Spoiled and mad critic of powerful ministers

His fingertips were icy cold, and the touch felt like that of a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

Shen Qiongju's whole body stiffened.

This was not the Pei Zhihui who was usually polite and restrained.

This extreme possessiveness and aggression made her feel both unfamiliar and dangerous.

"Pei Zhihui!"

Shen Qiongju finally couldn't hold back any longer, slapped his hand away, and rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Stop with your sarcastic remarks. I'm crying because if you die, I won't be able to face the ancestors of the Pei family, and I certainly won't be able to face my aunt!"

She stood up and looked down at him as if he were a spoiled, unreasonable child.

"Also, the doctor said that the 'Crow Crossing' poison can cause people to lose their minds and talk nonsense. You're not thinking clearly right now, so I won't hold it against you."

Shen Qiongju roughly tucked the blanket in, the movement so forceful that it almost suffocated Pei Zhihui inside.

"Now that you're awake, just lie still and don't think about anything else. I'll go ask the kitchen to get you something to eat to gag you."

After saying that, she turned and left, her steps somewhat unsteady.

The room fell silent again after the door was slammed shut.

Pei Zhihui leaned against the pillow, listening to the hurried footsteps receding into the distance. The smile on his lips gradually widened, eventually turning into an almost morbid pleasure.

Is he delirious? Talking nonsense?

He had never been as clear-headed as he was at this moment.

His recent dreams felt so real, like events he had experienced. Today, he tested his sister-in-law's reaction, and she seemed to react as well.

Those shattered images were all absorbed into my bones and blood during last night's high fever.

Could it be that there really are past lives and reincarnation, and that karma and reincarnation exist?

He remembered how he climbed to a high position step by step in his dream, and how he trampled those enemies of the Pei family under his feet.

I also remember how he spent the rest of his life in endless regret and loneliness after losing his sister-in-law.

"Sister-in-law..."

Pei Zhihui raised his hand, looking at the lingering warmth of her on his fingertips.

"If it truly is a matter of cause and effect, do you think you can just brush it off with a simple 'mentally unstable' explanation?"

He closed his eyes, concealing the mad, determined look in them.

.

The carriage sped along the empty streets at dusk.

A cold wind blew in through the gaps in the carriage curtain, dispelling the medicinal smell that clung to Shen Qiongju from her sickbed.

Pei Zhihui's condition had basically stabilized, but she was worried about the current situation of Qionghua Pavilion, so she asked Shen Song to drive her there so she could think about what to do next.

The main gate of Qionghua Pavilion was ajar.

Although the seals have been removed, several glaring dents and footprints still remain on the two vermilion doors.

Shen Qiongju pushed open the door and entered.

"hiss--"

Even though she was mentally prepared, the sight before her still made her gasp. The once magnificent lobby now looked as if it had been swept by a hurricane.

Tables, chairs, and benches lay broken and mangled on the ground, and her favorite Suzhou embroidery screen was scratched to shreds.

What pained her most was the layer of crystal-clear shards on the ground.

Those were glass wine sets that she had commissioned from Boss Gao at a high price, and she even got them at a special rate based on personal connections. If she hadn't saved Boss Gao's brother back then, she would have had to pay at least twice as much to get them. Now they've all become worthless junk.

Two people were sitting at a seemingly intact table in the center of the lobby.

Shen Huaifeng and his second uncle, Shen Huaide.

The two men looked at the mess on the ground, sighing deeply, their faces filled with sorrow and despair.

"What a tragedy! What a tragedy!"

As soon as Shen Huaifeng saw his daughter enter, his eyes instantly reddened. Pointing to the shards of glass on the ground, he said with heartache, "Daughter, look! This is all money! That cup alone cost two taels of silver!"

Shen Huaide held a tattered account book in his hand, trembling with anger.

"It's all over, completely over... How much money are we going to have to pay out...?"

Seeing the two elders, whose combined age was nearly a hundred, looking so distressed and angry, Shen Qiongju felt a sense of peace.

Money can be earned again, but the most important thing is that your family is safe.

However, the Shen family is too weak to rely solely on business. Once they encounter the crushing power of authority, they will shatter like glass on the ground.

"Alright, Father, Second Uncle, don't be sad. As long as none of our people were lost, that's all that matters."

Shen Qiongju stepped over the mess on the floor, walked to the table, took out a thick stack of silver notes from her bosom, and slammed them on the table with a "thud".

"Money can be earned back; as long as you're alive, there's hope."

Shen Huaifeng's crying stopped abruptly. He stared at the stack of silver notes, his eyes wide open. It was two thousand taels that Shen Qiongju had saved by selling the blueprints for the distillery's equipment.

"Let's clean up the shop first."

Shen Qiongju's gaze swept around, her tone firm, "If the tables and chairs are broken, replace them; if the glass is shattered, order new ones. The Qionghua Pavilion's reputation cannot be ruined!"

Shen Huaifeng grabbed the silver notes as if they were his lifeline.

But the next second, he remembered something, and his expression turned even uglier than before.

"Girl, this...this isn't about money!"

Shen Huaifeng lowered his voice, as if afraid of being overheard, "Those dozens of jars of 'Drunken Beauty' that were sealed away... were all smashed!"

"That's the birthday wine that Young Master Zhao specifically requested to be presented to the Imperial Concubine! Her birthday is on the 25th of next month, there's no way we can get it in time. The palace envoy will definitely come to collect the wine at the end of the month!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Huaide's eyes rolled back, and he slumped into his chair: "We're doomed... Not being able to produce the wine is a crime of deceiving the emperor! Our whole family will lose our heads!"

The words "lost your head" echoed in the lobby.

Shen Huaifeng was frantic, pacing back and forth: "Why don't we run away? Let's take the money and run before the higher-ups blame us!"

"run?"

Helpless, Shen Qiongju pulled her father down to sit. "All land under heaven belongs to the emperor. Where can you run to? Besides, the Pei family is still in Wu County. What will happen to them if we run away?"

"What time is it and you're still concerned about the Pei family!" Shen Huaifeng snapped.

"It must be addressed."

Shen Qiongju's eyes narrowed. Without Pei Zhihui's knife, the Shen family would be nothing more than fat pigs waiting to be slaughtered in Wen Xiujie's eyes. No matter how far they ran, they would be caught and eaten.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

Wen Xiujie's move was indeed ruthless.

Destroying the tribute wine is tantamount to driving the Shen family to their doom.

However, he overlooked one crucial point, which was also the biggest oversight.

"Father, let me ask you, has the Imperial Concubine ever drunk 'Drunken Beauty'?" Shen Qiongju suddenly asked.

Shen Huaifeng was stunned: "This... how could we have tasted this? This is a new wine that we just came up with. Apart from us and Young Master Zhao, no one else has tasted it."

That's it.

A glint of light flashed in Shen Qiongju's eyes, the sharpness of a businessman seeing a glimmer of hope in a desperate situation.

"Since the Imperial Concubine has never tasted it, then there is no such thing as a specific flavor in this world."

She turned around, looked at the wind and snow outside the door, and a resolute smile appeared on her lips.

"We'll brew it again."

"As long as it's called 'Drunken Beauty' and tastes better than before, then it's the real deal."

"This crime of deceiving the emperor..." Shen Qiongju turned around, her gaze fixed intently on her father, "I will make it our Shen family's talisman!"

Shen Huaifeng and Shen Huaide were stunned.

Is this even allowed?