Chapter 108 -

Chapter 108: Chapter

An Yulan stopped right in her tracks near the snow-dusted curb of the East Market. Her expensive fur coat rustled softly as Boss Qian and Boss Sun scrambled past her in a total panic.

Boss Qian was panting heavily, clutching his wooden stick with a red, sweat-slicked face, while Boss Sun was almost tripping over his own silk robes as they rushed toward their own storefronts across the street.

An Yulan frowned, watching their retreating backs with cold, curious eyes.

She turned to the maid standing beside her. This was Maid Wu, an older woman in her late twenties with a sharp nose and a face that seemed permanently set in a sour frown. Maid Wu was the most ruthless servant in An Yulan’s courtyard, always keeping her ears open for every piece of gossip in the city.

"Who were those two men?" An Yulan asked, her voice filled with quiet distaste. "Why were they running like dogs being chased by a whip?"

Maid Wu squinted her small, sharp eyes at the two figures across the street and recognized them right away. "Young Madame, those two are Boss Qian and Boss Sun. They own two of the biggest and most successful businesses on this entire street, a major wine shop and a huge restaurant. They practically control the local trade in the East Market."

An Yulan tilted her head, her delicate brows knitting together. "Bosses of big businesses? Then why on earth were they coming out of Yimei’s new pavilion looking so terrified?"

Just as she asked the question, the heavy front doors of the three-story pavilion creaked open. Three construction workers stepped out into the crisp afternoon air, wiping sweat from their foreheads with rough cloths. It was time for their midday break, and the men were laughing and talking loudly among themselves about the scene that had just happened inside the main hall.

"Did you see the look on Boss Qian’s face?" one worker laughed, leaning against a wooden cart. "He thought he could bully a young woman! He came in shouting and kicking chairs, demanding fifty silver coins a month, but the moment the Young Madame dropped the name of the Bai family, he nearly wet his pants!"

"That’s right!" another builder chimed in with a grin. "She didn’t even blink! She told Master Chen to throw them straight out into the snow if they didn’t get out in three seconds! Those two big bullies ran out of there so fast they almost broke their own ankles!"

The workers’ loud chatter floated right across the street, landing straight into An Yulan’s ears.

An Yulan’s face twisted into a dark, bitter smirk. A sharp, cruel light flashed in her eyes as she absorbed every single word.

Initially, An Yulan had only come to the East Market because one of the low-ranking maids she paid to spy on Yimei’s courtyard had brought her a strange report. The maid had whispered that Yimei was spending hours away from the manor every single day, secretly managing a massive three-story pavilion at the corner of the market.

When An Yulan first heard it, she was utterly shocked and filled with jealousy. A three-story pavilion at the prime corner of the East Market was worth thousands of silver coins! Where on earth could a low-born girl like Yimei get that kind of astronomical fortune?

She had stolen her own dowry but that still wasn’t enough to buy such a huge pavillion.

An Yulan sneered inward as her mind raced. She must definitely be sleeping around with rich men behind the family’s back! That is the only valid explanation!

In An Yulan’s mind, there was absolutely no way Bai Zhengyu could have bought it for her either. An Yulan remembered her past life vividly in her previous life, Zhengyu was nothing more than a useless, broken cripple who sat in his room all day, never lifting a single copper coin or touching any family business. There was no possible way that broke, ruined cripple could have given Yimei thousands of silver coins to buy such a huge building. Yimei had to be selling her body to some wealthy merchant in the city!

An Yulan had originally come here today just to spy on the building and cause a small scene to embarrass Yimei in front of the workers. But now, seeing Boss Qian and Boss Sun storming away in rage, a far bigger, far more vicious idea bloomed inside her head.

Maid Wu looked at her mistress, noticing the sudden change in her expression. "Young Madame," Maid Wu asked in her usual sour, frowning tone, "are we not going inside the pavilion to confront her anymore?"

