There is a happy inn in the capital.

Chapter 31 I've Grown Taller

Li Shuchen replied, "Me?"

Then he smacked his head, remembering that he hadn't cooked for Ziying yet.

Li Shuchen: "I'll cook for you another day."

Princess Changning's voice rang out in frustration: "I want to eat too!"

Li Shuchen smiled and said, "Okay, let's eat together."

Li Shuchen sat down, downed the entire bowl of ginger tea in one gulp, and then asked...

"Ziying, have you seen Miss Yiling?"

Li Shuchen was really curious about what she looked like.

Gu Ziying: "I saw her, but she was wearing a veil, so I couldn't see her face clearly, but I could tell she was a very beautiful woman. I listened to a few pieces of music; they were melodious and lingering."

Princess Changning scoffed upon hearing this.

Princess Changning remained as disdainful as ever.

Li Shuchen became even more curious after hearing this; she was beautiful and talented—she liked her.

Li Shuchen: "Let's go take a look together tomorrow."

Gu Ziying shook her head: "Tomorrow won't work. I asked her, and she says she can only see me again in three days."

Li Shuchen: "Okay"

Although it's a bit of a shame, good things always require waiting.

The new day began with a light drizzle, and no one planned to go out; they simply stayed in the small courtyard.

Ziying was drinking tea in the pavilion, while Changning was fast asleep inside.

Li Shuchen held up her light green oil-paper umbrella painted with scenes of Jiangnan landscapes as she walked through the small courtyard.

Listening to the patter of raindrops on the umbrella, feeling the sound of spring rain, a gentle breeze caresses, stirring a layer of fabric.

Gu Ziying: "Shu Chen, your umbrella is quite nice."

Li Shuchen: "I also think it looks good."

Li Shuchen fiddled with the light green tassel hanging from the umbrella handle. The handle also had exquisite engravings, and the umbrella surface was large.

Otherwise, she could have spent 200 coins to buy it from Xiao Jizi.

200 coins are enough for Li Shuchen to eat several pounds of meat.

Li Shuchen walked up to Gu Ziying with an umbrella and invited her, "Shall we take a walk together?"

Gu Ziying readily agreed: "Okay."

He then walked up to Li Shuchen.

After looking at Li Shuchen for a while, she said, "I feel like you've grown taller."

Li Shuchen asked in surprise, "Really?"

Gu Ziying nodded seriously: "Really, I remember you used to reach my nose, but now you're up to my eyes."

Li Shuchen gestured with her hand, and it was true! Great, she'd grown taller!

Gu Ziying: "Did you buy this umbrella yesterday?"

Li Shuchen: "Um... I came across it by chance, thought it was nice, and bought it."

Li Shuchen silently apologized to Gu Ziying in her heart. She didn't want to lie, but Xiao Jizi couldn't tell anyone.

What if she's mistaken for a monster and beaten to death?

Gu Ziying and Princess Changning certainly wouldn't see her as a monster, but who can guarantee that others wouldn't?

Her mind raced; otherwise, she might as well sell some oiled paper umbrellas here.

Buy from Xiao Jizi at a low price, sell to wealthy people at a high price.

That would also help cover up her lie; she made up her mind.

He said to Gu Ziying, "If I run into you next time, I'll bring you one."

Gu Ziying: "Okay"

Time flies when you do nothing.

It was already 10 p.m. when Li Shuchen lay in bed eating a banana, pondering where to safely store some inconveniently portable items.

In the novels she read, the systems all came with spatial abilities.

Li Shuchen rolled over and said wistfully, "If only Xiao Jizi had a spatial ability."

[Oh~, congratulations on triggering the system space. It requires 1,000 taels of silver to unlock. Would you like to activate the system space?]

Li Shuchen? Is that even possible?

She doesn't have that much money right now, but she wants to give it a try.

[Ding~ System space has been activated. Host's current silver taels -1000 taels]

Li Shuchen looked at the line of text. So it was possible to incur debt, but she sensed that Xiao Jizi seemed a little unhappy.

However, Li Shuchen didn't like owing people money for too long. If she weren't currently poor and in urgent need of the money, she wouldn't have made the decision.

After finishing the banana, Li Shuchen threw away the peel and said, "Little Jizi, don't worry, I'll pay you back as soon as possible."

The next day, Li Shuchen got up very early. At 4:45 AM, before dawn, Li Shuchen quietly left the small courtyard and walked into a deserted and narrow alley.

I changed into a black, gilded men's robe that I bought from Xiao Jizi; the quality was excellent. I also tied up my long hair and wore a six-centimeter-high gilded crown.

I put on the thick-soled boots I bought from Xiao Jizi, which were at least 10 centimeters high, with both inner and outer heels.

I quickly applied a handsome makeup look to myself, with striking eyes and sharp eyebrows, making me look dashing and charming. Just in case, I also put on a gold-threaded mask.

These things look very expensive, but they only cost one or two taels of silver; they're all gilded.

Take a voice-changing pill

Open your mouth and test your voice.

Li Shuchen: "I'm a handsome guy."

Excellent, clear and pleasant to the ear, sounds incredibly cool.

With this outfit, he looks about 1.78 meters tall, and with Li Shuchen's arrogant aura, he's definitely over 1.8 meters.

Put the clothes you changed out into Xiao Jizi's space.

As dawn broke, Li Shuchen, holding a fan with the words "Wealth and Prosperity" written on it in gold, emerged from the alley, radiating an aura of mystery and wealth.

No one would doubt that this is Li Shuchen's.

After all, who would associate a 1.8-meter-tall rich young master with a 1.6-meter-tall little bean?

Besides, the genders are different.

Li Shuchen strolled into the oil-paper umbrella shop, and the owner greeted her with a smile as soon as he saw her.

"Distinguished guest, I am the owner of this shop. My shop is the largest oil-paper umbrella shop in this area, with all kinds of oil-paper umbrellas. I guarantee you will be satisfied."

Li Shuchen was thinking, "If you weren't the biggest store, I wouldn't have come. I only came because you're big."

Then she pretended to look at them for a long time, and picked out the one that looked the best.

Rich young master (Li Shuchen): "Boss, what's the price?"

The shopkeeper's face lit up with joy: "Oh, distinguished guest, you have an excellent eye! This is our shop's finest oiled paper umbrella, priced at one tael of silver."

It costs one or two taels of silver, so expensive! This umbrella even smells of palm oil. The paintings on the umbrella are nice, but the colors are dull and lack vibrancy. The handle is ordinary, but it's exceptionally sturdy.

Seeing that Li Shuchen didn't speak, the shopkeeper, fearing he was dissatisfied, quickly added, "The wealthy young men around here all love buying my umbrellas."

Li Shuchen started to put on an act, casually tossing the umbrella back into place.

The wealthy young master (Li Shuchen): "Your umbrella isn't very good either. It smells bad, the colors of the painting are too monotonous, and the handle and grip are plain and unoriginal. It's far inferior to mine."

The shop owner panicked: "These are the best umbrellas I have! There's no better one!"

Li Shuchen put down his umbrella, placed his left hand behind his back, and fanned himself with his right hand, saying calmly, "If I had any, would you want it?"

The umbrella vendor waved his hand dismissively: "Hmph, if I had any, I'd take as many as I could get." He figured it was impossible for him to have any.

This is exactly what Li Shuchen was waiting for.

The wealthy young man (Li Shuchen) smirked: "Please wait a moment, sir, let me show you."