Chapter 152 So happy I almost fainted

As Ruan Tianxin listened to these discussions, the happy times of the family of three when her mother was alive came to mind. She felt a pang of sadness, but her resolve only strengthened.

She readily signed her name on the document, then picked it up and showed it to the onlookers:

"From this day forward, I, Ruan Tianxin, have no further connection with the Ruan family!"

After saying that, she resolutely pulled out the jade hairpin that was holding her hair, held a strand of black hair in one hand, and with the other hand, she held the jade hairpin and slashed downwards cleanly, and a strand of black hair was cut off!

Looking at the broken hair, Mr. Ruan felt a pang of inexplicable pain in his heart, for it was, after all, his own flesh and blood.

He instinctively took a step forward and reached out his hand: "Sweet..."

Ruan Tianxin didn't even glance at him. She deliberately tilted her wrist slightly, and her hair floated lightly to the ground, just like the irreparable relationship between them.

Just when everyone thought the drama was over, Ruan Tianxin suddenly walked to the middle of the street and raised her voice:

"Distinguished guests, please wait a moment! Today marks the grand opening of my new Cui Fen Lou restaurant. We cordially invite you to witness the unveiling!"

As she spoke, across the street, in front of a more luxuriously decorated shop with its entrance covered in red silk, the shop assistants pulled hard on a rope.

The red silk slipped off, revealing the three large, gleaming golden characters of the Cui Fen Lou (翠粉楼).

Ruan Tianxin stood in front of the Cuifen Building, her smile bright and cheerful.

"Welcome to Cui Fen Lou. I am Ruan Tianxin, the owner. To celebrate the opening, everything is 20% off today!"

Nguyen Liu stared in disbelief, then suddenly pointed at Nguyen Thi Tin:

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! You clearly handed over all your assets, where did you get the money to open a new store? You...you've been hiding assets. This is illegal, we have written evidence!"

Upon hearing this, Ruan Tianxin reacted as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world. She turned around gracefully, looked at the seemingly insane Ruan Liu Shi, and smiled faintly:

“Madam Ruan, who said that this Cui Fen Lou was opened with my previous property? All my property is right now in that box you are holding.”

Ruan Liu Shi reacted instantly, her face turning deathly pale.

She thought of terrible things, and like a madwoman, she rushed to the wooden box, roughly opened it, and grabbed the account books, land deeds, and bank notes inside to carefully examine them.

"Empty...the account is empty! Real estate...all the real estate has been mortgaged!"

She was completely exhausted and collapsed to the ground.

Ruan Jiawen, still unaware of what was going on, excitedly uttered harsh words:

"Ruan Tianxin! So what if you've opened a new store? Feizhi Pavilion is an established brand, with many customers..."

Before she could finish speaking, she turned her head and saw her mother collapsed on the ground, and asked in confusion:

"Mother? Why are you... so happy you've fainted?"

Ruan Liu was so angry that she trembled all over, and with her last bit of strength, she cursed:

"Idiot! You idiot! We...we've been tricked!"

Ruan's father rushed forward to check and quickly understood the truth. He pointed at Ruan Tianxin, too angry to speak:

"You...you already...what a clever trick of feigning one thing while secretly doing another. You've already transferred your assets, leaving us with nothing but an empty shell and debts!"

Ruan Tianxin slowly walked up to them, looking down at the chaotic Ruan family:

"I've taken back everything my mother left behind, and everything I've worked so hard to earn. As for the rest... you'd better take care of yourselves."

She turned and walked into the Cuifen Building.

Inside the private room of Cuifenlou

Outside the window, there was a noisy celebration of the grand opening, but inside the private room, everything was quiet.

Xiao Yongjing picked up the wine pot, poured a cup of sake for Ruan Tianxin, and praised her:

"Miss Ruan fought a truly brilliant battle today. She remained calm under pressure and dealt a decisive blow. I admire her greatly."

