Chapter 123 - Rat in The Rice

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Su Cheng arrived at Wanfu Tavern with a young man.

The waiter of the tavern came and asked politely, “How many of you, Sir?”

Su Cheng, in a blue brocade robe, put his hands behind his back and raised his nose high towards the sky. “Your Master Zhu sent his people to invite me over for the banquet.”

The waiter immediately squeezed a smile and said, “It turned out to be our Master Zhu’s guest! This way please, Master Zhu is upstairs.”

Su Cheng snorted proudly and went upstairs with his back straightened pretentiously.

The waiter led him to a suite upstairs and said respectfully, “Master Zhu, Mr. Su is here!”

Zhu Hecheng stood up and walked to the door to welcome Shopkeeper Su. With a warm smile on his face, he said, “Mr. Su, welcome! Please take a seat!”

He then told the waiter, “Serve my distinguished guest with the best Nu Er Hong (1) from the wine cellar.”

“Certainly!” The waiter said and left.

Zhu Hecheng gave up his seat to Su Cheng and filled the glass in front of Su Cheng with wine.

Su Cheng immediately stood up and held the wine glass, smiling. “Master Zhu, you are too good to me. I’m afraid I don’t deserve this.”

“Mr. Su, you are too polite. You are one of my few friends who truly understand me. Please don’t go through so much trouble about me, or I’ll feel that I’m just a stranger in your eyes. I only wish I could be good friends with Mr. Su. It’s a pity that I hadn’t had a close friend like you in the last few decades!” Zhu Hecheng said with a gentle smile.

When Su Cheng heard this, he immediately said, “Mr. Zhu, you are reading my mind. That’s also what I’m thinking about. From today on, Mr. Zhu, you are my brother. If you ever need my help, I won’t hesitate to go through thick and thin for you.”

“Won’t be that serious! Dear Brother, you can come to accompany me for a drink sometimes. Chatting with you makes me feel happy all day!” Zhu Hecheng smiled and poured Su Cheng wine.

“Yes, yes, as long as you need me, I’ll be here at any time!” Su Cheng said.

After three glasses of wine, Su Cheng started to feel the distance between him and Zhu Hecheng vanish, and he began to regard himself as a brother of Zhu Hecheng.

The waiter came in and put the Nu Er Hong on the table. The wine was full of rich mellowness. The two had a happy conversation and kept drinking more and more wine.

At this time, Zhu Hecheng suddenly placed the wine glass on the table and sighed softly.

“Why the sigh, Brother?” Su Cheng’s face turned bright red and his eyes were unfocused because he had drunk too much. He took the wine jar and stood up to pour wine for Zhu Hecheng.

Zhu Hecheng picked up the wine glass and drank it. He frowned and said, “To be honest with you, there is something that’s been worrying me for a long time. I need wine to forget about unhappy things.”

“If you have any worries, please tell me. If I can be of any help, I will spare no effort to alleviate your worries!” Su Cheng thumped on his chest and breathed the armor of wine.

“You and I are like real brothers. I have nothing to hide from you. Brother, you know I own many grain shops. My granaries are full for selling, but people all go to Qingyu Commercial House to buy grains. My grains can’t sell and are left in my granaries. I’m afraid that it would keep raining for days, and my grains would get damp and moldy soon. How can I not worry about it?” Zhu Hecheng frowned.

“This, this…” Su Cheng began to stammer. “I don’t know how to help you with this, my dear Brother. Even if my whole family goes to your grain shops to buy food, I’m afraid it won’t help!”

Zhu Hecheng waved his hand. “If you want to buy food, just take it from my shop. You don’t need to pay. How can I charge you for that, Brother!”

“Thank you!” Su Cheng brimmed with happiness upon hearing Zhu Hecheng’s words, but he didn’t forget to put on a worried look, “So what can I do for you, Brother?”

Zhu Hecheng poured wine for Su Cheng, and thought for a while, then said, “If Qingyu Commercial House can’t sell grains, then people will go to my grain shops to buy rice.”

Su Cheng squinted his eyes, pondering about Zhu Hecheng’s words.

“Oh…” Zhu Hecheng seemed to think of something all of a sudden, and said, “Brother Su has bought space in Qingyu Commercial House, right?”

