When Ruan Jiu opened her eyes again, she was lying in her own bed.
Xie Jingchu was sitting beside the bed, his face looking gloomy and fierce.
"Fourth Master," Ruan Jiu called out timidly.
Seeing that Ruan Jiu had woken up, Xie Jingchu's complexion looked a bit better.
"Where's your brain!" Xie Jingchu couldn't help scolding.
Ruan Jiu pouted, looking aggrieved. "I didn't expect her to jump either."
After realizing that his tone had been a bit too harsh just now, Xie Jingchu immediately softened his voice, his eyes full of helplessness.
"What would you have done if I hadn't been there today?"
Just thinking about what had happened today made him feel terrified.
Fortunately, he had rushed over immediately after learning that something had happened to the silk store.
"Where's Chen Jiaojiao?" Ruan Jiu asked, grabbing Xie Jingchu's sleeve.
"She ran away."
"What about her mother?"
"She also ran away in the chaos."
"What?!" Ruan Jiu propped herself up and sat up.
Suddenly, a cold gust of wind blew into the quilt, and she couldn't help sneezing.
Xie Jingchu quickly helped her lie down and tucked the quilt in for her.
"What are you in such a hurry for?" Xie Jingchu paused. "That mother - daughter pair often swindle people in different places. Most likely, they wanted to extort some money in the chaos today. Even if we sent them to the yamen, we probably wouldn't get any useful information."
But Ruan Jiu didn't think so. It was just too much of a coincidence.
How come as soon as something happened to the silk store, they just happened to come to Qinzhou.
Seeing the furrowed brows on Ruan Jiu's face, Xie Jingchu reached out and stroked her eyebrows.
"Don't worry about the things in the silk store. I'll handle it." Xie Jingchu's voice was firm and reassuring.
Ruan Jiu shook her head. "This incident is obviously aimed at me."
"So what do you plan to do?"
"Not in a hurry."
She was going to find out who was behind all this.
Even though the mother - daughter pair had deliberately framed the Xie family's silk store that day, the issue of the brocade hadn't been resolved.
In the past few days, a large amount of inferior brocade had appeared in Qinzhou City.
The reputation of the Xie family's silk store had plummeted, and the business was in a dire state.
"Miss Biao, aren't you worried?" Chun Tao asked anxiously.
On normal days, the silk store would be bustling with customers.
If you wanted to order a piece of clothing, you had to make an appointment half a month in advance.
Now, it was almost noon, and there wasn't a single customer in the store.
Chun Tao was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing back and forth in the room.
"After being busy for so long, isn't it good to take a break?" Ruan Jiu was sitting on a master's chair, eyes half - closed, looking calm.
"But look at how bad the business is," Chun Tao mumbled.
The Zhou family's cloth store on the next street was doing much better than theirs.
"What? Are you afraid I can't pay your monthly salary?" Ruan Jiu joked.
"Miss Biao, how can you still be in the mood to joke at this time?"
Chun Tao wasn't really worried about not getting her salary.
The main thing was that Miss Biao had finally become the manager of the silk store.
Now that the silk store had a bad reputation and the business was sluggish, the position of the manager might be taken back.
Just then, the employees of the silk store all came to the main hall without prior agreement.
They stood neatly in front of Ruan Jiu, each looking embarrassed and hesitant to speak.
"What do you want?" Ruan Jiu asked straightforwardly.
They glanced at each other, and no one wanted to be the first to speak.
Finally, Uncle De couldn't help but step forward and said, "Manager Ruan, the business of the silk store is so bad now. We all have families to support, so..."
"So you want to leave?" Ruan Jiu asked.
Uncle De nodded and then buried his head low.
Before Ruan Jiu could say anything, Chun Tao couldn't help but say, "Uncle De, you've been an old employee of the silk store. How can you just leave when the store is in trouble?"
Li Deming was the accountant of the silk store and had been working diligently for the Xie family for more than thirty years.
