Chapter 167: Not a Match

On the day the "Number One Manor Under Heaven" plaque was bestowed, Meng Qinghe did not see Chi Nan Yi; only on that day did Chi Nan Yi show her face in public, so not many people knew her.

Now that her identity had been exposed, Chi Nan Yi was not flustered—after all, she had never intended to hide forever.

Jiang Wanyue noticed the change in Meng Qinghe's expression and whispered, "Sister Qinghe, so the one who ruined your Wei Mei Zhai's business is this person!"

Hearing this, Meng Qinghe frowned deeply.

"Ruin our Wei Mei Zhai? Her? Not even close!" She looked at Chi Nan Yi—from the moment she stepped forward, she had recognized her as the person who had raised the price selling grain at Wugu Alley that day.

Buying up all the grain in town and blocking her source of wealth—was she a reborn person?

But whether reborn or not didn't matter; having offended their Meng Family, even a reborn person, she would make her pay the price.

She raised her chin and walked slowly out from the crowd.

"The manager of the Number One Manor Under Heaven?" Meng Qinghe looked at Chi Nan Yi with a cool gaze. "Young Master, we meet again. Last time at Wugu Alley, I didn't have the chance to ask your name."

Hearing this, Chi Nan Yi gave a faint smile: "I have no interest in you, young lady. Please conduct yourself with dignity."

"Pfft... hahaha..."

The people around couldn't help but snicker.

"Whose daughter is this? Why is she so desperate for a man?"

"Exactly—asking a man's name in broad daylight, and she calls herself a proper young lady! Shameless."

"The one standing beside her is the legitimate daughter of the Jiang family. From the way she's draped in gold and silver, this one must be a daughter of some merchant family."

For a young lady of an official's house like Meng Qinghe, being called a merchant's daughter was undoubtedly the utmost humiliation.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Caiping said coldly. "Our young lady is the legitimate daughter of Lord Meng, the Minister!"

"Lord Meng the Minister's legitimate daughter?"

The crowd exchanged glances and quickly realized why she bore such hostility toward the manager of the Number One Manor Under Heaven.

Meng Qinghe was furious at Chi Nan Yi's words and said angrily, "Nonsense! I've met you only once—how could I harbor feelings for you? To destroy someone's reputation so viciously—what is your intention?"

Hearing this, Chi Nan Yi gave a faint smile. Destroy her reputation? Vicious?

She had probably forgotten everything she did to the original owner in the previous life.

"You just said you had no improper dealings with Miss Li, so why did you step forward on her behalf?"

Hearing this, Chi Nan Yi's lips curled into a faint, mocking smile: "Drawing one's sword to right a wrong—you have so many people besieging a young girl, and instead of feeling ashamed, you complain about someone else standing up for her. If you think my helping her counts as improper dealings, then Miss Meng speaking up for Young Master Li now—does that mean she has some connection with him too?"

"You!" Meng Qinghe pointed at Chi Nan Yi. "Shameless lies! How dare you slander me in the street!"

"Whether it's slander, Miss Meng ought to know best." Chi Nan Yi looked at Lin Ruoyi's attire, then at Meng Qinghe, and nodded as if it all made sense.

The crowd followed her gaze and began whispering among themselves.

"Even their outfits are similar."

"So Young Master Liu has a taste for this sort of thing!"

"I really don't know what's so good about this Young Master Liu that even the Minister's daughter has taken a fancy to him."

"You! You!" Meng Qinghe's face turned livid. "Shut up! Stop talking nonsense!"

Caiping shielded Meng Qinghe and said, "Defaming our young lady's reputation—if our master finds out, he will certainly hold you accountable."

The onlookers pointed and whispered at her; Meng Qinghe's face was ashen, never expecting that she would gain no advantage and instead end up covered in filth.

Just then, a servant of Jiang Yuanting walked up to Li Yunxi and said softly, "Miss Li, do you need a carriage?"

The head beneath the cloak nodded up and down.

As Li Yunxi passed by Chi Nan Yi, she said softly, "Thank you, young master. I will call at your residence another day to thank you properly." With that, she prepared to take off the cloak.

Chi Nan Yi noticed the tear stains on her shoes and said lightly, "Just return the cloak to me when we meet again."

Beneath the cloak, tears fell even harder.

"Thank you."

Li Yunxi left in the carriage. Knowing the spectacle was more or less over, the crowd gradually dispersed.

Chi Nan Yi walked past Meng Qinghe casually, sensing her venomous glare. Chi Nan Yi's smile deepened; from the corner of her eye she swept the private room upstairs—Mo Junheng must have seen everything clearly from above. It would be even harder for Meng Qinghe to marry into the Crown Prince's Residence now.

Chi Nan Yi was right—Mo Junheng had indeed seen it all clearly.

"Fool." Mo Junheng frowned deeply, watching Meng Qinghe's figure through the window, his eyes full of disgust.

Ji Wen Yu, who had been eloquently and vividly expounding his grand strategies, froze.

Ji Wen Yu:???

Fool?

Was the Crown Prince calling him... a fool?

How could that be?

He had clearly been saying exactly what Lu Qing wrote!

Could it be that Lu Qing had deliberately set him up?

Impossible—he didn't have the brains for that.

"Your Highness... this humble subject..."

"I am tired today. Go back first."

"Yes."

When Ji Wen Yu came down from the private room, his legs felt as though they were filled with lead.

It was over. Everything was over.

The Crown Prince had called him a fool—everything was over.

He would have no future now. He walked the road in a daze, not even apologizing when he bumped into someone.

"Brat, you dare bump into me?" A burly man grabbed him by the collar. "Apologize!"

Ji Wen Yu was already in a terrible mood; he swatted the man's hand aside. "So what if I bumped into you?"

"Hey, boys, we've got a tough one here."

As the words fell, several tall figures surrounded Ji Wen Yu completely. How was Ji Wen Yu to know they had so many people? His heart sank to rock bottom, and he instantly cowered.

"What… what do you want? In broad daylight, this is Jingcheng!"

"So what if it's Jingcheng? Let me tell you the truth—even if I beat you to death, nothing will happen to me."

As the words fell, the man grabbed Ji Wen Yu by the collar and shoved him into a nearby alley with fewer passersby.

Before long, the sounds of punching and kicking echoed from the alley.

Ji Wen Yu howled from the beating, but not a single person paid any attention.

At the entrance of Jiang Yuan Pavilion.

Jiang Wanyue consoled Meng Qinghe.

"Don't stoop to that kind of person's level."

"Sister Jiang, now you come play the good person? When I was humiliated on the street, why didn't you come out and speak up for me?" Meng Qinghe's face was ashen. She glared at her, turned, and walked toward the carriage. She had lost all face.

Liu Liangzhou took Chi Nan Yi's words to heart.

He shook off Lin Ruoyi and strode quickly to Meng Qinghe's side, wearing a smile he thought was proper: "Miss Meng, I am Liu Liangzhou."

"What does it matter to me what kind of thing you are?" Meng Qinghe angrily flicked her sleeve and quickly climbed into the carriage.