Forced to be a concubine? I turned around and married the scumbag's father.

The Jiang family maidservant said arrogantly, "My lady is the younger sister of the late wife of the Duke of Yong."

Gu Hua nodded: "So you are my brother-in-law's mother's younger sister. I am honored."

The maidservant from the Jiang family sensed something was amiss, glanced at her, and went back to report.

Gu Hua ignored her and smiled at Shopkeeper Qiu: "Shopkeeper Qiu, I'd really like to see the jewelry you mentioned."

Manager Qiu gestured to the maid to bring out a wooden box lined with velvet, inside which was a set of silver jewelry inlaid with amethyst, elegant and unique.

Gu Hua exclaimed in amazement, "You're so beautiful!"

I've never seen anything so beautiful in my entire life.

"Last time, Manager Zhou said he would also provide you with two sets of jewelry. This set was specially prepared for you."

Gu Hua was surprised.

But since it was arranged by Steward Zhou, she couldn't refuse.

It was originally intended to save face for the Duke of Yongguo's mansion; it doesn't belong to her. If she leaves the Duke of Yongguo's mansion in the future, she can simply leave it behind.

Shopkeeper Qiu instructed the maid beside her, "Wrap it up and send it to the Duke of Yong's mansion."

Gu Hua understood.

I accepted it readily and did not refuse.

"Wait a minute," a crisp female voice called out.

The three looked in the direction of the sound and saw Jiang Ruoxi walk in arrogantly, giving Gu Hua a cold glance.

I inexplicably dislike her.

Although she is a junior of the Duke of Yong, she is far too alluring and lacks any of the reserve that a noble lady should have.

As the wife of the Duke of Yong and the mistress of the Duke's mansion, she had to nip any woman who harbored extravagant hopes in the bud.

Out of consideration for their different social statuses, Gu Hua nodded and bowed, saying, "Greetings, County Princess Jiang."

Jiang Ruoxi ignored her completely and pointed to the amethyst jewelry without any politeness: "I want this set of jewelry."

Shopkeeper Qiu frowned: "I'm sorry, this set of jewelry belongs to Miss Gu."

Jiang Ruoxi smiled and said, "How much is this set of jewelry? I'll give you double, or even triple."

Gu Hua raised an eyebrow.

Would Mu Junyan like someone with this kind of personality?

I wonder what kind of personality my late wife had.

Shopkeeper Qiu said calmly, "It's not about the money. This set of jewelry isn't expensive, and the design is simple, making it more suitable for Miss Gu. If Princess Jiang likes it, she can choose the one that suits her better."

Gu Hua looked at Shopkeeper Qiu in surprise.

He had a strong personality and was not afraid of offending the Empress Dowager's maternal family, the Jiang clan.

Jiang Ruoxi looked displeased after being rebuked.

Seeing this, the second shopkeeper hurriedly smiled apologetically and coaxed, "Shopkeeper Qiu means that Princess Jiang is of noble status and is suitable for more luxurious jewelry. This set of amethyst looks rare in color, and it is all paired with silver ornaments, so it is indeed not expensive."

The second manager winked at the maid beside him, who quickly went to fetch more exquisite jewelry.

Jiang Ruoxi was a regular customer of Linlanglou and knew that Manager Qiu had a bad temper; if a buyer didn't like the jewelry, she would refuse to sell it no matter how much money was offered.

Shopkeeper Qiu's clients are all wealthy and influential, and she doesn't want to offend them.

He glanced at Gu Hua, and the more he looked at her, the less he liked her.

Tomorrow, when I go to the palace, I must make Mu Junyan drive this young mistress's half-sister out of the Duke's mansion.

Leaving such a troublemaker in the household will easily cause controversy.

Jiang Ruoxi, with the air of a noble lady, raised her head high and looked down at Gu Hua arrogantly: "Manager Qiu is right. One's status should be matched with appropriate jewelry. Don't covet what isn't yours, lest you embarrass yourself."

Gu Hua smiled and said, "Princess Jiang is absolutely right. I have learned a lot from your words."

Hearing the term "junior" made Jiang Ruoxi feel uncomfortable.

She's only eighteen years old, but she seems several years older because of her calling me "junior".

Donghua wasn't very well-read, but she could still tell that Jiang Ruoxi was targeting Gu Ergu.

Miss Zhou repeatedly told her to protect Miss Gu Er, and that she couldn't stand this anger.

She stepped forward and gave a standard curtsy.

“Princess Jiang, I am from the Duke’s Mansion, and Miss Gu is a lady personally hired by my master. The jewelry in Linlang Tower was all ordered by the Duke to be purchased for the young lady. Indeed, it is not something that just anyone can dream of.”

