Chapter 20: Cross-dressing to Make Money

Zhang Mama was greatly startled.

"Old Lady, these Snow Skin Pills and Frost Skin Ointments are holy products that make women's skin fair. It's said that Fragrance Studio sells one of them, starting at at least two hundred taels of silver! How many would you like to buy for the young lady?"

Pei Lao Furen: "You see her skin is dark and rough; to nourish it, you must first buy ten boxes of it, right?"

Zhang Mama swallowed hard.

The Old Lady had money, but she had never spent so lavishly before.

Even she herself had never been willing to use it like this.

It seems the Old Lady truly dotes on Miss Shang Luo'er this time.

Miss, you're bound to have even greater fortune ahead!

Speaking of which, the Old Lady actually has her own storehouse, but unfortunately it's not here; otherwise they wouldn't need to go shopping in the city tomorrow—they could just grab a couple of items for the young lady, and those would be among the most valuable in all of Jinling City.

Li Qingluo went to see Cui Er the next day.

Upon seeing her come, Cui Er struggled to rise from the couch and immediately knelt on the ground.

"Miss, you have saved this servant's life this time; from now on, this lowly life is yours. I will surely go through fire and water for you, without hesitation!"

Li Qingluo: "Remember, your life is forever your own."

Li Qingluo knew that in her previous life she might have also been implicated by herself, so afterward no one from the Jiangjun Fu was ever seen again.

But she still couldn't bring herself to fully trust Cui Er.

After all, Cui Er still has her parents in the Jiangjun Fu; if any relative were taken hostage to threaten her, even if her indenture contract were in her own hands, she could easily be manipulated.

But for now, I really have no one else I can use.

As for Cui Er, for the time being she should be reliable.

"Cui Er, could you help me with a favor?"

Li Qingluo wanted Cui Er to pose as her and stay in the room; since she was just recuperating, as long as the grandmother didn't let her go to the main hall to see her, she wouldn't easily be exposed.

As for Li Qingluo, she planned to sneak out of the Jiangjun Fu and make a trip to Jinling City.

Leaving the Jiangjun Fu is not difficult.

Li Qingluo knew even before her death in her previous life that beneath the roots of the old locust tree on the east side there was a dog hole.

In her previous life, when she had completely lost hope in her parents and Li Kechuan, she had also thought of escaping from here and never returning.

Even if she were alone and became a beggar, it would still be better than enduring the mental torment at home.

Unfortunately, she hadn't managed to escape before Li Kechuan locked her in the small shack beside the stables.

Li Qingluo first avoided all sightlines of the Jingci Tang; because she had experience living in the Jiangjun Fu in her previous life, she easily made her way to the base of the wall.

After crawling out of the dog hole, Li Qingluo tidied her messy hair, covered her face, and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

She tightly bound her chest with several layers; now even pounding it with fists couldn't touch anything soft.

Her hair was also done up in a male topknot, she wore a cyan-blue short outfit, and a sweat towel was wrapped around her neck.

Thus blended into the crowd, the naturally dark-skinned Li Qingluo completely transformed into an ordinary, plain-looking young man.

She gazed at the blue sky and bustling streets, first wandering about leisurely.

Until she came across a pawn shop.

Li Qingluo walked inside.

She took out a small pearl from her bosom and asked the shopkeeper how much it could fetch.

Unfortunately, this low-quality pearl only exchanged for fifty copper coins.

Although fifty copper coins were already the most money Li Qingluo had ever handled in both her lives, what could that amount to in Jinling City?

Li Qingluo used those copper coins to first buy a bowl of wontons at a roadside stall.

After eating and drinking her fill, she bought two more buns, watching others perform acrobatics while she ate them all clean.

In both her lives she had never felt this free, let alone eaten such things.

When she next encountered a rouge shop, Li Qingluo thought for a moment and then went inside again.

"Excuse me, do you want this kind of pearl?"

This rouge shop isn't large.

But pearls are in demand.

Li Qingluo also heard from Zhang Mama that the pearl Li Kechuan gave, when ground for facial use, is also a defective product.

But Zhang Mama has been attending the grandmother all along, so the things she has seen the grandmother use are certainly the best.

But that doesn't mean that all the ladies in Jinling City use only the finest pearl powder for their faces.

Therefore, the pearl powder made from this inferior grade will surely find buyers.

Sure enough, when this rouge shop heard there were pearls available, they were willing to purchase them.

Moreover, after seeing the few pearls Li Qingluo brought, the price they offered was much more reasonable than the pawn shop's.

One pearl, seventy wen.

Ten pearls, they could offer eight hundred wen.

Li Qingluo counted them; the small box of defective pearls Li Kechuan gave contained roughly fifty pearls.

She took a few out today, used one as payment, leaving forty-nine, which could be sold for three thousand eight hundred thirty wen.

The rouge shop's proprietor, knowing she had a not-insubstantial amount, finally agreed to give Li Qingluo a round sum—four taels of silver.

Four taels of silver were mere pocket change to Li Kechuan, but Li Qingluo was overjoyed!

She still owns nothing of value on her person.

Since her rebirth, Li Qingluo has been constantly pondering this matter.

Without money or power, how can she take revenge on the Li family and contend with Li Qingzhu?

That's why she wants to make money.

Only then would she think of venturing out of Jiangjun Fu to seek a business opportunity, looking for ways to make money.

No matter how big or small, even if starting from the smallest thing.

At least, there would be some income.

Having agreed with the rouge shop to deliver the goods tomorrow for payment, Li Qingluo then continued wandering elsewhere.

As she passed a tavern, Li Qingluo had just heard fierce shouting and fighting from inside; before she could walk away, a figure lunging out from within slammed her hard to the ground.

Li Qingluo clenched her teeth: ……

Indeed, an unlucky person, wherever they go, encounters unfathomable misfortune!

She shoved that person away with effort, and before she could see clearly who it was, the person stumbled up and continued arguing with the several people who had also chased out from behind.

"Who said she died? She isn't dead!! If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll break your dog teeth!"

"I'm telling you! Don't think that just because you're the third young master of the Zhongyi Hou Fu, I wouldn't dare offend you. Nowadays, throughout Jinling City, who doesn't know that the legitimate daughter of the General of the Cavalry Manor, Li Qingzhu, died in a great fire?"

"I heard she even committed self-immolation."

"You coward, because you dare not face your fiancée's death, you don't even dare to go pay condolences. Third young master, want me to go check for you?"

"But third young master, this isn't necessarily a bad thing for you. I heard the Li family still has another daughter, that eldest miss's twin younger sister. Since you can't marry the elder sister, you can still marry the younger one!"

"Since they're twins, aren't they identical in appearance?"

"Third young master, you're enjoying a blessing no one else has ever had..."

"Hahaha..."

A burst of mocking laughter—yet before the laughter could last long, that person lunged forward and tangled with those several people into a melee.

However, it was obvious that the Zhongyi Hou Fu's third young master gained no advantage.

Over there were four or five people, while he was alone, and soon he was kicked down again by the opposing side.

Li Qingluo caught a glimpse of a familiar face through the crack.

He was the legitimate third son of the Zhongyi Hou Fu, and in three months would be about to pass the presented scholar examination as the third-place scholar.

At the same time, he was also Li Qingluo's fiancé, whom, even while she was still in Qu Shi's womb, had been betrothed to her by parental agreement—Zhuang Wei.