"Silly girl, do you really think the Song family is short of a few taels of silver?" Jiang Shuwan shook her head and laughed. She pointed to the magnificent reception hall, where even a single vase or ornament cost over a hundred taels of silver.

"The Song family has accumulated wealth over three generations. It's not that they don't have the money to buy goods, but that they can't get them."

"That can also dampen the Zhou family's arrogance. We can't keep letting the Zhou family bully us without fighting back."

"Brother Nai, what do you think?" Jiang Shuwan didn't reply to Qingxing, but asked Brother Nai to share his opinion.

Knowing that Jiang Shuwan was testing him, Brother Nai quickly composed himself, thought for a moment, and then slowly organized his words to speak.

“Miss, in my opinion, while kidnapping the merchant and taking him to court might vent our anger, it won’t help the Song family at all. After all, the Song family is currently embroiled in many troubles and is also involved in a lawsuit, which is not a good thing to talk about. Moreover, the merchant dared to come even after deceiving Song Yi, so he must have some confidence. I even think that the Zhou family deliberately provoked the Song family to kidnap the merchant. When that happens, the news that the Song family has no merchants to supply them will spread throughout the capital in an instant, and then the Song family will truly have no chance of recovery.”

As he spoke, Brother Nai kept watching Jiang Shuwan's expression. When he saw Jiang Shuwan nodding with a smile, he couldn't help but grin as well.

The young lady nodded, which proved that he was right.

On the other side, Qingxing still didn't understand.

"Wait a minute, Miss, didn't the capital already know that the Song family's Treasure Pavilion had nothing to sell?"

"That's what the Zhou family said. The Song family has always claimed that the roads are difficult and the supply of goods is insufficient. Don't be fooled by the fact that the Zhou family's Treasure Pavilion is now packed with customers. If the Song family could really stock up on goods, even three Treasure Pavilions wouldn't be a match for them."

"Three generations of accumulation, a century of reputation. Otherwise, why would Zhou Shang'an, dressed in flashy clothes and covered in gold and copper coins, pay such a high price to buy Zhenbaolou? Zhenbaolou is the Song family's golden signboard. Without Zhenbaolou, the Song family is a toothless tiger and can no longer compete with the Zhou family."

"Then I won't sell. I'll wear him down..."

“You can choose not to sell, but can your shop remain unstocked indefinitely? It’s still early enough to find excuses, but given more time, your reputation will be ruined, and Treasure Pavilion will be nothing more than a dilapidated building. You might not even find anyone willing to buy it for a hundred taels of silver.”

"So the Song family has no other way out but to sell the building?" Qingxing sighed, then she thought of something, and the little girl looked at Jiang Shuwan with bright eyes.

"Miss! I understand! We're here to buy an apartment today, aren't we?"

"The Song family hates the Zhou family to the bone. They would definitely prefer to sell to the young lady rather than to the Zhou family. Isn't this what you mean by the snipe and the clam fighting while the fisherman benefits?"

Qingxing felt she had discovered the truth and excitedly said, "No wonder Miss hasn't made a move yet. She was waiting for this opportunity. Once she buys Treasure Pavilion, she can use it to enter the jewelry trading market. With Miss's accumulated wealth in the West Market, plus Treasure Pavilion's century-old reputation, business will surely flourish. When the East Market elects the next chairman, Miss will rise to prominence!"

"Once we secure the position of president of the East Market, we can launch an attack on the South Market together with the West Market. At that time, the position of president of the General Chamber of Commerce will be yours for the taking!"

"As expected of Miss!"

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

Jiang Shuwan: "..."

"Qingxing, do I look very rich?"

She looked embarrassed as she spoke, patting her empty purse.

Thank you so much, it's such a kind thought of me.

"..."

Qingxing was also stunned for a moment. She belatedly realized that her young lady had used all her money to buy shops on Donglin Street. Now Jiang Shuwan was so poor that her pockets were emptier than her face, and Granny Tao, who was in charge of the storeroom, was so idle that she spent her days eating melon seeds with Granny Chang.

Let alone buying the Treasure Pavilion worth ten thousand taels of silver, her young lady is so poor that she has to think twice before even drinking a pot of Biluochun tea that costs ten taels of silver.

This was definitely the poorest period Jiang Shuwan had experienced since getting married.

We're too poor!

We're so poor we can't even afford tea anymore!

Qingxing==_=: "..."

She was stunned for a while before awkwardly asking, "Then why did we come to the Song family?"

While they were talking, the negotiations between the Zhou and Song families also broke down.

"Song Yi, you just wait! If you don't sell Treasure Pavilion now, you can expect it to go out of business!"

"I'm not afraid to tell you, I've spoken to everyone in the capital, and no one dares to help you, nor does anyone dare to buy Treasure Pavilion!"

Dressed like a wealthy man, Zhou Shang'an finished his harsh words and stormed off with his men. Song Yi was pale but did not try to stop him. He even ordered his servants to burn the chair that Zhou Shang'an had sat on.

Then, turning to look at Jiang Shuwan, she said to Qingxing, "It's such a waste to burn it. Rich people are different. Unlike me, I can't even afford tea that costs ten taels of silver."

"That's because you took all the money and bought useless shops on Donglin Street."

While Qingxing was making her comments, she caught a glimpse of Song Yi, who quickly nudged Jiang Shuwan with his finger.

"Miss, Song Yi discovered that we were eavesdropping."

Jiang Shuwan: "..."

Milk Bro: "..."

Brother Nai smiled awkwardly and went to greet him apologetically, "Brother Song, my apologies."

Qingxing gave an apologetic, awkward laugh.

Jiang Shuwan, on the other hand, remained calm, fanning herself with her fan.

She didn't eavesdrop on purpose; it was the Song family's servants who welcomed them in.

"What's going on?" Song Yi asked the butler beside him.

The butler also looked bewildered. "Young master, I don't know what happened either. They came in one after the other, and I thought they were together."

After speaking, he glanced at Jiang Shuwan and the other two. The Zhou family had left, but they hadn't, so it was obvious that they weren't with the Zhou family.

However, given the Song family's current predicament, their visit is most likely that they are enemies, not friends.

"Guards, throw them out!"

"No need!"

Song Yi stopped the butler and invited Jiang Shuwan and her two companions to another, more luxurious house.

After the host and guests were seated, Song Yi looked at the man standing behind Jiang Shuwan and knew that his previous guess was correct.

To outsiders, the sudden rise to prominence of "Brother Milk" as the young chairman of the West Market Association is just a facade.

The real person in charge is Jiang Shuwan, a younger and more delicate woman.

It's true that he wasn't perceptive enough; otherwise, he would have noticed when he first met Jiang Shuwan on Dongfu Street.

After all, Brother Nai was already the vice president of the West Market at the time, wielding considerable influence in the market. How could he possibly be so respectful to a mere young woman?

"I heard the young lady's surname is Jiang, and she has connections to the Marquis of Wenyuan's family..."

Song Yi stopped midway through his sentence because he noticed that Jiang Shuwan was wearing a woman's headdress.

No wonder he sent people to inquire whether there were any young girls with the surname Jiang in the Marquis's residence, and they all said no.

At the time, he thought it was a child born outside the Marquis of Wenyuan's household, or someone else using the Marquis's name to do business outside...

He feared making enemies by getting too involved, so he didn't dare to investigate further.

Looking back now, I am immediately filled with respect and stood up from my chair.

"I never expected you to be the wife of Prince Wenyuan. Please forgive me for not greeting you properly."