"That girl has a fiery temper. She doesn't need me to stand up for her."
The daughter of the petty official covered her face, furious and terrified. "My father is the county magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture. How dare you, an orphan girl with no family background, hit me?!"
Cui Jintang was overly arrogant. She pinched the daughter of the petty official's chin, her eyes as sharp as blades. "Look closely. It was me, this orphan girl, who hit you."
Wang Yueyao stepped forward and pushed Cui Jintang on the shoulder, utterly disgusted. "Why waste your breath on her? Just ask your father to throw her into the prison of Shuntian Prefecture. Let's see if she still dares to be so arrogant!"
Cui Jintang reached out and moved A Xun, who was timidly standing in front of her, behind her.
Facing the threat, she didn't even bat an eyelid. "You're welcome to give it a try."
Wang Yueyao was enraged by her attitude. "What's this attitude of yours?!"
With that, she directly commanded her servants. "Hurry up and arrest her!"
The bookstore owner immediately rummaged through the bookcase and took out a mace to maintain order.
The commotion was so great that several scholars who had come to the bookstore quietly moved towards the door, but were reluctant to miss out on the excitement.
— "Yueyao, Miss Cui? What are you all talking about?"
Luo Xiang emerged from behind the bookshelf, wearing a lotus - colored dress. The red - gold hairpin in her hair was so dazzling that it made people dizzy.
She pinched a handkerchief between her fingertips and gently pressed the corners of her eyes. Her voice was as soft as water. "I heard that Miss Cui has been ill for some time. I've been too busy to visit your residence. It's really a rare sight today!"
Wang Yueyao snorted. "Ill for some time? I think she just knew she was in the wrong and was too ashamed to show her face!"
"Yueyao!"
Luo Xiang scolded gently. "Miss Cui is an orphan. She's the benefactor who saved the old lady. How can you talk to her like this?"
"Benefactor?" Wang Yueyao rolled her eyes several times. "Where in this world is there a benefactor who only holds on to the title and refuses to leave? She's not a benefactor, but a villain!"
"The other day, the old lady had heart palpitations. If it weren't for you, the county mistress, who discovered it in time and called the imperial physician, the old lady would have passed away long ago! If we talk about it, you, the county mistress, are the real benefactor of the old lady! What is this Cui Jintang?"
"Who knows if she once saved the old lady or harmed her?"
A Xun was extremely angry. Her face turned red, and she bared her teeth, ready to bite the finger that Wang Yueyao was pointing at her.
Wang Yueyao almost got bitten. Her face turned deathly pale, and she took several steps back, scolding angrily. "You're really a dog. How dare you bite people!"
Hearing that the old lady was ill, Cui Jintang lowered her eyes and touched the bracelet on her wrist.
It was the one that Mrs. Pei had stuffed into her hand before.
Suddenly, she raised her eyes and glanced at the red - gold bracelet on Wang Yueyao's wrist.
The bracelet was extremely large, making her wrist look as thin as a scallion tube. Judging from its quality, it was a new batch of jewelry from Hengchaifeng.
Newly released jewelry was always extremely expensive.
"Miss Wang's bracelet really makes your wrist look as thin as a spring scallion."
Cui Jintang's words were neither particularly offensive nor kind.
Wang Yueyao and the others were confused. "It's too late for you to say nice words and beg for mercy now!"
Cui Jintang sneered and slowly walked to the threshold, raising her voice.
"The other day, I saw Lord Wang's official sedan chair at the yamen. The copper nails on the sedan poles were all green with rust. The official salary of a sixth - rank official in the Five - City Military Commissioner's Office is only seven taels of silver per month..."
She paused for a moment, looking surprised. "Could it be that Lord Wang used all his salary to buy a gold bracelet for Miss Wang, which is why Miss Wang dresses more lavishly than the county mistress?"
"I'm thinking that the silver might not be enough. Could it be that Miss Wang stole it?"
More and more people were watching. All their scrutinizing gazes were fixed on Wang Yueyao and Luo Xiang.
Wang Yueyao's nails dug into her palm. She looked anxious. "You... What are you talking nonsense about! This bracelet was left by my mother!"
"Left by your mother?" Cui Jintang pretended to be enlightened. "So Mrs. Wang is the owner of Hengchaifeng? I'm disrespectful. I'm disrespectful."
Wang Yueyao was stunned. She suddenly remembered that all the jewelry from Hengchaifeng had a green phoenix bird carved in a small corner.
Seeing that the looks from others were all wrong.
Among scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, merchants were at the lowest level.
Wang Yueyao was almost crying with anxiety. "You're spreading rumors!"
Cui Jintang sneered, and her face immediately turned cold. "Now you know how it feels to be sad when you're being rumored about?"
Wang Yueyao's face instantly flushed red. She raised her hand to hit Cui Jintang.
But Cui Jintang grabbed her wrist and flung her away. Wang Yueyao staggered and accidentally knocked over the teacup on the table.
The bookstore owner picked up the abacus and started calculating. "This is a teacup left from the Le Dynasty. If one is broken, the whole set is useless. I've calculated. Miss Wang is also an old customer. Paying five thousand taels should be enough."
"You... You all!" Wang Yueyao's nails almost dug into her flesh.
"Yueyao didn't do it on purpose. Miss Cui, could you please let it go today for my sake?"
Seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, Luo Xiang walked forward with a smile, but raised her chin and looked down on Cui Jintang condescendingly.
Cui Jintang glanced at her slender white fingers and coldly reminded her. "It seems that the county mistress has forgotten what I said before?"
— Cut off one of your little fingers and hang it up for public display for three days.
Luo Xiang's face turned pale.
The humiliation of pouring tea and apologizing back then suddenly welled up in her mind. Her body trembled slightly, and her hatred increased rather than decreased.
Luo Xiang tried to calm herself down and said coldly. "Yueyao, hurry up and apologize to Miss Cui!"
Wang Yueyao exclaimed. "Why should I!"
The daughter of the petty official, who had been silently following Wang Yueyao, whispered persuasively. "The county mistress has already softened. Yueyao, don't be so stubborn. If this matter gets out of hand, it won't be good for your reputation!"
Wang Yueyao's face was full of humiliation. She lowered her head slightly towards Cui Jintang and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito. "S... Sorry."
Cui Jintang turned to A Xun and asked. "A Xun, did you hear someone talking?"
A Xun obediently shook her head, stared at Wang Yueyao with bright eyes, and snorted through her nose.
Wang Yueyao closed her eyes and shouted at the top of her lungs. "Sorry!"
After shouting, she directly pushed aside the onlookers and ran out crying, feeling extremely humiliated.
Luo Xiang, who had been glanced at by Cui Jintang, forced out a smile. "The old lady is still waiting for me. I won't bother Miss Cui anymore."
Cui Jintang ignored her and patted A Xun's head. "Go and see if there's anything else you want to buy."
A Xun nodded. The bookstore owner treated her as an honored guest and introduced the books to her step by step.
Luo Xiang led the group and fled like a defeated army.
After a month, she was defeated again in front of Cui Jintang!
On one side of the street corner, the person in the carriage slowly lowered the curtain and said loudly. "Return to the palace."
The attendant looked at his master's smiling face and was very puzzled. "Your Highness came here just to look for Miss Cui, didn't you?"
He had rushed back from the frontier for more than half a month. Why did he decide to return to the palace when he finally saw her?
The person in the carriage was in a great mood and was wiping her red - tasseled spear with a cloth.
She smiled and said, "That girl has a fiery temper. She doesn't need me to stand up for her."