Aunt Liu said calmly, "I don't understand what Third Miss is saying."
Ouyang Yue smiled faintly, turned and left. Aunt Liu watched her retreating figure and sighed inwardly, "This third young lady is really much smarter than before!"
On the path in front of Anhe Hall, having just escorted Old Madam Ning back, Rui Yuhuan turned around again and happened to run into Consort Ming and Consort Hua leaving together. Rui Yuhuan smiled and said, "Consort Hua's sudden discovery of pregnancy is truly unexpected." Their maids, deliberately following their instructions, kept some distance from them so they couldn't hear their conversation.
Aunt Ming's face darkened, and she gave Rui Yuhuan a cold glance: "Judging from the old lady's expression, she really values Aunt Hua. She cares about her even more than she did when I was pregnant with the eldest young lady. Miss Rui, aren't you worried? The favor you finally gained has vanished overnight."
Rui Yuhuan didn't care at all, and still sighed, "I'm afraid that Aunt Hua's pregnancy will cause a lot of changes in the manor..."
Aunt Ming looked at Rui Yuhuan's expression thoughtfully, then sneered, "Aunt Hua is pregnant, huh! Isn't that great!"
Rui Yuhuan looked over in surprise, only to see that Aunt Ming's eyes were dark and her face had a strange sneer. She opened her eyes slightly and asked, "Aunt Ming has a good idea!"
Aunt Ming smiled meaningfully and said, "Aunt Hua's favor has directly affected the two of them!"
"What does Aunt Ming mean..." Rui Yuhuan smiled suddenly, "What is Aunt Ming thinking of? Can you tell Yuhuan?"
Aunt Ming said no more, "If you have time, Miss Rui, please go for a walk in Xiangning Courtyard. I must go back now; my face can't stay exposed to the wind for too long." She then left with her servants.
Rui Yuhuan was accompanied only by Pink Butterfly and Bean Sprout. The two stepped forward, only to see Rui Yuhuan sneer: "Then I'll just sit back and reap the benefits!"
As soon as Ouyang Yue returned to Mingyue Pavilion, she saw Dongxue waiting in front of her door. Ouyang Yue beckoned, and Dongxue followed her into the inner room: "Miss, there is news from the blacksmith shop."
Ouyang Yue's eyes lit up with joy: "Judging by the time, it's about time. I'll pack up now, I'm going out."
Chuncao asked worriedly, "Miss, Aunt Hua in the manor has just been found to have some issues. If you go out like this, won't there be any problems?"
Ouyang Yue stood up: "But this matter is much more important than Aunt Hua's!"
Dongxue nodded and went out. Soon after, Ouyang Yue led Chuncao and Dongxue out through the back door and went directly to the blacksmith shop. This time, the blacksmith didn't play any tricks when they entered. The three of them pushed open the trembling iron door and entered the hall.
Upon entering the hall, not only was Old Tie sitting barefoot with his legs crossed at the head of the table, but the leader in black was also there, followed by two other men in black. Upon seeing Ouyang Yue enter, one of them gave her a rather unfriendly look. Ouyang Yue smiled and nodded, then looked directly at Old Tie: "Old Tie's skills are indeed superb and unmatched. Yue'er is truly impressed."
Tie Laohu seemed to tremble slightly, unable to hide his smugness: "I told you, girl, if I, Tie Lao, can't make something, then no one else can. You wait for me there, I'll be there in a bit."
Ouyang Yue sat down with a smile, right opposite the leader of the black-clad men. The black-clad men who had been giving her an unfriendly look looked even uglier. Ouyang Yue looked at the black-clad men strangely, only to see that they were looking at her with disdain in their eyes, and seemed to hate her for sitting opposite the leader of the black-clad men. This was really unreasonable.
Ouyang Yue could still hold back, but Chuncao couldn't. She shouted, "Why are you staring at my young lady like that? What are you looking at? Can't you see a beautiful woman? If you look again, I'll gouge your eyes out! Look at your lecherous face, you should gouge them out, stomp on them, and turn them into mud to feed the pigs!"
