As the Lunar New Year was approaching, many people in Qinzhou City began to prepare to buy new clothes.
The most famous brocade in the south of the Yangtze River came from the Xie family. Coupled with the family's status as imperial merchants, the business of the Xie family's silk and satin shop was booming.
As the shopkeeper of the silk and satin shop, Ruan Jiu had to handle all matters, big and small. These days, she was extremely busy.
This was also the reason why Xie Jing wanted Ruan Jiu to marry into the eldest branch of the family as soon as possible.
With Ruan Jiu's help, the silk and satin shop would surely fall into the hands of the eldest branch sooner or later.
"Uncle Li, there's something wrong with yesterday's accounts. Please check them again."
"Xiao Wu, take some people to get more brocade from the warehouse."
"Oh, right. Qiuniang, hurry up and get ready. You need to go to the prefect's mansion today to take measurements for Miss Lin."
Ruan Jiu arrived at the silk and satin shop early in the morning. She had been busy for a whole morning without even a sip of water.
Just as she was swamped with work, a commotion came from the door.
She looked up, her brows knitted tightly. "Chuntao, go and see what's going on outside."
A moment later, Chuntao rushed in, looking panicked.
"Something's wrong! There are a lot of people outside shouting for a refund!"
Hearing this, Ruan Jiu quickly walked outside.
The door of the silk and satin shop was already crowded.
Looking around, dozens of people were holding brocade in their hands, and their faces didn't look good.
Everyone was talking at once, and the scene was in chaos.
As soon as they saw Ruan Jiu coming out, they all surrounded her.
"Shopkeeper Ruan, look at this brocade of yours. I just bought it yesterday, and it has a tear today."
"Mine is the same. It ripped after only one wear! What kind of stuff are you selling?"
"That's right. I spent so much silver on it. I might as well have bought a cotton-padded clothes."
Only then did Ruan Jiu realize that there was a problem with the brocade.
"Everyone, please don't be impatient!" Ruan Jiu raised her voice.
Everyone stopped making noise and looked at her.
"Could you please let me have a look at the clothes?"
After saying that, an old woman handed over the brocade in her hand.
Ruan Jiu took it and examined it carefully. The pattern on it did seem to be the unique brocade of the Xie family.
But the texture was different from that of the real brocade.
"Auntie, are you sure this dress is the Xie family's brocade?"
Hearing this, the old woman immediately jumped up and exclaimed, "What do you mean by that? Do you think I'm trying to deceive you with fake goods? Look at this pattern. What else could it be but brocade?"
"Everyone knows that the Xie family's brocade has a special craftsmanship drawing that no one else can imitate." Another person chimed in.
Ruan Jiu's eyes darkened, and she felt a sense of unease in her heart.
The Xie family's brocade had a unique craftsmanship, and each process was handled by a special person.
If someone wanted to forge it, they would have to bribe the people in charge of each process.
Or, it could be her, who had all the craftsmanship drawings in her hands.
No matter which possibility it was, the silk and satin shop would face a huge crisis.
"I don't know why the Xie family would let a woman be the shopkeeper?"
"Look at the quality of this brocade. I won't dare to buy from them again in the future."
"If the brocade is this bad, then the other silks and satins must be as useless as rags."
"The Xie family's brocade wasn't like this before. It's only been a short time since she became the shopkeeper, and this kind of thing has happened. Who knows how much silver she's embezzled."
"Now, the reputation of the Xie family's silk and satin shop will be ruined by her."
Everyone was talking and pointing at her.
Their eyes were full of disdain and contempt for Ruan Jiu.
Not far away, on the second floor of the Mingxiang Pavilion, there sat a handsome young man in white clothes. His noble aura was natural.
But in the middle of winter, holding a gold-embroidered folding fan in his hand, he looked a bit pretentious.
Leaning on his hand, he watched the drama downstairs with great interest.
"Go and add more fuel to the fire."
The servant beside him bowed and replied,
"Yes."
