Chapter 224:
It was just that the unmarried young ladies of Bianzhou mostly wore veiled hats when going out. Although Xie Wanning was no longer a young lady, she followed local customs, removed her facial disguise, wore a veiled hat to cover her face, revealing only a pair of bright, lively eyes.
One could vaguely tell she was a young lady with proper features, but no one could see her specific facial expression.
She wandered around the city for two days and, upon learning that South City District was home to the city’s wealthy residents, planned to buy a house there.
Unfortunately, the public security here was too good, with many wealthy people from other places coming to seek refuge, so houses in South City District were in high demand with no supply available, and she waited several days without success.
Just as she was wondering whether to continue waiting or settle for second best and make a home elsewhere, she ran into an acquaintance.
Actually, it wasn’t quite an acquaintance, just someone she had met once.
This day, Xie Wanning returned to the inn from outside as usual and was about to go upstairs to her room when she heard someone behind her hesitantly call out, “Cousin?”
The voice was very pleasant. Her steps naturally paused for a moment, and the person behind seemed to confirm something, stepping forward closer, “It’s me, Cousin Xie. I’m Chen Xi’er.”
Xie Wanning was stunned, feeling the name somewhat familiar. Turning around, she saw a woman with the hairstyle of a married woman, her plain dress unable to hide her graceful figure, with only a silver hairpin in her hair, looking like she was from an ordinary family.
She wasn’t wearing a veiled hat, her delicate and beautiful face fully exposed, and Xie Wanning instantly recognized who she was.
In the moment their eyes met, although she was wearing a veiled hat, Chen Xi’er only looked at her clear and bright almond eyes and finally confirmed it, giving her a gentle smile with a look of joy on her face, “I didn’t dare recognize you at first, but it’s really Cousin.”
Xie Wanning gently pursed her lips and hadn’t spoken yet when Chen Xi’er pulled a sachet from her sleeve, “Cousin’s kindness, Xi’er dares not forget for a moment. Do you still remember this?”
The sachet was very new, looking well cared for.
It was exactly the one she had given her that day.
Chen Xi’er glanced around, “There are many people and eyes here. Cousin, may we step aside to talk?”
The two went up to the second floor, to the guest room where Xie Wanning was temporarily staying.
“A couple of days ago, I saw you entering the inn from afar. I thought you looked familiar but feared Elder Sister had important matters and didn’t dare disturb you rashly. However, these past few days I’ve seen you going out alone…”
Chen Xi’er said a long string of words as soon as she entered the door, pausing here with a worried look on her face, “Has Cousin run into some trouble?”
The capital’s top noble lady, married to the Young Lord of the Duke’s Estate—how could she appear alone in a southern small city thousands of miles from the capital.
Meeting a familiar face in a foreign land.
Although this familiar face wasn’t particularly close, Xie Wanning still felt a trace of warmth.
During this time, she had traveled alone from north to south, abandoning her original identity with a fake death to leave everything behind and start anew. Even though her resolve was firm without regret, she inevitably felt a sense of rootlessness like a floating duckweed.
Seeing that the other had already recognized her, she thought for a moment and simply removed her veiled hat, smiling, “Truly, one meets acquaintances everywhere. Cousin, you’re in Bianzhou too.”
Without the veiled hat’s cover, her exquisite face as white as jade was revealed.
At this moment, one was dressed as a young lady, charming and lovely, the other as a woman, gentle and warm.
The cousins, who originally shared about fifty to sixty percent resemblance, after a year apart, looked similar only in their eyebrows and eyes, with no other similarities left.