"You! How dare you insult me like this!" Leng Han had never been insulted like this before, and his face immediately turned ashen.
Chuncao didn't care whether his expression changed or not. Who told this person to look so unfriendly and dare to be rude to her young lady? Of course, she couldn't be polite. No matter how intimidating this person looked, she didn't care at all!
"Insult you? I didn't insult you at all. Look at those lecherous eyes of yours staring at my young lady. You have no manners at all! Humph! No matter how outstanding my young lady is, she's not good enough for you. Look again! Dongxue will gouge your eyes out right now, you believe me!"
Cold, icy eyes swept over Chuncao, who trembled in fright and shrank back behind Ouyang Yue. Ouyang Yue looked at her coldly, but Leng Han looked back without fear. Ouyang Yue had a warm smile on her face, but her eyes were like an icy pool, covered with layers of ice!
"Here I am, here I am." Old Tie appeared at just the right time, this time carrying a red brocade box. "Girl, come and take a look."
Ouyang Yue immediately looked away, went over to meet him, and took the brocade box from Tie Lao and opened it.
There were four items in the brocade box: a ring, a pair of bracelets, and a hairpin. The pair of ornaments looked ordinary, made of common jade with only some flower patterns carved on them. They looked as plain as could be, but Ouyang Yue picked them up with a happy expression.
A cold snort rang out from the other side. Looking at the item, Leng Han thought it was nothing like what Tie Lao and his master had described. It was just a cheap-looking piece of jewelry for young women. He felt that his master was overestimating Ouyang Yue. She was just an arrogant and self-important little woman, whom he found utterly disdainful!
Ouyang Yue sneered, seemingly holding up the ring to examine it. But then, seemingly out of nowhere, a flash of light, barely visible to the naked eye, appeared in the air. The light shot directly towards Leng Han's brow. Leng Han was slightly startled, and disdainfully tried to flick his hand away. "Pfft!" The object, surprisingly strong, pierced the back of Leng Han's hand. Leng Han immediately felt a tingling sensation throughout his body. Before he could react, another flash of light appeared in the air, this time aimed directly at Leng Han's eyes at a very tricky angle. What alarmed Leng Han most was that he suddenly realized his body was stiff and he couldn't move. The light was already shooting towards him, but only a palm's width from his face. The black-clad leader, who had been sitting in the front seat without reacting, suddenly swung his arm, and a crisp sound of something falling to the ground rang out.
"Bang!" As soon as the danger was over, Leng Han leaned back and sat down heavily on the ground. However, he was terrified, and cold sweat broke out on his face and body. He hadn't even seen what that thing was and had almost been blinded! Then he glared at Ouyang Yue with hatred in his eyes, his eyes filled with unprecedented rage.
Ouyang Yue slowly touched the ring on her hand, looking at Leng Han with disdain, and said coldly, "This is what happens when you look down on women. Today your master is here and can save your life, but next time no one will help you, and I can send you to your death immediately!" After saying that, she put the ring back on her finger. The white jade ring was on her fair finger, and it seemed that it could be ignored if you didn't look closely. Ouyang Yue turned around and sat back in her chair. The guard on the other side of the black-clad leader helped Leng Han up, picked up his injured hand and looked at it. He was slightly surprised, "It's a silver needle! How was this shot out!" They were not surprised that silver needles were used as hidden weapons. After all, the world is vast and there are many people with special fetishes who use all kinds of hidden weapons.
However, as he held Leng Han, he could feel that Leng Han's body was stiff. This was why he had blocked the first silver needle but was powerless to block the second. The silver needle contained anesthetic; once hit, one immediately lost the ability to resist, and could only wait to be struck by the second needle. He knew very well that if his master hadn't blocked that attack, Leng Han's eyes would be blind again, because the speed of that silver needle was as fast as if it had been struck by a master with decades of internal energy—it was simply too fast and too astonishing!
