Chapter 21: Buying a Carriage

Chi Zhiqiu watched her walk into the ready‑made clothing shop and said bitterly, "Father, our family is so poor; it's truly a hardship for my little sister to follow us."

"Indeed!" Chi Ting Song sighed incessantly.

"Little sister, have you set your eyes on a piece of clothing? Father, why don't we also go into the shop and have a look; if you really like something, even though our silver is scarce, we can still afford an ordinary dress."

"Alright."

The Chi father and son were about to head toward the ready‑made clothing shop when they saw Chi Nan Yi, who had just been in fine robes, now wearing only a simple cotton dress, smiling broadly as she walked toward them.

"Father, elder brother."

Seeing the two of them stunned, Chi Nan Yi held out her hand and waved it before their eyes, "What's the matter?"

"You… your clothes."

"That dress is acceptable in Jingcheng, but back in the village it's completely unsuitable and inconvenient for work! So I exchanged it for silver." She pulled out a money pouch and shook it, "Unfortunately it's worn, I only sold it for twenty taels."

"Twenty… twenty taels?" Chi Zhiqiu exclaimed in shock, "My goodness, this dress is made of gold! It's worth twenty taels of silver!"

"If this dress were new, bought from the ready‑made shop, it would probably cost over a hundred taels."

"What? Over a hundred taels?" Chi Zhiqiu panted, "Little sister, our family is poor; we can't afford such fine garments. But elder brother will work hard to earn silver. He has strength; he'll take on extra jobs and will definitely buy you beautiful clothes."

"It's fine, elder brother; isn't this looking pretty enough now?"

"Pretty."

"Exactly, as the saying goes, born beautiful; whatever I wear looks good," Chi Nan Yi glanced toward the nearby market, "Father, if we don't go soon, we won't be able to buy a carriage."

Chi Zhiqiu hesitated, "Little sister, the carriage must be expensive; why not give the driver silver to take us a ride? That way we get home quickly and save silver."

Chi Ting Song heard this and nodded in agreement.

"Impossible," Chi Nan Yi shook her head, "Our journey is long; if we ride someone else's carriage and they abandon us halfway—no village ahead, no inn behind—what would we do? Then they'd hike up the price, and we'd end up spending all our silver. Right now we have enough silver to buy a carriage; if we purchase one, traveling anywhere later will be convenient."

"But…"

"Don't say 'but'—if it gets any later, we won't be able to leave today."

Chi Ting Song nodded, "I'll listen to the girl."

Chi Zhiqiu agreed, "Alright, we'll all follow little sister's suggestion."

The market in Jingcheng was bustling, with all sorts of food and goods, dazzling the eyes of the onlookers.

They walked to the end of the street, where there was a district dedicated to selling carriages and livestock.

A few young servants were gathered chatting; when they saw someone approaching to look at the carriages, one of them ran over smiling, "Miss, buying a carriage?"

Chi Nan Yi nodded, "Fine, how much for this carriage?"

The servant examined them, then pointed with his finger, "Miss, you have great taste; this carriage is the finest, no bargaining, forty taels."

"Forty taels?"

Before they could react, he continued, "Add a horse and it's fifty taels."

"Fifty…"

The Chi father and son exchanged glances; Yi'er only had twenty taels in total—where could they get fifty taels?

"Yi'er, let's drop it," Chi Ting Song whispered, "The carriage is far too expensive; where could we afford it?"

"Yes, little sister, let's just ride someone else's carriage back!"

The servant sneered at their words, "You don't even have fifty taels and still dare to buy a carriage? Who gave you that nerve? Hurry up, hurry! Don't delay the young master's business. You look like a pauper still wanting a carriage, pfft!"

Chi Nan Yi's expression hardened, a cold glint flashing in her eyes as she stared at the servant, "Say that again."

"What, you can't even say that because you're delaying the young master's business?" The servant's eyes swept over Wen Xiangwan, laughing a few times, "But if you want a carriage, it's not impossible. You, young lady, are rather pretty, so perhaps…"

Before he could finish, Chi Nan Yi rushed forward and slapped the servant across the face; her strike was so powerful that a single slap made his eyes see stars.

The servant shook his head; the person before him seemed to have a double image.

"You… you dare hit me!" he shouted, pointing at Chi Nan Yi, though on closer look his finger actually pointed beside her.

This shows how severely he was struck.

His gaze couldn't focus.

Chi Nan Yi would never give him a chance to speak.

She raised her hand and delivered another slap to his face.

The servant was knocked to the ground, and two streams of fresh blood spurted from his nose.

His already dull mind became even more muddled.

"You! You!"

Seeing this, Chi Zhiqiu rushed forward, pulled Chi Nan Yi behind him, and shouted at the servant, "This is Jingcheng! At the emperor's feet! How dare you harass a respectable young lady in the street—has the law vanished?"

Chi Nan Yi stood behind him, watching the person who selflessly blocked her path; her previously icy heart warmed slightly.

"You stinky country bumpkin, do you know whose people you just beat?" a nearby servant shouted loudly, "We'll make sure you can't walk away alive!"

"Is that so?" Chi Nan Yi smiled, "Call your master over; let's see how you line your pockets."

The servants, hearing this, were all greatly startled.

"You, what are you saying? What 'line your pockets'? We don't know."

"One carriage, fifty taels—does your master know you sell at such a high price? Do they know how much profit you make?" she said, pointing at one of the horses, "This horse is already of age; whether it's dozens of taels or just a few, I will think it over. You think I don't understand, so you can overprice and deceive me, right?"

"Hey, hey, hey, stop talking nonsense! We're respectable merchants; I can see you can't even afford a carriage, you're just here to cause trouble!" he said, reaching out to push her.

This time, before Chi Nan Yi could act, Chi Zhiqiu seized the servant's hand, gripping his wrist tightly.

Chi Zhiqiu truly had the strength he claimed; the servant thought his wrist would snap and began wailing uncontrollably, "Ouch, it hurts! Master, I admit my mistake, please spare us!"

At that moment, a passerby who saw the scene exclaimed, "Finally! Someone's dealing with them at last."

"Just watching it is satisfying."

"Satisfaction aside, these servants all belong to Zhao Yuanwai's estate; have you forgotten what temperament Master Zhao has? I see this can't be let go!"

"Indeed, these people don't look like they're from Jingcheng; they probably don't know Master Zhao's temperament."