Su Cheng nodded. “Yes, yes, Young Master Ji especially left out space for my shop and sent a shopkeeper from Qingyu to have a talk with me about it. You know, because of Young Mistress Ji, I can’t reject the Ji family. So I agreed to sell goods in Qingyu Commercial House.”

1

“Oh!” Zhu Hecheng nodded, grasping Su Cheng’s hand excitedly. “It seems that this matter needs your help, dear Brother!”

“What?” Su Cheng asked in surprise.

Zhu Hecheng leaned over and whispered something in Su Cheng’s ear.

Su Cheng slowly opened his eyes and murmured embarrassedly, “Well, this doesn’t sound right to me. If we are found out by the others, I don’t know how to explain it to the Ji family!”

“How could it be found out by other people? Brother, you only need to get a smart person to do this secretly, and no one will know about it. How could the Ji family suspect you? Don’t forget, you are Young Mistress Ji’s relative,” Zhu Hecheng said with a chuckle.

“This…” Su Cheng still hesitated with his eyebrows knitted.

Seeing this, Zhu Hecheng didn’t look as friendly as before, and his voice was no longer affectionate. “Since Brother Su finds it difficult, forget it. I’ll find another way or someone else to do it!”

“Don’t!” Su Cheng said in a panic. “Brother, let’s discuss it again and we’ll think of a holistic solution. We should be careful about this. We mustn’t be found out by others!”

After hearing this, Zhu Hecheng’s look eased a little bit. “Yes, you are reading my mind again, Brother. No matter what, I don’t want to involve you in trouble! Come on, let’s finish our drinks first!”

Zhu Hecheng poured wine for Su Cheng again, and the two had a long discussion until it was dark outside. Su Cheng, who was drunk, then left Wanfu Tavern.

The next day, Su Cheng woke up and vaguely thought of what happened yesterday. He felt that he had made an inappropriate promise. However, he had agreed to Zhu Hecheng, and he was really afraid that Zhu Hecheng would be angry with him, so he couldn’t change his mind. After making his decision, he asked for a servant and briefed him on his plan.

At this time, Su Cheng’s wife, Madame Zhang came and said, “I heard that Qingyu’s food is cheap. I’m here for the money for the servants to go there and buy rice for the following famine season. You know, the price is likely to rise.”

Su Cheng’s eyes narrowed and he smiled. “We’re not going to buy rice. Let the servants go to the Zhu family’s shops and take free rice back.”

Madame Zhang’s eyes widened. “You must be daydreaming! The Zhu family’s shops are far more expensive than others. Why buy food there?”

“It’s not buying, it’s taking food back! You don’t need to pay for it, just bring back bags filled with grains. Take as much as you want,” Su Cheng leaned on the chair with the ankle on the knee, swinging the folding fan in his hand.

Astounded, Madame Zhang said, “You must be crazy. The Zhu family’s shops can have you take their grains for free? Who do you think you are?”

Su Cheng raised his eyebrows proudly. “You don’t get it. The chief shopkeeper of the Zhu family is my best friend. He won’t ask me to pay. Yesterday, Zhu Hecheng invited me in person for a banquet, and told me that we won’t have to pay a penny for his grains in the future.”

Madame Zhang’s eyes looked at him suspiciously, a strange feeling washing over her. However, she didn’t want to lose such a good opportunity of taking advantage of the Zhu family. She sent two servants to Zhu’s shop to collect rice.

After two hours, the servants came back with five free bags of rice.

Su Cheng smiled and said to Madame Zhang, “You see? I’m right!”

Madame Zhang looked at the free rice and smiled, narrowing her eyes into slits. “Since we don’t need to pay, why not send a carriage there to get more free grains?”

Su Cheng frowned, scolding, “You woman, are short-sighted. Zhu’s shops wouldn’t just disappear from the world in a night. What are you worried about? When you are lacking rice, you just go and take more.”

“Yes, yes, you are right!” Madame Zhang massaged Su Cheng’s shoulder and leg, trying to please her husband.

In the afternoon of the next day, when Su Jiu arrived at Qingyu Commercial House, she knew that something had happened. There were many people at the door. Their repetitive shouting made it hard to recognize what they were angry about, though they were all incandescent with fury. Two people were lying on the ground in front of the door of the commercial house.

In front of the commercial house were people peering inside the door. Su Jiu tried to elbow her way through the group of bystanders, to no avail.

Su Jiu frowned and ordered Er Mao to drive the carriage to the backyard.

