Just then, Ajin stood up from the corner and crept along the wall toward the stairs, intending to run up and warn his mistress.
However, Zeng Juemi’s men were highly trained. They spotted his suspicious movement immediately and grabbed him.
“What are you doing?”
The manager quickly intervened. “He is the rickshaw puller for Young Mistress Qin.”
Zeng Juemi scoffed. “Loyal little fellow… Hold him there. I am definitely going up there to take a look today!”
“Why trouble him?” Qin Yanchi glanced at the men holding Ajin, and they instantly let go.
He then turned to the manager. “Do you have other rooms available?”
“Yes, yes!” The manager hurriedly gestured for them to go upstairs.
Zeng Juemi kicked the stairs in frustration. “What’s wrong with just looking? Qin Huai’an acts so high and mighty. I just want to see what his wife looks like, the one who scared him into running away from home in the middle of the night! Haven’t you read the papers? The tabloids even printed a cartoon making her look like an old matchmaker!”
“Why believe such gossip? Relationships require mutual affection. If their thoughts and values don’t align, they cannot live in harmony. It has nothing to do with her appearance.”
“If he had that kind of sense, he wouldn’t be such a loser! A grown man still relying on his father for a job! I can’t stand him. Whenever he sees me, he runs away faster than a rabbit. And if he does speak, he calls me ‘Grandpa’! As if I want to be called that—it makes me feel old!”
Qin Yanchi chuckled. “Since when are you his grandfather?”
“It’s about connections! Your sister is my sister-in-law. We are relatives and of the same generation. Isn’t he supposed to show respect? It’s not like he’s losing anything!”
As they reached the landing, Qin Yanchi’s expression turned serious. “Traditional ladies are very sensitive. Watch your words and behave yourself.”
“Ninth Master, Second Young Master.”
A waiter carrying a tray passed by, greeting them softly before heading straight for Jiang Ci’s room.
Zeng Juemi fell silent. Like a thief, he pursed his lips and craned his neck to peek inside.
The door opened. Zeng Juemi looked in and saw a beautiful woman sitting there wearing an apricot-pink blouse. Her skin was as fair as snow, and her thick black hair was styled high like a cloud, making her face look exceptionally small and delicate.
Perhaps she was feeling warm from eating, for a rosy flush glowed on her cheeks. She lifted her misty eyes toward the door.
Even someone as thick-skinned as Zeng Juemi reacted instinctively and ducked out of sight.
The waiter closed the door. Zeng Juemi’s face turned slightly red, and he followed Qin Yanchi silently into the next room.
After ordering their food and the manager left, Zeng Juemi suddenly blurted out, “Is Qin Huai’an blind…?”
“So my words were wasted on you.”
Qin Yanchi shook his head helplessly.
He had walked ahead and hadn’t seen inside. Besides, it was his intention not to look.
Zeng Juemi was frivolous by nature; a quick glance might be overlooked. But Qin Yanchi was, technically, Qin Huai’an’s elder. Even though they were similar in age, there was no excuse for him to peek at another man’s wife.
If word got out, men might not care, but for a traditional lady like her, it would be extremely damaging to her reputation.
“You didn’t see it?” Zeng Juemi leaned forward enthusiastically. “She is absolutely stunning! Honestly, who cares if she wears old-fashioned clothes or modern dresses? She would look beautiful in a sack! Marrying her to that guy Qin Huai’an is a total waste! And she looked right at me just now… I hope I hid fast enough…”
In truth, Zeng Juemi was just being delusional.
Jiang Ci had looked toward the door simply because the waiter was bringing in her favorite Dongpo pork—braised pork belly with rich, glossy sauce, so tender it melted like paste.
She hadn’t seen Zeng Juemi at all. Her entire world at that moment revolved around that plate of food.
Right now, Jiang Ci and Zhegui were happily devouring the meal.
Master and servant had identical expressions of pure bliss. Occasionally they would glance at each other, sharing that mischievous, girlish joy only felt when eating delicious food together.
The meal, tea, and fruits cost two silver dollars. Jiang Ci paid and got into the rickshaw, feeling perfectly content. “Take me to the jade gambling house.”
They had traveled some distance when Ajin hesitated, then told them about what had happened downstairs.
Before Jiang Ci could say anything, Zhegui huffed angrily. “How outrageous! I heard from the servants that this Second Young Master Zeng is a notorious playboy! Luckily your relative was there to stop him. How dare he treat our Mistress like a spectacle?”
“We did take their room first, after all. We just won’t go there again.” Jiang Ci dismissed it casually.
Just then, the rickshaw turned onto a main road, revealing a large, eye-catching poster outside a cinema.
