The man blankly wiped the tea off his face with his hand, not even noticing the handkerchief handed over by the servant beside him.
Luckily, it was cold tea; if it had been hot, his face would have been scalded.
“County Princess Linghui... that name sounds familiar, like I’ve heard it somewhere,” he murmured to himself, his chest like the sea before a storm, filled with suffocation and panic.
The woman’s voice trembled as she said, “That’s the divine physician, the one who invented the waterwheel and is a martial arts master—the commoner princess.”
She had envied how the other woman had stumbled into such luck. She herself was by no means inferior, but she never expected to run into the Song family in Songzhou City.
The man couldn’t accept the outcome. He slammed his fist against the table.
“Why aren’t they staying in the capital? What are they doing in the southwest, running a bookshop selling storybooks? Why didn’t anyone inform us?”
Silence was the only response.
Unable to vent his rage, the man turned to scold his servant.
“Why didn’t you find out who they were? How could you be so stupid!”
The servant couldn’t argue back, so he simply lowered his head with a look of grievance.
You never told me to investigate. It was you and Second Miss who went ahead on your own, doing everything yourselves. What does this have to do with me?
The commotion drew murmurs from others nearby, who had witnessed the entire scene.
Trying to bully someone soft, only to run into an iron wall—how ridiculous.
Surrounded by so many staring and gossiping, the woman felt as if she were sitting on a bed of nails.
She whispered, “Brother, there are too many people here. Let’s just go back first.”
The man straightened his neck and looked around, seeing many people watching and mocking them. He swept the teacups off the table with a swift motion and got up to leave.
Seeing the broken teacups and teapot scattered on the floor, the inn’s waiter, who had been watching, immediately stepped forward to demand compensation.
The servant quickly took silver from his pocket, placed it on the table as a sign, and only then did the waiter slow down.
The group hurried out of the inn, and the main hall instantly erupted in chatter.
“The bookshop run by County Princess Linghui—the Lin family’s people really kicked an iron plate this time.”
“What’s a bookshop? I heard that Suining Prefecture recently recruited thousands of workers and built a cement workshop.”
Someone asked in confusion, “Cement? What is that? I’ve never heard of it.”
“I heard it’s used for building roads, and the wages are pretty good. My father-in-law’s neighbor wanted to join, but unfortunately, they filled the positions in just two days—he couldn’t even make it in time to sign up.”
The discussion continued endlessly.
Back at the mansion, the two Lin family members immediately ordered someone to investigate the background of the Song family’s bookshop. They had to find out if what the other party said was true.
Half a day later, the servant who had been sent to inquire returned.
“The Song family’s bookshop was originally called the Xue Family Bookstore. It was owned by Gu Zhongxun, the Southwest Administrative Commissioner’s wife, and changed hands just over a month ago.”
“I asked around at the Gu family’s other shops, and they said Miss Gu sold it to the Song family during a trip to Suining City. The shop manager also said that Gu Baozhu and Second Miss Song are close friends—like sisters.”
Eldest Young Master Lin slumped into his chair.
“How did the Gu family have a bookstore in Suining City? Why did no one ever tell me—”
His words seemed to question both himself and the servant.
The reason he had dared to threaten them was that he knew the bookshop came from Suining City—a small place with no one worth fearing.
Even if he hadn’t known about the change of ownership, if he had known the previous owner was the wife of the Southwest Administrative Commissioner, he would never have done what he did.
The servant kept his eyes on the ground, his forehead nearly touching the floor.
“Over a decade ago, the mansion stopped dealing in the bookshop trade, so we never looked into it.”
Second Miss Lin tugged at her handkerchief, pulling out several threads. She thought for a moment and then suggested,
“We can bribe that Manager Lou. As long as he doesn’t report today’s incident, the Song family will never find out.”