After Su Jiu entered the commercial house from the back door, several assistants saw her and hurriedly said, “Master Jiu, you are finally here!”

“What happened?” Su Jiu asked while brisk-walking inside.

Chang Huan rushed over after knowing that Su Jiu had arrived. He invited Su Jiu into the lounge on the first floor, where several shopkeepers were waiting. When they saw Su Jiu arrive, they stood up to welcome her immediately.

“Master Jiu!”

Su Jiu nodded lightly. “What the hell is going on?”

Chang Huan said, “I went out this morning to discuss something with Guiyuanzhai Pastry Shop’s shopkeeper. When I came back and entered the house, someone broke in and said that his family had diarrhea after they bought rice from our house. Soon more people came in, crying and shouting at the door, saying that after eating our rice, they became ill. Then, more and more people came, and there seemed to be someone behind stirring up trouble.”

Su Jiu frowned and asked, “Is there a problem with our rice?”

“We have been selling this rice for almost a month, and there has never been a problem with it. I have checked with all the shopkeepers, and we didn’t find damp or moldy rice,” Chang Huan said.

Although the incident happened suddenly, Chang Huan responded very quickly. Hearing the news, he immediately ordered someone to block Qingyu, safely evacuated the customers in Qingyu, and had someone to comfort the sick people. At the same time, all the shops which sold rice in Qingyu were closed, to investigate the problem.

Su Jiu frowned, then said softly, “Bring me some rice! Bring the assistant who sells rice too!”

“Yes!”

Soon, two young men in charge of selling rice were brought in, along with two bags of rice. One bag was unpacked and was on sale, while the other was just taken out of the granary without being unpacked.

As something was wrong with the rice, the two assistants were terrified. When they saw Su Jiu, they panicked and immediately explained, “Master Jiu, Master Huan. It’s none of our business, and we don’t know anything.”

Su Jiu asked, “Is there anything wrong with our grain store?”

The two assistants glanced at each other, pondered for a moment, then shook their heads. “No, everything is as usual. Nothing is wrong.”

Su Jiu nodded, grabbed a handful of rice from the unpacked rice bag, and ran the grains through her fingers while examining them carefully. After a while, Su Jiu frowned, put down the rice, and saw that her hand was covered with a layer of fine powder.

She quickly opened the other bag and grabbed a handful of rice with the other hand. She also ran the rice through her fingers, but this time her hand didn’t have a layer of fine powder.

“Master Jiu, what’s wrong?” Chang Huan asked in haste.

“I’m not sure yet.” Su Jiu ordered the assistants, “Take good care of the rice that’s on sale. No one is allowed to touch it. I’m going out and I will come back soon. I’ll have someone take the sick people to see the doctor and give them some money as compensation. We must stop them from blowing this into a big controversy!”

Qingyu’s business just began to take off, and she wouldn’t allow its reputation to be destroyed by some wicked people in the dark.

“Okay, I will arrange it immediately!” Chang Huan said anxiously.

Su Jiu took some of the seemingly bad rice with her and left from the back door. She got on a carriage and returned to the Ji Manor in a short time.

After entering the door, Su Jiu went straight to Doctor Gu’s courtyard.

Doctor Gu was dealing with his medicinal herbs, and when he saw Su Jiu coming in haste, he curled up his lips and gave a cold snort. “Why did Ji Yuxian marry you? You are like a female bandit.”

Su Jiu didn’t want to quarrel with him. She took Old Gu into the room and made him sit on the chair. She asked in haste, “What’s wrong with my rice? Please have a look.”

“You are so rude to me!” Doctor Gu brushed his sleeves which Su Jiu messed up. He glanced at the rice, and said belittlingly, “Why should I help you? Ji Yuxian kept me in the manor as a doctor. I deal with sick people, not rice or anything else.”

Su Jiu narrowed her eyes sullenly. “You don’t?”

Doctor Gu leaned back and looked at Su Jiu with exasperation. “What do you want? You dare to be disrespectful to me, and I’ll let Ji Yuxian divorce you.”

“Before he divorces me, I will break the bones in your whole body. See if you can pick yourself up and crawl to meet him.”

Su Jiu’s fingers made a snapping sound.

“How dare you!” Doctor Gu glared at Su Jiu.

“I am a bandit, what am I afraid of?” Su Jiu smiled wickedly.

