When Tang Yi arrived, the clothing store owner and all the workers left the clothing shop because of his scolding.

However, the shopkeeper and the workers were all Jiang Liu's people. They did not go far away, but lingered not far from the clothing shop, waiting for the magistrate's wife to handle the matter before they went to work.

Hu Ying, standing beside him, wore a mocking smile, but inwardly she was overjoyed.

Jiang Liu, the most distinguished woman in all of Baiyang, has unexpectedly become a businesswoman.

She knew the hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, and that the adults looked down on merchants the most.

Merchants are profit-driven and their minds are always on how to scheme against others. With Jiang Liu's spoiled and arrogant temperament, how could she possibly succeed in business?

Hu Ying was somewhat skeptical.

"Tang Yi, as I said, that money is our last bit of kindness." Jiang Liu was still dressed in red. However, she looked somewhat haggard today.

Her eyes were red with anger, indicating that the two had just had a big argument.

Jiang Liu hadn't originally intended to hide it. She thought to herself, "Now that the ready-made clothing store is open, what can Tang Yi do to me?"

To her surprise, Tang Yi immediately told her to close the clothing shop.

This shop is her life's work, so of course she won't listen to reason.

This led to intense conflict.

The maid Cuizhu was afraid that the magistrate would do something rash. She and Hu Ying looked at each other and glared at each other fiercely.

She knew that it was Hu Ying who had instigated the county magistrate to do this.

"Incomprehensible!" Tang Yi angrily looked at all the clothes in the clothing shop and said to the officials following behind him, "Take away all the clothes in this shop and take down the signboard."

"How dare you!" Jiang Liu's blood boiled, and she quickly stepped in front of the two officers.

The two constables looked at each other in bewilderment. "Sir, this..." One was the county magistrate, and the other was the county magistrate's wife. Neither of the constables dared to offend the other.

Tang Yi was also furious. He felt that Jiang Liu, who was such a grown-up, still had the mentality of a child.

He glared angrily at the two officers.

"What are you all standing there for? I order you to immediately put away your garments and remove your signboards. If you don't comply, someone else will take your place!"

"Yes." The two officers awkwardly agreed and began to dismantle the signboard.

Jiang Liu was so angry that she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen, which made her curl up and turn pale.

However, she still did her best to stop the two officers.

"Madam." Cuizhu was worried and quickly stepped forward to support her mistress.

Seeing Jiang Liu like this, Tang Yi reached out to help her up, but she pushed him away, saying, "Don't touch me!"

Tang Yi felt embarrassed after being humiliated by his wife on the spot.

Hu Ying stepped forward, came to Tang Yi's side, and looked at Jiang Liu provocatively.

"Madam, the master is only thinking of you. You should listen to his advice and stay at home to be a good wife and mother."

She emphasized the words "supporting her husband and raising her children" very heavily.

After speaking, she straightened her back to show off her still-not-yet-showing pregnant belly.

She thought that Jiang Liu wanted to gain Lord Tang's sympathy by feigning illness. And she was the one who provoked Jiang Liu.

Her pregnancy proved that her status in the Tang family had risen considerably, so she felt more confident in front of Jiang Liu and was no longer as timid as before.

Her child was her only support.

Hu Ying glanced at Tang Yi, and seeing that she did not stop her from speaking, she continued, "If Madam insists on doing business, then she will not be able to take care of the management of the backyard."

"Shut up! You lowly concubine, don't even think about showing off in front of me!" Jiang Liu felt that even glancing at Hu Ying would taint her eyes.

Hu Ying wanted to say something more, but then she heard a loud slap as Jiang Liu slapped her hard across the cheek.

A five-finger red mark instantly appeared on her face.

Cui Zhu was secretly pleased; well done.

Hu Ying covered her cheek in pain, leaned back, and was pulled into Tang Yi's arms.

In an instant, Hu Ying's tears rolled down in large drops.

"My lord, I didn't say anything offensive. Why is Madam hitting me? My lord, you must stand up for me..."

After hearing this, Tang Yi followed Hu Ying's words and said to Jiang Liu, "If you still do not repent, I will hand over the management of the backyard to Hu Ying."

Hu Ying's anger turned to joy; she felt she had truly deserved that slap.

"That's your Tang residence. You can hand it over to whomever you want. It's none of my business." Jiang Liu wasn't provoked by Tang Yi's words at all. Right now, she only cared about her clothing shop.

"Incomprehensible!" Tang Yi repeated his previous words, roughly pulling Jiang Liu's arm. "Come home with me and reflect on your actions behind closed doors!"

He only said it was for Hu Ying.

"Let go of me!" Jiang Liu struggled to break free from Tang Yi's arm. She lost her balance and was about to fall to the ground, but fortunately, she was gently caught by a pair of delicate hands.

Seeing Jiang Liu's curled-up body and pale face, Qiu Yan asked worriedly, "Sister Jiang, are you feeling unwell?"

Jiang Liu was surprised that Qiu Yan would come, and thought to herself that finally someone would help her.

Clutching her stomach with one hand and pointing at Tang Yi with the other, she accused Qiu Yan, "He's going to demolish my shop, Qiu Yan, he's going to demolish my shop, the clothing shop I worked so hard to build up."

Seeing Jiang Liu's aggrieved look, Qiu Yan felt genuinely indignant on her behalf.

She looked at Tang Yi and asked calmly:

"Lord Tang, is the deed to this clothing shop registered in your name?"

Tang Yi's expression darkened. Qiu Yan's question made him lose his confidence. "We are husband and wife, so your shop is naturally my shop too."

Qiu Yan added, "As far as I know, this clothing shop was purchased by Sister Jiang using her own dowry. Since ancient times, dowries have always been a woman's private property, and you have no right to interfere!"

Jiang Liu nodded, "Yes, this shop is my dowry, it has nothing to do with you."

Tang Yi gritted his teeth. This Qiu Yan was a troublemaker. "Jiang Liu, don't forget, I also gave you two hundred taels of silver!"

Jiang Liu had lived for over twenty years, and at this moment, she suddenly understood life.

She was proud from a young age, and in her entire life she only asked Tang Yi for money once.

She was ashen-faced from the abdominal pain. “Now I know what it means to be indebted to someone who gives you a gift.”

Tang Yi immediately realized that Jiang Liu had misunderstood him, and quickly explained, "Jiang Liu, you know that's not what I meant."

"That's what you mean!" Jiang Liu was furious and wouldn't listen to a word Tang Yi said.

Unable to reason with Jiang Liu, Tang Yi turned to look at Qiu Yan.

"Qiu Yan, don't misunderstand me. I simply don't want my wife to go into business. Besides, this is a private matter between my husband and me. What does it have to do with you? It's all because of you that Jiang Liu started going into business. I hope you'll stay away from my wife in the future!"

He believes that Qiu Yan is the culprit.

Upon hearing Tang Yi's words, Jiang Liu sneered, "Lord Tang, are you feeling guilty? Qiu Yan is my close friend, and our relationship is far beyond what you can compare to."

Qiu Yan was standing up for her; she shouldn't have been spoken to like that by Tang Yi.

Furthermore, she opened the shop herself, willingly, not at Qiu Yan's urging.