Feeling unwell again?

Jiang Yuan initially thought Shen Dongliang was just joking, but when she rushed to Auspicious Restaurant, she discovered that the long-booked room had already been canceled. Except for the jewelry Shen Dongliang had previously given her, she was left with absolutely nothing.

Now, not only could she not find Shen Dongliang, but she also found it somewhat difficult to sustain her own daily life.

Although she had obtained the private savings that Madam Zhao had previously hidden away, that money was only enough to support her extravagant spending for a few days.

In just half a month, she had grown completely accustomed to a lavish lifestyle of fine silks and sumptuous food, making the torment of such sudden poverty particularly acute.

"Miss Jiang, will you be staying here for another night?" a waiter at Auspicious Restaurant asked Jiang Yuan.

Thinking that she still needed to find Shen Dongliang, Jiang Yuan gritted her teeth and decided to stay for one more night.

However, although she could stay the night, she could no longer afford to eat here; the prices were simply too exorbitant.

While Jiang Yuan was out taking a stroll, she caught sight of two extremely familiar figures from afar.

An indescribable emotion welled up in her heart, and she stealthily followed them.

At a wonton food stall,

Madam Zhao said with some hesitation, "In a few days, it will be the annual avenue temple fair. I hear that rooms at Ruyi Restaurant will be as scarce as hen's teeth by then. See when you can go book a room for the girl so she can properly enjoy the evening lantern festival."

"Alright," Jiang's father replied with a good-natured smile, agreeing readily.

"Begonia Pavilion has released new items again. We should go take a look for the girl later; a young lady needs to be dressed up properly," Madam Zhao continued to chatter away.

Jiang's father simply nodded in agreement.

Hiding in a corner, Jiang Yuan listened to the couple's conversation, and her heart sank heavily once more.

Why was that little vixen held in the palms of her eldest uncle's family, and why were Madam Zhao and Jiang's father—despite being so poor—so willing to spend money on her? Why should she be the one reduced to her current plight?

Clearly, she was the true eldest young lady of the Jiang family. Because of her unauthorized departure from home, her reputation was already ruined, and now that she had been "abandoned" by Shen Dongliang, she... had nowhere left to turn.

Just as Jiang Yuan was consumed by hatred, she suddenly felt a lightness at her waist. By the time she snapped back to her senses, the purse at her waist had vanished without a trace.

"Stop thief! Stop thief!" Jiang Yuan screamed at the top of her lungs.

Madam Zhao paused her steps and asked Jiang's father, "Did you hear something? It sounded a bit like Jiang Yuan."

Jiang's father shook his head. "Didn't hear anything."

"Oh, neither did I," Madam Zhao muttered, her mind returning to the urgent task of booking a room at Ruyi Restaurant later.

***

Because Bai Yan had made Jiang Chengyand smell a fart... she ended up being relentlessly gnawed on by a dog for a long time.

Even after scrubbing herself clean and curling up under the covers, she still refused to talk to Jiang Chengyand.

"I haven't even gotten angry, yet you're the one throwing a tantrum?" Jiang Chengyand looked at his little wife with amusement. "What would you have done if you had fumigated me to death?"

"It wasn't that smelly," Bai Yan frowned in deep disapproval.

"You should count your blessings. If it had been any smellier, you'd already be hanging outside like dried rabbit meat," Jiang Chengyand sneered coldly, reaching out to tweak the rabbit's ears.

This time, however, not only did Bai Yan react strongly, but she also kicked out at Jiang Chengyand, before pulling the blanket over her head and shrinking into the corner. Her face was flushed bright red, and her large eyes shimmerved with moisture.

"Are you feeling uncomfortable again?" Jiang Chengyand withdrew his hand and asked in a tense voice.

Bai Yan nodded, on the verge of tears.

Why was spring so difficult to get through?

"Come here," Jiang Chengyand beckoned to her.