They finished dinner at the酉时 clock. Seeing Su Muqing still full of energy, everyone else admired her.
Although they had traveled together through mountains and rivers, enduring much hardship and twists and turns along the way, Lu Yuzhi felt that none of it was as tiring as shopping with Su Muqing.
From finishing lunch to sitting down for dinner just now, over four hours, Su Muqing hadn't stopped for a moment. She had browsed from one end of the street to the other, and from east to west. All the while she was choosing, choosing, and then buying, buying, buying. She had visited basically every store.
Despite their many inner thoughts, the gentlemen stood up immediately. As they walked to the restaurant lobby, they saw a group of people entering from outside.
Leading the way were four middle-aged women, around forty or fifty, with their hair styled in buns. They were dressed much better than ordinary people, but their expressions were very serious, even somewhat fierce.
Behind them followed several young ladies with elaborate twin-ring hairstyles, also dressed very luxuriously. Each young lady had two maids attending to her. It seemed like young ladies from affluent families were out for a meal.
(Disclaimer: This is a fictional dynasty, and there is no setting where girls are confined to their homes. This story is set in a context where young ladies can go out shopping and dining accompanied by maids or in disguise. So, please do not nitpick! If you nitpick, you are right! (͡°͜ʖ͡°)✧)
After the last young lady and her maid entered, Su Muqing and her group were about to leave. However, at that moment, two young servants entered from outside.
The two were carefully carrying something, which was completely covered by a red silk cloth. One of the servants looked up and saw a very beautiful young lady standing in front of him. Seeing that someone was carrying something, Su Muqing and her group quickly stepped back a couple of steps, making way for them.
Unexpectedly, just as the two servants crossed the threshold, Su Muqing saw a young lady with a maid's hairstyle swiftly extend her leg and trip one of the servants from behind.
The tripped servant stumbled, his body swaying, and then fell forward onto the ground. The other person, under the momentum of his fall, also let go, and the item they were carrying dropped to the ground with a clanging sound.
The two servants were so scared their legs went weak. They lay on the ground, unable to even stand up. It was over! The glazed mirror was broken, and everything was finished…
After tripping the servant, the maid quickly retreated behind the door while everyone's attention was on the servants. The wealthy young lady who entered last took a step back, appearing to be frightened.
The maid seized the opportunity, rushed over, and quickly supported the young lady. They exchanged a quick glance, and this scene was clearly seen by Su Muqing, who had stepped back.
The wealthy young lady picked up her handkerchief and covered her mouth and nose. Then, her gaze swept across the lobby. When her eyes met Su Muqing's, both of them secretly sized each other up for a few seconds. Seeing the woman opposite staring intently at her, the wealthy young lady felt a little guilty and shifted her gaze first.
It was peak dining time, and the establishment was bustling with people. The immense noise drew the attention of everyone in the lobby. Many people walked over and gasped involuntarily after seeing the fragments of glazed mirror on the ground.
How valuable could such a treasure be? It was such a pity to have it broken like this. Some, fearing trouble, quickly returned to their seats, craning their necks to watch how the situation would unfold.
Some people, seeing the fragments that had fallen near their feet, felt a surge of greed and used their feet to push the fragments towards themselves. Perhaps they could be polished and sold for a good price.
The incident happened right at the main entrance of the restaurant, and Su Muqing and her group were also stopped by this sudden interlude. Just as they were about to bypass it…
With a "swish" sound, a long whip, with an unstoppable momentum, swung in from the doorway.
Lu Yuzhi pulled Su Muqing behind him, while Leng Ren and Hake all rushed forward to block. The whip grazed past the three of them, hitting the ground with a loud "crack," raising clouds of dust.
The wealthy young lady was stunned when she saw Lu Yuzhi suddenly step out to protect someone! Then, seeing the little baby in his arms, she frowned with some displeasure, perhaps thinking of something.
At this moment, a young maiden in a striking red, practical riding outfit walked in from the doorway.
Upon seeing the shattered fragments all over the ground, she was so angry that her face immediately fell. This was a piece of glazed mirror that she had put a lot of effort into, and paid a high price to acquire from Tianzhao Kingdom. It was the largest piece of glazed mirror on the market.
She had originally intended to give it as a birthday gift to her grandmother to celebrate her eightieth birthday, but unexpectedly, these people had broken it!
The young lady, her eyes red with anger, swung the whip in her hand and began to lash the servants who were kneeling on the ground, utterly terrified. "You two dog servants, how dare you! How dare you break my grandmother's glazed mirror! You two scoundrels, selling your entire families wouldn't be enough to compensate!"
The servant who had fallen first knew it was his fault. He crawled forward on his knees, doing his best to shield the other. Consequently, most of the whip blows landed on him.
