Yan Xia touched it again and again, reluctant to let go, before finally turning her gaze to the third horse.
This piece of fabric is rather small, only about a meter long. It's a brocade with a peach-pink base and a milky-white gradient. It would look especially good on a child. It's also embroidered with many flowers and plants that look like peach blossoms, but also a bit like cherry blossoms. Yan Xia couldn't tell the difference. It still feels cool and smooth to the touch, and the surface shimmers with a fine sheen. It would definitely look even more stunning under the sun.
These brocades are much better than the fabric she's wearing, even though her outfit cost fifty taels of silver.
It seems there are indeed many good things at the border.
The official leather trunk at Yan Xia's feet was mostly gone.
She pulled out two more outfits and a new pair of shoes.
Finally, inside the top, there were two fist-sized stones.
This should be what is known as a raw stone.
The stone surface has no burrs and feels smooth to the touch.
Yan Xia couldn't judge the quality of jade, let alone carve it, so she could only put it away for now.
She sat on the ground, looking at the envelopes she had taken from the secret compartment of Magistrate Xu's study. They were all correspondence between Xu Wenyan and the Governor of Jiangnan. They contained details of how much silver and how many beautiful women Xu Wenyan had sent to the Governor of Jiangnan, as well as the tasks the Governor of Jiangnan had instructed Xu Wenyan to perform. If any one of these envelopes were handed over to the current Emperor, Xu Wenyan would be beheaded on the spot.
"Tsk tsk, should I give this letter to Jinyu?" Yan Xia hesitated.
Giving it to him is risky, as Jin Yu might act rashly. How could an orphan with no powerful backing possibly deliver the letter to the Emperor? Giving it to a minister would be even more unreliable, given the complex web of officials in the court. The letter clearly states that the Governor of Jiangnan has a very close relationship with the Minister of Revenue, and Jin Yu's father was apparently the Vice Minister of Revenue before his death.
Yan Xia seemed to sense a conspiracy.
So, Xu Wenyan killed Jinyu's father under someone's orders?
Could it be that the Minister of Revenue gave the order?
What are the benefits of forcing Jin Yu's father to his death?
She couldn't understand it.
"Never mind, now is not the time. I'll give it to you when you've grown up a bit more," Yan Xia murmured to herself. She put the envelope away, placed it in her spatial storage, and then disappeared.
She covered herself with a thin blanket, closed her eyes, and went to sleep.
When I woke up, there was a sparrow perched on the willow tree outside the window, chirping incessantly, like a living alarm clock.
Yan Xia yawned.
Time to get up.
She got dressed, opened the door, and stood on the veranda calling out to Baodong.
Ever since she bought a maid, she has become increasingly lazy, relying on the maid to do almost everything, such as combing her hair.
Today, Yan Xia was going to the Xu residence. She put on an ugly makeup, and after washing up, she asked Bao Dong to give her an old-fashioned round bun.
Simply insert a plain gold hairpin and add two yellow jade hairpins, and you're done.
She replaced her sugar-white jade bracelet, which was worth over four hundred taels, with a cheaper clear water bracelet.
She wouldn't dare wear anything nice.
What if Old Madam Xu takes a liking to it and takes it away?
After finishing her makeup, Yan Xia went downstairs to have breakfast.
This morning I had pan-fried buns, along with thin noodles cooked in chicken broth and three side dishes: cucumber salad, spicy stir-fried pickled vegetables, and fermented bean curd.
The oil from the chicken soup had been skimmed off, making it exceptionally refreshing. Combined with the sweet and sour cucumber, Yan Xia's appetite was whetted. She picked up a few pieces of pickled vegetables, added them to the noodles, stirred them, and ate heartily.
Soon, the bowl of noodles was finished, and the soup was also gone.
Yan Xia started eating the pan-fried buns. She took a small bite, and the oil sizzled inside. She used her chopsticks to poke a little bit of fermented bean curd into the bun and then wrapped it up in one bite.
The aroma of fermented bean curd, its sweet and spicy flavor, blends perfectly with the meat juices from the pan-fried buns, cutting through the richness of the meat.
The flavor has improved by two levels.
"Hiccup~"
After finishing all the pan-fried buns, Yan Xia let out a satisfied burp.
He sighed contentedly.
They live like immortals.
They expect to be fed and clothed without lifting a finger.
Then she recalled the miserable state she was in when she first transmigrated, huddled in a pile of straw.
Yan Xia dared not recall it.
"Baodong, I'm going to the Xu residence. I probably won't be back for lunch, so you don't need to cook for me." After resting for a while, Yan Xia drank some tea, rinsed her mouth, and left home.
She went out onto the street, bought some fruits, expensive tea, and pastries, and then went to the Xu residence.
It was already past 9 AM by then.
"Please wait here for a moment. Something happened at the manor the other day, and I have to go and inform the old lady first, so I dare not let you in. I am really sorry, please understand." The gatekeeper was very polite, and Yan Xia did not make things difficult for him. Her hands were full, and she also had a small jewelry box tucked under her arm.
It's like I'm moving house.
Big bags and small bags.
Because of her immense strength, Yan Xia couldn't feel any weight at all.
She waited for more than ten minutes, and then the doorman came running back, panting.
"Please come in quickly, the old lady is waiting for you in the main room."
Yan Xia politely thanked her and swaggered inside.
She had been there several times and knew the way very well, but to her surprise, halfway there she saw Madam Xu's personal maid, Xiao Jin, walking towards her.
"Madam Yan, please come in. My master instructed me to come and fetch you. Oh, why are you carrying so many things? Let me carry them; there's too much." Xiao Jin has a round face and two dimples when she smiles, making her very endearing. Yan Xia quite likes her.
"It's alright. You're just a young girl and not very strong. It'll be tiring for you to carry it. I can carry it myself. I've done a lot of farm work, so this is nothing to me."
Yan Xia continued to cultivate an image of being hardworking and resilient.
"No, Madam Yan, let me carry it. If the mistress knew I made you carry so much stuff, she'd scold me to death." Xiao Jin hurriedly took the bag of fruits from Yan Xia's left hand.
There were two watermelons, eight cantaloupes, and a bag of fresh, crisp peaches inside. It was very heavy, and Xiao Jin had a lot of trouble carrying it.
"Alright, you come and get the tea and pastries, I'll carry the fruits." Xiao Jin looked only a year or two older than Chang Yu, and was quite thin. Servants were all children from poor families, and no matter how bad the Xu family was, Yan Xia didn't take her anger out on these servants.
She snatched the bag of fruits and handed the bag in her right hand to Xiao Jin.
"Alright, let's go. Your master won't blame you if he sees you helping me carry my things."
Yan Xia smiled faintly and strode forward.
Xiao Jin stood there, stunned. She weighed the bag in her hand; it was very light.
Only after Yan Xia had walked far away did she come to her senses and jog after her.
"Madam Xu, I've come to see you." Yan Xia walked into the main room and said to Madam Xu with a smile.
"Oh, you've worked so hard carrying all this stuff. Look at you, you're all sweaty. Xiao Yin and Xiao Jin, take the fruits to the kitchen, cut them up and bring them over. Remember to chill them. Also, bring two cups of mung bean drink." The fruits were packed in a net bag made of hemp rope, so Old Madam Xu saw them at a glance.
"Oh dear, Madam Xu, what's wrong? Your eyes are all dark and swollen. Didn't you sleep well? How about I get you some calming medicine?"
Yan Xia pretended not to know and asked with concern.
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