The next morning, Bai Nuo had Lu Ying stand at the entrance of her shop and had Lu Ying use her internal energy to call out the prices of the products for her. She also had Xia Donglai find a beautiful girl to stand at the shop entrance, wearing earrings, pendants, and bracelets.
After explaining these things, Bai Nuo handed the Duobao Pavilion over to Hu Mingmei and went to San Niang's Cloth Shop.
They waited until noon, but not a single customer came into Duobao Pavilion. Normally, there would be at least a few customers coming in. Now that they had new products and the prices were very low, and Lu Ying kept calling out to them, plus there was a mannequin standing next to them, Duobao Pavilion was located on the main street of the town, so it should have been bustling with people. But now there was not a single person.
Hu Mingmei frowned as he looked at the empty hall, walked out, and stood at the doorway, saying in a deep voice, "Lu Ying!"
As soon as Lu Yingyi saw Hu Mingmei come out, he stopped and walked to Hu Mingmei's side, respectfully calling out, "Second Master..."
Hu Mingmei said in a deep voice, "Go find a few women..." Hu Mingmei instructed Lu Ying, who nodded and strode away.
Lu Ying returned quickly, her face still showing panic. "Second Master, something's happened..."
Hu Mingmei glanced at him indifferently, "What's the matter? Speak slowly!"
"For some reason, rumors have started circulating in town about you and Miss Bai. When I went to look for people, no one was willing to come. They even said that the young lady is... the young lady is... they all refused to come to the shop!" Lu Ying couldn't bear to say anything even more hurtful!
"What is it?" To Lu Ying's surprise, Hu Mingmei did not get angry. Instead, she asked him with a blank expression, "What is it? Tell me."
Gritting her teeth, Lu Ying still spoke up, "People in town say that Miss Bai is promiscuous and seduces men at such a young age. They also say that the things in Duobao Pavilion are dirty, and they don't want to come here to buy anything anymore!"
Hu Mingmei asked, "Do you know who spread this rumor?"
Lu Ying shook his head and said in a deep voice, "I will go and investigate immediately!"
Like Duobaoge, San Niang Cloth Shop was also affected. Originally, there were still many people in San Niang Cloth Shop, but when the newcomers saw that Bai Nuo was looking at it, they immediately remembered Jiang San Niang's not-so-glorious past. One person spread the word, and soon the entire cloth shop was empty.
At first, Bai Nuo didn't know what was going on. Seeing the old lady come in and then immediately leave, Bai Nuo quickly came out from behind the counter and grabbed the woman. "Auntie, come in and have a cup of tea first. We have a new batch of goods here. Let me take them out and show them to you."
The old woman shoved Bai Nuo aside and cursed, "I won't drink your tea! A fickle person like that has been around something dirty!"
She flung Bai Nuo aside and tried to leave, but Bai Nuo immediately flew into a rage and grabbed her, saying, "What do you mean? If you don't want to buy anything, then don't buy anything. Why are you insulting me?"
You can say she's stingy or whatever, but you can't say she's promiscuous. She's not a casual person, so how can you say that about her?
"You still won't admit it?" The old woman snorted and looked at her mockingly. "Now everyone in town knows you've been having an affair with a man. You're so young and you already have a man. What else can you call that but being promiscuous? Country folk are country folk, they don't know how to be discreet at all!"
With that, he forcefully flung Bai Nuo away, spat on the ground with a "pui" sound, and quickly walked out.
Bai Nuo stared blankly at the doorway.
After a while, Bai Nuo woke up as if from a dream. When she turned around, she saw Jiang Qiao'er staring straight at her. Immediately, Bai Nuo dared not look Jiang Qiao'er in the eye. Distracted, she walked past Jiang Qiao'er and took out a broom to sweep the floor clean.
It wasn't until the afternoon when Long Yi came looking for Bai Nuo that Bai Nuo snapped out of her daze. She pulled Jiang Qiao'er into the carriage and went home absentmindedly.
As soon as Bai Nuo got home, she found that the entire Bai family home was pitch black. Apart from natural light, no lights were on. Although it was far from the point where lights were needed, the Bai family home was not only dark, but also completely silent.
"Strange!" Long Yi muttered to himself as he parked the carriage in the courtyard, "Where did everyone go?"
As if waking from a dream, Bai Nuofang strode into the main room, only to be startled by a loud shout of "Kneel down!"
With that shout, the lights in the house came back on, and Bai Nuo could then see who was inside: Grandma, Bai Yu, Aunt Liu, and the two Long brothers. All five of them were there. Grandma was sitting in the middle of the main room, with Bai Yu and Aunt Liu standing on either side of her, and the two Long brothers standing behind her. They were all looking at her.
The atmosphere inside the room was extremely heavy!
When Aunt Liu saw her return, she immediately smiled and said, "Girl, you're back! I'll go cook!"
As he was about to walk outside, the old woman immediately shouted, "Stop right there! Without my order, none of you are allowed to speak up for this wretched child today! Bai Nuo, didn't you hear what I just said? Kneel down!"
Seeing the old woman's angry face, Bai Nuo dared not disobey her and immediately knelt down in front of her.
Seeing Bai Nuo kneel down, the old woman said to Aunt Liu, "Go to the kitchen and get a fire poker. Give this wretched child a good beating!"
Having spent so much time with Bai Nuo, Aunt Liu had long considered herself a member of the family, and Bai Nuo her own child. Now that her grandmother wanted to beat her, and even with a rolling pin, how could Aunt Liu agree? She kept pleading with her grandmother, "Auntie, you can't do that! The girl is weak; beating her with a fire poker will kill her!"
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