Today, Meng Zhao wore a moon-white dress and had her hair styled in a single bun with a tassel hairpin hanging down one side. The beads on the hairpin swayed gently with her movements, making her look exceptionally graceful.
Li Baoyan stood at the doorway, immediately stunned, and turned to ask, "Who is that woman?"
"Ah? That's the owner of the Treasure Pavilion, that widow surnamed Meng!"
Li Baoyan stared wide-eyed in shock. "It's her?" How come no one had told him before that this widow was so beautiful?
The people behind couldn't wait any longer and urged, "That's right, young master, aren't we here to smash up the shop? Let's go in quickly!"
Li Baoyan reached out to stop them, her tone tinged with impatience, "Stop, stop, stop! You're all so reckless and rude! Who said I was here to smash up the shop? I just came to check on things."
After he finished speaking, he left everyone behind and went into the shop alone.
Meng Zhao had just seen the man leading several menacing-looking people at the door, and knew he was up to no good. He immediately called Huang Cui and Yin Chun over. When he saw the man enter the shop alone, he went up to greet him, "Sir, what would you like to order?"
Upon hearing the beautiful woman's question, Li Baoyan immediately snapped out of his reverie, "Ah? What does your shop sell?"
Meng Zhao found it amusing that he didn't even know what they sold, yet he came looking for trouble. Nevertheless, he still introduced the items in the shop to him.
While pretending to examine the items, Li Baoyan would steal glances at Meng Zhao. Whenever Meng Zhao started to get annoyed, he would conveniently take out his money to pay, making Meng Zhao feel embarrassed not to entertain him.
When Li Baoyan came out of the Treasure Pavilion, he was carrying a lot of things in his arms, muttering, "I should have taken more money with me today. What a pity."
The servants who came with him were speechless. They had come out to cause trouble, but instead they ended up having to move things and have their money emptied by their master. There was really no way to reason with them.
When Li Baoyan returned home, he excitedly took the pile of things to his mother. Madam Li thought that her son had finally learned to be filial to her, but after hearing what he said next, she was furious.
"Propose marriage!!!"
Li Baoyan nodded, her tone pleading, "Mother, I really like her. Please find a matchmaker to propose marriage to me."
Madam Li slammed her fist on the table in anger. "My God! What sins has my Li family committed to deserve this? How could both my children fall for someone from that family! If word gets out, people will laugh their heads off!"
Li Baoyan, however, disagreed and said matter-of-factly, "Mother, I am the elder brother, so naturally I should get married first! My younger sister is too young, she can wait two more years. Didn't you urge me to settle down quickly before?"
Madam Li looked at her dim-witted son and was speechless. The reason they proposed marriage for his sister was because they had found out that Shen Qinghe was destined for great things.
Otherwise, why would a family of scholars who had passed the imperial examinations lower themselves to seek out a lowly scholar?
But that woman surnamed Meng, a merchant's daughter who showed her face in public, and a widow at that, was absolutely unworthy of his family. There was no need to even tell Li the scholar; she alone could refuse him.
So no matter how much Li Baoyan pleaded and begged, Madam Li wouldn't budge. Li Baoyan had no choice but to go to the Treasure Pavilion every day, thinking that she should get her first.
At first, he was very popular with the shop because of his generosity, but later he became stingy.
Li Baoyan was also helpless about this. Ever since his father found out that he had taken a liking to Meng Zhao, he had stopped giving him money and told the accountant not to give him a single penny. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had no chance to even talk to the girl he loved.
Meng Zhao was also helpless about this, but the man always behaved properly every time he came over and didn't disturb the shop's business. They couldn't just kick him out, especially since he had bought so many things before, making him a VIP.
Meng Zhao wasn't the kind of person who was materialistic, so he could only try to avoid him and didn't go to the Treasure Pavilion for several days.
She finally managed to go out today, but she had to enter through the back door. She was exhausted from checking the accounts all day, and she had to wait for Huang Cui to come back and say that Li Baoyan wasn't there before she dared to go out.
Huang Cui glanced at the sky and frowned slightly. "Manager, it's getting dark soon. Why don't you stay at the teahouse tonight?"
Meng Zhao shook her head. "We agreed to go home for dinner together tonight. If I don't go home, I'm afraid my family will be worried."
If it weren't for avoiding Li Baoyan, Meng Zhao would probably already be home, having packed his things, gotten on the donkey cart, and driven home.
Just as she entered a secluded alley, a masked man suddenly jumped out from the side and onto her car, reaching out to grab her. Meng Zhao was startled, but quickly reacted, extending her foot to kick him off while shouting, "Help! Help!"
Unfortunately, it was difficult to exert force on the train. She kicked him twice but failed to kick him off. Instead, the other person covered her mouth and nose and dragged her into the carriage. The man covered her mouth tightly with one hand and tried to restrain her body with the other. Fortunately, Meng Zhao was strong and familiar with the carriage. She managed to break free with one hand, grabbed a teapot, and swung it at his head.
"Bang!" The teapot shattered instantly, shards of porcelain flying everywhere. The man immediately suffered a head injury and bled profusely, but Meng Zhao also cut her own hand. Ignoring the pain, she took advantage of the man's disorientation from the impact and jumped out of the car to escape.
However, after running only a few steps, a dull pain shot through the back of her head, and Meng Zhao's vision went black. Before losing consciousness, her last thought was: Oh no, there are two kidnappers...
When Meng Zhao woke up again, the back of her head was still throbbing and her ears were ringing. She closed her eyes and rested for a while before she could barely open them.
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