He stared at Ouyang Yue in utter shock, his cold eyes filled with anger, yet a wave of lingering fear washed over him. If his master had intervened even a moment later, he would have been crippled, truly crippled! Even now, his limbs were still numb, unable to move with the same agility as before. No one understood the terrifying power of these silver needles better than he had experienced it firsthand. What was most infuriating wasn't the speed of the needles, but the fact that they would first administer anesthesia, leaving him unable to react and completely at Ouyang Yue's mercy—that was the most terrifying aspect!
At this moment, Old Tie clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Good! Good! It's pretty much what I was thinking. Girl, how is it? Are you satisfied with the things?"
Ouyang Yue slipped the white jade ring onto her finger, smiling brightly with a playful and adorable look in her eyes: "How could anything made by Elder Tie be bad? I was originally looking for someone to test this on, but I didn't expect to find one ready-made. Thank you so much for testing it on me." She said this while looking at the leader in black.
Leng Han was so angry that he trembled all over. This damned woman actually used him as a live rake to test her weapons. How hateful!
"How dare you treat me like this! If I ever see you like this again, I'll make sure you don't get away with it!"
Ouyang Yue said coldly with a mocking expression, "Oh, so you're not going to let me off the hook? Who's really not letting whom off the hook? Do you have the right to speak to me like that? You should know that your master could save you once, but he couldn't save you a second time. I hate people who are unfriendly to me, which means that such people are likely to become my hidden enemies. If someone hadn't saved you today, I would never have given an enemy a second chance to live. I'm starting to regret letting you go so easily. It seems that today you're hoping it's either you or me. Fine, I'll give you a chance. Stand up, and let's have a proper fight!"
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry. Although we're partners, if your men try to cross me, I have a terrible temper! You know, sometimes when I'm angry, I can't think straight, which really bothers me. My reputation in the capital is so bad, and it's not my fault. It's all because I got angry and caused trouble. Tell me, what if I see him again and am just as angry and hostile, and accidentally kill him? I guarantee I didn't mean to." Ouyang Yue complained to the black-clad leader, looking very troubled.
The leader in black had remained silent throughout, showing no emotion beyond the moment he saved Leng Han. Of course, being completely concealed in darkness, it was difficult to observe any change in him. Now, he opened his eyes, revealing dark, almost reddish-black eyes behind his black iron mask. Ouyang Yue was immediately startled. Those eyes were even more devoid of emotion than she had seen before!
"If you can't protect yourself, suicide is the only option. I don't need useless people!"
Leng Han felt his heart clench violently. The hatred he felt after being hit by Ouyang Yue's silver needles was not as intense as the fear he felt at this moment. He immediately said, "Master, I was wrong."
The leader in black remained silent. Ouyang Yue lowered her head with a half-smile, a seemingly emotionless gesture that was actually a way to appease Leng Han and calm her down. She then looked up and smiled, "What a coincidence today. I don't need the money for the design drawings right now, and I wasn't planning on giving you any new ones anyway."
The leader in black spoke in an unusually hoarse voice: "Take a look at this peerless hidden weapon."
Ouyang Yue looked up at him with a puzzled expression, feigning ignorance, and asked, "Peerless hidden weapon? What is that?" She then turned to Elder Tie, "Elder Tie, what peerless hidden weapon do you have? Don't keep it a secret, let me see it!"
Old Tie's lips twitched slightly. This person's skill in feigning madness was just as good as hers. She had clearly hurt someone with that thing, yet she could still shamelessly pretend not to know anything. Who in this hall was the fool? This was truly a case of protesting too much.
Old Tie, however, found it amusing. He was delighted to see the black-clad leader's subordinates humiliated; they had arrived with such an arrogant air, it was truly gratifying. Old Tie shook his head in confusion, "Peerless hidden weapon? I don't know. What is that? With me here, who in this world can possibly unleash a peerless hidden weapon? Bring it here, bring it here quickly! I, this old man, am not convinced, I insist on a contest!"
