Xie Yushu wasn’t in a hurry to exchange the 1 point of Green Hat Value.
Who knows, maybe she could farm a few more points soon.
She guessed that Cang Shu was here to return the money.
Waiting at the back gate instead of entering the Pei Mansion, and insisting on seeing only her—most likely, his master, the Song Prime Minister, had come too.
Last night, he had truly touched and seen his “Jia Ning.”
Even if Cang Shu told him upon waking that it was Xie Yushu, he would still want to confirm it.
Since her target client had come to “inspect,” of course she had to show off her core value and win the client over completely.
This time, she didn’t put on last night’s “Xie Jia Ning Makeup.”
She only slightly drooped the ends of her eyes, highlighting the resemblance in her gaze, kept the beauty mark on the tip of her nose, casually tied her hair in an everyday bun, and wore a simple willow green daily dress.
She made herself look more “ordinary,” so the client would feel she was real.
Xie Yushu, satisfied, took Jin Ye and Yin Ya with her as she left the courtyard.
As soon as she stepped out, Pei Shilin followed closely behind, looking like he was intent on keeping her under surveillance.
She pretended not to notice, rubbed her aching head, and headed to the back gate—she’d stayed up too late last night.
Dawn had just broken, and the morning light gently illuminated raindrops on the branches.
A carriage stood quietly in the back alley.
Cang Shu waited by its side, listening for any movement inside, afraid the person within might fall ill and faint again.
As the back gate of the Pei Mansion opened, the withered apricot blossoms on the wall happened to fall from the branches.
Cang Shu heard someone call his name with a laugh: “Cang Shu.”
He looked up and saw Xie Yushu walking toward him, treading over fallen blossoms.
Today she wore a blue robe, her black hair loosely tied, her face unadorned, her eyebrows gently arched like dewdrops resting above her eyes—misty and elusive.
As she drew closer, a fragrant breeze followed her, and the tiny mole on her nose caught his eye.
The carriage suddenly shifted slightly, as if someone inside had sat up in surprise.
“You got beaten?”
Those faintly arched brows creased a little as she looked at Cang Shu’s face in surprise and asked,
“Who hit you?”
Her gaze was so direct that Cang Shu didn’t dare meet her eyes.
He hurriedly lowered his head, yet the mole on her nose still danced before his eyes.
“No one.”
“If not, then why are you hiding?”
Xie Yushu looked at his clearly swollen face, glanced at the carriage, and said deliberately,
“Raise your head, let me see.”
Cang Shu’s heart pounded from her scent and tone.
Head down, he didn’t know what to say.
A soft cough sounded from inside the carriage.
Cang Shu’s heart skipped a beat.
He stepped back, head still lowered, and said,
“Thank you for your concern, Madam Xie. I’m here to deliver the silver.”
Behind the carriage’s bamboo curtain, a pair of eyes stared at Xie Yushu.
Too similar…
Why does she look so much like Jia Ning?
The nose isn’t the same, nor the lips…but the moment this face appeared, he almost thought he was dreaming—dreaming of Jia Ning walking from beneath the apricot tree.
Song Jie clutched his chest, enduring the stabbing cold and suppressing his cough, scrutinizing her face.
Was it her last night?
Was the warm cheek in his palm hers?
How could he have mistaken the Xie Yushu he detested most for Jia Ning?
Jia Ning didn’t have a mole on her nose, and Jia Ning’s lips always curled up…
“Was it the Song Prime Minister who hit you?”
Suddenly, she looked up at the carriage.
Through the bamboo curtain, Song Jie met her gaze.
It felt like a heavy blow—those eyes were just like Jia Ning’s.
She handed a note to Cang Shu but didn’t let go as he took it.
She shifted her gaze back to him, asking with concern,
“Why did he hit you?”
It was exactly the tone Jia Ning used when standing up for him.
—“Your mother’s fault, why blame you?”
Song Jie couldn’t hold back and coughed out loud.
Even knowing she was Xie Yushu, seeing her face another man with that expression and those eyes still made him angry.
“Prime Minister.”
Cang Shu hurriedly let go and turned to the carriage.
Prime Minister?
Pei Shilin, hiding behind the door, frowned in surprise.
Song Jie really came?
How could that be…
Yet he clearly heard Song Jie’s muffled, coughing voice from inside the carriage: “Cang Shu, invite Miss Xie onto the carriage. I have words for her.”
Pei Shilin couldn’t hold back any longer and strode out, saying coldly,
“If the Prime Minister has something to say to my wife, why not come inside and talk at your leisure?”
Oh ho.
Xie Yushu heard the cheerful system voice in her mind: “Congratulations, Host, you’ve gained 1 point of Green Hat Value and 1 point of Heartthrob Value.”
The Heartthrob System Interface showed both points came from Pei Shilin.
What a useful golden leek.
She stood still, watching the two “leeks” face off.
Pei Shilin had just reached the carriage when Song Jie’s voice came first: “Pei Shilin, if you don’t want to die, get inside.”
Such a blunt insult—
Xie Yushu saw Pei Shilin’s face turn from green to white, his ears turning red in embarrassment.
