Chapter 83 [V] [Congratulations, host, you have completed...]
After finishing my meal at the restaurant and returning home, it was already very late.
Li Yan was very sleepy. After a quick wash, she went straight to sleep.
She slept soundly through the night and woke up refreshed the next day.
And I had a dream that night, which I remembered vividly. But now that I'm awake and trying to recall it, only a blurry image remains.
However, because she had just woken up, Li Yan could still vaguely remember the contents of her dream.
She dreamed of Li Jiaojiao. Li Jiaojiao shouldn't have had such a good life. It was only because she stole the fortune of the only daughter of the Li family—that is, the original owner of this body—that she was able to enjoy such a good life for so many years.
In the dream, there seemed to be an old Taoist priest who said that now that she had possessed the original body, everything that was supposed to be predetermined had been changed.
The good fortune that had originally belonged to Li Jiaojiao gradually returned to her original body.
She even saw the original body in her dream. It had the exact same appearance as her, standing beside the old Taoist priest, looking at her with a bright smile, and thanking her.
Thank you for helping her improve her life; thank you for taking back everything that originally belonged to her and her daughter.
I also thank her for helping me completely emerge from the shadows of the past. Now, she can leave without any resentment, find a new family, and start a new life.
Finally, she congratulated her and told her to cherish the people around her and the good life she has now.
The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed. But then she thought again, she had already managed to transmigrate into another world and into a book, so what was there to doubt about it now that it was just a dream?
Moreover, everything in the dream actually corresponds to the actual situation.
Thinking about such things was pointless, so Li Yan simply stopped thinking about it. She had to go out to discuss a business deal today, so she couldn't waste any more time and quickly called her maid to help her with her toilette.
Previously, the elderly couple from the Gao family had acted as matchmakers, and together with Ye Gaozheng, they planned to open another restaurant in Jiangning Prefecture.
Today, Ye Gaozheng finally had some free time to come over after finishing up his business in Huating County.
Li Yan now only provides the recipe to her restaurant, essentially contributing her share as equity. She doesn't interfere with the restaurant's operations. Naturally, this means her year-end profit share is smaller.
However, now that Xue Yi is here, she no longer needs to support this large family alone. Therefore, she no longer needs to work as hard as she did the previous year.
She naturally wants to have a career and certainly wants to make money, but she won't be like a spinning top, busy almost non-stop for twelve hours a day anymore.
As long as she receives money every day, it's more than enough to cover all her expenses, with a slight surplus.
She can use the time she saves to do other things.
The cooperation talks went smoothly. The three parties met and had a meal together, and the matter was basically settled. After that, the contract was drafted to divide the profits, and then each party signed it.
Because of the heat, Li Yan declined Ye Gaozheng's invitation to have tea with another partner after dinner to continue discussing the details. In any case, the details would eventually be finalized in the contract. Now that she had Xue Yi's backing and the title of "Lady of a Thousand Households," she was naturally much more confident than before and was no longer afraid that her partner would try to cheat her in the contract.
Now, when I do business again, my mindset is different; I'm no longer as hesitant and restrained as I was a year ago.
But after leaving the restaurant, Li Yan didn't go straight home. Instead, she thought that since she was already out, she might as well take a stroll around the streets.
So, he took Qingniang and Xing'er for a stroll along the street.
Jiangning Prefecture was far more prosperous than Huating County. Shops lined the streets, each more bustling than the last. Unlike Huating County, where only one main street was lively and the rest were quiet alleys most of the time.
After browsing through clothing shops for a while, Li Yan also visited jewelry and cosmetic shops. She bought a lot of things for herself and her family, and also bought a set of clothes for Qingniang and her maid Xing'er.
When they got tired of walking around, they saw a dessert shop on the side of the street, so Li Yan took Qingniang and Xing'er to the dessert shop to eat.
The three, mistress and servant, sat in a corner when an elderly lady, who had come in with her maid to rest, noticed Li Yan sitting quietly in the corner. Almost instantly, her gaze was drawn to Li Yan.
The old lady was the same old lady Qiao whom Li Yan met at the Gao family home when she went to see the old lady Gao that day.
Today, Madam Qiao went out shopping and, feeling tired, stopped at a dessert shop to have some sweet soup. By sheer coincidence, she spotted a familiar figure there.
"She looks familiar, she looks so familiar." Looking at that beautiful figure from afar, even without seeing her face, just her back view made Old Madam Qiao feel that she looked familiar.
