After the favored concubine remarried, the aloof and powerful minister forcibly took her away.

Chapter 183 What a feisty wife!
Cheng Hua sighed helplessly when he heard Pei Yanzhi say this, but who could he blame?

The old lady's words were full of flaws, and it was even more impossible that Miss Xiangning had asked to leave the manor.

Despite the old lady's threat, Chenghua still told Pei Yanzhi the truth.

That's why Pei Yanzhi was so angry.

"You go down."

Pei Yanzhi saw that Cheng Hua was still there and waved him away.

Xiang Ning in Ling'an doesn't remember Pei Yanzhi, so naturally she doesn't know what he's doing.

All that is known is that in the following days, there was a wave of turmoil in the capital, and many officials were implicated in the embezzlement case and imprisoned.

Xiang Ning's life in Ling'an gradually settled down, and Lu Jiang took her to see the shop.

Perhaps it's because this street is full of clothing stores and fabric stores, or perhaps it's because this store is located at the end of an alley.

Overall, business wasn't great, but Xiang Ning was very satisfied.

"If A-Ning doesn't like this shop, we can go to another one."

After Lu Jiang walked in and took a look, he immediately felt a little regretful. Giving such a shop to Xiang Ning was an insult to her, wasn't it?

But Xiang Ning shook her head and replied, "I quite like this place. Brother, please give this shop to me."

Hearing Xiang Ning say this, Lu Jiang didn't try to dissuade her any further. He figured he could just come back whenever she wanted to change shops in the future.

Lu Jiang led Xiang Ning to the counter and introduced Xiang Ning's identity to the shopkeeper.

The word "sister" immediately made the shopkeeper become respectful: "So you are the second young lady, my apologies for not recognizing you."

"Manager Liu, from now on, A-Ning will be the owner of this embroidery shop. Don't bully her just because she's young. If I find out, I won't let you off the hook."

Upon hearing this, Manager Liu immediately said, "Young Master, rest assured, even if you gave me a hundred lives, I wouldn't dare to bully the Second Miss."

Lu Jiang nodded in satisfaction. Manager Liu had worked for the Lu family for many years, and he knew that Manager Liu didn't have the guts to bully Xiang Ning.

Xiang Ning also said a few nice words, which meant she had completely taken over the embroidery workshop.

Perhaps it was something she was born with, but she showed no fear when managing the embroidery workshop.

With guidance from Lu Weimin and Lu Jiang, he quickly got the hang of it.

Manager Liu was not optimistic about Xiang Ning at first, but with Lu Jiang's words, he didn't want to lose his job at the Lu family.

If it weren't for what happened later, he would still have been hesitant about Xiang Ning.

On this day, a richly dressed lady entered the embroidery workshop with her maid, saying that she wanted to order a batch of embroidered items as birthday gifts for high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital.

Her requirements were extremely high: not only must the needlework be delicate, but the embroidery patterns also had to be novel and unique, and the deadline was extremely short, with delivery required within half a month.

Because of this requirement, she visited almost every embroidery shop on the street, but no one dared to accept the job.

Manager Liu looked hesitant and was about to politely decline when Xiang Ning readily agreed.

Upon hearing Xiang Ning's words, Manager Liu became extremely anxious and privately complained that Xiang Ning was unaware of the situation.

How could this possibly be completed? If we can't deliver the goods, we'll not only ruin the reputation of the embroidery workshop, but we might also offend this lady.

Xiang Ning remained calm and collected. After letting the lady leave the embroidery pattern, she carefully inquired about her requirements before letting her leave.

This lady was desperate and grasped at straws. She didn't pay much attention to the shop at the very end of the street.

But seeing Xiang Ning's calm demeanor and her well-organized questions, he couldn't help but believe her.

After the lady left, Xiang Ning first carefully studied the embroidery patterns provided by the lady, then divided the work according to the existing embroidery skills of the embroidery workshop, and even personally designed several new stitches, teaching them to the embroidery workers one by one.