"You two!" Leng Han glared at them, feeling a bit shaky, though he wasn't sure if it was because the effects of the medicine hadn't worn off. These two were just too infuriating!
The leader in black stared straight at Ouyang Yue and asked bluntly, "How can I buy what you have?"
Ouyang Yue chuckled softly, her voice as melodious as a silver bell, but her words were utterly ruthless: "I remember when you came to me, I talked about this item. There's only one of its kind in the world. As for anything else, I can sell it to you if you want. What, are you going back on your word?" Ouyang Yue's eyes were extremely dark, scrutinizing the black-clad leader. Her hand had already subtly moved, reaching for the white jade ring, as if she would act immediately if the black-clad leader agreed.
Another guard in black immediately rushed forward to block the leader of the black-clad men, but the leader waved his hand, stared at Ouyang Yue for a long time, and then looked at the white jade ring in her hand: "It's a good thing!"
"Of course, even against you, I have a way to take you down, so this is definitely a good thing." Ouyang Yue's words clearly carried a threat.
The black-clad leader's eyes seemed to curve slightly, the dark red within them carrying an eerie light: "I will get it sooner or later."
"Oh?" Ouyang Yue sneered, her hostility deepening.
The black-clad leader's hoarse voice seemed to possess an extreme magnetic pull, drawing people in: "If you get me, I'll naturally get it!"
Ouyang Yue was stunned for a moment. Was this person joking? No, of course not!
Chuncao and Dongxue were stunned. They quickly stepped in front of Ouyang Yue and looked nervously at the leader in black. Ouyang Yue's voice came slowly: "So how do you plan to get it? If I don't give it to you willingly, it's useless to have my body~" She seemed to be a little naive, but her words were shocking.
In this era, women were like clothes to men, mere appendages. Without their bodies, what freedom could they possibly have? Yet she could speak of it so nonchalantly. A dark glint flashed in the black-clad leader's eyes, his expression incredibly complex. It wasn't so much that he was angry at Ouyang Yue's defiance, but rather that he was enraged by her words!
"If you say such things to anyone again, I will kill you immediately!" The black-clad leader's eyes burned with murderous intent. He stood up and hurriedly left, his hand, hidden in his sleeve, clenched into a fist, trembling slightly as if he were suffering some kind of pain.
He led two men in black out of the blacksmith shop and into an inconspicuous carriage. As soon as they entered, the leader of the men in black coughed up blood.
"master!"
"master!"
Leng Shi hurriedly took out a medicine bottle from his pocket and fed a white pill to the black-clad leader. The black-clad leader then leaned against the carriage wall, while Leng Han, watching from the side, had reddened eyes: "Master, this woman is unruly. Why didn't you kill her back then? That thing would have been ours then!" If it weren't for that, Master wouldn't have vomited blood. It's all Ouyang Yue's fault!
The black-clad leader's voice, however, was dangerous, as if it had stepped out of hell: "You want to die!"
Leng Han was startled and immediately knelt in the carriage: "Master, please calm down, I know my crime!" How could he forget that his master disliked subordinates questioning him the most? Those old fogies in the organization who relied on their seniority were long gone!
Leng Shi's expression was also not good: "Please don't be angry, Master. Leng Han acted impulsively today. When we get back, I will take him to the punishment hall to be questioned."
The leader in black had closed his eyes and remained silent. After an unknown amount of time, Leng Shi sighed, "Leng Han, you were too impulsive. You can't guess what your master is thinking. Remember today's lesson."
Leng Han looked somewhat bewildered, but his eyes held an unspeakable fear. He knew that being sent to the Hall of Punishments was already a mercy. However, as the youngest of the Twelve Guards, Leng Han was naturally more impulsive, yet he was also the most talented. His former brothers-in-arms, the Twelve Guards, had always taken good care of him, and this temperament had naturally taken its toll, becoming Leng Han's greatest crisis! But that's a story for later!
