The whole family of villains listens to my heart, the Regent Prince treats me dearly.

The group soon arrived at the jewelry shop in the south of the city.

Several soldiers were putting up seals when Zhai Rongyu rushed up and ripped them off, shouting, "Who gave you permission to seal off the shop!"

She coldly surveyed the crowd. "Where is the person in charge?"

When the shopkeeper saw Zhai Rongyu arrive, he rushed over, tears streaming down his face, and said, "Boss! Boss, you've finally come! These people tried to shut down our shop without even asking what happened, there's no law at all!"

Zhai Rongyu patted his shoulder and comforted him, "It's alright, I'm here. Let's see who dares to abuse their power!"

Wen Shaoxuan came out carrying a large knife.

"Young lady, you're joking. Someone reported you as a shady business, and our city patrol division was simply acting in accordance with the law, temporarily closing the shop for investigation. How can this be considered an abuse of power?"

Only then did he get a clear look at Zhai Rongyu's face.

When their eyes met, Wen Shaoxuan felt as if time had frozen, and a fine current of electricity coursed through his body.

His face quietly turned red.

I never knew that this Miss Zhai was so beautiful.

"Ha, the Wen family really has a lot of official power."

Zhai Rongyu gave a mocking smile and said, "Miss Wen led a troop of soldiers to the Minister's mansion to arrest people, and Young Master Wen also led a troop of soldiers to seal off shops in the south of the city. Anyone who didn't know better would think that your Wen family had received an imperial decree and was leading troops to search and confiscate our Minister's mansion."

"Miss Zhai, you flatter me!"

Wen Shaoxuan immediately spoke up to defend himself.

If this case of illegally mobilized troops is investigated and punished, how could a mere city patrol division bear the consequences?

He turned his head and glared at Wen Yin.

"Didn't I tell you to take two people to invite Miss Zhai? Why did you take soldiers to escort her away?!"

Wen Yin felt wronged: "Brother! Why are you yelling at me! You're actually siding with outsiders and yelling at me! Waaah... I just invited a few more people to make things look better... Why are you being so mean to me... Waaah..."

Wen Shaoxuan had a headache and rubbed his temples, saying, "Alright, alright... that's not what I meant. Don't cry."

He couldn't stand seeing women cry.

There's just no way to deal with this younger sister.

Wen Yin's crying gradually attracted a crowd of onlookers.

Zhai Rongyu closed her eyes, rolling them so hard they almost reached her brain.

“Since you say someone reported me for running a shady business, then please produce the evidence. I’m very busy and don’t have time to watch you two being all lovey-dovey.”

Wen Shaoxuan was somewhat embarrassed.

However, he still asked seriously, "Today, my younger sister bought a necklace at your shop, spending two hundred and fifty taels of gold. Is that true?"

Upon hearing this, everyone gasped in shock.

This jewelry store is truly unscrupulous; a single necklace costs 250 taels of gold!

Zhai Rongyu said calmly, "That is indeed the case. I took a liking to Yingluo first, but Miss Wen insisted on competing with me for her. I was just being kind and gave it to her. Is that my fault?"

The shopkeeper immediately spoke up as well.

"The gold beads on that necklace were obtained from the South China Sea, and it's extremely rare to find one outside. Yet, there are eight beads set on that necklace alone! It's also a new style for the season, so it's quite common for customers to bid and compete for it."

The crowd was in an uproar.

Yes, everyone knows that this is the only jewelry store in the south of the city, a place where the powerful and wealthy in the capital compete to buy their jewelry.

Moreover, this golden pearl actually came from the South China Sea?

That's priceless!

According to this logic, raising the price to 250 taels of gold would be acceptable.

Wen Shaoxuan frowned and turned to Wen Yin, "Is what she said true?"

Wen Yin lowered her head, her eyes darting away.

"So what if it is! She set me up! She deliberately overcharged me! Yingluo originally only cost eighty taels of gold! She tricked me into spending so much money!"

Zhai Rong raised an eyebrow. "Didn't Miss Wen say it was the highest bidder win? There were quite a few customers in the store that day; they all heard it. Or is this the Wen family's way—wanting to steal someone's jewelry and then deliberately renege on the payment?"