"Miss, spare me, miss, spare me, we didn't do it on purpose…"
"Miss, please spare us… Miss, spare me…"
The two of them knelt on the glass shards, incessantly kowtowing and begging for mercy, their faces smeared with snot and tears. They paid no heed to their knees and palms being pricked by the glass. Even their foreheads had sustained several small cuts.
However, the young lady was in a fit of rage and couldn't hear their pleas. She continued to whip them, causing them to cry out in pain. Soon, they were beaten until their skin was torn, making the other customers in the lobby tremble.
Seeing this scene, Su Muqing frowned. But thinking that they were about to depart soon, and being in an unfamiliar place, she didn't want to cause more trouble. So, she turned her head away, deciding not to meddle in this matter.
Just as she was about to step out the door, a delicate voice sounded. She stopped abruptly and looked up. She realized it was the wealthy young lady who had spoken.
Actually, after seeing Lu Yuzhi, the wealthy young lady's heart had begun to beat wildly. She had silently declared to herself that this man was hers! Thus, the wealthy young lady began to ponder carefully.
The young ladies of their City Lord's mansion could choose their own husbands. The prerequisite was that the man's family must be of high status, and most importantly, he must be beneficial to Weites City.
If these two conditions were met, it didn't matter if the man was married or had children. Seeing the small pink flower tied to the child's head, she breathed a sigh of relief. It was just a daughter. Men loved having multiple wives and concubines anyway, so having a庶女 was not something to be concerned about.
If she really couldn't stand to see her, she could send her away to be raised. But the crucial matter now was to get rid of that unsightly woman. If she could shift the blame onto her, given Wan Yan'er's personality, this woman would be severely punished, if not killed. Then wouldn't she have a chance?
It must be said that this Wan Xuan'er had quite a vivid imagination. She had only looked at Lu Yuzhi twice, and then she had already fantasized about so many future developments.
If she were given another three to five seconds, perhaps she would even plan out where the two of them would be buried together. The woman could even plan that, and also provide a detailed diagram of a double coffin…
But the reality was that before the wealthy young lady could devise a complete plan, she saw the group opposite making a move, guessing they were about to leave. So, in a moment of desperation, the wealthy young lady rushed out, grabbed the red-clothed young lady's arm, and began to vent.
She spoke with an air of kindness and generosity, "Sister, don't be so angry. It's just a glazed mirror. Father dotes on you so much. Why don't we buy another one? I believe they didn't do it on purpose. It was crowded in the lobby just now, perhaps they were… accidentally bumped by someone."
The red-clothed young lady pushed the woman away and looked at her with disdain. "You say it so easily. This is something I worked so hard to get back! You say they were bumped by someone? By whom? Find them for me, and I won't beat them!"
Now, the two young ladies, whether in their tone of speech or their exhibited attitudes, were completely different. The onlookers began to whisper amongst themselves.
In summary, the red-clothed woman was described as capricious and spoiled, while her sister was considered knowledgeable, virtuous, gentle, and refined! Hearing the surrounding whispers, Su Muqing finally realized that they were both daughters of the City Lord of Weites City.
The one wielding the whip was born to the City Lord's legitimate wife, named Wan Yan'er. The one who had spoken up for the servants just now was born to the City Lord's favorite concubine, named Wan Xuan'er. As for the other young ladies, they were also sisters, but all from different mothers.
If Wan Xuan'er had only pleaded for the two servants, Su Muqing would have thought she had wronged her earlier. But what was the meaning of this woman's deliberate glances towards their side while saying these words? Was she trying to shift the blame?
As expected, she walked up to the kneeling servants and bowed slightly. Then, she asked gently, "When you two came in just now, was someone walking out, and perhaps accidentally bumped into you?"
Upon hearing Wan Xuan'er's words, one of the servants quickly raised his head. "Miss Xuan, you are right, it is indeed so. Someone tripped Ding Cheng, causing us two to fall."
Wan Xuan'er nodded with an expression of "just as I suspected," and then asked the servant who had been tripped, "Who was the person closest to you at that time? Do you remember?"
The servant named Ding Cheng was covered in blood from the whipping, and his consciousness was somewhat hazy. Hearing someone ask him this question, he subconsciously looked towards Su Muqing. This was because the beautiful young lady he saw when he first entered was her.
"No…" the servant weakly shook his head and opened his mouth to say something… but he had been whipped too hard, and his words were weak and feeble.
"Was this young lady the closest to you? So it was her who tripped you…" Wan Xuan'er didn't give the servant any further opportunity to speak and directly shifted the topic to Su Muqing. However, her gaze kept darting shyly towards Lu Yuzhi's face.
The onlookers in the lobby collectively turned their gaze towards Su Muqing and her group. Where did this group of handsome men and beautiful women come from? How did they suddenly provoke the City Lord's daughters and get into such big trouble!
