After having lunch at the Xiao residence, Zhu Jiayu returned to the Zhu residence by carriage.
That night, as the crescent moon sank in the west, Zhu Jiayu lay in bed, but couldn't fall asleep.
Yu Qinglan, Yan Feng, Lin Yulou, Liu Heng, her aunt, the Grand Tutor Xiao and his wife... Since arriving in the capital, she hasn't accomplished anything yet, but with the help of her aunt and the Xiao family, she has already stepped into the circle of noble ladies in the capital. The noble ladies and noblewomen who looked down on her in her previous life no longer treat her coldly or ostracize her as they did in her previous life because she has not yet threatened their interests.
In Yujing, all the people who came and went, seemingly scattered, were actually connected by hidden threads. Like chess pieces on a board, each occupying its own territory, a slight misstep by her could disrupt the game.
As the saying goes, "A single hair can affect the whole body."
These people and families are like trees, seemingly unrelated, each with its own branches to spread and its own birds and beasts to shelter them, but underground, their roots have long been intertwined.
In the vast city of Yujing, only profit can truly uphold the prestige and dignity of these aristocratic families.
But she was destined to get a share of the pie, which meant that her life would never be as peaceful as it was now.
But at that time, could she really stand on the raging storm without being swallowed up or drowned?
Zhu Jiayu didn't know that was too far in the future. Right now, she hadn't even figured out how she should turn this situation around.
In the end, life and death on a chessboard are nothing more than the changing positions of a few pieces. If things don't go your way, you can always start over.
But in this game of chess in Yujing, bloodshed is a common occurrence. Now that the situation is stable, if she wants to interfere out of thin air, she can only do so by pushing someone down.
But who could she turn to? Should she first use the Lin family's network of connections? But was that really a safe bet? People's hearts are fickle. If she rashly approached an old friend of the Lin family now, she couldn't guarantee that person would still be pure of heart, or that decades later, that person would still be willing to help the Lin family.
She is not alone now. The Zhu family of Suiping is still alive, her father is still alive, and she even has an aunt, as well as the Xiao family, who, although they don't have much interaction, are still connected to her in many ways, as well as Gu Heguang, the Qiu family, Song Jiangmei... Every step she takes in the future must be taken with caution and steadiness, otherwise, not only will her future be ruined, but also the lives of so many people will be lost.
She can't gamble, and she can't afford to gamble.
Thinking of this, she lifted the brocade quilt and, by the dim candlelight, found the information about the Lin family that she had bought from the ghost market earlier. She took one last look at it, placed it on the candle flame, and watched the flame lick her upwards.
After finishing this task, she felt a little relieved and lay back down on the bed. Gazing at the canopy above her head, she slowly closed her eyes.
Over the next few days, she did nothing but sit quietly in various teahouses and taverns throughout the capital.
In the bustling city streets and alleys, news travels freely. All sorts of news from the capital flow like water and a gentle breeze to all directions from these places.
She never caused any trouble in these shady places. Although she was beautiful, she was always accompanied by several fierce-looking guards. In addition, her every move exuded nobility, and even a blind man could tell that she was no ordinary person. Naturally, lustful men and thugs would stay away from her.
The unexpected happened on the sixth day.
But it wasn't her who was in trouble; it was someone else.
She was sitting in the carriage, preparing to return to the Zhu residence, when she heard a great commotion outside. People were talking and pointing. She asked the driver to stop so she could see what was going on. When she lifted the curtain, she saw a beautiful woman surrounded by a crowd.
She listened for a while in the car and soon understood what had happened. It turned out that the woman had stolen money from the shopkeeper under the pretext of buying pastries.
The woman naturally refused to admit it.
The two sides stuck to their own versions of events, which led to an argument that attracted a crowd of onlookers.
“I have done nothing wrong, so naturally I wouldn’t steal your money for no reason. You’ve tarnished my reputation, so you should at least have some sense of reason,” the woman said coldly, tears welling in her eyes, but she still refused to bow her head.
“These days, even petty thieves who steal money have to reason with their victims? What kind of world is this? My purse was on the counter, and you were the only one who came here. After you arrived, it disappeared. You didn't steal it, so did it just vanish on its own?” This was the shopkeeper.
Zhu Jiayu watched for a while, then bent down and got off the carriage. He went to the crowd, stood next to the woman, and said to the shopkeeper, "Since you are so sure that she stole it, why don't you take her to court? Let the Prefect of the Capital handle the matter. Wouldn't that be more convenient?"
The shopkeeper looked at her and frowned: "And who are you, little girl? Don't talk nonsense here. Go home right now! What will happen to my stall if I go to the yamen?"
"I didn't mean to make things difficult for you!" He looked at the woman again and said impatiently, "As long as you return my money, I can pretend nothing happened. Otherwise, all the people watching today are witnesses!"
The woman looked at him with a sorrowful expression, two streams of tears falling down her cheeks: "I said I didn't, and that's final. At worst, I'll prove my innocence with my death!"
After she finished speaking, she was about to bump into a pillar, but fortunately Zhu Jiayu stopped her. However, she did not try to dissuade the woman beside her, but continued to speak to the shopkeeper:
"The Prefect of the Capital is the official in charge of the people of Yujing. You are the victim. If you go to the yamen, he will naturally side with you. You don't need to worry about this situation. I will find someone to watch over it for you. Or if you are not at ease, you can ask the onlookers to help you keep an eye on things here. You can go to the yamen with this lady."
She paused here, looked at his hands which remained tucked into his sleeves, emphasized her words, and slowly smiled:
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