Seeing her persistently gloomy and unhappy, the three Meng brothers decided to take her to Shufang Zhai to buy jewelry.
Shufang Zhai was the most high-end jewelry shop in the capital, supplying the imperial court, which made its prices exceptionally high. Every year on Yu Tang’s birthday, they would bring her here to pick out a few items.
Even just two or three pieces would cost no less than several thousand taels of silver.
While settling the bill, they ran into Meng Yunwan.
“Sister, why are you shopping alone? Is no one accompanying you?” Meng Yu Tang asked in surprise.
Hearing Meng Yu Tang’s exaggerated tone, Meng Yunwan didn’t even raise an eyebrow.
She used to wait, hoping her three brothers would have time to accompany her here.
But she waited and waited—through her past life and into this one—and still, it never happened. Now, she no longer wanted to wait.
The shops she wanted to visit, the jewelry she wanted to buy—even if no one accompanied her, she could afford them herself and enjoy her time.
But Meng Yu Tang didn’t see it that way. Seeing Meng Yunwan come alone, she felt she had won again. She proudly linked arms with her brothers and pointed at the butterfly hairpin in Meng Yunwan’s hand, saying,
“Sister, I like this hairpin too. Could you let me have it?”
Seeing the malice barely concealed in her eyes, Meng Yunwan was about to refuse when Meng Fan snatched the hairpin from her and shoved it into Meng Yu Tang’s hands.
“Of course, of course! What’s there to ‘let’ between family? If you like it, as the older sister, she should hand it over to you. Yunwan, isn’t that right?”
With that, he urged the shopkeeper to settle the bill.
Meng Yunwan stepped forward quickly and said firmly, “I picked up this Buyao first!”
“You say you picked it up first, so it’s yours? Who can prove it?” Meng Fan sneered, cutting her off. “We can all prove Yu Tang picked it up first. But you? Who can vouch for you?”
Meng Yunwan clenched her embroidered handkerchet tightly.
Meng Ruan and Meng Nan remained silent, their seemingly neutral stance silently revealing their position.
They had clearly seen Meng Fan snatch the Buyao, yet not one of them was willing to speak up for her.
Meng Yunwan’s gaze as she stared at them gradually dimmed.
Yes, who could vouch for her?
Just then, a commotion suddenly arose in the main hall. A shop assistant hurried over and whispered a few words into the shopkeeper’s ear, and both of them immediately assumed a serious, vigilant demeanor.
“Apologies, apologies! Our owner is here for an inspection today. We must go and greet him…”
Before he could finish, Ling Qianche, dressed like a plump doll of fortune, strode in boldly. At a glance, he spotted Meng Yunwan and the others in the midst of their argument.
Seeing the girl’s slightly reddened eyes, he grew anxious at once. After learning what had happened, Ling Qianche stretched out his hand and demanded, “Where’s the Buyao?”
Seeing the shopkeeper hand the Buyao to the Crown Prince without hesitation—and knowing the Crown Prince would undoubtedly side with Meng Yunwan—Meng Yu Tang couldn’t help feeling resentful.
She hinted indirectly that even the Crown Prince shouldn’t show favoritism in public, but before she could finish, she watched as Ling Qianche smashed the Buyao.
The precious item worth a thousand taels shattered into pieces on the floor.
The young man, brimming with arrogance and audacity, wrapped an arm around Meng Yunwan’s shoulders and declared with great bravado,
“It’s just a worthless Buyao. If it upsets my sister, smashing it is no big deal. Yunwan, come with me to Shufang Zhai’s warehouse. Pick as much as you like—I’ll even give you the warehouse keys if you want. Let’s go!”
Watching Meng Yunwan leave with the Crown Prince, the four Meng siblings’ expressions turned grim.
Especially Meng Yu Tang, whose small face flushed crimson. A suffocating anger lodged in her throat, making her chest ache unbearably.
In her past life, she had also been Ling Qianche’s sister—why had he never defended her like this?
She had never heard him mention that Shufang Zhai was his business, nor had he ever gifted her precious jewelry during festivals. How could the Crown Prince be so biased?
Where was she inferior to Meng Yunwan? Were they all blind?
“Forget it, Yu Tang. Let’s settle the bill and leave quickly,” Meng Ruan sighed.
It was common for members of the royal family to own shops and private properties in the capital, but no one had expected the famous Shufang Zhai to belong to the Crown Prince. No matter how resentful they were, they had no choice but to swallow this bitter pill.
When settling the bill, the shopkeeper tapped on the abacus intermittently, calculating that the three items they had selected totaled five hundred thousand taels of silver.
“Five hundred thousand? Shopkeeper, you must have miscalculated!” Meng Nan exclaimed in disbelief.
The shopkeeper smiled coldly, his polite tone laced with disdain and contempt. “No mistake, young masters. This is the owner’s order—we are merely following instructions. Of course, Shufang Zhai does not force sales. If you cannot afford it, please step aside. Other customers are waiting to pay.”
His scorn was palpable, clearly intended to humiliate them.
Meng Ruan and the other two flushed red with embarrassment. As inexperienced youths, they had never faced such an awkward situation.
They felt utterly humiliated.
Though there was no sound around them, they felt as if everyone was staring and mocking them.
But what could they do? They couldn’t afford to pay, nor dared they make a scene. In the end, they could only slink away in shame, leaving without purchasing a single item.
Meng Yunwan had just returned from Shufang Zhai.
She brought back a collection of treasures gifted to her by the Crown Prince.
Over a dozen wooden chests were filled with treasures Ling Qianche had meticulously selected from the warehouse, including several sets of jewelry that were already out of production in the market.
He had even gifted her thirty hairpins at once, so she could wear a different one each day without repeating for a month.
Meng Yunwan accepted his kindness and was sitting in her hall, contemplating how to reciprocate, when the hall door was suddenly flung open.
The four Meng siblings stormed in angrily.
Before she could react, Meng Fan swept the hairpins on her table to the floor with a clatter.
“Traitorous wretch!”
Meng Fan glared at her, his anger blazing. “Meng Yunwan, I’ve endured this long enough! You, a lowly girl from the marquis’s mansion, think entering the palace makes you a phoenix? A lowborn will always be lowborn. Climbing so high, aren’t you afraid you’ll fall to your death someday?”