Rebirth and Marriage: I am the Mistress of the Palace

Chapter 716 It’s a shame to be stuck at home

More importantly, because Meng Yunlan had been unable to conceive, she had promised Qiao Zhiyu that she would marry Gu Qianling as a concubine, on the condition that if Qiao Zhiyu gave birth to a son, the son must be given to her as the legal wife to raise, and Qiao Zhiyu would pretend that she had never given birth to the child.

Qiao Zhiyu agreed.

However, Meng Yunlan later changed his mind, and this matter became a concern for Qiao Zhiyu.

She no longer wanted to look at anyone else and refused to listen to her mother's advice. She was determined to marry Gu Qianling.

Shen Wantang looked at Qiao Zhiyu's clenched hands and knew that she had come to the right place today. She said calmly:

"Miss Qiao, there's no need to belittle yourself. You're beautiful and come from a good family. You're already better than many women in the capital."

"As the saying goes, clothes make the man, and saddles make the horse. If you dress up nicely and go out for a walk, you might encounter a good opportunity."

"It's not okay to be stuck at home all the time, not caring about dressing up, not socializing, and just being sad about the passing of time."

A trace of embarrassment appeared on Qiao Zhiyu's face, even awkwardness and stiffness.

Because Shen Wantang immediately pierced through her vulnerable shell.

She really didn't want to go out, and even less want to socialize, because she was afraid of hearing others talking about her and mocking her. Some people even said things about her in front of her without any hesitation.

She doesn't even have a single friend now.

It's true that she doesn't dress up, but that doesn't mean she doesn't like to dress up. On the contrary, she actually loves to dress up.

She didn't dress up simply because she was too poor. She didn't even have money to buy rouge and powder, let alone buy fashionable new clothes.

My father was a censor. He was stubborn and would advise the emperor again and again if he did something wrong, even at the cost of his life. The emperor was very unhappy and demoted him again and again, and often fined him by having his salary deducted for a whole year.

So, the family has always been in financial difficulty.

We could have barely gotten by relying on my mother's dowry, but my father loved helping fellow villagers and his poor relatives. Today, if someone came to ask for help, he would give them ten taels. Tomorrow, if someone came to complain, he would give them fifteen taels. The day after tomorrow, if someone had an emergency at home, he would give them twenty taels...

He didn't bring a penny home, and even used his mother's dowry to support others. As a result, the family became even more financially strapped.

His mother had argued with him countless times, but it was all in vain. He even disliked his mother for being too selfish, womanly, and foolish.

Later, my father fell ill, and my mother sold all her dowry and pawned all her valuable jewelry and clothes to seek medical treatment and cure his illness.

After all the dowry was used up, my father's condition still did not improve, so my mother had to borrow money.

However, all those who had received help from my father in the past avoided me. My mother was rejected countless times before she could reluctantly borrow ten taels of silver.

But this amount of money is just a drop in the bucket and cannot cure my father's illness at all.

The mother had no choice but to borrow money from a loan shark.

And her father, until his death, was still fantasizing that the fellow villagers he had helped and the relatives he had helped would repay him doubly as a benefactor when they became successful.

When he died, his mother cried bitterly, but Qiao Zhiyu felt relieved - he was finally dead. If he hadn't died, she and her mother would not have been able to survive.

After her father died, she and her mother had been doing needlework to pay off their debts.

But five years have passed and the usury has not been repaid. With the interest compounded, they still owe more than 600 taels of silver including principal and interest.

Being so poor, how can she dress herself up?

Even the clothes she wore to meet the guests today were the only ones without patches.

So it is easy to imagine how attractive it was to her when Shen Wantang brought her a new set of gold brocade clothes.

"cousin."

Shen Wantang changed her address, stood up, and took Qiao Zhiyu's hand: "Since you are my sister-in-law's cousin, and you are a few years older than me, it's okay for me to follow my sister-in-law and call you cousin, right?"

Qiao Zhiyu was very confused. She didn't know why she came today, and she didn't know what her purpose was in suddenly calling her cousin.

She doesn't have a very good relationship with her cousin Meng Yunlan. If Meng Yunlan knew that Shen Wantang came to see her, she would definitely be unhappy.

But even though she was full of doubts, Qiao Zhiyu was unwilling to let go of this life-saving straw. This was her only chance to get close to Gu Qianling!

She also held Shen Wantang's hand and said affectionately, "Sister, you don't dislike me and are willing to call me cousin. I couldn't ask for more! It's my blessing to have a sister like you!"

Shen Wantang smiled kindly, "Since that's the case, don't be polite to me, sister. Just accept this dress. You have fair skin, and this royal blue color looks best on you."

As she spoke, she picked up the box and put it into Qiao Zhiyu's hand.

Qiao Zhiyu held the box, looked at Shen Wantang, and then looked at the gold brocade skirt she had always dreamed of, and she almost cried!

Such luxurious and beautiful clothes, could it be hers so easily?!

Even if this dress is not worn, it can be worth at least five hundred taels if sold!

She didn't want to refuse anymore, otherwise what would she do if Shen Wantang thought she didn't like it and refused to give it to her?

She quickly said, "Thank you so much, sister! I'm so grateful that you thought of me. If you need me in the future, just let me know!"

Shen Wantang remained amiable. "It's just a piece of clothing. As long as you like it, you're welcome. I was a little rude just now, so I hope you don't mind. I just thought it was a shame for you, young and beautiful as you are, to stay at home. You could go out more often. I didn't mean anything else."

"No, no, I'm not being presumptuous at all. What you said makes a lot of sense. I really should go out more often!"

Especially, you should spend more time at Gu’s house!

"Sister, do you want to try this dress on to see if it fits? I really want to see what it looks like on you!"

Qiao Zhiyu wanted to see what she would look like in this gold brocade dress more than Shen Wantang.

Her eyes lit up: "Sister, wait here for a moment. I'll go behind the screen and change into it so you can see it."

Shen Wantang smiled and nodded: "Okay, sister, go change!"

Qiao Zhiyu held the clothes and ran happily behind the screen.

After a while, she came out wearing new clothes.

The overly luxurious material made her feel a little uncomfortable: "So, does it look good on me?"

Shen Wantang exclaimed: "That's amazing! Very nice, very beautiful, it suits you very well!"

"Really?"

Qiao Zhiyu's eyes lit up, and he hurried to the bronze mirror, looking left and right, and said happily: "It really looks good! And I didn't expect it to fit me so well!"

Shen Wantang smiled faintly.

Of course it fits. Before going out, she asked someone to tighten the waist of her clothes.

Because she and Qiao Zhiyu are about the same height, but Qiao Zhiyu is thinner.

With the waistline tightened, Qiao Zhiyu can wear it out today.

Shen Wantang chuckled and said, "It's getting late. I should leave too."