Chapter 55: Falsely Claiming Official Kinship

With Xiaohu's calculation done, Hanxiao beside her looked at Xiaohu in astonishment. "Incredible!"

Jun Jun Zijin had not expected Xiaohu to improve so quickly; having first learned literacy from Hanxiao and Miaozhu, then accounting from Winter Nanny, in just over a month she had already developed such acumen.

Jun Jun Zijin nodded slightly, her eyes full of approval.

"Xiaohu, everyone has seen your efforts this past month; with such cleverness now, you will surely bear great responsibilities in the future."

Xiaohu curtsied. "It is all thanks to Nanny and the sisters teaching me well, and to the Young Lady for giving me this opportunity."

"Xiaohu, since you learn so quickly, from now on you will manage the three shops the Prince gave me. Winter Nanny already manages my mother's three shops, so those three will remain under Dong Nanny's care. In any case, I do not have much time, and I feel at ease leaving them to you. I have a highly efficient method of accounting that I will teach you later; Hanxiao and Miaozhu, if you are interested, learn it as well."

Xiaohu, unable to conceal her excitement, said, "Thank you, Young Lady. Xiaohu will certainly not disappoint you."

Then, with a mischievous grin, she added, "Young Lady, do we have a good show to watch today?"

Jun Jun Zijin chuckled lightly. "Want to watch a show? Then let us go!"

With that, she led the two maids toward the Exquisite Pavilion.

As soon as the three entered the Exquisite Pavilion, a clerk dressed in worker's attire rushed out to greet them; seeing Jun Jun Zijin's extraordinary dress, he beamed and ushered her up to the second floor.

Jun Jun Zijin swept her gaze over the items displayed on the second floor and picked up a jade bracelet. A man resembling a Shopkeeper approached, waving the clerk away; the clerk glanced worriedly at Jun Jun Zijin and silently mouthed a warning.

Jun Jun Zijin recognized the clerk's lip movement: "Be careful." She gave an imperceptible nod of reassurance in return.

The Shopkeeper hastily began an enthusiastic introduction: "This Young Lady, you truly have a discerning eye. This jade bracelet is a rare treasure; warm in winter, cool in summer, and smooth to the touch."

Jun Jun Zijin gently stroked the jade bracelet, a faint, ambiguous smile curling her lips. She looked at the Shopkeeper and asked softly:

"What is the price of this jade bracelet?"

The Shopkeeper's eyes lit up; he held up five fingers and waved them. "Young Lady, this number." Privately, he thought, This young lady clearly does not come from an ordinary family, and she has two maids behind her; I must squeeze as much profit as possible from her.

Xiaohu heard this and said happily, "Five taels? Young Lady, buy it!"

The Shopkeeper's face instantly turned dark and gloomy, but only for an instant before he changed his expression again:

"Miss, you must have misseen. This jade bracelet costs five hundred taels of silver," the Shopkeeper said with a smile that did not reach his eyes.

Xiaohu's eyes widened:

"Shopkeeper, just now you clearly gestured five fingers; how does it suddenly become five hundred taels? Are you trying to bully our Young Lady?"

"Miss, this is premium Hetian jade, warm in winter and cool in summer; five hundred taels is a price given only because you ladies appeal to my eye."

Hanxiao also wore a look of astonishment. Jun Jun Zijin merely raised an eyebrow and prepared to put the jade bracelet back.

At that moment, the Shopkeeper suddenly grabbed Jun Jun Zijin's hand, his smile turning sinister.

"Young Lady, now that you have touched this jade bracelet, you cannot simply put it down; you must buy it."

Xiaohu grew anxious and shouted loudly:

"Just now you said the price depended on whether it appealed to your eye; why are you now forcing a sale?"

The Shopkeeper said contemptuously:

"Hmph, ask around. Who among those who come to the second floor of this Exquisite Pavilion is not a high official or noble? If you cannot afford it, do not come up here."

Jun Jun Zijin's gaze turned cold:

"Shopkeeper, business should be based on mutual willingness; where is the logic in such coercion?"

The Shopkeeper snorted coldly:

"If you do not produce the silver today, do not think of leaving this Exquisite Pavilion."

Several men resembling thugs had already gathered around. Hanxiao tugged at Jun Jun Zijin's hem, somewhat frightened, while Xiaohu stepped in front of Jun Jun Zijin and said angrily:

"Just try laying a hand on our Young Lady!"

Jun Jun Zijin stepped out from behind Xiaohu and said in a cold voice:

"This Young Lady would like to see which of you dares to make a move." Jun Jun Zijin's gaze swept over the crowd, radiating an imposing aura.

The Shopkeeper's heart jolted in shock, a chill rising up his spine, but then he reconsidered: the person before him was merely a woman, so he steadied himself and hardened his resolve.

The Shopkeeper narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of disdain and threat appearing on his face, and said coldly to Jun Jun Zijin:

"Young Lady, do not refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit; do not be ignorant of what is good for you! To tell you the truth, the power behind this Exquisite Pavilion is not something you can afford to provoke!"

"Oh? Is that so? Then do explain carefully: exactly what divine figure or powerful force stands behind it?"

Jun Jun Zijin's voice was clear and cold; she lightly raised her delicate eyebrows, her lips curving slightly as she stared straight at the Shopkeeper and countered.

"I will say it and scare you to death: this Exquisite Pavilion belongs to the elder brother of the current Minister of Personnel's wife!"

"Tsk, I'm scared to death, baby. I thought you were going to say it belongs to the current Imperial Uncle!" Xiaohu patted her chest, pretending to be frightened.

