The Double
Chapter 516 - 157: BMW_4

Chapter 516: Chapter 157: BMW_4

She knew that Jiang Yuanbai was bound to become suspicious and would certainly send someone to investigate, but of course, they were sure to come back empty-handed. Jih Heng’s people weren’t vegetarians, after all; if anything ever leaked, nine times out of ten, it was because he wanted others to see exactly what he wanted them to see.

Tonger asked, "Miss, what are we going back to the courtyard to do now?"

"Think about the birthday gift," replied Jiang Li.

"Huh?" Tonger was surprised.

Jiang Li smiled, Old General Jih wouldn’t use his birthday as a guise, so if the invitation said it was his birthday, then it definitely was. To attend the birthday banquet under that pretext, they couldn’t possibly go empty-handed. She still had to think about what would be a gift that wasn’t too expensive yet wouldn’t cause them to lose face.

All of this was predicated on Jiang Yuanbai agreeing to let her accept the invitation, though Jiang Li believed it was only a matter of time.

...

By nightfall, neither Jiang Yuanbai nor Madam Jiang the Elder had indicated whether they wanted Jiang Li to accept the invitation. However, Jiang Li had already started instructing Bai Xue to take out all the silver to calculate how much was left, and how heavy of a thank you gift they should buy for Old General Jih.

Tonger asked, "Miss, it’s not yet certain whether we’re going, so why are we already doing the calculations?"

"We’ll have to go sooner or later," Jiang Li said with a slight smile, "Since father and the old madam still can’t decide by now, that’s already an implicit consent." She counted the silver notes in her hand, some given to her by Ye Mingyu, many left over from what Madam Jiang the Elder and Jiang Yuanbai compensated her; besides managing others, she didn’t really spend much on herself. The jewelry and dresses that other girls loved, Jiang Li considered enough to be just sufficient, hence she had a lot of silver saved up. Weighing it in her mind, she felt she had enough to give Old General Jih a decent birthday gift, and instructed Tonger to put away the box containing the silver notes, saying, "Let’s go to the streets early tomorrow to have a look."

Tonger nodded.

The next day, Jiang Li, along with Tonger and Bai Xue, went to the streets to pick out a birthday gift.

Having not left the Duke Residence for a long time, Jiang Li was followed by quite a number of Jiang Family bodyguards. After thinking it over, Jiang Li was still at a loss as to what exactly she should gift Old General Jih. Commonly, gifts for an elder’s birthday would be precious supplements like ginseng or deer antler, but the Duke Residence must have plenty of those. Being a military man, should she gift him a fine weapon? But the weapons Old General Jih had seen were surely not few. Moreover, if she were to give him a really good weapon, he couldn’t go into battle now, and it might make him feel disheartened as his heroics waned with age.

After wandering around for an entire morning and not seeing anything particularly satisfying, they were nearly at the East Market when Jiang Li had the carriage stop and disembarked.

Tonger asked, "Miss, you’re not thinking of going to the East Market, are you?"

"That’s exactly my intention."

"But, but..."

"There’s no ’but,’" said Jiang Li, cutting him off, "Let’s go in."

Tonger had no choice but to follow obediently.

The East Market was a black market located in the eastern part of Yanjing City, where all sorts of characters mingled. There might be murderous bandits, tomb raiders covered in dirt from fresh digs, or desperate fallen aristocrats trying their luck. In general, sellers at the market could spread a mat on the ground and deal what they had. Of course, there were also swindlers; whether one bought something real or fake depended entirely on their own discernment. Once a trade was completed, even if the goods were discovered to be fake, one could only blame bad luck for a lost deal.

So, those who came to the East Market to shop were usually those who dealt specifically in such goods, people with some discernment.

When Jiang Li and her retinue entered, many looked their way. First, although Jiang Li was wearing a hat, she was dressed as a woman. It was rare for women to come to the East Market to trade. Secondly, the line of bodyguards following her was quite conspicuous. It wouldn’t take much to guess that she was probably a young lady from a wealthy family, here to broaden her horizons.

So, the sellers sitting on the ground started to enthusiastically hail her, inflating the virtues of their goods to the skies, thinking to fool the sheltered young lady easily.

Both Tonger and Bai Xue were nervous and curious. The environment was dirty and chaotic, and they feared Jiang Li might not be accustomed to walking here. But looking up, they couldn’t see Jiang Li’s expression under her hat, yet her steps were calm and steady.

She appeared quite familiar with the place and showed no discomfort at all.