After Ling Jingren finished eating, Guan Xiyue took out the five mace of silver and proudly showed it off.
“Look! I earned this with my own hands. All because of that bowl of braised pork. It was delicious, wasn’t it? If I open a restaurant someday, I’ll be able to live a comfortable life.”
Ling Jingren looked at the concubine strangely.
A concubine from the inner household having good cooking skills wasn’t unusual. Dreaming of opening a restaurant and doing business, however, was quite uncommon.
Wasn’t a concubine’s life supposed to revolve around competing for favor, bearing children, and spending her days as an invisible figure in the household?
Of course, this particular concubine wasn’t especially beautiful. Covered in fat from head to toe, she didn’t seem to have much chance in the competition for affection.
Thinking of “fat,” he was reminded of the two pieces of braised pork he had just eaten.
Suddenly, he felt that fat wasn’t so bad after all.
In fact, it was quite delicious.
Ignoring his odd stare, Guan Xiyue continued chatting away.
“If only you had some capital. You could invest in my business. I guarantee you’d make money while lying down. Ah, you probably don’t understand what that means. It means earning money without doing any work.”
She looked him over.
“But judging from all those injuries, you’re in pretty rough shape. You nearly lost your life. So I’m guessing you don’t have any money. My advice? Cherish your life, and cherish that handsome face of yours. Young man, fighting and killing people isn’t a promising career path.”
Before Ling Jingren could respond, she clapped her hands and prepared to leave.
After opening the door, she turned back with a bright smile.
“Oh right—I have money now. I’m going shopping.”
If he hadn’t seen those five mace of silver with his own eyes, he might have thought she’d become wealthy overnight.
This concubine was kind, easygoing, easily satisfied, and capable of making an excellent braised pork dish.
What a pity.
She lacked a beautiful appearance.
Ling Jingren couldn’t help feeling sorry for her.
Guan Xiyue left the manor with Xiaoyun.
Ordinarily, concubines weren’t supposed to go out, but Guan Xiyue promised Xiaoyun twenty copper coins and repeatedly swore that she would only stroll around and wouldn’t cause trouble.
Only then did Xiaoyun agree.
The two slipped out quietly through the back gate.
Walking through the ancient streets and watching the crowds of passersby, Guan Xiyue gained an even clearer understanding of one thing:
She needed to find a way to build a good life for herself in this world.
The county town wasn’t large, consisting of only a few main streets, but it had every kind of shop imaginable.
There were several grand and elegant restaurants, inns, pawnshops, pharmacies, cloth stores, and countless general stores.
There were also a few bookstores, which carried an air of prestige.
In this era, studying was expensive. Pens, ink, paper, and inkstones were all valuable commodities. Books themselves were luxuries far beyond the reach of ordinary commoners.
There were even “luxury goods” shops: silver and jewelry stores, spice merchants, tea shops, and more.
As she wandered around, Guan Xiyue bought some snacks.
She exchanged one mace of silver into copper coins and paid Xiaoyun the promised twenty coins.
Xiaoyun grinned so broadly her eyes nearly disappeared.
This Concubine Guan wasn’t so bad after all.
She looked much more pleasing now.
After walking around for some time, Guan Xiyue gained a decent understanding of local prices and available goods.
Honestly, there were countless opportunities to make money.
For a modern person with many skills, information itself was the greatest advantage.
The problem was that she wasn’t free yet.
And all her assets amounted to only a few mace of silver.
The two sat down at a tea stall to rest their feet and drink some tea while Guan Xiyue pondered her future.
Suddenly, someone bumped into her knee.
She looked up to see a maid in a cherry-red dress glaring at her.
“What’s wrong with you? If you’re this fat, maybe don’t come outside and block everyone’s way. What if I’d spilled my young master’s tea? You’ll regret it then!”
Xiaoyun immediately stepped forward.
“You were the careless one! How can you blame our mistress? Do you have any sense of fairness?”
The maid laughed exaggeratedly and pointed at Guan Xiyue.
