The moment Su Mingyu thought of Zhizhu, she recalled the first time she saw her after transmigrating. Zhizhu was crying so piteously that time, looking even more heart - broken than herself at the sight of the blood on her hand.
A faint smile played on Su Mingyu's lips as her eyes sparkled with tenderness. "Because she's the only one in the Su family who's ever been kind to me."
Gu Ruobai cast a sidelong glance at her. "From now on, I'll be good to you."
Su Mingyu blushed instantly and let out a soft snort without saying a word.
Seeing her haughty expression, Gu Ruobai let out a low chuckle. "Hurry up. If we're any slower, it'll be dark and there won't be anything left to eat."
After a hearty meal, it was already evening when Su Mingyu returned to the mansion.
Carrying a food box, Su Mingyu was on her way back to her courtyard when she noticed Su Yueyue eyeing her maliciously.
"Yo~ Where have you been? It's so late!"
Su Mingyu pointed at the food box in her hand. "Prince Ruixian took me out for dinner. The dishes were quite good, so I packed some for Zhizhu."
She was with Prince Ruixian all evening?
A barely perceptible sneer flashed across Su Yueyue's face. "You'd better treat Prince Ruixian as well as you treat this maid."
"What do you mean, sister?" Su Mingyu frowned. "Is there something wrong with Prince Ruixian?"
"Nothing." The thought of Su Mingyu being toyed with by a man filled Su Yueyue with secret glee. "I'm just saying. You go about your business."
With that, Su Yueyue turned around and left, leaving Su Mingyu with a cold smile on her face.
Let her misunderstand that there was something going on between Sinan and Prince Ruixian. It would make it easier for her to get money from Su Yueyue in the future.
Under the star - studded sky, Zhizhu let out a satisfied burp after a full meal. "Miss, Prince Ruixian is getting nicer to you. It's such a blessing that you'll marry him."
Su Mingyu gave her a sidelong glance. "You ungrateful girl! I brought you the food, and yet you're siding with him."
Seeing that Su Mingyu was unhappy, Zhizhu wiped her mouth and hugged her arm. "Miss~ I just think Prince Ruixian is a good match for you. With him around, no one will dare to bully you."
Su Mingyu tapped Zhizhu on the forehead and said confidently, "I can protect myself. No one will dare to bully me."
Zhizhu let out a snort. "A few days ago, someone even hung a human head on your door."
"You little girl! Do you have to expose my weaknesses?" Su Mingyu shook her head helplessly. Zhizhu was becoming more and more daring.
Zhizhu gave a silly grin. "I'm just joking. I'm always on your side, Miss. If Prince Ruixian treats you badly, I'll never agree."
Su Mingyu couldn't help but smile. "You're such a sweet - talker."
After chatting in the courtyard for a while, Su Mingyu urged Zhizhu to go to bed.
One of the pastries was made with fermented rice. Zhizhu got drunk easily and kept chattering like a machine gun.
Su Mingyu rubbed her forehead. "I'll never let Zhizhu eat anything with alcohol again."
Early the next morning, Su Mingyu disguised herself as Sinan and showed Su Yueyue around the shop she had chosen.
Su Yueyue clearly heard from the shopkeeper that he would only transfer the shop for that specific amount of money.
Although it pained her to part with the money, Su Yueyue gritted her teeth and gave Su Mingyu two hundred taels of gold.
A calculating glint flashed in Su Mingyu's eyes. "Miss Su, you trust me so much?"
Su Yueyue answered straightforwardly, "I've seen the shop and asked all the questions. Why shouldn't I trust you?"
The most important reason was that she had seen the painting of Sinan with Prince Ruixian.
It was said that there was a powerful backer behind Sinan Pavilion, and it seemed to be true.
Su Yueyue dragged Su Mingyu to the bank to get the money. Looking at the large amount of silver, Su Mingyu curled her lips. "I'll take care of the rest. Miss Su, you just need to wait in the mansion and enjoy the profits when the shop is up and running."
A broad smile spread across Su Yueyue's face. "Thank you, Sister Sinan."
Watching Su Yueyue leave, Su Mingyu curled her lips. Since Su Yueyue had offered the money herself, she wasn't going to refuse.
As soon as she returned to the mansion, Su Yueyue happily told Wang Manwen that she had finalized the cooperation with Sinan.
When Wang Manwen learned that Su Yueyue had given all the money at once, her face darkened instantly. "You gave it all away?"
Su Yueyue was startled by her nervous expression. "Yes... What's wrong?"
"I've been in business for years, and I've never seen anyone as generous as you!" Wang Manwen said in a bad mood. "Go to Sinan and tell her that there's a financial emergency in the Su family. Ask her to return some of the money."
"Ah?" Su Yueyue was confused. "Why? The money has already been given. How can I get it back so easily?"
Wang Manwen was getting annoyed. "Just go!"
Su Yueyue was also a bit angry. "Didn't you say I could make the decisions? You don't even explain and just ask me to get the money back. Do you think I don't care about my reputation?"
Hearing her daughter's anger, Wang Manwen sighed. "Yue'er, you don't understand the dangers of the world. I want you to get the money back because I think there's something wrong with this Sinan."
She had never heard of such a transaction method. It was unreasonable for someone to ask for all the money for the cooperation at once.
After hearing Wang Manwen's words, although Su Yueyue was skeptical, she finally agreed to ask.
But when she went to the house Sinan had pointed out to find her, the person there just rolled their eyes at her. "This is the Zhang Mansion. There's no Sinan here."
Su Yueyue's heart sank. "It's Miss Sinan from Sinan Pavilion. Isn't her home here?"
The person waved her away. "There's no Miss Sinan here. This is the Zhang Mansion, and there are no young ladies in our family. There's only a young master who's just ten years old. He can't be the person you're looking for."
"What?" Su Yueyue felt dizzy and nauseous.
"No Sinan?"
It couldn't be!
As soon as Su Yueyue left the Zhang Mansion, she went straight to Sinan Pavilion to find Sinan.
Xia Mian frowned when she saw the angry Su Yueyue. "Who are you looking for, miss?"
Su Yueyue was impatient. "Call your shopkeeper out!"
"I'm the shopkeeper. What can I do for you, miss?" Xia Mian said helplessly.
Su Yueyue picked up a cup of cold tea and splashed it on Xia Mian's face. "You're nothing!"
"If you don't call Sinan out, I'll tear this place down!"
Xia Mian's expression turned cold. "You're looking for our master. She left for the south to purchase goods about ten days ago and hasn't returned yet."