After being reborn, her aloof ex-husband and her crazy deceased husband got into a fight.

Whether it was Gan Cai'er's words that had an effect, or Meng Yu's busy schedule, Meng Yu never appeared in front of Gan Cai'er again after that meeting.

To avoid accidentally bumping into him again, Gan Cai'er tried to minimize the number of times she went out. Even when she had to go out to attend various gatherings, she would find out in advance who would be there.

After the Lantern Festival, Ding Peilan became a sensation throughout the capital. Her scandalous gossip could be heard everywhere in teahouses and taverns. The public's imagination was incredibly vivid. What was originally a game of chess between Ding Peilan and Pei Zhang had, after being embellished by various parties, become a rumor that the two were having an affair in bed, which was then caught in the act by Zhao Cen in public.

Ding Peilan stayed home for a whole month, refusing to see anyone. But Gan Cai'er persisted in sending her invitations, saying she wanted to see her and apologize properly.

Gan Cai'er never expected the Lantern Festival incident to escalate to such a huge extent, practically ruining Ding Peilan's reputation. However, based on her understanding of Ding Peilan, although this incident was a significant blow to her, with Ding Peilan's adeptness at navigating social situations and finding ways to please everyone, she would be able to make a comeback once the storm had passed.

After all, Ding Peilan is someone who is willing to do things for others and can do them well.

Zhao Cen and Ding Peilan became complete enemies, and other noble ladies who used to be on good terms with Ding Peilan also cut off all contact with her, fearing that her bad reputation would implicate them.

Only Gan Cai'er was willing to come to her side.

Ding Peilan hated Gan Cai'er to the extreme, even to the point of wanting to devour her flesh and blood. But in the past, everyone in the circle avoided her like the plague; only Gan Cai'er would pay her any attention, and each time she came, she brought lavish gifts, claiming it was an apology. This made Ding Peilan feel slightly better.

Lan Tingzhou is the most popular candidate in this imperial examination. If he passes with flying colors, he might be able to return to the aristocratic circle with the help of Gan Cai'er.

So, Ding Peilan finally met Gan Cai'er. This broken "friendship line" was finally mended thanks to Gan Cai'er's efforts.

After Gan Cai'er gave her another gold hairpin, Xiao Hong slammed the silver note box down in front of her and said angrily, "This box is best kept by Miss herself."

When Gan Cai'er noticed that Xiao Hong looked strange, she opened the box and found it completely empty.

Twenty-five thousand taels of silver are gone? Gan Cai'er was also shocked. They've only been in the capital for half a year, and they've already spent so much money in just six months... No wonder Xiao Hong is angry.

Gan Cai'er awkwardly closed the lid of the money box and smiled ingratiatingly at Xiao Hong: "Well, the imperial examination is in a few days. Once my husband becomes the top scholar, we'll have money."

"The imperial examination is in a few days, but it will take another two months for the son-in-law to become the top scholar! Besides, who knows how long it will take for the madam to collect the gambling debts and send him to the capital."

"So, are you saying we've been starving for the past few months?!" Xiaohong became increasingly angry as she spoke.

My young lady is really carefree; she spends money without batting an eye. We haven't even bought the items we agreed on, and the money is already gone.

Hearing Xiao Hong's words, Gan Cai'er realized with a start that this was indeed a big problem. She had spent far too much money trying to get close to Ding Peilan and Zhao Cen.

But where could she make money right now? She racked her brains, thinking hard. After much deliberation, she actually came up with a solution.

So she got into the carriage and went to find Zhu Xiaoxiao.

"Xiao Xiao, I'm out of money." Gan Cai'er said bluntly as soon as she entered the door.

Zhu Xiaoxiao was extremely surprised. She knew that Gan Cai'er had brought more than 20,000 taels of silver notes with her when she came to the capital. What kind of spending speed could have caused such a huge sum of money to be gone?

"How much do you want? I have some more here." With that, Zhu Xiaoxiao told Huan'er to fetch her money box.

“My household’s daily expenses don’t amount to much. Fifty taels of silver should be enough for three months,” Gan Cai’er said.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xiaoxiao opened the money box, took out a one-hundred-tael silver note, and handed it to Gan Cai'er.

