Chapter 68 The new guest's smile froze.
Lianrong felt an indescribable soreness in her limbs and an unbearable headache when she woke up, and lay on the kitchen floor.
Before leaving, Jiang Yuzhi specially moved her back to the kitchen.
Lianrong shook her head, trying to clear her mind, and walked out unsteadily.
The sun outside was particularly glaring.
Lianrong's heart skipped a beat as she pushed open the old wooden door to the bedroom.
She hesitated for a moment, but still slowly walked in.
Lifting the layers of thin gauze curtains, the person lying on the bed had long since stopped heaving.
His wide eyes were stiff and lifeless, revealing an aura of despair.
Lianrong collapsed to the ground, then let out a piercing scream.
Soon, the woman next door heard the noise and dragged her husband over to find out what was going on.
The constables arrived quickly, and the coroner examined the body at the scene, discovering that the man had died of a heart attack.
The environment of the whole house was not good. The woman curled up on the ground kept muttering something, but the constable couldn't hear clearly.
I just felt that the woman was not quite in her right mind.
Lianrong was taken back to the government office as a suspect, but the matter was eventually dropped.
No one can get anything out of a woman who can't even speak clearly.
Most importantly, the coroner was able to confirm that Deng Laosan did not die from external forces.
...
For several days in a row, Jiang Yuzhi stayed behind the counter in the shop, watching the stationed ghosts busy themselves. They actually found quite a few ghosts that had been missed and handed them over to the ghost messengers to take away.
Madam Zhou's seat was taken, so she sat down on the side and focused on the new clothes she was making for her son.
She was quite content with her current life. Although she couldn't see her son often, she knew he was doing well, and she had no worries about food or clothing. All she had to do was help the family look after the shop so she could live a comfortable life.
As Madam Zhou hummed a cheerful tune, she heard a sigh. Looking up, she saw it was her manager.
Madam Zhou: "Is the shopkeeper having some troubles?"
Jiang Yuzhi rested her chin on one hand and strolled through the thin ledger. Apart from a small amount of records of funeral paper money and incense, the ledger contained mostly records of supply transactions with the Bai family's cloth shop.
Bai Yan hasn't appeared for four or five days.
Since the last banquet.
Jiang Yuzhi: "It's nothing."
Madam Zhou was a straightforward person who believed whatever she was told. While sewing clothes, she chatted idly, "Speaking of which, I haven't seen Young Master Bai recently. The shopkeeper and he are almost engaged. Why don't they go out for a spring outing together?"
Jiang Yuzhi was momentarily speechless. The official document of appointment boldly emerged, covering the ledger, while the gold thread on her wrist subtly moved, squeezing out a small flower.
"Perhaps I've been too busy." Jiang Yuzhi covered the flower made of twisted gold thread, smiled knowingly, and stopped thinking about the confusion in her heart.
Since you love flowers so much, I'll call you Jin Xiaohua from now on.
As if sensing Jiang Yuzhi's thoughts, the golden thread rubbed lightly against her palm twice.
Madam Zhou didn't notice her shopkeeper's actions. "Young Master Bai is of noble status, so it's natural that he's busy," she said, then suddenly lowered her voice. "Shopkeeper, you'd better keep a close eye on him. Putting aside what Young Master Bai himself is thinking, all the young ladies in the capital are eager to marry him and become royalty. I went to the market to buy vegetables the other day, and I heard several young ladies gossiping about it."
His smile faded. "What are you talking about?"
"It is said that although Young Master Bai is a prince, his father is a merchant. Among the four classes of people, merchants have the lowest social status. Unlike other nobles, he will probably not be strict about the social status of his wives and concubines in the future."
...Yes, on the surface she was just an ordinary shopkeeper of funeral clothes. In the eyes of outsiders, neither her status nor her wealth matched Bai Yan's.
Even if the princess didn't care, if the emperor wanted to grant her a marriage, she would only be occupying the position of the principal wife.
