Chapter 1
Chapter 1
“Miss, wake up, quickly. Young Marquis Song is here.”
I stared blankly for a moment as Xiao Cui shook me awake.
Seeing the urgency on Xiao Cui’s face, I remained dazed for quite some time.
Before I could say a word, I heard people arguing downstairs.
I reached out and pinched myself. A sharp pain shot through my arm, and only then did my heart seem to settle back into place.
Downstairs, Song Mingyang, the Heir of the Yongning Marquis, had brought Xu Ruyi into the main hall and was ordering my family’s shopkeeper around with an air of superiority.
“Ruyi likes this pearl hairpin, so give it to Ruyi. Who are you, a mere servant, to object?”
The shopkeeper did not dare say too much. After all, Song Mingyang had just become engaged to me and was the future son-in-law of the household. He could only explain patiently, “This hairpin is not for sale. The owner found it to add to Miss’s dowry. I dare not make that decision myself. Please don’t make things difficult for me.”
Xu Ruyi spoke softly. “Cousin, if that’s the case, then I won’t take it. How could Ruyi take something treasured by a young lady of the Gu Family?”
The way she lifted her eyes was graceful, her gaze shimmering with unshed tears, her voice crisp and melodious.
Song Mingyang looked as if he could hardly bear it.
“Gu Shiyue is nothing but the daughter of a merchant. How is she worthy of a pearl hairpin made by Master Li?”
He looked coldly at the shopkeeper.
“Wrap it up for Ruyi. If there is a problem, tell her to come find me, Song Mingyang, in person. The Marquis Manor is no petty household. For the daughter of a merchant to be engaged to me is already her climbing far above her station. Does she intend to bring the stench of copper into the Marquis Manor as well?”
Xiao Cui stood behind me, furious, and muttered, “How can the Young Marquis be so unreasonable?!”
But I had no mind to be angry. I only felt cold from head to toe.
Because just now, I had had a dream.
In that dream, Song Mingyang had said these very same words.
Not only that, in the dream, I swallowed my anger and gave the pearl hairpin to Xu Ruyi.
Not long after, I married Song Mingyang as scheduled.
But the Marquis Manor always looked down on me for being born into a merchant family. In private, they spent my dowry; in public, they despised me for reeking of money.
Later, after Father passed away, the Marquis Manor swallowed up all of my family property, and Song Mingyang even married Xu Ruyi as an equal wife.
Worse still, he dealt me a fatal blow while I was giving birth.
That dream had already frightened me badly enough. Yet after waking, I was actually seeing events unfold exactly as they had in the dream.
Could this dream be some kind of omen?
Father was the richest man in Great Zhou.
But he had only one daughter: me. He doted on me and spoiled me, terrified that after he was gone, there would be no one to care for me.
And so, staking his vast family fortune on it, he found me what he thought was a good marriage.
The Yongning Marquis Manor was an old noble house with hereditary honors.
In terms of status, the daughter of a merchant like me could never have hoped to match them.
But the Marquis Manor was hollow within. Song Mingyang had no talent for warfare and could not inherit the old marquis’s position. To support the expenses of several hundred people in the Marquis Manor, they had no choice but to resort to this expedient and become engaged to me.
My father’s business would naturally fall into the hands of the Marquis Manor and solve their urgent financial troubles.
And I would marry into a noble household and have someone to rely on for the rest of my life.
Father had truly planned for my sake. But he never imagined that the Marquis Manor would be so ungrateful. Though they spent my family’s money, they refused to treat me well.
They even regarded me as a disgrace.
After his death, I was bullied to my grave and left behind a reputation for climbing above my station and being far too mercenary.
Suppressing the anger in my heart, I called out from upstairs,
“Shopkeeper, do you know how much silver Father spent to obtain this heirloom work by Master Li for me?”
Hearing my voice, the shopkeeper immediately replied,
“Eight hundred taels of silver.”
I came down the stairs, strode forward in a few steps, and snatched the pearl hairpin from Song Mingyang’s hand.
“Not just eight hundred taels. Father spent quite a bit more buying the information, too.”
Hearing me speak of silver with every breath, Song Mingyang could not help frowning.
“How vulgar.”
I sneered and ignored his words.
Those of us who did business valued harmony and profit above all. No matter how picky a customer was, we could not turn hostile outright.
“Does Young Marquis Song like this pearl hairpin? If you do, this humble woman will naturally part with it.
“I would not dare overcharge the Young Marquis, but the Young Marquis should not make this humble woman suffer a loss, either.
“Eight hundred and eighty-eight taels. I will have this pearl hairpin delivered to your residence this afternoon.”
Song Mingyang froze. Then his face flushed red, and he could not help saying,
“Gu Shiyue, what do you mean? Are you saying I have to pay for it?”
I theatrically covered my mouth and laughed.
“What do you mean by that? Could it be that the Young Marquis never pays when he shops? There is no such rule in the Imperial Capital. We are only running a small business, so please don’t make things difficult for us.”
“You!”