Chapter 130 Madam Li's Secret
The Third Prince frightened Madam Li so much that her face turned pale. She shouted to the maid beside her, "Quick, go and call the master!"
The little maidservant quickly ran out of the shop.
Du Wanchun stepped forward and said to Madam Li, "Madam Li, as you just heard, Magistrate Li doesn't want to take Zhang Niangzi as a concubine, but rather Liu Niangzi from the rouge shop."
Madam Li squatted on the ground, biting her lip, feeling embarrassed, and said irritably, "So what? Zhang Qiuhe still seduced my master, otherwise why would he come here every other day!"
The teahouse owner, Madam Xu, raised her eyebrows and smiled, "Madam Li, you've really made a mistake. All the incense that Magistrate Li bought was given to Madam Liu."
Upon hearing this, Madam Li's face immediately turned pale, and her pupils widened. "What?! You're saying he bought all the incense and gave it to that woman?!"
Madam Xu picked up a melon seed and started cracking it open. "It's more than just fragrant. He's bought a lot of the tea I have here and given it all to Madam Liu."
Madam Li stood up, supporting herself on the table. Perhaps because of the large movement, a large incense burner on the table suddenly fell and hit Madam Li on the head.
Ouch! My head!
She clutched her head and cried out in pain.
A maidservant rushed over and asked, "Madam, are you alright?"
Madam Li looked at the shattered incense burner on the ground, then looked up at Du Wanchun and yelled, "Your incense burner hit my head!"
Du Wanchun bent down to pick up the broken pieces on the ground and said, "Madam Li, you need to understand this clearly. It wasn't my incense burner that smashed you; it was you who smashed my incense burner."
As he spoke, he wiped the ash off the incense burner. “This incense burner is made of white jade and is worth at least thirty taels of silver. So, you will compensate me with twenty-five taels.”
The incense burner looks like white jade, but it's not.
Du Wanchun thought it looked nice, so she put it in the shop to burn incense. Today, Madam Li caused trouble in her shop, causing her to lose a lot of money. She had to get it all back!
Madam Li frowned and said angrily, "What do you mean I smashed it! I didn't send you to see the authorities, yet you turn around and say I smashed your things!"
Zhou Ruiyuan quickly shielded Du Wanchun behind him.
Du Wanchun turned to the onlookers behind her and said, "Did everyone see clearly just now? It was Madam Li who bumped into my table and knocked the incense burner down?"
Those who had gathered to watch the commotion nodded and said, "That's right! We all saw it; it was Madam Li who caused the accident!"
"Yes, we saw it clearly."
"Madam Li, you broke their incense burner, you have to pay for it. You can't bully us just because you're the magistrate's wife!"
Madam Li was notoriously domineering in Cheng'an County. She was always arrogant and haughty towards the merchants in the area, never treating them like human beings.
These merchants had long disliked Madam Li.
Hearing them say that, Madam Li felt a little guilty and took two steps back.
She had a wound on her forehead, her face was pale, and she looked very disheveled.
Du Wanchun smiled and said, "Madam Li, please pay the money!"
The Third Prince and Granny Zhou also joined in the commotion.
"Pay back the money quickly!"
The Third Prince's voice was loud, and Madam Li trembled again upon hearing it. Unable to stay any longer, she took out more than twenty taels of silver with trembling hands, placed it on the table, and strode out the door, preparing to go find Lady Liu from the rouge shop.
Madam Xu, who had been eating melon seeds, suddenly dropped the shells and stopped her, saying with a smile, "Madam Li, you don't need to go to Madam Liu's place."
Madam Li paused, looking up at her in surprise.
Madam Xu clapped her hands and, seeing that there were many people, said loudly, "Madam Li, haven't you harmed Madam Liu enough? She and Magistrate Li were childhood sweethearts, and their families had already arranged their marriage. But you took a fancy to that newly appointed magistrate and forced him to marry you!"
Everyone was shocked to hear this, never expecting that the young lady in the rouge shop would have such a story.
Aunt Zhou pulled Du Wanchun aside and whispered, "No wonder Magistrate Li goes to the rouge shop every day; it turns out there's something to it."
Madam Li's face turned ashen, and she cursed at Madam Xu, "You vile woman, what nonsense are you spouting!"
Madam Xu smiled slowly and said, "Everyone in the neighboring county knows that back then you forced Magistrate Li to marry you, and you even hired people to cause trouble at Madam Liu's house, which resulted in the deaths of Madam Liu's parents!"
As she spoke, her voice grew colder and colder, "You even hired a group of men to bully Lady Liu! And then you sold her into a brothel."
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