Yu Yuan settled Yu Tang and Xiang Shi at the inn, then took Xia Pinggui to Ping’an Wine House to gather information. Yu Tang wasn’t idle either. She sent Sanmu out: “Go inquire about the Jiang family—the more detailed, the better.” She also gave him several dozen copper coins, saying, “Don’t be stingy with money. Buy people some roasted melon seeds, sugar peas, or something.”

Sanmu had privately heard A’Tiao boast that when handling matters for the young miss, he never came back empty-handed. At the time, he had been very envious. Of course, he wasn’t envious of A’Tiao getting rewards, but rather of A’Tiao earning the master’s trust. Now that he too had this opportunity, he was naturally overjoyed. He happily acknowledged the order, carefully tucked the copper coins into his pouch, and ran off like the wind.

Xiang Shi watched and smiled: “After all, he’s still a bit young—not steady enough in handling matters. He needs a few more years of training.”

Yu Tang smiled and flattered her sister-in-law: “With Sister-in-law here, how could we worry about him not learning skills?”

“I’m not as good as you say.” Xiang Shi’s face turned slightly red.

The sisters-in-law teased each other for a bit.

Xiang Shi then suggested going out for a stroll: “We won’t go far, just look around nearby.”

The inn where they were staying was also on Canal Street, which was very lively and prosperous.

Yu Tang naturally accompanied her.

The two changed out of their jewelry, put on coarse cloth clothing, wrapped their heads, and left the inn together with Shuang Tao and Xia Lian.

Next door was a silk shop. The two went in and browsed for quite a while, buying two bolts of white damask, two bolts of white silk, and four bolts of Hangzhou silk with broken branch flower patterns. They had the clerk send them to the inn to make autumn shirts. After leaving the silk shop, they saw a rouge and powder shop diagonally across the street. Xiang Shi became interested and pulled Yu Tang to buy hair oil and face cream, also planning to bring some back for Wang Shi and Chen Shi.

In her previous life, Yu Tang had been a virgin widow, so her dress and appearance emphasized plain elegance. Now she was in the bloom of youth. Clothes were one thing, but she truly didn’t know how to apply makeup. Ordinarily, at most she would just apply some lip rouge, which already counted as formal. But what woman didn’t like to dress up? Yu Tang kept her face bare only because she feared applying it poorly and being laughed at as “ugly people making spectacles of themselves.” Hearing Xiang Shi say this now, and seeing Xiang Shi’s makeup clean and neat, making her look radiant, she couldn’t help but whisper to Xiang Shi: “Sister-in-law, can you teach me how to apply makeup? I… I don’t know these things.”

Hearing this, Xiang Shi looked at Yu Tang with surprise, then smiled with pursed lips and pinched her face, saying, “With looks like yours, you still want to apply makeup? Won’t that prevent the rest of us from living? You shouldn’t fuss unnecessarily. Just apply lip rouge like you do now. If you put on makeup, it wouldn’t be as good as not applying any at all.”

As the two talked, they inevitably overlooked their surroundings. Xiang Shi suddenly bumped into someone. The other person let out a delicate “Aiya!” Before Xiang Shi and Yu Tang could see who it was, they were already repeatedly apologizing. When they looked up, they discovered Xiang Shi had collided with a seventeen or eighteen-year-old young woman wearing a half-worn embroidered jacket covered with gold patterns. She had almond eyes and peach cheeks, extremely beautiful features, but her eyes darted about. Holding a box of rouge in her hand, she stood there alluringly. Her glamorous beauty carried a hint of frivolity—she didn’t look like a woman raised in a secluded chamber.

Yu Tang stood stunned like a wooden chicken.

Gao Shi!

She had actually encountered Gao Shi here.

This truly was… a twisted fate!

But why would she be here?

Ordinary people would go to Hangzhou for shopping.

As Yu Tang was thinking, Xiang Shi had already anxiously said, “Miss, I’m sorry. Where did I bump you? Is it serious?” Then she looked around in all directions and instructed Xia Lian, “Quickly go ask if there’s a medical clinic nearby. We’ll take this young lady to see a doctor!”

But before Xia Lian could respond, a man walked over, steadying Gao Shi with one hand and urgently asking, “What happened?”

Gao Shi’s large watery eyes looked pitifully at the tall, handsome man before her as she choked out, “Elder Brother, I was bumped. It hurts so much!”

Elder Brother?!

Yu Tang carefully examined the man Gao Shi called Elder Brother, but no matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t recall ever seeing this person before.

Hearing this, the man immediately positioned Gao Shi behind him and said displeasedly, “What do you two think you’re doing?”

When one’s sister was bumped, shouldn’t one first ask where she was hit and how badly? Why did he look ready to pick a fight?

Both Yu Tang and Xiang Shi were a bit dazed. Seeing this, Gao Shi immediately tugged at the man’s sleeve and said in a low voice, “I’m fine, really fine. We should head back quickly! Otherwise the shopkeeper will look for you soon.”

Hearing this, the man’s aggressive stance completely deflated. He turned back and said gently to Gao Shi, “Alright, then let’s go back first.” After speaking, he glared fiercely at Yu Tang and Xiang Shi, then walked off with Gao Shi in an imposing manner.

Xia Lian stomped her feet in anger: “What kind of people are these! I saw it clearly—she was the one walking without looking and bumped into the Young Madam and Miss. Yet she turns it around and makes it seem like we bumped into her. It’s only because the Young Madam and Miss are too kindhearted…”

“Enough!” Xiang Shi stopped her. “As long as everyone’s fine. Traveling by boat or horse carries three parts risk. When we’re away from home, we must be modest and cautious. If we can avoid trouble, we should. Since everyone is unharmed, let’s just treat it as a misunderstanding and stop talking about it.”

