Spoiled and mad critic of powerful ministers

Pei Zhihui suppressed his frustration and tapped his knuckles lightly on the table. "This estate is in a remote location. Although it has walls, they keep out honest people but not scoundrels."

"If we encounter a thief, those few male servants alone won't be enough."

"Let's buy a few black dogs."

His tone returned to its usual indifference, "I want the kind that's seen blood, kept in the front and back yards, let out at night to guard the house."

Shen Qiongju paused in her porridge-drinking motion.

Black dog?

In his previous life, Pei Zhihui later raised an extremely fierce Tibetan Mastiff, which was one of the methods he used to interrogate criminals.

A slight chill ran down her spine, but she nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I'll listen to you, Uncle," she said, standing up after finishing her meal. "I still need to go check on the shop. Enjoy your meal, Uncle."

She walked too fast, as if some ferocious beast was behind her.

Pei Zhihui watched her hurried departure, snorted coldly, and smashed the salted duck egg to pieces.

Just then, a rapid sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate.

Immediately afterward, Shen Song's hoarse voice blared, "Sister! Something's happened! Something terrible has happened!"

Shen Song rushed into the main hall like a whirlwind, his hat askew and his head covered in sweat.

"Sister! Hurry to Qionghua Pavilion!"

"Those women are crazy! They're going to smash our shop!"

Shen Qiongju's expression hardened: "Explain clearly, who?"

"They're the ladies of those regular customers! Madam Wang, who deals in silk, and Madam Zhao, who owns a grain shop..."

Shen Song, panting heavily, said, "They brought their servants and blocked the doorway, pointing at Solan and calling her a vixen!"

"They said Solan seduced their men, causing them to stay out all night."

"They'll even go to the county government office to beat the drum and appeal, accusing our Qionghua Pavilion of being a brothel disguised as a restaurant!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Qiongju not only remained calm but also straightened her cuffs.

"this one?"

Her expression was eerily calm. "Prepare the car."

Shen Song was stunned: "Sis, aren't you afraid? They brought a lot of people with them..."

"What's there to be afraid of?"

Shen Qiongju sneered, a glint of shrewdness flashing in her eyes, "In business, I'm never afraid of people making a fuss, I'm only afraid of no one watching."

She lifted her foot and walked outside.

Pei Zhihui stood up at some point, casually grabbed the cloak hanging on the rack, and said, "I'll go too."

Shen Qiongju turned around: "Second Uncle is still unwell, and such a scene of vulgar women cursing in the street would probably offend your eyes."

"I don't care about a shrew's rant," Pei Zhihui strode up the steps beside her, looking down at her. "What I care about is that Solan."

"Sister-in-law."

He lowered his voice, carrying a warning that only the two of them could understand: "The war in the North is tense right now. You're too bold to use a foreign woman as a prostitute."

"If someone accuses you of being a 'collaborator and spy,' not only your restaurant, but the entire Pei family will be dragged down with you."

"That's the most deadly thing."

Shen Qiongju's heart skipped a beat.

She was only thinking about making money by exploiting exotic customs, but she forgot about the current political situation. Although Pei Zhihui was not in officialdom, his political acumen was frighteningly sharp.

"I see."

Shen Qiongju took a deep breath. "I know what I'm doing."

"That would be best." Pei Zhihui was the first to board the carriage.

The carriage sped along.

The atmosphere inside the carriage was oppressive.

Pei Zhihui closed his eyes to rest, but his fingers unconsciously tapped on his knees.

He was calculating how to sacrifice a pawn to save the king if things really escalated; if something went wrong, that Solan had to die.

If Shen Qiongju doesn't handle it well, he wouldn't mind taking matters into his own hands and eliminating this potential threat for her.

Half an hour later, we arrived at Qionghua Pavilion.

Before I even got out of the car, the shrill shouts pierced through the curtains and assaulted my eardrums.

"Come out! Call that vixen out here!"

"Shameless, despicable slut! You've gone so far as to seduce me, trying to seduce men!"

"Smash it! Smash it! Smash this brothel!"

The area in front of Qionghua Pavilion was already in complete chaos, with crowds of onlookers gathered three or four deep.

