Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Did She Think Dressing Up Would Catch His Attention? Pei Wuliang was a man, so naturally he had no interest in these women's trinkets. He was mainly there for companionship, but he found it strange—in his previous life, Jia Qingcheng had absolutely no interest in such accessories. What she liked was nothing more than a pile of colorful little mushrooms. How was it that now she actually liked these ornaments? In his previous life, Jia Qingcheng had received many accessories for her birthday, but she hadn't kept a single one—she'd given them all to his mother and his grandmother. He'd assumed she didn't like them. But in this life, why had her preferences suddenly changed? Could it be that Jia Qingcheng had sensed his disgust toward her and was thinking of dressing up nicely to win his favor? Yes, that must be it. "Go ahead. Take whatever you like and have your sister pay for it." Song Jiaojiao was overjoyed to hear this. "Brother Wuliang, will Sister be willing?" "Silly girl, we're family. Why wouldn't she be? Besides, you'll be her mistress in the future—isn't it only right for her to show you respect in advance?" "Then Jiaojiao will go pick some out." After Song Jiaojiao went inside, the servant beside him hurriedly leaned in. "Young Master, aren't you being too harsh on Miss Jia? She looked like she was about to cry from humiliation just now." "Women can't be spoiled. In the past, I was too good to her, and it made her forget her place. She may have money, but look at her—besides me, who could ever put up with that face of hers?" "Young Master, you're truly skilled. This way, you gain fame and fortune, and win the beauty's hand—three birds with one stone!" "Didn't I say I wouldn't abandon her? As long as she behaves herself, I'll take responsibility for her!" At noon, Song Jiaojiao had already picked out all the accessories she wanted to her heart's content. "Shopkeeper, ring it all up for me!" "Coming, miss! Buying so much?" Song Jiaojiao didn't have a single coin on her, but since none of this required her own money, she naturally intended to bleed that ugly thing dry. "I'm in a good mood today and doing your business a favor. Hurry up and calculate it!" "Miss, do we really need to buy this much?" Even the maid beside her was shocked. Could her young lady possibly wear all these accessories? "I like all of these. Hey, go see where that ugly thing is—it's time for her to pay!" After the maid left, Song Jiaojiao quickly called Pei Wuliang over. "Brother Wuliang, I've finished choosing." Pei Wuliang hurried over, and when he saw the massive pile, he was stunned too. "Jiaojiao, do you really need this many accessories?" "Brother Wuliang, some of these are for giving away. Don't you remember? Next month is my aunt's birthday, and I wanted to give her something special. And this one is for my good friend. This one is a gift for my future mother-in-law. And there's also..." "Alright, alright. You've thought of everything. Take whatever you like—it's not like we can't afford it. Where's your sister? Let me go see what she's dawdling about." Song Jiaojiao feigned regret. "Because Sister is so ugly, she doesn't like coming downstairs. She must have hidden herself upstairs." "If she's ugly, she should stay at home. Coming out to scare people and then acting wronged—she's getting more and more out of line!" Pei Wuliang grumbled as he went upstairs, but by the time he got up there, the shopkeeper's bill had already been tallied downstairs. "Miss Song, here you are. This is the itemized list. The total comes to ten thousand taels of silver. Would you like to pay by banknote or in cash?" Ten thousand taels of silver? Song Jiaojiao had never seen that much money in her life, so she was naturally shocked. She'd known the accessories weren't cheap when she was picking them out, but the thought that the ugly thing would be paying... Well, then it didn't matter. After all, it wasn't her money. "Shopkeeper, wait a moment. My sister will come down to pay shortly. Just wrap everything up and send it out to the carriage." "I'm sorry, miss, but our policy is payment first, delivery after." Song Jiaojiao: "..." "Jiaojiao, where did your sister go?" Pei Wuliang had searched the entire upstairs and found no trace of Jia Qingcheng. He was starting to get anxious. "Brother Wuliang, wasn't Sister just upstairs a moment ago?" "No one's there!" "How can that be? Did she run off and hide because she's angry with you?" Pei Wuliang was about to say something when the shopkeeper came to press him again. "Young master, ten thousand taels of silver—how would you like to pay?" Ten thousand taels? Pei Wuliang was stunned. "Shopkeeper, are these things made of gold? This little bit costs ten thousand taels? Why don't you just rob people?" "Young master, we have clearly marked prices here. This young lady was well aware of them." "Brother Wuliang, what do we do? Sister ran away, so who's going to pay for all this?" "Don't worry. Qingcheng wouldn't leave without saying goodbye." In his memory, Jia Qingcheng would never slip away so quietly. At the very least, she would have told him she was leaving. "Shopkeeper, did you see where that ugly girl went?" Ugly girl? The shopkeeper didn't appreciate Pei Wuliang's way of referring to Jia Qingcheng. "Young master, what is that young lady to you?" Pei Wuliang: "..." "Stop with the nonsense. Just tell me where she is!" "This shop of mine sells jewelry, not people. How would I know?" "You—" "Sir, you wouldn't be trying to welsh on the bill because you can't afford it, would you?" At these words, the other customers began to crowd around, and Miss Wang, seeing this pair of live wires again, sneered and stepped forward. "Pei Wuliang, what's this? Out of money to pay the bill again?" "What nonsense are you talking? Who said I have no silver?" Pei Wuliang naturally had no silver, but he quickly thought of a solution. "Shopkeeper, how about this—put it on Jia Qingcheng's account at the Jia estate. The Jia family is one of the wealthiest around; you should know her standing, shouldn't you?" "Sir, this shop of mine has no such rule. That the Jia family has been merchants for generations and is rolling in wealth, I know well enough. But since she's not here, who can guarantee she'll agree to this?" "What do you want, then?" "Either you pay the silver, or I report this to the authorities!" "No, shopkeeper, don't report this! Brother Wuliang is about to be selected as an imperial physician—he can't have any stain on his record." Song Jiaojiao was terrified at the mention of the authorities. This absolutely could not reach the government office, or Pei Wuliang's career would be ruined. And if he was ruined, what future would she have following him? "Then how do you intend to settle the bill?" Pei Wuliang knew he was in the wrong, but his pride wouldn't let him show it. "What's the hurry? I'm the eldest young master of the Pei family. Go ask around—when have I ever paid silver with my own money when buying things? You're looking down on me like a dog judging a man. Tell you what, I'll leave my jade pendant here as collateral, and I'll send someone with the silver shortly. Shopkeeper, how does that sound?" The shopkeeper shook his head. "Sir, this isn't a pawnshop. I've no interest in your jade pendant—who knows what cheap trinket it is. My jewelry here is made of gold and is very expensive." "Enough. I'll send someone to fetch Jia Qingcheng to bring the silver. Are you satisfied with that?"