Chapter 152: The Four Wealthy Businesswomen (Part 6)

Li Lingjing froze.

Xiangzhi froze as well. Following the sound, she looked up to see a female Daoist leaning against the doorway of the opposite side chamber. The Daoist possessed cheeks resembling fresh lychees and a nose as smooth as goose-fat jade, with a pair of clear and bright eyes. Dressed in a sky-blue Daoist robe, she looked as enchanting and wondrous as a fairy stepping right out of a religious scroll.

A wave of doubt and alarm washed over Xiangzhi. When had such a remarkable figure ever appeared in the capital city of Shengjing?

"Daoist Priest." Li Lingjing bowed slightly to Shi Xianyu and explained, "This woman's name is Xiangzhi, formerly my personal maid. Because she excelled in the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, my father specially assigned her to accompany me as a dowry maid, hoping that through daily immersion I might pick up some poetry and prose. Who could have imagined that she would turn out to be a wolf brought into the house? Less than half a month after entering the Xie family household, she ended up rolling into bed with Xie Lü!"

Xiangzhi raised her sleeve to lightly cover her lips. "Why must the Young Madam use such harsh words? In ordinary official households, which one lacks three wives and four concubines? Since you have been unfortunate regarding descendants, you surely cannot expect the Third Young Master to remain celibate and spend his life with you alone. I know I have never done anything to wrong the Young Madam; I even tried repeatedly to persuade the Third Young Master after you were driven from the estate, and today I have come specifically to ask you to return. I fail to understand why the Young Madam hates me to this extent."

"Because the person most terrified of Li Lingjing being cast aside is you, isn't that right?" Shi Xianyu eyed Xiangzhi thoughtfully. "If Xie Lü truly valued his official career, he would never have allowed a maid to become his primary wife. What he said earlier was either spoken in anger or utter folly. Once he calms down, he will surely consider how to remarry a proper wife of a status befitting him. Yet he already has a concubine and an illegitimate son; once a new bride steps through the threshold, the very first people she will target are likely you and your child—"

Shi Xianyu's gaze drifted slightly, landing on Li Lingjing as the corners of her lips curved upward. "After all, not everyone is as genuine and transparent as Li Lingjing, wearing all their thoughts plainly on their face."

As Shi Xianyu finished speaking, Xiangzhi's expression stiffened slightly.

"Did I hit the mark?" Shi Xianyu tilted her head, a hint of amusement in her eyes. "Let me guess: what did you tell Xie Lü before you came here? Did you tell him that the reputation of casting off a wife would harm his official career, and that so as not to put him in a difficult position, you were willing to suffer in silence, hoping only for harmony between him and the Young Madam? Yet Xie Lü had just been beaten by Li Lingjing here and lacked the face to coax her back, so you volunteered to shoulder his worries. You played the dutiful and understanding role in front of Xie Lü, only to come here and provoke her, hoping to use reverse psychology to drag Li Lingjing back—and ideally, let Li Lingjing strike you a few more times so that you would appear even more meritorious in Xie Lü's eyes."

Xiangzhi twitched her stiff lips. "Who are you? Since when does an outsider have the right to meddle in the affairs of the Xie family?"

"An outsider?" Li Lingjing stared at her coldly. "I am now an outsider to your Xie family as well! Why are you here talking to two outsiders? Why don't you hurry up and get lost!"

Xiangzhi's expression turned ugly. "Why must the Young Madam be so obstinate..."

"There is no Young Madam here!" Li Lingjing raised her voice in a furious shout. "I have already been cast aside by the Xie family! I am no longer your Young Madam, there is only a daughter of the Li family here—Li Lingjing! And you, you ungrateful wretch, you will get your retribution sooner or later! Get out of here!!!"

Li Lingjing's imposing aura was fierce enough to make even Xiangzhi's accompanying maids and matrons reveal looks of timidity as they instinctively stepped backward. As the group retreated outside the courtyard gate, Li Lingjing shouted, "Zhi'er! Close the gate for me!"

Zhi'er hurried forward to grab the wooden latch.

