Ink Burns

Chapter 167 I'm poor!
Madam Zhou tried to avoid it, but Shan Yue grabbed her sleeve tightly, and Madam Zhou couldn't pull it off no matter how hard she tried.

Shan Yue was so flustered that she was like a madwoman, but she was also like a turtle biting someone, grabbing on and not letting go, not giving Madam Zhou any space to think. She immediately opened her mouth and asked, "Has the Grand Princess found out something?"

"No—no!" Madam Zhou gritted her teeth and tugged at her sleeve.

"The Grand Princess has other spies?!"

No, no!

"Really?"

"Really not!"

"Could it be that 'Qingfeng' had someone follow Xue Xiao and thus noticed the anomaly?" Shan Yue asked quickly, her words flowing freely.

Madam Zhou's mind was filled with thoughts of her Shu brocade tapestry with trim, which she rarely wore in public. Seeing that the tapestry was about to be torn, she cried out in a shrill voice, "No, no! When facing Xue Xiao, the Grand Princess never dares to easily alert him! — Except for you, no one has ever succeeded in planting a spy by Xue Xiao's side!"

Shan Yue loosened her grip, and the slippery satin slipped from her palm.

Mrs. Zhou won the tug-of-war.

But his face looked worse than if he were dead.

Madam Zhou snatched back her sleeve, looking down at the satin fabric, wrinkled more than the creases on an eighty-year-old woman's face. A surge of grief and indignation rose within her: this was one of the few garments she owned that she used to make a good impression! It was incredibly precious! It couldn't be washed or ironed; after each wear, a maid had to dust it off and then air-dry it in the shade. She had always cherished it dearly! —This wretched girl just barely escaped death, how could she still have such strength!

As soon as Shan Yue let go, her frenzied state subsided, and she murmured, "Then, then, why would you ask that?"

Madam Zhou paused for a moment.

I originally came to get information out of Shan Yue, but now this brat is using it as a lifeline to squeeze me dry!

"I was just here to sound out what they wanted to say, look how scared you are!" Madam Zhou said angrily.

Shan Yue breathed a long sigh of relief, patted her chest as if still shaken, leaned back slightly, and said with a touch of affectionate complaint, "You scared me to death! I'm such a scaredy-cat—"

Looking around again, he said, "The good life I have now is something I never dared to dream of before! The thought of losing this rosewood, this jade vase, and these jewelry if things were exposed made me realize that I would never go on. Life was so hard. As a painter in Suzhou, I earned three copper coins for each painting. I only got meat on the first and fifteenth of the month, and my blankets were never washed. Once I washed them, I had no blankets to cover myself with at night. I suffered from hunger and cold. It was so miserable."

As Shan Yue reminisced about the past, her voice was crisp and clear, carrying a distinct honesty.

Because of her background, Madam Zhou was most sensitive to sound. Unconsciously, she fell into memories as Shan Yue lowered her voice, and opened her mouth with a sigh: "Yes, we've gotten used to being in a wealthy house. Who would want to go back? Back then, my siblings and I trained hard in the sweltering summer and freezing winter. When we squatted on a small stool, an ice pick would pierce our tailbone. It really hurt terribly."

Madam Zhou suddenly turned around, abruptly stopped talking, and looked up at the mountain moon.

Little did anyone know, the silly girl didn't pay attention to what she said. Her gaze lingered on the rosewood screen, her eyes reluctant to leave, as if she were intently gazing at her precious lover.

Ah, these expensive things are so beautiful. Mrs. Zhou immediately empathized with Shan Yue.

Madam Zhou sighed: "If you don't want to go back, you can only grit your teeth and move forward—I came to sound you out today because of Lord Yao of the Censorate."

Shan Yue turned her gaze away from the screen, tilted her head, and frowned in confusion: "Lord Yao Yao? Who?"

Madam Zhou carefully observed Shan Yue's expression.

Unexpected, confused, and bewildered. Very real and swift reactions.

If all of this is fake, then this girl's acting skills are good enough to get her into a theatrical troupe and become the leading actress.

"Since you don't know, just pretend nothing happened." Madam Zhou waved her hand, no longer discussing the topic.

Shan Yue sensibly said "Oh," and didn't ask any more questions. Then she had someone close the doors and windows, moved closer to Madam Zhou, and said mysteriously, "Madam, I have a business opportunity. I wonder if you would like to do it?"

Madam Zhou leaned back, distancing herself from Shan Yue, her expression unchanged: "What kind of business?"

"Selling paintings." Shan Yue lowered her voice. "The paintings in Guan'anzhai are extremely expensive. If I'm not mistaken, is Guan'anzhai a business owned by the Grand Princess?"

The reputation of "Lady Jade Plate" was established at "Guan'an Studio".

Even if it's not a shop in Jing'an, it's still inextricably linked to "Qingfeng".

Madam Zhou of the Chang family, the Marquis of Guanbei, held a position in "Qingfeng" that was neither particularly high nor low. She was not low because of her brother's relationship with Jing'an, but not high because of her emotional, naive, and money-loving nature, which meant "Qingfeng" would never truly rely on her. Just look at these few interactions with Madam Zhou; the first time, everyone in the capital avoided the tainted Zhu family, even avoiding Zhu's own son, Xue Chen, but Madam Zhou herself came to offer incense to Zhu with red eyes. The second and third times, she accompanied the Grand Princess of Jing'an, having little presence and even less say.

And then there's today.

Today, Shan Yue has seen through Madam Zhou.

Seeing through someone doesn't count; you still need to build a deeper friendship—what could be a deeper bond that binds a money-loving person to you in business?
Madam Zhou turned her head and glanced at Shan Yue, remaining silent in the face of Shan Yue's question. Instead, she asked, "Selling paintings? What kind of paintings? Madam Yu Pan's paintings?"

Madam Zhou waved her hand: "If you want fame, you need the Grand Princess's approval first. When 'Lady Jade Plate' will release a painting and what painting she will paint is not up to you!"

Shan Yue clicked her tongue: "I have enough reputation! I've already entered the palace to teach good girls to paint! Just wait for time, and my reputation will be established sooner or later. Why should I be in such a hurry—to ask for money! Money! You know my background. What kind of dowry can the Liu family give me? No matter how much Xue Xiao dotes on me, I can't keep asking him for money all the time, can I? Once or twice is fine, but once 'feelings' are tainted by money, as the days go by, even the best feelings will be diluted by the stench of money!"

Mrs. Zhou nodded in agreement: That makes sense!

She shouldn't be poor, but the Chang family won't let her use their money!
Three years after she married into the family and gave birth to Su Ge'er, Chang Lin somehow discovered her true parentage. Enraged, he confiscated all her household management rights, keys, ledgers, and identification tokens, and beat her until she was bruised and swollen. He even bluntly said, "How dare this lowly wretch manage my Chang family's household!" If it weren't for the Grand Princess's intervention and persuasion, and the fact that she was pregnant with Yu Niang, she would have been kicked out of the Chang family long ago!

Fortunately, after giving birth to Yu Niang, Chang Lin fought fiercely with others, which damaged his health, rendering him unable to have children again.

Only then did she live a quiet and submissive life in the Chang family.
Life was manageable, but it depended on how it was managed: as the wife of a marquis, she received a monthly allowance of fifty taels of silver, which sounded like a fortune, but this was the capital! Social obligations, tipping servants, and buying cosmetics—that money was gone in less than half a month! Originally, she could skim some extra income from the steward, but after Chang Lin forbade her from managing affairs, she had no income at all. Every day, she was always short of clothes and had to rely on the Grand Princess for any decent possessions. Her life was even worse than that of the wives of minor officials!