Because of the injury on her head, Jiang Ning didn’t dare to soak in the bath for too long. After cleaning herself, she quickly got up.
After the bath, Jiang Ning changed into clean clothes and tidied up the bathhouse before returning to her room.
Lying on the spacious bed in her space, finally no longer on that broken wooden bed, Jiang Ning rolled around on the soft mattress, enjoying the comfort.
After relaxing, she fell asleep in a flurry of thoughts.
The next morning, after waking up, Jiang Ning checked her injury. Thanks to the spiritual spring water, the wound had already formed a scab, and her complexion had improved significantly.
What surprised her even more was that the calluses on her hands had faded quite a bit. It seemed that her hands had come into contact with the spiritual spring water more than other parts of her body, which made the effect more noticeable.
Jiang Ning believed that in a couple of days, her hands would become soft, fair, and delicate.
Outside, she could hear Old Madam Jiang’s usual curses. Jiang Ning no longer needed to take medicine and had already eaten breakfast that Niu Shi had prepared for her.
Looking down at the rough homespun clothes she wore, full of patches, Jiang Ning decided that she should go to the county town to buy some fabric and make herself some new clothes.
She also planned to go to Baohutang to find Lu Huai’an, and while there, buy some precious medicinal herb seeds to plant in her space.
Right now, she only had ten taels of silver, and she would need to figure out how to make more money.
In her previous life, she had studied fashion design. She had just graduated when she transmigrated to this world. She wasn’t sure if her skills would be of any use here, but she might as well try.
She also considered buying a set of drawing tools and creating some designs to see if there was a market for them.
Thinking back to how she had started learning to draw, Jiang Ning couldn’t help but laugh.
It all started when she was eight years old. Seeing her mother sign up her six-year-old brother for a calligraphy class, Jiang Ning threw a tantrum, insisting that she also wanted to learn.
Her mother had no choice but to sign her up too. Soon enough, the calligraphy teacher began praising her talent, showering her with compliments in front of her mother, which made her mother angry.
Her brother, always falling short of her, eventually gave up calligraphy and switched to Chinese painting. When Jiang Ning saw this, she started throwing tantrums again, demanding to learn Chinese painting too.
Sure enough, the new teacher also praised her and even entered her in several youth painting competitions, where she won awards.
She thought that as long as she performed well, she would earn her parents’ praise.
But that wasn’t the case. Instead of recognition, her efforts only made her parents dislike her more, accusing her of being competitive and always comparing herself to her brother.
As she grew up, she realized that for her biased parents, the better she did, the more they hated her. It was expected for her to be worse than her brother.
It was precisely because of her solid foundation in painting that she chose to study fashion design.
The original owner’s parents were decent, but unfortunately, they had already passed away, leaving her with these rotten relatives.
Jiang Ning probably really didn’t have much of a family connection.
Baisha Village was about an hour and a half walk from Qingshui County, which meant a three-hour journey.
Jiang Ning didn’t hesitate to grab two copper coins from Old Madam Jiang and, amidst the old woman’s curses, happily set off to catch the village’s ox cart.
The ox cart was the main form of transportation in Baisha Village. It cost one copper coin to go to the town, and two copper coins to go to the county. She chose to go to the county because, according to the original owner’s memory, she was more familiar with it and because the county had more supplies.
Jiang Ning followed her memory to the village entrance where the ox carts gathered.
On the way, she could hear villagers gossiping quietly.
It seemed that the broken engagement had left quite a big impact on her.
In ancient times, no matter the reason for a broken engagement, it was always disastrous for the woman. That was also why the original owner had fought so hard to keep the marriage.
Jiang Ning reached the ox cart and saw that there were already several people waiting.
The cart driver was Liu Dage from the village. She paid the two copper coins and climbed onto the cart.
She randomly chose a corner to sit. One of the aunts sitting nearby was surprised and asked, “Ning girl, are you going to the county?”
Normally, Jiang Ning walked to the county, but today she was taking the cart, which naturally piqued people’s curiosity.
“Yes, Wang Aunt, look at my clothes. They’re so worn out that I can’t even stitch them anymore. I want to buy myself a few new sets of clothes,” Jiang Ning replied, pretending to be embarrassed.
“That’s true. Life has been better for everyone these past few years. It’s rare to see a girl dressed so poorly like you,” Wang Aunt sighed, her tone mixed with sympathy.
The people around her also felt that Jiang Ning was being mistreated. If Jiang family had treated her better, Zhuang Xiucai wouldn’t have rejected her, and the engagement wouldn’t have been broken.
They all remembered how pretty Jiang Ning had been when she was young. Who would’ve thought she would end up looking so malnourished?
“I’ve always thought Jiang family’s condition was one of the best in the village. If it weren’t for Jiang Dahai being a stepson, their only daughter wouldn’t have been treated this way. Stepmothers are never good!”
“Keep your voice down. Be careful, or Old Madam Jiang will come after you. Can you handle her temper?”
“I think ever since Ma’s son became a scholar, she’s been acting high and mighty, as though no one is worthy of her attention.”
Hearing the conversation shift to the Zhuang family, Jiang Ning quickly jumped in, self-mockingly saying, “I’m not worthy of Zhuang Xiucai. The other day, I saw the Mountain Master’s daughter, and sure enough, they are a match made in heaven.”
“But I feel wronged. He clearly changed his mind, but he wouldn’t tell me directly. Instead, he secretly hung out with other women to provoke me. He tried to shift the blame onto me, forcing me to my death…” Jiang Ning said, wiping her tears with a tattered handkerchief.
In reality, the original owner hadn’t even seen Liu Xueying’s clothes, and Jiang Ning had completely made this up.
Some people on the cart who hadn’t been present the other day, upon hearing this, were even more convinced that the Zhuang family wasn’t acting right.
“If it weren’t for your father saving his life, Zhuang Xiucai wouldn’t even be able to continue studying in peace.”
“Girl, it’s okay to be sad, but don’t mistreat yourself. After all, you are the only child of your parents…”
Jiang Ning shook her head and smiled faintly, her voice soft, “I understand. I’ve already died once, so I’ve made peace with these things.”
The Zhuang family’s scandal was best if it spread far and wide.
If it could affect Zhuang Yunqing’s imperial exam results, that would be truly divine intervention, Jiang Ning thought slyly.
“Sigh, as long as you can move on… Since you’re married into the Lu family now, you won’t be inferior to Zhuang Xiucai. Once he finishes his studies, a good life is still ahead of you.”
“Though I don’t know who had such bad luck and burned down Lu Xiucai’s house.”
In fact, those who knew about the fire at Lu Xiucai’s house had privately guessed that it was Zhuang Xiucai’s doing, but it was only idle speculation.
Jiang Ning also shook her head. This matter wasn’t something she wanted to talk about here.
She pretended to be disappointed and fell silent.
Soon, the cart was full, and the driver called out. The ox cart slowly started moving, and after about an hour and a half, they finally arrived in Qingshui County.
Qingshui County had two markets: the one on the east side was usually frequented by the wealthy, while the one on the west side was the best choice for common folk.
Jiang Ning glanced at the ten taels of silver in her space and immediately walked toward the west market.
Any hesitation was a sign of disrespect toward poverty.