SGEIRS -Chapter 200 Jingxi Finally Wakes Up

At the Court of Judicial Review.

After work, several officials walked out of the office together, bidding each other farewell as they prepared to head home.

Qi Yunwen suddenly said, “Yaoling, don’t leave yet. Come with me to buy some jewelry.”

“Go with you to buy jewelry?” Gu Jingxi turned his head and looked him up and down, his expression puzzled. “That’s something women use. Why would a grown man want jewelry?”

Qi Yunwen was momentarily speechless. He gave him a strange look and said irritably, “You’re already married—how can you still be so clueless? When a man buys jewelry, who do you think it’s for? Himself?”

Gu Jingxi immediately understood. He coughed lightly twice to ease his embarrassment.

Qi Yunwen added, “You’ve got decent taste. Help me pick something.”

Gu Jingxi nodded. “Alright.”

Jinyu Pavilion.

As the largest jewelry shop in the capital, Jinyu Pavilion was filled with dazzling ornaments of every kind, enough to make one’s eyes ache from looking.

Compared to Gu Jingxi, who had been single for many years, Qi Yunwen knew a fair bit about jewelry. After all, he often bought pieces for his wife and was familiar with what styles were currently popular.

Qi Yunwen picked up a jade hairpin and asked, “Yaoling, what do you think of this one?”

Gu Jingxi glanced at it. “It’s alright.”

Qi Yunwen picked up another. “What about this one?”

Gu Jingxi replied, “Not bad either.”

Hearing this, Qi Yunwen compared the two hairpins in his hands, unable to decide, and asked again, “Which of these is better?”

Gu Jingxi looked at them carefully and gave an objective evaluation. “They’re about the same. Both are well-crafted, and the jade is clear and translucent.”

Qi Yunwen was speechless and couldn’t help rolling his eyes.

Was he asking about the quality of the jade?

He was clearly asking about the design! What a completely irrelevant answer.

Gu Jingxi, however, didn’t notice his friend’s reaction. After speaking, his gaze was drawn to a small row of hairpins nearby.

He walked over to take a look. They were all pure gold hairpins, each with two tassels decorated with pearls at the ends. The workmanship was exquisite.

There were twelve in total, each with a different design: plum blossom, apricot blossom, peach blossom, peony, pomegranate flower, lotus, begonia, osmanthus, chrysanthemum, hibiscus, camellia, and narcissus. They clearly corresponded to the twelve months of the year.

Looking at them, he suddenly thought of the little girl at home.

These hairpins would suit her perfectly.

Her features were bright and striking, making her suitable for vivid-colored jewelry. Even gold ornaments wouldn’t look gaudy on her. He had seen her wear gold before—radiant and elegant, extremely beautiful.

He looked at them again. All twelve were good; none stood out above the rest. Since she didn’t have many accessories, he thought it would be nice to buy them all so she could rotate them.

With the confidence of someone spending freely, he said, “Shopkeeper, I’ll take all twelve. How much?”

Qi Yunwen had been watching him. Seeing this, he smiled to himself.

At least his friend wasn’t hopelessly dense. Once inside a jewelry shop, he actually thought to buy something for his wife. His efforts today hadn’t been in vain. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before this “iron tree” finally bloomed.

When the shopkeeper heard this, his eyes lit up.

Seeing that both men were wearing official robes and held respectable positions, he already knew they had money. And sure enough, this lord was about to spend over a thousand taels in one go.

The shopkeeper beamed. “My lord, you have excellent taste. This set was handcrafted by our master artisan and just put on sale. Each piece is made of pure gold and exquisitely worked. Look—every flower is lifelike. And these pearls, each as big as a thumb, glossy and perfectly round, without the slightest flaw…”

Gu Jingxi interrupted impatiently. “Get to the point.”

The shopkeeper froze briefly, then replied with a smile, “Each hairpin costs eighty-eight taels. Twelve in total comes to one thousand and fifty-six taels. Since you’re buying so many, I’ll round it down for you—one thousand and fifty taels.”

Gu Jingxi didn’t even blink. “Fine. I’ll take them.”

He reached into his robe and took out money: one five-hundred-tael note, two one-hundred-tael notes. Seeing it wasn’t enough, he pulled out another seventy-eight taels in silver and five copper coins.

Altogether, he only had seven hundred seventy-eight taels on him. Ignoring the five copper coins, he was still short two hundred seventy-two taels.

Feeling a bit awkward, Gu Jingxi fell silent for a moment, then calmly turned to his friend. “Mobai, lend me two hundred seventy-two taels.”

Qi Yunwen, seeing his friend finally show some initiative, felt like a proud father watching his son top the imperial exams. He agreed immediately.

“Sure! I’ll lend it to you. Forget two hundred seventy-two—even two thousand seven hundred twenty would be fine.”

He quickly reached for his pouch.

But once he did, he froze.

He didn’t even have that much.

He only had two hundred fifty taels.

Not only was it still insufficient, but if he lent it all out, he wouldn’t have any money left to buy jewelry for his wife.

He fell silent for a moment, then took out a hundred-tael note and handed it over. Under his friend’s gaze, he pulled out another hundred. Finally, he added fifty taels.

Still short twenty-two taels.

Gu Jingxi looked at him expectantly.

Qi Yunwen, no longer caring about saving face, simply turned his pouch upside down. “That’s all I’ve got.”

The shopkeeper found it strange to see two high-ranking officials pooling money to buy jewelry. Still, anyone who could carry this much cash on them was clearly from a wealthy family. Being short twenty-two taels, he was about to waive it as a favor.

But before he could speak, a young girl’s voice rang out: “Uncle, you’re here too?”

Song Xinning had planned to buy a hairpin and go home. When she spotted her uncle, her eyes immediately lit up—as if she’d found a perfect benefactor.

She trotted over happily, already planning to sweet-talk him into buying her some jewelry, then drag him to the rouge shop under the excuse of picking something for her aunt—while secretly getting more for herself.

What she never expected was that even in front of her most doting uncle, her scheme could fail.

The moment Qi Yunwen saw her, his face lit up with an especially kind smile.

She thought he was in a good mood and about to buy her something.

Instead, he said, “A-Ning, perfect timing. You brought money with you, right? Lend your uncle twenty-two taels.”

Song Xinning froze.

“???”