CHAPTER 663: CHAPTER 662 MUTUAL TESTING

Wen Congrui didn’t know how he found himself so inexplicably drawn to come here. He had seen Wufu leading Ninth Master to this pavilion and took the opportunity to come out.

His people couldn’t uncover Ah Jiu’s background, which he found both inexplicable and even more certain proof that the person was extraordinary. Otherwise, how could not a single trace be found?

He knew nothing about him, yet the other party had called him by his sobriquet, Young Master Wen Yu, without hesitation.

Wen Congrui tried to discern any hint of familiarity in Ah Jiu’s features, but no matter how he looked, he couldn’t recognize anything.

This made Wen Congrui somewhat uncomfortable; he disliked that feeling of not being in control.

"May I ask if this appearance of mine satisfies Lord Wen?" Ah Jiu offered a smile as he passed over a cup of tea.

Wen Congrui came back to his senses, sat down, and chuckled lightly, "Apologies, I was lost in thought for a moment; I keep feeling that Ninth Master looks somewhat familiar."

"When I was in the capital city, I accompanied Wufu to a competition, so it’s only natural that we have met," Ah Jiu said.

Wen Congrui’s eyes flickered, "Ninth Master and Wufu seem to be close friends, but she has never mentioned how she came to know someone like Ninth Master."

This statement was an overt probe.

A gentle light flashed across Ah Jiu’s eyes, and with the corners of his mouth slightly turned up, he gently sipped his tea from the cup he was holding.

"It was a fortunate coincidence, Wufu once helped me out," he said with a light smile, "It’s all fate."

Wen Congrui caught the soft light that flickered in his eyes and asked, "Ninth Master carries an extraordinary bearing, may I know which family’s young master you are?"

Ah Jiu replied, "I am not from Nanyue."

Wen Congrui’s pupils contracted slightly.

"I am from a branch of the Mo Family of Beiyan. This time, my journey to Nanyue is for the purpose of trading medicinal herbs and for leisure," Ah Jiu said with a light smile.

"The Mo Family of Beiyan?" A light flickered through Wen Congrui’s gaze as he said, "The most esteemed in Beiyan’s Mo Family is none other than Duke Dingguo’s household."

Ah Jiu appeared somewhat embarrassed and said, "Lord Wen is well-informed, but you flatter Ah Jiu too much. A household like Duke Dingguo’s is beyond what Ah Jiu could ever aspire to associate with."

"Oh?"

"However, I do have some connection to the Mo Family, albeit distantly related by five degrees of mourning. But as we share the same ancestry and, relying on the support of Duke Dingguo’s Mansion and the Empress Dowager, our family is able to engage in the medicinal herb trade," explained Ah Jiu.

Wen Congrui pondered for a moment and asked, "What is your relation to Mo Guiliang?"

Ah Jiu looked up, somewhat surprised, "I have long heard that Young Master Wen Yu has an exceptional memory and is known as a Prodigy. Astronomically and geographically erudite, and now I’ve learned you’re even acquainted with the business figures of Beiyan! Mo Guiliang is my uncle, and being the ninth in my family, I am commonly addressed as Ah Jiu."

Wen Congrui responded with a light smile to Ah Jiu’s probing words, "The Mo Family’s medicinal business is vast, with many shops in Nanyue as well, and I hear Qianyi Hall is also among your family’s enterprises."

Ah Jiu nodded, "Indeed so."

"So Ninth Master is here to inspect your properties!" Wen Congrui looked somewhat relieved.

Ah Jiu feigned a sigh, "Though it is said to be for inspection, in reality, it is but an excuse to get away from home and clear my head."

"Oh?"

"Is Young Master Wen Yu of an age to don the cap yet? The Wen Family is also among the Imperial Kinsmen. I wonder if you have already taken a wife?" Ah Jiu lamented, "I am soon to don the cap myself, but I do not wish to follow through with the marital arrangements made by my family, that is why..."

Wen Congrui hadn’t considered this point before and began to feel a twinge of irritability thinking of his own marital affairs.

Ah Jiu watched from the corner of his eye, then lowered his gaze and slowly sipped his tea.

The two exchanged probing dialogue, testing the depth of each other’s waters. As for belief or disbelief, they each had their own measure in mind.