Perhaps it's because she's getting old and her mind isn't working as well. She looks familiar, but she really can't remember where she's seen her before.
But since they had run into each other, Old Madam Qiao thought she should go over and say hello. She had seen the child once when she was at the Gao family's house; he was a good person, and also quite handsome, so she couldn't help but like him.
Thinking this, Madam Qiao walked towards Li Yan with a smile.
"Is this Madam Xue?" Old Madam Qiao suddenly asked with a smile as she walked up behind the person.
Li Yan was enjoying cold drinks with Qingniang and Xing'er. While eating, Li Yan would ask Qingniang how they tasted and how they differed from the ones she had made in Huating County.
Lost in their conversation, Li Yan hadn't noticed the commotion behind her. So when Madam Qiao suddenly spoke, Li Yan was genuinely startled.
Li Yan was so startled that she immediately turned around and saw a well-dressed old lady who looked very kind. She immediately stood up.
"You are..." At first, she didn't recognize the person. It was only after a while that she suddenly realized who the old lady in front of her was. So she immediately opened her eyes wide and said happily, "You are... you are Old Madam Qiao." She remembered completely that Old Madam Qiao was sitting next to Old Madam Gao at the Gao family that day.
"Please have a seat." Having recognized her, Li Yan naturally extended a warm welcome, quickly offering her her seat.
Since Madam Qiao was an elder, there was no need for formalities, and she sat down directly in the spot where Li Yan had just been sitting. Li Yan then moved aside and sat down on the other side of the square table.
"The red bean cakes here are quite good, would you like some?" she recommended.
Madam Qiao was a kind old lady. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said, "Alright, then I'll have one of this too... Red Bean Cake." She then told the two maids who were with her to sit at another table, "You two can order whatever you want."
Li Yan then recommended another dish she had just eaten: lychee pastry mountain, which was essentially equivalent to ice cream in later times. However, she worried that it was too icy and not suitable for the elderly.
"I'll have a lychee dessert mountain too. I don't mind the cold." When she was young, Madam Qiao was a person who enjoyed life and had her share of cravings. Now that she's old, she can't eat too much of this cold food, but a few bites won't hurt.
Now that they were sitting together, they were bound to chat. Madam Qiao generously looked Li Yan over and then asked about her background.
Li Yan felt that her background was no secret, so she told him about her past.
Old Madam Qiao felt that she looked familiar, as if she had seen her before, but she also felt that she was so young that if she had seen her in recent years, she would not have forgotten her. If she had seen her a few years ago, then she was still young, and it might not have been her at all.
So, Madam Qiao asked again, "Where was your mother from? Before she passed away... did she ever leave Huating County or go anywhere else?"
Li Yan originally thought that Old Madam Qiao's inquiry about her background was just a casual question, but she didn't expect that she would ask about her mother as well.
Li Yan was only slightly taken aback before she realized that the reason why Old Madam Qiao asked these questions was probably not simply because she wanted to chat with her about everyday matters.
Therefore, after considering it for a while, Li Yan replied, "Before my mother married my father, she worked as a maid in a wealthy family. But later she saved up some money and redeemed herself from the family."
"That's it." Old Madam Qiao finally understood the crux of the problem. "I was wondering why you looked familiar when we first met. It wasn't you I recognized, but your mother. A wealthy family... Do you know what their surname is?"
Li Yan genuinely didn't know this. Perhaps the original owner of this body knew, but she certainly didn't.
So she shook her head: "My mother never mentioned it to me."
It didn't matter whose family it was; it wasn't anything important anyway. She just felt this young man looked familiar, as if she'd seen him somewhere before, and she was puzzled. She wanted to solve the mystery, hence her question.
Now that she knew what had happened, Madam Qiao no longer took it seriously.
However, she felt a connection with Li Yan, who was the daughter of a former maid in her old family, and who was also sweet-talking and kind... With these reasons combined, the more Madam Qiao looked at Li Yan, the happier she became.
The two chatted happily, and all of this was observed by Li Jiaojiao, who was sitting in another corner eating dessert alone.
My husband became increasingly cold towards me after he came home last night. This morning, before dawn, he got dressed and went out.
He moved very quietly, thinking she was asleep and unaware. But in fact, she tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, and lay quietly in bed until it was light outside. She couldn't stay in bed any longer and got up.
