Chapter 4: Disguise

"You are right, Madam. That is why I chose your shop."

Liu Yunxin laughed heartily. "You little girl, one hundred taels of silver per bottle—what do you think of that?"

In their village, an entire courtyard house only sold for twenty taels. One hundred taels for a single bottle far exceeded Jiang Lihua's expectations; she had only been hoping for fifty.

Beaming with joy, she expressed her thanks: "That is perfect. Thank you, Madam."

Initially, Liu Yunxin had suspected that Jiang Lihua did not act like a child at all, but seeing her undisguised delight, she decided she had been overthinking things.

"Lihua, if you have any more of this, bring it to me. I will certainly give you a good price."

"No problem at all, Madam Liu."

Liu Yunxin took out three silver notes and handed them to her. "Here are three hundred taels in silver notes."

Jiang Lihua accepted the notes and held one out. "Madam, could you please exchange this one for nine ten-tael notes and some smaller silver pieces?"

"Certainly. Xiao Lan, go and handle that for Lihua."

"Yes, Madam."

Xiao Lan took the note to exchange it for smaller currency.

"By the way, Lihua, what is the name of this product?"

Jiang Lihua knew that explaining it as "BB cream" would be difficult to grasp, so she changed her approach.

"Madam, this is called 'Baby Cream,' meaning that after using it, one's skin becomes as white and tender as a baby's."

Liu Yunxin nodded. "Baby Cream—that is a lovely name."

Xiao Hong, whose face was still half-covered in the cream, walked over to Liu Yunxin.

"Madam, what should I do about my face now?"

She had already checked the mirror; she wasn't disfigured, and in fact, the side with the cream looked better than her natural skin. However, having only half her face looking so good was awkward. She hoped the Madam would let her apply it to the other side as well.

Jiang Lihua caught the girl’s hidden intent. *Heh*, she wasn't about to let this snobbish maid get her way.

"Madam, the Baby Cream must be washed off before sleeping. Water alone won't remove it; you need oil to wipe it away. Would you like me to demonstrate?"

Liu Yunxin nodded. "Xiao Hong, go fetch some oil."

Xiao Hong glared at Jiang Lihua and fetched the oil with obvious reluctance.

Jiang Lihua took a small amount of oil on her fingers and gently rubbed it over Xiao Hong's face. In moments, her face returned to its original state.

Liu Yunxin watched with genuine amazement.

Just then, Xiao Lan returned with the change. "Young lady, here are nine ten-tael notes and ten taels in small silver."

Jiang Lihua wiped her hands, took the money, and bade Liu Yunxin farewell. "Madam, I shall take my leave now."

"Very well, Lihua. Remember, if you have more of this, come straight to me."

Jiang Lihua grinned. "Heh, I will, Madam."

Liu Yunxin watched Jiang Lihua walk away. She did not send anyone to follow her; she trusted that the girl would return.

Now carrying a small fortune, Jiang Lihua began her shopping spree. First, she bought three sets of clothes for herself, discarding the rags she had been wearing. Thinking of the scrawny young man, she bought two sets for him as well.

Dressed in new clothes, Jiang Lihua headed to a jewelry shop. She bought a few hair ornaments, and the shop assistant styled her hair for free. She parted her hair into two buns on either side of her head, allowing a few strands to hang down naturally, and fastened the ornaments onto the buns.

By now, Jiang Lihua’s appearance had been completely transformed; she was unrecognizable as the impoverished little girl she had been before.

However, her body was still thin and sallow from long-term malnutrition. To avoid being recognized by the villagers, she ducked into a secluded spot and took out her cushion BB cream. She lightly patted a layer of powder onto her face, which instantly gave her a much healthier complexion.

Finally, she bought a good supply of rice, flour, and oil. She couldn't keep producing items out of thin air, so she needed these to serve as a cover.

Once she was done, she headed toward the city gate.

Ni Wenyu had been waiting for a quarter of an hour. Seeing no sign of Jiang Lihua, he was growing anxious and kept looking around.

Then, a pretty young girl with her hair styled in buns, wearing a light blue jacket, with moth-like eyebrows and almond eyes, walked toward him with a smile.

As she reached him and stood there silently, he cupped his hands and asked, "Miss, can I help you?"

The young girl was none other than Jiang Lihua. She laughed as she looked at the reserved Ni Wenyu. "Ni Wenyu, it's me, Lihua."

Hearing her familiar voice, Ni Wenyu’s eyes widened. He scrutinized her carefully before he finally recognized her.

"Lihua," he said, his eyes full of worry, "where did you get the money to buy all these things?"

"Don't worry! I actually found a treasure a long time ago and kept it with me. I had no other choice, so I pawned it. I got over a hundred taels of silver!"

"What kind of treasure is worth so much?"

"I don't really know, but it looked valuable, so I kept it safe."

Jiang Lihua spun around in front of him. "Well? Can the villagers recognize me now?"

Ni Wenyu nodded.

"From now on, I am your distant cousin who has come to Lihua Village to seek refuge with you."

Ni Wenyu had a sudden realization and understood her plan. "Alright."

"Let's go. Time to head back to the village and buy a house."

With that, Jiang Lihua led the way.

Ni Wenyu hurried to catch up and took the bags from her. "Lihua, let me carry those."

Jiang Lihua did not refuse. "Ni Wenyu, can we take an ox cart back?"

She really did not want to walk that far again.

"Of course. But Lihua, you should call me 'Brother Ni' or 'Cousin,' don't just call me by my name all the time."

It was quite awkward, but Jiang Lihua would need some time to get used to calling a thirteen-year-old boy "brother."

Ni Wenyu led her toward the ox cart heading back to Lihua Village. Before they even reached it, they heard the sharp, shrill voice of a woman behind them.

"Well, well, isn't this Scholar Ni? And who is this young girl with you?"

Jiang Lihua recognized her immediately—it was Widow Zhang, who was close with the Sun woman.

Ni Wenyu replied gently, "Auntie Zhang, this is my distant cousin."

"Distant cousin? You have relatives? If you have relatives, why are you still leeching off the village, making us villagers support you?"

Ni Wenyu’s expression dimmed at these words.

"Tell me, Auntie," Jiang Lihua interjected, "have you ever supported my cousin?"

Widow Zhang was just as stingy and sharp-tongued as the Sun woman; trying to get a single coin out of her was harder than reaching the heavens. Jiang Lihua didn't believe for a second that she had ever fed Ni Wenyu.

Widow Zhang retorted stubbornly, "How haven't I? I gave him a steamed bun that one year!"

"Hmph, one bun?" Jiang Lihua looked her up and down with disdain. "With your personality, you’d actually be willing to give a bun to my cousin?"

"You wretched girl! What do you mean by that? Are you looking down on me?"

"That’s right. I am looking down on you."

"You little wretch! I'll tear your mouth apart today!"

With that, Widow Zhang lunged at Jiang Lihua. Jiang Lihua stepped aside and extended her leg, tripping the widow as she rushed past.