He wanted to see how Shopkeeper Ruan would solve this situation.
Just then, a woman rushed over in a hurry.
As soon as she saw Ruan Jiu, she immediately pounced on her. Even Chuntao beside Ruan Jiu didn't have time to react.
The woman was in tears. She grabbed Ruan Jiu's arm and began to cry.
"You heartless shopkeeper! How could you make such shoddy goods!"
Chuntao quickly pulled the woman away and stood in front of Ruan Jiu, shouting angrily, "You can't talk nonsense like this!"
"My daughter wore a wedding dress made of the Xie family's brocade to get married yesterday. Who would have thought that the dress would rip as soon as she bowed in the wedding ceremony! She was thus despised by her husband's family, and now she's on the covered bridge, about to commit suicide!"
After saying that, the woman collapsed on the ground.
She kept beating her chest and shouting at the crowd, "Everyone, please help me judge! As a woman, how could she be so vicious! Making such things and ruining someone's reputation!"
Ruan Jiu narrowed her eyes slightly and sneered.
So, all of this was aimed at her.
She said, "Since your daughter is about to commit suicide, what are you still doing here?"
After saying that, she rushed towards the covered bridge.
Whether what the woman said was true or not, the Xie family's silk and satin shop couldn't stay out of this.
If the hat of causing someone's death was put on them, it would be difficult to take it off.
Hearing Ruan Jiu's words, the crowd finally reacted.
Yes, if her daughter was on the verge of suicide, she should have gone to persuade her first instead of coming here to demand an explanation.
The looks in the crowd's eyes towards the woman changed from sympathy to contempt.
When she reached the covered bridge, Ruan Jiu saw a woman with disheveled hair leaning on the railing at a glance.
There were many onlookers around.
"Jiaojiao, the culprit who made you lose face has come. Please come down quickly!" the woman shouted at her daughter.
"Mother, I have no face to live in this world anymore!" Chen Jiaojiao's eyes were filled with tears and resentment.
Ruan Jiu stepped forward and carefully examined Chen Jiaojiao.
She looked disheveled, but her face was exquisitely made up.
Was this the look of someone who wanted to commit suicide?
What a wonderful show.
Looking at the unfamiliar faces of the two, Ruan Jiu felt puzzled.
She whispered something in Chuntao's ear. Then Chuntao quietly left when no one was paying attention.
"Shopkeeper Ruan, if you hadn't sold inferior brocade, my daughter wouldn't have encountered this kind of thing! You must give us an explanation!" the woman shouted at Ruan Jiu.
"Then what do you mean?" Ruan Jiu asked.
"Now that my daughter's reputation has been completely ruined, it can't be bought off with just a little silver!"
Ruan Jiu immediately understood that they wanted a large amount of silver.
But now, in full view of everyone, if she really took out silver to settle this matter,
Wouldn't it confirm that the Xie family's brocade really had problems?
If she didn't solve this matter, what if the woman really jumped off? The Xie family would be labeled as the one who caused someone's death.
By then, the Xie family's other businesses would surely be affected.
Even if the woman didn't really want to commit suicide, she didn't dare to take the risk at this moment.
What should she do?
After a moment of silence, an idea flashed through her mind.
A sly smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, barely noticeable.
Then, she walked towards Chen Jiaojiao step by step.
Seeing this, Chen Jiaojiao immediately became vigilant. Looking panicked, she shouted, "Don't come any closer. If you do, I'll jump right away!"
After saying that, she leaned half of her body out of the railing.
Ruan Jiu saw that her hands were tightly gripping the railing, and her fingertips were turning white.
A sneer appeared on the corner of her mouth.
Sure enough, she didn't dare to jump.
At this moment, she was only three steps away from Chen Jiaojiao.
In a voice that only the two of them could hear, she whispered, "Okay, then jump!"
Hearing this, Chen Jiaojiao's face turned pale with fear. She widened her eyes in disbelief.
Was this woman crazy?