Chapter 373 Days of Living Under Someone Else's Roof

With nowhere else to go, Zhang Yuyan was sent to Jishantang. Now, Luo Ziqiong occasionally stays at Jishantang to manage the accounts for Tan Wanqing. She is also the manager of Jishantang, so she is in charge of entertaining Zhang Yuyan.

Everyone viewed Zhang Yuyan with prejudice, but only Luo Ziqiong truly understood her feelings. She smiled genuinely at her and said, "Once you're here, treat this place as your own home. You are Mrs. Jiang's sister, and everyone will take good care of you."

Zhang Yuyan was extremely embarrassed, "You are Princess Consort Yu, but what are you doing here!"

Luo Ziqiong remained calm and composed. "That's not the case now. I've divorced Prince Yu. Now I'm just Luo Ziqiong. If you'd like, you can call me Sister Ziqiong, just like Madam Jiang did."

Zhang Yuyan never expected that the arrogant and domineering Princess Yu would become like this. There were not even many ornaments on her hair, and her face was not heavily made up. She looked elegant and calm.

But her eyes were sparkling.

How did she manage to be so happy after going from being Princess Yu to an ordinary woman?

She once wanted to marry into a powerful family, but the price of marrying into a powerful family was that she would rather be dead than alive, and she would be bullied by others. She cried out to heaven and earth in vain, and she never wanted to live like that again.

Seeing that she was in a daze, Luo Ziqiong said, "You should rest for a while and freshen up. I'll take you to get familiar with the surroundings later."

Luo Ziqiong gave her some clothes, shoes and socks: "These are mine, you can wear them if you don't mind."

"Thank you, Sister Ziqiong."

Luo Ziqiong gave her some more silver, saying, "This is what Madam Jiang asked me to pass on. I think it should be enough for you for a while. Once you learn how to earn money on your own, you won't need anyone's help anymore, and you'll be even happier then."

Zhang Yuyan was completely taken aback by this sudden change. "I earn money?" How could she earn money? She had never earned any money before, and she had spent all of the dowry her mother had given her.

Thinking of her mother being killed by Su Xuan, she couldn't help but tear up. The person who was the best to her in the world was dead. How could she live from now on?

"You miss your mother, don't you!" Although Luo Ziqiong didn't like Madam Zhang the Second, the deceased was gone, and the past should be left in the past.

She comforted her, saying, "Your mother definitely wants you to live a good life. That's what your mother wants to see. You don't know how to earn money, but I'll teach you in the future. Actually, I didn't know how to earn money before either, but now I do. I've discovered that earning money is a very happy thing."

"How did you earn your money?" Zhang Yuyan asked.

“I don’t have any other skills, but I’m good at eating. So after I left the Prince Yu’s mansion, I opened a small restaurant and asked the people from Jishantang to help me. That way, everyone can earn money…”

Luo Ziqiong's restaurant is called Ziqiong Pavilion. She used her dowry to buy a small shop and cooked her specialty dishes. Perhaps because she used to be the Princess Consort of Yu, her food was delicious and inexpensive, so her Ziqiong Pavilion business was very popular.

She also taught the women of Jishantang how to cook.

When Zhang Yuyan arrived in her new environment, she also had to take a shower in a public bathroom. Since most of the people there were women, many bathrooms had been built, each one independent and connected to a water room, which was very convenient, but everyone had to do it themselves.

Later she learned that Jishantang provided them with free accommodation, taught them various survival skills, and even allowed the women to study and learn to read and write. In addition to studying, the children could also learn martial arts. All the expenses were covered by the Crown Prince's Mansion.

After three months, everyone here, except for children, whether men or women, has to pay some rent, food, and other expenses once they are able to earn money. However, everyone is happy living here and willing to pay, at least they don't have to become homeless.

If the women here want to get married, they can leave as soon as they have a suitable partner, simply by telling the manager of Jishantang. They are very free.

Zhang Yuyan felt that she was definitely not capable of doing laundry, cooking, or washing dishes. She was also not good at sewing or mending, nor could she do embroidery. In the end, she felt that finding someone to marry was her way out.

