She accidentally flirted with the villain and was fiercely criticized as the regent for forcibly mar

Shao Yunting looked at her with a playful and curious gaze, as if he had discovered something interesting!

The light filtering through the window curtains fell on her slightly brown hair, giving it a soft golden glow, and also revealed the fine downy hair on her cheeks, softening her striking beauty and adding a touch of fluffy cuteness.

He was a completely different person from the fierce, bloodshot-eyed man he was beating up earlier.

He spoke with a low, playful tone: "I was sitting next door when I heard the noise and came over. I was hoping to be a hero and save the damsel in distress, but I never expected to see Miss Jiang show off her skills."

Jiang Ruining didn't intend to compete with the female lead for the man after she transmigrated, but who wouldn't want to maintain a beautiful image in front of such a handsome man?

Her face flushed with embarrassment, and she couldn't look him in the eye: "He tried to bully me first!"

He handed the medicine packet forward.

Awkward yet self-righteous.

"Look! He even tried to drug me!"

As Shao Yunting listened to her anxious explanation, which was tinged with a hint of grievance, her ears turned bright red, completely unlike her previous coy and shy demeanor in front of him.

"Ningning means I shouldn't tell anyone about your heroic beating up?"

Jiang Ruining looked at him with pleading eyes and nodded vigorously: "You'd better forget about it completely, just pretend you never existed, and that nothing ever happened!"

A genuine smile appeared in Shao Yunting's usually composed eyes: "It's not impossible, but there'll have to be some hush money involved, don't you think?"

Jiang Ruining squeezed the purse in her sleeve pocket. She was too poor to give him the two large banknotes she had left.

Shao Yunting's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he glanced at her sleeve.

What important thing is hidden inside that makes her so nervous?

Jiang Ruining gritted her teeth.

With a flick of her finger, she pulled out another purse containing all the cash, poured out all the silver, and stuffed it into his hand: "This is what I've saved up over three years. It's all for you; there's no more!"

Shao Yunting glanced at the pitiful amount of broken silver in his hand.

How can the only daughter of a high-ranking official be so poor?

The thing I've been carefully protecting all day is just a few taels of silver?

He was surprised and somewhat disbelieving.

"These...cannot buy me."

Jiang Ruining suffered a critical hit of 10,000 points.

I clutched my chest, feeling so heartbroken.

Everyone else is richer than her!

"What do you want? Something too expensive is definitely beyond my means."

Shao Yunting was amused by her expression and suddenly reached into her sleeve pocket.

Jiang Ruining quickly covered it.

This action is truly a classic case of protesting too much.

Shao Yunting raised an eyebrow teasingly, as if to say: See! I tricked you out of it, didn't I?

Jiang Ruining laughed a little awkwardly and touched her nose: "Okay! Actually, I have two more silver notes, which my father and brother secretly gave me."

I am extremely reluctant to part with it.

Dawdling and procrastinating.

Unable to wait for the other party to say "no," she could only painstakingly pull out her purse like plucking a radish, and with a thousand times slower, hesitant yet determined movements, push it towards the "robber" opposite her: "Take it! This time, I really have nothing left; I'm completely bankrupt!"

Shao Yunting pinched the purse and could feel that it was indeed filled with paper.

I could also clearly sense her reluctance, and she was still pulling me back forcefully.

They won't give it to you?

Still can't give it to me?

Jiang Ruining could no longer hold the purse in her fingers and could only watch it being snatched away, her heart bleeding!

"You're a Duke, you're not short of money, just give it back! I'll go back and get something more valuable to buy it from you, okay?"

Shao Yunting smiled, as if deliberately teasing a child, and opened the purse.

Jiang Ruining's eyes widened as he moved.

Seeing how nervous she was, Shao Yunting was almost certain that what was inside was not a silver note, but a message that needed to be delivered!

The paper brushed against his purse and fell into his palm.

He froze.

It really is just a banknote!

Looking up suddenly, I saw her angry yet heartbroken expression, which didn't seem like she was faking it at all.

"..."

Jiang Ruining stared at the banknotes, feeling pain even in her breath!

She is now truly penniless.

I should have known better than to bring it out.

unhappy!

His surprised look made her realize that he had already set his sights on her sleeve pocket!

Reflect on the reasons.

It must have been an unconscious gesture of her protecting her sleeve pouch at the Princess's residence that made him think she was hiding some secret information to give to someone.

So he wasn't just sitting next door; he was actually following her, demanding hush money—which was also his excuse—all to check what was in her sleeve pocket!

This person is truly cunning, with more holes than a sieve!

She turned both sleeve pockets inside out and presented them to Shao Yunting: "That's all. I've given you all my belongings. Now you can forget about what just happened!"

Shao Yunting glanced at the two empty sleeve pockets, her eyes flickering slightly: "You're from a prestigious family, how come you're so...poor?"

Jiang Ruining desperately wanted to snatch the silver notes back: "If no one gives them to me, I'll naturally be poor."

Shao Yunting frowned: "The Jiang family has been prominent for generations, how could they possibly skimp on the expenses of your only legitimate daughter?"

"Are you deliberately mocking me?" Jiang Ruining glared at him, openly airing her family's dirty laundry: "The whole capital knows that Madam Jiang wishes I didn't exist so her precious niece could become the Jiang family's only daughter!"

"And then there are the expenses! She's almost emptied my savings! And this is what I've saved up over three years by living frugally!"

Shao Yunting: "..."

He stuffed the loose silver and banknotes into the same purse, returned it to her hand, and kept the other purse.

"I admit that I haven't been paying enough attention to you before, but don't worry, I will take good care of you until your uncle and Jiang Ruixiao return to Beijing. If you encounter any difficulties, you can come to me anytime, and I will do my best."

Jiang Ruining's hand trembled slightly as his palm pressed against hers, its temperature very high. She quickly pulled it away, saying, "No need, no need! I can handle it myself. I wouldn't dare trouble you!"

"If we meet again, I'll pretend I don't know you. If my mother finds out we're in contact, she'll definitely hurl insults at me!"

Instead of learning what girls should be learning, she's learned to seduce men. Has she no shame?

Don't you even look at your reputation? What right do you have to associate with someone like Duke Shao? You're just chasing after men, you have no self-respect!

There are even worse ones.

Although she didn't care, hearing it would make her body feel sad.

Shao Yunting was taken aback.

Although the Great Zhou Dynasty was not as open-minded as the neighboring Wu Dynasty, it was not to the point that young people would be severely punished for simply meeting each other.

Moreover, it was insults?

He finally realized that her situation was far more difficult than others thought.

No wonder Jiang Ruixiao wrote to him specifically, asking him to secretly take care of his sister. It was because she knew that Madam Jiang did not love Jiang Ruining at all, and only wanted to suppress and humiliate her!

Instead of knowing Jiang Ruining's thoughts and creating opportunities for her!

Because of a misunderstanding, he has indeed been impatient with Jiang Ruining in the months since he returned to Beijing. In that sense, he has truly betrayed Jiang Ruixiao's trust and failed to take care of his sister at all.

Jiang Ruining remembered that the purse in his hand was embroidered by the original owner. Since she had decided not to have any involvement with the male lead in the future, she couldn't give it to him. If the female lead misunderstood later, she would be doomed!

She reached out to take it: "This purse is too ugly! I'll have someone embroider a nicer one for you later."

Shao Yunteng flicked his wrist, leaving her with nothing, but then leaned closer to her: "Last time you cornered me and said you liked me, wasn't this the purse you were holding?"