Xiangzhi's expression finally betrayed a hint of agitation. "...You had better think this through. If you turn me away today, there will be no turning back on the matter of the divorce! Do you intend to remain in the Xie family and continue as their Young Madam, or carry the reputation of a shrew and stay at home, ignored by everyone?"

Li Lingjing took a step forward and slammed the courtyard gate shut with a resounding bang!

"Whether I live or die has nothing to do with the Xie family! I don't need your hypocritical kindness!"

Outside the gate, Xiangzhi still did not leave. Adopting a gentle demeanor once more, she urged, "Young Madam, you really should change your temper. Being so impulsive will only lead you to make repeated mistakes. Must you create such a public scandal? When that happens, your mother will inevitably become the subject of gossip, and the Li family's business will likely suffer as well. Your elder sister suffered a miscarriage not long ago and is presently trying to recover her health—if she is affected by this incident of yours, how will she ever establish a firm footing in her husband's family..."

Unable to bear it a moment longer, Li Lingjing abruptly flung the gate open and roared, "Get lost!!!"

Before Xiangzhi could react, Li Lingjing bent down, picked up a stone, and hurled it straight at them.

Xiangzhi let out a shriek. The matron beside her hastily shoved Xiangzhi aside, taking the impact squarely on her own back with a painful cry of "Ouch!" Meanwhile, Li Lingjing had already bent down to pick up an even larger stone!

Terrified that Li Lingjing might go mad again, the mistress and her servants scrambled to help each other onto their carriage and fled in a panic.

Watching the carriage recede into the distance, Li Lingjing's fingers, clenched tightly around the stone, finally loosened. The stone dropped to the ground with a thud, followed closely by the tears welling up in her eyes.

Shi Xianyu walked out slowly, standing beside Li Lingjing. After a brief moment of silence, she extended her hand and offered a medicinal pill.

Li Lingjing looked at her in confusion.

Coughing lightly with a trace of awkwardness, Shi Xianyu pushed the pill a bit closer toward her. "This is... cough, a celestial pill."

Taking it into her palm, Li Lingjing remained puzzled. "Daoist Priest, my health has already recovered completely."

"Eat it," Shi Xianyu said. "Eating it will make you stronger."

Li Lingjing was taken aback. "Stronger..."

"Yes, the truly strong kind," Shi Xianyu nodded. "From now on, whatever you wish to accomplish, you will succeed, because you are strong."

Gazing at the pill in her palm, Li Lingjing took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and swallowed it.

Though the pill looked as thick as a thumb, it melted the moment it touched her tongue. The medicinal potency and pure spiritual energy integrated into her body instantly, filling her with a profound sense of physical well-being and mental clarity, sweeping away her despondent and gloomy emotions.

Li Lingjing opened her eyes, her expression entirely transformed.

She said to Shi Xianyu, "Daoist Priest, Xie Lü has failed me, and Xiangzhi has deceived me. There is no way I will ever return to the Xie family. However, Xiangzhi's trip here today has given me an inspiration: rather than a tavern, there is another business venture with boundless potential."

"What business?" Shi Xianyu asked.

Li Lingjing replied solemnly, "A brothel."

Shi Xianyu was slightly stunned. "...A... brothel?"

"That's right, a brothel," Li Lingjing said earnestly. "Almost all businesses under the heavens are monopolized by men, while women's businesses are limited to embroidery, tailoring, or cosmetics and powders. I originally wanted to open a tavern because a tavern, once it gains a reputation, makes it easier to interact with high-ranking officials and nobles. But the tavern trade is virtually locked down by a few major families, and as a woman, it would be extremely difficult for me to gain any advantage there. However, if I open a brothel, I happen to have an avenue I can pursue."

Shi Xianyu grew even more puzzled. "How on earth do you have an avenue to open a brothel?"

"Otherwise, Daoist Priest, how do you think I managed to redeem Xiangzhi from a brothel in the first place?" Li Lingjing offered a cold smile. "It's my own fault for being young and ignorant back then; had I known she was an ungrateful wolf, I wouldn't have bothered about whether she lived or died."

She looked up at Shi Xianyu and added, "Daoist Priest, rest assured. As a woman, I naturally understand a woman's suffering best. Therefore, the brothel I intend to open will by no means be an ordinary one."