The embroiderers were initially worried, but Xiang Ning reassured them, saying that once the order was completed, the reputation of the embroidery workshop would be established, and they would receive a raise.

Upon hearing this, everyone busied themselves in an orderly manner.

When Lu Jiang heard about this, he rushed over to help, contacting various places to purchase high-quality embroidery threads and arranging manpower to speed up the post-processing of the embroidery.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. When the batch of embroidery was placed in front of the lady, she could hardly believe her eyes.

The flowers, birds, fish and insects on the embroidery are lifelike, the needlework is exquisite, and every detail is handled perfectly.

The lady praised Xiang Ning highly and immediately paid her double the wages, saying she would definitely be a regular customer. Manager Liu was now completely convinced of Xiang Ning's abilities, and his attitude towards her changed from initial suspicion to utmost respect.

After this incident, the reputation of the embroidery workshop gradually spread, and business became better and better.

Xiang Ning was naturally very happy. This incident proved her ability, and she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"The embroidery you made for my mother?"

A somewhat nonchalant voice came from outside. Xiang Ning was originally at the counter doing the accounting.

Hearing this, she looked up and met the boy's gaze.

He was a boy of about seventeen or eighteen, dressed in gold and jade, and his clothes were made of silk and satin that were priceless.

Looking closely at her eyebrows and eyes, she seems to resemble the lady who came before.

"you are?"

Upon hearing Xiang Ning's question, the young man stepped forward and leaned against the counter: "My surname is Shang, and my given name is Yan. Haven't you met my mother before?"

He introduced himself and then looked Xiang Ning up and down.

"Young Master Shang, is there something wrong with that batch of embroidery?"

Xiang Ning ignored Shang Yan's gaze and asked a question. Then she heard the young man say, "The embroidery is fine, I'm just curious."

"curious?"

"I wonder what kind of person could create such exquisite embroidery."

After finishing speaking, Shang Yan straightened up and sat down to the side.

The merchants' business was not in Ling'an; they mainly did business with Westerners and barbarians.

Shang Yan was naturally aware of the reputation of the Lu Family Trading Company, but he didn't know when they had acquired a second daughter.

Upon seeing her today, Shang Yan felt that she was different from others.

I can't quite put my finger on what's different, but it just isn't the same.

"Young Master Shang, you flatter me."

Xiang Ning couldn't discern his purpose, so she could only follow his lead.

No sooner had she finished speaking than a voice came from outside: "You little slut, it was you who seduced my husband, wasn't it?"

Upon hearing this, Xiang Ning frowned slightly, and Manager Liu, who had also heard the noise, came out as well.

"Master, I'll go take a look."

After saying that, Manager Liu walked out, but the woman immediately slapped him, leaving him completely stunned.

Xiang Ning stepped forward and asked someone to take Manager Liu away first.

"She is indeed good-looking and has the ability to seduce people, no wonder my husband spends money on her."

The woman in front spoke rudely, and Xiang Ning looked up at the man standing behind her, only then remembering who they were.

The man would come to the embroidery shop every few days to order clothes, and he was certainly not polite to Xiang Ning in his words.

However, Xiang Ning deflected all her questions with her words. She never expected that he would have the nerve to bring his wife to her door today.

Just as the woman was about to speak, Xiang Ning splashed a cup of warm tea at the two of them.

"According to the laws of Daqing, insulting a respectable family is punishable by ten strokes of the cane."

“You’re being so aggressive in broad daylight, accusing me without any regard for the facts, and even obstructing my business. I’m sending you to the authorities; you’re not innocent.”

After Xiang Ning finished speaking clearly and logically, she smashed the teacup in her hand on the ground, and then said to the embroiderer in the embroidery workshop, "Go and report to the authorities."

Shang Yan sat to the side watching her like this and couldn't help but laugh. What a feisty wife!

I thought it was a dough ball.

(End of this chapter)