after her longingly.
“So… her family runs a martial arts school?”

Unable to bear it any longer, the steward stepped forward. “Young master, the lady lied to you…”

“She didn’t look like she was lying,” the man insisted.

“Beautiful women lie the best,” the steward sighed.

“No!” The man suddenly pointed into the distance. “Look! Miss Qin must be from a martial arts family!”

Following his gaze, they saw the white-dressed woman lightly tap the ground with her toes and leap up effortlessly, retrieving a kite tangled in the treetop. She landed gracefully and returned it to a nearby child.

“I see it now!” The silk-clad man clapped his hands.
“The thousand-gold patch was a test! And she gave me her name and address—she wants to see if I dare show up!”

“I will go! And I’ll prepare properly to win Miss Qin Hao’s heart!”

The steward’s face was full of worry. “Young master, you’re deluding yourself again…”

The silk-clad man waved him off. “No more talk!”

Steward: ……