Xia Lian didn’t dare say more. Xiang Shi then pulled Yu Tang into the rouge shop.

Yu Tang, however, kept thinking about that man and the rouge in Gao Shi’s hand.

In her previous life, Gao Shi seemed to have always used this type of rouge.

Yu Tang carefully examined what was sold in the shop and spotted the rouge Gao Shi had been holding. She asked the shop clerk, “How much does this rouge cost?”

The clerk smiled and said, “This is our shop’s signature item, called March Peach Blossom. When you apply this rouge, your complexion becomes like peach blossoms…”

Yu Tang interrupted the clerk: “How much silver per box?”

The clerk didn’t dare continue his sales pitch and immediately said, “Five taels per box.”

Yu Tang gasped.

The clerk smiled and said, “Don’t think it’s expensive—there’s a reason it costs what it does…”

Yu Tang’s thoughts drifted involuntarily to her previous life.

Gao Shi had a dowry, but it wasn’t much. Yu Yuan hadn’t earned much money in those early years either. At least from her perspective, Gao Shi couldn’t possibly have had the means to use this type of rouge year-round.

Yu Tang’s mind was in chaos. She forced herself to focus, bought some things with Xiang Shi, and returned to the inn.

Yu Yuan sent word that he wouldn’t be returning for dinner that evening. Sanmu, who had gone to inquire about the Jiang family, didn’t rush back to the inn until lamplight time.

Yu Tang and Xiang Shi had already finished dinner. The two met Sanmu in Yu Yuan’s guest room.

Breathing heavily, he gulped down half a cup of tea before excitedly telling them about the Jiang family: “I’ve learned everything. They live in Little Suhang Alley, not far from here. The current head of the Jiang family is called Jiang Chao—he’s only about twenty-two or twenty-three years old. When he was sixteen, his father died. He sold his father’s boat and followed his uncle sailing ships. In less than two years, he bought a larger boat again and started working independently—even bigger than the boat his father had left him. Just two months ago, he suddenly said he wanted to organize a fleet to sail to Sulu and started recruiting investors. Everyone thought he was having delusions of grandeur. Not many people invested, but plenty were waiting to see him fail.”

Yu Tang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “I asked you to inquire about the Jiang family. Why are you talking about the investment matter?”

Sanmu had gone off topic. He grinned sheepishly and scratched his head: “I also learned clearly about their family affairs. Jiang Chao is neither married nor engaged. He only has one younger sister who was betrothed to the neighboring Yu family from childhood and married last year. Now he lives with his widowed mother in a three-courtyard residence, with seven or eight servants attending them…”

Jiang Ling was already married?

Yu Tang was startled: “Did you hear anyone mention the Jiang family’s young madam?”

Sanmu nodded repeatedly: “I heard about her. They say the young madam has bad luck—she was originally married to bring good fortune to her husband, but who knew the young master’s illness would only get worse. Her mother-in-law sometimes mentions to neighbors that she very much regrets having the Jiang family young madam marry for good fortune.”

Not only Yu Tang, but even Xiang Shi frowned upon hearing this.

Yu Tang sighed inwardly.

She said, “Did you find out what places the Jiang family’s young madam usually goes to?”

Sanmu replied, “I learned clearly. They say Old Madam Jiang hasn’t been feeling well these days. The Jiang family young madam comes back to her natal home every morning and evening to visit. The rest of the time, she stays at the Yu family attending to her husband.”

Yu Tang felt Sanmu had handled the matter quite competently. She praised him several times, rewarded him with over a dozen copper coins, and had Shuang Tao bring him a plate of braised pork, a plate of sweet and sour fish, and a plate of stir-fried amaranth for dinner.

Sanmu was delighted. He thanked them repeatedly and withdrew to eat.

Xiang Shi asked Yu Tang worriedly, “What are you planning to do?”

Yu Tang smiled: “If Elder Brother comes back and says the Jiang family business is viable, I plan to go find the Jiang family’s young madam. After all, we’re female family members—we can’t very well go directly to find Jiang Chao!”

Xiang Shi said worriedly, “The Jiang family’s young madam doesn’t go out. How will you manage to see her?”

Yu Tang laughed heartily: “We’re going legitimately to do business. If I want to see Jiang Ling, I’ll just go and request an audience. Why wouldn’t I be able to see her? Even if she’s unwilling to see me, if I request several times, it should work. Surely it’s not that difficult?”

Xiang Shi wanted to say things weren’t as simple and easy as she imagined, but when the words reached her lips, thinking carefully about Yu Tang’s reasoning, there really was a bit of logic to it.

She could only patiently wait for Yu Yuan to return.

When Yu Yuan came back and heard about it, he laughed heartily and said to Xiang Shi, “This sister of mine—if she can use five parts effort, she absolutely won’t use ten. And you know what? I actually think this lazy method of hers is quite good.” After speaking, he cupped Xiang Shi’s face and gave her a loud kiss on the lips, making Xiang Shi’s heart race like a startled deer while her face turned blood red.

“Don’t be like this—there are still people here,” she complained softly, then asked Yu Yuan, “Should we call Little Sister over now?”

“Call her over!” Yu Yuan smiled. “We have matters to attend to tomorrow as well.”

Xiang Shi personally went to invite Yu Tang.

The three of them sat down at the round table. Yu Yuan personally poured tea for them, then told Yu Tang about what he had seen and heard today.