I Transmigrated and Already Had a Wife - Chapter 6

“Why the daze?” Jiang Zhou’s face was beaming with joy, and her slender fingers waved in front of Lin Muxuan, “I’ve found out the location of the cloth shop.”

The tone was rising, with a hint of showing off, and the clear and beautiful eyebrows could not hide the pleasure.

There was also a subtle wish to be praised.

Lin Muxuan pursed her lips, her gaze lingering on her for a moment before moving away, finding it a bit hard to understand.

Did this really make her that happy?

She came back to her senses, curved her lips, and a hint of a smile, faint and barely noticeable without a close look, perhaps not even to herself, appeared in her bright eyes.

She gave her a slight smile.

Jiang Zhou habitually took her hand, her eyes full of smiles directed at her. Lin Muxuan’s body stiffened, her pearly teeth biting the soft flesh inside her lip, her eyelids lowered, suppressing the urge to pull her hand away.

She secretly blamed herself for forgetting this person’s true nature, as her hand was being playfully kneaded in Jiang Zhou’s palm.

Jiang Zhou smiled and explained, “There are many people, don’t get lost.”

Lin Muxuan lowered her head, her expression blank, letting her pull her forward.

The cloth shop was filled with dazzling array of fabrics, with new and unique patterns. Lin Muxuan glanced around. These materials, when she was the daughter of the Minister of Personnel, were not even worthy of her attention. Now…

Things have changed.

She sighed slightly, her expression saddened.

Inappropriately, she thought of her father in prison and her mother who was still suffering.

She wondered how her father was faring in prison?

Although she and her mother were in the same Linyang County, they could not meet.

She glanced at Jiang Zhou, her mind subtly stirring.

If she were to ask Jiang Zhou now, Lin Muxuan’s hands, hidden in her sleeves, clenched tightly, would she help her go see her mother?

Lin Muxuan tightly pursed her lips, and the subtle thought that had just surfaced completely retreated.

When she was the young master of the Jiang family, she wouldn’t care about her, so how could she care about this idle matter now that she was down and out? To see her mother required money for bribes, and where would she get the money for her?

If she brought it up, she would probably hit her again. The light that had just sparked in her eyes gradually dimmed.

A shadow suddenly appeared in front of her. She abruptly raised her head. The person who had been diligently selecting fabric just moments ago was now standing in front of her, holding a bolt of cloth in her arms. Seeing her look up, she smiled at her, then frowned, unfolding a corner of the fabric and repeatedly comparing it in front of her.

“See if you like it?” Jiang Zhou looked at the fabric, then swept her gaze over Lin Muxuan, as if comparing. Finally, she shook her head, letting out a heavy sigh, and said, “The material looks good, but it feels a bit old-fashioned; it would hide your beauty. You are so pretty, you should wear brighter colors. What kind of taste does this boss have?”

With that, she carried the cloth to the counter, placed the fabric on top, and pointed to a bolt of water-green fabric on the shelf behind her, saying, “Get that one for me to see.”

The boss looked over the young man in front of him, noticing that her clothes were made of fine material, better than even the shop’s best fabric. He immediately beamed, concluding that the young man must be wealthy. “Young Master, you truly have an eye for quality. This is the best material in the shop, but the price is a little…”

He rubbed his hands together, took the fabric down, and handed it over.

Jiang Zhou brought the fabric over to Lin Muxuan, and just as she was about to compare the effect of the color on her, Lin Muxuan stopped her, refusing, “You don’t need to buy it for me. We should hurry and buy what we need and go back. Mother will worry if we are late.”

“Can’t I even just look?” Jiang Zhou mumbled, continuing to look at the fabric in her hand. The more she looked, the more she felt it suited Lin Muxuan. She would look beautiful in this color.

Lin Muxuan stopped paying attention to her and stepped forward to ask the boss for a cotton quilt and bedding.

The boss glanced at them, his face even more delighted. In Baisheng, most people made such things as cotton quilts themselves. Wealthy families had specialized embroiderers to make them, and ordinary people would buy quilt covers and make them at home. Hardly anyone bought them ready-made. These few sets of bedding in his shop were all stored away items. Today, he had truly encountered two generous spenders.

Bah, not generous spenders, but little gods of wealth who brought money.

The more the boss looked at the two of them, the happier he felt, and he unconsciously started talking more.

Seeing their attire and connecting it with the purchase of the quilt, he had already concluded that they were two young people who had eloped—a young master from a wealthy family running away with his mistress.

A pang of wistfulness struck him. They seemed like a good match, why wouldn’t their families approve?

The boss found a stool, climbed up, and took the bedding from the shelf behind the counter, throwing it down onto the counter with a thud. Dust immediately flew up. Jiang Zhou quickly pulled Lin Muxuan to her side and used her sleeve to cover Lin Muxuan’s mouth and nose. After the dust settled, she couldn’t help but complain to the boss, “How long has this been sitting here? Can we even use it?”

The boss didn’t get angry, chuckling, he climbed down from the stool and strongly recommended the quilt, “These are all new, look at the quilt cover yourself. Which shop can match the quality of my material?”

Jiang Zhou pouted. What difference does it make? It’s still white background with blue flowers, old-fashioned. If she had a choice, she really wouldn’t want to buy it.

But she didn’t have a choice, did she?

However, seeing the boss smiling so broadly, she felt an inexplicable feeling. She looked at Lin Muxuan, then at the quilt, and couldn’t help complaining in her heart, “Couldn’t you at least give an opinion?”

Seeing Lin Muxuan not look at her, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and ask, “How much is this?”

As soon as the boss saw a potential sale, he immediately replied, holding up five fingers with a cheerful smile.

