"Got it," Sheng Wan took the selected sample and handed it to one of the staff members who was present there. Meanwhile, another staff member began taking Yi Chen's measurements as directed by her the next moment.

When all of this was done, she sent the details to the tailors and said the next moment, "Young Master Chen, your robe will be ready by tomorrow evening. Would you like to get it yourself or should we send it to your place?"

"The second option would be more convenient," Yi Chen stated.

"Alright," Sheng Wan nodded and asked the staff to take him to the counter for the bill payment.

"Wait! Don't make the bill yet. Brother Chen had promised to gift me a dress, so you need to take that into it as well," Zhou Mei stated the very next moment.

'I already used most of my stones on cultivation, so I can't let go of such an opportunity,' Zhou Mei thought to herself as she said those words.

"Oh? That's great." Seeing that even Zhou Mei wanted to buy something, how could she, as the owner, not feel happy?

With a teasing smile on her face, she said, "I thought that Miss Mei was planning to go empty-handed today. How silly of me to think that," Sheng Wan chuckled.

"Over my dead body, Sister Wan has so many good designs that I'm obligated to buy one whenever I come here," Zhou Mei replied with a grin.

"Hehe, thank you for your praise, Miss Mei." Sheng Wan lightly chuckled when she heard her and soon began discussing the suitable designs which might interest Zhou Mei today.

Soon, the samples were brought, and Zhou Mei began choosing from them.

"This one looks good," Yi Chen showed one of the several designs to Zhou Mei.

"No, I don't like how it feels," Zhou Mei rejected it and focused back on checking the other dresses.

Seeing this, Yi Chen sighed. This was the nineteenth time he had heard this from her. It took him hardly fifteen minutes to choose his robes, but Zhou Mei had been sifting through them for more than an hour now.

'I'm starting to doubt whether she brought me here to help me get good robes or just to be able to shop for one herself…'

With this thought, he began checking out other suitable dresses for her.

It was only after another thirty minutes had passed that Zhou Mei finally settled on a dress.

"Brother Chen, it's this! You'll buy it for me, right?! Right?!" she asked excitedly.

"Sure," Yi Chen, who was mentally exhausted by now, agreed readily.

"Yay!" Zhou Mei exclaimed in delight and, turning towards Sheng Wan, said, "Sister Wan, I choose this one. Can you deliver it to me by tomorrow as well?"

"Consider it done, Miss Mei," Sheng Wan smiled and handed the sample to the staff while addressing Zhou Mei and Yi Chen, "I'll go busy myself with my designs then. The staff at the reception will help you with the bill and other necessary details."

"Alright. Good luck with your next design, Sister Wan. You're the best," Zhou Mei waved cheerfully at her and saw her leave for the second floor.

With that done, both Yi Chen and Zhou Mei were soon standing at the reception.

After the staff member had noted all their necessary details, she handed them the bill with a professional smile.

"Here's the total bill, Miss Mei," the receptionist handed the bill to Zhou Mei since she already knew her.

Glancing at the bill with a smile, Zhou Mei handed it to Yi Chen.

"Here, Brother Chen, it's time to fulfil your promise."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Yi Chen snorted and took the bill in his hand. He had heard the same thing more than ten times by now.

'Just how expensive can these clothes be for her to keep pestering me like this?' Yi Chen rolled his eyes and glanced at the bill.

"!!!"

His expression froze the very next moment, and his eyes were on the verge of popping out.

"O-One hundred and fifty low-grade spirit stones! How can it be so expensive?!" he exclaimed and looked questioningly at the receptionist.

"Uhm…Sir, the robe which Young Master requested to get tailored cost sixty spirit stones in total, while Miss Mei's dress cost ninety spirit stones, taking the total bill to one hundred and fifty," she explained.

"This…"

He finally figured out why such a big store was so empty. It was not because there were no customers but because of how expensive their goods were!

At the same time, he couldn't help but blamingly glare at Zhou Mei.

Avoiding his irritated glare, she muttered to herself while staring up at the ceiling, "Mother always says that a true man is one who never lets the lady pay the bill."

'This brat…' gritting his teeth in annoyance, he finally sighed in defeat.

Taking out the golden card from his storage ring, he paid the required spirit stones.

