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

"Enough!" Manager Chao abruptly interrupted him. "I have no intention of finding out whether you knew about this or not, nor is it related to whether you purchased this batch of goods. You had one chance yesterday, but today you tried to pass off inferior goods as superior ones. If it weren't for my men's careful inspection, you would have almost gotten away with it. Is this how the Marquis of Changtai's mansion conducts business?"

Reluctantly, Manager Liang began to inspect every piece of cloth in the carriage. Sure enough, except for a few pieces on the edges, the rest of the cloth showed signs of water damage in the center.

Although these fabrics could be washed, the raw, unprocessed fabrics would be worthless if soaked in water. He had no choice but to absorb these losses himself and sell them slowly.

Enraged, Manager Liang slammed his hand on the crossbar of the carriage and roared at his servants, "You lot, go and find the guy who sold us the goods yesterday!"

Upon receiving the order, several servants hurriedly rushed out.

Manager Chao gave a cold laugh and said firmly, "Since things have come to this, there's no need for further words. Manager Liang, just compensate according to the agreement in the contract."

Manager Liang was ashen-faced. He had just spent a huge sum of 10,000 taels of silver to purchase these goods yesterday, and now his account balance was already stretched thin.

"Manager Chao, we absolutely must inform my mistress about this matter," Manager Liang said helplessly, his eyes pleading for help.

Manager Chao's voice was as cold as ice: "No matter who you confide in, your Changtai Marquis's Mansion must pay compensation, otherwise who will make up for the losses I have suffered?"

He turned abruptly and pointed at a burly man: "You, go to the Dali Temple immediately to report the case. I absolutely do not believe that the Dali Temple will favor either side."

Manager Liang quickly reached out to stop him, urgently saying, "Hey, wait, wait! I'll go find Madam Hou to raise the money right away. Please don't rush to report this to the police."

Once the police report is filed, the public will learn that their fabric shop was selling defective products, making future business impossible.

Manager Chao waved his sleeves, his tone resolute: "I'll give you only two hours to raise 20,000 taels of silver, or I will report this to the police and let the whole capital know that the Marquis of Changtai's mansion is selling substandard goods."

Manager Liang hurriedly bowed and scraped, trying his best to calm Manager Chao down, while instructing the servants to treat the guest well. He felt heavy-hearted and rushed to the Marquis of Changtai's residence to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

The atmosphere inside the Marquis of Changtai's residence was tense.

After hearing Manager Liang's report, Madam Pei's anger was palpable. She suddenly swung her hand and delivered a resounding slap to Manager Liang's face. Manager Liang staggered, and a bright red handprint instantly appeared on his cheek.

"You're a useless piece of trash. You can even make mistakes in the goods you purchase. Where would you get the extra money to compensate people?" Madam Pei was furious, her tone cold and hard.

Manager Liang's face was deathly pale, filled with guilt, but he could only grit his teeth and remain silent.

Madam Pei took out two silver notes worth five thousand taels each from the exquisite wooden money box. These were the ten thousand taels of silver notes that the Lady of Jing'an Marquis had recently compensated her with. She had thought it was an unexpected windfall, but she never expected that she would have to give it up again in the blink of an eye.

Pei's heart felt like it was bleeding. This was far from enough; she was still short 10,000 taels. If she could recover the money spent on the fabric purchased yesterday, perhaps everything could be resolved.

"When will the servant who went to collect the silver return?" Pei's voice was cold.

Manager Liang bowed respectfully and replied, "Madam, they should be there soon. They are riding fast horses, and the round trip will take no more than an hour."

Although Madam Pei was furious, she had no choice but to hand the silver notes to Manager Liang. "This is ten thousand taels. Once the money from last night is recovered, it will be enough to make up for the loss."

Pei was filled with resentment, but she knew that there was no other way but to accept this reality for the time being.

Just then, a maidservant brought a message from outside: "Madam, the shop assistant has an urgent matter to report."

"Let him in," Madam Pei ordered coldly.

Manager Liang was filled with anxiety, his eyes constantly glancing towards the door. He was as restless as an ant on a hot pan, wondering if the servant would be able to successfully recover yesterday's payment.

Pei's gaze swept over Manager Liang like an ice blade, "If you can't recover the money, you should relinquish your position as manager."

A servant rushed into the room and hurriedly knelt down to pay his respects, saying, "May Madam be blessed with good health and longevity."

Pei's expression was serious. "Stop talking nonsense and just tell me whether you've recovered that money."

The waiter, kneeling on the ground, glanced up at Manager Liang, his lips trembling, and stammered, "Madam, we couldn't bring him back. That person suddenly disappeared last night. I asked the neighbors around him, and they said the estate has long been abandoned and uninhabited." His words revealed a deep sense of helplessness and despair.

"how is this possible?"

Pei's face was instantly filled with astonishment, and all the strength in her body seemed to be drained away in an instant. She slumped weakly into the chair, her expression dazed.

Manager Liang was equally astonished, his gaze shifting uncertainly to Madam Pei. His lips trembled slightly, and he said in a trembling voice, "Madam, it seems we have been tricked by someone."

Pei's breathing was heavy, and she was burning with anger. "Do I need you to remind me? Don't I understand that I've already fallen into a trap!"

Both of them understood that the person last night clearly knew there was a problem with the goods being sold, and deliberately chose a remote place to conduct the transaction. Once the transaction was over, he disappeared without a trace, leaving behind an empty scene with no clues.

Manager Liang knelt down without hesitation, buried his head deeply, and dared not make a sound.

Pei took a few slow breaths, a bitter smile appearing on her face, and said in a sorrowful tone, "Sell the shop."

Manager Liang, who was kneeling on the ground, his servant, and Pei's personal maid all looked at Pei with astonishment.

These four cloth shops are the last assets of the Marquis's mansion. If they are all sold, the Marquis's mansion will have no source of income.

Madam Pei shook her head slightly, her eyes vacant, her voice tinged with despair: "There is no other way..."

In the end, Manager Liang reluctantly sold three of the cloth shops, raising the remaining ten thousand taels of silver, which he then handed over to Manager Chao.

The Marquis of Changtai's mansion was left with only one cloth shop. Manager Liang bid farewell to the Marquis of Changtai's mansion and returned to his hometown.

In this operation, Jiang Huaiyu first dispatched Manager Chao to set a trap, luring the Marquis of Changtai's mansion to invest in fabric production. Then, he sent men to set fire to the fabric. Afterward, he massively bought up fabric from the market, leaving the Marquis of Changtai's mansion with no materials to purchase.

They then sold the water-soaked fabrics to the Marquis of Changtai's household. Finally, based on the original agreement, they demanded a large sum of compensation.

This series of intricate schemes caused the Marquis of Changtai's mansion to lose more than 35,000 taels of silver, plunging it into complete bankruptcy.

When Marquis Changtai, Mai Zhenxi, learned of this, he was so enraged that he vomited blood. Lady Pei hurriedly summoned a doctor to treat him.