When Feng Jin returned to the dining hall, the others were chatting. Seeing Feng Jin's figure, Lin Yuwei hurried forward and said, "Sister Feng Jin, you're back."
Instantly, everyone's gaze fell squarely on Feng Jin. In that moment, Feng Jin forced a smile, trying her best to keep the situation from becoming too awkward.
"Madam, where did you go? You've been gone for so long. I was just about to send the maids to look for you."
"It's nothing. I accidentally got lost and it took some time."
Feng Jin replied with a smile, deliberately avoiding Liu Meng Han's scrutinizing gaze as she returned to her seat.
"It was my oversight for not assigning a palace maid to accompany you."
Liu Meng Han, a true social butterfly, diffused the topic with just a few words.
Feng Jin watched Liu Meng Han with a forced smile. This woman's skill was truly profound, capable of enduring so much. No matter how much she was hurting inside, her outward facade was impeccable.
If Liu Meng Han could be less calculating, Feng Jin would genuinely be willing to be her friend. It was a pity that Liu Meng Han's conduct was not upright and her intentions were dark. Such a person could never be befriended closely, lest she perish without even knowing how.
After a short while longer, Feng Jin found an excuse and left with Lin Yuwei.
Upon exiting the Third Prince's mansion, Lin Yuwei felt a sense of immense relief, her entire being relaxing, shedding the earlier constraint.
"It was truly stifling inside. Every word had to be carefully considered. Living like this is exhausting. I don't know how they manage to keep it up."
In just these few short hours, she was already miserable. If she had to pretend like this constantly, she would either be exhausted to death or driven mad.
She wondered if Liu Meng Han ever felt tired of maintaining such a facade.
"It must have been hard for you to accompany me on this trip. Let me treat you to something good."
Feng Jin reached out and patted Lin Yuwei's shoulder. She had noticed earlier that Lin Yuwei hadn't eaten well, and even when drinking tea, she kept looking around, worried she might make another mistake.
"That would be wonderful. I really didn't eat my fill just now. I heard the maids in the mansion say that the new cherry pastries on East Street taste good. Let's go try them and pick out a couple of items from Yuyan Fang, so this trip isn't in vain. We can't go back empty-handed."
With that, they first went to East Street to buy some food, and then to Yuyan Fang to shop.
As soon as the two entered Yuyan Fang, they were met with a dense crowd. They simply went straight to the second floor and had the latest styles delivered there for selection.
"The color of this lip gloss is nice. Sister Feng Jin, you should try it; it will surely suit you."
"You pick first. I still have many samples at home."
After all the products in Yuyan Fang were developed, she would keep one for herself to use. Therefore, she had one of each of these items at home.
She saw no need to pick any more and simply let Lin Yuwei choose to her heart's content.
"Then I won't be polite."
She had been looking forward to a good shopping spree for a long time, but she had been held back by trivial matters in the mansion and hadn't had the chance to come out. Now that she had the opportunity, she had to seize it firmly.
She was now looking at everything she liked, wishing she could buy it all. Unfortunately, her wallet wasn't substantial. After much deliberation, she agonizingly chose three or four favorite items.
"Why did you choose so few? Don't you like them?"
Seeing that Lin Yuwei had finished choosing, Feng Jin put down her teacup. Noticing that she had only picked a few items, she wondered if she disliked them and asked with confusion.
If she truly disliked them, Feng Jin would have to seriously reflect and consider if a particular design was not good enough and needed improvement.
"It's not that..."
Lin Yuwei put down the powder box in her hand and sighed slightly. "It's just that my purse is empty, I truly don't have money..."
If it weren't for the dividends from Yuyan Fang she had received recently, her dowry chest would have been depleted long ago.
"Haven't you received the dividends from Yuyan Fang? Is it not enough?"
The monthly dividends from Yuyan Fang were not small, surely enough to sustain her living.
She even doubted how much the Jing Wang Mansion spent daily that it made Lin Yuwei so troubled.
"Don't even mention it. No matter how much money I take back to the mansion, Chu Chenyi can spend it all."
When it came to this matter, she was filled with anger. It was all Chu Chenyi's fault, constantly using money to support the soldiers.
Chu Chenyi's salary alone was not enough to support the entire mansion, yet he still used it to help others.
When she arrived at the mansion, the monthly expenses always exceeded income, and the entire mansion relied on her dowry to make ends meet.
Now, with some dividends from Yuyan Fang to sustain her, her dowry chest wouldn't have been depleted long ago. At least now she didn't have to return to Pingyang Marquis Mansion to ask for money.
"Chu Chenyi's monthly salary, more than half of it goes to supporting the soldiers. It's not even enough to cover the basic expenses of the mansion, so half of my dowry has been used to fill the gap."
"If it weren't for the support of the Yuyan Fang dividends, I might have to ask my family for money again. You say the difference is truly immense. Clearly, both married princes, look at the kind of life Liu Meng Han lives, and then look at me. They are worlds apart. Comparing people truly makes one furious; there is no comparability at all."
Lin Yuwei suddenly felt her life was too miserable. Compared to Liu Meng Han, it was incomparable. Liu Meng Han was high above, while she had fallen into the mud.
"Prince Jing is also a kind and righteous person. Supporting the soldiers is a benevolent act. You shouldn't be angry with him about these matters. If a few more branches of Yuyan Fang open in the future, and branches are opened in other towns as well, then the dividends will increase, and life will be better."
Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. If she directly gave Lin Yuwei money, she would certainly not accept it, and it would greatly hurt her self-esteem. It was better to use the opening of Yuyan Fang branches to increase Lin Yuwei's dividends.
"Sister Feng Jin, you are too good to me."
Lin Yuwei was deeply moved. She sniffled and held Feng Jin's hand, almost about to shed tears.
"Alright, don't get emotional and cry. Who are you trying to put on a show for?"
She disliked such sentimental scenes the most and directly interrupted Lin Yuwei's further words.
If this continued, protecting Qi Lin Yuwei might lead to a few more "pearl tears," which would be another troublesome matter. She really didn't know how to comfort girls.
"Oh... Sister Feng Jin, I should be moved. My emotions were just reaching a peak, but you stifled them with just a few words."