Chun Tao couldn't understand why he was the first one to propose leaving.
Then, Chun Tao looked at the others, her eyes urgent. "Are you all going to leave with him?"
Seeing everyone avoiding her gaze, Chun Tao roared, "Miss Biao has always treated you well!"
It's really like the monkeys scattering when the tree falls!
They were all ungrateful wretches!
Ruan Jiu slowly stood up and scanned the crowd. The accountant, the errand boys, the embroiderers in the embroidery room...
Everyone was there.
Ruan Jiu walked up to Aunt Qiu and said gently, "Are you also going to leave?"
Aunt Qiu bit her lip and didn't say a word, her eyes full of apology.
Seeing this, Chun Tao stepped forward and tightly grabbed Aunt Qiu's arm. "Aunt Qiu, don't you remember that if it weren't for Miss Biao, you and your son would have died on the street long ago!"
Two years ago, there was a disaster in Aunt Qiu's hometown, and she fled with her son all the way to Qinzhou.
Fortunately, she met Ruan Jiu, who not only gave them something to eat but also let Aunt Qiu stay in the silk store as an embroiderer.
"Aunt Qiu, have you found a good place to go?" Ruan Jiu's tone was still gentle.
Aunt Qiu nodded but still didn't say a word. She just buried her head even lower.
Seeing that Aunt Qiu was determined to leave, Ruan Jiu didn't try to stop her. "Okay, go ahead."
"Miss Biao..." Chun Tao wanted to persuade her.
But Ruan Jiu waved her hand.
"Since Aunt Qiu has found a good place to go, we can't let her excellent embroidery skills go to waste here."
Hearing what Ruan Jiu said, Chun Tao was so angry that her face turned ashen. She crossed her arms and turned her head to the side.
Aunt Qiu was now one of the best embroiderers in Qinzhou City. Her departure would undoubtedly make the situation of the silk store even worse.
Miss Biao could have demanded repayment for her kindness, but she let her go.
She was really being stupid!
Li Deming didn't expect Ruan Jiu to agree so readily to let them leave.
Once they left, the silk store would be left as an empty shell.
Wasn't she afraid of being blamed by Master Xie?
"Manager Ruan, actually, there's a way for us to stay," Li Deming said, rubbing his hands, his eyes full of shrewdness.
"Oh? What's the way?"
"The silk store is in trouble this time, and you, Manager Ruan, are partly responsible. If you're willing to leave the silk store, then we can stay."
Hearing this, Ruan Jiu turned around and gave a mocking smile.
Couldn't the fox hide its tail so soon?
She stopped smiling, turned around, and slightly raised her hand, pointing in the direction of the door.
"Please leave, everyone."
Li Deming couldn't believe it. She didn't even try to persuade them to stay.
Although he had indeed found a good place to go and had received favors from others, promising to take all the employees of the silk store with him.
But after all, the silk store was backed by the Xie family. If he could pull Ruan Jiu down this time and become the manager himself, it would be much better than going to other places.
"If you let us go, aren't you afraid of being blamed by Master Xie!"
Ruan Jiu sneered. "It's really funny. Didn't you say you wanted to leave?"
Li Deming's eyes shifted. It was true what she said, but he didn't have to leave.
"Manager Ruan, after all, you're a woman. Wouldn't it be better for you to go back to the Xie Mansion and be a Miss Biao peacefully?"
Ruan Jiu covered her mouth and let out a snort. "It seems that Uncle De is not only old but also hard of hearing."
"What do you mean?"
Ruan Jiu's eyes changed. Her black pupils were full of coldness.
A strong sense of oppression emanated from her eyes as she stared at everyone.
"I've already said it just now. Please leave, everyone."
It was the first time Li Deming had seen Ruan Jiu like this. He was so scared that he stopped in his tracks.
His legs went weak, and he almost fell to the ground.
But soon he composed himself and pretended to be calm.
He glared at Ruan Jiu fiercely.
"Don't you regret it!"