Chapter 28 - Three days without seeing you

“I never sell fakes. Your proposal is offensive and insulting, and I refuse to cooperate with a person like you,” Jian Qiao said coldly.

“What?” The man was baffled. He clearly hadn’t expected anyone to resist the temptation of making hundreds or even thousands of gold coins a day.

That was money streaming in like flowing water!

“I never sell counterfeits, please get out!” Jian Qiao repeated and pointed to the door.

His two manservants sensed their master was truly angry, so they immediately stepped forward and glared fiercely at the man. Their tall bodies and sturdy physiques loomed over him.

“Fine, fine, I’ll leave right now. But I think I should tell you, you’re going to regret it! While other shops are earning more than they can spend in a lifetime, your place will be a nest for spiders and mice! Sooner or later you’ll end up in the gutter, you stupid bastard!”

The man cursed as he left.

“Follow him.” Jian Qiao spoke to an ordinary-looking, short-statured clerk.

The clerk immediately took off his perfumed coat, which looked too clean and tidy, and disappeared into the crowd.

That evening, he returned to the shop to deliver his news. “My lord, Lord Duncan agreed to cooperate with him. They’re currently drinking in a tavern in the west of the city, looking quite pleased.”

“Well done.” Jian Qiao put a few silver coins on the counter. In a soft voice he said, “Go back, your family must have dinner ready by now. They’re probably waiting for you by a warm fireplace.”

“Thank you, my lord! God bless you, you’re the kindest of masters!” The clerk hurriedly took away the silver coins and left with a thousand thanks.

The money was enough to buy clothes and sundries for his younger brother and sister, and it would keep the family eating beef and white bread for a month. They’d be crazy with joy!

Watching the shop clerk leave happily, Jian Qiao shook his head and let out a sigh.

To experience such happiness for a few silver coins, it was an ability he would never possess….

—

Three days later, Rege stood at the door of a tavern and looked around.

Prince Andrew waved and shouted, “God, you finally showed up! I heard you’re already tired of playing with Jian Qiao and got together with that little monster?”

In the past few days Rege had spent all his time with the female dwarf. They never set foot outside the ducal palace, which caused rumors to spread outside.

Rege: “… Shit! Who said that? I’ll chop him up!” He strode into the tavern with a face full of fury.

“Forget about that little monster, hurry over to the hotel where Cassia is staying. Join our game and ask her out. All of us tried, but we couldn’t make her lips smile even a little bit, so we failed. Just now we opened a bet on whether you’ll succeed.”

One nobleman pointed to the pile of gold coins on the table and said enthusiastically, “Go, go, go, we’ll wait to see the final result! I bet you’ll lose!”

“I bet you’ll lose too!”

“Cassia is by far the hardest woman in Tortus to please. Her heart is harder than a rock, so I also bet you’re going to lose!”

There was a chorus of laughter and jokes.

“Come on, come on, place a bet on yourself.” Prince Andrew pointed to the betting board on the table.

Rege couldn’t bear to hear the word “lose”, so he immediately removed the jeweled ring on his thumb, slapped it loudly on the side  of the table with the fewest gold coins, and sneered, “I bet I’ll win! Just you wait, I’ll be back tonight to take away this glittering pile.”

“Wow, Rege, I love your air of momentum! Go on, tame the fiercest mare in Candice and bring her over for us to see! You can do it!” The noblemen raised their glasses and made a ruckus, drawing sidelong glances from the customers around them.

Rege turned his back on everyone and strode out the door, casually waving his hand.

Half an hour later, he was standing outside Cassia’s chambers, waiting for an audience with “the queen”.

“Ah, I was just about to wander down the street for some shopping, would you like to accompany me?”

The door was pulled open by two maids. Cassia walked out, speaking as she pulled on a pair of pristine white silk gloves. Every time a suitor came to the door she pretended she was about to go shopping, to make it easy to drag the man into the jewelry shop for slaughter.

She didn’t have time to sit down with these men and chat leisurely about the weather, poetry, or painting. All she wanted to do was get money, money, money…. and nothing else. How to grab the biggest fortune in the shortest possible time was her chief concern.

“Of course I would. Where are you going?” Rege naturally wouldn’t refuse an invitation from a lady.

“Let’s go to Duncan’s jewelry store, I want to buy a necklace,” Cassia said candidly.

“That shop often sells fake gems, I advise you not to go there.” Rege immediately raised an objection.

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Even though Duncan was a supporter of his, Rege disliked his way of doing things.

Cassia, who’d received a lot of fakes from Duncan: “…”

Rege continued, “If you’re willing to trust me, I’ll take you to the finest jewelry shop in Gloria. Every necklace there is in a class of its own. Their designs are so sophisticated, elegant, and luxurious no one can duplicate them. The most discerning women in Gloria are regular customers of that shop, so I think you’ll like it.”

“Really? Then I’ll go with you to see it.” Now that those words had been spoken, Cassia could only agree, otherwise she wouldn’t be a woman of taste.

Several minutes later, the two stepped into Jian Qiao’s jewelry store, ringing the chimes above the door.

When Jian Qiao lifted his head, his eyes lit up.

Rege grinned, automatically revealing a happy smile.

Jian Qiao came out from behind the counter and extended his arms for a hug. He sighed with contentment. “Rege, ah Rege, my dearest Rege. I finally get to see you.”

Rege took him in his arms, embraced his fragile shoulders, and gently patted his thin back. He laughed loudly and said, “Jian Qiao, ah Jian Qiao, my dearest Jian Qiao, I missed you so much! “

The two hadn’t seen each other for merely three days, but for both of them it felt like an age.

Cassia, who was the focus of attention everywhere she went, had been reduced to a sidekick. These two damned men treated her like she was nothing! They only had eyes for each other!

