Chapter 49: When Others Bully Me, What’s the Point of Getting Angry? I’ll Fight Back

Jiang Shiyuan sat for a moment before Su Liluo arrived.

Jiang Shiyuan picked something up and, pretending to be curious, asked, “I really like this, how much silver is it?”

Before she could finish her sentence, her hands were empty, and the incense box was already in Su Liluo’s hands.

Su Liluo didn’t even blink. She turned to the shopkeeper, Hui Niang, and said, “What has she taken a liking to? Wrap it all up for me.”

Hui Niang exchanged a glance with Jiang Shiyuan, her face showing some difficulty. “But, Miss Su, these things were chosen by Miss Jiang first.”

“Hmph, you’re running a business, aren’t you looking to make money? I’ll pay double.” Su Liluo suddenly grew weary of using money to push others around. She leaned against the counter and urged, “I’m in a hurry, wrap it up.”

Hui Niang reluctantly packed everything, respectfully saying, “Miss Su, you are our biggest customer at the Chenxiang Fang. We will certainly prioritize you. There’s no need for double the price, whatever Miss Su likes, we’ll give it to you at the original price. The total comes to three hundred taels.”

“Only three hundred?” Su Liluo glanced at Jiang Shiyuan. “Jiang Shiyuan, when did you become so poor? Didn’t you say you never use incense powders that cost less than a hundred taels?”

Jiang Shiyuan couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

As stubborn as she was, Su Liluo wasn’t any less so.

Seeing her laugh, Su Liluo shot her a glare. “You’re still laughing? Aren’t you angry that I’m with Pei Ziye? He even invited me to go horseback riding at the East City today.”

Jiang Shiyuan was confused. “Why would I be angry that you’re with Pei Ziye?”

Not to mention she hadn’t even entered the Pei family’s door and hadn’t become Pei Che’s wife, even if she did become Pei Ziye’s little aunt, Pei Ziye’s marriage was none of her business.

She still had that sense of propriety.

Su Liluo was taken aback, then thought about it and realized that when she tried to pursue Shen Luchu, Jiang Shiyuan didn’t react much either.

The last time she angered her was because she carelessly mentioned her family.

Suddenly, Su Liluo realized something. She raised the incense powder in her hand. “Why aren’t you angry when I take your things?”

“Because if it can be taken away, it was never truly mine,” Jiang Shiyuan said.

Su Liluo was suddenly provoked by these words, her expression turning dark. “You’re pretending to be magnanimous, but you’re just lucky—you’ve never lost anything precious to you. If one day, the thing you cherish most is taken away, would you still be able to say this calmly?”

Jiang Shiyuan looked at Su Liluo, who had suddenly become sharp, and couldn’t help but ask the question that had been bothering her for a long time:

“Su Liluo, why do you like to compete with me so much?”

She had been holding onto this question for years.

She remembered that when they first met as children, they got along quite well.

It was when they were seven years old, during a banquet at the Shangshu residence, where many ladies from the city were invited to enjoy the flowers. Her mother took her there as well.

That day, a child said her mother was a bandit and called her a little bandit, even throwing mud at her.

As the host, Su Liluo severely scolded the child and took her to her room to change her into a new dress.

Su Liluo was only a year older, but she was like a big sister, gentle as the spring breeze.

Later, for some reason, when they met again, Su Liluo ignored her and even became confrontational.

Jiang Xingzhuo was like this, and Su Liluo was the same. Jiang Shiyuan once thought it was because she wasn’t likable enough.

“Did I do something to make you dislike me?” Jiang Shiyuan asked directly, this question had troubled her for a long time.

Su Liluo looked at her blank expression, gritting her teeth. The maid Zhi Chun angrily said, “It’s because of Miss Jiang. My lady was exiled from the capital for ten years.”

Jiang Shiyuan froze, confusion growing in her eyes.

She only knew that ten years ago, Su Liluo suddenly left the capital to recover from an illness. She had assumed Su Liluo was perfectly healthy, so why did she suddenly need to recuperate?

“What does this have to do with me? Didn’t you go to recover from an illness?”

Zhi Chun was quick to speak, “Because Pei Taifu sought justice for you and went to the Shangshu residence to complain. My master locked my lady up for half a month. After she came out, she became seriously ill, was sent to the countryside overnight, and almost didn’t survive.”

