The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

"I don't really have any official airs, but I do have a husband who is an official. As a member of an official's family, it's not a big deal for me to have a little bit of influence."

"Whether or not I throw you out today is up to you. If you go crazy like yesterday and beat and scold the servants in my manor, I will naturally throw you out. But having learned from yesterday's lesson, I suppose you took your medicine before coming here today."

"A smart person doesn't fall in the same place twice."

The concubine reacted instantly, pointing at Du Mingxian as if to scold her, "You..." But she held back. The master was still standing beside her. If she said something she shouldn't have now, he would definitely be angry when they got back.

"Are you dissatisfied? There were many ladies present yesterday. Just go out and ask any one of them to find out what happened yesterday."

"By the way, you injured one of my maids yesterday. The wound on her forehead is very deep and will leave a scar. A pretty young girl was injured because you went out without taking your medicine and threw a tantrum in our Qi residence."

"This matter..." Du Mingxian turned her gaze to Master Liu, who had remained silent since the two women started talking, "Master Liu should know how to make compensation, right?"

"Since you and my husband are acquainted, I won't hold it against your concubine for smashing teacups in my house, rendering the entire tea set unusable. However, you can decide on the compensation for the injured maid, the medicine, the subsequent treatment, the emotional distress, and the mental anguish."

Master Liu was startled. He never expected Du Mingxian to say such a thing. In the past, when there was a conflict between families, as long as they wanted to maintain a superficial peace, they would not say it so directly.

He looked at Ling Silang with suspicion.

Is it because the newly arrived magistrate doesn't want to get along with these people?

Or it could be for other reasons.

Ling Silang met Liu Yuanwai's gaze, gave an apologetic smile, and looked at Du Mingxian, pretending to advise, "Why don't we just let this matter go? Although we are poor, we are not so poor that we can't even afford to treat the injuries of a maid in the manor."

"How could it not be serious? It wasn't our maid who was injured; she was someone I hired. And yet, our... concubine, injured her at a banquet for all the ladies."

"If word gets out, what will become of our reputation as ladies?" Du Mingxian said unhappily, her words carrying a message.

Master Liu understood. He realized that his concubine wanted to fit into the ladies' circle, since the other ladies in the city didn't really like to take his concubine out with them.

Now we must win over the new magistrate's wife; otherwise, it will be even more impossible for my concubine to integrate into this circle in the future.

“Madam, this was Rongrong’s fault. I will pay compensation. We are willing to pay ten taels for the injured maid. As for the broken teacup, I am willing to pay the full price.”

Du Mingxian frowned slightly. "Although the tea set I like was broken by your concubine, I can waive the compensation for the sake of Master Liu and my husband. However, we must accept the compensation from the maid in the manor. But... isn't ten taels too little? The little girl's face is injured, and she will have a scar in the future."

Master Liu understood; this meant the other party was dissatisfied with the compensation. "Madam, how much do you think is appropriate?"

"Then... one hundred taels, as compensation for the little girl."

The concubine was instantly dissatisfied and rushed forward to argue with Du Mingxian, "Why don't you just go and snatch it?"

After the concubine finished speaking, Master Liu seemed to realize what was happening. He pulled her aside and reprimanded her in a low voice that everyone could hear.

"Don't be ridiculous. If the magistrate's wife says one hundred taels, then it's one hundred taels."

The Liu family had money, but he still felt it was a loss to give one hundred taels to a little girl. However, given the current situation, he had no choice but to give it to her.

"Madam, please tell me the truth: how much did that tea set cost? I, Liu, am willing to compensate you."

Du Mingxian looked troubled. "Master Liu, to be honest, this tea set was part of my dowry from the Wen family when I got married. My father specially found it for me, and it was very expensive."

"Besides... although you, my concubine, have come to our lady's banquet, you are still a guest. If a guest doesn't know the rules and throws a tantrum, breaking my teacup, I, as the host, cannot stoop to the level of a guest, can I?"

Master Liu realized that the magistrate's wife was no good. She implied that she looked down on his concubine because she was just a concubine. But Aunt Liu from the Zhao family had apparently eaten at the magistrate's mansion that day before leaving.

Isn't this clearly bullying?

"Madam, I heard that Zhao's concubine was also at the banquet. Since you keep saying that this is a banquet for ladies, why didn't you throw Zhao's concubine out?"

"Oh? I thought Master Liu knew." Du Mingxian feigned surprise, then stepped forward to explain, "But the situation is different, isn't it?"

"First of all, when that concubine from the Zhao family came over, she didn't lose her temper. On the contrary, she was very polite. Isn't the situation of the Zhao family different from that of the Liu family?"

"The matriarch of the Zhao family passed away many years ago. After this concubine Liu entered the mansion, although she was only a concubine, she did the work of the principal wife. In the past, when she came out with the other ladies, she did not say anything out of line, so everyone was willing to be with her."

"As for your husband..." Du Mingxian seemed hesitant to speak. Liu Yuanwai sensed what she was about to say and quickly opened his mouth to tell Du Mingxian to stop.

Seeing his attitude, Du Mingxian spoke first, "Your husband throws a tantrum as soon as he arrives, acting more arrogant than us wives. He also lacks manners. Only wives can wear bright red; concubines are not allowed to wear it. But look at what she's wearing today..."

The concubine felt uncomfortable all over, especially when she met the master's dark eyes. Her heart skipped a beat. In the past, the master had never been angry with her when she was like this.

“Master Liu, I may be a bit blunt, so please don’t take it to heart. I wonder if your principal wife has passed away? I heard from the other ladies that there was no funeral, and no one knows about it.”

"But since the principal wife is here, why does a concubine have to come out and stroll around? She's acting more like the principal wives than any of us. It's quite a sight in Ping County."

"Master Liu is a businessman. I wonder if those who do business with you know that the rules in your backyard are so lax? Won't they take the opportunity to spread some bad rumors about you?"

Master Liu felt as if he were being pricked by needles. He was furious that Du Mingxian had disrespected him, but he also knew that some of his business associates had stopped cooperating with him after learning about what had happened to him. He knew the reason for that back then.