My reborn husband and son are thinking about how to kill me every day.

Listening to the whispers of the onlookers, the shopkeeper had a terrible headache.

He said, "You've misunderstood. We're not blocking the gate to prevent your people from reporting to the authorities. We're here to resolve the issue."

"You're telling me you brought so many tall, burly men to block the door to solve a problem?"

Ji Yunshuang said weakly, "I think you're not here to solve the problem, but rather to intimidate me."

The onlookers, seeing Ji Yunshuang as a frail woman and then looking at the burly men behind the shopkeeper, all expressed their agreement, saying that the shopkeeper was unkind for bringing a group of burly men to bully a weak woman.

Some people even helped Ji Yunshuang promote the place, asking if Jixianglou was a shady establishment, saying they had their eyes on Ji Yunshuang's beautiful face and wanted to drug her and commit illicit acts against her.

The shopkeeper was at his wit's end.

Meanwhile, news of what happened at Jixianglou was also relayed back to the Wei family and the Dong family.

Upon hearing that the poisoned white fungus soup had just been served when Ji Yunshuang discovered it, Madam Dong was so angry that she smashed her teacup and berated the person in charge as incompetent, asking how they could not even handle such a small matter and what they were good for.

The servant who returned with the news buried his head on the ground, not daring to even breathe.

However, her confidant Zhang Youquan whispered, "Madam, now is not the time to be angry. We need to find a way to solve the problem quickly. If this matter is not handled properly, not only will we get ourselves into trouble, but the other side may also have a problem with us."

The "over there" that Zhang Youquan was referring to was naturally the Dong family.

Dong was originally an unfavored illegitimate daughter of the Dong family. The reason she was able to hold her head high and be respected by the Dong family was because she married Wei Zhenfang's second wife and became Wei Zhenfang's second wife.

Jixianglou was originally the property of the second branch of the Dong family.

The Dong family has been declining in recent years, and they no longer have many profitable businesses.

The second wife of the Dong family regarded Jixianglou as the apple of her eye, and this time she sent a trusted confidante to deliver a message.

The implication was that they were trying to whisper in Wei Zhenfang's ear, urging him to ensure the safety of the young man from the second branch of the Dong family who was going to serve in the military, and to promote him if necessary.

Madam Dong reluctantly agreed to allow the Dong family's people to operate at Jixianglou. Before the operation, the Dong family repeatedly assured that there would be no problems and that Jixianglou's business and reputation would not be affected.

Who would have thought that things would start so badly...

Thinking about how difficult the Second Madam Dong was, Madam Dong felt a surge of irritation.

She said irritably, "So what if she has a problem? Has she gotten less benefit from me? It's just asking her to do a small favor, and I've already given her such good terms. What more does she want?"

Zhang Youquan said, "The second branch of the family is indeed not very knowledgeable, but the main thing now is to prevent people from getting involved with us, otherwise the master will probably be furious if he finds out."

This time, when Madam Dong tried to deal with Ji Yunshuang, she not only failed to get rid of Ji Yunshuang, but also caused herself a lot of trouble. She was not willing to accept this.

But now that Ji Yunshuang has seen through her scheme, and her confidant has given her some kind words of advice, she is indeed worried that things will escalate and reach Wei Zhenfang.

Finally, he could only swallow his anger for the time being and said, "Go make another trip in person and tell them that if it's really unavoidable, they should find a way to take responsibility for this matter."

Although their restaurant staff were useless and the matter wasn't resolved, the previously agreed-upon terms still stand. I will put in a good word for them with the master and get things done.

After hearing what the people sent by Madam Dong said, Madam Dong immediately turned hostile and said, "That won't do. Your mistress hasn't fulfilled a single promise, and I'm losing a restaurant in the process. Aren't we just suffering a loss for nothing?"

"We didn't suffer a huge loss! We'll find a guy to take the blame for this. It will affect the restaurant's reputation in the future, but not by much, and it won't affect your ability to make money."

Zhang Youquan said, "This matter cannot be delayed. If it really goes to the government, not only will the lady's promise not be fulfilled, but your restaurant will also be affected."

Madam Dong said, "What if we take this to the authorities? Doesn't your wife have connections in the government? This is a small matter, can't we just let the government handle it?"

Zhang Youquan said, "What about the conditions that Madam mentioned before—"

Before he could finish speaking, Madam Dong interrupted him, saying, "Alright, we'll handle this ourselves at our restaurant. You'd better urge your wife to fulfill her promise."

Zhang Youquan said, "Second Madam, rest assured, Madam will definitely do what she promised you."

Madam Dong quickly sent a message to the restaurant, instructing the deliveryman to take the blame.

But things didn't go smoothly.

Lu Xumu forced his way out of Jixianglou and went to the government office to report the case.

The officials quickly brought a doctor to examine the white fungus soup in Ji Yunshuang's hand, confirming that it had indeed been laced with medicine.

At this point, the manager still tried to pin the blame on Ji Yunshuang, saying that she had put the medicine in the bowl herself in order to frame their Jixiang Restaurant.

When the officials started interrogating the waiter, the waiter suddenly began to testify against the manager, saying that he was the one who ordered him to do it.

When Madam Dong heard about the progress of the matter, she was so anxious that she developed mouth ulcers. She went to see Madam Dong's second wife herself and asked her to find a way to prevent the matter from involving them.

Madam Dong trusted her manager quite a bit, telling her not to worry and that as long as she did what she promised, this matter would not implicate her.

She felt a pang of regret; not only would she lose a profitable restaurant, but she would also lose a loyal and capable manager. But considering that these losses would pave a bright future for her son, she felt it was all worthwhile.

But to her utter surprise, after several rounds of questioning, the shopkeeper revealed everything he knew.

The shopkeeper not only clearly explained who had delivered the message, but also what the subsequent arrangements were.

On this special day, the courtroom was set up in the Jixiang Building.

Not only did all the customers dining at Jixianglou that day come to watch the trial, but many prominent families in the inner city also sent their servants to the scene to listen to the excitement.

When everyone heard that the ultimate goal was to embarrass Ji Yunshuang and Wei Shen in public, what else could they not understand?

Jixiang Restaurant was opened by Dong's maternal family, and the design was done by Wei Shen. Although the manager did not explicitly reveal who was behind it, almost anyone who knew a little about the relationship between the Wei family and Jixiang Restaurant could guess that Dong's involvement was indispensable.

The outcome was obvious to everyone, so how could it be hidden from the officials? Madam Dong and Madam Dong's second wife were soon summoned for questioning.

Although he knew that this might have been orchestrated by Madam Dong, the officer still slammed his gavel and asked, "Madam Su, why did you instruct the servants to put medicine in Madam Ji's bowl? What was your intention?"

Mrs. Dong was sweating profusely, hoping that Second Madam Dong could take on all the burdens for the sake of her son's future.