The Darker the Night, The Brighter the Stars

"This is fine linen..." Zhao Yan felt the fabric and was very satisfied.

"This young madam, you have a good eye. This fine linen has a smooth and comfortable texture. It would make a lovely dress during this winter season." The shopkeeper who has seen Zhao Yan has already grown accustomed to sucking up to her since Zhao Yan was a regular who always bought expensive yet good fabric.

Unlike those other customers who spent hours picking a fabric and would only buy a few, Zhao Yan was decisive and was generous with the money.

"Five bolts of the blue, white, and yellow fabric of this should be enough for one winter season...or maybe I should also buy some silk..." Zhao Yan said casually.

"Ah..."The shopkeeper was stunned. This young madam was really generous! The shopkeeper smiled even wider and happily praised Zhao Yan for having a keen eye while also endorsing more fabric and giving her a discount for her large purchase.

Zhao Yan let Chun Lan handle the payment then they went to the market to stock up food.

Zhao Yan bought a good amount of grains, wheat, salt, brown sugar, flour, and various spices. She also bought a good amount of meat that would be dried and preserved with various kinds of techniques when they get home.

Since the fishy smell made her nauseous, she allowed Chun Lan to buy the meat and eggs.

She was still very picky with her food and didn't want to eat oily stuff. Zhao Yan felt that she should have brought Mama Yang with her since she was responsible for Zhao Yan's meals.

But there was no use regretting her decision so Zhao Yan just did her best to buy the necessary stuff.

This was simply a life better than the life she had endured at Prince Li's mansion.

"Miss, why are you buying tea? Mama Yang said you aren't allowed to drink tea!" Chun Lan said worriedly.

Zhao Yan smiled. "These are for you guys. "She said.

Chun Lan was stunned. "Miss, there's no need for..." When Chun Lan saw Zhao Yan's sad look, she immediately stopped herself and corrected her words.

"I mean, thank you very much, Miss! Chun Lan is very grateful!" The fifteen-year-old girl smiled happily.

Chun Lan repeatedly heard from Mama Yang that pregnant women were very sensitive and were prone to mood swings. Mama Yang specifically told Chun Lan that she must always do her best to placate the young miss.

It wasn't good to make a pregnant woman cry or feel any sort of distress because it might affect the fetus.

Naturally, Chun Lan remembered Mama Yang's words and corrected herself with haste. Though she was grateful that the young miss was very thoughtful, Chun Lan still said that half a kilogram of tea was enough and there was no need to buy five kilograms of it.

"Chun Lan, then what do you like? And what does Mama Yang like? We can buy it now." Zhao Yan said. She was grateful to the two for always taking care of her and agreeing to her unreasonable demands so she wanted to buy something for the two women. God knows how annoying her mood swings were.

Chun Lan was embarrassed and shyly looked down.

"Miss, Chun Lan is very happy with this tea. There's no need to buy more. Instead, should we hire embroiders to make clothes for the winter season? Chun Lan is a bit lacking in embroidery and doesn't want to disappoint Miss with my lack of skills!" She tactfully changed the topic, in fear that the young miss would start buying a hoard of tea.

"Ah... It's okay. We can hire embroiders or place a commission. We can go to the embroidery shop now." Zhao Yan bought a lot of fabric since she knows that her clothes right now would be too tight once her belly gets bigger.

Asking to commission a looser dress in advance and a few sets of winter clothes would ease her worry.

With this in mind, Zhao Yan along with Chun Lan went to the nearest embroidery shop.

After placing her order and paying the down payment, they boarded the carriage, ready to go home.

Zhao Yan was a bit tired from shopping so she was eager to get back.

Mama Yang had already prepared ginger soup for the both of them when they got back.

Zhao Yan contentedly rested in her room, warming herself up with the soup.

The past three months were really hard for her, especially the morning sickness. Zhao Yan repeatedly cursed the shameless man responsible for her condition and hoped that he becomes impotent or infertile.

She hoped that their paths would never cross again. Zhao Yan had been very happy with her new life until he came to disturb her.

Well, now that she has gone far away and moved back to her home country, there was no way that a prominent young master from a wealthy family would come to this backwater town or even spend his time looking for a girl like her.

And after what he did to her, would he be shameless enough to show his face again?

Zhao Yan frowned with discontent. She really hopes that they would never see each other again. Being entangled with a shameless person who was magnet trouble will shorten her lifespan.

The days she had spent helping him recover were very stressful and she had been really patient despite his cold demeanor.

Sometimes, she couldn't bear his silence so she would talk about idle stuff to him. She'd even talk about how some of her customers were a bit unruly and demanding.

Though he didn't respond to her, he would still listen. Zhao Yan was satisfied that she wasn't wasting her saliva talking to a dead board so she became more eager to gossip.

It wasn't like he could complain. She was the one nursing him so he probably endured her chatter. They both suffered within each other's company.

But between him and her, Zhao Yan definitely suffered more losses. Not only did she helped and wasted her resources on a shameless person, but she was also taken advantage of and got pregnant by said person.

Zhao Yan felt mad just by thinking about it.

▪▪▪