Dongyue's eyes darted around.
With hands on hips and chin slightly raised, he said, "I don't care who's behind you. You're fat and muscular, what? Is there some kind of sentient boar behind you?"
Jiang Mingwei couldn't help but almost burst out laughing!
This Dongyue is quite a character; how did he come up with this way of cursing?
However, as Liu Rulan said, this girl is indeed clever.
If she were to ask directly at this moment, the shopkeeper might not tell her his background and might even expel Dongyue.
Only by attacking their weaknesses and provoking them to anger will they expose their weaknesses.
As expected, when the shopkeeper heard these insults, he was first stunned, then furious, wishing he could strangle Dongyue.
"You shameless hussy, try spouting another word of nonsense! My family is the Zhou family, with military advisors, who would be sixth-rank officials in the imperial court. How could a mere sub-prefect compare to us?!"
Having said that, he called to his men, "Someone come here! Drag this wretched girl to the backyard and give her a good beating!"
"But joining the army so easily, does he really think he's something special?"
Jiang Mingwei scoffed dismissively, her eyes filled with gloom.
The shopkeeper was taken aback and turned to look at Jiang Mingwei.
He was already furious, but he never expected that someone would dare to slander him.
Ignoring that Jiang Mingwei was a guest, he pointed at her and cursed, "Hey, you woman, what nonsense are you spouting? Who do you think you are, daring to slander the military officer!"
"How dare you! My young lady is the daughter of the Grand Secretary and the sister of the Minister of Personnel! How dare you be so disrespectful?!"
Hua Cui spoke angrily, without needing Wei Zhi's title as the wife of a fifth-rank general; just a few words were enough to silence the shopkeeper.
His legs were trembling, and he nearly fell to the ground if he hadn't grabbed the counter.
He stared at Jiang Mingwei for a long time before he finally realized what was happening...
"The daughter of the Grand Secretary? The sister of the Minister of Personnel? Then you must be... the eldest daughter-in-law of Old Madam Zhou?"
Jiang Mingwei smiled, but her eyes revealed a chilling glint: "It seems the shopkeeper has a good memory? Yes, I was the original owner of this jade shop."
"You should call me 'Master'."
Just as she expected, the Zhou family bought the jade shop!
The Zhou family really played their cards right.
She tried every means to cause the jade shop's profits to plummet. Because jade was expensive to begin with, the shop quickly became unprofitable. Then she pretended to sell it at a low price, but in reality, she sold it to her relatives on her mother's side, who then ran it.
Naturally, the money flowed steadily into the pockets of the bride's family.
The Zhou family must have taken a cut, earning a considerable commission.
This money is continuous.
As long as the shop remains open, she can keep receiving money.
This seemingly reckless and shrewish mother-in-law of hers actually has quite a few ulterior motives!
It is truly astonishing how someone could so cunningly seize her assets for themselves!
If Jiang Mingwei were to ask directly today, she would certainly not get the truth, and would instead make them wary.
It will likely be much more difficult to gather information in the future...
So she sought out Dongyue, using this method to force the shopkeeper to tell the truth.
As expected, it still made her quite angry.
The original owner was incredibly stupid; no wonder he was bullied so badly!
If she hadn't transmigrated, even if the original owner had escaped her predetermined fate and hadn't been killed, she would probably have been poisoned to death by a cup of poisoned wine once Zhou had devoured all of her dowry.
Then roll it up in a straw mat and throw it into the mass grave!
The shopkeeper was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he couldn't stand up straight, falling to the ground with a thud.
Seeing that the situation was clear, Dongyue made a face at the shopkeeper.
He ran quickly towards Jiang Mingwei and stood beside her.
Now, what else doesn't the shopkeeper understand?
That infuriating, shameless girl is actually in cahoots with Jiang Mingwei?
He raised his hand and pointed at the two of them, but after a long pause, he couldn't utter a single word...
After learning Jiang Mingwei's identity, the shop assistants were all trembling with fear.
Dongyue moved a chair for Jiang Mingwei, who sat down on her own and looked coldly at the shopkeeper in front of her.
"Why are you kneeling? Stand up and talk."
The shopkeeper came to his senses and slowly got up with the help of his assistant.
Although she was apprehensive, she remembered that Jiang Mingwei was, after all, her daughter-in-law and would always have some respect for her mother-in-law, so she mustered up her courage and asked, "Does Madam Zhou know that you are here, Madam?"
"Do you know? So what if you don't!"
The shopkeeper narrowed his eyes and said warily, "Madam is a daughter-in-law, so she should listen to her elders. If she comes here without permission, she is not only unfilial, but also unchaste!"
Jiang Mingwei paused in her play with the jade hairpin, then stood up and walked towards the shopkeeper with a smile.
She was born with a beautiful face, and her smile was even more gentle and charming, with a hint of bewilderment.
But without hesitation, he raised his hand and slapped it.
He slapped the shopkeeper hard across the face!
The shopkeeper covered his face in horror: "You...you vicious woman, how dare you hit me!"
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Three more slaps landed on his face!
Seeing that the swelling on both sides of his wrists was even, Jiang Mingwei finally stopped, satisfied, and shook her sore wrists.
"If you dare say another word, I'll castrate you!"
As she approached the shopkeeper, Jiang Mingwei spoke in a low voice, exuding a bandit-like air. She was hardly the noble young lady raised by a prestigious family.
But those words did indeed intimidate the shopkeeper.
Seeing that he had finally shut his mouth, Jiang Mingwei slowly stood up, her expression disdainful.
"You have no connection with me. Whether I am unfaithful, unfilial, or unchaste is none of your business. Don't try to scare me with these words. I don't care at all!"
"And have you forgotten? This shop should have been my property! My mother-in-law secretly sold it to the Zhou family. If I report this to the authorities, who will escape unscathed?"
"You are still my mother-in-law!"
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper trembled with fear.
I never imagined that Jiang Mingwei, a woman, could possess such courage...
He was so frightened that he didn't dare to breathe and immediately knelt down to beg for mercy.
"Spare me! Madam, spare me! I... I didn't mean it! I was just so scared, so I just blurted it out!"
Jiang Mingwei had only intended to intimidate him, but since the shopkeeper had backed down, she turned around and sat down again, ordering the staff to close the shop and shut down.
Only after the closing sign was hung up did they look at the shopkeeper.
"From this moment on, you'd better answer whatever I ask. Don't try to cheat or anything, or else... we'll see you in the government jail!"
...
As dusk fell, Jiang Mingwei hurriedly returned to the Wei family home with Hua Cui.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw Granny Song sweeping. Jiang Mingwei wanted to go up and greet her, but Granny Song only glanced at her before turning away immediately.
Jiang Mingwei paused slightly, awkwardly touching her nose.
Is she really that unlikeable?
"Madam, the old lady requests that you go there immediately!"
Just as Jiang Mingwei was concentrating, an impolite voice came from behind her.
She turned her head and saw Granny Wang standing next to Madam Zhou.
After glancing at her, Granny Wang saw Granny Song, who hadn't gone far, and suddenly sneered.
"Hey, isn't this my old sister? What are you doing here?"
Upon hearing this, Granny Song paused slightly.
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