“You, you!” Doctor Gu thought of something. A wise man knew when to retreat. Su Jiu was not a soft girl who he was going to win against in a fight, but she was highly likely going to beat him. He immediately changed his mind. “Just a look. What can I get by doing you this favor?”

“The reward is that you don’t need to have your bones broken.”

Faced with such a barbaric woman like Su Jiu, Doctor Gu always ended up doing whatever she asked. He grunted and grabbed a handful of rice in his hand. Only after glancing at it, he laughed. “Who has eaten it?”

“What’s wrong with it?” Su Jiu hurriedly asked.

Doctor Gu put the rice down, clapped his hands, and smiled. “There is no problem with the rice. It’s just that someone put croton powder in it.”

Su Jiu heaved, squinted her eyes, and walked out.

“Girl, remember that you owe me a favor!” Doctor Gu shouted at Su Jiu who had left the courtyard like a gust of wind. He murmured under his breath, “Soon or later, I’ll ask Ji Yuxian to pay for what you did to me.”

Su Jiu returned to the commercial house and saw Ah Shu and Qiao An both anxiously waiting for her. They both came after they heard the news.

Seeing her come back, several people got up and came to ask, “Master Jiu, what’s wrong with our rice?”

The shopkeepers had been asked to leave by Chang Huan. There were only a few people who Su Jiu trusted in the room. She told them straightforwardly that there was croton powder in the rice.

In a fit of rage, Ah Shu slapped on the table. “Who’s messing up with us?! I won’t let this guy get away with it easily!”

Qiao An frowned and asked, “Who could it be? How does this guy mix croton powder in the rice?”

That said, he turned to look at Chang Huan. “Could it be anyone working in the grain shop?”

Chang Huan shook his head and said, “They should not be so stupid, but it must be done by the people in our commercial house!”

In the daytime, there were so many people in Qingyu, so they couldn’t do it. The biggest possibility was that someone acted at night, and only the people working in Qingyu had the opportunity.

Thinking that it might be the people in Qingyu who did it, everyone became angry.

“Call in the guards on duty these two days and nights!” Su Jiu ordered.

Chang Huan answered, and went to bring the guards in.

Every day after the commercial house closed, there would be three people on duty in the house. They waited for everyone to leave, then patrolled around the commercial house before they closed all the doors. The three people would sleep in the backyard of the commercial house to watch the night.

The three guards came in and bowed to the people in the room. They then came to the side with their heads bent and waited for interrogation, afraid that Su Jiu doubted their veracity. Ah Shu’s towering figure and fierce look also made them shiver in fear.

Su Jiu glanced at the three of them and said reassuringly, “Don’t be scared. I believe it’s not any of you!”

Relieved, the three people immediately said, “Thank you, Master Jiu! You know we didn’t have the opportunity to go to school, but we have always been hardworking and our loyalty was true. We didn’t do anything harmful to our commercial house!”

Su Jiu nodded. “Well, I want you here just to help me. Have you seen anything unusual during these two days and nights? Anything strange?”

The three looked at each other, frowning and thinking hard. After a while, one of them suddenly said, “I thought of something, but I don’t know whether it has anything to do with this matter.”

“What is it?”

Su Jiu and the other people all stared at the man.

The young man immediately replied, “The night before yesterday, around one a.m. after midnight. I remember it was already dark at that time. The three of us were planning to go back to sleep after a patrol. When I walked to the first floor, I suddenly saw a figure walking towards the door. I shouted, and the man turned back. He was one of the assistants who sold silk in the textile shop on the third floor. He told me that he fell asleep under the counter in the afternoon, and now he woke up and was about to go home. Sometimes others also left at quite a late time, so I opened the door and let him go out.”

Surprised, Su Jiu asked, “Are you sure he’s our assistant? Did you see his face?”

“Yes, I remember last time I went to the third floor and saw him and a customer quarreling over a piece of silk. I stopped them at that time, so I know him,” the young man said.

Qiao An nodded silently, and an idea formed in his head.

After the three guards left, Ah Shu clapped on the table and strode out. “I’m going to catch that silk man. We let him sell and make money in Qingyu, but he turns against us and wants to destroy our business instead.”

Qiao An reached out and stopped Ah Shu. “I’m afraid this would not be that simple. Master Jiu, do you have any idea?”

