She swallowed back the words of questioning that were already rising in her chest and forced an awkward smile.
“Oh, so you already bought them? Auntie misunderstood then.”
“You should’ve said so earlier. I ended up misunderstanding the child.”
The salesperson, seeing her shift the blame, couldn’t help but retort, “I tried to say it just now—you interrupted me.”
Qin E: …
Her expression stiffened. She handed the money she had originally intended for the salesperson directly to Su Wan Yin instead.
“Wan Yin, Auntie really didn’t mean to look down on you just now. It’s just that in this new era, we should all keep up and learn new ideas.”
“Don’t worry, now that you’re in Beijing, I won’t mistreat you.”
“I was only afraid you’d just arrived and might waste money buying things that don’t suit you.”
“Take this money and go buy something else you need.”
Her tone was gentle now, full of the attitude of a considerate elder.
Su Wan Yin felt like laughing.
If not for her quick thinking earlier, she would’ve been labeled not only as a servant, but also as someone vain, scheming, and trying to climb the social ladder.
In this era, a woman stamped with that kind of reputation would be ruined.
“No need, Aunt Qin. I have my own money.”
Su Wan Yin refused calmly, completely uninterested in Qin E’s pretentious act.
Qin E’s expression darkened again, but to save face she still forced the money into her hands, even invoking her husband.
“This was also specially instructed by your Uncle Fu. You must take it, otherwise we won’t feel at ease.”
Compared to how she had just feared Su Wan Yin would overspend, she now looked desperate for her to accept the money. Qin E felt both frustrated and humiliated.
“Mom, why are you still giving her money?”
At that moment, Fu Ya and Song Zhishu returned from elsewhere and saw the scene.
Qin E didn’t want to bring up her earlier embarrassment again. She quickly told Su Wan Yin to continue shopping and then left with her daughter and Song Zhishu, walking away briskly as if she couldn’t wait to be rid of her.
Su Wan Yin didn’t even get the chance to return the money before they were gone.
She casually put the money into her bag, then glanced at the clearly increased number of clothes she had selected, narrowing her eyes slightly.
“This doesn’t seem like what I chose,” she said flatly.
“The rest were selected by Madam Ruan,” the salesperson replied.
Su Wan Yin understood immediately. She had clearly calculated the prices—her selection should not have exceeded thirty yuan, yet the bill was one hundred.
The salesperson also kindly reminded her that delivery service was available. Su Wan Yin didn’t refuse.
Although she could store things directly in her spatial space, she still needed to be careful in the Fu household.
Afterward, she went into a small alley and quietly took out a small bundle of medicinal herbs from her space—just enough to test the market price.
Following the route she remembered, she headed toward Fulü Street, where several herbal medicine shops were located. She first entered the largest one, Puji Pharmacy.
The moment she stepped inside, a sudden exclamation came from afar:
“That girl looks like Su Tongzhi!”
Across the street, Fu Shi Mo followed Ho Wei’s gaze and looked over. His eyes immediately froze.
The girl wore a pure white blouse tucked into a high-waisted black pleated skirt, outlining her slender waist. Beneath the short skirt were straight legs, glowing white under the sunlight.
The outfit stood out in the crowd, attracting many passing men’s attention—some who hadn’t even intended to enter the pharmacy followed her inside.
Fu Shi Mo’s brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Beside him, Ho Wei muttered, “If that’s Su Tongzhi… why would she come to a pharmacy? Is she sick?”
Fu Shi Mo stepped forward immediately.
“Captain, isn’t that the shop we’ve been to before? They don’t have that kind of medicine,” Ho Wei reminded him.
Fu Shi Mo said nothing and kept walking.
But when they reached the entrance, he didn’t go in. Instead, he signaled. Ho Wei understood and they both concealed themselves outside where they could observe the interior.
Inside the pharmacy.
Behind the counter stood a man wearing a loose deep-purple velvet shirt, his greasy slicked-back hair shining under the light.
He narrowed his lecherous eyes at the young girl in front of him. Without even properly examining the herbs she held, he dismissed her casually.
“We don’t accept unknown medicinal materials here.”
“But—”
Before he could finish, Su Wan Yin had already taken her herbs back and turned to leave.
“Hey, wait! I can apply for approval. If your herbs are good, I can help you.”
She paused, turned back, and placed the herbs on the counter again—but the man kept stalling, avoiding the topic entirely.
Impatience rose in her.
She noticed people entering and leaving the shop, some older men, some middle-aged, all glancing at her in surprise.
Something felt wrong.
She coldly stopped engaging and reached to take her herbs back—but the man suddenly grabbed for her hand.
Her eyelid twitched. She quickly pulled the herbs back and struck his hand with them. The thorny stems scraped across his skin.
“Ah—!” he cried out, pulling his hand back in pain. “Do you still want to sell these or not?!”
“I wouldn’t sell them to you even if I did.”
Su Wan Yin turned and walked away without hesitation.
The man’s face twisted in anger. He signaled the nearby shop assistants with a look.
Outside the shop, in a corner.
Ho Wei clenched his fists. “This guy is too much!”
He was about to step forward to intervene when Fu Shi Mo grabbed his arm.
“He’s the notorious playboy of the Ruan family. This isn’t surprising,” Fu Shi Mo said, eyes dark as he watched from afar.
Ho Wei paused, anger still burning in his chest.
Fu Shi Mo looked at him.
“Everyone knows what kind of person Ruan Xun is. Even regular herb suppliers avoid sending young women here. Women don’t even come to this pharmacy to seek treatment or buy medicine.”
Ho Wei’s heart tightened.
He suddenly thought of something—the recent investigation into the Ruan family’s suspected ties to enemy spies.
Fu Shi Mo didn’t finish the sentence, but Ho Wei already understood the implication.
They followed her again.
Su Wan Yin tried several more pharmacies, but none even allowed her to take out her herbs before she was driven out.
After being rejected again, she finally sensed something was wrong.
She turned into a quiet, deserted alley. From her spatial space, she took out an old patched-up outfit, changed into it, tied her hair into two simple braids, and added some cheap rouge to dull her now-fair skin.
In an instant, she became a completely different person—a plain country girl.