Chapter 792: Who Would Come Knocking on a Snowy Day?

Who would visit on a snowy day?

Gu Dashu’s shop is not open today.

After all, there’s an aristocratic young lady hiding in the shop, and word of it would damage the shop’s reputation.

Fortunately, there aren’t many customers during a snowstorm, so closing wouldn’t impact business much, nor arouse suspicion from others.

The door was being knocked on so loudly it shook.

It didn’t sound like a customer, nor like Gu Dashu returning.

The young clerk signaled to Miss Lin to hide inside the room.

He was really afraid that the Lin Family might come to capture Miss Lin.

Miss Lin turned pale with fright and hurriedly hid.

The young clerk peered through a crack in the door, and in a panic, opened the door.

"What’s going on? I’ve been calling for half a day and you wouldn’t open the door. My hand is red from knocking before you finally let me in?"

Liu Yueer came in with an accusatory demeanor.

These few days the heavy snow had kept Gu Dashu staying and eating at the shop. Concerned for her husband, Liu Yueer got up early to bring chicken soup from Jufu to Gu Dashu, but was ignored while standing in the wind and snow outside, visibly annoyed.

The young clerk smiled apologetically, "I didn’t hear it was you, young mistress."

Liu Yueer shook the snow off her cloak and asked, "Why did the shop open so late today?"

The young clerk smiled and said, "The shopkeeper said there’s no business today because of the snow, so we didn’t open."

Liu Yueer frowned.

Closing down on a snowy day was not like Gu Dashu. Everyone knew the Gu Family was greedy for money; they wouldn’t close even if it was raining knives.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Hearing she had come, Gu Dashu didn’t even come out, so she immediately asked, "Where is Gu Dashu?"

The clerk thought, "Oh no."

The shopkeeper had told him before leaving not to tell anyone that Miss Lin was in the shop, nor reveal his whereabouts.

Now that the young mistress was asking, should he tell her or not?

The young mistress was a bit gossipy and usually didn’t keep secrets very well.

Liu Yueer’s face changed when the clerk didn’t speak.

Was Gu Dashu not in the shop?

Even if he wasn’t in the shop, there was no need for the young clerk to hide it unless Gu Dashu...

Liu Yueer’s imagination started to run wild, from visiting brothels to keeping mistresses, going through every possibility in her mind.

It wasn’t strange for Liu Yueer to think that way.

Ever since she came to Shengjing, she had met quite a few rich wives, and which of those rich families didn’t keep a few mistresses? And those wealthy sons visiting brothels was the norm. Over time, she always worried that Gu Dashu might pick up some bad habits.

If Gu Dashu had really been enchanted by a vixen, she wouldn’t hesitate to use her methods.

Liu Yueer cast a sharp glance at the young clerk, asking, "Tell me the truth, Gu Dashu has been in the shop these days or where has he gone?"

The young clerk said, "In the shop. He went out early this morning for some errands."

Seeing Liu Yueer’s disbelief, he swore an oath, "Young mistress, the shopkeeper really has been sleeping in the shop these days."

Liu Yueer asked, "Then what errands did he have today, and where did he go? Tell me in detail. I won’t forgive even a single lie."

What could be the errand in snowy weather, going out so early?

Unless he never returned from a tryst.

The young clerk felt distressed.

Should he tell or not?

"Young mistress, the truth is..."

While the young clerk was organizing his words, Liu Yueer suddenly stood up and went around the screen.

Liu Yueer saw a pair of a woman’s embroidered shoes peeking out from under the screen.

Going around the screen, she saw a graceful and gentle girl standing beside a pile of rugs and blankets. Upon seeing her, the girl’s moist eyes watched Liu Yueer with a startled doe-like fear.

Liu Yueer’s mind exploded with anger.

Gu Dashu dared to hide a vixen in the shop.

It was no wonder Liu Yueer thought so. She and Miss Lin had both attended Old Mrs. Su’s birthday banquet, but they had had no interaction.

With so many noble ladies gathered back then, she couldn’t remember who was who.

"Gu Dashu, you dare to pull such tricks under my nose, bringing a vixen right in front of me, do you think I’m dead?"

"What a vixen, acting so seductive, who are you trying to entice? Flaunting your charm in front of me, I’ll show you my might." Liu Yueer said as she grabbed Miss Lin, hitting her.

Miss Lin had originally guessed it was Gu Dashu’s wife upon hearing Liu Yueer shout for Gu Dashu inside the room.

She was secretly pleased.

She had seen Liu Yueer at Old Mrs. Su’s birthday banquet, where among the crowd silently listening to the opera, only she was discussing the plot loudly with an old countrywoman next to her.

Her voice was loud, lacking any decorum.

During meals, she ate voraciously as if she had never seen good food, appearing utterly vulgar.

Gu Dashu’s country wife seemed unsophisticated and straightforward, certainly easy to deceive. She was confident she could easily fool her, using her to pass messages, ideally sending her to Prince Ning Mansion while Gu Dashu was away.

Thinking this, Miss Lin rubbed her eyes to make them red, wearing her cultivated pitiful expression as she came out.

However, before her plan could be executed, Liu Yueer had already mistaken her for Gu Dashu’s kept vixen and started beating her.

Gu Dashu’s country wife was even more straightforward than she had imagined, yanking hair and slapping her with no pretense.

Miss Lin, beaten dizzy by Liu Yueer, could no longer maintain her pitiful image, bursting into wailing cries.

The young clerk knew it was a misunderstanding and quickly ran to pull Liu Yueer away.

This pulling made Liu Yueer even angrier.

So, the vixen had infiltrated the shop, who was the real mistress of the shop?

"Young mistress, Miss Lin is not a vixen, it’s all a misunderstanding," the young clerk explained.

Liu Yueer didn’t listen to the young clerk’s explanation at all.

She had always hated women who played the victim.

Back in the provincial city, Miss Xian Xian had almost tricked Gu Dashu with her pitiful facade in a scam.

Now, Miss Lin was younger and more beautiful, evoking love effortlessly, much more than Miss Xian Xian.

Liu Yueer wanted nothing more than to gouge out Miss Lin’s moist eyes.

"Young mistress, it’s really not what you think. This young lady is Miss Lin."

Liu Yueer, exhausted from hitting, sat in the chair panting.

The clerk took the opportunity to explain in a rush.

Liu Yueer was skeptical, turning to look at Miss Lin, who shivered.

This shrew was too vicious, having slapped her face swollen, wiping her salty lips with the back of her hand as blood oozed from the corner of her mouth.

At this moment, Miss Lin realized that her little underhanded tactics in the inner residence were null in the face of absolute force.

Even when plotting against Second Miss Lin, her stepmother had never beaten her despite the anger.

She marked this beating in her mind, vowing to repay it tenfold someday.

Liu Yueer knew little about the Lin family.

Tong Huaqiong wouldn’t tell her many things.

At the Su Family, she didn’t know about Miss Lin plotting against Second Miss Lin, only that Miss Lin was betrothed to a minor official from the Hanlin Academy, soon to be wed.

Her mother-in-law had received an invitation.

Being one who enjoyed the festivities, she had requested her mother-in-law to take her along.

Now the person in front claimed to be Miss Lin, how could she believe it?