Chapter 319: Big Trouble
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“Thank you for being so concerned about me. I’ll remember to send you an invitation to my wedding banquet.”
Shen Ruyue smiled. She thought to herself that these people must be jealous of her and hoped that she would not live well, but they were destined to be disappointed. She wanted to live better than all of them.
She would invite them all to the wedding banquet to let them see with their own eyes how well she was doing.
“Alright, we’ll definitely come then.” Han Xinyu was so jealous that she had internal injuries. Why was Shen Ruyue so lucky?!
“Xinyu, I still have a lot of things to do at home. I’ll go back first.” Shen Ruyue did not want to face these hypocritical people anymore. If she had the time, she would rather look at Xuhua’s handsome face to make her happy.
Han Xinyu grabbed Shen Ruyue’s arm. “Wait a minute. 1 have something to tell you.”
Shen Ruyue sat down again. “What?”
Han Xinyu said in a low voice, “Madam Shen wants to buy Chu Qingzhi’s ice cream bar workshop and rice dumpling workshop. She wants you to go back and ask Chu Qingzhi about her opinion. If she doesn’t want to sell it, you can steal the recipes and give them to Madam. She will reward you handsomely.”
Shen Ruyue was instantly furious. “Is Madam Shen a fool?”
Han Xinyu said righteously, “She saved your life when you were an orphan. Now that you’ve found a good family, shouldn’t you repay her?”
Shen Ruyue slammed her hand on the table. “I took the blame for her and almost ruined my own life. Is that repayment not enough?”
Han Xinyu’s eyes were filled with jealousy. “But aren’t you safe and sound? You even wear gold and silver. You’re living better than Madam Shen.”
Shen Ruyue said angrily, “I’m living better than Madam Shen because I earned it through my own hard work. What does it have to do with her? Go back and tell her that it’s impossible!”
Han Xinyu tried to persuade her again. “She helped you when your life was at its most difficult. What’s wrong with helping her?”
As long as Shen Ruyue really did it, she would snitch on her to the government. That way, she could snatch Chu Xuhua from her and be the Young Madam.
Shen Ruyue took a deep breath to compose herself. “Han Xinyu, from now on, let’s pretend we don’t know each other!” After saying that, she turned around and left.
When Han Xinyu heard this, it was as if a basin of cold water had been poured over her. Her heart turned cold from the inside out. “Ruyue, Ruyue…”
Shen Ruyue walked faster and faster without looking back.
Han Xinyu stood on the spot and cursed Shen Ruyue in her heart for a long time. In the end, she walked in the opposite direction.
Shen Ruyue went home angrily. When she got home, she saw Chu Xuhua loading goods at the old house.
She paused for a moment and walked towards Chu Xuhua. “Xuhua, come with me for a while.”
“Okay.” Chu Xuhua thought that Shen Ruyue had something to say and quickly followed her.
The room that Chu Qingzhi used to live in in the old house had been modified into an accounting room. Shen Ruyue worked inside. After she brought Chu Xuhua into the accounting room, she closed the door and hugged him tightly.
Chu Xuhua was moving goods just now and was covered in sweat. He quickly said, “Ruyue, I’m covered in sweat. I’ll make you smelly.”
Shen Ruyue hugged him even tighter. “I don’t mind. Xuhua, let me hug you for a while.” She felt suffocated and her voice was weak.
Chu Xuhua finally noticed that something was wrong with Shen Ruyue. He asked with concern, “Did something happen?”
Shen Ruyue hesitated for a moment before telling him everything about meeting Han Xinyu in the county. “Xuhua, I don’t like them at all.”
Chu Xuhua’s heart ached. “Then don’t interact with them anymore. Let’s make new friends.”
Shen Ruyue nodded.
Chu Xuhua continued to comfort her gently. Shen Ruyue’s mood slowly improved. “Xuhua, I won’t betray the Chu family. I won’t betray you. This is my home.”
When Chu Xuhua heard this, his heart raced. He couldn’t help but kiss Shen Ruyue’s forehead and hug the girl in his arms tightly. “I know. I believe you.”
Shen Ruyue could not help but blush. No one had ever kissed her in her life.
She let go of Chu Xuhua and took out her handkerchief. “Let me wipe your sweat.”
Chu Xuhua smiled and said, “Okay.”
The two of them were especially intimate.
Shen residence.
Han Xinyu returned to the Shen residence and exaggerated the story of how Shen Ruyue rejected her to Madam Shen. “Shen Ruyue is an ingrate. She has long forgotten your kindness.”
“This b*tch.” Madam Shen was so angry that she brushed the teacups to the ground. The teacups instantly shattered.
Han Xinyu was a little afraid. “Madam, what should we do now?”
In that case, don’t blame me for being ruthless. Madam Shen smiled sinisterly. “Go and find Shopkeeper Qian and Shopkeeper Zhou. I have something to tell them.”
Han Xinyu bowed. “Yes, Madam.”
Madam Shen had a promising son. He had passed the imperial examination three years ago and was chosen by the Assistant Minister of War to be his son-in-law. He was now an official in the capital. She thought that she had a strong background, so there was almost no one in the county who she was afraid of.
Shopkeeper Qian and Shopkeeper Zhou were doing business in the county city and knew the complicated relationship between the various families the best. When they were summoned by Madam Shen, they immediately rushed over.
On the way, the two shopkeepers looked at each other. As competitors, this was the first time they felt like they were on the same boat.
The journey was not long. They quickly appeared in front of Madam Shen nervously. “Greetings, Madam Shen.”
Madam Shen was dressed like a noblewoman. Despite having given birth to three children, she was still very good-looking. She kindly invited the two shopkeepers to sit down.
The two shopkeepers sat down, feeling very ill at ease. Madam Shen looked very kind, but the two of them knew it was only a pretense. They felt that something was going to happen.
Shopkeeper Zhou said politely, “Madam Shen, if you have something to say, just say it.”
Madam Shen smiled at the two of them. “Right now, among the various restaurants in the county, yours is the most prosperous, right?”
Shopkeeper Zhou forced a smile and said, “Madam Shen, you must be joking. My restaurant’s business is just so-so.”
Relying on the ice cream bar and the rice dumpling, the two of them managed to increase the sales by many times.
Madam Shen smiled and said, “Do you think I don’t know what’s going outside just because I don’t go out often? People from other places eat for lunch at Shopkeeper Zhou’s place and dinner at Shopkeeper Qian. Your restaurants are famous now.”
In order for one to reach the capital, they had to pass Shuiyun County. Blessed by this geographic advantage, Shuiyun County was quite prosperous compared to other county cities.
Shopkeeper Zhou and Shopkeeper Qian smiled awkwardly and did not reply.
Madam Shen secretly cursed them for being cunning old foxes, but on the surface, she was still very polite. “Now that Shen Ruyue has offended me, and Shen Ruyue is Chu Qingzhi’s number one lackey, I don’t want to see ice cream bars and rice dumplings being sold in the county.”
The forced smiles on Shopkeeper Zhou and Shopkeeper Qian’s faces froze. What did this mean? Was she trying to destroy their business?
Shopkeeper Qian suppressed his dissatisfaction.. “Madam Shen…”