Looking at the silver Zhang Yumo gave her, she opened it and glanced at it. She felt that it wasn't much; in the past, it would only be enough for her to buy a hairpin.

It turned out that her life was even more difficult after returning to Shengjing City.

Zhang Yuyan looked at herself in the bronze mirror and thought, "Only this face is still presentable."

Thinking about how well Zhang Yumo is married now, becoming the wife of the Marquis of Wu'an, with countless maids and servants around her, and how she is about to give birth, her position will be even more secure with the child.

Thinking of Jiang Jinyan's handsome appearance and high-ranking position, his future prospects were limitless.

How could she have married someone like Su Xuan in the first place...?

The thought of Su Xuan torturing her in bed filled her with terror; if only she hadn't later learned to soothe him…

As Zhang Yuyan thought about these things, she became increasingly discouraged. Did Zhang Yumo really want to help her?

If she really wanted to help her, why didn't she bring her into the Jiang family mansion to live a better life instead of leaving her in a place like Jishantang?

She thought: Could she be deliberately humiliating her?

What can such a small amount of silver do? Her grandmother and grandfather gave her so much dowry back then; they could have easily given her a house as a gift!

They insisted on making her live under someone else's roof.

The more Zhang Yuyan thought about it, the more unwilling she became. If only she could marry Jiang Jinyan, even as a concubine!

-

Meanwhile, Zhang Yumo returned to the Jiang residence, and Jiang Jinyan had just returned from court. The couple whispered to each other in their room.

Zhang Yumo said, "I never imagined that Yuyan would be living such a life on the frontier. It's so pitiful. I should have brought her back and taken good care of her. After all, we are sisters of the same clan and lineage, my husband..."

Jiang Jinyan's mind wasn't on her words; he was thinking about the Su family's case. He had originally thought he could capture Su Xuan at the border, but he hadn't expected that Su Xuan hadn't shown up at all, and he didn't even know if he had returned to the border.

The Su family's residence on the border was also raided, but he did not show up.

Su Xuan is far too cautious, and therefore very difficult to deal with.

"Husband..." Zhang Yumo called out again.

Jiang Jinyan snapped out of his daze. "What's wrong?"

"I'm talking to you about the swift, did you hear me?" Zhang Yumo said coquettishly, "I said the swift is so pitiful."

“Every pitiful person has something hateful about them.” Jiang Jinyan was still very clear-headed. He continued, “Although Zhang Yuyan was harmed terribly by the Su family, it was her own fault. I don’t sympathize with her. Giving her a place to stay is already more than enough.” It was Ruan Ruan’s idea to send her to Jishantang instead of locking her up in the yamen.

Zhang Yumo was speechless. No wonder he disagreed with bringing Zhang Yuyan home.

"My husband must have had a hard time being away for two months. Let me massage your shoulders!" she said, trying to please him.

Jiang Jinyan pulled her hand and told her to sit down comfortably. "You're heavily pregnant, what are you doing squeezing around like that? Just take care of yourself. You're about to give birth, so don't go out during this time. Also, I know you're kind-hearted and don't want to hold a grudge against Zhang Yuyan for what happened before, but you're not allowed to help her out."

Zhang Yumo was stunned. She felt that Jiang Jinyan no longer loved her. He spoke coldly, like a high-ranking official.

After Zhang Yuyan entered the Su family, she was also thrown into a pool of meat and alcohol by Su Xuan to sell her body and win people's hearts. She was a victim, but no matter what, Zhang Yuyan was still Su Xuan's wife in name.

Jiang Jinyan told Jiang Fenghua the news, saying that they shouldn't lock Zhang Yuyan up yet. Su Xuan hadn't shown up yet, and if he knew that his wife was living in Jishantang and he had nowhere else to turn, wouldn't he come looking for Zhang Yuyan?

Jiang Fenghua has secretly used many connections to capture Su Xuan, hoping to catch him this time. Zhang Yuyan is the only breakthrough.