Chapter 120: Just in Case
Chapter 120: Chapter 120: Just in Case
"That may be so, but if the Grand Commandant hadn’t agreed, would that Sister have dared to sell? Besides, she’s still a noble lady from a scholarly family, even if they’ve fallen on hard times. Why do you make her sound so terrible?"
"Exactly. I also heard from my Brother that during the last Qianqiu Festival, she..." The voice trailed off, becoming nearly inaudible.
"For real?"
"Of course it’s true! My Brother was there. He came back and told me the scene was absolutely heart-stopping! He was sweating bullets, but he saw that Lady Liang was perfectly calm and composed. He couldn’t help but be impressed!"
"Now that you mention it, I’m getting curious," the woman’s voice filled with wonder. "How do you think she does it? She’s beautiful, charming, and most importantly, she has guts... Sigh, comparing yourself to others will just drive you crazy!"
Cao Danqing retorted furiously, "You call that charming? That’s shameless pestering! Have you all forgotten how terrible her reputation used to be?"
"It could’ve just been someone who was jealous and spread malicious rumors to hurt her!"
"That’s very possible. My father and brother always tell me that the more noble a lady is, the more important it is for her to be able to distinguish right from wrong. After all, we’ll all be in charge of our own households one day—"
"I can’t believe you two. Are you even my friends? Why are you singing her praises and putting yourselves down?"
"’Putting ourselves down’?" The lady wasn’t bothered and started to laugh. "The thing is, we’d need to have some prestige to deflate in the first place!"
"Exactly. Let me ask you, if you were in her shoes at the Qianqiu Festival banquet, would you have dared? Would I? Or would she?"
"..."
"Whoa, it’s crowded in here! Hey, shopkeep, what are you doing hiding behind the door? Have you seen Third Lady Liang?"
The moment Song Tan stepped into the shop, all eyes were on him. He scanned the room but couldn’t find Liang Wan. As he looked around, he spotted the corner of a robe peeking out from behind the door and, with a sigh, went over and pulled the person out.
The shop assistant pulled his lips into a goofy grin.
Song Tan let go of him in disgust. "I asked if you’ve seen her. What are you grinning foolishly for—"
The assistant scratched his head awkwardly and pointed a finger upward. Just as he was about to speak, footsteps sounded on the stairs.
Everyone in the room looked over. The first thing that came into view was the tips of a pair of lilac-purple shoes, followed by a swaying long skirt, a narrow waist, a full bust, and a porcelain-white face with lips like ripe cherries.
But unfortunately, for such a soft and fragrant beauty, the dark eyes beneath her long lashes were ice-cold.
’Third Lady Liang...’
Song Tan froze for a second, then hurried to greet her, breaking into an apologetic smile. "I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting—"
Liang Wan shot him a cold glance, so annoyed she could have ground her teeth.
’When Cao Danqing started spouting her insults, I was about to go downstairs. I don’t care if they badmouth me behind my back. At worst, they’d curse me out, and I’d just fire back.’
’But then, not only did they stop cursing me, they actually... That made it awkward for me to show my face. I was planning to keep hiding, but then this Song Tan had to show up. I couldn’t pretend I wasn’t here, so I had no choice but to come out with a stony expression.’
Upon seeing Liang Wan, Cao Danqing’s face turned the color of liver, and the others were equally embarrassed.
One shouldn’t criticize people in public, nor gossip about them in private.
Not only had they done so, but they’d been caught red-handed, which was a truly disgraceful situation.
Cao Danqing stormed forward huffily, pointed at Liang Wan, and snapped, "You’re shameless! Eavesdropping on our conversation!"
"Eavesdropping?" Liang Wan raised an eyebrow. "How ridiculous, Lady Cao. There’s a matter of first come, first served, isn’t there? I was upstairs, peacefully waiting for someone, when you brought people here to slander me in a public place. It was pure coincidence that I overheard. Not only do you not apologize, but you have the audacity to make a false counter-accusation! Is this how the Cao Family conducts itself?"
"You—"
At the mention of the Cao Family, Cao Danqing flew into a rage. She tried to lunge forward again but was stopped short, pulled back by her two friends.
"We were indeed in the wrong," they said, giving a bow.
"You two—" Cao Danqing’s chest was tight with fury. Not expecting her own friends to turn against her, she stomped her foot, glared at them, and ran out the door.
Liang Wan watched the figure flee out the door, her expression unreadable. She politely returned the bow.
The two ladies also excused themselves and chased after her.
Although Song Tan didn’t know the full story, he had gleaned the general idea from the few sentences exchanged.
He stood in place with a furrowed brow, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
Before Song Tan could snap out of his reverie, Liang Wan grabbed him and dragged him toward the stairs. An interlude like the one with Cao Danqing wasn’t enough to make her forget the main purpose of her trip.
Once they were seated upstairs, Liang Wan took an itemized list from her sleeve. Song Tan read it from top to bottom, completely bewildered. "Are you planning to go into business?"
Unused warehouses, grain, medicinal herbs... all sorts of things.
’It was natural for him to be confused,’ Liang Wan thought for a moment before saying, "If you trust me, you should stock up on some of these yourself. Just in case."
Song Tan frowned, leaned closer, and asked in a low voice, "Don’t tell me you got some inside information from the Grand Commandant?"
Liang Wan paused. ’He thinks I’m stockpiling all this in preparation for a war between the two nations.’
’I don’t want to deny it, and I don’t see any need to. At least this explanation is more believable.’
Seeing her silent acquiescence, Song Tan understood.
Liang Wan added, "It’s best not to let anyone else know about this. We don’t want to cause unnecessary panic, which would hinder our plans..."
Song Tan simply nodded in agreement.
After making arrangements with Song Tan, Liang Wan pushed the collection of bottles and jars she had prepared toward him.
Afterward, she took his pulse. Fortunately, there were no major issues. She then gave him a thousand warnings and reminders about things to pay attention to in his daily life, stressing that he must stop using cosmetics.
After settling things with Song Tan, she bid him farewell.
But Liang Wan was in no hurry to return. ’I know the next few years will be difficult.’
’Even though I’m in the Master’s Mansion, life will certainly be easier than in my past life. But who can guarantee that some other accident won’t occur?’
’I’d better be prepared, just in case!’
Liang Wan left the clothing shop with Qiuxi.
The calf-drawn cart moved slowly down the road. Liang Wan watched the street vendors, traveling from the East Market to the West Market, asking questions and taking notes the entire way.
’I just want to be as prepared as possible. My only worry is that I still haven’t mentioned stockpiling grain and medicine to Lu Xiu. I mainly just don’t know how to bring it up...’
’Lu Xiu is not easy to fool.’
"Liang Ji, look over there. Isn’t that the Young Mistress?"
Qiuxi’s surprised voice was tinged with uncertainty.
Liang Wan was startled and sat up straight. Following her gaze, she saw a woman in a coarse robe with her hair in a simple bun. It was indeed Yao Jinse.
Qiuxi blinked her eyes again and again. "Why would she come here?"
Liang Wan raised an eyebrow at her. "Why can’t she be here? Maybe she’s looking for work?"
Qiuxi shook her head and said, "After their property was confiscated, the Eldest Lady found a place for the First and Second Madams to live. It’s in the southwest, not far from the Master’s Mansion.
"There’s plenty of odd jobs over there, like laundry or embroidery. Why would she ignore what’s close by and come all this way by herself? Besides, she’s pregnant!"
Liang Wan looked over again, her brow furrowed slightly.