Those customers who were originally queuing up to drink have now become spectators craning their necks, each with a smile on their face as they watch the spectacle.

At the main entrance, three women dressed in gold and silver were standing with their hands on their hips, spitting as they spoke.

The woman at the head of the group, Madam Wang, was plump with a face full of menacing features. She waved a handkerchief in her hand, pointed at the tightly closed door, and began to curse, "Shen Qiongju! You widow who's gone back to your parents' home!"

"Having some slut from the Western Regions wiggling her ass upstairs, what else could it be but a brothel?"

Not to be outdone, Madam Zhao, standing nearby, shouted in a shrill voice, "Fellow villagers, come and judge this!"

"My husband used to care so much about the family, but ever since he came to this lousy place, he's been completely bewitched!"

"He came home completely drunk last night, and he kept calling out things like 'Solan' and 'little baby'..."

"Pah! Disgusting!"

The surrounding crowd pointed and whispered, "Yeah, that Hu woman's dance is really... wow, so energetic."

"Could there really be some shady business going on here?"

The tide of public opinion suddenly turned.

Pei Zhihui lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and coldly watched this scene.

"And what about their husbands?" he asked.

Shen Song, standing to the side, shrank his neck and said, "They haven't shown up at all. They're probably hiding because they're afraid of their shrewish wives at home."

"Oh."

Pei Zhihui let out a very soft sneer, "Useless thing."

He turned to look at Shen Qiongju.

I expected to see a panicked face. But Shen Qiongju was facing the bronze mirror, slowly and methodically tidying the stray hairs at her temples.

She even licked her lips.

"Uncle, you can just stay in the car and keep watch."

Shen Qiongju put down the bronze mirror, her eyes icy cold. "If I don't throw this filth back today, I won't be able to do business with you anymore."

After saying that, she pushed open the car door and got out.

Pei Zhihui did not move.

He leaned against the car wall, his gaze fixed on that slender figure through the gap.

He wanted to see what his sister-in-law was capable of, to break this deadlock.

"Get out of the way." A clear, cold voice, not loud, yet extremely penetrating.

Shen Qiongju stood outside the crowd.

Today she wore a simple, moon-white jacket and skirt, with a dark blue cloak over it, making her look aloof and dignified.

Compared to those three women adorned with jewels and with ferocious faces, the difference in their status was immediately apparent.

The crowd parted to make way for Shen Qiongju, who slowly walked up the steps and looked down at the three women.

"Ladies, what a magnificent sight!"

A smile played on her lips, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I wonder what law my Qionghua Pavilion has broken that warrants such a grand mobilization?"

"You dare to show your face!"

Upon seeing the person in question, Madam Wang was so enraged that her entire body trembled with fat, and she rushed forward to attack.

"You shameless bastard..."

"Want to make a move?"

Shen Qiongju didn't dodge, but simply uttered a few words, "Shen Song."

Having been holding back his anger for a long time, Shen Song, along with seven or eight strong men, instantly blocked Shen Qiongju's path.

That sight frightened Madam Wang so much that she stopped in her tracks.

"You...you're going to hit me again?" Madam Wang screamed.

"I'm a businessman, and I believe in making money through harmony."

Shen Qiongju clapped her hands.

The waiter behind him immediately brought over a grand chair.

She sat down gracefully, her gaze sweeping across the room.

"I just overheard some ladies saying that my Qionghua Pavilion is a brothel? And that my dancers are seductive vixens?"

"That's right!" Madam Zhao retorted, her neck stiff. "Everyone saw it. That woman from Hu was dressed so scantily, dancing that shameless dance. What else could it be but seduction?"

"If it were a legitimate business, who would resort to such methods?"

Shen Qiongju smiled, took out a stack of documents from her sleeve, and waved them in her hand.

"Solan is a registered entertainer with all the necessary paperwork, and the documents bear the official seal of the county magistrate."

"She was performing the Hu Xuan dance from the Western Regions, one of the court dances. How did it become shameless in the mouths of these ladies?"

"Could it be that these ladies are more knowledgeable about etiquette than the ladies in the palace?"