A clear conscience

No one knew her better than she knew herself.

Although the Simulator's text had not spelled it out, Jiang Mi could tell.

Her simulated self was already considering how to repay the madam.

Where on earth had this loyal, grateful streak come from?

After thinking about it for a long while, Jiang Mi decided it probably came from her nine years of compulsory education as a child, or those public service ads on the children's channel.

Fortunately, she had transmigrated into a proper cultivation world, where only a clear conscience could lead to the Great Dao. Had she ended up somewhere strange instead, this personality of hers would have gotten her killed sooner or later.

As for why she had hefted the bundle-

How else would she know how much the madam had given her?

If the madam gave less, she would help less; if she gave more, she would help more. Loyalty and gratitude were one thing, clearly marked prices another. She, Jiang Mi, never took anything from anyone for free, but she never worked for free either.

What was that called?

Fair trade, with neither the old nor the young cheated!

[The madam gave you a token engraved with her surname. She said that if you showed it to the gatekeeper, someone would come and lead you straight to her.]

Xu Dianzi nodded, stepped back, and bowed to the beauty before turning to return to the room.

[After tidying up briefly, you also checked what was inside the bundle.]

[Inside were more than a dozen banknotes worth a thousand taels each, a small pouch of loose silver weighing around thirty or forty taels, and several dozen spirit stones. To you, this was an enormous fortune.]

[The madam had already made arrangements within the household, so there would be no problem even if you walked out openly.]

[You slung the small bundle over your back and left the Marquis's Household with Nanny.]

[Nanny barely spoke along the way. She simply followed close behind you, clutching the sizable bundle to her chest and taking quick, short steps, as though afraid of losing you.]

[You glanced back at her and slowed your pace. "Nanny, you don't have to be so nervous."]

["You must be joking, miss," Nanny said in a lowered voice. "In all my years, this old servant has never-never walked out through the Marquis's Household's front gate before."]

[Her words left you somewhat silent again. Thinking back to the previous two simulations, when you had failed to bring Nanny out with you, you felt a little sad again.]

["Miss, where are we going?" Nanny asked.]

["The ferry landing," you said.]

[Nanny froze for a moment, but asked no further questions. She simply nodded and quickened her steps to keep up with you.]

[Dusk deepened, and the streets gradually filled with more people. You led Nanny through several alleys, avoiding the busiest stretch of the main street and choosing only quiet side paths.

[The spiritual treasure the madam had given you was a jade clasp. Wearing it against your skin could change your figure and features.]

[But it could only fool mortals and martial artists. Cultivators would notice something amiss at a glance.]

[You had already put it to use before leaving. Now you looked like nothing more than an ordinary-looking, slightly plump middle-aged woman, utterly different from the young girl you had been before.]

[At first, Nanny gave you a few extra curious looks, but she soon grew used to it.]

[You reached the ferry landing, paid the fare, and boarded a boat with Nanny.]

[The boat rocked over the dark waters for several hours before finally reaching Liu Family Ferry deep in the night.]

[Without pausing, you took Nanny to find an unassuming inn in Liu Family Ferry.]

[Yawning, the proprietress gave you two rooms and sleepily muttered, "Still traveling this late," before turning around to go back to sleep.]

[Nanny was exhausted too, and collapsed onto the bed as soon as she entered her room.]

[You closed her door for her, returned to your own room, and sat cross-legged to cultivate.]

[Early the next morning, you planned to buy the residence opposite the Changfeng Martial Arts School, just as before, and resume your secluded days of cultivation.]

[But after searching at the brokerage for a long time, you still could not find the dream home you had long since set your heart on.]

[Only after asking around at the Changfeng Martial Arts School did you understand.]

[In this simulation, you had left the Marquis's Household too early. The original owner living in your residence had not yet decided to sell it.]

[But that was all right. You had some silver on hand.]

[You went straight over and knocked on the residence's gate.]

[A kindly-looking old man opened it. You went straight to the point and said you wanted to buy his residence. He froze at first, then smiled, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "This residence isn't for sale."]

["A thousand taels," you said, your tone carrying a little of the swaggering, imperious cool you had learned from Zuo Yunchi.]

[The old man's smile froze on his face. His Adam's apple bobbed as he looked back at his three rooms, then back at you. His lips trembled twice. "-Deal!"]

[The family took just two hours to pack their belongings and move out of the residence where they had spent most of their lives.]

[Before leaving, the old man stood at the gate, looking back again and again, his eyes slightly red. But when he turned to look at the banknotes in his hand, he seemed to have been struck by a pie falling from the sky and left in high spirits.]

[Nanny looked at the empty courtyard, somewhat at a loss. "Miss, are we going to live here from now on?"]

[You nodded, then went to the brokerage to buy several maids to attend to your and Nanny's daily needs. Only then were you finally settled in Liu Family Ferry.]

[The days passed at an unhurried pace.]

[You cultivated during the day and cultivated at night, occasionally stopping for a bite of food, a sip of water, a few words with Nanny, or a few instructions to the new maids. Life was as monotonous as a bowl of plain water, but you felt completely at ease.]

[With jujubes containing spiritual energy on hand, cultivation was not particularly strenuous. Although tempering your body was an incredibly slow process, your progress did steadily increase, little by little.]

[In the second year, you were seventeen and at the middle stage of the Houtian Ninth Level. Through your tireless practice day and night, the "Blazing Sun Art" and "Flame Sun Skill" successfully broke through to the second level. With Failure Is the Progress Bar to Success, your martial techniques each improved as well.

[Your gains in cultivation were indeed good, but as for your traits-]

[Best not to talk about them. Best not to.]

[That spring, you returned to the Marquis's Household, not for the marquis, but for the madam.]

[You remembered that the madam would become pregnant with the young heir this year. From then on, her health would deteriorate by the day. Later, when the marquis died on the battlefield, she would follow him in death.]

[Wearing the jade clasp, you stood before the gates of the Marquis's Household. Old Chen, the gatekeeper, squinted at you for a long time without recognizing you. Only when you took out the token the madam had given you did he exclaim, "Oh!" and hurriedly open the gate to let you through.]

[After you waited a while, a maid came to lead the way.]

[The household's layout had not changed. The covered walkway was still the same walkway, and the crabapple blossoms in the garden were in full bloom. Pink and white petals carpeted the ground, fluttering into the air whenever the wind blew.]

[The madam sat in the courtyard, gazing absently at a crabapple tree.]

[She was thinner than she had been a year ago, her chin more pointed, but her complexion was still fairly good. Hearing footsteps, she turned her head. At the sight of you, she froze for a moment, then smiled. "Why have you come back? I thought you would go try your luck in Central Province."]