Chapter 40

“Waaah… waaah…”

Xia Jinlan collapsed onto the table, sobbing uncontrollably.

Upon hearing the news, her elder brother, Xia Yuanxiu, rushed over.

“Second Sister!”

“Big Brother!”

Xia Jinlan stood up and threw herself into his arms, crying even louder.

“It’s all that little wretch’s fault! She set me up on purpose! Big Brother, you have to avenge me!”

Xia Yuanxiu took out a silk handkerchief to wipe her tears, gently consoling her.

“I’ve already sent someone to invite the young lord over to discuss compensation for the loss. Now, tell me carefully what happened. How could you be so careless?”

Sniffling, Xia Jinlan recounted the events.

“Big Brother, I was provoked by Miss Wen, Miss Song, and the others. They said that letting that little wretch show up at the jewelry store disgraced the Xia family. They told me to take the opportunity to slap her and make her lose face!

When I saw her flaunting those luxurious accessories, I felt a surge of anger. She was deliberately showing off in front of me! How could she, a mere concubine-born girl, deserve to enter the super VIP room and enjoy better treatment than me? What right does she have?

When I tried to hit her, she dodged! I felt my foot being tripped, and I fell down! She must have done it on purpose, trying to make me fall and crush the jewelry so I’d have to pay for it!”

Xia Jinlan clenched her teeth in fury, her fists balled so tightly that her long nails dug into her palms.

Xia Yuanxiu sighed softly and shook his head.

“Second Sister, Xia Qingqing is now recorded under Mother’s name and added to the family registry as a legitimate daughter. You can’t keep calling her a little wretch or a concubine-born girl. You’re too impulsive and shouldn’t let others goad you into trouble. Look at this—now that you must compensate such a large sum, how many of those so-called friends are willing to step forward and share your burden?”

He patted her head. “Silly girl, you’re turning sixteen soon and will be married off before long. From now on, you should stay home, focus on your studies, practice music, painting, and embroidery. Learn to keep calm.”

“Big Brother, we can’t just let her get away with this! You’re the smartest person I know and about to work at the Hanlin Academy. You have to come up with a way to deal with her!”

Xia Jinlan tugged at Xia Yuanxiu’s sleeve, her pleading eyes fixed on him.

“Let’s deal with the immediate problem first. Fifty thousand taels of silver is no small sum!”

Xia Yuanxiu leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes in frustration.

“Big Brother, Mother has money! I saw her open her cabinet a few days ago—she has a box filled with hundreds of thousands of taels in silver notes. She said it’s all for us four siblings!”

Xia Jinlan’s confident expression left no doubt in her mind.

“Shh! How can you talk about such things so casually?”

Xia Yuanxiu hurriedly covered her mouth.

His second sister had no filter and blurted out everything.

“Mmph… mmph…”

Xia Jinlan nodded repeatedly.

Only then did Xia Yuanxiu let her go, breathing a sigh of relief as he glanced around. Fortunately, no one else was in the room.

Or so he thought.

In the adjacent room, someone pressed their ear against the wall, overhearing every word.

Young Master Xie, fanning himself with his gold-edged fan, elegantly entered the jewelry store.

Xia Qingqing was in the super VIP room, picking out accessories as a shop assistant introduced them one by one.

“Young Master Xie is here!”

The room’s door swung open as he stepped inside with a smile.

“Little doctor, are you satisfied with your selection?”

“Not bad! I like them all. Of course, I can’t wear them right now, but looking at them makes me feel so much better!”

Xia Qingqing smiled mischievously, her eyes curving like a cunning little fox’s.

“Haha! I heard you gave your second sister a hard time this time, making her lose face and forcing her to compensate a lot of silver. You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

Young Master Xie sat on a luxurious sandalwood chaise, gazing at her with amusement.

“She did it to herself. Why should I take the blame? I only thought the lighting in this super VIP room wasn’t great and wanted to step outside to see better. How was I supposed to know she’d charge at me?”

Xia Qingqing had no intention of taking responsibility.

“Interesting!”

Young Master Xie’s fox-like eyes glinted as he rose and left the room.

“I’ll go see your second sister and your elder brother. Let’s discuss how they plan to compensate me. You enjoy yourself!”

The door shut behind him.

---

“Brother Xia!”

Young Master Xie opened the door to Xia Jinlan’s room and immediately spotted his old friend and fellow student at the Imperial Academy, Xia Yuanxiu.

“Brother Xie, my apologies for the trouble!”

Xia Yuanxiu quickly cupped his hands in a salute.

“Haha, it’s fine. Young people can be impulsive. I understand.”

“Please, sit!”

Xia Yuanxiu gestured for him to take a seat.

“Second Sister, apologize to the young lord!”

Xia Yuanxiu shot a glance at Xia Jinlan.

Reluctantly, Xia Jinlan stepped forward and curtsied. “I’m sorry!”

“This matter involves my Xia Qingqing, Xia Qingqing, too. The young lord should have called her over as well. Everyone should share the cost equally.”

“Ha! Miss Jinlan, your candidness is truly refreshing! But all the other ladies here and my shop assistants saw with their own eyes that it was you who crushed the jewelry. You’re rather good at dragging others into the mess, though!”

Young Master Xie fanned himself, glancing slyly at Xia Yuanxiu as if to say, You’ve got quite the sister.

“I was tripped by Xia Qingqing!”

Xia Jinlan protested indignantly.

“Second Sister, enough!”

Xia Yuanxiu stood and grabbed her arm to stop her from saying more.

“Big Brother!”

“If you don’t behave, I’ll leave right now. You can stay here and argue with the young lord by yourself. But I’ll tell you this—neither the Xia family nor the Yan family will send anyone to bail you out. You can either compensate him or face jail time—or perhaps sell yourself into servitude to the young lord.”

Xia Yuanxiu glared at her in frustration.

“Sell herself? I doubt the Duke’s household can afford such an expensive servant! That’s no servant—that’s an ancestor!”

Young Master Xie waved his hand dramatically, feigning fright.

“Hmph!”

Xia Jinlan finally fell silent, lowering her head.

“My apologies for this embarrassment, Brother Xie!”

Xia Yuanxiu bowed again.

Young Master Xie didn’t bother returning the gesture. Instead, he snapped his fingers, signaling the shopkeeper to step forward.

“Shopkeeper Liu, tell Brother Xia the exact cost of the jewelry—purchase price, additional fees, everything. I’ll show some generosity and only ask for reimbursement of my costs.”

“Yes, Young Lord!”

Shopkeeper Liu opened his ledger and read aloud.

“Top-grade jade from the Kingdom of Nanzhao—purchase price, 400,000 taels of silver. This includes transportation fees and security costs. In the capital, the jade was sent to a premium workshop where the top jade carving master spent a month crafting it. Additional costs for materials and labor totaled 50,000 taels of silver. In total, the base cost is 450,000 taels of silver.”

“Perfect! You all heard it. My base cost is clear. I only priced it at 500,000 taels, making a modest profit of 50,000 taels. Business has been tough lately, you know.”

Young Master Xie sighed dramatically, his previously flamboyant demeanor suddenly melancholic.