Zhao Shu’s words made Ming Lingyi turn to look at the young man who had just shouted, "Stop!"

She knit her brows slightly. To be honest, Ming Lingyi wasn’t sure if Jiang Yuchuan’s shout of "Stop!" had been directed at Zhao Shu’s people or her own.

The one thing she was certain of now was that if this young man were to make a move, she and her two maids would be hopelessly outmatched.

Before Ming Lingyi could figure out what to do, she saw the gentleman in the moon-white robes make his move, subduing the guard who was clashing with Shi Mingyue.

Ming Lingyi: "...???"

’Huh?’ She was a little surprised.

Zhao Shu, who saw this as well, had her expression change drastically. "Cousin!" Her voice grew sharp. "What are you doing?"

Jiang Yuchuan turned and looked at Zhao Shu with a disapproving gaze.

"I should be asking you what you’re doing. This young lady was just minding her own business, selling green balls. Why are you here causing trouble?" Jiang Yuchuan asked, frowning.

Zhao Shu retorted, "How am I causing trouble? I gave her my business and bought the green balls, so they’re mine. What I choose to do with them is up to me."

Jiang Yuchuan said, "If you weren’t going to eat them, you shouldn’t have bought them."

"It’s my silver, and I’ll spend it however I please." Zhao Shu refused to back down, absolutely incensed that Jiang Yuchuan was defending Ming Lingyi.

Jiang Yuchuan found her completely unreasonable. Just as he was about to say more, Ming Lingyi stepped out from under the ancient pear tree.

She first offered Jiang Yuchuan a graceful bow. "Thank you for speaking out for justice, sir." Then, Ming Lingyi turned to the livid Second Miss of the Duke Jing Mansion and spoke. "The *Ritual Records* say: ’Of all rituals, feeding the people is the greatest.’ What you threw away, Miss, was not merely a green ball, but a gift from heaven and earth, the very crystallization of a farmer’s toil. You think this is an issue that can be solved with silver, but did you earn that silver with your own two hands? For one who has never toiled to waste the fruits of another’s labor is the height of arrogance. In the past, Duke Huan of Qi cherished his grain, and his empire prospered. King Zhou of Shang wasted his food, and his ancestral temples fell to ruin. The fate of nations can be seen in a single bowl of rice; a person’s character can be judged by a single wasteful act. Is that not so?"

Ming Lingyi even had a smile on her face as she said this.

But whether that smile reached her eyes was something only a person meeting her gaze could know.

Jiang Yuchuan had been furious at Zhao Shu’s outrageous behavior, but after hearing Ming Lingyi’s speech, he couldn’t help but applaud. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"You have quite the spirit, miss!" Jiang Yuchuan hadn’t expected to hear such an insightful speech from her, and an appreciative smile touched his lips as he looked at her.

Even before Zhao Shu’s arrival, a number of customers had been sitting at the folding tables and chairs Ming Lingyi provided.

Most were common folk who had already been displeased watching Zhao Shu’s treatment of the food. Thinking it best to avoid trouble, however, they had kept quiet.

But now, hearing Ming Lingyi’s gentle yet firm rebuttal to Zhao Shu, the customers gathered around the cart broke into applause.

Most of them hadn’t read many books, but what Ming Lingyi had just said was simple and easy to understand.

"I think the lady’s right! Even uneducated brutes like us know that ’every single grain is hard-earned toil.’ You rich young misses might not be short on silver, but that’s no reason to be so wasteful!"

"Exactly! Buying something you won’t eat, just to throw it away. It’s like there’s something wrong with her head."

"This young lady’s skills are amazing! I’ve never had such delicious green balls. My wife and daughter have already eaten four each! And that mint milk thing is delicious too. This isn’t some dirty food; I saw the three of them have their hair wrapped up. They’re very hygienic."

Standing to the side, Zhao Shu’s face was pale with rage. First, she was frustrated with Jiang Yuchuan for siding with an outsider. Then, she was lectured by a seemingly unremarkable merchant woman from a food stall. How could she possibly be in a good mood?

"Good! Good! Good!" Zhao Shu seethed, pointing a trembling finger at Ming Lingyi. "Such a glib tongue, so clever! You just wait!"

’Could she really not teach a mere merchant woman a lesson? To think she’d been humiliated like this! She would definitely make her pay for it later.’

After saying this, Zhao Shu gathered the guards who had retreated to her side and turned to leave.

Xiao Chun and Shi Mingyue had no real intention of detaining the entourage of the Second Miss from the Duke Jing Mansion. Seeing that Zhao Shu was no longer looking for trouble, they released Fuqu and the others.

"She didn’t even apologize!" Xiao Chun said indignantly as she walked back.

Ming Lingyi couldn’t help but laugh, making a playful poking gesture at Xiao Chun from a distance. "Oh, you." Lingyi sounded a little exasperated. "Why are you so impulsive? If Ming Yue hadn’t stepped in today, what would you have done?"

Ming Lingyi was worried that Xiao Chun’s impulsiveness would get her into trouble one day.

Xiao Chun looked completely unrepentant. "But they were the ones who went too far!"

Shi Mingyue, who had been quiet until now, couldn’t help but agree. "It was outrageous. Are all the noble young ladies in Shangjing City this hateful?"

She had also been seething with anger when she saw the Second Miss from the Duke Jing Mansion have someone buy the green balls only to throw them on the ground. ’If Xiao Chun hadn’t rushed out first,’ Shi Mingyue thought to herself, ’I would have grabbed that Fuqu myself and dragged her over to apologize to our lady.’

Ming Lingyi: "..."

’My maids are too capable and too headstrong.’ As their mistress, she felt she could barely rein in these two stubborn mules.

"Thank you for your help just now, sir," Ming Lingyi said, turning to Jiang Yuchuan. "Please excuse the behavior of my two young maids. I hope we haven’t made a scene."

After Zhao Shu had left, Jiang Yuchuan had not only stayed behind but had also introduced himself and apologized to Ming Lingyi on Zhao Shu’s behalf.

Ming Lingyi wasn’t particularly concerned, however. Besides, she hadn’t accepted Jiang Yuchuan’s apology.

’In her eyes, Zhao Shu was the one at fault, and it had nothing to do with the man standing before her. If anyone was going to apologize, she wanted it to be Zhao Shu.’

It wasn’t that Ming Lingyi hadn’t been angry, but the fury of her companions had been far quicker and fiercer than her own.

Jiang Yuchuan said, "It has nothing to do with your maids, miss. This was entirely my cousin’s fault for being so thoughtless."

After saying this, he asked, "May I have two of your green balls?"

"Of course." Ming Lingyi asked him what flavors he would like.

Jiang Yuchuan replied, "I’ve never heard of salted egg yolk and red bean paste. Why don’t I try that one? And a lotus seed paste one as well."

Ming Lingyi quickly packed them and handed them over. When Jiang Yuchuan offered her silver, she waved her hand. "You helped us just now, sir. Please consider these green balls a thank-you gift."

Jiang Yuchuan replied, "Thank you. In that case, it would be rude of me to refuse."

As he spoke, Jiang Yuchuan flicked his long robes aside and sat down on a small folding stool, just like any of the commoners around him.

He rarely ate such pastries. Even when his mother had them sent to his study, he usually gave them away to the servants.

Now, looking at the two green balls in his hand, Jiang Yuchuan felt that perhaps pastries weren’t so bad after all.

He took a tentative bite, and his eyes widened in surprise.