After the system set its sights on the dragon throne, the princess started courting death every day.

The woman trembled with fright, but stubbornly retorted, "If you don't have it, you don't have it. Why are you threatening me with death? Who am I doing this for? Isn't it all for Ping Le Kang Hao!"

She pointed her slender white finger outside, "Go look outside, everyone's here for the vase, asking me questions every day until I'm hoarse. What's wrong with me asking one more question? Who am I doing this for? Isn't it all for us? Otherwise, do you think I want to get involved in this mess?"

"Huo Xin, I know your feelings, but I can't conjure something that doesn't exist." The madam unconsciously covered her temples with a handkerchief because of her headache. She hadn't had a good night's sleep since the rumors started.

Huo Xin nodded hesitantly, a glint of sharpness flashing in her eyes.

That evening, Ping Le Kang closed early, citing the need to settle accounts, and refused to see any customers. Late at night, Wei Wenrun entered through the side gate in a sedan chair. His eyes were filled with bottles and jars, all kinds of gold, silver, and jade. Wei Wenrun was satisfied; the madam was still obedient.

Wei Wenrun squatted on the ground, personally examining each item one by one. After a while, he struggled to straighten up, and the madam, who had been waiting nearby for a long time, reached out to help him. "Is it all here?"

The madam flattered, "Yes, yes, everything is here."

Wei Wenrun's brow furrowed into a deep frown; he didn't believe it. The rumors circulating recently were clearly aimed at him. After so many days of rumors, there was no way the "vase" (a derogatory term for a woman) wouldn't still be around; otherwise, how could this charade continue?

Where exactly is it?

The madam was a servant girl brought from the lady's family. She grew up with the lady and later accompanied her to her wedding as a dowry maid. Not long after the marriage, in order to manage Ping Le Kang, the lady deliberately made the madam make a mistake so that she could legitimately arrange for her to go to Ping Le Kang afterward. The madam could not possibly lie.

"Since you say you've already moved in, that won't stop me from checking it again. Men, come here." Wei Wenrun waved his hand, and five men in coarse cloth short-sleeved shirts walked in and started searching without saying a word.

"Oh, sir, sir, please be gentle! If you break things, how will we open for business tomorrow?" the madam wailed as she chased after them.

Wei Wenrun sat calmly in his chair, his eyes slightly closed, seemingly oblivious to the chaos in the building.

After a long while, the pot of tea was finished, and the five men gradually gathered together.

Wei Wenrun raised his eyes, leaned back in his chair, crossed his hands over his stomach, and said lazily, "Nothing?"

The five people bowed in unison: "No."

The madam's eyes lit up, and she slapped her thigh and cried out, "Lord Wei, I told you I didn't, but you didn't believe me. Now look what's happened, it's such a mess, we'll have to close tomorrow."

"You're not allowed to close." Wei Wenrun dusted off his sleeves and stood up, his cloudy eyes glaring at the madam. "I don't care what methods you use, you must open for business as usual tomorrow. Otherwise, you can come to me with your head."

The wailing was all silenced by fear, and the madam said timidly, "Yes, yes."

"Alright, it's past midnight. I'm going back now. Madam is still waiting at home." Wei Wenrun stretched his back. "Liu Rumin, Madam has been thinking about you lately. She often thinks about the friendship you had when you grew up together. Try to go back and keep her company whenever you have time, so she won't overthink things."

The madam readily agreed, "Yes, yes."

A group of people came quietly, and now they're leaving quietly, leaving behind a mess for the madam to clean up.

"Mother……"

Seeing that the man had left, the courtesans who had been cowering in the corner came out in fear.

The madam, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, flew into a rage upon seeing their timid appearance. "Call them back to their souls! What are you all standing there for! Get to work! Are you all deaf? Didn't you hear we're opening for business tomorrow?"

"Yes!" The crowd scattered in a roar.

The madam plopped down in a chair, picked up the already cold boiled water on the table, and drank several mouthfuls. Only then did the anger simmering in her heart finally subside.

That damned Wei Wenrun actually threatened her! What's wrong with Madam Zi thinking of her? He's just afraid she'll run away! Does he still think of her as that maid who only knew how to comb Madam's hair and wash her face? Does he think she's some kind of gullible fool?

"Mother, don't be angry, you'll hurt yourself." Huo Xinrou leaned closer, her soft, boneless hand gently kneading the madam's shoulder. "Lord Wei, we just searched you not long ago, why are you searching again today? Is there something you can't say?"

"What nonsense about unspeakable difficulties! It's just that the emperor likes Li Qinhu's paintings, and when the emperor asked him for them, he couldn't produce them, and he couldn't fool him with fakes. You don't know, the emperor's eyes are like those of a god; he can tell at a glance whether something is real or fake. If Wei Wenrun dared to fool the emperor, the emperor would take his head."

"To curry favor with the emperor and to get promoted, Wei Wenrun is naturally desperate to find a pretty face! Humph! He gets all the benefits, has it easy, just sits around all day doing nothing. He can just look for one whenever he feels like it, and leave whenever he wants, while I'm the one who suffers the most!"

"You've really worked hard, Mom." Huo Xin looked around and, seeing no one approaching, quietly leaned close to the madam's ear and whispered, "He wouldn't dare to fake it, but we can."

The moment the words left her lips, the madam sprang away, growling nervously, "What a terrible idea! Are you out of your mind? I am!"

"Mother, don't be angry, listen to me first." Huo Xin pressed down on the madam's shoulders, "Don't you want to end all this mess and focus on your business?"

The madam paused in her act of refusing, glancing at her sideways: "You have a good idea?"

“We just need to…” “Wait.” The madam suddenly interrupted, standing up with her hands on her hips, pointing menacingly at the lazy women slacking off in the corner and cursing, “You two bitches! Do you think I’m talking nonsense?! Everyone else is working and you two are slacking off! You’ve grown some guts, haven’t you! Sophomores and juniors! Give them a good beating!”

"Yes!" Two burly men ran down from upstairs, grabbed the lazy woman, and dragged her to the backyard.

"Mom, have mercy..."

The woman's cries gradually faded until they could no longer be heard.

The madam pulled Huo Xin upstairs, and the moment she closed the door in the room, the anger on her face vanished instantly, and she said with a smile, "Go ahead and talk, it's just the two of us here, it's safe."

"Mother, has anyone in the capital heard anything about what Li Qinhu's painted vases look like? And what's painted on them?"

"No."

"Mom, do you know or have ever seen a vase?"

The madam rolled her eyes: "How would I know? If I knew what they looked like, would I need you to tell me? I would have made a hundred or two hundred of them and sold them for a million or two hundred thousand each. Do you believe that all the high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital would be scrambling to buy them!"

As she spoke, she suddenly slapped her thigh. "That's it! I don't know, Lord Wei doesn't know, and no one in the capital knows. Then I'll forge a few vases, have someone sneak them out to sell, and wouldn't no one be able to tell the difference between the real and fake?"

“I can make a lot of money first, and then when customers buy vases, I can pretend to say that the fake is the real thing, and that there is nothing in Ping Le Kang! That way, the rumors about Ping Le Kang will be exposed.”