Furthermore, they would not have gotten married while Bai Yan was alive.
In the future, Bai Yan will be in good health, and she will have finished repairing the Map of the State. Their connection will be almost nonexistent.
Jiang Yuzhi couldn't be sure if Bai Yan was still as devoted to her back then as he was now.
Just a few nights ago, Di Ting's words still echoed in my ears.
【Zhizhi, there are plenty of unfaithful men in the world; I've seen far too many. It's not my place to interfere in your relationship. You must be extremely careful. Men who are too easily obtained are not cherished. You'd better test him further.】
The night was deep, and Jiang Yuzhi did not catch the fleeting glint of light in Di Ting's eyes.
Di Ting simply didn't want Bai Yan to be too smug.
In its understanding, Zhizhi is a decisive person; once she makes up her mind, she will never look back.
Bai Yan does indeed have unique advantages in some aspects, and he takes great care of Zhi Zhi.
But even the All-Hearing One, who can hear a person's innermost thoughts, cannot always be certain of the future changes that might occur to a mortal.
Jiang Yuzhi now remembered Di Ting's instructions again, and since Bai Yan had not appeared for several days, she went to the Bai residence to ask, but the servant only said that the young master had not returned.
To be fair, Jiang Yuzhi trusted Bai Yan.
But Zhou Niangzi's words made her hesitate.
Ultimately, Jiang Yuzhi was not yet eighteen years old when she died, and she was not engaged. She had only ever seen love stories in novels, and the rest of her life consisted mainly of cases involving parents, relatives, and ghosts.
Some were happy endings, some were tragic.
When I have free time, my thoughts always drift away unconsciously.
Jiang Yuzhi was lost in thought, her fingers unconsciously rubbing against her wrist. If Jin Xiaohua could speak, she would probably be making a "snoring" sound of pleasure.
"Manager Jiang, I'm here to settle the bill. Thank you for your help the other day."
A gentle male voice entered Jiang Yuzhi's ears.
She looked up and saw Sun Chengjian, who had come to the shop a few days ago to order funeral clothes.
“Young Master Sun, you can come when you have more money. The imperial examination is still some time away, so I’m not in a hurry.” Jiang Yuzhi was always very lenient with people like Sun Chengjian.
Sun Chengjian forced a smile, his face weary but his eyes calm and serene. "I feel bad about the long delay. I thank you on behalf of Shun'er, Manager."
Jiang Yuzhi said no more, accepted the packet of copper coins handed to her by Sun Chengjian, counted them carefully, and crossed out Sun Chengjian's name in the ledger.
Seeing this, Sun Chengjian felt much more at ease.
Besides studying during the day, he also had to write for others or write letters at night, barely managing to save up enough money to bury Shun'er.
Jiang Yuzhi was well aware of Sun Chengjian's condition. The thin young man in front of her had a faded white robe, his lips were tightly pursed, and his slightly pale face carried an imperceptible sadness and resilience.
He was like a green bamboo growing in a barren rock crevice, his steps were a little heavy, but his back was straight.
When they first met, Sun Chengjian was visibly nervous as he stepped into the funeral clothing shop.
He contacted several companies, but they all refused to accept his request for expedited service because they thought his price was too low.
Another suggestion was to just wrap him in a tattered sheet and bury him.
Until we entered this shop.
Sun Chengjian's parents had passed away long ago, and Shun'er was a famine-stricken child he took in on his way to the capital.
They supported the daily lives of an adult and a child with the meager inheritance from their family and a few pen and ink orders.
With the imperial examination approaching, Shun'er fell ill after arriving in the capital.
The doctor said that his physical condition was too poor and he was also suffering from acclimatization problems, and that he might not have much time left.
Seeing his impoverished state, the doctor prescribed some inexpensive and usable medicine to help alleviate Shun'er's pain.
Even the cheapest medicine drained most of Sun Chengjian's fortune.
Shun'er was a sensible child, and begged him not to waste any more money on her, saying that she didn't have long to live anyway.