Since coming to Jiangning Prefecture with him, she has been holed up in that tiny little world, never venturing out. Today, for some inexplicable reason, she suddenly felt like going out for a stroll.
She went out shopping with her maid Cui'e and bought some daily necessities. Finally, tired, hot, and thirsty, she found this sweet water shop.
She had just sat down when her stepsister, Li Erniang, also rushed in with two maids.
She wore a bright green silk dress, and even from a distance, her fair skin with a rosy glow was immediately noticeable. She looked radiant and charming... surpassing even her former self in many ways.
Moreover, that's how she is now.
From some point onward, Li Jiaojiao gradually became unwilling to see her stepsister, Li Yan. She didn't want to see her beautiful face, nor did she want to know how well she was doing or how noble her status was.
All she knew was that, already in a state of decline, she appeared even more destitute in comparison to her stepmother.
So she sat in the corner, not daring to move, afraid that the other woman would notice her and come over to say hello.
The so-called greeting was nothing more than showing off in front of her.
Then she saw a beautifully dressed old lady sit down next to her and they chatted happily.
Seeing this, Li Jiaojiao felt really bad.
Think back to a year ago, what kind of life did she live, and what kind of life did her stepmother live? And now, the roles have been reversed.
Li Jiaojiao felt that the reason her life had become so miserable was all because of her stepsister, Li Yanke.
Everything she has now, all her glory, should rightfully belong to her.
It was because of her existence that I had fallen into such a sorry state.
It's all her fault, it's all her fault!
Seeing her mistress trembling and her face deathly pale, Cui'e was terrified and hurriedly asked, "Miss, what's wrong?"
Li Jiaojiao was completely absorbed in her own world, and didn't respond when Cui'e called her. It wasn't until Cui'e called her again that she snapped out of her reverie.
At this moment, Li Jiaojiao's eyes were bloodshot, and she seemed a little dazed, not knowing where she was for a moment.
It took a while for him to realize that he had taken Cui'e out.
"It's nothing." She shook her head, and some color returned to her face.
Cui'e also noticed Li Yan and her maid in the corner. Like her mistress, she looked down on Li Yan. Back when they were still in the Li family, this so-called second young lady of the Li family was not even as good as her, the eldest young lady's maid.
In the past, she could put on airs and show off to her stepmother.
But now, in just one year, her situation has undergone a dramatic change.
Cui'e was also furious.
"What's there to be so smug about? Who knows what kind of witchcraft he used? He looks like he's changed his face. What else could this be but a monster? Such a strange phenomenon is definitely not a good thing!"
Li Jiaojiao's gaze kept lingering on Li Yan's face. In fact, she had always been puzzled as to how Li Yan's face, which was so ugly back then, could have become so beautiful now.
“Cui’e, do you think… she really is some kind of monster?” Li Jiaojiao asked.
Knowing full well what her mistress was thinking, Cui'e immediately chimed in, "Of course it is. Otherwise, how could she look like she's changed her face?"
Li Jiaojiao clenched her fist, which was hidden in her sleeve, and said with a solemn expression: "If she is really a monster, then we must expose her ugly behavior."
Cui'e chimed in, "It would be best to make her reveal her true form and then beat her to death with sticks."
As the mistress and servant were talking, Old Madam Qiao had already left. A short while later, Li Yan also got up and prepared to leave with Qingniang and Xing'er.
Upon seeing this, Li Jiaojiao immediately got up and hurried over to meet her.
Li Yan hadn't even noticed the two of them. Suddenly, after their path was blocked, she turned her beautiful almond-shaped eyes and casually glanced at the two of them.
"Sister?" Li Yan asked curiously.
While Li Jiaojiao was sizing up Li Yan, Li Yan was also sizing her up. Li Jiaojiao was surprised by Li Yan's increasingly beautiful appearance, while Li Yan was naturally surprised that Li Jiaojiao's looks had declined considerably.
She remembered that when she first met this stepsister of the original owner, although she could not be described as stunningly beautiful, she was still a beauty at first glance.
But now, looking at her face, her features, her complexion, even the proportions of her features... there's nothing about her that's presentable.
Actually, she was also very puzzled, not understanding why Li Jiaojiao's appearance had declined so drastically.
Just as Li Yan was wondering, the mechanical voice in her mind sounded again:
[Host's beauty score +10. Congratulations, host, you have completed the beauty enhancement mission and returned to your original normal appearance.]
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