Qinghu wiped away the blood that he had just now secretly faked. “Nearly got caught! How clever I am!”
He followed Lin Mengya into the yard.
The three younger maids played well with Baiji’s siblings.
Baiji and her mother sat off to the side and did needlework, smiling at those kids.
Such a peaceful life would be admired by everyone, including Qinghu.
Living as an ordinary person is truly not that bad.
Lin Mengya sitting beside Aunt Bai was such a tranquil scene.
“The little girl will be happy to live a quiet life like this.”
“Master, how are you going to deal with Baishao?”
Baiji had been worried since she reported Baishao’s change to Lin Mengya.
She considered it to be a betrayal to her best friend.
“Later on.” Lin Mengya rarely gave such a vague answer, which made Baiji at a loss.
While they chatted, Baiji’s father, who was in the drugstore selling medicine just now, hurried over.
“Master, a couple of people are coming. They may want trouble.”
Baiji’s father frowned. Although he was the manager, he was still docile in nature.
So he was a stranger to this kind of thing.
“Wait here. I’ll go and have a look.”
Lin Mengya nodded and looked behind the folding screen with Baisu.
Qinghu and Old Uncle Bai went outside one after another and saw two young men sitting in the guest seats.
One of them had delicate features, yet looked soft.
The other one looked ugly and ferocious, almost like a brigand.
It was no wonder that Old Uncle Bai assumed that they wanted trouble.
“Sorry for the delay. This is the boss.”
Much to their surprise, the boss of Sanjue Hall turned out to be such a handsome young man.
Qinghu didn’t say anything and remained indifferent. After scanning them both, he averted his eyes.
Sensing Qinghu’s indifference, both of them snorted at the same time.
“I am the boss. Tell me what you want quickly. After that, piss off.”
Qinghu was experienced in society. Thus, he could see them through at just a glance.
The two young men were just street thugs.
It was common to see them make trouble with a new store.
“Fine. I heard that there are three cure-all medicines. No one else has them. So today, we’ve come here to take a look at them and broaden our vision.”
The tender-looking man spoke plainly.
Qinghu just threw a cold eye to him and refused instantly.
“It’s a drugstore, not a pawnshop. If what you want is just to take a look, you can go now.”
Qinghu’s refusal was plainly within his expectation.
The ugly one sneered and pulled out a stack of taels from his sleeve.
“300 taels. Here you go. It’s enough to pay for taking a look at ginseng or glossy Ganoderma. Is it enough to look at your cure-all medicines?”
Seeing him act so arrogant, Qinghu smiled coldly and said, “Is it enough to take a look? Do you know how much the top treasure of our store is? 3,000 taels for only one mace.”
Qinghu’s answer succeeded in making everyone in the room gasp.
“3,000 taels for just one mace. What kind of treasure is it?”
Instantly, the two men looked as if they were choked.
The 300 taels on the table looked rather ridiculous.
“In such a small drugstore, how could it be possible to have a medicine that costs 3,000 taels per mace? It can’t be. You must be lying to the public.”
The soft man looked awkward. But it was really a fact that none of the drugstores in Capital City had the courage to sell drugs at such a high price.
“It should be my guest that could tell whether I am lying or not. If you want to buy drugs, just pay for them. And if you want trouble, okay, I am also here for you.”
The two men must have not expected that the ordinary-looking Sanjue Hall would have such a powerful boss.
He dared to drive guests out when a disagreement arose.
Besides that, he looked handsome but spoke harsh words.
However, the two men didn’t believe that the boss would actually drive them out.
“What did you say? It’s your honor to have us here. Do you know that? If you irritate me, your store will be smashed. Is there anyone able to stop me?”
The ferocious man started to threaten him like a rogue.
But Qinghu just glanced at him and lightly covered his teacup with his hand.
“Fine. If you have the courage to smash up my store, you will be like this cup.”
He removed his slim white hand. The cup, which had been complete just now, turned into powder.
Their hearts sank down instantly.
“Who the hell is he?”
“No matter who ordered you to come here, if you mean to make trouble with us, don’t hide behind the scenes. Oh, don’t waste your time framing us for selling fake medicines. Faith in our drugs is our standard. We are not short of money. Our boss opens the store just for fun.”
Qinghu’s words sounded extremely arrogant.
It made them fall into silence instantly.
Drugstores stirred up trouble with each other only by a few means, such as framing them for fake medicines or carrying some corpses to create a disturbance.