Seeing that someone was trying to cause trouble, Leng Ren and the others stood to Su Muqing's sides. Lu Yuzhi also drew closer with the little baby. Su Muqing pushed them back. Then, crossing her arms, she stared at Wan Xuan'er's performance with a half-smile.
Heh! Little slut! She had seen people try to pin the blame before, but this was the first time she had encountered someone who did it so illogically.
Wan Yan'er also walked over. She pushed aside Wan Xuan'er, who was standing in front, and then looked them over. First, she glanced at Lu Yuzhi, then curled her lip and moved her gaze away with a look of disgust. This man had white hair at such a young age. He either practiced some sinister martial art or had kidney problems.
Then, she glanced at Kebina. This person looked alright, but seemed a bit unintelligent. After Wan Yan'er had looked at all the men, she then carefully examined Su Muqing.
Wan Xuan'er staggered violently from being pushed and retreated a few steps awkwardly. Two maids quickly stepped forward to support her. She felt a little uneasy. What if that wretched Wan Yan'er also fancied that young master?
Based on her experience growing up, wouldn't she have to give him up again? How could that be? Thinking of this, a hint of hatred flickered in Wan Xuan'er's eyes.
Grabbing the maid's arm, she began to pinch her. One of the maids was startled by the sudden pain and cried out, "Ah!"
"What's wrong? Did you also see that the young lady was closest to our young servant just now?" Wan Xuan'er turned her head to look at her maid with a concerned expression, gesturing with her eyes in a place where others couldn't see.
The maid, understanding her intention, endured the pain and nodded, saying with great certainty, "Yes, yes! I also remember that the young lady was closest to Ding Cheng just now. Perhaps… perhaps she was walking too fast and accidentally kicked him."
Su Muqing ignored their words. Her gaze remained fixed on another maid with a steady gait. Finally, with her sharp eyes, she spotted some red powdery substance scattered on the surface of the shoe worn by the maid who had tripped someone. It looked a bit like rouge.
Wan Yan'er raised an eyebrow. To be honest, she had a good impression of the young lady in front of her. Her attire was similar to hers, both neat and efficient. Her hair was simply tied in a ponytail, without noisy accessories, and she was quite good-looking.
However, the breaking of the glazed mirror was no small matter. So, she stared intently into Su Muqing's eyes and asked, "Did you trip my servant? Did you smash my precious glazed mirror?"
Su Muqing's answer was equally concise. "No!"
The servant, with sweat dripping from his forehead, mustered all his strength and said loudly, "Miss… it wasn't her, that person was behind me…" After saying this, he fainted…
Su Muqing handed a Qi replenishing pill to Leng Ren, letting him feed it to the unconscious servant. Then, she provocatively looked at Wan Xuan'er and added meaningfully, "The person who tripped him wasn't me. But I know who it was…"
Wan Yan'er looked at her expression and then turned to look at Wan Xuan'er. "Oh? You know who it was?"
Su Muqing didn't even bother to point. She simply casually raised her chin. "Look, it's these two in front of you…"
At this, the lobby erupted again. Some people felt that the show was getting more and more exciting. Others thought Su Muqing was trying to avoid paying and was therefore slandering others. After all, these young ladies were the City Lord's daughters, so how could they break their own things?
The maid who was pointed at immediately stepped forward and put on airs upon hearing Su Muqing's words. "Presumptuous! What country bumpkin dares to slander our young lady."
Before Su Muqing could make a move, Wan Yan'er whipped her. The maid originally intended to catch it, but Wan Xuan'er pinched her. Finally, the whip struck her face with a "crack," instantly leaving a dark mark.
After whipping the maid, Wan Yan'er turned to Su Muqing. "Our maids are unruly; our upbringing is inadequate. I hope the young lady will not be offended. Since the young lady says it was my half-sister and her maid who tripped them, please provide proof. Otherwise…"
Su Muqing said no more. She walked directly to the servant, asked Leng Feng to help him up, and then pointed to the servant's leg. The onlookers gathered around, staring intently at the servant's leg. Apart from the bloody traces from being pricked, there was nothing else unusual to see.
Seeing that no one had discovered anything, Su Muqing stepped forward, wiped her hand on the red mark above Ding Cheng's calf. Then, she held it up for Wan Yan'er to see.
Wan Yan'er glanced at Su Muqing's finger. It didn't look like blood. Then, she leaned closer and sniffed it. Although she didn't wear much makeup, she could still distinguish the scent of rouge.
She asked with a look of confusion, "Is this rouge the evidence you mentioned?"
Su Muqing nodded, then pointed at the maid. "Exactly! Her shoe also has rouge on it. You can compare the shoe surface with the imprint on Ding Cheng's trousers. See if they match!"
Wan Yan'er waved to the two leading governesses. The fierce governesses immediately stepped forward. Two of them held the maid's arms, while the remaining two held her legs to remove her shoes.