"Pfft," Hanxiao beside Jun Jun Zijin and the surrounding crowd could not help but burst into laughter.

The Shopkeeper, flushed with shame and rage, lunged forward to grab Jun Jun Zijin, but unexpectedly, she did not even dodge; instead, she reversed her hand and seized the claw reaching for her. With a slight exertion of strength, the Shopkeeper grimaced in pain, thinking to himself, This is bad; today I have met a tough opponent, and he cried out:

"Let go, let go quickly!"

Jun Jun Zijin sneered coldly: "It is too late to beg for mercy now. Since you have turned a perfectly good Exquisite Pavilion into such a place, you, Shopkeeper, need not continue in your post."

The Shopkeeper was so angry he almost laughed; he shouted at the thugs nearby:

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and attack!"

"Who dares to make a move?" Jun Jun Zijin increased the strength in her hand by several degrees.

Beads of sweat the size of beans broke out on the Shopkeeper's forehead, and he hurriedly cried:

"Grandma Miss, this humble one knows his mistake; please show mercy and spare me."

Intimidated, the several thugs retreated two steps, not daring to act rashly.

Jun Jun Zijin shoved the Shopkeeper forward; he stumbled several steps and fell to the ground, looking at her in terror.

"Who is causing a disturbance here?" Suddenly, a clamor came from outside, and a man in brocade robes walked in.

The Shopkeeper, as if seeing a savior, hurriedly scrambled up to lodge a complaint.

The man sized up Jun Jun Zijin and said disdainfully:

"Where did this wild girl come from, daring to run wild on my territory? Do you know who I am? To tell you the truth, I am Wu De, elder brother of the First Lady of the Minister Jun's household, and this shop belongs to me!"

At these words, Seeing Jun Jun Zijin grew even angrier. "So, you are Wu De after all."

"How could the First Lady of the prestigious Jun Manor have a brother like you? Falsely claiming official kinship is a crime! Han Xiao! Go report to the authorities! Tell them someone here is impersonating a relative of the current Minister of Rites and has hired thugs to conduct forced transactions."

Han Xiao did not care who he was; she turned and strode out with long steps.

Upon hearing the threat to report to the authorities, Wu De panicked, his eyes narrowing:

"Where did this willful girl come from?"

"What are you still standing there for? Get her!" Wu De shouted furiously at several thugs.

While Wu De was shouting for his thugs, he reached out to grab Seeing Jun Jun Zijin's shoulder.

Seeing Jun Jun Zijin crouched low, her shoulder dodging to the side. Her hand clamped onto Wu De's wrist; she exerted force and pulled him backward. Wu De fell to the ground. Immediately, Seeing Jun Jun Zijin leaped and pinned Wu De to the ground, rendering him unable to move.

From the moment Wu De made his move until he was subdued by Seeing Jun Jun Zijin, only an instant passed. Indeed, no one among the crowd had clearly seen how Seeing Jun Jun Zijin had made her move. By the time the thugs reacted, seeing Wu De pinned by Seeing Jun Jun Zijin, they stared dumbfounded at this perverted girl and dared not act rashly again.

Not only were the thugs stunned, but the surrounding crowd was also left speechless. Even Xiao He, who had previously witnessed her Young Lady's formidable skills, was dumbfounded: "Alas, it is truly a pity that Han Xiao did not see the Young Lady's such heroic display just now!"

At this moment, a sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the door. Han Xiao led a squad of officials who happened to be patrolling the area to Linglong Pavilion into the room. The lead official frowned:

"Who here is falsely claiming official kinship?"

Xiao He pointed at Wu De, who was pinned to the ground, and spoke first:

"My lord, your arrival is timely. This man impersonated the Minister of Rites' relative, conducted forced transactions, and even attempted to injure someone."

Wu De hurriedly defended himself: "My lord, do not listen to this woman's nonsense. Clearly, she is the one provoking trouble."

The official looked at Seeing Jun Jun Zijin. Seeing Jun Jun Zijin stood up, took out a jade tablet, and handed it over. Upon seeing the tablet, the official's expression changed abruptly. He bowed respectfully and said:

"So it is Lady Lady Qingping." The official immediately bowed again: "Not knowing the Lady was here, this humble one was disrespectful."

Seeing Jun Jun Zijin shook her head and pointed at Wu De, saying:

"I do not know why this man would impersonate my mother's brother. Look, those thugs were hired by him."

Seeing Jun Jun Zijin pointed at the several burly men nearby. Those thugs tried to slip away but were blocked by the officials.

"This man hired those thugs to guard this place and conduct forced transactions. I truly cannot believe how the prestigious Jun Manor's First Lady could have such a relative! That is why I had this girl report the case to the officials. Please, my lords, take this man back to the yamen for detailed interrogation. He also claimed to be the owner of this shop, but this shop is the dowry shop of my late mother. After my mother passed away, the shop came under my name. The land deed is also on file at the yamen, managed by my stepmother. I do not know why this man claims the shop is his. Please, my lord, investigate this carefully. Such an incident at Linglong Pavilion is truly chilling to the heart. I now declare that Linglong Pavilion will close for rectification."

Seeing Jun Jun Zijin then pointed her finger at the Shopkeeper, whose face had turned pale with fear:

"Linglong Pavilion will expel this man and never employ him again."

The officials listened carefully to every word Seeing Jun Jun Zijin said, then bowed respectfully:

"This humble one will certainly handle this impartially."