Luck Reliant Beauty – CH 051

Chapter 51: Idle Talk

Jiang Mi clenched her fists tightly, using all her strength to prevent herself from punching Cui Zi Xuan’s high, straight nose!

However, Cui Zi Xuan could already hear the sound of her teeth grinding together.

Satisfied, Cui Zi Xuan released Jiang Mi, smiling as he strode confidently towards the young masters.

Jiang Mi felt the tangible, oppressive gazes around her and shivered. Head bowed, she cautiously approached Fan Yuxiu.

At this moment, the noble ladies stood not far away, their expressions stiffening as they looked at Jiang Mi, whose face was deathly pale and who even seemed somewhat aggrieved and helpless. How could Princess Yihua, who had received such gentleness from the Son of Cui, dare to look so wronged? Why was Princess Yihua’s expression so infuriating?

In the blink of an eye, Jiang Mi approached Fan Yuxiu.

Fan Yuxiu looked her up and down for a moment, then sighed deeply. Resting her chin on her right hand, she murmured, “So be it. Son of Cui may be good, but he’ll never be mine. It’s better that you have him than someone else!” After consoling herself, Fan Yuxiu cheered up, glancing at the envious gazes directed at Jiang Mi around her, and chuckled to herself.

Jiang Mi forced a very awkward smile.

Just then, Fan Yuxiu spotted something ahead and quickly grabbed Jiang Mi’s hand, whispering, “Princess Qingyue is coming. She’s probably after you. Quick, let’s get out of here!” Before she finished speaking, Jiang Mi had already grabbed her hand and hurriedly ran in the opposite direction…

Clearly, there were too many noble ladies coming for Jiang Mi, and the two of them couldn’t afford to offend them. The two women dodged and weaved, finally finding refuge in a private room of a teahouse. Listening to the commotion and laughter outside, the two women could only stare at each other in despair…

After a while, Jiang Mi whispered, “Should we go home? It’s too dangerous here; it’s better to escape!”

Fan Yuxiu slumped weakly onto the table, looking towards Jiang Mi. She rolled her eyes and grumbled, “Easier said than done!” Then she added, still grumbling, “Why is it you who gets to enjoy Son of Cui’s tenderness, while the two of us run away?”

Jiang Mi thought for a moment, then decided to advise her friend. She said solemnly, “That Cui Zi Xuan, he’s not a good person…” Meeting Fan Yuxiu’s wide eyes, Jiang Mi quickly and earnestly said, “I’m telling the truth! Really! I’m not lying to you!”

Fan Yuxiu gave a cold laugh and said lazily, “My older brother said the same thing. He said my future sister-in-law keeps scolding him for not being a good person, and that ‘flirting is part of marital bliss’!”

Jiang Mi stared wide-eyed, speechless.

She was in great pain. Everyone in Shu Capital was deceived by Cui Zi Xuan; only she knew his true colors, yet no one believed her!

With a thud, Jiang Mi weakly rested her chin on the table…

After a while, Fan Yuxiu stood up and said, “Stay here for a bit; I’m going to the privy.”

But Jiang Mi never expected that Fan Yuxiu would never return.

The only thing that made Jiang Mi happy that day was that when she waited for Fan Yuxiu for a long time and finally tried to sneak away, she succeeded! She managed to slip out of Tianluo Terrace without alerting anyone and successfully returned home!

Upon returning home, Jiang Mi received nothing but bad news. First, Zheng Wen told her that their cargo ship transporting medicinal herbs had sunk.

Although Jiang Mi already knew that Cui Zi Xuan was responsible, having learned from Fan Yuxiu’s experience, she wouldn’t be foolish enough to reveal it again… because no one would believe her anyway!

The cargo ship sank, and the epimedium was precisely the ingredient needed for the “Ten-Ingredient Tonic Recipes.” Left with no other choice, Jiang Mi had to announce to Zheng Wen that their fragrance blend couldn’t be made!

With the fragrance blend unavailable, the remaining herbs, at a rate of five doses per month, could only last for six months. Reluctantly, after announcing this devastating news, Zheng Wen and Yu Man had to raise the price of the last remaining sachets from fifty taels of gold to one hundred taels of gold each.

Thus, although Jiang Mi could earn over five thousand taels of gold each month afterward, this good fortune would only last for six months. Six months later, she needed to figure out new sources of income.

Upon learning this news, Jiang Wu, who controlled the family finances, decided to save all the gold she earned from now on and to start cutting back on household expenses.

…

After a day of gloom, the polo match continued the next day. The Shu Capital nobles, who had been sullen for six months, began to plan several banquets after the match, still pondering the pretext for them.

All of this was irrelevant to Jiang Mi… She was still hiding at home the next day, avoiding trouble.

That afternoon, Jiang Mi received news that Li Minghui, caught up in the southwestern rebellion, had been ransomed. It was said that the person who ransomed her was a Southern Tang merchant. Of course, there were definitely more to the story, but Jiang Mi, being an outsider, was unaware of it.

On the third day, as the polo match drew to a close, Jiang Mi received her first invitation from Official Wang since her arrival at Shu Capital. The messenger from Official Wang explained that it was his eldest son Wang Hui’s birthday, and his daughter Wang Yu had shown great interest in Jiang Mi, persistently asking him to invite her. He disregarded the fact that Jiang Mi’s Princess Mansion lacked elders to make the decision and had taken the liberty of inviting the Jiang siblings.

Although the messenger stated this, Jiang Mi could sense that Official Wang genuinely wanted to invite her and her elder brother, and he also intended for the Jiang siblings to befriend his children. This way, with closer ties between the younger generation, he could better support them without attracting gossip. At the same time, Official Wang felt that it was alright for the Jiang siblings, who had no connections or influence in Shu Capital, to have more peers.

To the Jiang siblings, Official Wang was their benefactor. Jiang Mi and Jiang Wu readily agreed, and after bathing and changing, the siblings boarded the carriage and headed towards Wang Mansion.

Official Wang, whose given name was Wang Cheng, was the current Minister of Revenue, a high-ranking official with real power in Shu State.

In the carriage, Jiang Mi was reading a copy of ‘The State of Equilibrium and Harmony.’ Jiang Wu glanced at his little sister and said, “The carriage is shaking too much; give your eyes a rest.” After a while, he added, “Ah’Mi, Elder Brother is here; you don’t need to work so hard!” Perhaps because their past lives had been so difficult, the Jiang siblings had developed a habit of using every spare moment to improve themselves. Whenever Jiang Wu saw this habit of Jiang Mi’s, he couldn’t help but compare his little sister to the carefree, happy young ladies of Shu Capital who only thought about playing and having fun. At that moment, he always felt a pang of heartache.