“Five taels?” Jiang Zhou was unsure. Although she didn’t know the market price, she felt it was expensive.

She wondered if their money was enough?

The boss shook his head, “Young Master, you must be joking. It’s five hundred wen. One quilt is five hundred wen, and the bedding is the same price as the quilt. The total is two taels of silver.”

Jiang Zhou didn’t know if two taels of silver was expensive. She instinctively glanced at Lin Muxuan. Lin Muxuan’s expression paused for a moment, then she took out a slightly larger silver ingot and placed it on the counter.

In fact, Lin Muxuan didn’t know either. Before, at home, she didn’t have to worry about such things. Later, when she came to the Jiang residence, she was living so miserably that let alone touching money, even having a full meal was a luxury. She didn’t want to waste time here with Jiang Zhou. Whatever the boss said, she handed over the silver.

The boss’s eyes were fixed on the silver ingot. His heart leaped with joy. Seeing her look so refined, he realized she must be the one who wore the pants.

He picked up the silver ingot, bit it, and put it away with a smile.

“Young Master, Miss, please come back to my small shop if you need anything else. I’ll give you a discount,” the boss said, smiling.

Discount?

Hearing those two words, Jiang Zhou immediately perked up, staring at the water-green fabric, and quickly asked, “How much is it?”

The boss was shrewd. Seeing another potential sale, he immediately replied, “If the Young Master wants it, my shop will give you a 20% discount.”

“Two taels of silver for one bolt,” the boss said.

Two taels?

Jiang Zhou had no concept of spending money. She immediately thought of the silver they had. If she remembered correctly, Lin Muxuan took out the large size of silver, of which there were three pieces. There were two smaller pieces. The three large ones were six taels of silver, so the small ones should be one tael of silver each, totaling two taels. They should have eight taels of silver in total. They spent two taels on the quilt, leaving six taels.

If they bought another bolt of cloth, they would have four taels left, which should be enough, right?

“I’m sorry, we don’t need it,” Lin Muxuan refused directly, not giving her any more time to consider.

She glanced at Jiang Zhou, “Let’s go.”

“But…” Jiang Zhou paused, meeting Lin Muxuan’s serious gaze, “We need to buy two sets of clothes to change into.” After a pause, she added, “Buying a piece of cloth won’t actually cost much.”

Lin Muxuan pursed her lips, not saying a word. She stepped forward, put the money pouch into Jiang Zhou’s hand, turned, and walked out of the shop, waiting for her at the doorway.

Her heart was in turmoil at the moment. She didn’t know where the sudden displeasure came from. Her chest felt heavy, as if stuffed with cotton, and it was especially bothersome when she saw Jiang Zhou. She took a deep breath.

After a while, Jiang Zhou emerged from the shop, finally satisfied, carrying the bedding, a few extra clothes, and a bolt of cloth.

The items were stacked high in her arms, somewhat obstructing her view. Jiang Zhou tilted her head to look at Lin Muxuan, only to meet a pair of cold eyes.

Her heart tightened. Oh no, she’s angry.

Her throat bobbed up and down, and she offered a hesitant smile, “Let’s go to the inn first, put these things down, and then go buy other things.”

Lin Muxuan looked ahead and spoke plainly, “It’s better to buy everything in one trip and then go back. Going back and forth is tiring.”

Jiang Zhou: “…”

What could she say?

Jiang Zhou sighed inwardly. Forget it, whatever she says goes. Anyway, she had plenty of strength. This weight was less than one-tenth of her usual practice.

Lin Muxuan stopped in front of a grain shop. “Husband, let’s buy some rice to take back.”

“Oh, okay.” Jiang Zhou struggled to poke her head out from the pile of things, tilting her head to glimpse the small flag inserted on the door frame, which had the character for ‘grain’ written on it in black.

This time, Lin Muxuan went into the shop herself. Jiang Zhou was carrying too many things and couldn’t easily enter. In a moment, Lin Muxuan came out of the shop with a small bag of rice in her hand.

“Put it on top,” Jiang Zhou raised her chin, signaling her to place the rice on the bedding.

Lin Muxuan glanced at her and continued walking with the bag of rice.

Jiang Zhou followed behind, still unwilling to give up, calling out, “Why are you walking so fast? Hurry and put the rice up here. I’m strong, I can carry it.”

“Hey, don’t walk so fast.”

Seeing her not look back, Jiang Zhou had no choice but to jog after her, carrying the things. Fortunately, Lin Muxuan didn’t suggest buying anything else this time and went straight back to the inn. They happened to meet the old man driving the ox-cart, who was transporting wine back to the inn.

Seeing them return, the old man happily said, “You bought so many things, why didn’t you leave them there? When we go back, we could drive the cart over to pick them up.”

?!

That’s an option?

Jiang Zhou pouted, dumping the things in her arms onto the ox-cart, then took the rice from Lin Muxuan’s hand and put it on top.

She smiled and said to the old man, “We still need to buy a few bowls and dishes.”

“You two get on the cart. We don’t have many customers today, just the two of you. I’ll drive the cart and take you to buy them.”

“Great.” Jiang Zhou excitedly finished speaking, then quickly turned and helped Lin Muxuan onto the cart. She pulled at the quilt, patted it, and said, “Sitting on this will prevent your butt from hurting from the bumps.”

Lin Muxuan’s face flushed, her gaze pausing on her for a moment. She said nothing, turning her face away.

A scoundrel.

She was annoyed with her, but she still sat down on the quilt. It was indeed uncomfortable sitting on the cart floor on the way there.

By the time they returned home, it was already past noon. Madam Jiang was sitting in the courtyard, chatting with the elderly woman next door.