In the silent night, there was only the sound of the wind, and the small fire was shaking. The two people beside the fire watched quietly until the flames were completely extinguished, leaving only a ball of black ash.
After the Yong Wang couple left, Xian'er, who was hiding in the dark, immediately arrived at the position where the two had just been, and then another man in black also appeared.
"Junior sister, what did they burn?"
"Brocade boxes."
"Brocade boxes? What brocade boxes?"
"The brocade boxes Xia Shang gave to King Yong, two in total, all burned."
"You mean... if there were rare treasures inside, why burn them? Could the things inside have been taken away?"
Xian'er frowned and shook her head: "Impossible, King Yong's previous actions were very cautious, and they were definitely not two empty boxes."
"Xia Shang and King Yong had a grudge, and the two brocade boxes not only resolved the grudge between the two, but also made King Yong give Xia Shang another 10,000 gold. After that, he refused to see guests and stayed in the attic for a whole half day. The first thing he did after coming out was to burn the treasure given by Xia Shang? This... this doesn't make sense at all!"
"Wait!"
Xian'er shouted in a low voice, as if she had discovered something. She squatted down and found a piece of dark green cloth from the ashes. It was only the size of a thumb, and it was obviously a remnant that had not been burned out.
"Dark green cloth, the two brocade boxes are not green. It proves that there must be something inside. What does the dark green cloth represent?"
"Junior sister, there are words on the cloth!"
The man next to her has reminded her, and Xian'er really saw a very inconspicuous "Li" character outlined with gold thread on one side of the Suibu!
"This 'Li' character is..."
"Li's Cloth Shop!"
...
On the same day, at 4:00 a.m., an uninvited guest came to the home of the shopkeeper of the Yangzhou branch of Li's Cloth Shop.
The middle-aged man with a big belly in the room was still making love with his newly married concubine, whispering sweet nothings, and showing off his erotic scent.
Just as Shopkeeper Zhong was getting into it, the door of the room was suddenly opened by someone!
"Bang!"
"Ah!"
When he heard the sound, he knew someone had broken in.
The naked concubine screamed and got into the quilt.
Shopkeeper Zhong was still calm, and shouted in a low voice: "Who is it!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a sword flashed in front of his eyes, and an inch of goatee was plucked off.
Seeing the black-clothed woman appearing like a ghost in front of him, he immediately learned his lesson.
"Madam, spare my life! What do you want? Just tell me, Zhong will give it all, as long as you don't use the knife."
"If you want to live, answer my questions honestly."
"Madam, please ask, Zhong will tell you everything you know."
"Stop talking nonsense. Take a look at this."
As he said, a piece of cloth the size of a thumb fell in front of Shopkeeper Zhong.
Shopkeeper Zhong held the broken step in his hand tremblingly, like a pilgrim. But after seeing it clearly, he was a little confused again: "Lady, what is the meaning of this small step?"
"Look carefully, is this from your Li's cloth shop?"
"This... this is indeed the third-grade cotton cloth made by my Li's cloth shop."
"Can you tell what kind of product this cloth is made of?"
"Lady, this is the most commonly used cloth in my Li's cloth shop. There are at least a hundred kinds of things made from it. This small piece of small step really can't tell what it is made of."
"What is the best and most precious clothing made from it?"
"The best and most precious... this... Lady, this cloth is not a good cloth. The things made from it will not exceed five taels of silver at most. It is really hard to find precious things!"
"The clothes made from this thing will not exceed five taels of silver at most?!"
...
"Kneel down!"
In the dimly lit thatched house, in front of an old wooden table that was a little rotten, Qin Qin Huairou crossed her chest with her hands, her eyes were cold, and a domineering aura from inside to outside was pressing against Xia Shang's side.
Of course, "kneel down" was not said to Xia Shang, but to the girl next to Xia Shang.
Yazhi's petiteness and Huairou's height formed a sharp contrast, as if a helpless yellow warbler was looked down upon by a peacock with its tail spread out, and her words were full of irrefutable firmness.
Yazhi's current status can be said to be Xia Shang's maid, or Xia Shang's concubine. No matter which status, she cannot be compared with Qin Huairou, the legal wife.
If another woman stood in Yazhi's position, she would have knelt down obediently to accept the judgment of her master or sister.
But Yazhi is different. She grew up in a wealthy family. Later, because of the decline of her family, she was sold to a brothel and was trained as a prostitute. She was also supported as a lady of a rich family. She has never been bullied since she was a child, and she is a stubborn person who is soft but not hard.
You ask me to kneel, but I won't kneel!
Although Yazhi's voice was small, her momentum was not weak. She asked back: "Why do you want me to kneel? I didn't do anything wrong!"
"You dare to talk back?!" Qin Huairou's eyes were stern. "You don't know the difference between the superior and the inferior. Isn't it called a mistake? That day you let Xia Shang sleep on the floor and you slept on the bed. You are so bold. If I don't enforce the family rules, it will be a violation of the rules!"
"You don't know the difference between the superior and the inferior! The young master is your husband. You don't call him husband, but call him by his name. You are very brave."
"I..."
"What do you mean by you? This is the fact. Everyone heard it just now. You just called the young master by his name!"
Yazhi was also smart. She grabbed Qin Huairou's sore spot and didn't let go. After she finished speaking, she made a face at Qin Huairou.
In terms of small thoughts, Qin Huairou is definitely not as good as Yazhi. And I have never heard of the second room being so blatantly against the main wife, not to mention that they don't have a formal status! Now they are so arrogant, if they really enter the Xia family in the future, won't they make a big fuss?
Thinking of this, Qin Huairou was so angry that his face turned red, and he slapped the table:
"What a sharp-tongued woman! Xiaoyue, slap me!"
Xiaoyue couldn't stand it anymore, and went up immediately after hearing the order.
Although Xiaoyue was young, she was really fierce. She glared with bright eyes and swung her hand, but she didn't expect Yazhi to dare to resist. She grabbed Xiaoyue's arm with great strength, and pinched Xiaoyue so hard that she cried out in pain.
"Madam! She...she..."
"How dare you!"
"Pa!"
This time Qin Huairou did it himself.
Qin Huairou wanted to hit her, not to mention Yazhi didn't react, even Xia Shang didn't react. When she came to her senses, there was a red mark on Yazhi's little face.
This time Yazhi couldn't help it, and she covered her little face with tears.
"Today I will teach you a lesson and let you know who is the legal wife of the Xia family and who is your master."
"Yazhi has only one master, the young master! Woo woo..." Yazhi felt more and more wronged as she spoke. She grabbed Xia Shang's trouser legs and knelt in front of him. "Yazhi will only kneel to the young master. Even if you beat me to death, I will not kneel to you. Young master, you must do justice for Yazhi."
"Xia... husband, I want to rebuild the family style! Now the Xia family is on the verge of embarrassment. If you want to revive the family, you must strictly manage the family. This woman seduces you with her gentle and charming manner all day long. If I don't care, it will be my dereliction of duty. Even if you feel sorry for me, I will still slap her!"
"Young master..."
"Husband..."
The two women confronted each other as soon as they entered the room. Xia Shang was completely confused.
What kind of thing is this!
I want to make a lot of money, become a high-ranking official, and marry many women. Today, I have only two women. I have no money, no power, and no influence. How can I have internal strife?
Now both women are looking at me eagerly, asking for justice. What should I do?