“Oh my, someone who looks like that can become a concubine? Is there something wrong with your husband’s eyesight?”
Guan Xiyue felt anger rising inside her.
She was finally experiencing firsthand how difficult life could be for overweight people.
Yet she merely smiled.
“I don’t know what other talents you have, little girl, but you’ve certainly mastered the art of shifting blame. Your teacher must have trained you well.”
Xiaoyun blinked.
“Mistress, how do you know who her teacher is?”
Taking a sip of tea, Guan Xiyue answered solemnly,
“Isn’t it Zhu Bajie’s apprentice?”
Xiaoyun immediately doubled over laughing.
The maid’s face flushed bright red.
At that moment, a pleasant male voice sounded nearby.
“Xiaohong, what’s going on?”
The maid instantly turned around to complain.
“Young Master, they’re calling me Zhu Bajie’s disciple! They were the ones who tripped me first and almost made me spill your tea!”
Guan Xiyue finally looked at the so-called young master.
He wore a dark blue patterned robe with a mint-green embroidered belt at his waist. Tall and straight-backed, he carried himself with the grace of a refined young gentleman.
Unfortunately, the moment he opened his mouth, Guan Xiyue felt like splashing tea in his face.
He snorted.
“I have business to attend to. Why are you wasting time arguing with an ignorant fool? In my opinion, she’s not Zhu Bajie’s disciple—she’s Zhu Bajie himself.”
The maid burst out laughing.
“Young Master is absolutely right. And she’s even a concubine!”
Seeing the situation, Xiaoyun immediately realized the other party was the son of a wealthy family.
Following the principle that less trouble was better than more, she tugged Guan Xiyue’s sleeve, signaling her to let it go.
Guan Xiyue turned her head and sighed dramatically.
“Xiaoyun, no wonder the almanac said today wasn’t a good day to go out. It’s easy to get bitten by dogs. When a dog bites you, you can’t exactly bite it back. How embarrassing. Forget it. I won’t stoop to a dog’s level.”
The young master’s face darkened.
“Who are you calling a dog?”
Guan Xiyue burst out laughing.
“Whoever claims it is who I’m talking about. I’ve seen people pick up all sorts of things, but I’ve never seen anyone rush to pick up an insult.”
Before he could react, she grabbed Xiaoyun’s hand and ran.
Only after they were far away did the two burst into laughter.
That evening, when Guan Xiyue brought dinner to Ling Jingren, she recounted the incident.
She was still indignant.
“Tell me, why is the world so hostile toward fat people? Doesn’t matter who’s right or wrong—they immediately attack my appearance. And that young master! Couldn’t tell right from wrong. What a waste of a decent-looking face.”
Ling Jingren frowned.
“I was originally planning to sympathize with you. Then I realized you’re no different. You’re just as concerned about whether someone has a good-looking face.”
Guan Xiyue suddenly looked enlightened.
“You’re right! Turns out every world is obsessed with looks. I’ve become too attached to appearances.”
Then she looked at him.
“Honestly, I’m still a little jealous of you. No matter where you go, that face of yours could earn you a living.”
Ling Jingren immediately narrowed his eyes dangerously.
Was she calling him a pretty boy?
Or some lowly performer who survived by selling his looks?
That was usually the warning sign before he lost his temper.
Sensing danger, Guan Xiyue quickly backpedaled.
“Hey, that’s not what I meant! I’m not insulting you. You don’t understand what it feels like to lose your beauty. It’s genuinely upsetting. Especially for someone who’s obsessed with attractive faces.”
Ling Jingren found her words strange.
What did “obsessed with attractive faces” even mean?
And why did she speak as though she had personally experienced losing her beauty?
But Guan Xiyue offered no explanation.
Instead, she spoke lightly.
“Anyway, chatting helped improve my mood. It’s so boring around here. Good thing I have a wounded soldier like you to talk to. Oh, right—I still need to deal with your chamber pot.”
She stood up without hesitation, picked up the used chamber pot, and walked toward the door.
Completely ignoring Ling Jingren’s face, which had turned so red it looked ready to bleed.