At the corner of the corridor leading to the hall, a pair of eyes were fixedly watching the commotion. A cold smile played on her lips, and she thought, "Hmph! Let them fight! The worse their relationship, the better."
Only after the couple from the Duke of Lin's mansion left did this woman stealthily depart.
In fact, Jun Mo Han, Leng Ruo Li, and Leng Jin Yu in the hall had long discovered her presence.
"Father, daughter doesn't understand something. You don't love Liu Ru Yi, so why did you bring her into the General's mansion?" Leng Ruo Li asked with great confusion.
"Ruo Li, this matter concerns a big secret. I cannot tell you yet."
Leng Jin Yu ruffled Leng Ruo Li's little head and sighed, saying,
At this moment, Jun Mo Han glanced at her and suddenly interjected, "You are still young. There are some things you shouldn't know too much about."
"..."
"As if he's very old, he's only a few years older than her!"
Leng Ruo Li said with a speechless expression.
Just then, Steward Qi, who was directing the servants to clean up the mess, walked over with a drawing.
"General, when I was cleaning up the damaged tables and chairs in the hall just now, I found this drawing."
Leng Jin Yu took the drawing from Steward Qi's hand and looked at it carefully, his expression changing instantly.
He then handed the drawing to Jun Mo Han. Jun Mo Han glanced at it, his expression also changing. He then carefully folded the drawing.
He said to Leng Jin Yu with a serious expression, "Father-in-law, please let me take this drawing."
"Good!"
Leng Jin Yu nodded.
Leng Ruo Li looked at their words and actions with a face full of doubt, not knowing what was drawn on the paper, as they kept playing riddles.
She then asked Steward Qi, "Qi Fu, from under which table did you find this drawing?"
"It was under the leg of the table where you usually drink tea. There is a hidden compartment in one of the table legs."
Steward Qi pointed to the table to show Leng Jin Yu and the others.
Leng Jin Yu walked to the table in the direction Steward Qi pointed, bent down, and opened the hidden compartment. He couldn't help but admire the person.
"Ruo Li, stay here and chat with Prince Leng. Father needs to go back to his courtyard to change into dry clothes and go out for a while."
Leng Jin Yu said to Leng Ruo Li somewhat anxiously.
"Then Father, you go ahead and attend to your business!"
Leng Ruo Li replied obediently.
Leng Jin Yu hurried back to his courtyard.
Leng Ruo Li looked at Leng Jin Yu's departing figure with a strange feeling.
At this moment, Jun Mo Han's deep voice reached Leng Ruo Li's ears again.
"I also have important matters to discuss with you. Let's talk in your courtyard."
"Alright."
With that, they walked into Mingyue Courtyard together and sat down in the pavilion.
"The woman in my royal residence has made a move these past few days."
"How so?"
"According to my hidden guards, she will meet someone tonight. Do you want to go with me to see?"
"Yes, I must see who she is meeting!"
"Good, then I will come to find you tonight. I need to go into the palace now."
Leng Ruo Li nodded.
After Jun Mo Han left, Leng Ruo Li also got into a carriage and headed for Jinxiu Pavilion.
—
As soon as she arrived at the entrance of the Jinxiu Pavilion ready-to-wear shop, she heard sounds of argument from inside.
Leng Ruo Li quickly jumped off the carriage and entered her shop, only to see two women she found extremely detestable arguing with Shi Zheng He. One was Ye Mei Qian, the legitimate daughter of the Minister of Rites, and the other was Shen Yue Jia, the second legitimate daughter of the Minister of Justice. These were the same two women she had met at the palace gate during the congratulatory banquet.
Shi Zheng He, upon seeing Leng Ruo Li arrive at the shop, shouted to her as if she were a savior.
"Miss, you're finally here! These two young ladies are falsely accusing the fabric of our ready-to-wear clothes without any proof."
Shi Zheng He's clean and handsome face was furrowed with frustration.
"Leng Ruo Li, you've come at the right time. Look at the clothes your shop makes, the fabric is terribly poor."
As Ye Mei Qian spoke, she threw the piece of clothing in her hand directly at Leng Ruo Li.
Leng Ruo Li took the clothes and examined them closely, quickly spotting the issue.
Her pair of apricot eyes, like glaze, fixed on Ye Mei Qian.
"Are you sure this piece of clothing was sold by our Jinxiu Pavilion?"
Leng Ruo Li asked in a calm tone.
"Of course. Don't tell me you don't recognize clothes sold by your own shop."
Ye Mei Qian said smugly.
"Are you really sure?"
Leng Ruo Li asked again.
"Sure, sure! Yue Jia can be my witness."
Ye Mei Qian said with certainty, glancing dismissively at Leng Ruo Li.
"Then fine!"
"Zheng He, go get three pieces of clothing of the same style as the one this young lady bought."
Leng Ruo Li said with a smile.
"Yes, Miss!"
Shi Zheng He replied respectfully and immediately went to the wardrobe to get three pieces of clothing of the same style as the one Ye Mei Qian brought, handing them to Leng Ruo Li.
Leng Ruo Li took the clothes and carefully compared them with the one Ye Mei Qian brought, quickly noticing the difference.
"Miss Ye, please compare them carefully. The patterns on our shop's clothes are embroidered on the right side, while the pattern on your clothes is embroidered on the left."
Leng Ruo Li held up the clothes from her shop and the clothes Ye Mei Qian brought, displaying them in front of Ye Mei Qian and Shen Yue Jia.
Ye Mei Qian said somewhat guiltily, "That still doesn't prove that this piece of clothing wasn't sold by your shop!"
"Then look closely. Aren't the embroidery patterns on my clothes much smaller than those on your clothes? If you still don't believe this piece of clothing wasn't sold by us, then let me tell you another secret. All the clothes in my shop have a small character imprinted on the collar – a code. Your clothes don't have it, so I can guarantee that this piece of clothing was not sold by my shop, which means the fabric for clothes in my shop is not the problem."
Leng Ruo Li explained earnestly to Ye Mei Qian and Shen Yue Jia.
Ye Mei Qian picked up her clothes and compared them with Leng Ruo Li's clothes. The two of them were stunned.
They had truly encountered a tough nut to crack this time.
Ye Mei Qian quickly grabbed her clothes, pulled Shen Yue Jia, and shamefully ran out of Leng Ruo Li's shop.
Later, the two of them secretly walked into the ready-to-wear shop opposite Jinxiu Pavilion.
Leng Ruo Li, hiding in the shadows, coldly watched them walk into the shop opposite.
As Leng Ruo Li had guessed, they were indeed instigated by someone. It was just unfortunate that they had provoked Leng Ruo Li.
Shi Zheng He, who had followed her out to track them, was furious when he saw Ye Mei Qian and Shen Yue Jia entering the shop opposite.
"Miss, the owner of the shop opposite is too insidious. They used such tactics for the sake of their business, damaging our shop's reputation."
Hearing this, Leng Ruo Li smiled at Shi Zheng He.
"Don't worry about them. We just need to make our clothes well."
Shi Zheng He nodded vigorously.