Cassia felt very unhappy. For one thing, she’d been given the cold shoulder; for another, she wouldn’t get a single copper coin of profit for shopping in this store. She decided to ask Rege to buy the store’s most expensive pieces of jewelry and give them to her as a gift.

Only that would make up for the injury she’d suffered.

So she stepped away and walked directly to the counter where the diamonds were displayed.

Rege pointed at Cassia, his face full of impatience. “As you know I’m participating in that boring game with Andrew, so I took her out to stroll around.”

“Of course I remember that boring game,” Jian Qiao replied coldly.

Rege immediately noticed his displeasure, so he leaned closer to his ear and explained seriously, “Are you angry? Dear Jian, please don’t be. You know, Andrew and the others made a bet on me and Cassia. Almost everyone wagered against me, and I’ve never lost in my life. So—”

He displayed his bare thumb and confessed, “I put my jeweled ring on the line, and I bet on myself to win. I really don’t like her at all. I brought her here for the gambling game and to see you. I missed you so much! As soon as she smiles for me, I promise you, I’ll immediately throw her aside. I really don’t like her at all.”

Jian Qiao’s icy face finally showed signs of thawing.

He took off the big hand that Rege had placed on top of his head and warned in a low voice, “Don’t play this game anymore and don’t let yourself get caught up in it. She’s no good. When I see you with her I’m really unhappy.”

Jian Qiao, who had never gotten too close to anyone before, had no idea how to maintain a friendship. All he could do was describe his feelings in the most straightforward words he could find.

He didn’t want his friend to be cheated and toyed with.

But Rege almost laughed at this statement. He hurriedly turned his face away, hiding the smile forming on his mouth, and waited for the joy in his heart to subside a bit before he turned back. He said in a flattering way, “All right, all right, I promise. I’ll send her back later and never waste time with her again, and I don’t care about that ring either. If I lose, I lose, as long as you’re happy. Are you satisfied now?”

The little leopard at home never allowed him to carry other animals around either, so he could understand the gentleman Earl’s desire for monopoly.

Jian Qiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief and was about to reply, but he heard Cassia call out in a mild voice, “Ray, come and help me look at this necklace. What do you think of it?”

When Jian Qiao glanced over his shoulder, he sighed inwardly.

Cassia’s greed was in no way inferior to Helen Grande’s. The necklace in her hand was the most expensive piece in the store. Its chain glittered with thousands of small, crystal-clear diamonds in the shape of a vine. The pendant was a pink, oval-cut diamond the size of a pigeon’s egg, which was surrounded by dozens of pear-shaped white diamonds of over ten carats, forming a daisy.

Incorporating so many top quality diamonds, its value wasn’t that much lower than the Angel’s Tear, and the style was more sophisticated.

The light it refracted illuminated Cassia’s hand and threw sparkles across the store.

The female customers in the shop all looked at Cassia with jealous expressions.

Who was this woman to touch this priceless necklace? She was just a lowly □□! She didn’t deserve it!

Rege’s answer broke the hearts of these women. “Do you like it? If you like it, buy it, I’ll sign the bill.” This shop was owned by Jian Qiao, all the money he spent would end up in Jian Qiao’s pocket, so there was no reason to be tight-fisted.

Hearing these words, Cassia’s frosty face softened a little. She said with some reserve, “Then I thank you for your generosity.”

Even so, she didn’t reveal a delighted smile. But if almost any other woman encountered the same scenario, she would have jumped into Rege’s arms and kissed him wildly. Cassia’s coldness and arrogance were the reasons she was highly sought after.

Men are cheap, even if they never admit it.

Cassia held the necklace and looked at it left and right, finally nodding her head in satisfaction. Well, she’d forgive Rege for his neglect, because this necklace was worth enough to buy a castle. It was just a pity there was no commission at this store, otherwise she would have made a fortune.

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Thinking of this, Cassia sighed quietly, then gave Jian Qiao an unfriendly glance.

Her indifferent reaction, completely unimpressed by such an expensive gift, made the male customers in the store reveal their admiration.

Jian Qiao walked to the counter and said gently, “I’m sorry, this necklace isn’t for sale.”

In fact, three days ago, he’d planned to trade this necklace for the life of the female dwarf. It was indeed not for sale.

“What?” Cassia was stunned. Her secretly ecstatic heart was smashed to pieces by those words.

“It isn’t for sale. Unfortunately you can’t have it.” Jian Qiao took the necklace from her and sealed it in the box. He wasn’t going to make his friend suffer a loss.

“Why won’t you sell it? I like it so much! If I can’t have it, I won’t be able to sleep for days on end, do you understand?” Cassia quickly forced out some tears, then looked at Rege with moist eyes filled with longing.

She knew that men couldn’t endure this kind of pitiful expression.

When a proud, seemingly unreachable beautiful woman, who has always been cold as ice, occasionally reveals a softer side, men are always willing to go through fire for her.

This was another of Cassia’s trump cards. She believed that with her earnest entreaty, Rege would use his power and position to get her this necklace.

In the face of absolute power, an object that wasn’t for sale could only become a gift.

It was just a pity that Rege had seen eyes even more pitiful and lovely than these, and the owner of those eyes was standing beside him at the moment. So he said indifferently, “Jian Qiao said it’s not for sale, is there something you don’t understand? Does he have to sell it to you just because you want it? Who do you think you are? How is it any of his business if you can’t sleep?”

Cassia: “…”

If she remembered correctly this man was here to pursue her, right? Then what in the world was he doing?

TL Notes:

Shit! – This was in English in the raw text

□□ – Redacted/censored in the raw text – I think we can guess from context