Chu Yu's eyes lit up, then she frowned in confusion. "The legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Xuanping's Mansion? Why do I need to befriend her?"
[The current plot has deviated slightly. This mission is to correct the main storyline.]
Chu Yu nodded thoughtfully. "But women in this era are so ignorant. Will it be useful?"
In this era, men were better off. At most, they were oppressed by power and had to humble themselves. But for women, on top of that, there were rules like "obeying the father before marriage, the husband during marriage, and the son in widowhood". And in ancient times, women took these rules very seriously. It was so annoying.
[Anyway, this is the mission. If the host doesn't want to accept it, you can just ignore it. Since it's not a customized mission, ignoring it won't result in a deduction of points.]
Chu Yu took a deep breath. "I'll still accept it. As for what to do next... I'll just take it one step at a time."
After all, accepting this mission would only bring her benefits.
Then, Chu Yu asked a few basic questions and got to know a bit about Jiang Wenlan.
She was young, arrogant, a typical cannon - fodder supporting female character. It wouldn't be difficult to befriend her.
Chu Yu thought that it would take a couple of days to arrange things regarding Xu Linchuan properly, so she decided to deal with Jiang Wenlan's matter first.
"To be victorious in every battle, one must know oneself and the enemy. System, quickly tell me what happened just now."
---
The next day, Chu Yu got dressed and ready to go out.
The system reminded her that Jiang Wenlan would go to Ruyi Cloth Workshop today, and she had to seize this opportunity.
"Xiaocui, find fifty taels of silver for me."
Xiaocui answered and left.
After a while, Xiaocui came back empty - handed. "Miss, we don't have any silver left."
Chu Yu was stunned. "How could that be?"
Doukou and Peilan exchanged a look and said, "Miss, you forgot. Last time when you renovated the yard, the princess said she wouldn't care about our affairs anymore. After that day, when I went to get the monthly allowance, the accountant refused to give it to me."
Chu Yu was stunned for a long time, then she laughed out of anger.
For just this little bit of silver, Jiang Ning'an actually had to be so calculating!
She's a princess? Such a small - minded person!
Well, anyway, she was about to move out soon.
"You can go about your business."
With that, Chu Yu got up and left.
Watching her back, Doukou sighed in her heart.
The master must have a way to get silver, but as servants, they could only rely on the master.
If they couldn't rely on the master, they would starve to death sooner or later.
---
At Ruyi Cloth Workshop.
"Hey, Miss Jiang is here!"
Manager Qi of the cloth workshop greeted Jiang Wenlan as soon as he saw her.
Jiang Wenlan was the legitimate daughter of the marquis's mansion and was very generous. Every time she came, she would casually spend a hundred or so taels of silver. Naturally, she was highly regarded by Manager Qi.
Seeing Jiang Wenlan looking impatient at this moment, Manager Qi became even more cautious. "What's wrong, Miss Jiang?"
"Stop talking nonsense. I heard you have new fabrics. Bring them all up!"
She was in a bad mood and needed to splurge!
Hearing this, Manager Qi's face lit up with a smile again. He quickly led her to a side compartment and personally arranged the fabrics.
"Miss Jiang, you came just in time. These fabrics were just delivered yesterday. Take a look. Do you like any of them?"
Ruyi Cloth Workshop was very popular among the noble ladies in the capital. Its fabrics had elegant yet not dull colors, and the patterns were extremely delicate.
Jiang Wenlan took a glance and said, "Okay, I'll take them all."
Seeing her being so straightforward, Manager Qi smiled more sincerely. "Hey! Miss Jiang, you have really good taste. I'll have someone pack them up for you right away, pack them up nicely!"
Just as Manager Qi was about to call someone to pack the fabrics, a voice sounded. "How much are these fabrics? I'll pay for Miss Jiang."
Manager Qi looked up instinctively.
The girl in front of him was gentle and charming. A green silk dress added a touch of tranquility to her. Such a striking color didn't look out of place on her at all. Instead, it made people unable to take their eyes off her.
Chu Yu gave her a gentle smile. "How much?"
Jiang Wenlan sized her up and said impatiently, "Who are you?"
Chu Yu's smile remained on her face. "I'm currently staying at the mansion of the Princess Regent. I heard that the princess went to the Marquis of Xuanping's Mansion the other day and there was some unpleasantness. So I came here specifically to apologize to you on her behalf."
With that, Chu Yu curtsied to Jiang Wenlan.
But Jiang Wenlan didn't appreciate it at all. She snorted and said, "You're apologizing to me? Aren't you just a guest at the princess's mansion?"
Chu Yu said with a smile, "Miss Jiang, the princess has a bad temper. You met her once and got so angry. My days at the princess's mansion must be even more difficult. In that case, why do you have to make things difficult for me?"
Hearing this, Jiang Wenlan raised her eyebrows. "Really? You've also been bullied by Princess Zhaoyang a lot?"
Chu Yu pursed her lips, but she just couldn't force herself to smile.
Seeing her forced smile, Jiang Wenlan said to Manager Qi, "You go out first. We two need to have a private chat."
Manager Qi quickly got up and left.
"Have a seat," Jiang Wenlan said. "Why are you staying at the princess's mansion?"
"I'm the... niece of the imperial consort. I've reached the right age, so my father sent me to the capital and asked my uncle to help me find a suitable marriage partner."
"I see," Jiang Wenlan thought nothing of it. Her eyes showed a bit of pity. "You've really had a hard time. Princess Zhaoyang is well - known for her bad temper. You must have suffered a lot living with her."
Chu Yu sighed. "I'm the niece of the imperial consort, so I'm also the princess's younger sister. But now, I'm living in a... servant's room in the mansion."
Jiang Wenlan's eyes widened in shock.
The Princess Regent's mansion was so grand, but they couldn't even spare a decent courtyard and made a guest live in a servant's room?!
"Not to mention that there are so many things missing in the servant's room. Some time ago, the princess had a fight with my uncle and stopped my monthly allowance. My life is really..."
Chu Yu sighed and then asked, "By the way, Miss Jiang, why does the princess not like you?"
Jiang Wenlan pouted. "It's not that she doesn't like me. She's supporting someone I don't like! You don't know! My grandmother just said one word about her, and she actually wanted to cut my grandmother's tongue!
Because of her, my grandmother was so scared that she got sick! She couldn't even get out of bed all day yesterday!"
Chu Yu gasped in shock at the right moment. "There's such a thing? Just because an elder said one word, the princess reacted so strongly. This..."
As soon as they started talking about the person they both disliked, they quickly found a common ground.
Jiang Wenlan said, "She just happened to be born into a good family. What's so great about that! I tell you, she even meddled in our family's affairs! If even we can't decide who the heir should be, as an outsider, she has even less right to interfere!"
Seeing Jiang Wenlan so angry that her face turned red, a glint of amusement flashed in Chu Yu's eyes. "You're right. But she's a high - ranking princess. What can we do?"