Confronting the People from the Drunken Immortal Manor

Seeing that Wei Ruo had a plan to handle the situation, the wet nurse finally managed to put her worried heart at ease.

Later, Wei Ruo went to see Madam Yuan. Hearing that the small shop had been smashed and people injured, Madam Yuan immediately offered to help Wei Ruo resolve the matter.

"Just leave this entirely to me. In this territory of Taizhou Prefecture, there is no one I cannot bring to heel!"

Wei Ruo shook her head. "Madam, please let me handle this myself. I must learn to face and deal with these matters on my own; I cannot rely on you for everything."

Madam Yuan smiled faintly. Seeing that Wei Ruo had her own ideas, she did not press the issue further.

"Very well, then. I will dispatch two of my personal guards to assist you. They are skilled in martial arts, and since they are my men, their actions will be much more convenient than those of the yamen runners. You may simply direct them as you see fit."

"Thank you very much, Madam."

"Why are you being so formal with me? You have helped me so much, and I am only too glad to be of assistance to you. Besides, since they are causing trouble in Taizhou Prefecture, the prefectural yamen bears responsibility for it anyway. Moreover, several other ladies and I are extremely fond of the spiced delicacies from your shop. I certainly wouldn't want to see it ruined by a few thugs."

***

The next day, Wei Ruo and Xiumei dressed in men's attire and applied some disguise to their faces.

Wei Ruo pasted a large, dark mole right above the right corner of her mouth and was planning to stick a few stray hairs on top of it when Xiumei stopped her.

"Miss, please don't stick those on! That looks so disgusting!"

"Is it disgusting? I think it looks rather nice. Well then, I'll add a birthmark instead."

Wei Ruo knew that her facial features were quite feminine; without some heavy ornamentation on her face, anyone would see at a glance that she was a disguised young woman.

So, Wei Ruo placed a birthmark on her left cheek.

With a mole on the right and a large birthmark on the left, virtually no one would be able to discern her true appearance.

Added to the fact that she was still quite young, it was normal that her masculine aura wasn't particularly prominent.

"All right, all right. Then what should I put on you?"

"Put a scar on me," Xiumei suggested. "That way I'll look a bit more fierce."

"Very well, I'll stick one right by your eye. It'll look super fierce~"

Amidst their giggles and playful banter, the two finished their makeup, gathered the spiced food prepared the night before, and headed out to set up their stall at the Xu Family Spiced Delicacies shop.

The Xu Family Spiced Delicacies shop was reopening; since the original interior had not yet been fully repaired, they temporarily set up a stall right in front of the storefront.

Despite being just a small stall, business remained booming.

Many regular patrons came to patronize them.

Having sold throughout the morning, the majority of the prepared spiced dishes were already gone, and the remainder would likely sell out completely within less than two hours by the afternoon.

Taking advantage of the sparse crowds during the midday hour, Wei Ruo and Xiumei planned to grab a bite to eat inside the shop.

Just as they turned around, several figures appeared, blocking the path of the male-attired Wei Ruo and Xiumei.

"You certainly have a lot of nerve, daring to open your shop here again!" said a tall, thin man, his tone dripping with mockery.

Judging by the attire of this man and his followers, they looked like local ruffians and hooligans.

Wei Ruo looked at the man, feeling not the slightest bit of panic—in fact, there was a trace of satisfaction.

They had finally shown up! After a whole morning of silence, she had been worried they wouldn't come at all!

"Why can't we open our shop here? Who are you people? Are you officials from the yamen or runners from somewhere else?" Wei Ruo retorted.

"Didn't I tell you bastards last time? We are men from Drunken Immortal Pavilion! Have you never heard of Drunken Immortal Pavilion when opening a shop right here?" the man said loftily.

"Does our opening a shop here infringe upon Drunken Immortal Pavilion in any way?" Wei Ruo asked.

"How does it not? Our restaurant is a place where guests come to dine. You selling food right in front of our establishment—if that isn't an infringement, what is?"

"What a joke! Even if we weren't just selling street food, but opening an entire restaurant right alongside yours, I doubt Drunken Immortal Pavilion has the authority to forbid it, does it?" Wei Ruo countered.

"You're courting death!" The man's face twisted with malice as he turned to command his underlings, "Brothers, smash the place! Let them learn the consequences of offending Drunken Immortal Pavilion!"

Including the ringleader, six men in total lunged forward, charging straight at Wei Ruo and Xiumei.

Wei Ruo took a step back, leaving the battlefield entirely to Xiumei.

Simultaneously, the two bodyguards sent by Madam Yuan to protect Wei Ruo also made their move.

The six men, who had charged in with such aggressive momentum, were beaten black and blue by Xiumei and the two guards within the span of just two or three moves.

"Who the hell are you? How dare you hit us! We already told you we're men from Drunken Immortal Pavilion! And you still dare treat us like this! When our boss gets here, he won't let you off!"

The tall, thin ringleader was still spewing threats even while sprawled flat on the ground.

"Is that so? Then I'll take you to see the boss of Drunken Immortal Pavilion right now. I'd like to see what kind of all-powerful figure he really is!"

Hearing this, the man's expression shifted, turning instantly terrified. "You're taking me to see the boss of Drunken Immortal Pavilion? No! We can't go see the boss of Drunken Immortal Pavilion!"

Wei Ruo walked over. "Why can't we go see him? Are you afraid your boss will find out you botched the job and punish you?"

"I... I... Anyway, I'm not going! Let me go!"

The man attempted to crawl away from the ground, but Xiumei spotted him, stepped forward, and planted her foot firmly on his back, pinning him back down.

The man let out a groan of pain.

"First, tell me, what is your name?" Wei Ruo asked.

"I, your father, sit and stand by my true name— Li Biao..."

"Li Biao, is it? Fine. I hope your behind-the-scenes boss has as much backbone as you do," Wei Ruo said.

"W-what do you want?" Just as Li Biao finished speaking, Madam Yuan's two guards stepped forward, hoisted the man up by his arms, and hauled him in the direction of Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

Li Biao began to panic. "What are you trying to do? Let me go! Do you even know who I am?"

No matter how loudly he shouted or struggled, Wei Ruo and the others remained entirely unmoved.

Right in the middle of the luncheon hour, Drunken Immortal Pavilion was filled to capacity with diners.

The appearance of Wei Ruo and her group instantly drew the attention of the many patrons inside the restaurant.

At the same time, a waiter hurried out to inquire about the situation.

"Excuse me, honored guests, what is going on here?"

"Is your boss inside the shop?" Wei Ruo stepped forward to ask.

"Young master, what business do you have with our boss?" the waiter asked.

"We caught a few petty hooligans who claim they were sent by your boss to make trouble here. I've come to ask your boss for an explanation," Wei Ruo said.

Hearing this, both the waiter and the diners inside wore looks of utter incredulity.

What kind of background did this young man have? He wasn't very old, but he certainly had immense audacity.

Did he think that anyone capable of opening a restaurant like Drunken Immortal Pavilion in Taizhou Prefecture was a simple person?

Everyone knew that the backer behind the owner of Drunken Immortal Pavilion was no ordinary figure.

Coming right to their doorstep to provoke them—wasn't he afraid of courting disaster?

Wei Ruo maintained her composure, neither servile nor overbearing. "Is your boss currently in the shop?"

With a look of profound difficulty on his face, the waiter hesitated just as the head manager stepped forward. Smiling at Wei Ruo, the manager said, "Young master, we are terribly sorry, but our owner does not receive outsiders. As for the person you have brought with you, our owner does not know him either. I believe there must be some misunderstanding on your part."