But Gan Cai'er didn't answer.

“But if you want to get closer to Ding Peilan, Zhao Cen, and Yao Xuxu, you’ll need at least two or three thousand taels,” Gan Cai’er continued.

With a "whoosh," Zhu Xiaoxiao retrieved the silver notes and then slammed the money box shut.

"No!" she refused decisively and directly.

"Xiao Xiao..." Gan Cai'er started tugging at Zhu Xiao Xiao's sleeve, shaking it back and forth, blinking her eyes and looking at her pitifully.

"Those people are like bottomless pits! You've given them jewelry and new clothes, but they haven't treated you any better! You're just wasting your money!!" Zhu Xiaoxiao poked Gan Cai'er's forehead in exasperation.

"I give them things, not because I expect them to treat me well!" Gan Cai'er curled her lip in disdain. Only her naive self from her past life would be so foolish.

"I'm just using money to stay by their side temporarily and squeeze into the circle of noble ladies. It won't last long. Once Lan Tingzhou becomes the top scholar, they will come to him on their own, and I won't need to use money to maintain my relationship with them anymore."

Zhu Xiaoxiao didn't say anything more after hearing this, but said with a worried look, "But I don't have that much money. All my assets combined are only five or six hundred taels."

As she spoke, Zhu Xiaoxiao opened the money box again.

Gan Cai'er slammed her hand on the money box and closed the lid. Holding the money box, she winked at Zhu Xiaoxiao and said mysteriously, "Xiaoxiao, I have an idea."

Zhu Xiaoxiao looked at her with suspicion, and then Gan Cai'er explained her thoughts.

"What?! You're going to sell Wei Shi'an's paintings for money?!" Zhu Xiaoxiao exclaimed in surprise.

“Yes, although he’s not very famous yet, his paintings are worth quite a bit of money. A single painting can sell for at least tens or hundreds of taels of silver.” Gan Cai’er nodded seriously.

"Do you even know that the imperial examinations are just a few days away? You actually made him paint pictures for you to sell!!! Gan Cai'er, are you looking for a beating?!" Zhu Xiaoxiao was furious and suddenly stood up.

"Oh dear~~~ How could that be! Xiao Xiao, don't be angry. Even if I were a rascal, I would never let him go to paint right now." Gan Cai'er quickly stood up and pressed Zhu Xiao Xiao back onto the table.

“Xiao Xiao, you must have some of his previous paintings.”

Zhu Xiaoxiao suddenly stopped talking, glanced at Gan Cai'er sideways, and stopped cursing.

"Hehe, just tell me how many there are."

Zhu Xiaoxiao remained silent for a while before awkwardly saying, "There are always a dozen or twenty paintings. He never concentrates on his studies and loves to secretly draw. I confiscate every painting he makes."

“You said his paintings were valuable before, so after that I never tore them up again and kept them all.”

Gan Cai'er felt relieved and overjoyed. She patted Zhu Xiaoxiao on the shoulder and said generously, "Don't worry, I won't take your paintings for nothing. I'll give you all the money from the sale at a monthly interest rate of 10%."

Zhu Xiaoxiao pursed her lips. She wasn't interested in the monthly interest, but she was very curious about something else.

"Why don't you sell your Lantingzhou's paintings? Didn't you say that the two of them are known as 'Nanting and Beishi'?" Zhu Xiaoxiao asked.

Gan Cai'er sighed and said dejectedly, "Do you think I didn't want to?! The problem is, he didn't draw that many paintings."

"He prefers reading and only paints when he feels like it. Most of his paintings were originally made to sell, and he didn't keep many at home."

"Besides, if I were to sell his paintings for money, he would definitely ask me why. If I were to use the money to buy jewelry to please others... he would probably ban me from his study again."

Gan Cai'er became increasingly discouraged as she spoke, but after a moment, she regained her fighting spirit. With a wave of her hand, she told Huan'er to find a map of the capital.

"Come on, let's find a good place to sell the nerd's paintings for a higher price!"