Chang Huan also looked at Su Jiu. “Boss, it’s a bit more complicated than that, I suppose.”

Su Jiu nodded. Why did the Su family want to put croton powder in the rice? If Qingyu’s reputation is damaged and fewer customers come, this does no benefit to the Su family either.

Why did they do this?

“For the time being, let’s not act rashly. Put a notice and recall the rice that’s been sold in the past two days, and compensate the sick people. For the others, we’ll talk about it later!”

Chang Huan nodded. “Yes!”

When Su Jiu left the commercial house, there were still many people around the door. Some people took the lead to scold, saying that Qingyu was selling bad rice and caused buyers to get sick. People were asked not to buy rice in the Qingyu anymore.

Back at the Ji Manor, Su Jiu saw that Ji Yuxian was about to go out, followed by Shangguan Yunkun.

Ji Yuxian saw Su Jiu and his serious face softened immediately. “I was looking for you. I heard something happened in the commercial house.”

Su Jiu nodded. “Yes, someone is framing us! I’ll talk to you inside.”

“Okay!” Ji Yuxian nodded lightly.

Shangguan Yunkun looked up and smiled. “Long time no see, Mrs. Ji.”

Su Jiu raised her eyebrows and asked, “Why are you here?”

“Mrs. Su, you still remember me?” Shangguan Yunkun raised his eyebrows.

“We fought before! How could I forget you?” Su Jiu laughed and saw him stand beside Yuxian. She started to be interested in his real identity.

“I thought it was because of my beautiful face that made me unforgettable to you, Mrs. Ji!” Shangguan Yunkun’s clear eyes showed ridicule.

Ji Yuxian frowned, took Su Jiu’s hand, and walked into the estate. He said softly, “Don’t care about that.”

Su Jiu shrugged and followed behind Ji Yuxian.

Shangguan Yunkun smirked and expressed contempt towards Ji Yuxian’s possessiveness.

After entering the study, Su Jiu told Ji Yuxian about what happened today and what the guards saw at night.

Ji Yuxian pressed Su Jiu on the seat and poured tea for her. His eyes didn’t show surprise, and he had a bright smile. “Don’t worry, since you have a clue now, you can catch the guy soon, I believe.”

Su Jiu held the teacup and said, “I just don’t understand why Su Cheng would do this.”

Was this Su Cheng’s original intention?

Or it was his man who did it on his own without Su Cheng’s approval?

Ji Yuxian called Jin Feng in and ordered, “Go find what’s wrong with the Su family recently, or who has been to the Su Manor in recent days!”

Jin Feng received the order and left.

Shangguan Yunkun sat on the chair, thinking for a moment, and laughed softly. “The two thousand Liang of silver you paid yesterday may be coming into use soon.”

Ji Yuxian thought and whispered, “You think it’s him?”

“I heard that their grain shop had many unsold bins of grain, waiting to get moldy!” Shangguan Yunkun said lightly and slowly.

Ji Yuxian eyes deepened. “They are coming at us.”

Shangguan Yunkun had a sneer on his lips.

Su Jiu leaned over and asked, “What do you mean? Do you already have an idea? Who’s the person behind this? Who is it?”

Ji Yuxian held the armrest of the chair, leaned down, and kissed Su Jiu on her forehead gently. He smiled at her and said, “No matter who it is, this guy will pay the price!”

Su Jiu’s crystal clear eyes squinted and she seemed to understand. “Is someone using Su Cheng to harm us?”

Su Jiu’s beautiful eyes and brows were like a beautiful painting in Ji Yuxian’s eyes. Even her breath had the orchard’s fragrance. Ji Yuxian hadn’t seen her for half a day and had already missed her so much. At this time, when she was close to him, he felt like he could no longer control himself, and kissed her on her eyes and nose in front of Shangguan Yunkun. He whispered in her ears, “My lady, you are so smart.”

1

Shangguan Yunkun sat behind the two, watching them necking with great interest.

Noticing Shangguan Yunkun’s excited look, Su Jiu stretched out and pushed away Ji Yuxian slightly.

Ji Yuxian looked back, and his fond eyes changed when he glanced at Shangguan Yunkun. He said with a cold voice, “You can leave!”

Shangguan Yunkun smiled languidly and said, “You two keep kissing. I’m enjoying it. We are doing no trouble with each other, and I can learn a lot from you guys!”