The two men were surprised that a new small drugstore would act so overwhelmingly.
They were completely stunned.
“Take care, we won’t see you out.”
They exchanged glances and were forced to run away.
Lin Mengya, standing behind the folding screen, noticed a decoration with a willow pattern hanging from their waists.
“Are they members of the legendary Willow Gang?”
“Hmph, they are just two rogues. How dare they make clamor here.”
Qinghu spoke in a tone like he was seeking Lin Mengya’s rewards. But he saw a touch of consideration flash through her eyes.
“Little girl, what are you thinking?”
Lin Mengya looked at him and told him her confusion.
“Do you know the Willow Gang in Capital City? They are the kidnappers who took Xiaoyu away. I didn’t care about Willow Gang before. But now, they seem like they are not as simple as I expected.”
Baisu had heard about them, so she added, “You are right, Master. Previously, Young Master ran away from his place and sought refuge. There were lots of guards with good kung fu around him. Young Master mentioned that he was picked up by an old bum. But what forced Young Master to go there, and why?”
Qinghu thought about it and agreed with them. The Willow Gang was not simple.
“I heard something about them as well. The Willow Gang does not only gather a group of rogues together. They are also involved in all kinds of business. Their boss behind them also has a lot of power. But the Willow Gang is not unique in society. At most, they are just the lackeys of rich people or officials.”
Qinghu was famously ferocious. Of course he wouldn’t care about such a small gang.
“I may think too much.”
They lingered there for a while. When the sun was setting in the west, they secretly left Restaurant Ruyi to go to Prince Yu’s Mansion.
It was normal to stay in a restaurant for food and drink for a day. So they weren’t worried about arousing others’ suspicions when returning.
However, Lin Mengya was asked by Concubine De to go to the Art Courtyard when she was about to go to bed.
Sitting in a seat to the right, Lin Mengya kept silent and just lowered her head to drink tea.
But Jiang Ruqin was crying as if she was bullied by someone.
Concubine De, sitting in the head seat, seemed to be presiding over something.
“Aunt, please make a decision for me!”
Jiang Ruqin spoke in a pathetic way. Her cry of “Aunt” could make others feel extremely broken-hearted.
But it gave Lin Mengya the creeps. “Could she speak in a normal tone?”
“My, my. I’m afraid that you have to ask your cousin-in-law for help. I am your Aunt, but in fact, your cousin-in-law is the real master here.”
“Interesting.” Lin Mengya laughed silently.
Was there anything in Prince Yu’s Mansion that could escape Concubine De’s questioning?
Lin Mengya was just the master on the surface.
But Concubine De claimed that Lin Mengya was the real master there. How absurd it was.
“Cousin-in-law, please.”
Jiang Ruqin was extremely arrogant and Lin Mengya often saw her face looking arrogant in daily life.
But it was a surprise that she actually got closer to Lin Mengya and knelt down.
“Rise quickly. What’s the matter, Miss Jiang?”
Lin Mengya spoke, but she refused to help her.
Someone wanted to put on a show in her presence. Well then, she would like to take part in it and help it become more realistic.
Jiang Ruqin knelt down, making a loud sound.
Even Lin Mengya was about to feel sorry for her.
Jiang Ruqin couldn’t help showing her teeth, but suddenly, she recalled that she was playing the role of a poor girl.
So she returned to being pathetic quicker than a Sichuan opera turning hostile.
“Cousin-in-law, I know I am not a lucky girl. I have nothing to expect in my life. Without Aunt’s affection, I may have to live a life of disappointment.”
Lin Mengya exchanged glances with Baizhi. “Look, her speech sounds more emotional and infectious than an opera star’s.”
Neither of them made a reaction as they waited for Jiang Ruqin’s following speech.
“But I never expected that the servants in our house would gossip about me. It really worries me that they spread so many rumors!”
“Rumors?” Lin Mengya gave a silent, brittle smile.
“Isn’t that what you and your Aunt want?”
But Lin Mengya still pretended to know nothing.
“Sister, I don’t know about those rumors. But don’t worry, I promise you I will punish them. How dare they gossip about you! They will definitely be punished. Don’t feel so wronged, sister. I will help you to clear your name, don’t worry.”
Now that Lin Mengya had said that preemptively, Jiang Ruqin lost her excuse to carry on.
This episode’s plot was obviously going wrong in the direction.
Jiang Ruqing secretly caught sight of Concubine De, despondent about what the next step in this show should be.