The governess held up the embroidered shoes that had been removed for everyone present to see. Wan Yan'er touched the powder on them. Both were the same rouge. She gestured for the governess to place the embroidered shoe on Ding Cheng's trouser leg for comparison. As a result, the rouge on the shoe surface and the imprint matched perfectly. At this point, everything was self-evident.
Wan Xuan'er looked incredulous and asked her maid with teary eyes, "Xiao Qin, did you really do it?"
The maid, called Xiao Qin, fell to her knees with a thud. "Miss, I really didn't do it on purpose. I wasn't steady just now and tripped Ding Cheng. Later, I saw the glazed mirror was broken, and Fifth Miss's temper is so… I was afraid of implicating you, Miss, and being punished, so I didn't dare to come forward."
Good heavens! Even at this point, she was still trying to put down Wan Yan'er. She made it sound as if Wan Yan'er had a terrible temper and bullied Wan Xuan'er all day long.
Wan Xuan'er felt quite smug upon hearing Xiao Qin's words, but she still maintained a sad expression on her face. "What use is it to beg me? I certainly won't punish you for a mirror. But your mistake is breaking Fifth Sister's mirror. If you want forgiveness, go ask her. If she is willing to forgive you, then…"
Before she could finish speaking, Wan Yan'er threw Xiao Qin's embroidered shoe and then kicked it into Wan Xuan'er's face. "You're so good at being generous with what belongs to others! Do you know that this glazed mirror took more than two months just to be made, and I paid fifty thousand gold for it? It was my birthday gift to my grandmother. You expect me to forgive it just like that? Are your maids so precious that they are worth my fifty thousand gold?"
Wan Xuan'er was stunned by the embroidered shoe hitting her. Then she cried out tearfully, "My maid broke sister's mirror. If I can find a better one, I will compensate you with one. Why must sister humiliate me like this?"
Wan Yan'er was so angry that she picked up a teacup and threw it. "You say it so easily. Where am I supposed to find a second clear mirror like this to compensate me now?"
When Su Muqing heard Wan Yan'er say that the mirror cost her fifty thousand gold, she picked up a relatively large shard from the ground and examined it. By simply changing the angle, the reflection in the mirror seemed to change into a different person.
Looking at her own bizarre reflection in the mirror, sometimes with the same large eyes like an alien, sometimes with the same pointed chin like those old witches, and all sorts of donkey-like faces and polygonal faces were considered normal. This…
Su Muqing could hardly believe her eyes. And this was considered the clearest mirror on the market? And it was priced at fifty thousand gold? And she dared to give this as a birthday gift to an elder? Wasn't she afraid of scaring her grandmother to death?
"You really are something else!" Su Muqing secretly gave Kebina a thumbs-up. This was truly a huge profit!
As these two sisters were arguing fiercely, with Wan Yan'er smashing whatever she could get her hands on towards Wan Xuan'er, the lobby soon became a mess. Fortunately, Wan Xuan'er had maids beside her, otherwise, she would have been beaten quite badly today.
The shopkeeper was in a frantic state on the side, but he dared not call the police. The other daughters of the Wan family watched the commotion from the side, all of them quite happy in their hearts. One was the legitimate daughter of the principal wife, and the other was the beloved daughter of the concubine. It was best if they both suffered losses, so that they and their mothers would have a chance to rise.
Wan Xuan'er, while dodging the flying objects, cried profusely, implying that Wan Yan'er was bullying her and humiliating her in front of outsiders. "Sister Yan'er, why do you have to bully me like this? At most, find another glazed mirror, and I will pay for it."
Wan Yan'er let out a roar! "You say it so easily. Where am I supposed to find one now? You did it on purpose!"
Just as they were about to engage in a new round of chase, Su Muqing smiled and called out to them loudly, "I have glazed mirrors here. Do you two want them?"
Upon hearing her words, Wan Yan'er threw down the stool in her hand and turned to look at her. "You have them?"
"Yes! I do. However, my glazed mirror is the latest product forged by Tianzhao Kingdom and Huaxia City, and it is currently the only one of its kind. So, the price…" Su Muqing didn't finish her sentence. She took out a replica antique mirror sold at a ten-yuan store from her embrace and began to gaze at herself.
The handle of the mirror was a peacock's tail, with its body on top. It was inlaid with colorful rhinestones from head to toe, making it look truly radiant from afar. The daughters of the Wan family were instantly attracted by the exquisitely crafted mirror in her hand.
"Wow! What is this? Look at the gemstones on the back, they look so beautiful."
"Yes, it's so beautiful! It would be great to have one as a dowry…"
"I want one too. I wonder if she's willing to sell it?"
The other three daughters of the Wan family began to discuss amongst themselves, preparing to ask her about the price of the treasure in her hand. Seeing that these young ladies were all mesmerized, Su Muqing knew her objective had been achieved.