Volume One, Chapter Seven: Demanding Justice Through Force

“Caiyun Pavilion was vandalized?” Jiang Rui feigned surprise. “Who did it? Have you reported it to the authorities?”

“The Princess of Qingcheng led the attack herself. Which low-ranking official in the government dares to intervene?” Madam Shen said angrily. “What exactly have you done to provoke the princess to come and smash the shop?”

“Mother, you are wronging your daughter. I don’t even know the Princess of Qingcheng. How could this have anything to do with me?” Jiang Rui pretended to be innocent.

“Besides, although I went to Caiyun Pavilion yesterday to check the accounts, shortly after noon I suddenly felt dizzy and left immediately. I went to a nearby clinic for treatment and then returned home. It’s only now that I’ve learned about the incident,” she explained.

Madam Shen glared at Manager Tao upon hearing this. “Is that true?”

Manager Tao trembled slightly, looking uncertain as he glanced between Madam Shen and Jiang Rui. “It’s... probably not…”

“Is it or isn’t it?” Madam Shen asked impatiently.

Being shrewd, Manager Tao had already sensed some tension between the mother and daughter of the Hou residence. Not wanting to offend either party, he chose to speak honestly.

“Madam, early yesterday morning, the young mistress came to the back room of Caiyun Pavilion to check the accounts. In the afternoon, the Princess of Qingcheng arrived with a group of guards, saying she wanted to see the young mistress. I sent a clerk to invite her over.

“The clerk came back saying the young mistress wanted to serve the princess tea and would be there soon. But we waited and waited, and no one appeared. The princess lost her patience and charged into the back room with her guards.

“I hurried after them but only saw the ledgers spread out on the table. The young mistress was nowhere to be found. The princess was furious and ordered her guards to smash the shop…”

“How could this happen?” Jiang Rui exclaimed. “Manager Tao, I left Caiyun Pavilion through the back door shortly after lunch. Before that, no clerk came to tell me the princess wanted to see me. Could it be that you didn’t serve the princess properly and angered her enough to vandalize the shop, then pinned the blame on me?”

Having planned her escape since leaving Caiyun Pavilion yesterday, Jiang Rui knew her clerk hadn’t actually seen her—only heard a voice through the door. There was room for dispute.

Sure enough, Madam Shen also suspected the clerk. She had Manager Tao call the clerk over for questioning.

After the clerk answered truthfully, Jiang Rui asked, “When you came to the back room looking for me, did you see me in person?”

The clerk shook his head honestly. “No, no. But I heard the mistress’s voice.”

“I had already left through the back door. Are you sure the voice you heard was really mine?” Jiang Rui lowered her voice, her tone somewhat imposing.

“I…” the clerk hesitated. “I only heard one sentence. I’m not very sure.”

“Exactly!” Jiang Rui slapped the armrest of her chair excitedly and said to Madam Shen, “Mother, I suspect a thief sneaked into the back room after I left, and when the clerk came, the thief imitated a woman’s voice and deceived him.”

Madam Shen was momentarily stunned by this new explanation. As she pondered, Jiang Rui turned to Manager Tao and asked, “Was anything valuable missing from the back room? Did you thoroughly check?”

Manager Tao looked troubled. “The Princess of Qingcheng and her men wrecked the back room badly. We haven’t sorted everything out yet. I’m afraid…”

Jiang Rui’s gaze shifted between Manager Tao and the clerk as she questioned, “If someone took advantage of the chaos to steal from the shop, couldn’t you all just blame it on the princess and the thief?”

Jiang Rui had always known Manager Tao sometimes had dishonest tendencies, taking unsold fabrics home for himself. The two clerks had followed suit. Since these old fabrics were worthless, Jiang Rui had turned a blind eye, wanting to give her staff some benefits to keep the business running smoothly.

Now, confronted like this, Manager Tao and the clerk were terrified their minor wrongdoings might be exposed.

With items missing from the shop, no one dared blame the Princess of Qingcheng outright, nor could they admit fault themselves. The only explanation left was theft.

Manager Tao’s eyes darted around before he kowtowed and pleaded, “The scene was chaotic. The princess whipped me several times. I failed to notice the thief. It was my negligence.”

The clerk knelt beside him, copying his kowtow. “I’m also guilty for mistaking the thief’s voice. Please punish me, mistress.”

Neither the manager nor the clerk cared whether the thief truly existed. As long as they could clear suspicion from themselves, it was enough. Since the mistress said there was a thief, then there must have been one.

Jiang Rui nodded approvingly at their tact and looked innocently at Madam Shen. “Mother, you heard it yourself. I wasn’t there and truly knew nothing.”

Madam Shen eyed Jiang Rui skeptically. “But the Princess of Qingcheng specifically asked to see you. What do you say to that?”

“That’s a question for the princess,” Jiang Rui blinked innocently. “Why don’t you come with me to the Northern Town Prince’s mansion to ask? We can also demand compensation for the damage to the shop.”

“You want to go ask the princess for money?” Madam Shen stared at Jiang Rui in shock.

The Northern Town Prince was a powerful figure in the northern territories, so influential even the emperor gave him wide berth. Though only the Princess of Qingcheng resided at the prince’s mansion in the capital, ordinary people dared not provoke them.

“Even if it’s the princess, if she wrecked our shop, shouldn’t she pay compensation?” Jiang Rui said matter-of-factly, ignoring Madam Shen’s sour expression.

“Mother, if we don’t recover compensation, how can we explain this to father?” Jiang Rui understood well that neither the Marquis of Anle nor Madam Shen dared to approach the Northern Town Prince’s mansion for compensation. But she had to bring it up to make clear that the princess was the one at fault, not her.

“You manage the shop, so you should explain everything to your father,” Madam Shen warned, glaring at Jiang Rui before standing up and leaving abruptly.

Watching Madam Shen depart, Jiang Rui knew her mother was once again passing the troublesome matters onto her to handle.

“You may all rise,” Jiang Rui said to the manager and clerks sprawled on the ground.

“Lay low for a few days. Don’t open the shop for now. Calculate the losses from yesterday carefully and report to me at the residence once done.”

Manager Tao slowly got up. “Won’t you come to the shop to take a look?”

“I’ve been feeling unwell lately. Leave the shop affairs to you,” Jiang Rui said, rubbing her temple, uninterested in the family business.

She waved them off and went to find Steward Zhao to ask about Lady Liu.

“Miss, I sent people to search the manor last night but couldn’t find any trace of Lady Liu. I plan to have a footman check the secluded courtyard today. I’ll report back to you,” Steward Zhao said.

“Thank you for your efforts, steward.”

Jiang Rui had just returned to Qingfang Garden with Cui Liu when she heard that Old Qian, who guarded the corner gate of the Marquis residence, had come to deliver news.

Old Qian accepted a silver reward from Jiang Rui and bowed repeatedly before saying deferentially, “Miss, your foresight is uncanny. Just fifteen minutes ago, I saw Lady Liu being brought into the residence through the corner gate, tightly bound. She looked miserable.”

Jiang Rui’s eyes sharpened. Entering quietly through the corner gate was to avoid being seen.

“Who brought her in? Who else came with them?”

Old Qian replied, “They were guards from the Marquis’s entourage, escorting Lady Liu inside. Besides them, there was a beautiful young lady following along.”

It was Jiang Yao!

Jiang Rui’s heart quickened. “Which direction did they go?”

“Eastward,” Old Qian answered.

Jiang Rui suddenly stood up, dismissed Old Qian, and, taking Cui Liu and Xing’er with her, hurried toward the main courtyard where Madam Shen lived.