Chapter 55: Falsely Claiming an Official Connection

As Xiao He calculated this, Han Xiao, standing beside her, looked at Xiao He in surprise, "That's amazing!"

Jun Zijin had not expected Xiao He to improve so quickly; having previously followed Han Xiao and Miao Zhu to learn literacy, and later following Mama Dong to learn bookkeeping, in just over a month, she had developed such a sharp mind.

Jun Zijin nodded slightly, her eyes full of approval.

"Xiao He, everyone has seen your hard work over this past month. With such intelligence, you will surely be able to shoulder great responsibilities in the future."

Xiao He curtsied, "It is all thanks to the good teaching of the mamas and sisters, and the opportunities given to me by the Young Lady."

"Xiao He, since you learn so quickly, you shall manage the three shops the Prince gave me from now on. Mama Dong was already managing these three shops of my mother's, so she will continue to do so. In any case, I do not have much time, and I am at ease leaving them to you both. I have a set of highly efficient accounting methods that I will teach you later; Han Xiao and Miao Zhu, you may learn them too if you are interested."

Xiao He said, unable to hide her excitement: "Thank you, Young Lady, Xiao He will certainly not let you down."

She then added cheekily: "Young Lady, is there a good show for us to watch today?"

Jun Zijin chuckled: "Want to see a good show? Then let's head over!"

Saying this, she led the two maids toward the Linglong Pavilion.

As soon as the three entered the Linglong Pavilion, a person dressed as a shop assistant came out to greet them. Seeing that Jun Zijin was dressed remarkably, he ushered her to the second floor with a face full of smiles.

Jun Zijin swept her gaze across the items displayed on the second floor and picked up a jade bracelet. A man who looked like the shopkeeper came over and waved for the assistant to step back. The assistant gave Jun Zijin a worried look and silently mouthed something.

Jun Zijin understood the assistant's lip movements; he was saying: "Be careful." Jun Zijin calmly returned a look of reassurance.

The shopkeeper hurriedly and enthusiastically introduced it: "This Young Lady, you truly have a discerning eye. This jade bracelet is a rare treasure; it is warm in winter and cool in summer, and feels smooth and moist to the touch."

Jun Zijin gently stroked the jade bracelet, a faint, elusive smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. She looked at the shopkeeper and asked softly:

"What is the value of this jade bracelet?"

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up, and he held up five fingers and shook them, "Young Lady, this amount." The shopkeeper thought to himself that this young lady clearly did not come from an ordinary family, and with two maids following her, he must squeeze more profit out of her.

Upon hearing this, Xiao He said happily: "Five taels, Young Lady, buy it!"

The shopkeeper's face turned dark and gloomy in an instant, but just as quickly, he put on a different expression:

"The young lady must have misread; this jade bracelet costs five hundred taels of silver," the shopkeeper said with a forced smile.

Xiao He's eyes widened:

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

"Young lady, this is top-quality Hetian jade that is warm in winter and cool in summer. Five hundred taels is only because you young ladies are pleasing to the eye."

Han Xiao was also full of surprise. Jun Zijin, however, merely raised an eyebrow and prepared to put the jade bracelet back.

At this moment, the shopkeeper pressed his hand down on Jun Zijin's, his smile turning sinister.

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

Xiao He grew anxious and said loudly:

"You just said it was because we were pleasing to the eye, why are you forcing a sale now?"

The shopkeeper said contemptuously:

"Hmph, go ask around. Everyone who comes to the second floor of this Linglong Pavilion is a high-ranking official or a noble. If you can't afford it, don't come up."

Jun Zijin's eyes turned cold:

"Shopkeeper, business is based on mutual consent. How can there be such a reason to force someone?"

The shopkeeper snorted coldly:

"If you don't produce the silver today, don't think about leaving this Linglong Pavilion."

Several men who looked like thugs had already surrounded them. Han Xiao clutched Jun Zijin's sleeve, feeling somewhat afraid. Xiao He stood in front of Jun Zijin, huffing angrily:

"Just try touching our Young Lady!"

Jun Zijin stepped out from behind Xiao He and said coldly:

"I would like to see which one of you dares to make a move." Jun Zijin's gaze swept over the crowd, exuding an imposing aura.

The shopkeeper was startled, a chill rising up his spine, but he thought to himself that the person before him was merely a woman, so he calmed down and hardened his heart.

The shopkeeper narrowed his eyes slightly, a look of disdain and threat on his face, and said coldly to Jun Zijin:

"Young Lady, don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! I'll tell you the truth: the backing of this Linglong Pavilion is not someone you can afford to provoke!"

"Oh? Is that so? Then why don't you tell me properly, what kind of sacred person or power is behind this?"

Jun Zijin's voice was cold, her delicate eyebrows slightly raised, the corners of her mouth lifted, and she stared straight at the shopkeeper as she retorted.

