Not caring about the pain in his body, the servant immediately began to lodge a complaint: "Madam, it’s all because of this girl. Not only did she block our carriage, she was even disrespectful to you and had the audacity to throw me off the horse!"
Lady Wang’s face turned a few shades uglier, and her gaze toward Ji Xinhe became less friendly, even containing a hint of disdain: "You really have a lot of guts! Do you know who you’re being disrespectful to?"
Ji Xinhe casually threw away the servant’s horse whip, sneering: "Just now, I merely disciplined a servant, but this madam claims I was disrespectful to her. Does the servant represent the madam, or does the madam think she is no different from that servant?"
Lady Wang’s face turned red with anger, almost turning purple, looking very unpleasant: "You! You... "
Lady Wang felt extremely aggrieved, but couldn’t find any words to rebut and could only vent her anger on the servant: "Shameless creature! Beaten by a woman and then coming to complain to me, my Wang Family really wasted our resources raising a useless person like you!"
Ji Xinhe raised her eyebrows slightly, Wang Family?
Which Wang Family?
At this moment, Shopkeeper Wu seemed to have heard the commotion and came out to greet them. He immediately saw Ji Xinhe and hurriedly said, "Miss Ji is here? Why are you still outside and not coming in? My servants really have no discernment. Please come in quickly."
Ji Xinhe spoke indifferently: "I can go in by myself, Shopkeeper Wu should take care of your distinguished guests first."
Shopkeeper Wu then noticed the noblewoman in the carriage, and after a momentary pause, said: "So it turns out that Lady Wang is here. It is truly an honor, and we have failed to welcome you properly. What brings Lady Wang to our humble establishment?"
The tone of his words, however, seemed rather unusual.
Could it be that he knew that the Wang Family almost snatched the grape wine business from Guilin Villa and the Palace, otherwise, why would Shopkeeper Wu be so cold to Lady Wang?
Lady Wang snorted coldly and stepped off the carriage with an air of superiority: "There’s no need for fake pleasantries. I have come here today to ask you something."
"Oh, may I ask what it is?"
"The grape wine business, I know that your Guilin Villa has made a fortune from it and gained quite a reputation. You’ve become very arrogant, looking down on our Wang Family. But, Shopkeeper Wu, you should be very clear that even a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. The Wang Family is not someone you can easily mess with!" Lady Wang gritted her teeth, her tone arrogant.
As she spoke, she flicked her robes and said, "Let’s not mention anything else. The Wang Family has been a royal merchant for more than ten years, and we have a solid foundation. Your Guilin Villa’s grape wine would be difficult to sell even better without the Wang Family’s connections. In my opinion, it’s better for our two families to cooperate, and that would be a win-win situation."
It was obvious that she came to ask Guilin Villa for a share of the pie, but now she acted as if she was doing them a favor. One couldn’t tell whether it was the years of being a royal merchant that had made her so arrogant, or if she was just shameless by nature.
Shopkeeper Wu was not a fool, and with a forced smile, he said: "That’s not something I can decide on. The grape wine of our Guilin Villa is all supplied by Miss Ji. We have signed a contract, and Guilin Villa cannot give the grape wine sales rights to others without authorization. If Lady Wang also wants a share of the pie, it’s better to talk to her."
The color drained from Lady Wang’s face instantly, and she stiffened, staring at the ordinary-looking girl standing before her.
So, she’s the one who made the grape wine?
A young girl in her teens?
At first glance, Lady Wang had judged her to be "impoverished". If it weren’t for that, Lady Wang’s servant wouldn’t have dared to behave so presumptuously; little did she know that such a girl was actually a big shot.
To be honest, Ji Xinhe didn’t dress poorly. It’s just that she had no interest in dressing up and wore plain cotton clothes. Her hair was held in place with a single wooden hairpin, and she didn’t wear any other jewelry. Even so, in the eyes of Lady Wang, who was adorned with dazzling jewels, she appeared to be poor.
Before Lady Wang could say anything, Ji Xinhe spoke coldly: "Not interested."
"You!" Lady Wang was utterly furious. With their royal merchant title revoked and their family in decline, it was a most difficult time for the Wang Family. Had they not run out of options, they would never have thought of asking their rival for a share.
Shopkeeper Wu knew how to be tactful and still showed her some respect, but this girl simply dismissed her with a blunt "not interested"!
"Someone who can’t even control their own servant, I wouldn’t dare to do business with them. Next time, Lady Wang should leave such a ’good deal’ to someone else." As Ji Xinhe spoke, she glanced at the Wang Family servant who had been yelling at her earlier.
Not only did she fail to control her own servant, but she also couldn’t control her own evil thoughts, daring to steal her grape wine brewing method. Now she wanted Ji Xinhe to save them?
In your dreams!
Hearing those words, the servant trembled in fright and quickly lowered his head, not daring to speak.
Lady Wang was so angry that she just wanted to slap him in the face.
Ji Xinhe took out a handkerchief from her sleeve and wiped the hand that had held the horse whip earlier. Her delicate hand was left with a red mark from the whip’s light touch.
"Shopkeeper Wu, I’ll go in first. After you’re finished with your business, come in and discuss our business." Ji Xinhe said and proceeded to go inside.
Shopkeeper Wu happily escorted Ji Xinhe towards Guilin Villa: "Miss Ji, please come inside."
He left Lady Wang behind without even glancing back.
Lady Wang’s face turned green with rage as she had never suffered such humiliation in her life, furiously grinding her teeth.
"This mean girl! Her parents caused our Wang Family to fall into this state, and she herself proves to be no easy pushover!"
Old Wet Nurse by Lady Wang’s side suddenly trembled and couldn’t speak.
Lady Wang glared at the old wet nurse: "Have your eyes glued to her? Pathetic, so easily frightened?"
However, the old wet nurse’s face gradually turned pale, stuttering: "Madam, the handkerchief in the girl’s hand just now looked very familiar to me."
Lady Wang’s expression changed. She hadn’t noticed it earlier due to her anger: "How could it be familiar?"
"It looks just like the one from sixteen years ago... "
Before the old wet nurse could finish, Lady Wang’s heart suddenly lurched. Her already ugly face turned completely white, filled with a sense of alarm: "What did you say?"
----
Capital city.
"The traitor Gongsun Yi has been eliminated, and the entire interest chain behind him, led by the Third Prince, has been uprooted. I can rest easy only when these remnants are completely wiped out." Emperor Leng Yao said.
With a chilling glint in his eyes but no change in his expression, Marquis Mu Hou Chu said, "What about the traitor within? Can you be at ease? Your Majesty, do you think someone like Gongsun Yi could personally get his hands on the defense layout map?"
Emperor Leng Yao’s face also darkened slightly: "Only two or three people are aware of the defense layout map of the capital, besides you and me, there’s the commander of the imperial guard, and Old Man Chen... "
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