Chapter 8: Report the Black Form

"Yes, my second brother helped me, so I'm going to buy him a gift."

Nan Bao Yi spoke, glancing at her without changing her expression.

In her previous life, Nan Yan, who was knowledgeable and well-mannered, was just a thirteen-year-old girl and couldn't yet handle things with composure. Seeing her blushing, it was clear that she was feeling extremely embarrassed.

Her gaze fell back on the inkstone.

She couldn't tell if the inkstone was good or bad, but she knew it was very expensive.

Expensive things are bound to be of good quality.

She took out a thousand taels of silver from her purse. "Wrap it up for me."

Nan Yan watched helplessly as she bought the inkstone she admired, feeling heartbroken but unable to say a word.

The shopkeeper chuckled, "Legitimate young ladies and concubines are indeed different. Look at how generous she is... Everyone in Jin Guan City knows that our Bao Yan Studio never bargains. Those who can't afford it and still want to bargain are no different from the market women who haggle over every ounce. As the saying goes, like father, like son. He's absolutely right!"

He looked down on Nan Yan.

Nan Yan's mother, Lady Liu, was well-known in Jin Guan City. When Lady Nan had forbidden her from entering the house and gave her a large sum of money to stay away, she had agreed to leave, but then begged and pleaded to become the concubine of the third master of the Nan family. She even attempted suicide at the gates of the Nan mansion when the third master got married!

It sounded nice to say it was a deep bond, but in reality, it was shameless and shameless!

Nan Yan's face turned as red as a pig's liver, with tears in her eyes, looking pitifully at Nan Bao Yi, as if hoping she would say something for her.

Nan Bao Yi sneered, thinking that Nan Yan still saw her as the good sister from her previous life.

She asked the maid to take the wrapped inkstone and politely said, "Sister, take your time. I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."

Nan Yan subconsciously followed her out of Bao Yan Studio, watching her as she got into the carriage with her maid.

The carriage was spacious and luxurious, with golden silk lanterns hanging from each corner, and even the hanging curtains and window curtains were embroidered with delicate patterns, ensuring a comfortable ride.

Feeling suffocated, she crumpled her handkerchief.

Her personal maid, feeling indignant for her, said, "Both of you are the master's daughters. Why can Nan Bao Yi ride in such a good carriage without blinking an eye and buy such an expensive inkstone, while the young lady has to live so frugally?! It's really unfair!"

"Just because she's the legitimate daughter..."

"What's the point of being legitimate?" The maid sighed and fumed, "I heard that the Nan family is not well-versed in literature and art, but the young lady and the young master are different. The young lady is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and the young master excels in the academy. Clearly, they are the most outstanding among the younger generation, but they can't even enter the mansion... If the young lady could also live in the Nan mansion and spend time with the old lady, the old lady would definitely like her!"

Nan Yan's expression changed.

Yes, if only she could live in the Nan mansion...

Suddenly, her eyes lit up. Since her mother was going to marry her father next month, she could move into the Nan mansion early. What's wrong with that?

Her low spirits vanished in an instant, and she exclaimed excitedly, "Let's go, let's go see father!"

She returned to the small courtyard in Qingqiao Alley. Her mother had gone to the silk shop to buy clothes, and her father was sitting in the yard drinking tea.

"Daddy," she knelt down gracefully and greeted him.

"Yan'er is back?" Nan Guang smiled, "How did it go? Did you find a suitable gift for your brother?"

Nan Yan hesitated for a moment, thinking that he had only given her fifty taels of silver. What good thing could she buy with that?

She approached obediently, "I bought a green Shen tube wolf hair brush for my brother, along with a box of fine ink. With the remaining money, I bought your favorite walnut pastries from Fuwei Bakery."

"Yan'er, buying a gift for your brother and still thinking of your father, I'm truly touched! Come, let's eat together."

Nan Yan sat down beside him and said softly, "Father, when I was out today, I met Bao Yi. We had a great conversation, and she really likes having me as her sister."

"If you two get along well, I'm happy too!"

"But..." Nan Yan hesitated.

"But what?"

Nan Yan looked worried, "Father, Bao Yi spent a thousand taels of silver without even blinking an eye today. I know that grandmother spoils her and gives her a lot of pocket money, but this is too extravagant... I don't have a clear status, so it's not appropriate for me to advise her. If I could be her legitimate sister, I could advise her to be simple and frugal, and think more for you, father."

A thousand taels of silver!

Nan Guang gasped in shock!

Heaven help him, ever since his mother found out about his concubine, she refused to let him squander the family fortune. He could only get a meager two hundred taels of silver from the public funds every month, and after a few drinks with friends and visits to teahouses, there was hardly anything left. Even the lives of Xiaomeng and Yan'er were lived frugally.

He, as a father, couldn't even come up with a thousand taels of silver, and Nan Bao Yi was so extravagant!

"Nonsense!" He pounded the stone table in anguish, "I've told your grandmother countless times that young girls shouldn't have so much silver on them, but she wouldn't listen and kept stuffing her with silver, just like your stepmother! A thousand taels, that's a thousand taels of pure silver!"

It would be enough for him to live a carefree life in the pleasure quarters for a long time!

Nan Yan poured him some tea, "If Yan'er had so much silver, she would definitely use it to show filial piety to father and grandmother, and not squander it recklessly."

"You are a good girl." Nan Guang sighed and patted her head, "Jiaojiao has been spoiled by your grandmother and needs someone by her side to guide and discipline her. In that case, pack up your things now and move into the house early, so you can help me take care of Jiaojiao."

"Is this not good?" Nan Yan raised her timid apricot eyes. "Grandmother doesn't like Yan'er, she definitely wouldn't want to prepare a courtyard for Yan'er..."

"You can live in the Brocade Pavilion, and stay with Jiaojiao, it will also be convenient for you to discipline her." Nan Guang spoke with a heavy heart, "That girl is mischievous, and she is also very spoiled in the mansion. I will trouble you, as her older sister, to take care of her in the future."

"Father, rest assured, I will definitely discipline her well."

Nan Yan obediently bowed and saluted, her face full of satisfaction.

As long as she could move into the Nan Mansion with legitimacy, she could frequently please the old lady and gain her favor. In the future, she would also have a share of what Nan Baoyi had. Maybe she could even receive rewards from the elders. It was much better than living outside, wasn't it?

On the other side,

Nan Baoyi returned to the Brocade Pavilion, holding a inkstone and examining it.

He Ye's face was full of distress, "It's just a stone with a hollow, and it costs a thousand taels of silver... Miss, do you think the owner of the Precious Ink Pavilion is deliberately trying to cheat us?"

"The things in the study are indeed very expensive."

Nan Baoyi carefully put away the inkstone and instructed, "Bring out all my valuable jewelry, I need to calculate the price."

Ten thousand taels of silver was not a small amount, even she had to carefully plan for it.