Sun Chengjian was at his wit's end, working day and night to write and polish other people's work, hoping to save up some more money to buy medicine.
Shun'er is gone.
Since taking in Shun'er, the two have relied on each other for survival. Sun Chengjian has long regarded Shun'er as his only family in the world.
Sun Chengjian didn't even have enough money to bury Shun'er; he could only leave the body at the clinic, paying two copper coins a day.
Jiang Yuzhi altered a sample garment to the right size and then attached a small coffin to it.
The original intention was to give it to Sun Chengjian, but the other party refused and stubbornly wrote an IOU, saying that he would make up the money in a few days.
Scholars always have some integrity, so Jiang Yuzhi agreed, but still set the price very low.
Sun Chengjian knew he had met a kind person, and since he really couldn't afford to give any more, he tacitly agreed and secretly vowed that he would repay the shopkeeper once he passed the imperial examination.
Jiang Yuzhi: "Young Master Sun's bill has been settled."
Sun Chengjian cupped his hands in thanks, "I will come back to thank you, shopkeeper, after the imperial examination."
Jiang Yuzhi: "No need, no need, I didn't help you at all."
Sun Chengjian: "A drop of water in need should be repaid with a spring of water."
Jiang Yuzhi: "Really, there's no need."
Standing to the side, Madam Zhou couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh dear, our manager is always so kind. With Young Master Sun acting like this, the manager should feel embarrassed instead."
Upon hearing this, Sun Chengjian smiled naturally, a rare occurrence for him.
...
Bai Yan was confined in the palace and stayed up for several nights before finally drafting the examination rules. He then discussed the rules with Emperor Huizong and the ministers of the council hall, and finally decided on the questions.
Today, we leave the palace!
For several days in a row, he didn't leave the Imperial Study.
He asked Xiao Ji to send someone to inform Jiang Yuzhi, so as not to worry his wife.
He rushed back to the Jiang residence, eager to see his wife as soon as possible. The servants at the residence said that his wife had been staying at the shop lately, so Bai Yan tidied himself up at the Bai residence before heading to the shop.
To their surprise, before they even went inside, they heard laughter coming from inside, including the wife's voice and the voice of a strange man.
Bai Yan's smile froze.
The wide-open door could not conceal Bai Yan's increasingly robust physique.
Jiang Yuzhi immediately noticed Bai Yan's presence. "Why are you standing outside?"
Bai Yan coughed lightly twice, calmly straightened his clothes, composed himself, and strolled leisurely to Jiang Yuzhi's side. With his sleeves touching his sleeves, and taking advantage of the counter as cover, he directly grasped Jiang Yuzhi's hand.
Bai Yan stared at Sun Chengjian with a forced smile, "And who is this?"
Jiang Yuzhi tried to pull her hand away twice, but couldn't, so she could only say, "Guest, your surname is Sun."
After Sun Chengjian bowed in greeting, Jiang Yuzhi continued to introduce him, "This is Bai..."
Suddenly stumped, Jiang Yuzhi was momentarily at a loss for how to introduce Bai Yan's identity to outsiders.
"Your Highness, I have long admired your name. I am Sun Chengjian, and I am one of this year's examinees." As a student of this year's examination, Sun Chengjian naturally recognized Bai Yan, one of the chief examiners.
In particular, the fact that His Highness Prince Xiao was getting very close to a merchant's wife caused quite a stir in the capital, with rumors circulating that he was going to marry her.
Even though Sun Chengjian doesn't usually pay attention to these things, he overheard some diners at the next table talking about them while eating.
Unexpectedly, the businesswoman was actually the shopkeeper.
The last trace of a smile in Sun Chengjian's eyes vanished completely.
"Since you are a guest of our household, if you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can send a message to the Bai family. As long as it is not excessive, I will do my best to help."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Bai Yan: That's right, they are our guests.
Jiang Yuzhi: [Question mark]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
