It was precisely because she saw through the facade that Yang Ruyu set off on her unhesitant journey to find her lover.
Yet at this moment, the person who had filled her with hope had left. Didn’t he say it would be three days? Today was only the third day. How could he have left so quickly?
However clever Yang Ruyu might have been, she was still just a twelve-year-old girl, so she was instantly bewildered. Amidst her confusion, she harbored a deep hatred for Yang Baihe, and even began to resent Yang Ruxin. If only Ruxin had sent Erni, then she wouldn’t have waded into these troubled waters. But now, looking around, she realized she’d have to go to the center of the county town to the Carriage Market to hire a ride back. The trip here cost her thirty coins; returning would cost silver. She only had a total of one tael of silver. What was she to do?
The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved Miss Yang Ruyu felt, and the tears began to fall.
"What’s the matter with this young lady here... What’s happened, eh? Look how heartbreakingly you’re crying. Come on, tell your brother what’s troubling you. I’m the very best at cherishing beauty..." Just then, a few men approached her, led by a fat man in fine silk, who, looking at Yang Ruyu, heaved a sigh, "It just wrenches one’s heart..."
Yang Ruyu was startled and quickly raised her hand to wipe away her tears before looking down and attempting to walk past them. This man clearly spelt trouble. But after just a couple of steps, she was blocked, and turning around she found more men behind her. She was now surrounded by the fat man’s four henchmen.
"Oh, my, don’t go..." the fat man chuckled, "Heihei," "That’s quite disrespectful to young master Hao."
The fat man was none other than the notorious local bully, Hao Jian.
"You..." Yang Ruyu swallowed hard, "What do you want to do? It’s broad daylight, and if you dare... I will scream for help..."
"Scream for help?" Hao Jian laughed heartily, "Then go on, scream. Or shall I scream for you?" With that, he cupped his hands around his mouth and, lowering his voice, turned around to shout, "Help... help... Young Master Hao is bullying someone here..." After calling out, he began to laugh uproariously.
The four servants joined in with the laughter, and the occasional passersby simply glanced from a distance before moving on. After all, no one dared to provoke Hao Jian throughout the entire county town.
Of course, the incident where he was beaten by Yang Ruxin was an anomaly. He behaved himself for just a few days after that, and here he was now, back to strutting around again.
It was simply Yang Ruyu’s bad luck.
"Waa..." Yang Ruyu was genuinely scared. The area was particularly quiet and secluded, making it impossible for anyone to come to her aid. But she had to preserve her body so that she could enter a great family’s door. She couldn’t allow these people to spoil her, so suddenly she began to cry out in a collapsing panic.
Hao Jian himself was taken aback this time; he hadn’t even touched her, so why was she crying as if her parents had died?
"What do you really want?" After crying for a while, Yang Ruyu stopped herself. She hadn’t had breakfast, and now it was noon. She was hungry, and crying would only drain her strength.
"Nothing much. I just find the lady beautiful and wanted to invite her for a couple of drinks, what do you say?" Hao Jian took out a paper fan from his waist and shook it pretentiously. "Does the lady prefer to walk on her own, or shall this young master carry her?"
Yang Ruyu took a deep breath inwardly, then looked up, "I’ll walk on my own." She knew that it would not be advantageous to struggle here. It would be wiser to pretend to agree, and then find a chance to escape when she reached a more crowded area.