It featured a fashionable woman with a bob cut, wearing an Art Deco diamond headband and smoky eyeshadow. She had on a low-waisted straight-cut dress, a fur stole over her shoulders, and high-heeled Mary Janes. Except for her Asian features, she looked exactly like Daisy from *The Great Gatsby*.
This style was cutting-edge not only for Shanghai but for Europe and America as well.
Jiang Ci had expected stars of this era to just have curled hair and simple dresses. Seeing this, she asked curiously, “Who is that?”
Ajin replied, “That’s the movie star Liang Manyin. She studied abroad and even acted in films with foreigners in some studios overseas!”
“Hmph! Shameless!” Zhegui frowned. “What kind of star wears a dress that almost shows her knees? No wonder Master never comes home! She is a total seductress!”
“Who did you say she is?”
For a moment, Jiang Ci felt as if she had been struck by lightning.
She wasn’t jealous on Qin Huai’an’s behalf. She recognized that name!
Liang Manyin was the female protagonist of a Republican-era novel Jiang Ci had read before the apocalypse!
Now everything made sense. Why things felt off.
In real history, there was no city called “Shencheng” like this. And technologically, the cars made by Ninth Master Qin shouldn’t be rivaling Fords.
Jiang Ci realized the truth: she had transmigrated into a fictional world!
It had been over five years since she read the book, so she had forgotten most details, even the hero’s name.
But she remembered several key plot points involving Liang Manyin.
Qin Huai’an had mentioned the name “Manyin” before, but hearing the full name and seeing the face triggered her memory.
Jiang Ci recalled what she could and couldn’t help twitching the corner of her mouth.
So she was the unfortunate first wife—the villainess who was supposed to die on her wedding night, leaving all her generous dowry for the Qin family!
However, it wasn’t entirely accurate to say Liang Manyin was with Qin Huai’an just for money.
Jiang Ci remembered one scene vividly. There was a powerful gangster boss—she forgot his name, but he was a major character early on and one of the hero’s rivals.
This man was incredibly rich and powerful. He wanted Liang Manyin as his third concubine. To win her over, he spent sixty thousand silver dollars at a gambling house to buy a top-quality Imperial Purple jade rough. He had it cut into a pair of matching bracelets and proposed to her with them.
But Liang Manyin publicly rejected him.
In those chaotic times, rejecting such a man meant far more than just turning down money. It was dangerous.
She faced many troubles afterward but never changed her mind, showing she was a woman of strong character.
But Jiang Ci had no time to admire her now. Her attention was fixed on one thing: that Imperial Purple jade came from a gambling house!
She sat up straight and asked Ajin, “Do you know which big boss in Shencheng likes to go to jade gambling houses? The kind who also runs casinos and dance halls?”
Ajin laughed. “You must mean Master Lu Fifth! He’s a rival of the Qin family’s Second Branch. They are always fighting over territory!”
“Do you know which gambling house he frequents?”
“Sure! He specifically goes to the one owned by Seventh Master from the Second Branch just to annoy them! He goes there to snap up the best stones and make their life difficult!”
Jiang Ci’s eyes darted around thoughtfully. “Do they get new rough stones every day?”
“No way! New shipments come only every ten days or half a month. It takes two weeks just to transport them from Yunnan. Luckily the Second Branch has many caravans; other places only get new stock once a month at most!”
Jiang Ci tapped the armrest. “Change direction. Go to the Second Branch’s gambling house.”
“Yes, Madam!”
Ajin turned the rickshaw and headed toward their destination.
As soon as they arrived, Jiang Ci saw the place was packed.
The clientele were mostly jade merchants or wealthy collectors.
Most were traditional men wearing long silk robes, often with wire-mesh vests and skullcaps.
The more modern ones wore fedoras, leather shoes, and Western trousers under their gowns, usually sporting round glasses—likely educated men with good incomes.
The crowd was almost entirely male. The few women present were just companions accompanying their partners. When Jiang Ci walked in with a maid, she drew many stares.
But Jiang Ci paid them no mind.
The moment she entered, she began searching for that legendary Imperial Purple jade.
Top-grade Imperial Purple was extremely rare. In the book, the piece was small—only big enough to make two bracelets, cut horizontally from a cylindrical section.
So the original rough stone couldn’t be large either.
Her ability had only recovered slightly; she couldn’t scan the entire room at once. She had to narrow it down first.
Before the apocalypse, Jiang Ci was just an ordinary girl and knew almost nothing about gambling stones.
While others gathered around analyzing the skin texture, origin, and water clarity, Jiang Ci simply eliminated anything too big or too small.
Finally, she selected a stone about the size of a pomelo.
A faint glint flashed in her eyes as she focused on the stone and activated her ability.