"Thank you for your patronage," The receptionist said with a bow as a wave of relief swept over her, seeing that Yi Chen didn't make things difficult for her.

"You really played me well today, didn't you?" Yi Chen said with a glare as they left the building and were making their way towards the carriage.

"My mother always says that a true man is one who never holds grudges against women," Zhou Mei said in an attempt to change his mind.

'With that shit again…' Yi Chen thought in annoyance and said with narrowed eyes, "Too bad for you that you're still a girl and not a woman yet. Just wait for my revenge,"

Although losing 150 spirit stones all at once affected his psyche a little, it was only momentarily and was a loss he could manage.

At the moment, he was just trying to verbally get back at her.

Thinking that Yi Chen was serious, Zhou Mei immediately said in an attempt to appease him, "It's lunch time, so how about I treat you to a delicious lunch in return? You'll surely forgive me then, right?"

"I might consider if it's Qi-enriched food," Yi Chen stated.

"Done!" Zhou Mei exclaimed in relief and said, "There's a very good restaurant nearby. Let's go there then,"

With that said, they finally entered the carriage and left for the restaurant.

…

"So, you've forgiven me, right?" Zhou Mei asked with a forced smile when she saw that Yi Chen had finished eating the meal and was wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"Mhmm, I'm not sure," Yi Chen answered.

"Brother Chen, that's cheating! You've said that you would forgive me if I treat you with Qi-enriched food earlier!" Zhou Mei protested when she heard him.

"You're wrong," Yi Chen answered firmly and said, "I only said that I would consider, and I'm in the middle of considering right now, just like I promised."

"YOU-!" Being played like this by him, Zhou Mei couldn't help but bite her lip in frustration. From the little spirit stones she had left with her, thirty were spent just now in paying for the food which they had just eaten.

Seeing that Zhou Mei just might end up crying out in frustration, Yi Chen finally said, "Alright, I'll forgive you if you answer this question of mind,"

"I'm not trusting you anymore!" Zhou Mei folded her arms in anger and snorted while looking away.

"Well, then I won't be forgiving you," Yi Chen simply answered.

"…"

A couple of seconds passed in silence, and Zhou Mei was finally forced to open her mouth.

Glancing at him from the side of her eye, she asked, "Just one question?"

"Yes, just one question." Yi Chen nodded.

"Promise?" She asked.

"If I don't, then I'll pay you with thirty spirit stones," Yi Chen said the next moment.

Hearing those words, she finally believed his words and asked, "Alright, I believe you. What is it that you want to know?"

"About the thing that Owner Wan whispered to you earlier," Yi Chen said. That exchange had filled him up with curiosity, especially when he had noticed how livid Zhou Mei's expression had become after that.

"Uhm…that?" When Zhou Mei heard this, she couldn't help but glance around at the different tables.

Apart from them, there were several other people in this restaurant as well. Taking that into account, she said the next moment.

"It's not the right place to tell you about it. Let's go back to the carriage. It's a much safer place to discuss things like that."

"Alright," Yi Chen nodded, and they soon exited the restaurant.

"So, tell me now," Yi Chen stated as the carriage started moving.

"Well, from what I got to know from Sister Wan, it's not a very secretive topic, however, because of its sensitivity as the news is related to the current Empress, I couldn't just state it in a crowded place," Zhou Mei explained the next moment.

"I see. Go on," Yi Chen nodded and gestured for her to keep speaking.

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Mei said, "The thing is that the Empress had just accepted a male concubine for herself. Something like this has never happened before. Therefore, it's being treated as a very sensitive topic."

"A male concubine…" Yi Chen muttered with a frown.

"Yes, from what Sister Wan told me, it seems he's very handsome," Zhou Mei stated.

"…So earlier you had reacted so lividly just because of this news?" Yi Chen couldn't help but ask in annoyance the next moment.

"Of course," Zhou Mei nodded as if it was only natural and said, "In the thousand-year long history of our White Jade Kingdom, there has never been a time when the empress had accepted a concubine while the emperor was still alive. Do you have any idea how ear-rousing this news is?!"

"…"

Seeing this reaction, Yi Chen could only sigh in defeat.

Waving his hand towards her dismissively, he said, "Alright, forget it, I've forgiven you."

"Great!" Zhou Mei exclaimed in delight when she heard her words as the carriage continued to move towards the Feng Clan.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.