Su Jiu supported herself up from Ji Yuxian’s body, looked at Shangguan Yunkun, and smiled wickedly. “I’ve just learned my lesson, or should I teach you?”

“Really?” Shangguan Yunkun’s eyes lit up.

Ji Yuxian’s face suddenly turned livid, and he squeezed a few words out of his thin lips. “If you don’t leave, I’ll have my people demolish Chunhua Brothel!”

“Your wife said she would like to teach me personally!” Shangguan Yunkun said, not realizing that his life was in danger.

“Get out!” Ji Yuxian’s charming phoenix eyes were murderous and imposing.

Shangguan Yunkun felt cold sweat breaking out on his back. He stood up and walked out, muttering as he walked, “A man in love is terrible!”

The door was slammed close with a squeak, and Su Jiu looked at Shangguan Yunkun’s embarrassed look, laughing.

Suddenly her body felt cold air around. Su Jiu looked up and saw Ji Yuxian’s charming eyes looking at her. Ji Yuxian pinched her chin with his long fingers, and he had a faint smile on his thin lips. “What do you want to teach him?”

Su Jiu squinted her clear eyes. “What you taught me before.”

“What did I teach you?” The man’s lips slightly twitched, and his eyes looked at her without blinking. His voice sounded like he was gritting his teeth.

Su Jiu raised her head and kissed him on the lips, “This!”

Ji Yuxian’s eyes dimmed. He held her chin and a kiss fell on Su Jiu’s lips. His breath was unstable, with suppressed anger. “How dare you!”

He kissed her fiercely, and his half-closed eyes were filled with envy. He stretched his arms and grabbed Su Jiu’s waist to pick her up. He then turned around, sat up, and put her on his legs, sucking her lips hard like it was a punishment for her.

“Except for your husband, you are not allowed to be close to any other man!” Ji Yuxian breathed anxiously, his tone powerful.

“It hurts!” Su Jiu struggled to retreat, compressing her swollen lips into a thin line. There was both cunningness and childish desire for sex in her clear eyes.

The envy in Ji Yuxian’s eyes vanished, turning into vapor dissipating in the air. He comforted Su Jiu and kissed her lips, whispering with a low and light voice, “Bad girl!”

Su Jiu buried her head in his chest, smiling.

Her gentle breath comforted his heart. It was like soft feathers which calmed down the man’s restless heart.

The next morning, Jin Feng came back with what he found. He reported Su Cheng’s recent activities to Ji Yuxian. Su Cheng had been closely socializing with Zhu Hecheng recently.

“Zhu Hecheng?” Su Jiu frowned slightly.

Thinking of Ji Yuxian and Shangguan Yunkun’s words the previous day, Su Jiu gradually understood. It turned out to be Zhu Hecheng who was playing low tricks with her, in an attempt to destroy Qingyu.

According to Jin Feng, Su Cheng and Zhu Hecheng had been very close to each other recently. It seemed that the Zhu family had constructed their plans a long time ago.

Otherwise, Zhu Hecheng, who possessed a high status and huge wealth, would never be willing to talk to the brothers of the Su family.

It’s just that the Su brothers were naive.

Although it had been confirmed that Su Cheng’s guy put the croton powder in the rice, they did not catch the guy on spot. Even if Su Jiu went to question the assistant, he would not admit it.

Su Jiu thought for a while and whispered to Ji Yuxian.

Ji Yuxian smiled and nodded. “Okay!”

Two days later, the rice which had been sold was recalled, and the sick people were also given compensation, but some people at the door of Qingyu Commercial House still took advantage of this and persuaded the crowd not to buy things in Qingyu.

Qingyu’s assistants came out, and the troublemakers were scattered. Several stubborn people laid down on the ground, claiming that they were sick. Qingyu’s assistants could do nothing about it but gnash their teeth with anger.

Two days later, when Qingyu was closing, Chang Huan came with several shopkeepers. Recently, it has not been easy for Qingyu Commercial House, but all the assistants worked hard together to help Qingyu get through it. Chang Huan thanked everyone on behalf of Su Jiu and gave each assistant four qians of silver as a reward.

These guys’ monthly wage was exactly four qians of silver, so everyone was very happy when they heard it.

Chang Huan handed the silver to each assistant, but the assistants working for the Su family were skipped.

They went together to talk with Chang Huan. Why didn’t they get a reward?

