Chapter 15: She Might Have Run Away

Jiang Wan gathered with the officers at the inn entrance. Naturally, not all the officers went to the town; only Old Zhang, who was responsible for purchases, and Young Deng came.

Seeing Jiang Wan, Young Deng’s face lit up with a smile. “Sister Jiang, come on up!”

The officers had a ox-cart, which was convenient for carrying their supplies. At this moment, Young Deng was sitting on the cart, waving at her.

Jiang Wan directly sat on it. “Thank you, Young Deng. We can head out now.”

“Mm, eat something.”

Young Deng handed Jiang Wan a white steamed bun, likely his own breakfast, but Jiang Wan declined.

“I’m not hungry yet. I’ll buy something in the city later.”

Young Deng didn’t force her. It was still dark, and the ox-cart trotted toward the nearest town. Fortunately, it wasn’t far, and they arrived at the city gate just as the sky began to brighten.

After paying the entrance fee, Young Deng said to Jiang Wan, “Sister Jiang, you can go buy what you need by yourself. We’ll meet at the city gate at noon to head back.”

“Young Deng!”

Old Zhang pulled Young Deng’s sleeve, surprised. Although this young lady had saved him, what if she slipped away once they were out of their sight?

“Sister Jiang mustn’t miss the time. We won’t wait for her past noon.”

Young Deng smiled and showed his white teeth. Anyone who could be an officer wasn’t a fool. This was a chance he was giving Jiang Wan.

Even if Jiang Wan did run, he would have repaid her kindness.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back on time.”

Jiang Wan smiled as she jumped off the cart. In a few quick steps, she disappeared into an alley. Old Zhang watched her leave, turning pale with fear.

“Young Deng, if she really runs, how will you explain it to the boss?”

Even though he was the uncle of Ren Bang, it wouldn’t do him any good. After all, losing a criminal was a serious crime.

“Don’t worry, Sister Jiang won’t run.”

Young Deng had an instinctive feeling that Jiang Wan would definitely come back because she had someone important there.

Jiang Wan had no idea how much Young Deng trusted her. She first found a small alley, changed clothes in the space, and then used the makeup she kept in the space to transform herself completely.

Soon, the downtrodden young lady became a rich lady, but unfortunately, there was no servant by her side. The servants from the Wang family had all been resold.

However, she wore a dazzling golden headpiece. Even if Young Deng were nearby, he might not recognize her. After grabbing some snacks from the space, Jiang Wan headed straight for the grain shop.

“Shopkeeper, I’ll take all the stock you have!”

With a wave of her hand, Jiang Wan remembered her task of stocking up, a task assigned by the system. In this barren land, having food in hand meant she wouldn’t panic.

The shopkeeper, seeing her luxurious appearance, immediately grinned from ear to ear.

“Alright, madam, I’ll calculate the bill right away.”

The shopkeeper took out his abacus and started counting. He also sent an assistant to check the stock in the storeroom.

Jiang Wan was thinking about whether she should stock up on other things, when she overheard some pedestrians talking.

“Hurry, I heard the Chen family is about to be raided. Let’s go see.”

“They are the richest merchant family in the town. Who did they offend?”

“Who cares about the reason? If we go, maybe we can pick up some leftovers!”

“…”

Jiang Wan didn’t pay much attention to the conversation. She only heard “rich merchant,” and that was enough—if they were rich, they had money!

Even if they were raided, the goods would just go to the emperor’s treasury. Since she had come across it, Jiang Wan couldn’t miss the opportunity.

“Make sure you calculate everything well, and put it all in the storeroom. I’ll come to pick it up later.”

Before leaving, Jiang Wan instructed the shopkeeper, then casually grabbed a pedestrian outside and asked for the location of the Chen family. With swift steps, she headed for the Chen house.

She didn’t know whether the Chen family had anything to do with Song Jiuyuan, but given the timing of this raid, there was probably some connection.

Jiang Wan didn’t have time to think too much. By the time she sneaked into the Chen manor, she clearly heard the sound of soldiers entering through the main gate.

Without hesitation, she started collecting. As expected of a rich merchant family, the treasures in their storerooms were comparable to those in the royal palace.

From large items like antique calligraphy, folding fans, South Sea coral, North Sea pearls, and jade headpieces, to small items like cotton clothes, cloth, and shoes, Jiang Wan didn’t hold back.

Even if she didn’t take them, they’d just end up in the emperor’s treasury. At worst, if she encountered the Chen family while being exiled, she could offer them some help.

Several private storerooms were emptied by her. She quickly went to the kitchen, packed all the fresh vegetables into her space, which kept them fresh, so they wouldn’t spoil. She also packed up the snacks, food, and even the matches, coal, oil, and tea from the storeroom.

Before leaving the kitchen, Jiang Wan even took a large water tank. Just as the soldiers arrived in the kitchen, Jiang Wan clapped her hands, left, and waved her sleeves without a trace of hesitation.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to check the front courtyard, but she had still gathered quite a lot. Jiang Wan quickly prepared to head back to the grain shop.

The shopkeeper had just finished calculating the bill when the assistant couldn’t help but advise, “Shopkeeper, that madam has been gone for a while, and she didn’t leave any deposit or anything. Should we really move all the goods to the storeroom?”

The assistant was looking out for the shopkeeper. If that madam didn’t return, they’d lose a day’s business.

The shopkeeper tapped the assistant’s head. “If I tell you to move it, then move it. These ladies hate being deceived. This is a big order; we can’t slack off.”

If the madam got angry, who knew if the shop would even stay open? He had been in business for many years and had sharp instincts.

“Understood, shopkeeper.”

When the shopkeeper and the assistants moved everything into the storeroom, Jiang Wan arrived. This time, she didn’t appear in front of the shopkeeper.

Instead, she glanced at the shopkeeper’s account, took the corresponding silver notes from the space, and waved her hand to store all the goods into the space.

It was still early, so Jiang Wan, after some thought, didn’t hurry to the city gate. Instead, she repeated the same process, looting the shops on this street.

Restaurants, pastries, buns, and clothes—she bought a lot of clothes from several stores for men, women, and children.

She also looted shoes, utensils, and bowls.

Most importantly, she went to the pharmacy to buy a batch of medicinal herbs and a set of silver needles. She made sure she didn’t miss anything she needed. Of course, she left silver or silver notes behind.

“Stocking mission 85% complete.”

Busy, Jiang Wan didn’t even notice the little spirit’s voice. She finally had time to change her clothes in the space, then enjoyed a delicious meal.

The food was from a restaurant she had “taken” food from earlier, and Jiang Wan ate it with great satisfaction, finally feeling something in her stomach.

After eating, she took out a pair of sports shoes from her old belongings. Her feet were sore from walking the mountain roads every day, and she didn’t want her feet to get blisters, so she put the insoles of the sports shoes inside her cloth shoes.

She also took out a bamboo bowl, bamboo tube, a pot, salt, oil, and some dry food. She also picked some medicinal herbs for Song Jiuyuan, then hurried to the city gate.

At the city gate, Young Deng and Old Zhang were looking around anxiously. As time passed, Jiang Wan still hadn’t appeared. Old Zhang was so anxious he was bubbling at the mouth.

“Young Deng, she might have run away!”

If the exiled criminal truly ran away, they would all be in serious trouble.