Spoiled and mad critic of powerful ministers

The room was filled with the strong smell of medicine. Shen Huaifeng leaned against the headboard, his left hand wrapped in a thick white cloth, from which blood was faintly seeping.

Seeing her come in, he struggled to get up, which aggravated his wounds, and cold sweat immediately beaded on his forehead.

"Dad, don't move!" Shen Qiongju rushed to the bedside and supported his back.

Shen Huaifeng raised his right hand, his rough palm stroking the top of her head: "Father is fine, just missing a finger."

He said it casually, "But you... you've been wronged."

Before he could finish speaking, a soft cough came from the doorway.

Pei Zhihui stood outside the threshold, not entering the house, but bowing respectfully from afar: "Uncle Shen."

Shen Huaifeng stared at the slender young man at the door, his face gradually darkening: "That second son of the Pei family?"

"Yes."

"Hmph." Shen Huaifeng sneered, "Your Pei family has quite the grand rules. Do you think it's your place to drown my Shen family's daughter?"

Pei Zhihui lowered his eyes and remained silent.

"I understand that your aristocratic families have traditional patriarchal customs," Shen Huaifeng said, straightening his posture.

With each word he spoke, his face paled further. "But Qiongju's surname is Shen. Even if the clan is to deal with her, it should be my Shen family's clan that decides! No matter how big her mistake, she should be sent back to the Shen family and disciplined by me, her father!"

He gasped for breath, his eyes blazing with fury: "She'd only been married into your Pei family for three months, and her husband was gone. She was just a seventeen-year-old bride, and instead of protecting her, you wanted to drown her according to clan rules? What a hypocritical Pei family!"

The last sentence was almost forced out through gritted teeth.

Shen Qiongju's eyes stung with tears, and she pressed down on her father's arm: "Father, the wound is about to reopen..."

Pei Zhihui kept his eyes downcast, his Adam's apple bobbing, before he said in a low voice, "Uncle Shen is right. This matter is indeed the fault of the Pei family."

He raised his head, his gaze passing over Shen Qiongju and looking directly at Shen Huaifeng: "I have persuaded my grandfather to rescind the punishment of drowning. I have come today for two reasons: first, to inquire about my uncle's injuries, and secondly..."

He paused, then turned to Shen Qiongju.

"Please ask your sister-in-law to go home."

"Go home?" Shen Huaifeng said as if he had heard a joke. "Your Pei family almost took my daughter's life, and now you want her to go back?"

"Young Master Pei, do you really think I, Shen Huaifeng, am dead?"

Pei Zhihui pursed his lips and remained silent for a long time.

When she spoke again, her voice was even lower: "Sister-in-law is, after all, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Pei family. If she stays at her parents' home for too long, the gossip will damage her reputation. Moreover, before my brother passed away, he instructed me to take good care of her. If I let her wander outside, I will have no face to meet my brother in the afterlife."

"Take care of him?" Shen Huaifeng stared at him, enunciating each word clearly, "Kneeling at the coffin for seven days, then being thrown into the pond—is this the Pei family's way of taking care of him?"

Pei Zhihui did not answer.

He couldn't answer.

Seeing his expression, Shen Huaifeng laughed angrily, "Get out of here. My daughter isn't going back to the Pei family. If she wants to be a widow, she'll be one in the Shen family. You don't need to worry about her!"

The Pei family patriarch is harsh and rigid, and insists on drowning his daughter. How could Pei Zhihui, a young man, possibly challenge the patriarch?

Seeing that there was no hope of taking his sister-in-law away today, Pei Zhihui bowed deeply and turned to leave.

"Wait a minute." Shen Qiongju stood up and walked up to him.

Moonlight streamed in through the door, illuminating her pale face and making her features appear exceptionally delicate.

She said, "I...can't go back for the time being."

Pei Zhihui paused slightly.

"Father is badly injured, I have to stay and take care of him." She looked up at him. "I will go back once Father is better."

She paused, then added, "I said I would remain faithful to your brother, and I remember that."

Pei Zhihui stared at her for a long time.

Those eyes, which were always shrouded in mist, were surprisingly clear at this moment.

Although he didn't want to believe that Wen Xiujie and his sister-in-law were involved, it was clear that their relationship in court today was very complicated, and there must be some relationship and deal that he didn't know about.

Staying at the Pei family's residence would also make it easier for him to observe any suspicious activity.

Finally, he nodded.

"Okay," he said, "I'll wait for my sister-in-law."

The young man turned and left, his blue robe quickly disappearing into the night.

Shen Qiongju stood by the door until the figure completely disappeared before slowly closing her eyes.

She knew she had to go back to the Pei family.

It wasn't for a laughable reputation, nor for her deceased husband, but simply for the sake of living.

In her previous life, she escaped and became Wen Xiujie's concubine, eventually dying at the hands of Pei Zhihui.

