It seemed that Chu Lian wasn't living as well as she had imagined!

With that thought, Sister Yuan, who had been angered by Sister Su and Sister Fu, felt much better.

Chu Lian nodded at her sisters. Now that she was a person of rank, she didn't need to greet them.

Sister Su invited Chu Lian to the Jinshi Pavilion. Sister Yuan uncharacteristically walked to Chu Lian's side in two or three steps. With a slight movement, she actually pushed Wenlan away. Her hands clung onto Chu Lian's arm and affectionately called her "Sixth Sister".

Chu Lian felt goosebumps all over her body at Sister Yuan's words. She glanced at Sister Yuan's hands, which were wrapped around her left arm, and made no attempt to hide her disgust. Sister Yuan looked into Chu Lian's eyes, but it seemed that she did not notice Chu Lian's displeasure. Instead, she said in an intimate tone, "Sister Six, we all know that you've been awarded a title!

We just haven't had the time to congratulate you. You won't blame me, right? "

Chu Lian sneered inwardly. If the Ying family really cared about this, they wouldn't have waited until now to bring it up in front of her.

Although her title was rare, it was only a low-rank title for a noblewoman. It wouldn't affect the imperial court at all. She was like a bucket of water that had been poured out of the Ying family. Moreover, she didn't have loving parents, so it was normal for her to be neglected. Fortunately, she wasn't the original Chu Lian, so there wasn't anything she couldn't accept.

This was more comfortable!

She drew a clear line between her and the Ying family. They wouldn't be able to pester her in the future!

Chu Lian didn't want to deal with them, but they were outside after all.

She said in a good temper, "I won't blame you. It's just a small matter."

Sister Yuan rolled her eyes and curled up the corners of her mouth, showing an expression that said, "At least you know what's good for you." Seeing this, Wenqing held her breath in her throat and clenched her fists tightly, feeling sorry for her mistress.

Sister Su walked two steps ahead of them. When she heard their conversation, she frowned slightly.

Afraid that Sister Yuan would say something else, she quickly interrupted, "Sixth Sister, are you also here to pick jewelry?"

At that moment, the sisters from the Ying family arrived at the main hall of Jinshi Loft.

Chu Lian didn't want to tell her that she was here to pick out a birthday present for her mother-in-law, Countess Jing 'an, so she nodded perfunctorily.

Sister Su's eyes darkened slightly. Ever since the incident at Marquis Dingyuan's residence, she could feel that Chu Lian had distanced herself from her, sister-in-law Rong, and even the entire Ying Public House.

Regarding that day at the Dingyuan Marquis residence, she was not able to immediately stand by Chu Lian's side. She had always felt guilty, so she no longer said anything to annoy her.

The main hall of the Golden Stone Pavilion was decorated elegantly. In order to make it convenient for the ladies to rest, there were tables, chairs, incense burners, and even a tea room in the backyard.

After the four sisters sat down, there were maids who served them fried tea. The female shopkeeper even personally came over to accompany them.

Sister Fu looked at Chu Lian's attire and a trace of contempt appeared in her eyes. The three branches of the Duke of Ying were not on good terms. Even if Chu Lian married, she would be a daughter of the second branch. In Sister Fu's eyes, she was in the same boat as Sister Yuan. How could Sister Fu let go of such a good opportunity?

Sister Fu pretended to be envious as she looked at Chu Lian. "Sixth Older Sister was personally bestowed the title of Township Lord by His Majesty. This is truly an honor for our Ying Public House.

Two days ago, Grandmother praised Sixth Older Sister in front of Younger Sister!

Younger Sister even said that she was jealous.

Grandmother also said that if His Majesty personally bestowed the title of Township Lord, the imperial family would reward her according to the rules. Just the gold alone would be worth several hundred taels, not to mention the other clothes and jewelry.

Younger Sister is so envious! "

Sister Su did not expect Sister Fu to say such a thing. She gave Sister Fu a warning look.

However, Sister Yuan's eyes suddenly lit up. Then, jealousy and unwillingness quickly flashed through them.

Chu Lian's expression didn't change as she stared at the people in front of her. She found it funny. Sister Fu really knew how to brag. Chu Lian didn't even get to see the Old Madam of the Duke of Ying's household once every six months. Anyone who worked in the Duke of Ying's household knew that the Old Madam didn't like the daughter of the second branch, so why would she praise her?

Also, the title of Township Lord is worth several hundred taels of gold. Do you think the Great Wu Dynasty's national treasury is a mountain of gold and silver?

Big Sister Fu's words were too low standard and could only deceive people like Big Sister Yuan, who had no common sense. Even the female shopkeeper of the Golden Stone Pavilion didn't move. Clearly, she didn't care about Big Sister Fu's words at all.

After Sister Fu finished speaking, she looked Chu Lian and Sister Yuan up and down. The corners of her mouth curled up with evil intentions.

She said these words with no other purpose than to stab Chu Yuan in the back.

As expected, Chu Yuan fell for it. Back then, when they were both young ladies in the Ying Public House, she was several times better than Chu Lian in every aspect. Whether it was food, clothing, or daily expenses, even her monthly allowance was a few taels more than Chu Lian.

When Chu Lian got married, it was Second Madam who did something to reduce the original one thousand taels of silver by half. At the time, she was secretly proud because her mother had given her half of the money.

But now, Chu Lian had received the title of Township Lord from His Majesty. Not only that, but she had also received so many rewards. Just the gold alone was worth several hundred taels of silver. How could she not be jealous?

