Early the next day, Xinhe set out with plans to visit the winery.
It was almost midsummer and the morning sun was particularly scorching. Xiaoyu held up an umbrella for Xinhe, accompanying her as she left the manor.
"Did Lord Marquis go out today?" Xinhe asked.
Xiaoyu folded up the parasol and helped Xinhe into the horse carriage, while saying, "Lord Marquis went to the palace early this morning. There is a morning court session today; he probably has already..."
Xiaoyu paused, not sure whether to continue, but Xinhe understood.
The appeal papers must have been delivered by now.
Xinhe knitted her eyebrows at this thought, but chose not to say anything more. She climbed into the horse carriage and let down the curtain, "Mmm, you stay at the manor. No need to follow me."
"Yes."
Li Saner then snapped his whip, and spurred the horse carriage into motion.
On the way to the winery, they made a detour to their shop. Li Saner had previously mentioned that business at the shop had declined quite a lot, since most of their clients were stolen by "Yueke Lai", a winery opened by a man of Hu Ren ethnicity.
"How are the earnings these past few days?" Xinhe stepped off the horse carriage. Seeing the deserted shop, it was impossible for her not to feel disappointed.
Li Saner quickly followed her into the shop, "Business hasn’t been good here at the shop. The daily earnings aren’t even a third of what they used to be."
"Miss." The shop assistants hurriedly paid their respects upon seeing Xinhe.
Xinhe only acknowledged them with a nod, "Indeed, our business isn’t doing well, but we mustn’t neglect our customers because of that. Business can’t always be smooth, there are bound to be rough times."
Li Saner quickly replied, "Miss, be at ease. We all understand and wouldn’t dare to slack off."
"Since I left you in charge of the shop, my mind is more at ease. Our winery is releasing new products soon. Everyone must revitalize their spirits; our days of making a comeback are near!"
"Yes!" Everyone seemed full of energy. They all had faith in their boss.
While they were in conversation, a rotund Hu man, laughing heartily, walked into the shop. He looked around at the sparse trade and clicked his tongue, "Miss Ji, your business seems to be struggling. Are you making enough to cover your costs? It’s rare to see a shop so deserted. If you can’t manage it, don’t push yourself further. You’re a lady from a reputable family after all. Why try to follow the crowd and do business? What’s the point?"
The man was Yuchi Gong, the same person who had caused trouble in their shop on his previous visit.
Li Saner’s face turned sour, "What are you here for? The state of our business is none of your business!"
Yuchi Gong scoffed, "How can it not be? You imitate our techniques and then you have the audacity to show off in front of me. My Yuchi family’s skills, which have been handed down for five generations, have been stolen. How could I not care?"
"You!" Li Saner had a short temper. He was livid at the sight of Yuchi Gong and wanted to pick a fight.
However, Xinhe said calmly, "Whether we stole your techniques or not, the verdict is yet to be out. Master Yuchi, do not pass judgment so early. Didn’t we agree to wait and see? Why did you make a special trip here to make threats? Are you afraid?"
Yuchi Gong laughed heartily, "Me, afraid? What a joke! I merely saw how poor your business was and came to offer advice. Do you really think I’m scared of you? Given your looks, why bother conducting business and inciting trouble for yourself? You should follow in the footsteps of Miss Ah Lian from Yihong Building, she makes a fortune nightly. She’s far more successful than you who is losing money every day. Ah, I almost forgot, Miss Ji is the lady of Minister Mu. It doesn’t matter if your business is losing money, as long as you serve Minister Mu well. You have such a generous benefactor, you’d better not lose him!"
While he spoke, his face wore a lewd smile.
Xinhe raised an eyebrow, a chill flashed in her eyes, "You aren’t afraid? I thought that Master Yuchi was worried about my fruit wine overshadowing Yueke Lai. Master Yuchi, you are a businessman yourself. How could you think I only care about short-term profits?" 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
Xinhe sneered, "Master Yuchi need not worry about me. I will make up for the losses of Qinghe small shop soon. You have the time and inclination to worry about me, you should worry about Yueke Lai instead. The reputation built over five generations of your ancestors may be about to get hit under your watch."
"How audacious of you! A young lady like you, who gave you such nerve?" Yuchi Gong’s temper flared. The Hu people were naturally hot-tempered.
Xinhe’s lips curled into a devious smile, "Who gave me such nerve? Your master Yuchi’s five-generation trade secret will be ruined by a little lady like me. Those arrogant words mean nothing if they can’t change the outcome. Master Yuchi, you’d better take advantage of these days and sell all your wine, because once my fruit wine collection debuts in three days, your winery will not even have the qualification to make a loss."
Yuchi Gong pointed furiously at Xinhe, his chubby face shaking with rage, "Good! Good! Just wait and see!"
As he was turning to leave...
Xinhe suddenly said, "Wait."
Yuchi Gong stopped in his tracks, turned around irritably and began to say, "What...ah!"
Before he could finish his sentence, Xinhe’s foot shot out in a sideways kick, landing squarely on his greasy face. With an "ah" Yuchi Gong flew five meters out, landing at the entrance of the Qinghe shop.
Li Saner watched, his mouth agape in shock. His lady, who appeared so petite, had just managed to kick such a hefty man five meters away!
Yuchi Gong’s face was swollen from the kick, and he rolled on the ground several times before managing to stop. He stood up, livid, "You have some nerve! How dare you attack me?!"
Xinhe smiled brilliantly, "It was Master Yuchi’s earlier comment that reminded me. Since I am the Minister of Mu’s woman with such a generous benefactor, who would I not dare to hit?"
Yuchi Gong’s eyes were bloodshot with fury. He had intentionally humiliated her by comparing her to a prostitute, yet she had the audacity to use her identity as a weapon!
How could he swallow such an insult? The Hu people are generally good at martial arts, and have explosive tempers. So, at this point he rose from the ground and rushed towards Xinhe, "I must teach you a lesson today!"
Seeing a muscular Hu man charge towards them was intimidating even for Li Saner. But to his surprise, Xinhe stood her ground, unruffled. She waited until Yuchi Gong rushed up to her and was about to throw a punch, caught his wrist, applied a bit of force, and there was a subtle sound of bones cracking.
Then with a twist of her hand and a sweep of her leg, she completed three moves in less than a second. Yuchi Gong, a man of great size and strength, was like a toy under her control, his face twisting in pain as he screamed and was kicked out of the shop by Xinhe once more.
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