Over there, Qiu Mingqi was truly on the verge of madness. Meanwhile, Qing Luan was also losing her mind, driven to the brink by Xuanyuan Rui.
"Xuanyuan Rui, have you gone insane?" As soon as they returned to their residence, Qing Luan immediately shook off his hand and exclaimed angrily, "Are you trying to make things uncontrollable?"
This was not what they had agreed upon. Why did he have to act so intimately in front of Qiu Mingqi and the others? Wasn't that a blatant challenge to the Emperor?
Seeing her small hand suddenly empty, he felt a pang of disappointment in his heart. But noticing her anger, he quickly tried to calm her down. "By doing this, I have an excuse to meet the Emperor!"
"What?" Qing Luan looked at him in astonishment, her eyes filled with shock.
Seeing her so taken aback, Xuanyuan Rui forced a smile and explained, "Ever since the marriage decree, I haven't been able to enter the palace or see the Emperor... Heh, even if I wanted to defy the order, I need to see him first. So... since the Emperor knows of your existence and Princess has said enough about you, I figure he must have investigated you thoroughly. What I'm doing is merely giving everyone a chance to lay everything out in the open..."
He didn't want it to come to this either. After several failed attempts to meet the Emperor, he felt helpless. When he encountered Qiu Mingqi humiliating Qing Luan on the street, an idea struck him. If he could stir up Prime Minister Huang's attention, then he might finally get a chance to see the Emperor.
"..." After hearing his words, Qing Luan was left speechless.
The older the Emperor got, the more stubborn he became. It was absurd that he would use such methods to force Xuanyuan Rui into submission.
"I'm just waiting for the Emperor's summons... Oh right, Luan'er, what's going on with the Qiu Family? Why is Madam Marquis selling off her dowry?" Remembering what had just happened made him uneasy. Although he knew Chimera would protect him from the shadows, thinking about how Qiu Mingqi could harm her at any moment made his eyes darken with a flash of murderous intent.
Noticing his killing intent, Qing Luan looked at him gently and smiled. "Don't lay a hand on Qiu Mingqi; let him experience the consequences of losing everything... Madam Marquis is quite capable; selling off her dowry maintains the glory of Marquis's Residence. Once she finds a well-connected bride with a substantial dowry, all problems will be resolved—too bad her son is useless and has provoked me, who bought her dowry out of kindness..." Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she spoke.
"Heh... I see!" Seeing her so excited eased his murderous thoughts toward Qiu Mingqi as he waited to see what would happen next.
"Xuanyuan Rui," Qing Luan suddenly recalled something and narrowed her eyes, suppressing her smile as she coldly stated, "The Dealer cannot be spared!"
The Dealer's people were determined to make trouble for her—Zhuang Youlan, Madam Zhuang, and that Zhuang Jianming—they were like cockroaches that couldn't be killed. They always sought out trouble with her and even used the engagement annulment as leverage; they were truly asking for trouble.
She wanted to see what Zhuang Youlan would amount to without the Dealer's protection!
“Dealers are built on the backs of merchants,” Xuanyuan Rui said slowly, sharing what he knew without further inquiry. “It’s just that someone from my family became a minor official, and gradually allowed the Dealers to rise, leading to this awkward situation where we’re neither here nor there.”
People like them were dissatisfied marrying merchants, and marrying a legitimate daughter from an official family was out of the question, leaving them stuck in a limbo of high and low.
As soon as Xuanyuan Rui finished speaking, Qing Luan blinked her eyes, her mind racing as she grasped the key point. “So it’s business managing business. Ha ha, when money runs out, no matter how high the official rank, they’re just as timid as Prime Minister Huang!” Her impression of Prime Minister Huang was quite deep; otherwise, she wouldn’t have set her sights on her Jade Pavilion.
“Just do what you want to do. I’ll be here to handle my own matters!” Xuanyuan Rui smiled at her indulgently, ready to clean up after her no matter what happened.
Qing Luan understood his meaning and revealed a captivating smile that enchanted Xuanyuan Rui.
The situation had split into two sides, or rather, it had been escalated by Qiu Mingqi.
He investigated seriously and discovered that Zhu Qingluan’s identity was actually related to the Merchant Alliance. He informed Zhuang Youlan and then sent someone to the Huang Family with a message. He knew that the Jade Pavilion was monopolized by the Huang Family; if the Merchant Alliance intervened, things would not be so simple.
After all, merchants held the lowest status and could not compete with officials. He wanted to see how long Zhu Qingluan could flounder.
However, shortly after he informed them, the Dealers were stunned. They were shocked to find that within a day, all their shops had collapsed and ceased operations. It was either one thing missing or another out of stock; they became targets for scorn and blame.
The Dealers.
“It’s her! It must be her!” Zhuang Youlan cursed angrily upon hearing about the Dealers’ troubles. She turned to her father and said, “It has to be Zhu Qingluan! The Young Marquis said she’s connected to the Merchant Alliance; she must be behind this!”
“Shut your mouth!” A weary Zhuang Father scolded his oblivious daughter. “This is all your doing; who told you to provoke them?”
“Father,” Zhuang Youlan was usually quite favored but looked displeased after being reprimanded. “It’s clearly her fault; why are you blaming me? I’m going to confront her! If she really is behind this, I won’t let her off…”
“Enough!” Zhuang Father was furious at her arrogant demeanor and shouted back, “Who do you think you are? You want to confront her? Zhu Qingluan hasn’t even clarified her position in the Merchant Alliance, and you’re shouting threats… Do you think she’s as foolish as you?”
"Dad," Zhuang Jianming quickly reassured his father, sensing his anger, and asked with confusion, "Isn't Zhu Qingluan's position in the Merchant Alliance quite significant?"
How many secrets does this woman hold? Since returning to the capital, she has done astonishing things.
Now, she has even entered the Merchant Alliance, which is truly shocking.
"If her status were low, she wouldn't have any say in matters. How could she put us Dealers in such an awkward position?" Zhuang Father gasped and slumped into a chair.
"What exactly is this Merchant Alliance!?" Zhuang Mother, a woman who only understood comparison and boasting, had no idea what they were discussing and curiously asked. Wasn't Zhu Qingluan the abandoned wife that the Dealers rejected? How could anyone still cherish her? This was impossible!
"Exactly, Dad, why are you so afraid of the Merchant Alliance?" Zhuang Youlan muttered, filled with disdain.
What could Zhu Qingluan possibly do? A girl abandoned by her father and mother couldn't stir up any trouble—Dad must really be getting old and can't handle being scared.
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Alright, I'm completely speechless. The telecom company cut off my service due to unpaid bills... What bad luck...
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