An Yulan’s lips curled into a nasty, triumphant smile. She turned her head, looking away from the pavilion’s grand doors and fixing her sharp eyes straight onto Boss Qian’s big restaurant across the street.

"No," An Yulan said smoothly, her voice dripping with spite. "Why go in there and fight with her directly when we can cause an even bigger disaster?"

She smoothed down her fine silk coat, her eyes glowing with pure malice.

"Follow me," An Yulan ordered, turning on her heel. "We are going to pay Boss Qian and Boss Sun a little visit."

An Yulan walked with fast, confident steps straight across the snowy street, heading directly toward the restaurant where the two furious shopkeepers had just entered.

Inside the back room of Boss Qian’s restaurant, the air was thick with anger and tension. Boss Qian was slamming his heavy fist against a wooden table, cursing at the top of his lungs, while Boss Sun paced back and forth, his face pale and twisted with bitter resentment.

"A little girl!" Boss Qian roared, his chest heaving under his heavy silk coat. "A little girl threatened to throw us into the snow! In front of all those common workers! If word gets out that we got chased away by a woman, how can we ever show our faces in the East Market again?!"

"But she mentioned the Bai family!" Boss Sun said nervously, wringing his thin hands together. "You know how powerful the main Bai estate is! If she really complains to Old Madame Bai or brings the city guards to inspect our shops, we will be ruined!"

"Who said she represents the entire Bai family?"

A sharp, elegant female voice suddenly broke through their loud conversation.

Boss Qian and Boss Sun snapped their heads toward the door in utter shock.

An Yulan stepped smoothly into the room, her chin held high, her expensive jewelry sparkling under the lantern light. Maid Wu followed close behind her, standing like a dark, frowning shadow by the door.

Boss Qian narrowed his small, fat eyes, looking at her with deep suspicion. "Who are you?! How dare you walk into my private room without an invitation?!"

An Yulan let out a small, mocking laugh. She walked over to a high rosewood chair, brushing off the cushion with her silk handkerchief before sitting down gracefully.

"My name is An Yulan," she said clearly, her dark eyes looking straight at the two men. "I am the Second Young Madame of the Bai family’s First Branch. The wife of Bai Wenliang."

The two shopkeepers gasped softly, exchanging a quick, confused look.

"Another Young Madame from the Bai family?" Boss Sun stammered, stepping forward carefully. "If you are from the Bai family, why are you coming to speak with us? Are you here to threaten us too?"

"Threaten you?" An Yulan sneered, a cold, malicious smile spreading across her face. "No. I came here to tell you the truth... and to help you ruin that woman before she takes away all your business!"

Boss Qian’s ears perked up instantly. He stepped closer to the table, his eyes burning with sudden greed and curiosity. "Help us? What do you mean?"

An Yulan leaned forward slightly, her voice dropping into a low, poisonous whisper. "The woman running that pavilion Yimei is nothing more than the wife of a broken cripple! Her husband has no power, no money, and no authority in our manor! She is using the Bai family name without permission to scare you!"

Boss Qian and Boss Sun stared at her, their mouths slightly open in complete surprise.

"Is... is that true?!" Boss Qian gasped, his hands trembling with sudden excitement. "She doesn’t have the main estate backing her?!"

"Not at all!" An Yulan lied smoothly, her eyes flashing with pure evil. "Old Madame Bai is currently bedridden and sick! The main estate doesn’t even know she bought that building! Where do you think a poor, low-born girl like her got the money to buy a three-story pavilion? She certainly didn’t get it from her crippled husband! She has been secretly meeting rich men in the city, taking their silver, and using it to open a shop behind our family’s back!"

Boss Sun let out a gasp of pure horror and delight. "A married woman... sleeping around for business silver?!"

"Exactly!" An Yulan declared, her voice filled with dark triumph. "She is a shameless, filthy woman who is bringing shame to our house! If you two really want to save your reputation and protect your shops on this street, you shouldn’t run away like cowards. You should strike back!"