The Wealthy Eldest Sister Rules Supreme

“Not really, but I do find your face, aunt, to be very beautiful, perhaps even more so than that flower.” Zhuang Qingning chuckled.

“You’ve been spending a few days running a shop in town and it’s given you quite a silver tongue.” Mrs. Wen hummed. Looking at Zhuang Qingning, who was constantly watching her and Zhou Daya, she seemed to have an understanding of what was going on. Setting down her bowl, she said, “If you’re interested in this, why not let me worry about it for you?”

Cough cough…

No, thank you.

Zhuang Qingning nearly choked on her porridge. She immediately stopped laughing, straightened up and said earnestly, “No need, I’m pretty busy, and you don’t usually have time either, aunt. We can talk about this later.”

With that, she hid her face behind the bowl and focused on her food.

It appears that observing such incidents from the sidelines can backfire, causing harm to oneself, and should not be done in the future.

A wise man learns from his follies. Zhuang Qingning decided she won’t repeat such a mistake again.

“Three fierce-looking, menacing brutes lunged at a slim, delicate girl. They were like starving wolves ready to tear her apart.”

“At the critical moment, the slender shop manager, with a scale bar in hand, fended them off with ease. Despite her slender frame and bamboo-like arms, she exhibited the strength of a thousand catties, leaving the brutes unable to raise their hands…”

At Qingzhuyuan, a young man named Banqing had one foot on a stool and was holding a captive audience of his peers, relating the incident he had witnessed, punctuated by animated gestures and flying spit.

Although his storytelling was exaggerated, his eloquence and dramatic pauses captivated his audience, reminding them of street-side tale-tellers, sparking their interest and drawing applause.

“What’s the commotion outside?” Fan Wenxuan, who was supervising Chu Jinzhou’s studies, raised his head and looked out the window.

Jinbao, the young servant serving tea, curled his lip and said, “Who else could it be? It is Banqing from the front courtyard. He went out today, saw some drama, and is now sharing it with others.”

“He’s told his tale four or five times this afternoon. Yet people still want to hear it, they are not bothered by the repetition, see, he has already started the sixth round. This lad has a liking for gossip, who knows how much of his narrative is true and how much is made up.”

“Also, think about it, a frail girl overpowering large muscular men? And one against three at that, sounds quite unreasonable to me.”

This is interesting.” Fan Wenxuan stroked his beard, “But there is no smoke without fire. If he can talk like this, he must have encountered something. Even if it’s not completely accurate, there must be some truth in it.”

“Fan Wenxuan, if I may speak honestly, I think the whole thing is made up. There is not an ounce of truth in it. The errands to buy groceries are done in rotation. I have been to that tofu shop, and have seen the shopkeeper. She’s a thin and weak girl, where could she possibly get such strength?”

Jinbao argued indignantly.

Fan Wenxuan dropped the scroll in his hand onto the desk in disbelief and stood up. “You mean, the tofu shop?”

“The tofu shop in town?”

“Yeah, isn’t it the tofu shop in town?” Jinbao nodded. Seeing Fan Wenxuan’s furrowed eyebrows, he became nervous, fearing he had said something wrong. “Master Fan, is there anything…”

There is something, and it’s a big matter.

Fan Wenxuan stood up and left, not even bothering to make small talk with Jinbao, instead headingout to find the storyteller, Banqing.

At the moment, Banqing had just finished recounting his tale to his peers. He took a break, stretching out his legs and sipping tea to relieve his parched throat. Alerted to someone approaching, he didn’t even bother to look up, “My voice is practically steaming from so much storytelling. If you want to listen, wait until after dinner.”

“I’ve been working and storytelling all afternoon, I’m whipped…”

Mid-sentence, he caught a glimpse of the long gown worn by the newcomer which wasn’t the usual servant attire. He was startled, and upon recognizing that it was Fan Wenxuan, he jumped up in surprise, “Master… Master Fan, how may I assist you?”

“Are the things you just mentioned regarding the shop manager of the tofu shop true?” asked Fan Wenxuan.

“Absolutely true, truer than gold.” Banqing replied enthusiastically, nodding incessantly as if mashing garlic, “I personally witnessed it. There’s not a word of falsehood in it.”

“Yeah, right.” Jinbao curled his lip.

“You still don’t believe me? I swear, it’s absolutely true.”

Banqing’s face turned a little red. “If I tell a single lie, I’ll twist off my head to serve as your soccer ball!”

“If I’ve made this up, may I be plagued with sores and pus and never get a wife in my lifetime!”

Moving on to this kind of oaths showed that, while Banqing often exaggerated narrating incidents, he fell silent when cornered and tried to laugh it off. However, today he was quite serious.

Which meant, what he said was true.

Jinbao decided not to argue or express suspicion, “If you say that’s the case, then it is. Why make such a dreadful oath…”

Whereas Fan Wenxuan, while stroking his beard, smiled softly, seemingly lost in thought, and nodded.

Natural strength combined with some skills, fearless in the face of danger….

Wonderful, just wonderful!

Fan Wenxuan chuckled as he backed out of the courtyard with his hands behind his back.

Jinbao and Banqing glanced at each other, both astonished.

“What just happened to Master Fan? It seems like he’s really happy. Did our story make him that joyous? No matter how I think about it, I can’t see anything in this situation that could make him so happy.” Banqing scratched his head perplexedly.

“Master Fan is a scholar with profound knowledge. How can he be compared with illiterate people like us? There must be a reason for his joy which we certainly can’t fathom.”

Jinbao smirked, “Fine then, let’s get back to work.”

“Alright.” Banqing agreed, quickly gathering up the stool, cups and other items.

Meanwhile, Fan Wenxuan walked straight from the courtyard to the kitchen and located Ning Feng, who was preparing Chu Jinzhou’s supper. Without a word, he grabbed his arm and started dragging him away.

“Master Fan, what’s the hurry?” Ning Feng followed him to a corner of the courtyard and asked in a low voice.

“Send a message to Master Chu, telling him that he must return as soon as possible. There’s an urgent matter.” Fan Wenxuan said.

An urgent matter, a very urgent one indeed.

Searching for a daughter-in-law who excels in all aspects, a perfect match for Chu Jinnian…if they miss this chance, Zhuang Qingning might be snapped up by someone else..