Divorced by her husband's family and rejected by her own! She defiantly turned her life around

This time, Liu Siyue dressed herself up as a noblewoman and came to Jinyulou. The shop assistants at Jinyulou were very enthusiastic. "I wonder what kind of jewelry this lady wants to buy? We have some new hair ornaments, hairpins and bracelets on the second floor."

"I want to see your manager or owner; I have a business deal I'd like to discuss with them." Liu Siyue's face was dignified and authoritative, exuding an imposing aura.

Seeing this impressive display, the waiter dared not be negligent. "Madam, please wait a moment, I will go and inform the manager right away."

The waiter went up to the third floor and knocked on the door of a room. He said through the door, "Manager, a lady has come to see you."

The shopkeeper was talking to his employer when he heard the waiter's words. He went over and opened the door. "What, Madam? Why do you want to see me?"

"I don't know, but that lady said she wanted to see you or the boss because she wanted to discuss a business deal with you."

"I understand. Tell her to wait. I'll talk to her after I've finished my business."

He closed the door again. "Young master, I will definitely keep an eye out for the rare items you mentioned. If I find any, I will let you know. If there isn't enough time, I will buy them myself and send them to you."

"Okay, keep the price around 2 taels of silver."

"I just heard from the waiter that a lady wants to discuss a business deal with us. Why don't you come up and meet her? I'd like to see what kind of business a woman can discuss with us, and why she insists on meeting you and me."

"Please wait a moment, sir, I will bring the person up right away."

When the shopkeeper arrived on the first floor, he saw a lady sitting in a chair. The waiter quickly stepped forward and said, "Shopkeeper, this is the lady who wants to see you."

The shopkeeper sized up Liu Siyue and asked, "May I ask what brings this lady here?"

Liu Siyue was also examining the shopkeeper's face, and found him quite pleasing to the eye. "Shopkeeper, I have something I'd like to sell you. I wonder if you'd like it, and if you can make the decision?"

"I don't know what it is, but as long as it catches my eye, I can make the decision."

Liu Siyue took out a palm-sized mirror and handed it to the shopkeeper, saying, "Open it and see for yourself."

The shopkeeper didn't know what it was. It looked antique, and when opened through the gap in the middle, both the lid and the bottom were small, clearly visible mirrors. The shopkeeper quickly closed the item and scolded the shop assistant who was craning his neck to look at it, "What are you looking at? Get back to work!"

"Madam, please excuse my rudeness. Our young master is upstairs. Let's go upstairs and talk in detail."

Liu Siyue followed the manager up to the third floor. "My surname is Feng, and I am the manager of this Jin Yu Lou restaurant. May I ask how you are addressed, Madam?"

"We don't need to know each other's names; we're just doing business."

The door to the room on the third floor was open, and the innkeeper led the person in directly. "Young master, please come up. Take a look at this."

Manager Feng then introduced, "This is the young master of our Jinyulou."

The young master nodded slightly. "My surname is Liu. May I ask how you should address me, madam?"

Liu Siyue stuck to her old argument: "We're only talking about business, not names."

The young master found her words quite interesting. He figured she must be from a fallen family who came out to sell things, afraid of being laughed at, and dared not let anyone know her background. Which aristocratic family or official family wasn't like this? They always put face first.

"Okay, let's just talk about business."

Like Manager Feng, he carefully examined the items before opening them. "A peep show!" Young Master Liu exclaimed in surprise.

She knew that there was only one mirror in the entire Great Sheng Dynasty, located in the current Empress's palace. She had heard that the mirror was accidentally broken two years ago, and the Empress was furious, giving the remaining small pieces to several princesses.

"Does Madam have any even larger ones?"

Liu Siyue reached into the bag and took out a mirror the size of a plate, handing it to Young Master Liu.

"What price would you like to offer, Madam?"

"Since you know about this item, young master, please name your price."

