Pampered Poisonous Royal Wife Chapter 121

Chapter 121: A Heart Ill at Ease

Mu Yunyao wore a smile on her face, but the words she spoke were direct and to the point.

“I presume you are the owner of Ruyi Pavilion?”

“Precisely.”

“Since you have brought up the law, this matter becomes much easier to handle. Jin Lan, bring out the contract Ding Yuelan signed with Niyun Pavilion back then and let her have a look.”

Mu Yunyao had no intention of wasting words.

“What contract?”

When the madam of Ruyi Pavilion saw the thing in Jin Lan’s hands, her expression immediately worsened. Her eyes darted, and then she sat down on the ground and began to wail.

“Heavens above, are you trying to drive me to my death? Back then, buying Ding Yuelan cost me ten thousand taels of silver! Now she has been snatched away by force. How am I supposed to live? I might as well knock my head against this place and die…”

Mu Yunyao had not expected that the woman who had just been speaking reason sentence by sentence would suddenly begin playing the rogue. Her brows immediately furrowed.

The madam of Ruyi Pavilion was full of regret.

Had she known earlier that Ding Yuelan had also signed a contract with Niyun Pavilion, then last night she would certainly have accepted the ten thousand taels cleanly and without hesitation. It was all because she had listened to Master Ding and Old Madam Ding’s instigation and wanted to extort a heavy sum from Mu Yunyao.

Many people who had been waiting at the entrance of Jinxiu Garden, preparing to go to Buxian Tower for tea, now gathered around. When they heard Ding Yuelan’s name mentioned, their interest grew even stronger.

The matter of the Ding family had long since become a topic of conversation for the people of Jingling City after meals and over tea. Even now, they were still discussing it endlessly. They had thought the Ding family had already left Jingling City, yet unexpectedly, Ding Yuelan had been sold to Ruyi Pavilion.

Ruyi Pavilion was a brothel. For the dignified wife of the Xuanfu envoy to suddenly fall into the dust of the pleasure quarters, once this news spread, would it not shake the whole of Jingling City?

Hearing the many murmurs around them, Mu Yunyao’s expression cooled.

“How much silver you spent to buy Ding Yuelan has nothing to do with me. The agreed time on the contract has not yet expired, so she is still the shopkeeper of Niyun Pavilion. If you continue to entangle this matter, then do not blame me for confronting you in court.”

She had the contract in hand, and it had been signed before the life-sale contract with Ruyi Pavilion. No matter how one looked at it, reason stood on her side.

“Miss Mu, a single garment you make costs thousands of taels at every turn. Naturally, you do not understand the suffering of lowly people like us. Who knows how many guests our girls must accompany before we can earn back ten thousand taels? I bought Ding Yuelan because I intended to make her the main pillar of my Ruyi Pavilion. You have taken her away by force, and now half of Ruyi Pavilion has collapsed.

“Besides, letting a woman who came out of a brothel become the shopkeeper of Niyun Pavilion, who will still dare come to learn embroidery stitches in the future…”

“Presumptuous!”

A sharp rebuke suddenly rang out, cutting off the madam of Ruyi Pavilion’s words.

The crowd abruptly parted. Madam Jin walked over slowly, her hand resting on Yin Hong’s.

When the madam of Ruyi Pavilion saw Madam Jin, her expression changed at once, and she quickly lowered her head.

Mu Yunyao stepped forward and supported Madam Jin, secretly signaling that she did not need to be angry.

Madam Jin quietly squeezed her hand. There was still a trace of a smile in her eyes. Yet when she looked toward the madam of Ruyi Pavilion, her expression had already turned completely cold.

“Ding Yuelan signed a contract with Niyun Pavilion first. Then she is the shopkeeper of Niyun Pavilion. If you feel distressed over the silver you spent, then go find the person who sold Ding Yuelan to you and demand it back. If you dare continue making trouble here and slandering Niyun Pavilion’s reputation, then do not blame this madam for being impolite.”

Setting aside the fact that she held the title of Imperial Mandate Lady, Cao Yunnian’s position alone made it as easy as turning over a hand to shut down a single Ruyi Pavilion.

“Yes. I know I was wrong. I will never dare cause trouble again. Madam, please forgive me.”

“Leave at once.”