She raised her voice to the increasingly noisy crowd:

"Our jewelry shop is a century-old establishment, and we would never cheat our customers. If the city patrol wants to audit our accounts, we will naturally cooperate. However, if they find that our jewelry shop has no problems, I wonder if Young Master Wen can bear the responsibility?"

Zhai Rongyu knew that this jewelry shop in the south of the city was a major taxpayer in the capital and was backed by the Ministry of Rites.

If Wen Shaoxuan has any brains, he won't dare to investigate.

Among the crowd, several onlookers said, "That's true. I was in the shop that day and I did hear Miss Wen bidding against Miss Zhai."

"I heard it too."

"Me too."

Everyone whispered.

So it turns out Miss Wen stole someone's things first!

The gold beads were so precious, yet Miss Zhai still offered them to her; she was truly kind-hearted.

But they were bitten back.

This Miss Wen is indeed as arrogant and domineering as the rumors say! She got a good deal but still acted innocent! After buying the goods, she turned around and tried to frame people and shut down their shops. I wonder if the Left Vice Minister authorized this behind the scenes.

The gossip reached Wen Shaoxuan's ears.

His eyebrows twitched violently.

The Zhai family was at the height of its power, and Zhai Sangjie had won another battle. He originally wanted to seize a mistake by the Zhai family to make things easier for the Vice Minister's Mansion in the court in the future.

Judging from the current situation, the Wen family was in the wrong today. If Minister Zhai were to impeach them beforehand, their future would be...

Moreover, Zhai Sangjie is about to return victorious, and his reward has not yet been decided. If His Majesty appoints him as the leader of the Imperial Guards, he will inevitably have to beg for food under Zhai Sangjie in the future.

At a time like this, you absolutely must not offend the Ministry of Personnel!

It seems that the ledger cannot be checked today.

It's all his fault for being so protective of his sister; he only just realized the implications now!

He cupped his hands and said, "Today's events were all caused by my little sister's misbehavior. It was our fault for not disciplining her properly. We hope Miss Zhai will forgive her for being so young."

Wen Yin jumped up and down in a panic: "Brother! Why are you begging her! It was clearly her..."

"Shut up!"

Wen Yin was startled and pouted, feeling wronged.

When did her brother speak to her so harshly?

It's all Zhai Rongyu's fault!

She glared at Zhai Rongyu, wishing she could bore a hole through her, but the other woman seemed not to see her at all.

Even more angry!

They all treat her like a child!

Zhai Rongyu looked at Wen Shaoxuan with a calm and composed expression.

“Miss Wen is young and doesn’t understand things, so I naturally won’t hold it against her. But you’re not a child anymore. As the city patrol supervisor, if you just believe one side of the story and arbitrarily close shops, does that mean if I report your city patrol department for corruption and embezzlement of tax kickbacks, I can imprison you all?”

Wen Shaoxuan's heart skipped a beat.

This Miss Zhai has a sharp tongue; it seems this matter won't be resolved so easily...

Zhai Rongyu snorted coldly and turned her eyes around.

"Let's not bother with that brat. But who's going to cover the losses at the jewelry shop after all this trouble?"

This is the biggest jewelry shop in the south of the city!

Half a day's earnings are equivalent to someone else's monthly earnings!

"Besides, look how frightened my boss is. He won't be able to work for at least three days. Who should compensate for this loss of labor?"

After saying that, he pushed the shopkeeper forward.

The shopkeeper immediately scratched his head, his crying grew louder, his legs trembled, his hands shook, and tears and snot flew everywhere.

He understood his employer's meaning perfectly!

This year's prize money will probably all go to this!

He'd better do his best and try to cry with sincerity that will touch the employer's heart!

Wen Shaoxuan's lips twitched.

This is clearly an attempt to extort money.

Wen Yin wanted to curse, but Wen Shaoxuan's glare silenced her.

Wen Shaoxuan said helplessly, "Since it's my little sister's fault, then this debt will be settled in my personal account."

The implication was that it had nothing to do with the Vice Minister's Office or the City Patrol Division.

Zhai Rongyu understood and didn't want to pursue the matter further. "Alright."

He glanced at Wen Yin again; she still had that smug look on her face.

Zhai Rongyu blinked. The parents were punished, but the brat still hasn't learned his lesson?

Okay, I'll give you another strong dose.