"More than 20 years ago, several Western ships came to the Great Sheng Dynasty. Those people had blond hair and blue eyes. They presented the emperor with a mirror that was as tall as a person. The emperor bestowed it upon the empress. Two years ago, the mirror was accidentally broken. The largest of the fragments was no bigger than the palm of a hand. The empress bestowed it upon several princesses."

The small one is 100 taels, the large one is 500 taels, and if Madam has an even larger one, the price will be even higher.

"The price is too low, I won't sell."

"How much do you want?"

"The small one costs 100 taels, and the large one costs 1000 taels."

What price would you offer for a mirror that's as tall as a person?

"If Madam can produce it, I'm willing to offer 8000 taels. What do you say?"

Liu Siyue shook her head, and Young Master Liu immediately said, "Add another 2000 taels."

"I want as many mirrors as you have, regardless of size, and I will never let you suffer any loss."

"Please settle the payment for these two mirrors first, young master. If you need more later, just send them over."

Manager Feng gave her 1100 taels of silver notes. After receiving the notes, Liu Siyue took her leave. Manager Feng chased after her, saying, "Madam, please make sure to send any more to our Jinyulou in the future."

Liu Siyue turned around, waved her hand, and hurried away. Next up was Zhucui Pavilion. She went into the space to redo her makeup, changed her face, and changed her clothes to those of a nanny. When she came out, she was a completely different person.

She asked a passerby for directions to Zhucui Pavilion, and the passerby pointed her in a direction. She walked over and looked across from Zhucui Pavilion. She found that it wasn't the same waiter as before, but the manager was still the same manager, standing at the door looking around.

As Liu Siyue walked over, the shopkeeper greeted her with a smile, "Welcome to Zhucui Pavilion, Madam. We have some newly arrived jewelry."

"Shopkeeper, I don't buy jewelry, but I have a few pieces I'd like to sell to you. I wonder if you'd be willing to take them?"

"If the product is good, I'll definitely buy it."

Liu Siyue took out a pair of all-green bracelets, a necklace with a red glass pendant, and a pair of earrings. "These are all part of our lady's dowry. Now she needs money to make ends meet, so she asked me to sell them."

"Look at the quality of these items; they're absolutely top-quality. If I weren't in a hurry for the money, Madam wouldn't be selling them."

The shopkeeper looked at the flawless green jade bracelet and said, "Not bad. This pair of bracelets is 2000 taels, and the necklace and earrings together are 800 taels."

"Could you add another 200 taels to make it a round number? My wife's bottom line is 3500 taels. Even if I sell it for 3000 taels, I will still be punished."

"Alright, then 3000 taels it is."

While the shopkeeper turned away, Liu Siyue quickly replaced the goods with the defective products she had carefully prepared. As soon as the shopkeeper handed over the silver notes, she said, "Thank you, shopkeeper. Madam is still waiting in the mansion, so I will take my leave now."

Liu Siyue took the silver notes and left Zhucui Pavilion, disappearing in a flash.

The manager of Zhucui Pavilion was still secretly pleased with herself, thinking that she had received good goods today and could make a fortune again. But when she picked up the items and examined them carefully, something was wrong. The jade bracelet was pitted and had many broken parts. The pendant on the necklace broke when she picked it up, and the earrings were different from the originals. The items had been switched.

He stomped his feet in anger. He had finally managed to be a good person, but he had been tricked. He was furious. "Quickly call Ah San and Ah Si here. That woman has switched the items."

The shopkeeper, along with Ah San and Ah Si, searched the streets but couldn't find the woman. He immediately went to the yamen to report to the authorities.

Upon accepting the case, Magistrate Guo immediately ordered the city gates closed and a search to begin. Magistrate Guo had received considerable bribes from Zhucui Pavilion, so he was particularly attentive to the case.

When the county magistrate heard about Guo's actions, he merely snorted coldly, "A den of snakes and rats." How many people have they helped Zhucui Pavilion swindle?