“Since you don’t want anything, then why are you blocking the doorway? Move aside—I need to go in.”
The grievance in Zhao Shiying’s eyes vanished almost instantly.
When she looked at Zhao Shiyu again, her gaze had turned complicated.
[The heroine is acting so confident, so righteous, like she has nothing to fear… Could it be that she already found the ginseng and sold it for money?]
[No, that can’t be right. I clearly searched everywhere this morning—even checked her body. There shouldn’t have been any ginseng. Did I overthink it?]
[No, wait… there’s still one possibility. I searched her bundle, her basket, and her body—but I never searched that cheap Second Aunt of mine. Could the ginseng have been hidden on her? Damn it, I was careless.]
If Madam Jiang could hear those thoughts, she’d probably have slapped her on the spot.
Even Zhao Shiyu was momentarily stunned by what she heard.
This so-called heroine really dared to imagine anything.
She was actually considering searching her mother’s body too?
Wasn’t she afraid of being accused of disrespecting an elder?
As far as Zhao Shiyu knew, her mother, Madam Jiang, was no pushover.
If Zhao Shiying had really tried to incite Old Madam Zhao into searching Madam Jiang, her mother would have exploded right then and there.
And unless she stripped a layer of skin off the entire west branch of the family, that matter would never have ended.
And considering Zhao Shiying’s status in that branch, if things escalated to that point, Madam Yan probably wouldn’t protect her at all.
Of course, Zhao Shiyu really had obtained the ginseng.
But she’d gotten it on the road to Qingshui Town.
It definitely hadn’t been hidden on anyone’s body.
As she was still thinking, Madam Jiang had already reached out and shoved Zhao Shiying aside before dragging her daughter into the courtyard.
Yet Zhao Shiying’s thoughts sounded again from behind them.
[No… there’s another possibility. The space might still have been obtained by the heroine, and the ginseng she found was stored inside it—a place no one but the heroine can touch. If that’s the case, then of course searching her body and her belongings wouldn’t uncover anything.]
[Anything we can see is only what the heroine wants us to see. That would explain everything. Even if I searched her bundle right now, it’d be useless. All the good stuff would already be hidden in the space.]
Zhao Shiyu curled her lips.
This time, Zhao Shiying had actually guessed correctly.
The space really had fallen into her hands, and the ginseng was indeed sitting inside it right now.
But so what?
That had originally been her opportunity as the “heroine.”
It simply hadn’t been stolen away by Zhao Shiying, that shameless little thief.
She’d had to fight over and over again just to protect her own fate.
Did they think that had been easy?
And besides—even if she had taken opportunities that originally belonged to Fu Yasong and Zhao Shiying, so what?
They were allowed to covet and steal from her, but she wasn’t allowed to fight back?
What kind of logic was that?
Naturally, Madam Jiang couldn’t hear Zhao Shiying’s thoughts.
But that didn’t stop her from speaking in a mocking, sarcastic tone.
“Some people really have no self-awareness. They think they’re so popular, when in reality everyone can’t wait to avoid them…”
Then she turned to Zhao Shiyu.
“Little Seventh, use your head. Don’t trust just anyone. You can know a person’s face, but not their heart. Some people may look clean and proper on the outside, but who knows what kind of rotten black-hearted filth they’re carrying inside? Don’t let someone sell you off and still have you counting money for them.”
As Zhao Shiyu listened to her mother’s nagging, she kept one ear tuned to Zhao Shiying’s thoughts.
Sure enough, after Madam Jiang’s speech, Zhao Shiying’s inner voice changed.
[That brainless fool is standing there feeling all smug, completely unaware that her daughter is already dead. The one standing in front of her now is a fake… Hmph! So vicious. She deserved to lose her daughter!]
Zhao Shiyu…
Well.
Even though the curse sounded pretty vicious, for some reason, she almost wanted to laugh.
Was this some kind of Ah Q spirit?
After all, Madam Jiang truly knew nothing.
Although Zhao Shiyu really was Madam Jiang’s biological daughter—and genuinely the youngest one—from the time she was barely out of infancy, she had mostly been raised by Zhao Yanjin and Zhao Ningshuang taking turns caring for her.
Madam Jiang had only taken over when it was time to nurse her.
And after she was weaned, her mother had practically become a hands-off shopkeeper.
At least in Zhao Shiyu’s opinion, Madam Jiang had accepted this “new daughter” remarkably well.
She hadn’t noticed in the slightest that the soul inside had already changed.
At that moment, Madam Jiang still had no idea what Zhao Shiying was thinking.
But she guarded against her like she was guarding against a thief.
Afraid her youngest daughter might get pestered and expose the pastries in the bundle, she personally escorted Zhao Shiyu all the way to her room.
As she pushed her inside, she deliberately raised her voice.
“Hurry in and put away everything your grandmother, uncle, and aunt gave you.
Otherwise, some shameless people might start coveting it.
And if it gets stolen, snatched, or tricked away from you, don’t come crying later.”
Zhao Shiyu obediently followed the push and happily skipped into her room.
Her two elder sisters, Zhao Yanjin and Zhao Ningshuang, were still out and hadn’t returned yet.
As for her biological older brother, Zhao Yansong, he was still at the family school studying with the old master.
He wouldn’t be back until lessons ended—
Even though the school was literally right outside their front door.
Once inside, Madam Jiang casually shut the door for her, blocking Zhao Shiying’s line of sight.
Zhao Shiyu promptly slid the latch into place from the inside.
She took out three pieces of each of the three kinds of pastries and wrapped them separately in oiled paper.
The rest she stored away in her space.
In truth, half a jin of pastries wasn’t very much.
After setting aside three pieces of each, there really wasn’t much left.
After some thought, Zhao Shiyu took out two more pieces of each and wrapped them in another separate packet.
Old Madam Zhao and the old master were the true authorities of this household.
It was still necessary to curry some favor with them.
Even if they probably wouldn’t care much for two pieces of pastry, presenting them as a token of filial respect was still important.
Besides, now that she knew the exact route to Qingshui Town, there would be plenty of chances to buy more pastries in the future.
Not to mention—
Wasn’t there another unexpected windfall coming soon?
What a pity her space couldn’t preserve freshness.
Otherwise, she could have bought steamed buns or other prepared foods and stored them inside.
She wondered whether the space would gain a preservation function after leveling up.
As for the white flour flatbread, she didn’t divide that up.
It had been baked quite dry, so it should keep for several days.
She planned to save it to fill her own stomach later.
When Old Madam Zhao finally returned with the other women of the household, Zhao Shiyu immediately scampered off with the wrapped pastries to the old lady’s room.
When she came back out, the oiled paper packet was gone.
But her chest was bulging suspiciously, clearly stuffed with something she’d been given in return.
This made Zhao Shiying—who had been staring at her the whole time—so furious her eyes nearly spat fire.
But the moment Zhao Shiyu stepped out of Old Madam Zhao’s room, she darted back to her own room like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Zhao Shiying didn’t even get a chance to approach her.
“Big Sister, Fifth Sister, these are the pastries Little Seventh saved for you. There’s another portion for Third Brother too. Hurry and eat—just leave his share aside and give it to him when he gets back.”
“Oh?”
The plot was reaching its boiling point.