"Big sis, you can have all these banknotes. Will you buy me that fizzy water?"
Little Wukong grabbed a handful of banknotes and looked at Jiang Yourning, his gaze utterly sincere and earnest.
"..."
Jiang Yourning shut down.
She stayed silent for a long time before finally keeping her conscience from slipping away. She glared fiercely at Little Wukong and said, "I resent the rich. Take your money away!"
Little Wukong froze.
What was wrong with this big sis? Even giving her money wouldn't work?
"Then... what about these pieces of paper? Are they worth money?"
Little Wukong never liked studying and barely recognized any characters.
Apart from remembering what banknotes looked like, he had no idea what any of the other things were.
"Put everything away. You shouldn't drink too much of that water. I'll buy you some another day."
Jiang Yourning flopped back onto the small daybed, once again feeling she had nothing left to live for.
Some people had to scale walls and lift roof tiles just to scrape together a little money, while others were born never knowing what it meant to be short of cash.
"Then... I'll put it all away."
Puzzled, Little Wukong stuffed everything back into his little bundle in one go.
Perhaps they had eaten too much.
Before long, both of them fell asleep on the small daybed.
Jiang Yourning had no idea how long she had slept. Only after being told her mother wanted to take her out shopping did she slowly drag herself up.
Still, she felt rather melancholy the whole way.
Jiang Wanrong had not expected her little sister to wear such inexplicable resentment and indignation after only a few hours apart.
"Ningning, why do you look so unhappy? Did something happen?"
"Sis, what are you talking about? I'm not unhappy."
Jiang Yourning affectionately linked arms with Jiang Wanrong.
[A five-year-old brat has a fortune hundreds of times bigger than mine. It hurts.]
"???"
Jiang Wanrong was momentarily bewildered.
A five-year-old? Did she mean Little Wukong?
That child had a fortune?
But Jiang Wanrong quickly gathered her thoughts, and her heart could not help sinking.
The child's identity was extraordinary to begin with, so having some wealth was perfectly normal.
But this whole affair was far too strange. If neither the emperor nor the empress knew the little prince was living outside the palace...
Then where had Little Wukong's fortune come from?
Had bringing him home been a blessing or a curse?
"Sis, what are you thinking about? Hurry up and get in the carriage."
Seeing Jiang Wanrong staring into space, Jiang Yourning tugged her along and climbed into the carriage.
[I'll have to find a way to get Mom to go home first, then split the work with Sis and start renovating the tavern right away.]
[If I can't be a second- or third-generation heiress, I can only work through my tears and try to become the first generation. Who knows which little brat will eventually reap the benefits of the empire I build?]
[Poor Ningning really is destined to toil her life away.]
Hearing Jiang Yourning say this eased the heaviness in Jiang Wanrong's heart a little.
It was good that she wanted to do something worthwhile.
Lin Xiangyin took the sisters straight to the Jade Pavilion.
The shopkeeper immediately greeted them with a beaming smile.
"Madam Jiang, young ladies, please come inside!
"You've come at just the right time. A new shipment arrived at our Jade Pavilion today. I'll take you upstairs to have a look."
The shopkeeper ushered them up to the second floor and immediately addressed the attendant upstairs.
"Bring out all the goods that arrived today for Madam Lin and the two young ladies to choose from."
Soon, all kinds of jewelry appeared before them.
"Take a good look. Anything you like, have it wrapped up."
Lin Xiangyin looked around, then walked over to examine a set of hair ornaments that particularly pleased her.
"Yes, Mother."
Jiang Yourning and Jiang Wanrong exchanged smiles, then went off to look at the jewelry they liked.
*[Oh no, oh no. Everything looks pretty, and I want to buy it all, but emptying Mom's purse doesn't seem right.
[I still need to make money. Sigh...]*
Jiang Yourning sighed deeply and finally settled her gaze on her favorite piece: a gilt silver filigree hairpin adorned with butterflies and flowers.
Before she could reach for it, someone beat her to the punch.
"Shopkeeper, wrap up every piece of jewelry here for me!"
Seeing the woman who had just arrived point out every piece on display, Jiang Yourning studied her carefully.
The woman glittered with jewels from head to toe, nearly blinding Jiang Yourning.
Her entire outfit was embroidered with gold thread!!!
The jewelry she wore hung on her like a bumper crop of fruit.
[Whose nouveau riche daughter is this? Just look at that outfit. So tacky. Couldn't she let me shoulder some of that burden?]
"My apologies, miss, but this madam and these two young ladies arrived first. For you to take everything would be a little..."
The shopkeeper did not recognize this woman, and naturally would not offend the Jiang Family for her sake.
But until he figured out her background, he could not afford to offend her either.
"They arrived first, but have they paid?"
The woman's voice was haughty.
The shopkeeper could only reply slowly, "No, they haven't."
"There you go, then. Wrap it up!"
Hearing this, the shopkeeper helplessly turned to Lin Xiangyin again, hoping to hear what she had to say.
"Miss, your attire is so... refreshingly unconventional. May I ask your name?"
It was only jewelry, and the woman was not exactly picking a fight on purpose, so Jiang Yourning was not angry.
"Who are you to ask about our county lady so casually?"
The woman had not spoken, but the little maid beside her instantly erupted with arrogance.
Upon hearing that she was a county lady, the shopkeeper immediately became more deferential, inwardly relieved that he had not offended her earlier.
"A county lady?"
Lin Xiangyin frowned slightly, then was the first to realize who she was.
"Great Yu has six county ladies in all. Five reside in the capital, while County Lady Baojin alone has always stayed in his fief with Prince Anhe. You must be County Lady Baojin, then."
"At least you have some discernment."
The little maid spoke again, still looking down her nose at everyone.
"This official's wife pays her respects to County Lady Baojin."
As soon as Lin Xiangyin spoke, not only Jiang Yourning and Jiang Wanrong, but everyone on the second floor bowed in their direction.
"Our respects to County Lady Baojin."
"You may all rise. I'm taking all this jewelry. None of you object, do you?"
County Lady Baojin waved a hand and lifted her chin, looking even more like a gaudy peacock spreading its tail.
[Huh? What kind of bizarre turn is this? Why has County Lady Baojin come to the capital early?]
*[Isn't she the lovesick side consort that damned lunatic tricked into marrying him? If Duke Zhen is a fat sheep ripe for fleecing, she's a walking mountain of gold.
[Her family publicly controls one gold mine and two silver mines, but this woman actually holds eight gold mines and seven silver mines! Calling her family the richest in the country wouldn't be an exaggeration.]*
*[That damned lunatic recruited soldiers and bought horses, raising a million elite troops in just a year to trample the capital. This woman supplied at least seventy or eighty percent of the funding.
[She drained her family's fortune and angered her parents to death just to win a smile from her beloved. Such beauty, utterly indifferent to whether her family lived or died.]*
This time, Jiang Wanrong was not the only one left dumbstruck.
A carriage passing below was suddenly ordered to stop. The person inside sprayed a mouthful of tea all over the carriage curtain, and a fit of coughing broke out.
Before you continue