He didn’t know whether to walk away or show anger.
Fortunately, Song Jie’s health was poor, and after speaking he coughed violently.
Cang Shu dared not delay and hurriedly invited Xie Yushu onto the carriage, whispering,
“Madam Xie, the Prime Minister won’t do anything to you.”
Xie Yushu knew that, but she was a person of principle.
Her principle: must pay.
So she walked to the carriage, spoke through the bamboo curtain to the coughing Song Jie, and said,
“If the Prime Minister has something to say, say it here. It’s improper for a man and woman to ride together alone.”
Inside the carriage, Song Jie stared at her.
Improper for a man and woman to ride together?
Was it proper when she stayed with him alone in a room late at night?
Or did propriety change after payment?
But he had no patience for her words, so he turned his ire on Pei Shilin, telling him to get inside—he wanted to question Xie Yushu alone.
Pei Shilin was about to explode with anger, but only managed to say half a sentence: “Prime Minister, don’t go too far!…”
But Cang Shu forced him back into the mansion.
The back gate slammed shut, and Pei Shilin, furious, wanted to smash the door, but was stopped by his mother, Li Huixian, who rushed over.
“Calm down, endure it for now, for your brother’s sake, and for your own future, you must endure.”
Li Huixian held her son back and whispered,
“Once we save your brother, you can deal with that shameless woman as you like—beat her, divorce her, whatever you wish!”
Pei Shilin shook off her hand and punched the brick wall.
If he endured any longer, he really would be wearing the green hat!
“Congratulations, Host, you’ve gained 1 point of Green Hat Value.”
The system reminded her again,
“You now have 3 points of Green Hat Value.”
Xie Yushu almost laughed.
Pei Shilin, that useless man, was still somewhat valuable.
“Xie Yushu.”
Song Jie called her by name from inside the carriage, his voice weak.
“Where did you hear the term [Little Daoist]?”
So he came to ask about this.
Xie Yushu casually lied,
“From the Daoist temple. Aren’t all Daoists in the temple called Little Daoist?”
The bamboo curtain lifted, and Song Jie’s pale, angry face appeared.
“Xie Yushu, you know that’s not what I meant.”
His hair was loose, lips bloodless, yet his brows and eyes were striking—like a cold, beautiful ghost.
“Why did you call me Little Daoist?”
Song Jie’s gaze locked onto her eyes.
She looked at him with a teasing smile, half like Jia Ning, half not—
Jia Ning would never tease him.
“How much do you know about me and Jia Ning?”
She knew the entire plot.
Xie Yushu deliberately blinked, swapping mischief for a bright, innocent smile.
Her voice turned sweet, “Why ask like that? Don’t you like me calling you Little Daoist?”
Song Jie froze, his ears and eyes buzzing, as if he’d been transported back to an early summer years ago
Jia Ning standing under the apricot tree, clutching lotus pods, saying,
“If I don’t call you Little Daoist, what should I call you? Brother Song? No, I just like calling you Little Daoist.”
But a breeze swept by, rain beads falling from the tree.
She dropped her smile and, as if changing faces, pulled him back to reality with a cold voice: “I don’t know anything about the Song Prime Minister and Miss Jia Ning. I just said it casually, no need for you to chase me down and ask.”
Song Jie felt thunderstruck.
His whole body turned cold.
How had he just now fallen under her spell and seen Jia Ning in her again?
Was she doing it on purpose?
Mimicking Jia Ning’s voice, expressions, every word?
But how did she know about him and Jia Ning?
He had too many doubts, but Xie Yushu seemed to lose patience.
“If the Prime Minister has nothing else, I’ll be leaving.”
She turned to go.
“Stop.”
Song Jie reached for her, but the cold wind made him shiver to his bones.
He collapsed coughing under the curtain, his whole body trembling from the chill.
Cang Shu rushed over and wrapped him in a fox-fur cloak.
“Prime Minister, please take care of your health.”
Song Jie clutched the cloak tightly, looking up in pain, only to find Xie Yushu already gone.
All that remained were two tightly closed doors—she hadn’t paused for even a step.
“Host, you’re just leaving like that?”
The system couldn’t help asking Xie Yushu, “Song Jie is about to fall ill again. Aren’t you going to take advantage and care for him? You might be able to farm Green Hat and Heartthrob Value.”
No rush.
Every time Song Jie falls ill, it lasts seven days.
Today is his fourth day.
She’d wait for Song Jie to pay before providing her stand-in service.
Besides, she hadn’t even had breakfast yet.
Xie Yushu exchanged her newly acquired 3 Green Hat Value and 1 Heartthrob Value for Life Value again.
Including the previous thirty days, her Life Value instantly refreshed to seventy days.
The stuffiness in her chest and the headache from earlier vanished completely.
The system congratulated her: “Once your Life Value reaches 1000 days, you’ll have a healthy body and never need to exchange for Life Value again.”
That many?
Looks like she needed to work harder at wearing the green hat.
Xie Yushu didn’t return to her own courtyard with Jin Ye and Yin Ya.
Instead, she left the Pei Mansion through the back gate, circled around, and hired a carriage to the most famous Fanlou.