Chu Yuan once again thought of the method that had just flashed through her mind.

She suppressed the unwillingness in her heart and forced herself to smile. "I didn't expect Sixth Sister to be so rich. No wonder you would come to Jinshi Pavilion!

Just now, Younger Sister took a fancy to a piece of jewelry. It was only worth a hundred taels of silver. In Sixth Sister's eyes, it is definitely nothing. I wonder if Sixth Sister can buy it and gift it to Younger Sister? "

Chu Yuan wanted to snatch all the gold that Chu Lian had received. However, she could not brazenly do so. She could only use this kind of small trick to scrape the skin and get a share of the loot.

After Chu Yuan finished speaking, she glanced at the female shopkeeper. The female shopkeeper knew that there was a conflict between these young ladies and madams. Thus, she did not say anything. She only silently took out the jewelry and gently placed it on the high table in front of them. She smiled and introduced, "Madam, this jade bracelet was taken by the yellow-robed young lady just now. It is fifty taels of silver.

The emerald gold ornament next to it was chosen by the young lady beside you. It is one hundred and fifty taels of silver.

As for the pearl inlaid gold bracelet, it was chosen by the youngest young lady. It is sixty taels of silver. "

Not a single one of them was cheap!

After the female shopkeeper finished her introduction, she secretly sized up Chu Lian, who was dressed in an ordinary dress. She was puzzled. Who would be able to recognize her as Jinyi Village Lord, who had recently become a hot topic in Shengjing City?

The female shopkeeper only took a quick glance and did not dare to look again. She was also wondering if this Jinyi Village Lord was really this shabby, or if she was deliberately dressed in such a low-key manner to go out.

Chu Lian stretched out her slender and white fingertips and picked up the three pieces of jewelry in front of her one by one. She looked at them carefully and nodded her head repeatedly, seeming to be very satisfied. However, when she put the last pearl inlaid gold bracelet back into the brocade box, she frowned slightly, seeming to be in a dilemma.

"As expected of jewelry from Jinshi Pavilion. It is really exquisite." When she said this, Chu Lian's face revealed a trace of embarrassment.

Sister Fu and the others had been paying close attention to Chu Lian's expression. When Sister Fu saw that she was timid, she was delighted. As expected, she had guessed correctly. She snorted coldly in her heart. So what if she was Third Madam of Duke Jing 'an's estate? So what if she was Jinyi Village Lord? Looking at her shabby appearance today, she probably didn't have a good life in Duke Jing' an's estate.

With such an expression, she probably couldn't even take out a hundred taels of silver!

"We sisters are still young, and the jewelry we chose is also ordinary. These three pieces add up to no more than three hundred taels of silver. It might be a lot of money for us, but it's probably just a drop in the bucket for Sixth Older Sister. Sixth Older Sister is personally conferred the title of Jinyi Village Lord by His Majesty!" Sister Fu said maliciously.

Chu Lian secretly rolled her eyes.

If three hundred taels of silver was nothing, why don't you just rob a bank?

Three hundred taels of silver was enough for an ordinary family to spend for a lifetime.

Chu Lian forced an awkward smile and said, "Ninth Younger Sister, what are you saying?"

Sister Su also saw Chu Lian's dilemma and reprimanded Sister Fu, "Ninth Younger Sister, we are here to buy jewelry. How can we ask Sixth Younger Sister to pay for it?

Don't cause trouble! "

"Fifth Older Sister, you've wronged me this time. How could Sixth Older Sister care about a mere three hundred taels of silver?"

In the past, Chu Lian could openly admit that she had no money and was poor because it was the truth!

However, now that she was hindered by the title of Jinyi Village Lord, she couldn't boldly say that she was poor.

After all, her title represented the face of the imperial family, and a titled Jinyi Village Lord could be considered half a daughter of the imperial family. If she admitted that she was poor, it would mean that the imperial family was poor, and it would be a disgrace to the imperial family.

Chu Lian deliberately took another look at this Ninth Younger Sister. She didn't expect that a twelve or thirteen-year-old child like her would be so scheming.

Was she so sure that she would suffer this grievance today?

Sister Yuan's eyes fell on the golden hairpin. The hairpin's workmanship was exquisite, and the few emeralds of the same size inlaid on it were particularly beautiful. If it was under the light, it would definitely add some color to the hairpin. When she thought about how she would be able to own such a beautiful hairpin without spending a single cent, and how she would be able to annoy Chu Lian, she felt extremely happy.

So, Sister Yuan helped her and said, "Fifth Older Sister, don't forget that things are different now. Sixth Older Sister is Jinyi Village Lord!"

Although Sister Su wanted to protect Chu Lian, she couldn't find any words to refute her two younger sisters' words. In the end, she could only look at Chu Lian apologetically.

Chu Lian pulled an ugly smile at her. She didn't say if she could take out the money to buy these jewelry. Instead, she turned her head to the female shopkeeper and said, "Shopkeeper, do you have anything else? Let me have a look."

Seeing that Chu Lian's expression seemed to be getting uglier, Sister Fu felt very happy. She didn't care whether Chu Lian could buy the jewelry for her or not. She just wanted to slap Chu Lian in the face and see her being criticized and embarrassed.

She wanted her to know that it wasn't easy to keep the title of Jinyi Village Lord bestowed by the Emperor. Once Chu Lian lost the imperial family's face and the news spread to the ears of the Emperor or the Empress, her title might be taken back before it could even warm up. At that time, Chu Lian would become the laughingstock of the entire Shengjing City.