As Ouyang Yue watched the black-clad leader hurriedly leave, her palms sweated. Her words were a mix of truth and falsehood. Although she could kill the leader at any cost, she knew his backing was far from simple. If she did, she feared she would never have peace again! Her words were largely bluff, but she had already prepared for the worst. From the moment she entered and saw the leader, she knew he was after what she possessed and wouldn't let it go easily. She hadn't expected him to leave so suddenly.
Even Ouyang Yue was stunned on the spot.
Old Tie, however, said with a serious expression, "Girl, you're lucky this time. You'd better be careful next time. This is someone you can't afford to mess with."
Ouyang Yue said with a heavy expression, "He..."
The old man shook his head: "You don't know, it's safer for you."
Ouyang Yue's heart tightened, and she nodded to Lao Tie: "No matter what, thank you, Lao Tie, for refining this for me."
Old Tie laughed: "If you have any good stuff in the future, just send it over. Don't worry, I, Old Tie, can swear to the ancestors of the Tie family that your blueprints were burned after the refining process. Without your permission, I, Old Tie, will not make it again, and I will absolutely not pass it on!"
Ouyang Yue nodded, clasped her hands in a fist salute, and left with Chuncao and Dongxue. As soon as she got into their carriage, Ouyang Yue took a deep breath, leaned against the carriage wall for a while, and then opened her eyes: "Let's go to Qiuyue's place!"
The car soon stopped on Chenghua Street, at the location of the Meiyi Pavilion shop. Chuncao helped Ouyang Yue out of the car, and the three of them went inside. With Leng Can running around and Qiuyue supervising, the decoration of Meiyi Pavilion was almost completed, and it seemed that it wouldn't be long before it opened for business. Ouyang Yue had retrieved the hidden weapon, so naturally she wanted to come and take a look, after all, this was one of her future sources of income.
However, Ouyang Yue's eyes flickered, as if she had remembered something else...
Ouyang Yue didn't notice that not far away, a beautiful woman in red was being helped out of a jade shop by her maid. The woman naturally turned her head to look around, but she was stunned when she saw Ouyang Yue.
“Hey, isn’t that the shop Father wanted to buy but lost due to a miscalculation? Father has always wanted to find out who the owner is and take it over. Why is Ouyang Yue here?” Fu Meier’s delicate brows furrowed slightly. “Could this shop be owned by Ouyang Yue?” A cold glint flashed in Fu Meier’s eyes. If that were the case, she wouldn’t be blamed!
"Let's go, let's go in and see what's going on!" With that, he was already being supported by a maid, and rushed straight into the Beauty Pavilion!
☆、072, Unleash the dogs on her! (Monthly vote!)
Fu Meier rushed in silently with her maid, catching everyone off guard. It wasn't until she entered the Meiyi Pavilion that the workers busy with the decorations saw her. Immediately, someone ran over and asked, "Miss, this shop is not open for business right now and does not serve outside customers."
Fu Meier secretly observed the interior of Meiyi Pavilion. Meiyi Pavilion was only missing decoration before it could open, so Qiu Yue had been working hard on the decoration recently, and it was almost finished. However, the decorations had not yet been placed, but she noticed that the walls on both sides were carved with patterns of flowers and butterflies from high-quality mahogany. However, the high-quality mahogany blocks had been carved out from the middle, and looking around, she could see many wooden holes embedded in the walls, but she did not know what they were for.
Fu Meier was completely confused, but the servants were also puzzled. One of them asked, "Miss, we don't entertain guests here right now. You should go back first; we still have things to do."
Fu Meier glanced at them coldly. Today, she was dressed in a red dress with gold trim and a hundred flowers, and three gold and jade begonia flower hairpins on her head. With all the decorations, she looked extremely luxurious and wealthy. Her chin was raised and her face was stern, which immediately frightened the workers. These young ladies from prestigious families were not people they could afford to offend, and they couldn't help but take two steps back.
At this moment, Qiuyue came out carrying a mahogany box. When she saw Fu Meier, her expression changed. Although Qiuyue did not often leave the mansion, she had not forgotten the time when she had a dispute with Mu Cuiwei and Fu Meier when she was preparing to have a meal at Babaozhai after handing over the shop with Ouyang Yue. And this person had come to her door again.
