Shen Wei looked bewildered, not knowing what Shen Wan was going to do. She hadn't planned to buy the jade hairpin, and even if she did, she couldn't wear it before paying for it, could she?
I don't know why Miss Zheng left a jade hairpin in her hair, but since Shen Wan told her to wear it, Shen Wei didn't take it off. Miss Zheng would harm her, but her eldest sister wouldn't.
Shen Wei picked out a jade hairpin, and Shen Wan also bought one. Then they chose a jade pendant. There was nothing else they wanted to buy, so they prepared to pay and leave.
Chunlan went to pay the bill, and the waiter said, "Two jade hairpins, a total of two hundred and ten taels."
Chunlan exclaimed softly, "So expensive?!"
The waiter looked at the gold-inlaid ruby jade hairpin on the tray and said, "This one isn't expensive, only thirty taels. The expensive one is that one hundred and eighty taels."
The young shop assistant pointed to the jade hairpin in Chen Wei's hair.
Shen Wei knew this jade hairpin was beautiful, but she didn't expect it to be so expensive; it would take her half a year's salary to buy one.
She immediately took off the jade hairpin and handed it to the shop assistant, saying, "I don't want this one."
The young man looked troubled. "The young lady has been wearing it for quite a while now. It wouldn't be right to say she doesn't want it now, would it?"
The young shop assistant's voice was loud enough to immediately attract the attention of the girls picking out jewelry around him, and their eyes all focused on Shen Wei.
Shen Wei was easily embarrassed and couldn't stand being stared at like that. Her face, neck, and ears turned bright red, and she was so embarrassed that she wished she could disappear into the ground.
At this moment, a girl spoke up disdainfully, "It's just a jade hairpin, why bother trying it on? Wearing it for a bit is fine, but wearing it for so long and still not buying it? It's one thing if someone else spends such an expensive price to buy a jade hairpin that has been worn by someone else, but I'm afraid they'll be misunderstood as having stolen the hairpin from you, Miss Chen Si."
The young shop assistant also looked at Shen Wei and said, "Please, Miss Shen, don't make things difficult for our Jinbaoge."
Shen Wan was drinking tea when she heard the commotion over there, so she put down her teacup and came over.
Shen Wei looked flustered. When she saw Shen Wan approach, her eyes reddened slightly as she said, "Big sister..."
She was still holding the jade hairpin in her hand.
Shen Wan took it and put it in her hair, then looked at the young waiter and said, "You young waiter are really clueless. Don't you even know who to ask for the money for this jade hairpin?"
Young man, "...???"
If this jade hairpin is on Miss Shen's head, who should he ask for payment if he doesn't ask Miss Shen for it?
The young waiter looked at Shen Wan blankly.
Shen Wan asked, "Did my fourth sister put this jade hairpin in her hair herself?"
The young man shook his head.
Shen Wan asked again, "Did the maid put it on her?"
The young man shook his head again.
Shen Wan continued, "Who took the jade hairpin and put it on my fourth sister?"
The waiter said, "It's the third young lady from the Marquis of Wuding's mansion."
Miss Zheng didn't leave; she stood not far away watching the commotion. One hundred and eighty taels for a jade hairpin was too expensive for her, a legitimate daughter of a marquis's family, let alone for Shen Wei. She had been wearing it for so long; Jinbaoge wouldn't agree to let her wear it without buying it. If this commotion reached the ears of the Duchess of Wei, she would surely feel ashamed.
She was secretly pleased with herself when Shen Wan suddenly turned the tables on her with just a few words.
When the shop assistant mentioned her, all the onlookers turned to look at her. Miss Zheng gritted her teeth in anger. It was true that she was the one who took the jade hairpin, but she was helping Shen Wei choose a jade hairpin!
Just as Miss Zheng was about to go over, Shen Wan had already grabbed Shen Wei's hand and walked towards her, smiling at her, "My fourth sister is shy, but I didn't expect Miss Zheng to be even more shy. Yesterday, Miss Zheng accidentally tripped my fourth sister at Huguo Temple, causing her to fall and injure her hand. Feeling guilty, she gave my fourth sister a jade hairpin as an apology. However, the gift was too subtle, and the young shop assistant at Jinbaoge didn't understand, almost causing the apology to fail and adding to the conflict."
