The shopkeeper frowned, but still apologized to Li Laosi and his wife with a smile, and then quickly went over.
"Madam Wu, I'm sorry I'm late!" The shopkeeper bowed to the woman and apologized, then said with a smile, "Madam, if you'd like to add some jewelry, just say the word, and I'll have someone deliver it directly to the Marquis's residence. Why bother making the trip?"
Seeing the shopkeeper's humble and attentive attitude, Madam Wu snorted coldly and stopped cursing.
But his tone remained unfriendly as he shouted, "I need to prepare a birthday gift for the Third Princess of the Palace. Bring out whatever good things you have here!"
After saying that, she went to find a place to sit down.
As a result, there were only three chairs in the room: one separate chair and two facing each other across a small tea table.
She didn't want to sit on the separate chair, but instead took a liking to the two chairs that Tao Hongying and Li Laosi were sitting on.
Seeing that the two were dressed very plainly, her anger flared up, and she started yelling at the manager, "This place is getting worse and worse! Any Tom, Dick, or Harry can come up to the second floor now? Clear the place out of here!"
These words were truly unpleasant to hear, putting the shopkeeper in a difficult position, while Li Laosi and Tao Hongying looked even worse.
The innkeeper, wanting to smooth things over, said with a smile, "Second Madam, well... all guests are welcome. We also have private rooms; please come and sit down for a while. It's much quieter there..."
Before he could finish speaking, Madam Wu glared at him, "You dog servant, can't you understand human language? Clear the area immediately! I need to choose jewelry. If you delay my entry into the palace, can you take responsibility?"
Just then, Jiayin came over carrying the little fox. When Madam Wu saw her, she was so angry she almost cried out, "How can there be any beasts here? Get them out of here right now, quick, quick!"
She kept waving her hands, as if the room was too stuffy to breathe because of the little fox.
Jiayin sneered, "That's right! We were just happily picking out jewelry when suddenly this beast appeared?!"
Just as Madam Wu was about to respond, she realized her words were inappropriate and immediately became angry, "You little beast, who are you cursing?"
As she spoke, she raised her hand to hit Jiayin.
Li Laosi is a complete doting father. He and his wife might be scolded and try to let things go, but he absolutely will not tolerate his daughter being scolded or beaten!
He suddenly stood up, took two steps forward, grabbed the second wife of Wu by the collar, and lifted her up.
Suddenly, Madam Wu was suspended in mid-air, her collar caught on her neck, and she screamed incessantly in fright. Soon, she could no longer scream, her face turning red from the effort. She could only frantically pry and kick, which was quite comical.
The two maids serving her were probably surprised that someone dared to make a move, and it took them a while to react.
One of them rushed forward and tried to pull Li Laosi away, shouting, "How dare you! Let go of our lady, let go now!"
Li Laosi didn't even glance at her before kicking her to the side, sending her sprawling to the ground.
Another nanny was a step too late. She tried to save her mistress, but Tao Hongying pulled her hair from behind and threw her aside.
Tao Hongying spends all her time around the stove, and her strength is among the best of all women.
The old woman tried to get up, but she was pulled onto the chair and stuck behind her back.
The chair was like a tortoise shell; the old woman's head, hands, and feet were outside the shell, while her body was completely trapped.
Tao Hongying sat down steadily. The chair pressed down, and the old woman, who was already fat, almost rolled her eyes.
Forget about resisting, it's a miracle they can even catch their breath...
All of this was described slowly, but happened extremely quickly; at least the shopkeeper didn't have time to react.
It was only a few slaps, and by the time he came to his senses, Madam Wu's face was already redder than a monkey's bottom.
He felt relieved, but even more so, he was terrified.
He wanted to persuade Li Laosi and his wife, but he didn't dare to speak. Just as he was hesitating about whether to ask Jiayin for help, Jiayin was clapping and cheering for her parents, "Daddy is so amazing! Mommy is great too, she's so quick!"
Even the little foxes were perched on Jiayin's shoulder, their tails wagging like windmills...
The shopkeeper felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.
Could he have misjudged him?!
This family of three isn't from a wealthy background; instead, they're ruthless and vicious gangsters!
Fortunately, Li Laosi didn't intend to kill her. After holding back Wu Er's words for a while, he threw her to the ground and said, "From now on, when you go out, wash your stinking mouth clean! If I hear you cursing my daughter again, or dare to lay a hand on my daughter, I'll send you to see the King of Hell!"
Madam Wu coughed desperately, unable to speak at all.
Jiayin, however, tugged at the shopkeeper's sleeve with a grin and asked, "Shopkeeper, which Wu family's second wife is she?"
The shopkeeper looked miserable, as if he wanted to burst into tears.
Good heavens, where did this family of hotheads come from?
After the fight was already over, I only just remembered to ask who they were!
He dared not refuse, so he whispered, "This is the second wife of the Wu family of the Marquis of Jiangning."
Having said that, fearing that Jiayin might not understand, he explained to Li Laosi and his wife, "The Empress is from the Jiangning Marquis's mansion, and this second lady is the Empress's aunt!"
Li Laosi frowned, but didn't say anything.
Jiayin blinked twice and said, "So, the Marquis of Jiangning is her father-in-law, and the Empress is her husband's niece. What does her husband do, and what's his official rank?"
"This..." The shopkeeper was a little confused, not understanding what use Jiayin was in asking these questions. Wasn't the fact that the Empress's maternal clan was frightening enough?
The shopkeeper braced himself and said in an extremely low voice, "Master Wu is a fifth-rank idle official."
Jiayin's eyes lit up immediately. She grabbed the little fox and hugged it to her chest, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons as she smiled. "That makes things much easier!"
Li Laosi laughed, "I thought you were someone important, so arrogant. Turns out you're just a fifth-rank official's wife. I'm only a fourth-rank official!"
During this northern expedition, Li Laosi accumulated many military achievements, and the Marquis has already submitted the list of those to be rewarded to the Ministry of War.
The Ministry of War was afraid that if the Marquis didn't receive his pension and they intercepted his subordinates' promotions, he would completely lose his temper.
So, without the slightest hesitation, they submitted it for approval immediately.
Just a few days ago, it was announced that Li Laosi has officially become a fourth-rank official.
Although military officers rise in rank quickly, their status is not as high as that of civil officials.
But in terms of rank alone, Li Laosi was indeed far superior to Wu Er Laoye.
The shopkeeper was getting increasingly anxious about this family and couldn't help but advise, "My lord, that's not how it's calculated. Master Wu is a fifth-rank official, but he is the second son of the Marquis of Jiangning, and his niece is the Empress!"
Just then, Madam Wu the Second had caught her breath and staggered to her feet, shouting, "You wait! If you dare to bully our Marquis's mansion, you're all dead! My niece is the Empress!"
Tao Hongying couldn't help but roll her eyes at Madam Wu and said sarcastically, "You're really strange. Marquis Jiangning is your father-in-law. What kind of daughter-in-law would act arrogantly and domineeringly just because of her father-in-law's power?"
"Your husband isn't dead. A woman follows her husband after marriage, so you're just a fifth-rank official's wife! My husband is a fourth-rank official, so I'm more noble than you!"
"Besides, the Empress is your niece, but she's still just your niece. You're not the Empress, so what gives you the right to be so arrogant? Don't officials' wives have to learn manners these days? You've completely disgraced your family!"
Her voice was loud and clear, and she spoke quickly. Not only did Madam Wu hear her, but several guests who had come upstairs to see what was going on also heard her...
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