Neighbors were quite enthusiastic, binding him with their hands and feet and throwing him into the woodshed. Early the next morning, a few people took the initiative to go to the yamen to hand over the thief.
Wu Caiwei gave her statement to the scribe, and her neighbors enthusiastically testified for her. She knew that the thief would eventually be let out, but it would at least make Sun Dongjia bleed a little.
It was much as she had expected. Sun Dongjia, upon hearing the news, furiously smashed things in his room. He hadn't expected Wu Caiping to be so tricky; his attempts to deal with her had failed each time. Those in business were rather superstitious and felt this person was not to be trifled with for the moment. Of course, he wouldn't give up; he didn't believe she had no weaknesses.
After the other party calmed down, Wu Caiwei didn't bother to pursue it. After all, he had helped her when she first entered the city, which allowed her to settle down quickly.
Soon, their rouge shop opened, and everyone found it different from any other they had seen. The shopkeeper and all the workers were young, beautiful girls. Whether common women or ladies and young mistresses entered, they would recommend different products based on their needs and skin. They even demonstrated the correct way to use rouge. It was then that people realized that although the shop was called a rouge shop, it also sold face powder and lip paper, with a dazzling array of goods. There were also creamy substances they had never seen before, which felt moist and smooth when applied to the face.
Whether it was her products or the skilled techniques of the young, beautiful girls, everyone who used their products found themselves looking more beautiful and flocked to the shop. The rouge shop quickly gained fame in the prefectural city.
Even rouge shops in surrounding counties procured goods from here. Wu Caiwei, adapting to the ways of the world, bought many women who signed indentured contracts. She taught each of them one step of the process, and the key steps were completed by herself, thus ensuring that the secret recipes would not be leaked.
Everything entered a stable phase, and money flowed into the pockets of Zhou Dongjia and Wu Caiwei like water.
With money, Wu Caiwei naturally wouldn't treat herself poorly. Through a matchmaker, she bought a moderately sized courtyard, hired a steward and a few servants, and her life truly began.
Just as she stepped out of the shop, Wu Caiwei noticed a gaze lingering on her for a long time. Turning her head, she saw a man looking at her with surprise and suspicion. Wu Caiwei turned back as if nothing had happened and continued walking, trying to recall his identity from her memory. She soon realized the man was the original owner's cousin.
This cousin had worked as a shop assistant in a store in the prefectural city for many years and rarely returned to the village. The original owner was not highly regarded by her family, so she had met him very few times, hence her initial failure to recognize him.
But judging by his expression, it was clear he had recognized her but dared not confirm it due to her identity. This was not a good omen for Wu Caiwei.
The man suddenly quickened his pace and asked respectfully, "May I ask, sir, your esteemed name?"
"You're asking me? I should be asking you. Haven't you been staring at me? Why are you asking my identity? Tell me, who sent you? Let me guess, Sun Dongjia?" Wu Caiwei abruptly opened her fan, fanned herself, exuding the charming air of a dissolute young master, and looked him up and down with disdain. SuDan Novel Network.
"A misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. I merely thought you bore a resemblance to an old acquaintance, which is why I presumptuously stepped forward to inquire. Please do not take offense, sir." Liu Shan quickly clasped his hands together and bowed deeply. The moment the man spoke, he knew he had been mistaken.
He knew his cousin well. A country bumpkin, timid and shy. But when the young master in front of him spoke, it was clearly a man's voice. Although he didn't know why they looked so alike, the man was undoubtedly more heroic. Could he be a relative of his aunt's maternal family? He felt it was necessary to investigate thoroughly.
"Hmph, go back and tell Sun Dongjia to stop playing tricks on me. Although I, Wu, do not seek trouble, I do not fear it either." Wu Caiwei glared at him and left haughtily.
Liu Shan looked up at his receding back, wiped the sweat from his brow. Fortunately, he hadn't said too much to the other party. Otherwise, offending these important figures would have been disastrous. Who was this Sun Dongjia he spoke of? Could it be his own employer?
When Wu Caiwei turned around, she happened to see him rubbing his head and walking away. She felt a pang of fear. Fortunately, she had applied some eyebrow pencil when she went out today to make herself look more masculine, and she had deliberately altered her voice. Otherwise, she would have been exposed.
She wasn't afraid of the people from Liu Family Village, but her own strength was not yet sufficient, and she didn't want to confront them head-on.
Besides, a few young women disappeared from Liu Family Village every year, and there was such a large sacrificial event. The authorities couldn't have been completely unaware of any rumors. They wouldn't protect them without some connection or benefit.
From the original owner's memories, they used the guise of the Mountain God to send beautiful young women from the village to the mountain, ostensibly as offerings to the Mountain God. None of the women who went returned, and everyone tacitly assumed they had died.
In reality, the villagers had no idea that these women were carried by the village chief's son to that small wooden cabin and sold to slave traders.
Knowing the dubious origins of these women, the slave traders feared trouble and sold them far away. Many ended up in brothels in prosperous cities, controlled by others for life. Some contracted venereal diseases at a young age and were thrown out by the brothels to fend for themselves. Some became courtesans, acquiring vast wealth, but thinking of their status, they feared being despised by their families if they returned, and also feared their parents disowning them. They dared not redeem themselves and spent their lives in the pleasure quarters.
As for the original owner, because she was beautiful, she was sold to Yangzhou and became a "skinny horse," learning music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, adopting the demeanor of a lady from a prominent family. Only they knew that their bodies had already been defiled, and they would never bear children. Even if they entered a wealthy household, they would only be pets.
Although she often lamented her tragic fate, the original owner still tried her best to live, hoping that one day she could enter a wealthy household, gain the favor of the master, and care for her younger brothers and sisters, so that her sisters would not follow in her footsteps.
When she reached the appropriate age, she was bought by a wealthy merchant and sent to the mansion of a high-ranking official in the capital. She was favored for a time, but the madam's family was powerful, and even the master avoided their sharp edges. Every time she saw them, her eyes seemed to be filled with poison.
Shortly after the master was assigned a mission to go south for three months, the madam, accusing them of theft, had them beaten to death on a board.
In fact, the original owner did not resent the madam. If she were the madam, she would also hate these women who disrupted their marital harmony.
She only resented those who, behind the scenes, played gods and ghosts, tricked them into going up the mountain, and sold them. She also blamed the biased Liu family elders.