Chapter 476: Madam Zhang

Xue Shao realized this, so when Wang Zhen was released from prison, he went to great lengths to lure the Emperor out of the palace.

He took him to visit a cloth shop.

The young Emperor always felt relaxed when leaving the palace; he fanned himself and strode boldly ahead of Xue Shao, curious about everything in the cloth shop.

He would stop to watch when he saw people dyeing cloth, and stop again when he saw people weaving or spinning thread.

The Shopkeeper accompanied them the entire time, enthusiastically and in detail introducing the shop's many advantages: "Our prices are low, our fabrics exquisite, and our shop handles every step—from spinning, weaving, dyeing, embroidery, to finished garments. Whatever our esteemed guests desire, we have it."

Zhu Qizhen nodded vaguely, snapped his fan open to cover half his face, and leaned close to Xue Shao to whisper: "We're not in business—why are we here?"

Xue Shao whispered: "Didn't you want to know the public's opinion on the husband-murder case being reopened?"

The Emperor: "Shouldn't you go to teahouses or taverns for that?"

Xue Shao shook his head: "To ordinary people, this case is merely another topic for after-dinner chatter. Tomorrow or the day after, once another case or strange tale emerges, this one will be forgotten."

Only those directly involved—the victims' families and their close circle—are deeply affected."

The Emperor frowned: "Who in this cloth shop?"

Xue Shao: "Coincidentally, the families from both cases work here."

The Emperor instinctively doubted: "Could such a coincidence truly exist?"

Xue Shao: "Young Master, this is the largest cloth shop in Jingcheng, employing nearly a thousand people here alone—from mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing to silk reeling. Because the shop is so large and hires so many, they don't investigate the backgrounds of their lowest workers too closely."

In smaller workshops, they'd check a worker's ancestry back three generations before hiring."

Xue Shao whispered: "They have a mother who killed her husband—no one will hire her."

He paused, then added: "Here, they suffer more than others and earn even lower wages."

Zhu Qizhen frowned in silence.

The Shopkeeper stood by, waiting; once he saw their whispered conversation end, he stepped forward: "Esteemed guests, which aspect would you like to see next?"

Xue Shao said: "Start with the spinning and weaving."

The Shopkeeper smiled and led them to the workers spinning and weaving.

As soon as they entered the room, Zhu Qizhen noticed something unusual without Xue Shao needing to point—it was the woman with half-gray hair, pushed into a corner, her surrounding threads the most tangled.

Zhu Qizhen frowned slightly and pointed at her: "What's going on with her?"

The Shopkeeper glanced over, a flicker of displeasure in his eyes, then immediately bowed in apology: "Forgive us, esteemed guest—this female worker is disobedient. She's already been dismissed from our shop, but since it's not yet month-end, we couldn't settle her wages. Our master is kind-hearted, so we let her stay a little longer. But she doesn't appreciate it—her work has become sloppy. I'll drive her out right away."

Zhu Qizhen stepped forward and examined the cloth she wove: "But I think her weaving is quite good."

The Shopkeeper stared closely and realized it truly was decent—suddenly speechless.

Zhu Qizhen frowned: "It looks to me like the other workers here are ostracizing her. Could it be jealousy over her superior weaving? If so, how good can their own cloth be?" The worker beside him, pulling the loom, grew angry and slammed her spindle down: "Young Master, you speak without basis! Who says we ostracize her? Is our cloth bad? Just look at our cloth!"

She snatched up her own woven fabric and slapped it toward Zhu Qizhen's face: "Young Master, look—where is my cloth worse than hers?"

The Shopkeeper, offended by her insolence, waved his hand: "Go, go, go! These are esteemed guests—what are you causing a scene for?"

"I'm not causing a scene! You can say anything else about me, but don't say my craftsmanship is bad!" She pointed at the half-gray-haired woman: "We've always treated her kindly because she's old—we've helped her countless times. Everyone in this room has told her about their family dramas, their gossip, their dirty secrets. And what did she do? She lied to us from start to finish."

The woman's lips trembled as she murmured: "I… I didn't lie to you…"

"Didn't lie? Your husband's surname is Qiu, yet you never mentioned it—you only let us call you Zhang Da Niang. You and your daughter-in-law Yang Shi work here. We pitied you both as widows, even helped your daughter-in-law's brothers make a living. We helped you constantly. And then we find out your son is the monster who conspired with his mother-in-law to poison his father-in-law!"

"Your whole family is so twisted and cruel—how could we ever associate with people like you?"

"Exactly! For two years you've tricked us into doing extra work for you two widows—just thinking about it makes me furious."

Zhang Da Niang turned pale; seeing the Shopkeeper's displeasure, she fell to her knees with a thud and begged, head to the ground: "Master, we never meant to deceive you—we were too ashamed to speak up. Besides, besides—my son is innocent—"

She banged her head on the floor, pleading: "Master, please don't drive my daughter-in-law and me away—we rely on these wages to survive. We're willing to take less—two-thirds is fine, even half."

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She wept: "My son isn't the killer. My in-laws are innocent too—they aren't evil people. Our family isn't evil either…"

Zhang Da Niang banged her head again and again, facing Zhu Qizhen directly; after ten or so blows, her forehead reddened and began to bleed.

Zhu Qizhen, facing her pain and grief directly, recoiled three steps in shock.

The Shopkeeper thought he was frightened by Zhang Da Niang and grew even angrier: "Stop shouting! Our master was kind enough to keep you, and now you scare our esteemed guests? We can't keep you here—someone, come and throw her out!"

Immediately, men entered to drag Zhang Da Niang away.

The Shopkeeper still wasn't satisfied: "Find the others in the shop too—throw them all out!"

"Our master is lenient—does that mean any stray cat or dog can walk in? Look what these few days have done to our shop—filthy and chaotic!"

The guards responded, leaving two to drag Zhang Da Niang while the others went to find the other related workers.

Zhu Qizhen's face darkened; he quickly stopped them: "Wait—they're workers. As long as their craftsmanship is good and they don't steal or slack off, why dismiss them because of their family?"

The Shopkeeper: "Young Master, their families are tied to criminal cases. If they could raise a son like that, how many good people could be in their household? The imperial court enforces collective punishment—refusing to hire them is only right."

Zhu Qizhen opened his mouth, but said nothing for a long while.

The Shopkeeper thought he'd struck a chord and continued: "Besides, their presence disrupts the other workers. Ever since we learned her son was Qiu Yong—the man who conspired with his mother-in-law to kill his father-in-law—this shop hasn't had a single peaceful day."

He sighed: "We don't know what curse we've drawn—two husband-murder cases in Jingcheng, and both families work here. These past few days, the workers have been terrified."

Zhu Qizhen: "... Who else is here?"

(End of Chapter)