Best friends dressed up in ancient times to become mistresses? You run, I run too!

But thinking of those two bags full of gold and silver jewelry, each piece substantial in weight, and with such unique designs, she realized she had never seen anything like them in all her years.

Once such a valuable item enters the Shen family, it belongs to her, and no one can take it away from her.

What's more, they are two girls who haven't even grown up yet. Something must have happened at home, which is why they ran to this poor, remote place to try and find a place to settle down.

Therefore, there is even less to fear.

Having figured out the key, Old Mrs. Shen instantly became full of confidence. She arrogantly raised her eyebrows, looking like a dead pig that wasn't afraid of boiling water, and stiffened her neck while laughing like a rogue.

"Oh, you're relatives of the Shen family. Since you've come to the Shen family, you have to abide by our family rules."

In this Shen family, I, this old woman, am in charge. Everything you brought must go into the public coffers. That's mine, so what if I take it?

Besides, it's just a few old clothes. Why make such a fuss?

Shen Ningzhu sneered, took a step, and suddenly, she grabbed Old Madam Shen's chin with two fingers.

He forced her to look up and meet her gaze.

"Is that so?" The exquisite fox-like eyes narrowed dangerously, a half-smile playing on his lips. "Really only a few pieces of clothing? Heh, old man, do you know who we are? You dare to take our things? I think you want to go to jail."

Old Mrs. Shen rolled her beady eyes in disdain.

"What, are you some rich young ladies? What a joke, what young lady would come to this rural place for no reason? She wouldn't even allow a little mud on her feet."

After that, everyone's gaze shifted to Shen Ningzhu and her companion's embroidered shoes, and envy flashed in their eyes at the same time.

"Wow, what exquisite embroidered shoes! The material looks expensive; they must have cost a lot of money."

"This is nothing. Look at the embroidery on it. The dewdrops on the lotus leaves look just like the real thing."

"And those beads hanging on top, those must be pearls, right? They're lustrous and shiny, about the size of a fingernail, each one worth a lot of money. And there are so many of them. This pair of shoes is enough to support our whole family for a lifetime."

"This is definitely the young lady."

"I agree too."

Seeing that the atmosphere was just right, Shen Ningzhu slowly smiled and said, "You guessed right. I am Shen Ningzhu, the legitimate daughter of the Minister's Mansion, a true noblewoman and a young lady from a prestigious family. I'm here today to take care of some business and will be leaving soon."

So you'd better return it before I lose my temper, or don't blame me for being impolite.

Old Madam Shen of the Minister's Mansion had never heard of it, so naturally she didn't know what kind of person it was.

She's only focused on those jewelry pieces right now; those two large packages could be worth a lot of money!

The whole family has already discussed it and will go to the market tomorrow to pawn part of their property. They will then buy hundreds of acres of land, and she can become the matriarch of a landlord's family.

If you buy a few more maids and servants to serve you, life will be incredibly comfortable.

"You, a young lady? Don't try to fool this old woman. Do you think I'm stupid? What young lady doesn't have a bunch of servants following her around when she goes out?"

"I don't care what kind of mansion you are. You're just a penniless family who sponges off others. Do you really think you're a princess or a young lady? Do you think I'm an old woman who can be easily scared? I said no, so it's no."

Shen Ningzhu frowned.

It seems we can't scare this old woman easily, so we'll have to resort to something real.

He immediately walked to the main entrance, faced the crowd, and shouted:

"Gentlemen, who is willing to help me report this to the authorities? I will pay one tael of silver as a travel fee."

Everyone: "..."

"One...one tael of silver, really? Did I hear that right?" The aunt who had initially brought them to the Shen family asked, her voice trembling with suppressed excitement.

After saying that, she pinched her thigh hard until she cried out in pain, then happily exclaimed:

"It's true, I'm not dreaming."

Liu Zhiyi quickly pulled out a tael of silver, strode forward, held it up above her head with two fingers, and showed everyone with her actions that they were not lying.

The fingertips were smooth and rounded, like flawless white jade, long and slender, with almost no visible joints.

The sun had set, and the light had dimmed, but that fair and delicate hand stood out. It was a hand of utmost elegance, a hand that had never touched the touch of nature.

Her body had been with the original owner since childhood, and she was responsible for the original owner's daily makeup and skincare. Naturally, she also benefited a lot from it. She had soaked in many precious medicinal herbs and was even better cared for than the young ladies of wealthy families.

With this move, who would dare say they weren't rich young ladies? Sure enough, Old Madam Shen swayed, a hint of panic flashing in her small, beady eyes.

"I go."

“I’ll go too. My family has a donkey cart. I’ll go to the county government office right now and report it to the authorities for you.”

……

Everyone scrambled to grab a spot to report to the authorities, while Old Lady Shen went berserk, yelling at the other side not to go, and the two sides almost came to blows.

Just then, the other members of the Shen family who were hiding nearby could no longer sit still. They quickly ran over to stop the person who was about to report to the authorities, and kept using filial piety to coerce Shen Dashan into helping.

Shen Dashan turned his head away. "Father, Mother, there's nothing I can do about this."

Shen Ningzhu raised an eyebrow and increased the reward to three taels of silver. This immediately caused a stir among the crowd.

“Three taels? My family can’t even save one tael of silver a year. Old man Shen, get out of my way. I’m going to report this official today.”

Liu Yizhi stepped forward and added fuel to the fire:

"Old women, you don't know this, do you? Jewelry made by wealthy families in the capital is always engraved with corresponding marks. If you don't believe me, ask someone to check."

"See the words 'Minister's Residence' engraved on it? Stealing from government property—your whole family will be imprisoned."

Everyone in the Shen family wore an expression as if they had eaten shit.

How could they be willing to give back such a large sum of money after they had it in their mouths?

Just then, Shen Ningzhu's gaze fell on a young man at the back of the crowd. The man was handsome and bore a striking resemblance to Shen Dazhuang and Shen Erzhuang, clearly a member of the Shen family.

She was wearing a moon-white school uniform, made of the best fabric among the villagers. She remembered that Shen Erzhuang had mentioned on the way there that he had a cousin studying at the county school who was a scholar.

This must be the person.

She smiled gently, and an idea immediately formed in her mind. With a graceful sway of her waist, she walked towards the person.

"This humble girl, Ningzhu, greets you, sir."

Shen Ningzhu gracefully bowed, her exquisitely beautiful fox-like eyes glistening with moisture as she looked at the other person.

Shen Xu was taken aback. He was usually the one who came up with ideas and reaped the benefits from the back. He never expected to be noticed. Now that everyone was looking over, he felt a little exposed.

He said stiffly, "You flatter me, young lady. There's no need for such formalities."

Shen Ningzhu, her previous imposing demeanor completely gone, weakly and helplessly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe her eyes, and sobbed:

"Young master, you possess an extraordinary bearing and appearance; you must be a sensible person. My daughter's name is Shen Ningzhu, the legitimate daughter of the Minister's family. I came here today to take care of some business, but unexpectedly..."

"I implore you, sir, to have mercy and help my daughter. She will surely repay you handsomely in the future."