Chapter 288: Speak, What Exactly Is Your Goal?
Seeing that face was completely unexpected for Yu Luo!
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she immediately pulled Xiao Dong aside, making a move to shut the courtyard door. But Ye Lu was even faster—his long leg swept forward, getting firmly wedged in the door just as Yu Luo was about to slam it shut!
“Ow! Is this how the lady treats her guests?”
“An uninvited guest, that’s all. Get lost!”
Yu Luo was utterly merciless, snapping coldly at him!
Even now, she still felt an uneasy sense of wariness. Ye Lu’s sudden appearance was far too unexpected, and she had to stay on guard.
But Ye Lu was a martial artist. Even though Yu Luo possessed inner strength and was quite powerful, Ye Lu had anticipated her move and used a subtle shift in force to slip inside the courtyard before she could stop him.
Watching Ye Lu cling to her like a persistent leech, Yu Luo was speechless.
“What do you want?”
“Nothing much—I came to deliver silver to you.”
Hearing this, Yu Luo’s face darkened even further.
“Miss, he really did come to deliver silver.”
Just then, Zhang Hu’s voice rang out from outside, and Yu Luo’s gaze toward Ye Lu turned even icier.
Without another word, Yu Luo turned and walked into the main hall, while Zhang Hu and Hu Liu hurriedly followed, bringing along Ah Zan, who had been waiting at the entrance.
Watching his shameless master force his way into the courtyard, Ah Zan felt his face burn with embarrassment.
Previously, because he had been seen outside the tavern, Ye Lu worried that if he or Ah Zan went to buy the fruit at the stall, Yu Luo’s people wouldn’t sell to them. So instead, Ye Lu had sent his hidden guards to make the purchase.
Once Yu Luo’s men delivered the goods to the dock, Ye Lu finally showed himself.
By then, Zhang Hu couldn’t back out of the deal, nor could he haul the goods back into the city—that would be far too conspicuous. So he had no choice but to sell everything to them.
Zhang Hu was practical—they had risked so much to come here, so it would be foolish to refuse silver.
Meanwhile, the rest of their brothers were still at the dock, waiting for the weighing ships to measure the cargo. Zhang Hu had taken Hu Liu and Ye Lu back to the courtyard first.
Originally, he hadn’t planned to bring Ye Lu at all.
But Ye Lü shamelessly told Zhang Hu that he had already seen which courtyard they bought, so Zhang Hu had no choice but to let him come along.
Now that Yu Luo knew the truth, her gaze toward Ye Lu became even more disgusted—this man was not only shameless but downright devious.
“Heh. If you wanted to buy, you could have done it openly. Why make things so complicated?
“You call yourself a man, yet you act like a scheming rat.”
Being scorned by Yu Luo wasn’t anything new to Ye Lu, so he didn’t care at all.
“Little Pepper, who told you to always give me a sour face every time we meet?”
“Hah! In Feng City, you exposed my identity as a woman on the spot—and you still expect me to be friendly with you? You’re truly shameless.”
Hearing this, Ye Lu suddenly had a revelation!
His peach blossom eyes sparkled even brighter as he looked at Yu Luo, amusement and realization dancing in his gaze.
“Oh, so you were afraid I meant harm to you? Haha! My dear lady, you overthink things. I was just too surprised at the time. How could I have expected a woman like you to dare enter Feng City, of all places? I blurted it out before I could stop myself—that was my fault.
But don’t be angry anymore, alright? After all, we’ve already fought together before. Isn’t there a saying—enemies who fight become friends? And now, fate has brought us together again in Yueyang City. Surely that means we have an unbreakable bond?”
“Spare me. Don’t think you can flatter your way into familiarity just because you have a half-decent face. Keep your playboy thoughts to yourself. You’re not worthy of our lady.”
Wu Er stepped forward fiercely, glaring at Ye Lu without the slightest politeness.
“How dare you say that?!”
Ah Zan, though he secretly despised his own master, couldn’t stand someone else looking down on him.
Fuming, he stepped forward to defend Ye Lü.
“Oh, did I say anything wrong?
“Look at your master—those peach blossom eyes, that arrogant playboy air. He went through all this trouble just to get close to our lady. Do you really think we don’t see through his little schemes?”
Wu Er’s agitation caught even Yu Luo off guard.
She hadn’t thought Ye Lu had any real interest in her.
Yes, this wasn’t their first meeting, but he had only seen her true face once on the street—and even now, she was wearing a veil.
Being called out so directly, Ye Lu felt a brief flash of awkwardness.
But his shameless nature quickly took over—otherwise, he wouldn’t have barged in here in the first place.
Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Ye Lu shot a sharp glare at Ah Zan.
“Shut up! We are guests. Since when do guests argue with their hosts?”
Ah Zan grumbled under his breath but reluctantly obeyed, though he still glared at Wu Er.
Wu Er, in turn, snorted coldly, his face full of disdain.
Watching Wu Er’s strangely intense reaction, Zhang Hu frowned slightly.
Wu Er hadn’t actually spent much time around Yu Luo.
Even back in the wilderness, as the lady of the household, Yu Luo mostly received reports through Bao Feng.
Her direct interactions with Wu Er had been very limited.
So why was Wu Er so agitated over a random nobleman, especially when Ye Lü hadn’t even acted improperly toward Yu Luo yet?
“Enough. Since you’re here, pay for the goods, and be on your way. I have things to do this afternoon. I won’t be entertaining you further.”
Yu Luo’s tone was icy—completely businesslike.
But Ye Lu hadn’t bought these goods just for fun.
He had deliberately made this purchase to establish a connection with Yu Luo.
So how could he let her dismiss him so easily?
If he paid the balance now, knowing Yu Luo’s personality, she would kick him out immediately.
“Now, now, no need to rush. It’s just midday—there’s still plenty of time before the afternoon. Why don’t I treat the lady to a meal?”
“No need. I don’t dine with strangers.”
“How am I a stranger? We’ve met several times already! Besides, I’m seriously considering a long-term business relationship with you. I can see that your cool melons and red fruit will be huge sellers in the future.”
“Fine. Pay for this batch first—then put down a deposit for the next shipment. Then we’ll talk about partnership.”
Yu Luo raised an eyebrow, her tone utterly blunt.
Ye Lu, caught completely off guard, stared at her in shock.
He had never met a woman in business who spoke so directly.
“What’s wrong? Was doing business just an excuse? Then tell me—what exactly is your goal?”
