Chapter 100: The Small Treasury Beckons Her

"So, does that mean you did summon?"

Zhang Qiang kept nodding: "Summoned, summoned."

"Then what's your relationship with this woman?"

Zhang Qiang kept shaking his head and gesturing: "No relation, no relation. I don't know her at all. After I finished poisoning, I was planning to leave, but that man collapsed on the spot. I was scared, I was scared that I had killed someone, so… so I didn't dare to go. As for this woman, I truly don't know her."

Xie Yuwei waved his hand, and a squad of guards escorted Zhang Qiang away. The woman, seeing the matter fully exposed, collapsed helplessly on the ground.

Xie Yuwei said coldly: "Now that it has come to this, still unwilling to tell the truth? Do you need me to use torture before you open your mouth?"

"Sir, it's Mrs. Hou, it's Mrs. Hou who made the commoner do this," she cried. "It was all Mrs. Hou's idea!"

Mrs. Hou?

Which Mrs. Hou?

Chi Nan Yi furrowed her brows, wondering how she hadn't realized when she had offended a lady surnamed Hou.

Could it be the owner of some tavern whose medicinal cuisine shop stole her business, and she's here for revenge?

"Which Mrs. Hou?"

"The former Mrs. Hou, the Town Mayor's wife."

Hou, Town Mayor…

If she hadn't spoken, Chi Nan Yi would have long forgotten him completely.

Why would Mrs. Hou, the Town Mayor's wife, target me?

Clearly it was Officer Xie who took him away; this Mrs. Hou doesn't trouble Officer Xie, but instead comes here to cause a scene.

At that moment, a carriage stopped at the shop's entrance, and Mrs. Hou stepped down, walking into the shop amid a crowd of maids and older women.

"What's going on?" Mrs. Hou's gaze fell on Xie Yuwei, and she smiled: "Officer Xie, the humble lady has seen you."

Xie Yuwei nodded without saying a word.

"What's happening? I heard a fine medicinal cuisine shop opened in town, and I came today to try it, why does it turn out like this the moment I step inside?"

Seeing her ask knowingly, Chi Nan Yi merely smiled.

The cover‑up here is as obvious as a missing three hundred taels of silver.

"Mrs. Hou, are you truly unaware, or just pretending to understand?" Xie Yuwei said coldly: "She claims you ordered her to cause trouble in the shop. I wonder, shouldn't Mrs. Hou explain a bit?"

"Explain? Sir, where does this start? The humble lady came just to eat, how did she get entangled in a lawsuit? The lady has never seen her."

"Never seen? What a perfect 'never seen.' If you hadn't ordered it, why would she bite only you and not others?"

"How does the lady know?" Mrs. Hou stared coldly at the trembling woman kneeling on the ground: "Think carefully before you speak. Speaking nonsense before an officer is a serious crime that can implicate your family."

Hearing that, the woman flinched and her body shivered.

A few breaths later, she lowered her head, as if she had aged many years in an instant.

"I confess, it was me, I wanted Chi Nan Yi's life; all this was done by me."

How could Xie Yuwei not grasp the threat in Mrs. Hou's words?

"Sir, I acted alone, I bit recklessly to escape punishment. I know I was wrong, sir, please grant me a way out!" The woman frantically rubbed her hands, pleading to Chi Nan Yi: "Chi, I was wrong, truly wrong. Please, have mercy! I have a child not yet three years old. Please, I cannot die, I cannot die!"

Chi Nan Yi said nothing, only stared coldly at her.

At that moment, judging by her pleading attitude, she was indeed pitiable, yet the pitiable often have hateful aspects; treating life as a child's game and trampling it arbitrarily, no matter the reason, cannot be justified.

"Sir, did you hear? This matter was clearly done by her alone, unrelated to the lady."

Xie Yuwei clenched his teeth, led the woman on the ground away, and the shop's patrons, having seen enough drama, continued their meals.

A maid beside Mrs. Hou said coldly: "Shopkeeper, is this how you treat customers? Our lady is—"

"Yun Shan."

"Your subordinate is here."

"Put up a sign at the entrance stating that the Hou, Town Mayor's family and their dogs are not allowed in, while everyone else and their dogs may enter."

"You! What did you say?" the maid shouted angrily: "Your family dares to disrespect our lady!"

"Your lady." Chi Nan Yi adjusted her ear: "What about your lady? This shop is mine; I let whoever I want in. Today I simply refuse entry to the Hou family, is that a problem?"

What about the Town Mayor?

Now her backing is the Prince.

"You!"

Mrs. Hou's face turned ashen, and she said coldly: "Little girl, I didn't expect you to be such a formidable character."

"Heh, it's nothing, madam, you flatter me." Chi Nan Yi waved her hand: "Madam, have you seen the sign at the entrance? Please turn right after exiting."

Mrs. Hou stepped forward slowly, gritting her teeth: "You damned girl, wait for me. In this town, I have plenty of means to deal with you. Today you got away, lucky you; we'll see how it goes."

Chi Nan Yi heard this and sneered: "The dogs that bite don't bark. Mrs. Hou, your words are still insufficient."

Mrs. Hou glared fiercely at Chi Nan Yi, then turned and left.

Chi Nan Yi looked at Mrs. Hou's attire and the lavish carriage outside, thinking to herself: It seems the Hou family is quite wealthy; I can even see the Hou family's small treasury beckoning me.

At night, the moonlight hazy, a figure slipped through the deserted streets.

Scaling the high wall, Chi Nan Yi landed inside the Hou family's courtyard.

A few young servants under the wall were already asleep; she passed by them unnoticed.

Chi Nan Yi roamed the courtyard for a long while but couldn't locate the Hou family's storage room.

Could it be not here?

At that moment, indecent sounds drifted from a room.

Chi Nan Yi grinned, "In the dead of night, making such a racket—are they afraid no one will hear?"

"Oh dear, why are you in such a hurry?" The voice, tinged with bashfulness and coy resistance, was familiar—it was the same Mrs. Hou who had spoken harshly to her in the shop today.

Wasn't Hou Qinian already arrested? Is she… being unfaithful?

Tsk tsk tsk tsk, knowing Hou Qinian won't make it, they didn't even bother to carry him.

"Can't we not be in a hurry? When are we taking those treasures and leaving! I've been waiting for this day for two years."

Two years!

Madame Hou had actually already given Hou Qinian a green hat.

Furthermore, the treasure that man just mentioned is likely Hou Qinian's little treasury.

"We've made it through two years; is it just this little tremor left? That old fogey is extremely crafty; the mansion's storeroom basically has nothing worth silver, the real good stuff has all been hidden by him. I'll look for it these days; anyway, these things are just ours, and they'll also be our children's in the future."