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

She was in a good mood and her steps were light.

But to her utter surprise, she bumped into two people the moment she stepped out the door.

One was Jiang Muxin, and the other was a woman dressed in an eye-catching red dress, with a hint of arrogance in her eyes.

When Jiang Muxin saw Nie Qianqian, she was first taken aback, then her face showed a hint of surprise: "Sister Qianqian, what are you doing here?"

When Nie Qianqian saw that it was her, her face remained expressionless, and she replied indifferently, "I came here to take care of some business, and I have to go back now. I still have guests at home, so I won't stay here any longer."

After saying that, she tried to walk around the two of them and leave.

When Chu Zhenglan first saw Nie Qianqian, he had only one thought in his mind.

This woman is so stunningly beautiful.

In the few days she had been in the provincial capital, she had seen quite a few daughters of officials and merchants, but she had never seen a woman like Nie Qianqian who could captivate people's attention at first glance.

But the next moment, this amazement was replaced by dissatisfaction.

Jiang Muxin greeted her so gently, but she was cold and left after only a few words. It was simply... too disrespectful!

Chu Zhenglan frowned, looked at Jiang Muxin, and asked with a hint of displeasure, "Muxin, who is this person?"

Jiang Muxin watched Nie Qianqian's departing figure and said softly, "Zheng Lan, she is the sister I told you about... the one my parents found after being separated from me for many years."

"Oh?" Chu Zhenglan raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. "She's the daughter who's been lost for so many years...?"

Jiang Muxin nodded: "Yes, it's her."

Chu Zhenglan thought to himself—I never expected that the daughter the Jiang family found would be so...beautiful, even more stunning than Jiang Muxin.

Jiang Muxin's beauty lies in her gentle and graceful temperament, which carries the elegance of a lady from a noble family; however, in terms of the exquisiteness and brilliance of her features, she is indeed slightly inferior to Nie Qianqian.

Chu Zhenglan's dissatisfaction intensified: "Now that she has been recognized, she is your own sister. How can she treat you like this? She doesn't even show the slightest bit of affection."

Jiang Muxin hesitated for a moment, then sighed softly, "Perhaps... my sister is still not close to me since she just came back. I bought her a lot of clothes from Jin Yi Fang a while ago, hoping to ease the tension between us, but she refused them all, and I didn't give her a single piece."

"She really doesn't know what's good for her!" Chu Zhenglan immediately spoke up for Jiang Muxin. "Who in the capital doesn't know that Muxin is the best at dressing up? The clothes you picked, is that even within her own aesthetic sense? And she still doesn't want them!"

Jiang Muxin shook her head and said softly, "Zhenglan, don't say anymore. After all, she is my own sister. She was just recognized by us and is not familiar with the family yet. She will be fine after a while."

Chu Zhenglan tapped her forehead helplessly: "You're just too soft-hearted, that's why you always get bullied. If my sister comes back, I'll naturally treat her well, but if she dares to treat you like that, I won't give her a good look."

Jiang Muxin said softly, "She has suffered so much outside all these years..."

"So what if you suffer?" Chu Zhenglan interrupted her. "That's just fate playing tricks on you. What does it have to do with you? Why is she giving you attitude? In my opinion, she's just jealous of you! Jealous that you've lived a life of luxury since childhood, able to learn skills from renowned masters, while what does she have besides this pretty face?"

Jiang Muxin quickly said, "Don't say that, I'm good at business."

"Business?" Chu Zhenglan chuckled as if she'd heard a joke. "She really comes from a humble background. What right does she have to talk about business in front of aristocratic women? If she dared to say her strength was business at a banquet in the capital, she'd be laughed out of the room!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Muxin's lips curled into a very faint smile.

This is the provincial capital, and Nie Qianqian has no idea about the rules of the capital.

Just as Chu Zhenglan said, if she were to go to the capital and still keep talking about "doing business" and "making money for herself," she would not only fail to gain respect but would also become a laughing stock.

Thinking about it that way, she was actually somewhat looking forward to it—

I hope my parents will bring Nie Qianqian to the capital soon so she can see what a real noble lady is like and realize how big the gap is between her and them.

only……

Jiang Muxin murmured, "I just don't know why my sister came here."

Chu Zhenglan looked up at the Wan Guan Lou plaque and sneered, "What else could we be doing here? Of course, we're here to gamble! I didn't expect your Jiang family to be such a scholarly family, with Uncle Jiang being the top scholar in the imperial examination, and your family having such upright values. How could you raise a daughter who...likes to come to such a filthy place?"

She paused, then lowered her voice and said, "I wonder if Uncle Jiang and Madam Jiang know about this. If they do, they'll probably be very disappointed in her."

Jiang Muxin sighed softly, "It's better to avoid trouble. She's just been recognized and doesn't understand many rules. Let's give her more time. Why tell our parents all this? Alright, Zhenglan, we came out today to buy you clothes. Since your sister doesn't want to talk to us, let's not take it to heart. I'll go with you to buy clothes."

Chu Zhenglan snorted: "Fine, why be unhappy over someone like that? Let's go buy clothes!"

Jiang Muxin accompanied Chu Zhenglan forward. After a few steps, she couldn't help but turn her head to look at the signboard of Wanguanlou. Then, she subtly gave her maid Huan'er a wink.

Huan'er understood immediately and quietly withdrew.

……

Evening, at the Governor's Mansion.

Huan'er hurriedly returned to report, her face showing a hint of surprise: "Miss, I've found out. That Miss Qianqian went to Wan Guan Lou to... place a bet."

Jiang Muxin paused slightly in her teacup: "What kind of bet?"

Huan'er whispered, "She bet 30,000 taels of silver on a gambling platform. The platform was about whether Gu Xiao could pass the imperial examinations and become the top scholar in the provincial examinations, achieving the 'Three Excellences'."

"Thirty thousand taels?!" Jiang Muxin stood up abruptly, her brows furrowed, her fingers gripping the handkerchief so tightly they turned white. "Isn't that the money her parents gave her? And she, relying on their doting love, actually threw so much money into gambling!"

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself: "Does she even understand the imperial examinations? Does she understand what 'passing the minor three examinations' means?"

Jiang Muxin's voice was somewhat sharp: "That Gu Xiao, no matter how talented he is, achieving the Three Excellences is a height that even Father couldn't reach back then! What makes her think Gu Xiao can do it? She's simply dreaming!"

Huan'er replied cautiously, "Yes, Miss. Although she invested 30,000 taels of silver, her move not only failed to reverse the trend, but also caused more and more people to bet that Gu Xiao would not win. Everyone felt that Miss Qianqian's move was too reckless."

Jiang Muxin remained silent for a moment, a cold glint flashing in her eyes, before leisurely saying, "Oh? And what about the odds?"

Huan'er said, "Because more and more people are betting that Gu Xiao won't win, the odds for the betting game are now almost... one to four."

"One to four?" Jiang Muxin's lips slowly curled into a cold smile. "Then let's go and throw one."

Huan'er was taken aback: "Miss?"

Jiang Muxin looked out the window, her eyes deep and unfathomable: "Doesn't she want to play? Doesn't she want to gamble? Then I'll play a big game with her."

She turned around, took off a fine jade bracelet from her wrist, and handed it to Huan'er: "Pawn this, add my savings, and the silver I brought on this trip, and make up five thousand taels. Go to Wan Guan Lou to pawn it—Gu Xiao can't win, and he can't win the small three-crown prize in a row."

Her voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable resolve: "I want to see what expression she'll have after she loses all 30,000 taels of silver. And how will Father and Mother view her?"