"I'll scare you to death if I say it—this Linglong Pavilion belongs to the brother-in-law of the current Minister!"

"Pfft, you scared me to death! I thought you were going to say you were the current Imperial Uncle!" Xiao He patted her chest, pretending to be afraid.

"Pfft," Han Xiao, who was beside Jun Zijin, and the surrounding crowd couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The shopkeeper was shamed into anger and stepped forward to grab Jun Zijin, but Jun Zijin didn't even dodge; she grabbed the claw reaching for her, and with a slight exertion of force, the shopkeeper grimaced in pain, realizing he had hit a hard target, and cried out:

"Let go, let go quickly!"

Jun Zijin sneered: "It's too late to beg for mercy now. Since you've turned a perfectly good Linglong Pavilion into this, you don't need to be the shopkeeper anymore."

The shopkeeper was so angry he almost laughed, and he shouted to the thugs nearby:

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

"Who dares to move?" Jun Zijin added a bit more force to her grip.

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

"Grandmother, this little one knows he was wrong, please show mercy."

The thugs were intimidated and took two steps back, not daring to act rashly.

Jun Zijin pushed the shopkeeper forward. The shopkeeper stumbled a few steps and fell to the ground, looking at her in terror.

"Who is making trouble here?" At this moment, a commotion came from outside, and a man in brocade walked in.

The shopkeeper acted as if he had seen a savior and hurriedly climbed up to complain.

The man looked Jun Zijin over and said disdainfully:

"Where did this wild girl come from, daring to run wild on my turf? Do you know who I am? I'll tell you the truth: I am Wu De, the brother of the First Lady of the Minister's Jun residence, and this shop is mine!"

As soon as he said this, Jun Zijin became even more furious. Oh, so you are Wu De.

"How could the dignified First Lady of the Jun residence have a brother like you? Falsely claiming a connection to an official is a crime! Han Xiao! Go report this to the authorities! Tell them someone here is impersonating a relative of the current Minister and hiring thugs to conduct forced sales."

Han Xiao didn't care who he was; she turned and walked out with long strides.

Hearing that they were reporting to the authorities, Wu De became anxious, his eyes narrowing:

"Where did this unruly girl come from?"

"What are you standing there for? Get her!" Wu De shouted at the thugs in a rage.

While calling the thugs, Wu De reached out to grab Jun Zijin's shoulder.

Jun Zijin crouched down, dodged to the side with her shoulder, and caught Wu De's wrist. With a pull, Wu De fell to the ground. Then, with a leap, Jun Zijin pinned Wu De to the ground, unable to move.

From the moment Wu De attacked to being subdued by Jun Zijin, it was only an instant; the crowd hadn't even seen how Jun Zijin made her move. When the thugs reacted and saw Wu De pinned by Jun Zijin, they stared blankly at this monstrous girl, not daring to act rashly again.

Not only were the thugs stunned, but the surrounding crowd was also dumbfounded. Even Xiao He, who had previously witnessed her Young Lady's formidable skills, was stunned: "Sigh, it's a pity Han Xiao didn't see the Young Lady's heroic performance just now!"

At this time, hurried footsteps came from outside, and Han Xiao brought in a team of officers who happened to be patrolling near the Linglong Pavilion. The leading officer frowned:

"Who is falsely claiming a connection to an official here?"

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

"My lord, you've come just in time. This person is impersonating a relative of the Minister, conducting forced sales, and even trying to hurt people."

Wu De hurriedly defended himself: "My lord, do not listen to this woman's nonsense; it is clearly she who is looking for trouble."

The officer looked at Jun Zijin. Jun Zijin stood up, took out a waist token, and handed it over. Upon seeing the token, the officer's expression changed drastically, and he bowed respectfully:

"So it is the County Princess of Qingping." The officer immediately saluted: "I did not know the County Princess was here; this one has been disrespectful."

Jun Zijin shook her head and pointed at Wu De:

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

Jun Zijin pointed at the burly men nearby. Those thugs wanted to slip away but were stopped by the officers.

"This person hired those thugs to guard this place and engage in forced sales. I truly cannot believe how the dignified First Lady of the Jun residence could have such a relative. That is why I had my maid report it to you, Officer. Please take this person back to the government office for a detailed interrogation. This person even claimed he was the owner of this shop, but this shop was my late mother's dowry. After my mother passed away, the shop was placed under my name, and the government office has a record of the deed. My stepmother manages it on my behalf; I do not know why this person says the shop is his. Please investigate this carefully. It is truly chilling that such a thing happened at Linglong Pavilion. I hereby announce that Linglong Pavilion is closed for rectification."

Jun Zijin pointed at the shopkeeper, who was pale with fright:

"Linglong Pavilion will expel this person, never to be employed again."

The officer listened carefully to every word Jun Zijin said and bowed respectfully:

"This one will certainly handle this impartially."