"Miss, this shop is not accepting outside customers at the moment. Please leave." Qiu Yue had a very gentle temperament and was also pretty and beautiful. Her tone was gentle, but Fu Meier did not necessarily appreciate it.
Fu Meier carefully observed Qiu Yue. As the legitimate daughter of the most powerful merchant family in the Great Zhou Dynasty, she had naturally been exposed to business matters from a young age. Although she hadn't actually been involved in power struggles, she possessed an exceptional ability to judge people. Qiu Yue was merely standing behind Ouyang Yue, yet Fu Meier recognized her immediately as Ouyang Yue's maid. Although she didn't know the woman's name, it was clear she was right—this shop undoubtedly belonged to Ouyang Yue! While Fu Meier wasn't from a wealthy or noble family, her family was certainly not lacking in money, and she had always lived a life of luxury. Even though she came from a humble merchant family, no one in the court dared to be disrespectful to her in order to curry favor with her family. However, on that occasion, Ouyang Yue had actually extorted five hundred taels of silver from her. Mu Cuiwei claimed it was a loan but then completely avoided discussing it afterward, clearly intending to renege on the debt.
Five hundred taels of silver meant nothing to her, but the humiliation Ouyang Yue inflicted on her was what she couldn't forget!
Fu Meier's bright face sparkled with a mesmerizing smile: "Aren't you Miss Ouyang's maid? So this shop belongs to Miss Ouyang? I knew it! It looked just like Miss Ouyang from next door. Where is Miss Ouyang now? Why don't you come out and meet me? I have something to discuss with her."
Qiu Yue remembered what Ouyang Yue had once said: "Qiu Yue, from now on you will be the external affairs manager of this shop. Unless absolutely necessary, do not reveal that I am the owner of this shop. I will make sure that Meiyi Pavilion has a legitimate behind-the-scenes boss, but you must not reveal our true relationship."
Although she didn't quite understand the young lady's concerns at the time, she understood the meaning of "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down," and immediately smiled and said, "Miss, Miss Ouyang is not in this shop. I am now the manager of this shop. If you are looking for Miss Ouyang, you can go to the General's Mansion to send an invitation to arrange a meeting."
Fu Meier said bluntly, "Aren't you Miss Ouyang's personal maid? We met at Babaozhai that day. Have you forgotten? It doesn't matter if you have forgotten. I saw Miss Ouyang enter this shop earlier. Tell her to come out. I have something important to discuss with her."
Qiu Yue's smile remained unchanged as she earnestly said, "Miss, Miss Ouyang is indeed not in the shop. Just recently, Miss Ouyang returned my indenture. I am now the manager of this shop. If you are looking for Miss Ouyang, please send her an invitation directly. It is inconvenient to receive this lady today. If Meiyi Pavilion opens in the future, we would like to hope that this lady will come to patronize it. Please go home for today."
Fu Meier never expected that she, the legitimate daughter of the most prestigious imperial merchant family, would be rebuffed by a mere maid. Originally, she had only been testing the waters, but now she was determined to see Ouyang Yue: "You, a mere maid, have become the manager here? Who would believe it if word got out! Don't bother me anymore. Go and call your young lady out. I have something to discuss with her. If you delay our business, you'll be in deep trouble!"
Qiu Yue bit her lip slightly, her expression already calm. Who was causing this trouble? They told her Miss Fu Meier wasn't there, yet she insisted on looking for the young lady—it was utterly unreasonable. What kind of guest comes to request an audience and then keeps making a scene just because the master won't see them? There was no sense of propriety whatsoever!
“Miss, we are currently under construction here, and it’s very dirty and messy inside and out. If we bump into you or hurt you, we can’t afford the consequences. If you don’t leave now, we’ll have to ask the workers here to escort you out. Miss, please forgive me for not being able to see you off any further. Please!” Qiu Yue’s voice was still gentle, but her face clearly showed some impatience.