On this day, the clouds were distant, and the warm sun shone brightly.
After days of gloomy weather, there was finally a glimmer of sunshine.
It was obvious that there were more people out strolling.
Today was Pei Li's day off. He drove a mule - drawn cart and delivered thirty ducks to the restaurant.
Pei Jin came with him and took the opportunity to deliver a new batch of soap and facial cream.
The siblings went their separate ways, one heading to Jiaoniang Restaurant and the other to Zhuoxiang Pavilion to restock.
An hour later, Pei Li brushed the delicious roast duck with another layer of sauce and turned the handle, leisurely roasting it.
When he thought the color was about right, he put down the sauce brush and went to the well to wash his hands.
Suddenly, he heard a series of anxious footsteps. A young maid rushed in from outside. "Something's wrong, boss. Please go to Zhuoxiang Pavilion and have a look!"
Pei Li took a closer look and realized it was March.
March was extremely anxious. Pei Li stepped forward to stop her. "The boss is in the kitchen. I'll go and call her."
March nodded. Her face lost its usual playfulness, looking as if something serious had happened.
Pei Li rushed into the large kitchen and saw Qi Jiao and Huier making snacks.
He grabbed Qi Jiao and ran. "Sister - in - law, something's wrong at Zhuoxiang Pavilion. Come quickly!"
Hearing this, Qi Jiao's heart skipped a beat. She quickly threw down what she was doing and ran out with Pei Li.
Before leaving the store, Pei Li was cautious. He called Ye Pa and Ge Fan to go with them, and asked Mrs. Hua to keep an eye on the situation and act accordingly.
Mrs. Hua nodded repeatedly and immediately sent A Le to wait outside Zhuoxiang Pavilion. If things got out of hand, A Le was to go and report to the authorities.
By the time Qi Jiao and the others rushed to Zhuoxiang Pavilion in a hurry, the store was already in a complete mess.
When Mrs. Lin turned around and saw Qi Jiao coming, she felt as if she had been granted amnesty. She struggled to squeeze out of the crowd of onlookers. "Boss, you're finally here!"
Qi Jiao looked into the room and saw a young woman dressed like a noble lady, with her eyebrows raised and glaring angrily.
Beside her stood a young girl with twin buns on her head. She looked about ten years old. At first glance, it was hard to tell what was going on, but on closer inspection, the girl's face was covered in red spots with faint blood streaks under the skin. It was quite terrifying.
Qi Jiao immediately understood. This was a skin allergy, and the customer had come to complain.
Mrs. Lin was usually calm. She had encountered more difficult situations than this, but today she had no choice but to send March back to ask for help.
Mrs. Lin briefly explained what had happened.
It turned out that the noble lady was the third young mistress of the county magistrate's family, and the girl beside her was her daughter. Allegedly, after using the floral water bought from Zhuoxiang Pavilion, her face immediately became red and swollen, and she felt an excruciating pain.
Seeing her daughter's beautiful face ruined, the third young mistress was furious. She brought a group of servants and rushed here.
Qi Jiao rolled her eyes. She patted Mrs. Lin's hand. "Don't be impatient. I'll handle this."
Hearing Qi Jiao's words, Mrs. Lin felt reassured. She sorted out her thoughts and went to the counter to find the ledger, flipping out all the items the third young mistress had purchased.
Qi Jiao turned to Pei Li and gave him a few instructions, then directly met the blazing gaze of the third young mistress.
When the third young mistress saw Qi Jiao, she let out a scoff. "So you're the boss of Zhuoxiang Pavilion. Rare to see you."
Qi Jiao had seen the third young mistress at the banquet hosted by Fang Yunxin. Knowing that she was the daughter - in - law of the county magistrate's family, Qi Jiao first bowed politely, then turned her gaze to the girl beside her.
The girl was on the verge of tears. Suddenly becoming so ugly and being stared at in public, she was ashamed and angry.
Qi Jiao shifted her gaze and said gently to the third young mistress, "No one wants such a thing to happen. It's natural for you to be angry. But girls are sensitive. How about we go to the inner room to discuss how to solve this problem?"
The third young mistress snorted coldly and raised her chin without saying a word.
A maid beside her spoke up. "Our young lady will get married in the future. If she hadn't used the things from your store, how could she have been disfigured? A girl's appearance is crucial for her whole life. Our young mistress is heartbroken. Let's talk here so that everyone can hear. This will also prevent others from buying your shoddy goods and ruining their faces at home!"
Qi Jiao was almost angered into laughter. "Fine. If you want to talk here, we'll talk here. You keep saying that a girl's appearance is important. But are you really willing to let passers - by stare at her like this?"
The maid was speechless. Qi Jiao didn't bother talking to her anymore and directly called Pei Jin over.
Pei Jin had just delivered the goods. Seeing that the store was busy with many customers, she helped restock.
She was beautiful and eloquent. Several ladies in the store had asked Pei Jin to introduce good products to them.
Unexpectedly, such a thing happened. Before Qi Jiao and the others arrived, Pei Jin had lowered her stance and tried to persuade the third young mistress two or three times, but the third young mistress didn't give her a good look. Instead, it seemed that she wanted to make a bigger scene.
Pei Jin was extremely angry and was about to go out to report to the authorities, but was stopped by Mrs. Lin.
Qi Jiao instructed Pei Jin, "A Jin, go and get a veiled hat."
Pei Jin looked at the girl's face and immediately ran to March's room in the backyard to find a white - veiled hat.
Qi Jiao took it and handed it to the girl.
"Since the third young mistress doesn't want to go inside to talk, let's have a good talk here. But before that, let me put this veiled hat on her."
The girl gave Qi Jiao a grateful look, took the veiled hat and put it on immediately. With the veil covering her face, she finally bit her lip and cried.
Qi Jiao was calm. She asked March to make some tea and pour it for everyone in and out of the store, whether they were customers or onlookers.
For those who were about to buy something but were interrupted, she asked Mrs. Lin to handle their business first.
By doing this, those who wanted to cause trouble had no chance.
Ye Pa and Ge Fan stood like door gods on both sides of the door, allowing only people to leave but not enter. Idle people had to stand outside the door.
After stabilizing the situation, Qi Jiao asked in detail, "I wonder what the young lady applied on her face that caused the allergy? Has the young lady ever had such a situation before? Does the young lady have any history of allergies?"
...
Qi Jiao fired off several questions in rapid succession. The third young mistress looked impatient and said angrily, "Why do you sound like a doctor? Can't you see how red her face is! I advise you to think carefully. There's only one way out now: pay compensation!"
Qi Jiao smiled. "Madam, if you can't provide any evidence, I definitely won't pay the compensation."
Seeing Qi Jiao's attitude, the third young mistress was so angry that she almost raised her hand to hit her.
Qi Jiao quickly took a step back. "What? Without evidence, are you going to frame us?"
Holding the ledger handed by Mrs. Lin, she said word by word, "It's true that you bought cosmetics from Zhuoxiang Pavilion, but the most recent purchase was in August. You bought two bottles of floral water. Before our floral water is sold, we always remind customers to use it up within a month. It can't be applied to the face after it expires. How did the floral water from August end up on your daughter's face after three months? Please explain, madam."