Chapter 133 An Unusual Taste
The Third Prince became suspicious of the Liu sisters and quickly sent his trusted confidants to investigate them.
Since Cheng'an County is quite a distance from the capital, it will take at least ten days before we receive any news.
Aunt Zhou took this to heart. Whenever she saw Du Wanchun going to the shop, she would ask her to bring eggs and duck eggs to Lady Liu and Lady Xu.
Over time, Du Wanchun and Lady Liu became acquainted.
Lady Liu is a charming woman with slightly upturned almond-shaped eyes and a graceful figure. Even though she is getting older, she still retains her charm. Middle-aged men who pass by her shop can't help but look at her.
After leaving Zhou's incense shop that day, Madam Li confronted Magistrate Li.
Unexpectedly, after Magistrate Li learned that she was responsible for the tragic deaths of the Liu family, he drew his sword and was about to kill her. If it weren't for Young Master Li stopping her, Madam Li would probably have died that very night.
Perhaps because he still cherished some of the old affection between husband and wife, Magistrate Li did not kill her, but only gave her a letter of divorce.
Madam Li held the letter of divorce and cried all night in her room. The next day, the news of Magistrate Li divorcing his wife spread like wildfire throughout Cheng'an County.
The news quickly reached the ears of Madam Li's family.
Madam Li's family was considered wealthy merchants in Qingzhou Prefecture, and they happened to be in the rouge business.
However, her family's rouge business spanned the entire Xuan Yue Kingdom, making Liu Niangzi's small shop far superior.
A few days later, Madam Li's eldest brother and his wife arrived at the Li residence.
Du Wanchun had been at the shop for the past few days, and had just finished calculating some of the accounts from the previous days when she saw a group of people rushing into Liu Niangzi's rouge shop across the street.
All the rouge and face powder inside were thrown onto the street.
Not long after, the sound of Lady Liu crying could be heard from inside.
A woman's extremely shrill voice rang out: "A mere lowly wretch dares to mess with the Sun family! Don't you know our family's status in the capital? Even the Imperial Concubine uses our rouge!"
Consort Wu usually used rouge from the Sun family, which is why the Sun family was able to act arrogantly and domineeringly in these small counties.
In the past, Magistrate Li had been suppressed by this family quite a bit.
Zhang Qiuhe poked her head out and said, "Wanchun, let's go take a look quickly, or someone might get killed!"
Du Wanchun nodded slightly, and the two hurriedly headed towards Lady Liu's rouge shop.
The shopkeepers from the other shops also rushed over.
"In broad daylight! How can you bully people like this?" The teahouse owner, Madam Xu, quickly helped Madam Liu up.
Lady Liu had injuries on her face, clearly indicating that she had been beaten by them earlier.
The eldest brother and sister-in-law of the Sun family wouldn't let it go, saying, "She deserved it; she deserved to die for seducing someone else's husband!"
Hearing this, Madam Xu was furious. "The one who deserves to die isn't her, it's your dear sister! The young couple was already engaged, a marriage made in heaven. If it weren't for your Sun family causing her family's ruin, your sister wouldn't be the magistrate's wife now!"
The other shopkeepers chimed in, "That's right, no matter what, you can't smash up the shop and beat people up!"
Most of the shopkeepers on this street came from poor farming backgrounds and made a living with just a few taels of silver, so they generally got along quite well.
Especially since the Zhou family opened their shop here, business on their street has become increasingly prosperous, and the relationship between neighbors has also become better and better.
As a frail woman, Lady Liu gradually received a lot of care and protection from them.
When the eldest brother and sister-in-law of the Sun family saw that they were all gathered here, they were temporarily at a disadvantage.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Madam Xu led a group of shopkeepers to drive their people out.
In the ensuing confrontation, both sides actually started fighting.
Zhang Qiuhe quickly pulled Du Wanchun aside and exclaimed, "The Sun family is really bold! Not only did they suppress Magistrate Li, but they also dared to beat someone in front of so many people!"
Just then, someone in the crowd said, "Isn't it all because Consort Wu is backing them up!"
Du Wanchun frowned upon hearing this, and quickly looked towards the crowd, where she saw it was Madam Xu.
She asked Madam Xu, "The Sun family is just a rouge merchant, how did they get involved with Consort Wu?"
Madam Xu lowered her head and whispered, "Wanchun, you don't know, but years ago I heard from people in the same village that the eldest brother of the Sun family and Consort Wu had some kind of relationship."
"Affection?" Du Wanchun asked疑惑地, "What affection?"
Madam Xu shook her head. "I don't know the specifics. I heard it from a girl in the Sun family when we were in Lin County. She said that the eldest brother of the Sun family had a close relationship with Consort Wu, which is why Consort Wu liked to use their family's rouge."
As Du Wanchun listened, she seemed to detect something unusual in the conversation.
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