Originally, the newly-arrived County Magistrate Shen didn’t know that Old Uncle Shen and his daughter were living in Yangshu Village, but he happened to meet Old Uncle Shen, who was selling ground beans in Wangquan Town on an official trip, and learned that his father and sister were in the village.
So the following events took their natural course, and he took his sister and Old Uncle Shen back to the county government office.
From then on, Shen Qiu became increasingly different. From time to time, she would ride a carriage with two maids to visit Yangshu Village.
No one knew what she was doing here today. Although they met frequently, it didn’t mean that they had a good relationship.
Especially on a day like today, she wouldn’t have been invited. Yang Chuxia hadn’t even invited people like Shopkeeper Li, Constable Hong, and Broker Liu from the town.
"Mother, it’s Shen Qiu, Old Uncle Shen’s daughter."
"Oh," Ms. Wang nodded but didn’t say much. She didn’t like Shen Qiu either.
As for Land Officer Yang’s wife, she didn’t like her either. The reason was Yang Dayong. She didn’t know what was wrong with him back then when his mother went to propose marriage to Shen Qiu. Old Uncle Shen agreed because he thought Yang Dayong was a good young man and there wasn’t a big age difference between him and Shen Qiu. Besides, Land Officer Yang’s family was living a good life.
Shen Qiu was willing to marry Yang Dayong at first, but once her brother, the County Magistrate, arrived, she changed her mind and refused the marriage.
They couldn’t force her if she didn’t agree, so the engagement was broken. However, it made Yang Dayong heartbroken for a while. Even now, he hasn’t married, which angered Land Officer Yang’s wife.
After talking to Ms. Wang, Yang Chuxia asked Xiu’er, "What’s she here for? Did you ask her?"
"She said she’s here to bring adulthood gifts for you, Miss."
Upon hearing this, Yang Chuxia nodded and said, "Mother, I’m going out to see her."
"Alright, just be gentle when you speak, after all, she’s now the sister of the County Magistrate." Ms. Wang knew her daughter’s temper. The villagers said it had improved, but in fact, it hadn’t. Yang Chuxia didn’t hit people because their actions hadn’t crossed the line, but she was always blunt when she spoke.
"Okay, I understand."
Yang Chuxia thought to herself, she would still do as she pleased. She was puzzled as to why Shen Qiu still dared to come and see her, especially after being scolded so harshly last time.
However, when she went outside, she finally found out what Shen Qiu was here for.
Dressed in all new clothes, the fabric was of excellent quality - it must be Hangzhou silk. The jewelry that caught her eye included a hibiscus jade hairpin and hibiscus jade bracelets. The jade quality was excellent.
In modern times, hibiscus jade is not considered very valuable, but in ancient times, it was a precious item and quite expensive.
It seemed Shen Qiu was here to show off.
And indeed, ever since Shen Qiu met Yang Chuxia, she saw her wearing beautiful clothes, eating well, wearing fine jewelry of silver, gold, jade, and pearls, with people attending to her, and a more refined appearance than herself.
This made her envious at first, but the longer they were in contact and the more she saw, the envy slowly turned into jealousy.
In fact, there was something she had never told anyone. The reason the imposter didn’t kill her was mainly because she voluntarily informed them of many things about Yang Chuxia. Initially, she was just a little jealous of Yang Chuxia’s beautiful clothes.