When Jiang Ruoxi was publicly rebuked by a servant girl, her face immediately darkened.

"What's your name?"

Donghua raised her head: "My name is Donghua."

"Winter Flower, right? I'll remember that."

Jiang Ruoxi sneered and turned to leave.

Once she marries into the Duke's mansion, the first thing she'll do is beat this lowly servant girl to death!

Gu Hua stared speechlessly at Jiang Ruoxi's retreating figure.

He looked at Donghua again and whispered, "Aren't you afraid she'll really become the lord's wife?"

"Her? Is that even possible?" Donghua's eyes widened.

Gu Hua wanted to laugh: "Why not? Didn't you hear the Empress Dowager bestow a marriage upon you?"

“No one can stop the lord from marrying someone he doesn’t like,” Donghua said confidently.

"How do you know the lord doesn't like it? Wasn't the late lady also betrothed by imperial decree? They were sisters, perhaps the lord loves her because of her."

“The late Madam is different. She loved the Master for many years. She was gentle, quiet, well-educated, and kind to the servants after marrying into the Duke’s mansion. This man is different. Not to mention the Master, even the servants in our Duke’s mansion look down on him.”

The two whispered to each other as they walked out of the Linlang Building.

Gu Hua felt more confident.

Donghua followed Gu Hua into an alley, where a small bookstore was not far away.

A plaque hangs in front of the door: Guqing Bookstore.

"Wait outside for a moment, I'll go get some notebooks for practicing calligraphy."

"Okay." Donghua stood guard at the door.

As Gu Hua stepped across the threshold, the shopkeeper, who was arranging books on the bookshelf, turned around upon hearing the sound.

"Oh dear, Miss Gu, it's been over a month since you last visited. I was planning to have someone secretly go to the Gu residence to ask what's wrong with you."

The shopkeeper instructed the servant to pour tea.

Gu Hua bowed slightly: "Shopkeeper, you are very kind. I recently went to the Duke of Yong's mansion with my elder sister and haven't had time to come out."

"I see. Your manuscripts are the most popular. Students say your handwriting is neat, you copy carefully, it's easy to read, and there are no mistakes. Everyone wants to buy your copy."

Gu Hua blushed slightly: "If you're going to copy, you have to copy it properly."

"Are you here to pick up a blank notebook?"

"Exactly."

How much will you take this time?

"Ten books, please. And give me two calligraphy brushes as well."

Gu Hua curled her fingers.

In the past, you could earn ten coins for copying a book, and you could exchange three books for a bushel of fine rice.

She copied books for a year and a half, barely earning a little over five taels of silver, almost all of which she spent on finding out Mu Junyan's whereabouts.

She knew very well that relying on Mu Junyan was only temporary.

One day, she will leave and live the life she wants.

As the saying goes, you can't move an inch without money, but money can make the devil turn the millstone.

Money is something we absolutely must earn.

The servant brought up tea, and the shopkeeper ordered him to fetch ten blank notebooks.

These notebooks have normal blue book pages on the outside, and the title of the book being copied is written on the page.

The servant wrapped ten blank notebooks in orchid-patterned cloth and two calligraphy brushes in oiled paper, then handed them to Gu Hua.

"Shopkeeper, I'd like to ask, what is the price for rare and unique ancient books?"

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up: "That depends on which ancient books or rare copies they are. If they are books that scholars have been searching for but have not been able to find, the price will be ten times higher than the ones you copied before."

Gu Hua was excited.

The Duke of Yong's study contained many rare ancient books, including priceless rare copies.

She had been thinking about this for a while, and thankfully she had the opportunity to ask about it today.

She silently calculated that if she could earn 100 coins for each copy, she would only need 10 copies to earn 1 tael of silver.

As long as she takes the opportunity of copying the late Duchess's manuscripts, she can also try to copy a few more rare and ancient books.

If she copied for three months, by the time Mu Junyan died in battle, she would at least have enough money to escape the clutches of the Pei family.

"Please write down the title of the rare ancient book you want. If I can find it, I'll copy one or two copies for you to try first, okay?"

"Good good."

The shopkeeper immediately picked up a pen, wrote down several book titles, and handed them to Gu Hua.

Gu Hua carefully folded and put it away: "Then I'll be going now."

Seeing that she was carrying a large bag, Donghua quickly went up to take it from her: "It's so heavy, are all of them calligraphy practice books?"

Gu Hua nodded vaguely.

She didn't want anyone from the Duke's mansion to know about copying the books.