Ruan Tianxin lowered her head shyly, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"Your Highness is too kind. If it weren't for Sister Yiqiu's foresight in anticipating their schemes and devising this escape plan for me, I would have been at their mercy today."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yongjing raised his eyes with amusement, glancing at Shen Yiqiu who sat quietly to the side, and understood:

"No wonder this method is so familiar... sharp and decisive, it must have come from the lady."

Shen Yiqiu met his gaze calmly, raised the wine glass in front of her, and lightly clinked it against his, her smile gentle:

"Same to you. Your Highness's demeanor just now, with its punishment and exile, wasn't it perfectly coordinated?"

The three of them exchanged a smile, and the atmosphere became much more relaxed.

Ruan Tianxin put down her wine glass and asked curiously:

"By the way, Sister Yiqiu, Your Highness, is there something important that you came to see me so suddenly today?"

Shen Yiqiu and Xiao Yongjing exchanged a glance, and Shen Yiqiu spoke first:

“We do have a request. We want to investigate an old matter and need to review the records of a batch of goods traded by Zhentian Pavilion many years ago, especially those related to Xuecheng Paper.”

Xiao Yongjing continued:

"This matter may be somewhat difficult, given how much time has passed. Moreover, you have just weathered such a storm, leaving the Jade Pavilion, and there are many matters that urgently need to be addressed..."

Ruan Tianxin waved her hand dismissively, showing no sign of difficulty, and confidently patted her chest:

"I thought it was something serious. Your Highness and sister, don't worry, I'll take care of this little thing. Not to mention the account books from a few years ago, I've preserved even the original account books from the very beginning of Zhentian Pavilion!"

“My mother was a very meticulous person. She taught me that the way to do business is to be honest and trustworthy, and to keep accounts as proof.”

“Every transaction, no matter how small, must be clearly recorded, with at least two copies kept in different places. She said that only in this way can we leave a record of our work and be prepared to adapt to any changes.”

After saying this, she summoned a trusted servant and whispered a few words of advice in his ear.

The servant accepted the order and quickly left.

In less than half an hour, two strong servants carried in a heavy wooden box.

The box was opened, revealing neatly stacked account books arranged chronologically by year—the sheer number of them was astonishing.

Even though Shen Yiqiu was mentally prepared, she still couldn't help but exclaim in amazement when she saw it with her own eyes:

"this……"

She picked up a book at random, and saw that the cover of the kraft paper was marked with the year, month, and even a summary of the main categories of goods in neat small characters. The clarity and rigor of the organization made it seem more like a chronicle compiled by a historian than a merchant's account book.

Ruan Tianxin walked to the box, squatted down, and quickly scanned the labels on the back of the ledgers, accurately pulling out three or four booklets.

She flipped through the pages skillfully, her fingertips tracing the lines of ink.

After a moment, she raised her head:

"Found it! It's here, in the spring of the seventeenth year of Jinghe. Back then, someone did indeed purchase large quantities of Snow Orange Paper from Feizhi Pavilion, and the quantity was enormous, almost two-thirds of the inventory that year."

Shen Yiqiu immediately pressed for an answer:

"Is the buyer's name recorded?"

Ruan Tianxin lowered her head to carefully examine the handwriting in the ledger, and hesitantly read out the name:

"The record is of... Zhao Mengrou."

"Zhao Mengrou?"

The three of them were stunned at the same time.

Ruan Tianxin looked up in disbelief, her voice tinged with uncertainty:

"Zhao Mengrou... Could this be just someone with the same name? Could it be... that Consort Zhao?"

The current imperial concubine, the birth mother of Princess Xingrong, was named Zhao Mengrou.

Xiao Yongjing's eyes were unfathomable as he slowly put down his wine glass.

"The seventeenth year of Chunming... was around the time my mother, Consort Jia, entered the palace, and it was also the period when the old Marquis of Yongjia frequently entered and exited the palace. The timing matches up."