“Yes, yes. Many thanks for Madam’s magnanimity.”

The madam of Ruyi Pavilion quickly led her people away.

Mu Yunyao looked at her hurriedly retreating back, but the crease between her brows did not ease.

Seeing her expression, Madam Jin thought she was still bothered by what had just happened and spoke to comfort her.

“There is no need to mind her words. At most, there will be some rumors for a short while. They will not cause too much damage to Niyun Pavilion.”

“Mm. I understand. Madam’s complexion looks much better today.”

Mu Yunyao naturally understood this reasoning. It was only that she felt this matter might not be so simple. The scene the madam of Ruyi Pavilion had caused just now felt neither painful nor harmful, more like a farce.

After Su Qing accompanied Madam Jin into the garden for a walk, Mu Yunyao called Liu Liang over.

“Today, the people from Ruyi Pavilion came here. For some reason, I feel uneasy. Go investigate Master Ding and Old Madam Ding. See where they are and whether they have had contact with anyone.”

“Yes, Master.”

Jin Lan brought in a cup of tea. Seeing Mu Yunyao’s brows lightly furrowed, she asked cautiously, “Miss, do you think there is something wrong here?”

Mu Yunyao nodded slightly.

“The madam of Ruyi Pavilion is not a fool. Even if Madam Ding is beautiful, she would not spend ten thousand taels to buy her. Moreover, after discovering that we held Madam Ding’s signed contract, her attitude changed far too suddenly. And after seeing Madam Jin, she was so frightened she did not dare refute a single word and turned to leave at once. No matter how I look at it, it seems as though she was testing me.”

“Testing?”

“Let Liu Liang investigate first.”

Whether it was the Niyun Pavilion or Buxian Tower, there were quite a few people secretly jealous and envious of them. Who knew whether someone would be unable to restrain themselves and make a move?

Moreover, back then, because of the dispute over embroiderers, she had secretly acted and caused Caiyue Pavilion to be shut down. After so much time had passed, the people of Caiyue Pavilion might have found out she was involved. Being more careful and guarded would never be a bad thing.

Liu Liang went to investigate, but after two days of searching, he still found no leads.

Mu Yunyao was not overly anxious. There was no reason to spend a thousand days guarding against thieves. If there truly was someone behind Ruyi Pavilion giving orders, they would certainly make another move. She only needed to respond carefully.

These days, while keeping an eye on Niyun Pavilion and watching over Buxian Tower, Mu Yunyao rarely found a little leisure amid her busyness. She brought Jin Lan and Jin Qiao to stroll through the streets.

Once they reached the street, she discovered that everywhere was filled with a festive air. Quite a few stalls selling rabbit lanterns and mooncakes had suddenly appeared.

Mu Yunyao thought for a moment, then suddenly came to herself.

“Tomorrow is Mid-Autumn, is it not?”

“Yes, Miss. These past two days, you never mentioned it. This servant thought Miss did not like celebrating Mid-Autumn.”

“Mid-Autumn is for reunion. How could I not like it?”

It was only that this year’s Mid-Autumn had only her and Mother.

Back in Xiayan Village, every Mid-Autumn, Father would take her to Yancheng to attend the large market fair. At that time, many children would carry rabbit lanterns in their hands, but no one’s lantern was as beautiful as hers.

That was because Father had pasted hers together with his own hands.

It had long ears, a plump body, and red eyes. When she carried the lantern and walked, its few whiskers trembled lightly. Who knew how many children had looked at it with envy in their hearts?

“Miss, do you like rabbit lanterns? Shall this servant go buy one for you?”

Seeing Mu Yunyao staring at the rabbit lanterns in a daze, Jin Lan could not help asking.

Mu Yunyao shook her head.

“There is no need. Looking at them is enough. Let us go.”

In her heart, she was no longer a thirteen-year-old child. Even if she carried another rabbit lantern now, she could not find again the pure, carefree feeling of the past.

Besides, the most beautiful lantern had already been imprinted in her mind. Looking again at the ones sold on the stalls, she felt they were nothing more than ordinary.

“Mm.”

Jin Lan secretly glanced at Mu Yunyao and felt that there was an indescribable emotion about her. It seemed like melancholy, yet also like remembrance, so complicated that one could not distinguish it clearly.

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