“Is Madam not having breakfast in the mansion?”
Yin Ya asked in surprise.
“Shouldn’t you serve the Old Madam for breakfast since you just got married?”
“Madam just wants to avoid the Old Madam and Young Master, right?”
Jin Ye blinked at her.
Xie Yushu smiled at the two silly girls.
They might be a little slow, but they were good kids, loyal to her.
“I’ve served people enough. From today on, I’ll serve no one.”
She could just imagine the Pei mother and son sitting sternly in the main room, waiting to deal with her, to torment her.
Want her to keep suffering?
Dream on.
From now on, Xie Yushu wouldn’t care about anyone’s mood but her own.
Suddenly, the system chimed and the interface unfolded: “Congratulations, Host, you’ve activated the main mission: [Mission: Xie Yushu’s Happy Life].”
Xie Yushu saw a progress bar added to the mission interface—
[Happy Life: 1%].
An unexpected gain.
She suddenly understood how to complete the [Achieve Xie Yushu’s Happy Life Ending] mission.
It was to let Xie Yushu live freely and comfortably, to live like a real person.
With two thousand taels in silver notes, she exchanged them for several small-denomination notes and some easily carried silver pieces, handing the silver and small notes to Jin Ye and Yin Ya.
The two young maids had never seen so much money before.
Their hands trembled and they dared not accept.
Xie Yushu stuffed it into their hands.
“Take it. There’s a mountain of gold and silver ahead.”
This money was for Xie Yushu’s comfortable days.
She led the two young maids into Fanlou, ignoring all the curious gazes, and placed a two-hundred tael silver note on the counter, telling the manager to prepare the best private room and a table full of their best dishes.
The manager saw she was a new face but spent lavishly, so he dared not neglect her.
He hurried to say that two hundred taels was more than enough.
She didn’t take it back, saying, “Write down my name. Keep the rest on my account. I’ll be coming often.”
Feeling so refreshed, she thought of her stingy life in the modern world—finally, she could show off for once.
The manager beamed, personally writing down her name and inviting her to the third-floor Guanjiang Pavilion.
Guanjiang Pavilion overlooked the river.
Opening the window, you could see the palace’s flying eaves and rooftops in the distance.
Xie Yushu ordered a few dishes, told the two maids to order some as well, and instructed the kitchen to make two more sets—one to be sent to Bo Yibo for Xizhi Mammy, and one to Hats Lane for Qiao Bao’er.
“Who is Qiao Bao’er?”
Yin Ya asked, excitedly touching everything.
“She’s my mother,” Xie Yushu replied.
“Isn’t Madam’s mother the Houfu Madam?”
Yin Ya blurted out, only for Jin Ye to kick her, making her yelp in confusion.
Xie Yushu laughed and had them sit down.
“Qiao Bao’er is my real mother.”
Only then did Yin Ya realize she meant the concubine, and her face flushed red, not daring to speak.
Xie Yushu handed a thousand tael note to Jin Ye.
“After breakfast, go to Hats Lane and give this note to my mother. Tell her not to worry about me, to take care of herself. I’ll visit her in a few days.”
Jin Ye accepted it, her eyes brimming with tears, and whispered,
“I’ll take care of it. No one will find out.”
Jin Ye was clever.
She knew the Houfu and Pei Mansion both forbade Xie Yushu from seeing the concubine, let alone secretly supporting her.
“Go openly,” Xie Yushu said, gazing out at the river.
“It doesn’t matter who knows. What’s wrong with giving my own hard-earned silver to my real mother?”
She wanted to make up for Xie Yushu’s regrets from the original story and ensure that everyone who truly cared for her would live well.
“Congratulations, Host.”
The system interface refreshed: “[Happy Life: 5%]”
Fanlou’s delivery service was very professional.
In just two quarters of an hour, the hot food was delivered to Bo Yibo.
The gatekeeper hurried inside to report to Pei Shilin.
Pei Shilin and his mother, Li Huixian, were sulking in the main house, barely touching their breakfast.
Li Huixian tried to coax her son to eat and cursed Xie Yushu at the same time.
She’d planned to give Xie Yushu a hard time, but after waiting in the room for nearly half an hour, Xie Yushu never returned.
Upon asking, she learned Xie Yushu had slipped out the back gate.
“She’ll have to come back, won’t she?”
Li Huixian comforted her son.
“Where else could she go? The Yong’an Marquis Manor doesn’t want her anymore, or they wouldn’t have sent her back the day she returned. She has nowhere else.”
Pei Shilin was vexed.
She used to have nowhere to go, but now…maybe not.
He looked up and ordered,
“Send her crippled mammy to find her.”
Before he finished, the gatekeeper came in to report,
“Old Madam, Young Master, Fanlou sent a banquet, said…Madam sent it to a mammy called Xizhi Mammy…”
“What?”
Li Huixian nearly thought she’d misheard.
Xie Yushu, at Fanlou, sent a banquet to that crippled old woman?
Where did she get the money?
Did she charge it to their Bo Yibo account?
Pei Shilin’s face turned green with anger.
He laughed coldly,
“Well, well, my wife is getting more capable by the day!”