“Shut your mouth!” Su Liluo glared at Zhi Chun.

Jiang Shiyuan froze again. Pei Che had sought justice for her?

How could Pei Che defend her?

It was just a childish squabble between her and Su Liluo.

Pei Che didn’t seem like the type to care about such trivial matters.

That wasn’t the point—the point was that Su Liluo had been sent to the countryside for ten years because of this.

Jiang Shiyuan’s emotions were complex for a moment. “Is this the reason you’ve been targeting me? I didn’t know…”

“No,” Su Liluo interrupted Jiang Shiyuan, her voice cold as if she had become a different person. “I’m not targeting you because of that. I was sent to the countryside because I provoked you first. It’s because my father despised me, I had no one to back me up. I spent ten years relying on others. It’s all my fault.”

“I’m targeting you because…”

Forget it, it’s been so many years. She had probably already forgotten, and the things from that time were long gone.

Thinking of this, Su Liluo suddenly felt deflated. She glanced at Jiang Shiyuan and turned to leave Chenxiang Fang.

Zhi Chun chased after the carriage. Su Liluo leaned against the carriage wall; her expression lonely.

Zhi Chun softly asked, “Miss, do you want to go to the East City racetrack?”

Su Liluo shook her head. “No, let’s not go.”

Su Liluo suddenly didn’t want to play anymore. This was all just her one-sided drama.

No one cared.

Zhi Chun noticed Su Liluo’s unusual mood and carefully asked, “Where would you like to go, Miss?”

“Just take a random walk. As long as it’s not back to the residence,” Su Liluo said, then turned to look out the window at the receding street scene, saying no more.

Meanwhile, Jiang Shiyuan was still processing Su Liluo’s words.

“Hong Dou, help me think, did I offend Su Liluo anywhere?”

She always felt there was something behind Su Liluo’s words, but after leaving Chenxiang Fang and thinking about it all the way, she couldn’t figure it out.

Hong Dou couldn’t help much: “When I came to serve you, Su Liluo had already left the capital. I don’t know.”

Seeing her trouble herself, Hong Dou was puzzled. “Su Liluo bullied you like that in the past. Aren’t you angry?”

“Why get angry when others bully me? What’s the use? I’ll fight back! If they can’t come openly, I’ll hit them in the shadows.”

If it weren’t for people like her, Chenxiang Fang wouldn’t be where it was today.

Not only did she clear the unsold stock of incense, but she also deliberately told Su Liluo that she had opened an incense shop, pushing Su Liluo to enter the market. The result was, of course, that Su Liluo, unfamiliar with incense, quickly shut down her business.

Then, all the stock she had hoarded was cleared out and ended up in her hands, resolving her cash flow issues.

Hong Dou thought for a moment. Indeed, over the past three years, Su Liluo had contributed at least several thousand taels to Chenxiang Fang.

If Su Liluo knew that the person behind Chenxiang Fang was the young lady, she would probably be furious.

Thinking of this, Hong Dou realized Su Liluo’s situation was rather pitiful.

“Moreover, I need to figure out the reason. If I have wronged her in some way, I’ll first make up for my mistake before calculating the rights and wrongs of these past three years. The scholar said, ‘A righteous person first corrects themselves before seeking fault with others.'”

Jiang Shiyuan paused, her thoughts suddenly drifting to Pei Che.

Ten years ago, Pei Che had secretly stood up for her? But she had never mentioned the academy matters to Pei Che, except for Jiang Xingzhuo who came to her door.

Since this matter also involved Pei Che, Jiang Shiyuan thought it would be good to wait for Pei Che to return and tell him.

Pei Che probably didn’t know the reason Su Liluo left the capital either.

Before Jiang Shiyuan could think further, the carriage arrived at the General’s residence.

Jiang Shiyuan entered, and Qin Mammy handed her an invitation card.

The Fifth Prince had recently acquired a rare and beautiful jade and would be hosting a banquet tomorrow at dusk to admire the jade with the talents and beauties of the capital.

The invitation was sent to all the residences in the capital. Jiang Shiyuan received one, as did Su Liluo, Zhou Jingshen, and Shen Luchu…