Chapter 56

By the time they returned to Ji’s residence, it was late at night. Ji Yanming had work to do, so he went back to his study to review official documents. Tao Sheng, whose job didn’t require overtime, returned to her room and stared at the bracelets.

There was no denying it—the jade was worth every bit of its price. The bracelets were beautiful under the light. Ji Yanming always had good taste.

When Su Jia came in, she saw the bracelets lying in the middle of the jewelry box that Tao Sheng had brought with her for visiting friends.

Thinking about the fact that she was wearing ten years’ worth of living expenses on her wrist, Tao Sheng felt a bit embarrassed when Su Jia arrived but still explained, “My cousin bought them for me.”

“He bought them for you?” Su Jia came closer, carefully picking one up to examine it before nodding in approval. “This boy is better than his father. When your uncle gave me jewelry, he just told the store owner to get the best one, not knowing he was being overcharged. But our Xiaobai is smart enough to pick the best at a glance.”

Su Jia was smiling so proudly that it was almost overflowing from her face.

Tao Sheng could tell that Su Jia was praising Ji Yanming, but since her aunt was comparing things her uncle had given her to gifts between husband and wife, it sounded a little odd.

Su Jia seemed to realize her slip and quickly pulled out a letter from her sleeve, changing the subject. “When I came home this afternoon, Old Zheng, the doorman, said a letter had arrived. I saw it was for you, so I brought it over.”

Tao Sheng was surprised: “For me?”

Of the few people she was still close to, Zhang Xinyue would usually send someone to talk to her directly, and her colleagues would wait until work to discuss matters. The King of Chu would directly come to her house and casually drop by, never treating her as an outsider. The emperor would simply summon her to do some private work for him.

The only people who would send her letters were usually her uncles, aunts, and former playmates from Qin County. However, as she spent more time away from Qin County, fewer people sent her letters. Now, she only received some letters during festivals, offering well-wishes.

Why would someone send her a letter now?

Tao Sheng opened the letter and saw Mr. Wei’s familiar handwriting. She was immediately surprised and delighted.

Mr. Wei still had the same straightforward writing style from a few years ago, concise and to the point. He mentioned that he had gained much experience from traveling in recent years and had originally planned to travel to Shu again, but he suddenly fell seriously ill. Fortunately, an old friend took care of him, and he was now fine.

Because of this illness, he realized that life is short and fragile, and he decided to return to visit his hometown and old friends.

He first went to Qin County to look for Tao Sheng but learned that she had moved to the capital to live with her aunt, so he rushed to the capital and would arrive soon.

In other words, Mr. Wei would be arriving soon!

Wei Liyou had been the closest thing to family for her since she came to this world, just like her parents and aunt.

After reading the letter, Tao Sheng felt like the whole world was filled with spring flowers.

Su Jia was also happy to hear that Mr. Wei was coming back. Tao Sheng had been struggling on her own at the Taiyue Bureau and the Imperial College, and it was inevitable that she felt a bit tired. With Mr. Wei’s support and guidance, things would naturally feel much better.

Since it was getting late and Tao Sheng had to get up early for work the next day, Su Jia didn’t stay long. Before leaving, she asked Mother Tang to bring over two sets of clothes.

In recent times, merchants from other countries had begun trading closely with Great Zhou. When she went out that day, Su Jia followed the trend and bought two pieces of cloth. Although they were not as delicate and fine as the silk from the Central Plains, they had a unique style.

She also had two pieces of clothing made for Tao Sheng.

The fabrics were rare in the capital. One set was in a silver-red color, which was nice, but the azure blue color of the other set was particularly favored by Tao Sheng and matched the bracelet Ji Yanming had sent her.

After Su Jia left, Tao Sheng held the bracelet again and fell into deep thought.

The bracelet was really too expensive. Wearing it at work made her nervous since it could easily get bumped. Each time it did, Tao Sheng felt anxious because of its high value.

However, it was a gift from Ji Yanming, and he had bought it specifically to “please” her. It wouldn’t be right if she never wore it out.

Tao Sheng decided, “I’ll just wear it and be more careful.”

In the days that followed, the officials and students of the Imperial College noticed that Lord Luo, who had always been elegant and carefree, had started to act differently. She now behaved more like a delicate lady, like a quiet flower reflecting on the water. This change made many students, who initially came to study, begin to have other thoughts.

But that’s a story for another time.

_

Ever since Fang overheard the conversation between Shen Ruojin and her daughter from Mu’er, she had been worrying about it daily.

However, even her own relatives and servants didn’t know the full picture of such private matters in the household, let alone an outsider like her trying to investigate without any proof.

After days of searching, Fang still hadn’t found anything. Finally, her wet nurse discovered a new clue.

“I heard that before the prince and young lady got married, they asked their servant Xu Xiang to go to Qin County to take care of some business. At the time, I thought it had to do with the lady’s family property and that the prince asked someone to manage it. Now, I think there may be more to it.”

The wet nurse’s words gave Fang something to think about.

“I remember Miss Luo is from Qin County. When the prince was about to marry Shen Ruojin, he sent someone to Qin County to investigate… I think there’s more to this.”

Fang immediately began to approach Xu Xiang with kindness, sending him gifts of food and money, and even offering to marry the smartest maid from her sister-in-law’s family to him.

Fang’s unusual behavior was quickly noticed by Shen Ruojin’s mother.

For years, Shen Ruojin had been fighting against Fang and paid close attention to everything Fang and her husband did. After hearing about this, she sensed that her eldest illegitimate brother, Guan Muyun, and his wife were up to no good again.