However, the two of them were worlds apart. He had no official rank and had been traveling all over the country with Lord Zhang for years, living a nomadic life. He couldn't even bring himself to mistreat ordinary girls and cause them to suffer with him, let alone a beautiful woman like Dongli Xiaoxiao.

Even a toad can have a thought about eating swan meat, but for him, it was something he wouldn't even dare to dream of.

"Never mind, Miss Sun, I don't need it anymore." Shan Qiu sighed softly, feeling dejected, and turned to leave.

Sun Miao'er suddenly called out to him, shouting at his retreating figure, "Officer Shan, I've saved this for you. Remember to come and get it next time."

Liu'er said a new batch of goods had arrived and needed to be transported to the dock.

After the shop closed, Sun Miao'er led Liu'er to the dock. Because this batch of goods was valuable, she didn't trust anyone else to deliver it.

The wind was very strong on the dock, whistling past their ears. Liu'er was only a few feet away from Sun Miao'er, but she had to shout to speak.

Sun Miao'er was handing over the goods to the dock manager and checking the order forms. Although it was late, the dock was still bustling with people, and many shop owners would choose to come and pick up their goods at this time.

"Manager Sun." A man's voice came from behind, somewhat faint, but Sun Miao'er still heard it clearly; the person was calling her.

She turned around abruptly, and there was an unfamiliar face.

The man was dressed in fine clothes. The dock was dark at night, with only lanterns to light the way. His face flickered in the light and shadow, barely allowing Sun Miao'er to make out his features.

He has regular facial features and an extraordinary temperament.

That's the only way to describe it; she couldn't think of anything more. After all, having seen her master before, it was hard for other men to catch her eye.

"Manager Ji," the steward spoke first.

Sun Miao'er understood immediately. Manager Ji, could he be from Yunmiao Manor?

It's just unknown whether he is actually the owner of Yunmiao Manor.

The events that had occurred at the yamen a few days ago were still vivid in her mind. Sun Miao'er didn't want to talk to him, so she just nodded and prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, the man persisted and chased after them, saying, "It is said that Pingting Cloth Shop is a rising star in Pingnan City. I did not expect Manager Sun to be so aloof as to refuse to speak to me."

Sun Miao'er knew she couldn't ignore it now, so she simply replied, "Not at all. It's just that Pingting Cloth Shop is too small a place to show off in front of Yunmiao Manor."

"Hey!" Ji Changru chuckled. "Could it be that Manager Sun is holding a grudge against Yunmiao Manor because of what happened last time?"

"I have heard about what happened at the yamen. It was the servants who were ignorant, and I have already punished them!"

Sun Miao'er now knew that the man behind her was none other than Ji Changru, the man who, in just a few years, had ruined all the cloth shops in Pingnan City.

She had to re-evaluate this man; fate had brought them together again.

Perhaps Ji Changru didn't take him seriously at all.

"It's nothing, perhaps others have really misunderstood," Sun Miao'er said.

Ji Changru's expression was inscrutable. "Not at all. Manager Sun is a heroine among women, and Dongli Xiaoxiao is an unparalleled beauty. It's only natural that they appreciate each other."

"I'm just afraid of overshadowing Yunmiao Manor." Sun Miao'er didn't mince words and directly stated what she was thinking.

Ji Changru was slightly taken aback. He had previously sent people to investigate Sun Miao'er, who turned out to be just a girl from the village who had somehow obtained a sum of money and bought a shop.

At the time, he didn't pay much attention to it, and the shop couldn't even squeeze into the whole street of cloth shops; it could only make a living among the rice, flour, and oil shops.

However, he did not expect that in just a few months, Pingting Cloth Shop would stir up quite a storm. He only ordered his subordinates to trip up Pingting Cloth Shop, but those few fools ended up getting themselves into trouble.

“Manager Sun is wrong. Yunmiao Manor is a big business, and it should be inclusive and cooperative. We are all in the same industry, so we should cooperate and help each other.” Ji Changru spoke politely one after another, as if he wanted to write “I am a good person” on his face.

Sun Miao'er couldn't detect much goodwill in his words. Did he really want to squeeze into that damp and dark alley?

"Manager Ji, it's windy tonight. My goods are all checked, so I'll take my leave now." Sun Miao'er saw Liu'er waving at her and was about to shake off Ji Changru.

Ji Changru frowned, wanting to say something more, but the person in front of him had already disappeared.

The dock was outside the city. By the time they finished counting their goods, it was already late. According to regulations, after 9 PM, oxcarts and horse-drawn carriages could not leave through the city gate. If they wanted to enter the city, they had to take a detour through a side gate via a small road outside the city.

The oxcart was loaded with goods, and Sun Miao'er and Liu'er sat in the hired horse-drawn carriage in the back. The road was very quiet, and it was dark and windy. Apart from them and the two drivers, not even the chirping of birds could be heard.

"Liu'er, have you walked this road at night before?" Sun Miao'er felt uneasy walking along the deserted night road.

Liu'er huddled in a corner of the carriage and said, "I've been here once or twice before when I was with Manager Xie, but there are often merchants passing by on this road, so it's not too scary."

Sun Miao'er swallowed hard, thinking that she was just unlucky today and hadn't run into any other caravans.

The wind outside grew stronger and stronger. Sun Miao'er lifted the carriage curtain and saw the coachman wearing a straw hat and whipping the carriage.

"How much longer until we get there!" Sun Miao'er looked up at the moon. It was almost midnight. She remembered that when she left the city, she took the main road and arrived at the dock in less than half an hour.

Why is the detour so far?

The coachman didn't answer, but suddenly tightened the reins, and the horse neighed and gradually came to a stop.

Realizing something was wrong, Sun Miao'er immediately asked warily, "Weren't we heading into the city? Why did we stop?"

The oxcart in front also stopped, and the driver turned around, holding a gleaming dagger in his hand.

Sun Miao'er subconsciously retreated into the carriage, turned to Liu'er and said, "Something's wrong, Liu'er, wake up!"

Liu'er slowly woke up, craned her neck forward, and saw the dagger in the driver's hand. She panicked and said, "Boss! Something's wrong. We're all probably going to die!"

"Don't worry, gentlemen, we only care about the money, not your lives. As long as you leave this truckload of goods here, we two brothers won't do anything to you!"

Sun Miao'er cursed inwardly, "Does this mean robbery still has professional ethics these days?"

Liu'er sensed something was wrong and whispered, "Shopkeeper, I've heard things aren't peaceful in the north right now. Some refugees who have come here often rob merchants of their goods..."

"Where did you find this driver? He's so unreliable!" Sun Miao'er scolded.

Liu'er said, "I called them at the morning market, but who knew they'd all gone to the city... If I'd known, I wouldn't have bothered looking for them!"

"Now is not the time to talk about this!" Sun Miao'er met the dagger in the driver's hand. There were two of them, and she was also alone. Perhaps there was still a chance to fight back.