Lady Hou is reborn and, by pampering her illegitimate son, reclaims her life of wealth and privilege

"In this contest, we cannot be passive and take the initiative; we must strike back with an eye for an eye. We must make them understand that the Marquis of Jiaxing is not an easy target to bully. We have the ability and determination to defend our rights and interests and will never let their schemes succeed."

Manager Chao had heard about the entanglement between the family's esteemed eldest son and the prominent young master from the outside world, and he wholeheartedly agreed with Jiang Huaiyu's counterattack measures.

"I fully support my wife's decision. We must make those two families suffer the consequences and regret it deeply."

Jiang Huaiyu nodded slightly, her eyes revealing a determined light, "I plan to act in this way..."

After listening to the whole story, Manager Chao nodded in satisfaction and said firmly, "Rest assured, I will entrust this matter to you."

Jiang Huaiyu's eyes flashed with a sharp light, as if his gaze could transform into a sharp sword and slay the Changtai Marquis's Mansion and the Jing'an Marquis's Mansion a thousand times over.

"At that time, I will send Instructor Feng to provide you with assistance."

"Very good."

……

Jiang Huaiyu decided to target the Changtai Marquis's residence first, since the Jing'an Marquis's residence had Consort Li's backing, and Consort Liao had already given birth to a son and a daughter. With this, Consort Liao's reinstatement was only a matter of time. With Consort Li's support, the Jing'an Marquis's residence's foundation was naturally solid.

The four cloth shops owned by the Marquis of Changtai accounted for nearly one-third of his total assets. This was why Jiang Huaiyu chose to start with the cloth shop business. If he could successfully destroy the Marquis of Changtai's cloth shop business, the blow would be devastating.

After the discussion, Manager Chao, accompanied by a servant, disguised himself as a cloth merchant from out of town. They went directly to Manager Liang, who was in charge of the cloth shop at the Marquis of Changtai's residence.

Manager Chao got straight to the point: "I have a huge order in my hands, and I wonder if your esteemed establishment would be willing to take it on."

Upon hearing the words "big order," Manager Liang was immediately thrilled and hurriedly and warmly entertained Manager Chao and his party.

Manager Chao said directly, "Manager Liang, I have come to the capital to purchase a large quantity of high-quality fabrics, and time is of the essence. I wonder how much stock your esteemed establishment can provide for me."

After a moment's thought, Manager Liang asked, "May I ask how much Manager Chao specifically needs? I have several shops here with ample staff. If I can handle all of them, you won't need to bother looking for other suppliers, since the quality of the fabrics produced by each shop varies."

Manager Chao nodded slightly in agreement, saying, "Manager Liang's remarks are quite insightful." As he spoke, he tapped the table lightly with his finger, symbolically making the number "one," and said, "I need a thousand bolts of goods."

Manager Liang's joy was palpable. He quickly took out his abacus, his fingers moving rapidly across the beads as he calculated how considerable the profit from these thousand bolts of cloth would be.

"Manager Chao, the quantity you require is quite large. I'm afraid it will take me at least half a month to prepare. Do you think that's feasible?" Manager Liang asked cautiously.

Manager Chao shook his head slightly and said firmly, "I'm afraid time is a bit tight. Manager Liang, you take on five hundred horses first, and I'll find another place for the rest."

"Oh dear, don't worry, Manager Chao," Manager Liang quickly advised, looking anxious. "I can arrange for workers to work overtime to ensure on-time delivery."

Manager Chao smiled slightly and nodded in agreement: "Since Manager Liang is so sincere, I will naturally also show my sincerity. Here is a deposit of one thousand taels. However, if Manager Liang fails to deliver the goods on time, he will have to pay ten times the amount as liquidated damages."

Manager Liang readily agreed, beaming with delight, "Of course! We'll draw up a contract as proof, so you can rest assured that I will deliver the goods safely to you." He was secretly pleased; if the transaction went smoothly, he could earn ten thousand taels of silver, equivalent to the combined annual income of the four cloth shops under the Changtai Marquis's estate. Once the transaction was successful, he would receive at least one hundred taels of silver as commission. Manager Liang was overjoyed.

The two men signed and sealed the contract, after which Manager Chao took his leave. Manager Liang then busied himself arranging for the workers to produce the cloth, doing his utmost to ensure timely delivery.

To avoid being followed, Jiang Huaiyu chose to meet with Manager Chao at Wenxianglou several times. Manager Chao had a smug smile on his face, as if the fish had taken the bait. He said to Jiang Huaiyu, "Madam, everything is going smoothly."

Jiang Huaiyu nodded slightly and instructed, "Then let's start acquiring fabric as well."

"As ordered."

As night fell, Steward Zheng returned and reported to Jiang Huaiyu that the young master had played with several children from military families that day, and perhaps because of their military background, they got along exceptionally well.

Jiang Huaiyu nodded slightly, thinking to herself that she would give Wei Fengyun a thorough talking-to when he returned to ensure that everything went according to plan.

From this point on, we must never set foot in gambling dens, for their traps are unfathomable and a single misstep could wipe out our entire fortune; similarly, we must never venture into brothels and must stay far away from idle and dissolute people.

Wei Fengyun retorted with a wronged expression, "Mother, they are all kind-hearted people, not as evil as you think."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Huaiyu decisively grabbed Wei Fengyun's ear and said firmly, "Do you still want to listen to your mother? Do you know how hard it was for me to raise you all by myself?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Huaiyu lowered her head and tears streamed down her face. She knew all too well that when it came to educating children, simple strictness was often ineffective; only by arousing their sense of guilt could one truly touch their hearts.

As expected, upon witnessing Jiang Huaiyu's tearful and bitter account, Wei Fengyun felt a surge of guilt and immediately made a solemn vow: "Mother, I promise you that I will never set foot in gambling dens or brothels again."

Jiang Huaiyu sobbed, still unsatisfied: "This is not enough. You can no longer associate with that group of people."

Although Wei Fengyun was displeased, he still muttered under his breath, "Fine."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Huaiyu's face immediately lit up with a gratified smile, and he looked up and said, "You are truly a good son of your mother."

Wei Fengyun looked at Jiang Huaiyu and found that there were no more tear stains on her face.

……

The night was dark and the wind was howling.

Butler Zheng and Instructor Feng, dressed in black night clothes and masked, carrying oil drums, stealthily crept to the outside of a warehouse.

They cautiously looked around, and after confirming that no one was guarding the area, they leaped up and climbed onto the roof.

Steward Zheng carefully removed a tile and peered into the warehouse. Inside, he saw piles of cloth like small mountains, goods that Manager Liang of the Marquis of Changtai's mansion was to deliver to Manager Chao the next day.

Butler Zheng and Instructor Feng carefully poured the oil from the oil drum into the gaps between the tiles.

Then, they took out tinderboxes from their pockets, blew on them gently, and a few sparks shone brightly in the dark night sky.

Steward Zheng decisively threw the tinder into the warehouse. The tinder ignited instantly, setting the oil-soaked cloth ablaze, and flames soared into the sky like a raging dragon.