A peasant girl travels through time with a hospital, rising to become an empress.

Jiang Wenxuan immediately bristled and stood protectively in front of Madam Sun, stubbornly defending her:

"My mother clearly took it first! How can she just take it away like that? There has to be a rule of first come, first served!"

Upon hearing this, the young man in the moon-white robes remained expressionless, as if he hadn't heard a word. He merely twitched the corner of his mouth slightly, revealing a barely perceptible contemptuous curve, and then turned his gaze directly to the shopkeeper beside him.

Seeing this, the shopkeeper immediately understood and quickly approached Jiang Wenxuan with a beaming smile, bowing and saying:

“Young master, you have misunderstood! It’s not that our shop doesn’t respect the principle of first come, first served. It’s just that this young master Zhang pre-ordered this jade hairpin from our shop a long time ago. It was my oversight that I failed to prepare it for him in advance, which caused this unnecessary trouble. Please forgive me, young master, and don’t blame me!”

Jiang Botao glanced at the young man in the moon-white robe without making a sound. He saw that the young man was tall and upright, with a dignified demeanor and an innate sense of nobility and aloofness between his brows. It was clear at a glance that he came from a noble family with deep roots.

Having just arrived in the provincial capital, their foothold was not yet secure, and they needed to proceed with caution in all matters, lest they easily cause trouble. So, with a light sneer, he said in a deep voice, "Wenxuan! Do not be rude!"

Madam Sun has always been good at prioritizing things. Coming from a merchant family, she is adept at reading people and assessing situations.

Although she was reluctant to part with the jade hairpin, she knew it was not the right time to confront it directly, so she suppressed her emotions and silently handed the hairpin back to the shopkeeper.

The young man in the moon-white robe accepted the brocade box presented by the shopkeeper with both hands. Without uttering a single extra word of politeness, he turned and strode out of the shop, never once mentioning the money.

Jiang Wenxuan was furious and pressed the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, he just left like that? Doesn't he need to pay?"

The shopkeeper smiled and waved his hand, his tone carrying a sense of familiarity and composure: "Young Master Zhang will naturally not extend credit. I will personally go to the Zhang residence's accounting office to settle the accounts later, so please rest assured."

Buying things was all based on status and connections—pay later, no immediate settlement required. Watching the young man's departing figure, Nie Qianqian couldn't help but think:

Isn't this just like the modern "Alipay facial recognition payment"?

After leaving the jade shop, Jiang Wenxuan was seething with anger. He hung his head and remained sullen the whole way, not even bothering to look at the lively scenery along the street.

Jiang Botao, being older and more experienced, remained calm and knew that such behavior, relying on family background, was commonplace in the provincial capital. He softened his tone and patiently eased Wenxuan's frustration: "Wenxuan, every place has its own rules of survival and conduct. Coming from a small place like Fulin County, it's normal to feel uncomfortable and uneasy when suddenly exposed to the new environment and rules of the provincial capital."

Following Jiang Botao's lead, Gu Xiao calmly added, "Fulin County is just a small county town. The highest official in the county is only Lord Tang. Lord Tang has always been incorruptible and compassionate towards the people. He has never flaunted his official power. The officials under him are all law-abiding and dare not abuse their power."

“But the provincial capital is completely different. There are countless officials here, each with their own duties and backed by their own powerful families. Some of these families have deep roots and complex relationships in the provincial capital and even the capital. In such an environment, people look at a person not only as a person, but also at the family power and background they represent.”

After a moment's thought, Nie Qianqian tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, a glint of light flashing in her eyes, and then spoke up: "So what we need to do now is not to be resentful under the new rules and complain about why they are different from before. Instead, we should calm down, understand the rules here, learn to adapt to them, and only when we have enough strength in the future will we be qualified to change them."

Madam Sun listened quietly to the three of them, her expression growing increasingly serious.

These three sentences, on the surface, seem to be just comforting Jiang Wenxuan and easing his unhappiness, but in reality, they reveal the way of survival and the underlying logic of this world. The three people's thoughts are more profound and advanced with each layer, as if they are invisibly outlining a path to power and status.

After listening to his father, Gu Xiao, and Nie Qianqian's words, Jiang Wenxuan stopped complaining and silently followed behind them, pondering those words in his mind before slowly nodding.

As the group strolled along the street, admiring the cityscape, a deep, melodious gong sound suddenly came from afar. The sound was heavy and penetrating, startling the people on the street, who all stopped and looked around.

Immediately afterwards, the shout of "All officials, soldiers and civilians, make way!" echoed along the street from afar, loud and powerful, carrying an unquestionable authority that instantly made the atmosphere of the entire street heavy.

The people immediately erupted in discussion, whispering amongst themselves:

"What's going on? Why are they suddenly sounding gongs to clear the road?"

"Judging from the sound of that gong, it sounds like nine gongs clearing the way!"

"What is Nine-Sound Cleaning? I've never heard of it before?"

"You don't even know this? Hurry, hurry, a high-ranking official must be coming!"

"Judging by this entourage, they must be high-ranking officials from the capital. I wonder what they look like!"

"Stop gossiping and get to the side of the street. When the officials pass by, you mustn't look up. That's a huge disrespect to them, and we can't afford to offend them!"

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

A woman with a young child, fearing that her child might misbehave and offend the officials from above, quickly grabbed the child and hid in the nearest shop by the roadside, repeatedly reminding the child: "No matter what you see or hear later, you must not say anything or look up, understand?"

Jiang Wenxuan, Madam Sun, and the others couldn't understand the intricacies and significance behind the "Nine Sounds Clearing the Way," and they looked at each other in bewilderment. Only Gu Xiao understood.

Gu Xiao said in a deep voice, "Judging from this scene, it must be an important official from the capital who has come to the provincial capital. The rank of the person coming must be quite high. I'm afraid only a first-rank official from the capital would receive such treatment."

The people who were casually strolling and chatting on the street suddenly stood in two neat rows on both sides of the street, lowered their heads slightly, and stopped all their laughter and chatter, not even daring to breathe loudly.

The entire street instantly became solemn and dignified, with only the sound of gongs and footsteps gradually approaching from afar.

Nie Qianqian stood in the crowd, secretly wondering: what kind of official could have such a grand display?