Chapter 340: Countless Ways to Destroy You

The smile on Lin Yuanshan’s face froze instantly, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

“This… Why is this happening? Lin’s Cloth Store has been operating in the Capital City for three generations, with its reputation always…”

“Mr. Lin.”

Tang Xiaotong leaned forward slightly, his voice extremely low.

“I certainly know the strength of Lin’s Cloth Store. But this is not a matter of strength; it’s because…” He paused, “it’s a matter of integrity.”

“Integrity?” Lin Yuanshan was puzzled, his face already turning pale, “The Lin Family has been in business for three generations, always adhering to honesty as the foundation, never…”

Tang Xiaotong raised his hand to interrupt him again: “I’m not referring to you, Mr. Lin. Your reputation precedes you, indeed a merchant of integrity. But…”

He looked at Lin Yuanshan meaningfully and sighed.

“Ah! You should go back and ask your wife. My master says your wife, Zhao Qiao’er, once poisoned her, intending to take her life. Such a venomous person, we at Brocade Workshop certainly want nothing to do with.”

“What did you say?” Lin Yuanshan was struck as if by lightning.

He couldn’t believe Tang Xiaotong’s words, that the person he was speaking of was his wife, Zhao Qiao’er.

He often traveled far and wide, rarely at home, and since Zhao Qiao’er married into the Lin Family over two years ago, she had served his parents diligently.

Zhao Qiao’er had a good reputation among her sisters-in-law, often said to be a competent and good wife.

He believed Zhao Qiao’er had a quick temper but would not resort to poisoning and murder.

“This… This can’t be true, right?” Lin Yuanshan staggered back two steps, and the gift box in his hand fell to the ground with a “clang,” “Qiao’er, although she’s somewhat impulsive, would never…”

Before he could finish his words, he suddenly recalled the scene before Brocade Workshop opened, when Zhao Qiao’er had said gritting her teeth that she wanted to find someone to burn down the workshop.

At the time, he thought it was just anger and didn’t take it to heart. Looking back now, such a horrifying matter was hidden underneath.

The owner of Brocade Workshop is Mr. Wei, and the Wei Family is such a noble family, with Mr. Wei’s father being the Prime Minister. How can this be managed?

No wonder Mr. Wei would open a Brocade Workshop in the Capital City, perhaps to deliberately target and suppress Lin’s Cloth Store, aiming to annihilate it.

The more he thought about it, the more terrified he became, with tiny beads of sweat already seeping from his forehead.

“Mr. Tang, I truly knew nothing of this matter.” Lin Yuanshan’s voice trembled as he cupped his hands, “Please allow me to return home and inquire in detail. If this is true, I will definitely bring my wife to apologize…”

“Ha!” Tang Xiaotong sneered coldly, his eyes flashing with cold light, “Mr. Lin, do you think my master’s life is worth just a flimsy apology?”

He turned to leave but then turned back to add, “However… My master said, if Lin’s Cloth Store truly wishes to cooperate with Brocade Workshop, unless…”

This moment, Lin Yuanshan grasped at a straw, urgently asking, “Unless what? Mr. Tang, do tell!”

“Unless…” Tang Xiaotong spoke the words one by one, “you divorce your wife!”

Divorce?

These two words were like a bolt from the blue, shocking Lin Yuanshan so much that he staggered back repeatedly, his back hitting the counter.

His lips trembled, but he couldn’t speak for a long time.

Tang Xiaotong saw this and cupped his hands politely: “If Mr. Lin has no other matters, I’ll take my leave now.”

After speaking, he glanced meaningfully at Lin Yuanshan, turned, and stepped onto the stairs.

Lin Yuanshan stood there blankly, feeling the heavens spinning around him.

After a long time, he awoke as if from a dream, bent down to pick up the gift box on the ground, and with footsteps heavy as iron, he walked towards the door.

The sunset cast on his pale face but could not dispel the chill in his heart.

The noise of the street seemed to be separated from him by a veil.

He moved his steps towards home like a frost-stricken eggplant, with Tang Xiaotong’s warning of “divorce” repeatedly echoing in his mind.

Lin Yuanshan had just stepped into the courtyard gate when the gravel on the brick floor was ground into a fine sound by the soles of his boots.

Zhao Qiao’er had been sitting under the corridor waiting for a long time. Seeing him enter, she quickly lifted her peach-colored floral skirt and rushed up, the gold hairpins in her hair jingling with the movement.

“Yuanshan, you’re finally back!”

She seized her husband’s sleeve at once, her nails painted with mandarin duck nail polish almost pinching into the fabric, “What did the owner of Brocade Workshop say today? Did they agree to let us order goods?”

Lin Yuanshan slowly lifted his head, the afterglow of the sunset tinting his weary face with a layer of dark gold.

He gazed into his wife’s meticulously made-up eyes and brows, suddenly finding the face he had been so familiar with terrifyingly foreign.