After leaving the prince’s residence, she noticed it was almost noon.
Xu Ruyi had no intention of returning today, so she went to Jixiang Inn and booked a superior room.
After settling her belongings, she went to eat a bowl of noodles.
Once she had eaten and drunk her fill, she immediately went to the government office to restore her commoner status, with her registered address being her hometown.
Although the original owner had been sold into servitude since childhood, her family would visit her whenever they had time, so she was not unfamiliar with her hometown.
Holding the household registration certificate in her hand, Xu Ruyi felt an indescribable sense of relief. Two years of cautiousness had finally paid off.
Gazing at the azure sky and the various clouds, Xu Ruyi was overwhelmed with excitement. “How wonderful, I’m free!!”
No one knew how devastated she had been when she realized she had transmigrated into a slave—serving carefully just to stay alive.
She was a bonded slave, not a servant, not a house-born servant, but a slave who could be beaten, scolded, or sold at will.
She wasn’t some overpowered protagonist either, just an ordinary office worker who had ultimately died of cancer.
All she could do was tread carefully, not hoping to escape slavery on her own, but merely striving to survive until her family came to retrieve her.
Now, by a twist of fate, she finally had a legitimate identity. She couldn’t fully express her exhilaration.
Carefully folding the household registration document, she discreetly stored it in her Space through her sleeve.
With this major problem resolved and thinking of returning home tomorrow, Xu Ruyi decided to buy some gifts.
Of course, she didn’t plan to buy too much. After all, she had no supernatural abilities since transmigrating and could only carry a small bundle, walking for four hours to get home.
Arriving at Linlang Pavilion on North Street, Xu Ruyi headed straight to the silver jewelry section.
The shopkeeper, seeing the neatly dressed girl without patches and her dignified demeanor, immediately greeted her with a warm smile. “What would you like to buy, young lady?”
Xu Ruyi browsed the silver bracelets and hairpins on display, remembering there were three women in her family: grandmother, aunt, and mother.
She directly picked three silver hairpins of different styles and added a silver bracelet, spending twelve taels in total. The shopkeeper threw in a pair of silver earrings as a bonus.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t afford better gifts, but human nature being what it is—if neither has anything, we get along fine.
But if you have what I don’t, that won’t work.
There were plenty of examples of people resenting others’ poverty while fearing their wealth, something Xu Ruyi had deeply understood in her modern life.
Moreover, what she bought would be considered top-tier items in the eyes of farming families.
Thinking of her younger siblings at home, she also bought some osmanthus cakes and red date cakes.
Spotting brown sugar, she bought some too—it was a rarity in rural areas, good for personal use or as social gifts.
Although she had plenty of items in her Space, Xu Ruyi had no intention of using them.
Seeing back baskets for sale, she bought one and placed the pastries and brown sugar inside.
She purchased various other miscellaneous items until the back basket was nearly full, then returned to the inn satisfied.
Shopping was exhilarating in the moment, but seeing her bundle plus the back basket…
Xu Ruyi imagined actually carrying all these things tomorrow while walking for four hours, and felt she might just work herself to death.
“Sigh, shopping is bliss, but the journey home is torture!!” Xu Ruyi couldn’t help but complain before resignedly starting to pack.
She definitely had to bring the quilt herself. After all, she knew exactly what the Xu Family’s situation was like, and she had no intention of sleeping on straw.
Gifts and food for others had to be placed visibly, though she could always take them out just before arriving.
After organizing things here and there, she stuffed some lightweight items into the back basket and crammed everything else into her Space, filling it to the brim.
If she had a choice, she wouldn’t have wanted to carry anything at all. Don’t ask why—the answer was simple: she was lazy. Walking for four hours alone was already exhausting enough, let alone carrying a pile of things.
After having a simple snack of pastries, Xu Ruyi rested.
To return to the Xu Family, she first had to reach Hong’an County, then head back to Daliu Village. Without proper rest, she wouldn’t have the energy to travel tomorrow and might not even arrive by nightfall.