A shopkeeper said, “The rewards are only for the folks in our commercial house. You are from the Su family. You do not work for Qingyu, so there are none for you.”

The Su family’s assistants were dissatisfied with it and argued with the shopkeeper, who proceeded to ask the guards to kick them out.

Although they were not happy with it, there was nothing they could do about it. They could only look at the others taking the silver.

One of the assistants who worked for Su Cheng’s textiles shop had a sneer on his lips. He came up with a vicious idea.

It was getting dark. Most of the people in the commercial house were going to leave. After the assistants in the textiles shop checked out all the goods in the store, one of them suddenly asked, “Where is Little Pan? I haven’t seen him for quite a while.”

Another guy said, “He just told me that he didn’t feel well. He probably had gone home early!”

Little Pan was a lazy guy who was often shirking work, so others didn’t seem to be surprised with it.

A guy said, “All right, let’s go.”

The two of them went out together with the other guys in the commercial house, and they couldn’t help but get jealous when they saw that others got a reward of silver.

Qingyu became quiet, and it was completely dark outside.

Guards came upstairs and patrolled around the commercial house. They then prepared to have dinner before going to bed.

It was dark and silent in Qingyu, and the cat stood up and walked downstairs. Nearly nine p.m. in the evening, behind the crates behind the Su family’s textiles shop on the third floor, a figure slowly came out and looked around.

In the dark, the figure walked to the first floor, towards the rice store. When he peered outside and saw that the lights in the backyard had gone out, he entered the rice store. He took out a white cloth bag from his arms, grabbed a handful of powder, and scattered it in the rice in the store.

This was given to him by Su Cheng last time. He didn’t give it back to Su Cheng and secretly kept it to himself because he hadn’t used it up yet.

He had succeeded last time, and Su Cheng told him not to do it again. However, when he saw others all get silver today except him, he was angry. He planned to put the rest of the croton powder in the rice as revenge.

“You don’t give me the money, and I’ll let you lose more!”

He snorted, grabbed the croton powder, and scattered it in the rice. When he was just about to grab more croton powder, the room turned blindingly bright. Many people rushed over with fire torches and surrounded the rice store.

Fire torches illuminated the first floor. The sudden dazzling light struck Little Pan’s eyes, and he fell to the ground with a thump, his legs trembling.

Su Jiu and Chang Huan stood in front of the crowd. Several shopkeepers of Qingyu followed them and surrounded Little Pan, staring at him resentfully.

“Master, you are right. The person who put the croton powder must be a narrow-minded and wicked man. If he doesn’t get the reward, he will want to take revenge on us. Sure enough!” Chang Huan took the cloth bag from Little Pan and gave it to Su Jiu after glancing inside. “It is indeed croton powder,” Chang Huan said.

“You work in Qingyu, but help others to harm us! I’ll catch you now and put you in jail!” A shopkeeper shouted angrily.

“Master Jiu, Master Huan!” Little Pan shivered and crawled over, slamming his head on the ground repetitively. “Now I see that I was wrong. Please forgive me, Master Jiu.”

Sad, he slapped himself in the face.

Su Jiu squatted down. Her clear face had an indifferent look. She held the cloth bag and asked, “Who made you do it?”

Being surveyed coldly by the crowd, coupled with the cold light of the night, Little Pan felt frozen all over, and he knelt on the ground, saying, “No one asked me to do it. It is my idea. I did it because I didn’t get the reward. I am a bad, stupid man.”

His voice fell, and pain suddenly shot up in his arm. He fell to the ground, holding his arm in agony.

Su Jiu picked him up, and her brows were filled with anger. “How can you get the croton powder in just two hours? The reward is only announced this afternoon. If you don’t tell the truth, I’m afraid you can’t leave here with your complete body.”

Petrified, Little Pan screamed, “I’ll say! I’ll say! It was Shopkeeper Su who asked me to do this!”

In a panic, Little Pan couldn’t care much and told Su Jiu everything.

Su Jiu had already known that it was Su Cheng. She just needed this guy to give her evidence. At this time, she was naturally not surprised to hear him say Su Cheng’s name. Su Jiu sneered and said, “Come on, take him to the backyard!”

“Yes!” Several guys stepped forward, tied up Little Pan with a rope, and brought him to the backyard.

“Master Jiu, please don’t hurt me!”

