Upon hearing this, Shen Qiyin's eyes darkened slightly.

On that day, the Feng family came to propose marriage. After the two families reached an agreement, her mother took it upon herself to have someone bring the purse she had just embroidered to the Feng family as a token of her love for Feng Heng.

But that sachet was originally a Dragon Boat Festival sachet she made for her mother.

It contained medicinal herbs such as mugwort, realgar, magnolia flowers, and patchouli, which she had carefully prepared to repel insects and ward off evil spirits.

The embroidered pattern on the purse is a crabapple blossom under the moon.

The petals are crystal clear, like carved white jade.

The flower's stamens, however, are bright red, like the blood shed by a beautiful woman weeping under the moon.

She had only seen descriptions of this kind of crabapple blossom in storybooks, never in reality, just like the loving and caring mother she imagined—she simply didn't exist.

She always loved using this begonia pattern; she embroidered it on all her purses, sachets, handkerchiefs, and so on.

Therefore, it would be understandable if Feng Heng had simply forgotten where he put it and couldn't find it for the time being.

Otherwise...

Madam Feng knew that Feng Heng was used to giving away his personal belongings as gifts. If he got drunk one day and had a servant ask for a reward to take them away, and then paraded them around in the city, that would be bad.

So he hurriedly said, "Don't worry, young lady, I will definitely find this purse for you and send someone to secretly return it to you."

Since she and Feng Heng have already broken off their engagement, it is not advisable to make this public, otherwise it could be exploited by those with ulterior motives and damage her reputation.

Since the other party had already said so much, Shen Xiyin couldn't say anything more.

"In that case, I thank you in advance, Madam."

"Of course," Madam Feng said, glancing at the maid behind her. The maid understood and presented a small box to Shen Qiyin.

Madam Feng smiled apologetically and said, "In the end, it's Heng'er who has wronged you. This is just a small token of my appreciation. I hope you won't find it offensive, Miss."

Shen Qiyin glanced down at it, her eyes immediately brightening, and even the smile in her eyes became more genuine.

Inside the box were several pieces of jewelry, including pearls, jade, agate, and gemstones—all complete.

Although those hairpins, earrings and pendants were far from being priceless, each one could still fetch a few taels of silver.

Even a fly's leg is meat.

If you're begging for food, you can't complain about it being bad.

After all, she couldn't force Madam Feng to agree if she didn't express her opinion.

"I can't accept this." Shen Qiyin said no, but her actions betrayed her words: "It's too much trouble for you, Madam."

"I originally wanted to be more practical and just ask you for some silver, but I was afraid that gold and silver were too vulgar and that you might mistakenly think that I was looking down on you."

"How could that be..." She's just an ordinary person.

Shen Qiyin wasn't worried about being looked down upon by the Feng family after accepting the gifts. She only knew that these heavy items could be exchanged for silver, enough to buy Ren Dong some beautiful clothes and beaded flowers.

This will pave the way for them to leave the Shen family in the future, and that's enough.

She successfully annuled the engagement, dug a huge pit for Shen Ruyin, and also gained a lot of jewelry for nothing. As a result, Shen Qiyin left the Feng residence with lighter steps.

Just as they approached the gate of the Feng residence, Shen Xiyin was suddenly stopped by someone.

Behind her, Feng Ruoying jogged up.

"You...you stop right there!" She was panting heavily from running, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on her smooth forehead.

Shen Qiyin looked at her warily, silently holding the box in her arms tighter.

If she chases after me hoping I'll return the things, she's dreaming.

Not even a little bit!

Feng Ruoying finally caught her breath, but when she met Shen Qiyin's gaze, she instantly exploded: "Hey! What kind of look is that? It's like I'm going to steal this box of junk from you!"

Shen Qiyin raised an eyebrow: "What a piece of junk?"

"The Feng family is a prominent and wealthy family, and they live in a prosperous area. How could they possibly have such broken things?"

"...No, no! It was just a slip of the tongue." Unable to withstand Shen Qiyin's sarcastic tone, Feng Ruoying abruptly changed the subject, saying, "I came to ask you, what exactly were you trying to say before?"

"What do you mean, what are you saying?" This time, Shen Xiyin was completely confused.

"It was before my mother went to the flower hall, when it was just the two of us, that you said, 'You didn't tell me what others didn't tell me either.' What exactly were you not telling me?!"

"Oh..." Shen Qiyin suddenly realized, "You mean that one?"

"Uh-huh!"

"I forgot."

"Forgot?!" Feng Ruoying was not going to believe it and insisted, "You're lying! You're clearly just deliberately not wanting to tell me."

Shen Qiyin frankly admitted, "Well, I just don't want to tell you. What can you do to me?"

She enjoys seeing others dislike her but unable to do anything about it.

Hehehe—

Feng Ruoying was so angry that her eyes turned red, and she looked like she was about to cry.

Instead of feeling any pity or tenderness, Shen Qiyin added with a wicked grin, "Or, if you praise me and make me happy, I might tell you."

"You're dreaming if you want me to praise you!"

After a moment of silence, she nodded very seriously: "...Okay, then remember to visit me in a dream."

"Goodbye."

After saying that, she turned and left without taking a single cloud with her.

Behind him, Feng Ruoying ran away crying.

After leaving the Feng residence, Shen Qiyin led Ren Dong straight to the most bustling main street in the capital.

Even Ren Dong couldn't help but ask her on the way, "Miss, what exactly are you hiding from that Miss Feng?" It made people's hearts itch with curiosity.

"The only thing I've hidden from her is that there's something I'm keeping from her, and that's just something I made up."

"ah?!"

"Speaking only halfway is like eating poison mixed with rice for the listener; it's very unpleasant."

"That's amazing?"

“Of course, I’ll tell you…” Shen Qiyin turned around with great interest, wanting to tell Ren Dong in detail, but after seeing something, she suddenly lost her enthusiasm and said dejectedly, “Never mind, I won’t tell you.”

"Why?!" Honeysuckle looked in the direction she had been looking, full of doubt, completely baffled: "Miss, what did you see? Why did you suddenly stop talking?"

"nothing."

"But you clearly had something to say just now."

"Hmm, but I won't say it now. Just tell me if you're feeling uncomfortable?"

"..." Good grief, we've fallen for their trap.

Seeing the speechless expression on Ren Dong's face after being teased, Shen Qiyin covered her mouth and chuckled, asking her, "Just now, did you not only want to know what I was going to say, but also what I actually saw, which is why you suddenly shut up?"

Honeysuckle nodded obediently.

think.

It's making me feel really bad.

"So, Honeysuckle, now that you've learned it, you can use this trick to annoy the people you hate in the future."

"...This servant has learned a lot."

She doesn't quite understand. Is this what other maids learn?

As they walked and talked, Shen Qiyin led Rendong to the pawnshop and pawned everything that Madam Feng had given them, including the boxes that contained the items.

After counting, there were a total of thirty-six taels of silver.