In this life, she will stay in the Pei family, preserve her identity as Pei Zhichao's widow, and transform herself into someone Pei Zhihui cannot or does not want to move before anything happens.

"Qiongju," Shen Huaifeng called from behind, his voice weary, "Are you really going back?"

Shen Qiongju turned around and forced a smile: "Father, I know that Chao has treated me well, so I have to stay by his side for a few more years."

"Silly child," Shen Huaifeng sighed, "you're only seventeen, the prime of your life."

"I'm not stupid." Shen Qiongju walked back to the bedside, took her father's hand, and said, "Father, I have my own plans."

Shen Huaifeng was taken aback.

He looked into his daughter's eyes, and something in them had changed.

The spoiled, crybaby little girl he once knew was gone, replaced by a maturity and composure he had never seen before.

The incident of drowning her in the pond really frightened her. The Pei family actually dared to punish his daughter behind his back. In the end, they only thought he was a useless wine merchant.

He opened his mouth, but in the end he just squeezed her hand tightly, his eyes reddening.

.

The next morning, Shen Qiongju got up.

Shen Huaifeng was seriously injured and only managed to fall asleep after taking painkillers given to him by Pei Zhihui in the middle of the night. She dared not disturb him, so she quietly pushed open the courtyard gate and headed towards the wine shop in the west of the city.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and there were few pedestrians on the street.

She walked quickly, her skirt sweeping across the dew on the bluestone slabs, wetting half of the hem.

Last night, she heard from Aunt Liu, who cooks at home, that the family's tavern had been closed for several days. The tavern owner and his staff had been quite worried about their employer's affairs and had come to the house several times.

In her previous life, she never managed the family business.

Since entering the Wen family mansion, she has been ashamed to go home and visit her father.

Later, when Wen Xiujie came to ask her for the recipe for Jingbianchun, she learned that her father had been driven to his death by debt collectors, and the wine shop had been sold off cheaply to pay off the debts.

She was heartbroken at the time, and because Wen Xiujie's wife was so domineering and mean, she only went home to bury her father hastily before being locked up back at the Wen family estate.

Looking back now, the sale of that shop was suspicious.

My father is an honest and kind man, how could he have accumulated so much debt?

Before his father died, Jingbianchun tea was selling very well at the border and had a great reputation, but the buyers were pushing the price down hard, as if they knew all along that something bad was going to happen to the Shen family.

Turning the corner, you can see the signboard of the liquor store in the distance – the four characters "Shen Ji Liquor Shop" – half of which has been smashed and is missing.

The door was crooked and ajar, revealing a mess inside.

Shen Qiongju stood at the door, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open to go inside.

The aroma of wine mixed with the smell of mold wafted over me.

The floor was covered with broken porcelain shards and wine stains, several large wine jars lay on the ground, most of the shelves were overturned, and account books were torn up everywhere.

As the shelf collapsed, a corner of a faded painting was revealed—a "Dionysus" painting that her mother had painted herself years ago. Shen Qiongju knelt down and gently wiped away the dust.

The sound of sweeping came from the backyard.

"Uncle Shen?" she called out.

The broomming stopped.

A moment later, a man in his fifties peeked out from the backyard. When he saw her, he was taken aback at first, then hurriedly put down his broom and came to greet her.

"Qiongju! What brings you here?"

Uncle Shen's surname is Shen, and his given name is Huaide. He is Shen Huaifeng's cousin. His family fell into poverty in his early years and was taken in by Shen Huaifeng. He has been helping out at the wine shop all these years.

He was thin and slightly hunched, and at that moment his face was full of worry as he wrung his hands, at a loss for what to do.

"My father is seriously injured, someone needs to take care of the shop." Shen Qiongju looked around. "What are the losses?"

Uncle Shen sighed and pulled a crumpled account book from his pocket.

"Everything that could be recovered is here." He opened the ledger, pointing to the crooked handwriting, "A third of the inventory was smashed, more than a dozen wine jars were broken, and..."

He paused, then lowered his voice.

"The drinks that the guests ordered, which had just been prepared, were all smashed."

Shen Qiongju took the ledger and flipped through it page by page.

The handwriting is messy, but I remember it clearly.

Most of the reservations were made at nearby restaurants and teahouses, as well as a few noble residences.

The amount wasn't large, but it added up to more than three hundred taels of silver.

In her previous life, when she was still in the North, she didn't understand business and couldn't read accounts.

Later, when he was imprisoned on a manor by Madam Wen in the capital, he met Du Hengniang, a famous businesswoman from the neighboring manor. During their conversations, he learned a lot about business from her, and naturally became adept at reading accounts.

After reading it, Shen Qiongju asked, "Does the tavern still have enough capital to brew wine?"

Uncle Shen gave a wry smile.

"The principal can still brew half of the wine that is owed on this bill. After the balance of this half is paid, the remaining shortfall can probably be made up. It's just that the delivery time will be too late."

"Most of the guys have left, only Shen Song and I are left. Who's going to brew the wine?"