“Master Huan, forgive me!”

Little Pan wailed and begged for mercy all the way. A shriek was suddenly heard; he was probably beaten by the other angry assistants.

…

The next day, when it was nine a.m., the two Su brothers, Su Cheng and Su Xing, were invited to Qingyu Commercial House.

They were led to a small hall on the third floor. When they sat down, they saw no one around.

Su Xing frowned and asked, “Brother, do you know why they invited us here today?”

Su Cheng avoided Su Xing’s eyes and smiled. “How can I know? Perhaps there is probably something about them to inform us? Or to pay us the dividends in the middle of the year?”

“Brother, you must be joking. We don’t have our share in Qingyu. How could they pay us dividends?” Su Xing grinned at the teacup.

Su Cheng looked around silently. He was thinking about a lot of things at the moment.

It had been several days since the problem with Qingyu’s rice was found. The Ji Manor neither reported to the local police nor did they seem to investigate this matter. They just paid the sick people to suppress this. So, for Su Cheng, it could not be because of this matter.

Thinking this way, Su Cheng calmed down a little.

The two were making guesses about the reason for being invited over, and suddenly they saw Cheng Huan walk towards them slowly in a light blue brocade robe.

The two brothers rose and respectfully greeted Cheng Huan. “Master Huan!”

The Su family had been selling their textiles in Qingyu Commercial House for a few months. They often worked with Chang Huan, so they were familiar with him.

Chang Huan was a young man, with a slim and tall figure. His beautiful face always had a slight smile on it. He was seated in the center seat, and asked quietly, “Do you have any idea why you are invited to come here today?”

The two brothers looked at each other and smiled. “We don’t know. Please shed light on us!”

“You don’t know?” Chang Huan looked displeased, and ordered, “Bring him in!”

Su Cheng was stunned and turned to see two guys hauling a young man in. They threw the man on the ground with a big thud. Su Cheng had a clear look and saw that the man was Little Pan.

Su Cheng’s face suddenly changed.

The two men who brought in Little Pan also held a cloth bag containing croton powder. They threw it on the ground, too.

“Shopkeeper Su, do you recognize this person and this bag?” Chang Huan asked calmly.

Su Xing looked at Su Cheng with confusion and asked, “What is this, Brother?”

Su Cheng smiled bitterly. “I know this guy. He’s the guy in my shop, Little Pan. But I don’t know what this bag is.”

“We caught Little Pan scattering the powder in this bag in our rice yesterday. He said Shopkeeper Su made him do this. Is that true, Shopkeeper Su?” Chang Huan asked. His beautiful eyes had a gloomy and demanding feeling. Though he was younger than the Su brothers, he displayed no lack of maturity.

Su Cheng had a stiff look and glared at Little Pan menacingly. He quickly said, “Master Huan, don’t believe in his nonsense! I have never asked him to do such a thing!”

Chang Huan looked at Little Pan who was kneeling on the ground. “You! Speak!”

Little Pan didn’t dare to look at Su Cheng’s face, and said, “Yes, it was Shopkeeper Su who asked me to do it!”

“Bullsh*t!” Su Cheng scolded in anxiety, stretched his leg, and gave Little Pan a hard kick. “You b*stard, how dare you frame me?! You’re going to lose your leg!”

Chang Huan did not stop Su Cheng, calmly watching Su Cheng viciously kick Little Pan.

Little Pan climbed two steps forward and knocked his head on the ground repetitively. “Master Huan, I’m telling the truth! Help me!”

Chang Huan took a sip of his tea, a cold smile spreading on his lips. “Shopkeeper Su, you don’t need to be angry with him. We all watched Little Pan poison the rice last night. If you don’t admit it, I have to report to the police!”

“Master Huan, believe me, I swear that I never asked Little Pan to mix the croton powder in your rice last night. He’s lying!” Su Cheng defended himself.

Chang Huan squinted his eyes and asked, “How did you know that it is croton powder in this bag then, Shopkeeper Su?”

After Little Pan was taken in, the bag was thrown on the ground. No one said anything about what was in the bag.

Su Cheng was stunned, sweating on his forehead. Panicking, he stuttered, “I… I…”

(1) Nu Er Hong, if translated directly, means Red Daughter. Traditionally this bottle of rice wine would be buried upon the birth of a daughter and would be kept buried until the daughter marries.