Although the news of Zheng San Guniang "accidentally" tripping Shen Wei yesterday hasn't spread, some people did see it, and she can't deny it now.
If she tripped someone up, she should apologize. If she doesn't admit that she gave the jade hairpin to Shen Wei, then she was deliberately scheming to make Shen Wei buy the jade hairpin.
But she has to admit—
She herself wouldn't even buy a jade hairpin that cost 180 taels, so she was really unwilling to let Shen Wei have it so cheaply.
Zheng San Guniang clenched her fists tightly in anger, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace. She asked the maid, "Yu Zan, didn't you pay the bill?"
The maid was taken aback for a moment, then quickly said, "Miss hasn't finished shopping yet. I thought Miss Shen wouldn't be leaving so soon..."
That means you haven't paid the bill yet.
Shen Wan said with a half-smile, "Since it's all a misunderstanding, it'll be fine once it's explained."
Miss Zheng looked at Shen Wan and squeezed out the words through clenched teeth, "What Princess Ling said is true."
When Shen Wei came out of the Golden Pavilion, she was still in a daze. Her older sister had managed to get Miss Zheng to compensate her for such an expensive jade hairpin with just a few words. It was like a dream.
Shen Wan took the brocade box from Yin Shuang and handed it to Shen Wei. Shen Wei asked, "What is this, elder sister?"
Shen Wan said, "It's my cousin Liu's coming-of-age ceremony, but I can't make it. Could you please bring her the coming-of-age gift for me?"
If Shen Wei hadn't mentioned it today, Shen Wan wouldn't have remembered that the eldest daughter of the Liu family was about to turn 18. The eldest daughter of the Liu family gave her a coming-of-age gift, and she was sure she had to return the favor. In her previous life, she didn't go in person; Zi Yu delivered it on her behalf. In this life, she simply asked Shen Wei to help her with it.
Since Shen Wan was too busy to go, Shen Wei didn't refuse. She accepted the brocade box and said, "Then I'll thank you on behalf of my cousin, and also thank you for helping me earlier."
Shen Wan said, "We're all sisters in the same household, so saying thank you is too formal. But Fourth Sister, you should change your soft-hearted nature. The Duchess of Wei doesn't like overly assertive wives, but she won't be satisfied with overly weak ones either. If anyone bullies you in the future, just retaliate. I'll back you up."
Shen Wei's nose tingled with tears, and she nodded repeatedly.
Shen Wan looked up at the sky and realized it was getting late, so she stopped shopping. She took Yin Shuang back to the Ling Prince's Mansion by carriage, while Shen Wei took Chun Lan back to the Pingyang Marquis's Mansion.
Inside the carriage, Yinshuang said with some worry, "Third Miss Zheng already bullied Fourth Miss. The Princess helped Fourth Miss trick her out of a jade hairpin, I'm afraid she will resent Fourth Miss even more."
If even Yinshuang knows this, how could Shenwan not know it?
She did it on purpose.
She wanted to tell Miss Zheng that Shen Wei had her backing, and if she dared to bully Shen Wei again, it wouldn't be as simple as just paying for a jade hairpin.
Furthermore, it's an opportunity to escalate the situation. Fourth Sister is a patient and reserved person who doesn't complain even when she's wronged. Her aunt probably doesn't even know how she injured her hand, let alone the Duke of Wei's heir. Only by making a big fuss can the news reach the ears of the Duke of Wei's wife and heir. They are sisters from the same mother. Others may not know what kind of person Zheng San is, but the Duke of Wei's wife certainly does.
It was either an accident or intentional on Zheng San Guniang's part that she tripped Shen Wei. The jade hairpin was not an apology to Shen Wei, but a scheme to harm her.
Shen Wei was only engaged to the heir of the Duke of Wei, and hadn't even married into the family yet, but the former heir's wife's family was already making trouble for her. She wanted to see what the heir and wife of the Duke of Wei would do when they found out.
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