The Rebirth of Li Fei: The Strongest Palace Fighting System

The shopkeeper had a pen hanging from his mouth and was calculating the accounts with his deft fingers using an abacus.

As soon as he saw me step into the threshold, a hint of contempt appeared on his face:

"Miss, the hotel and meal expenses have been delayed for several days. Isn't it time to settle them?"

"Thank you for your kindness, I was just thinking of that. Twenty taels of silver in total, is that right?"

"Oh, you have a good algorithm, girl. It's like you've been here before. Can you come up with it?"

The shopkeeper's eyes wandered over me, passing over my simple orange dress, and then fixed on the imperial orchid sachet I took out.

"I believe the shop owner knows that I came to the capital this time to participate in the selection ceremony. Now that I have been retained by the emperor, this sachet is a gift from the emperor. I think it is worth more than thirty taels. I will use it to pay for it today, and the shop owner will give me some silver in return. Is that okay?"

"Hahahaha!"

Unexpectedly, the shopkeeper burst into laughter after hearing what I said, with a hint of mockery and disdain in his laughter:

"I think you're trying to trick me, young lady. Are you blinded by greed? You, a poor, humble girl from a remote village, were actually chosen to enter the palace as a concubine? Wishful thinking! Where did you steal this sachet? The material and the pearls hanging on it look worth quite a bit... well, only about seven or eight taels. If it was truly a gift from the Emperor, it would be worth at most twenty taels."

Then, the person in the display case stared at me unscrupulously with his lustful eyes:

"Hmph, how could it be a gift from the Emperor? You must have stolen it from somewhere and are trying to bluff me! I'll be generous and accept it as a seven-ounce bonus. As for the rest...you can pay it with your own body. How do you think?"

After saying that, he stretched out his fat and greasy hand and tried to touch my face, but I had expected this and was on guard, so I nimbly turned sideways and avoided his offense.

At this moment, the door was suddenly opened, and a figure walked in quickly. It was Zhen Huan's personal maid, Liu Zhu.

"How dare you! This is the palace's new mistress, An Lingrong! How dare you humiliate the emperor's concubines!"

When the shopkeeper heard this, he was instantly shocked, just like last time. His legs went weak and he fell to his knees, begging for mercy.

I was thinking that I had to discuss the money issue with the shopkeeper in private, so I sent Liu Zhu to pick up Aunt Xiao and stayed here myself.

I watched Liu Zhu enter the room, then turned around, lowered my head, and looked at the shopkeeper:

"Does the shopkeeper now believe that this item came from the palace?"

"Yes, yes, this kind of good stuff must be worth at least twenty taels. I'll pay it off, I'll pay it off."

Twenty taels? The fair price the Oleander Elf told me yesterday was clearly thirty taels.

Never mind, time is of the essence, so hurry up and avoid unnecessary complications. It's still better than giving the "AI recycling" one-tenth of the money.

I negotiated with the shop owner and sold the gilt bracelet, three-petal pearl hairpin, single pearl hairpin, and the green jade earrings that Zhen Huan gave me. I didn't want to wear them in the future, so it would be better to sell them now and get a good price.

As for the pair of silver hairpins, since they had already been put on, he let it go.

The shopkeeper was really cunning. He knew that I was anxious to leave this place, so the price he gave me was always greatly discounted, almost half price.

As a newly promoted lady in the palace, I cannot be as petty as those common people and lose my status.

But even so, the money I gained was still much better than the "recycling" I got. Seeing Aunt Xiao and Liu Zhu about to leave the room, I quickly put away the banknotes handed to me by the shopkeeper, thinking to myself that it would be best to set off as soon as possible.

I slowly stepped into the luxurious sedan chair sent by the Zhen residence. It was an exquisite sedan chair carried by four people, with carved beams and painted buildings, exuding nobility. Liu Zhu and Concubine Xiao, one on each side, walked on either side of the sedan chair, like green leaves protecting a flower, silently guarding it.

I vaguely remember that the journey from Songyang to the capital was long and arduous, with many mountains and rivers to cross. My concubine Xiao and I were short of money, so we rarely rode in sedan chairs.

On the occasional occasions when Aunt Xiao was physically exhausted, she would still manage to take a ride in a simple sedan chair carried by two people. She would sit in it, and I would follow her, staggering along on foot.

Now that I have become a lady of noble status, Aunt Xiao respectfully lifted the curtain for me when I got into the sedan chair.

I vaguely remember this sedan chair. It was the first sedan chair I rode in when I first entered the capital.

At that time, in my eyes, the sedan chair seemed so huge, so spacious, and extremely gorgeous and comfortable, as if it could carry all my dreams and expectations.

However, since entering the palace, I have become accustomed to the imperial concubine's ceremonial procession and have experienced countless rides in the Fengluan Chun'en carriage. Now when I sit in this sedan chair again, I find it narrow and bumpy, and it is difficult to find the joy and satisfaction I had at the beginning.

I remember the last time I took this sedan chair, no one disturbed me all the way to Zhen's house.

So I confidently took out the jade-white silk, gently unfolded it, and silently recited the mysterious name in my heart:

"Oleander Elf!"

"I'm here, An Lingrong."

"I want to see the Oleander warehouse."