Besides lying down, I also know a little about power struggles

Chapter 141 Making trouble
master?

Fang Tong and Ming He looked at each other and smelled gossip at the same time.

"Which master?" Ming He deliberately raised his voice, "I don't have any orders from the Minister of Rites in my shop."

"Nonsense," said the leading maid, "my master just bought a silk shirt from you yesterday."

She pointed to the sample clothes on the rack nearby and said, "It's that pattern."

Fang Tong looked over, saw the pattern of the sample clothes clearly, was slightly startled, and a meaningful look flashed in his eyes.

"Shopkeeper Ming," she asked, "did the Minister of Rites ever buy a crimson dress with a flower-branch-and-bird pattern from you?"

Ming He shook his head: "I keep a record of all the guests who come to my place. Someone bought this dress yesterday, but it was not the Minister of Rites, but a young servant."

"That's it," the maid said, "that was the servant of my master. He must have bought it for him."

"Really?" Ming He's eyes turned, "He refused to leave the owner's name, and I don't know whether what you said is true or not. Besides, the clothes sold in our store will not be returned once the payment is made."

"We are not returning the goods," the maid said, "we are withdrawing another order that the master placed with you yesterday."

"Which order?" Ming He asked.

"Of course it's the other dress that the boy asked you to order."

"Oh?" Ming He smiled, as if he had just remembered, "Are you talking about the Bai Niao Yue Hua skirt?"

"Whatever the dress is," the maid said, "we don't want it anymore. Return the deposit."

"You just say you don't want it?" Ming He smiled faintly, "You are not the buyer."

"Who said we are not?" The maid raised her voice and said loudly, "Didn't I tell you? The one in the sedan chair outside is my wife. She has the final say on the master's affairs."

Ming He smiled and said, "I've heard that the Minister's wife is good at managing the household, but there's one thing I don't understand?"

"what's up?"

"I heard that the assistant minister's wife got a husband through the imperial examination and became a famous story. Judging from her age, she should be in her forties. But the servant who came yesterday clearly said that this skirt was bought by her master as a gift for a young girl. Could it be the daughter of the assistant minister of rites?"

The maid's face turned pale and blue: "My master has only sons, no daughters."

"That's strange," Ming He looked at the people watching outside the door, and raised his voice to the maid, "Why would the Minister of Rites, at his age, buy a skirt for another woman? Could it be that you made a mistake?"

The crowd outside the door was talking in a loud voice. Someone said, "The shopkeeper doesn't understand. The Minister has a mistress outside."

The crowd roared with laughter.

The maid in the store was furious when she heard this. She took out a piece of paper from her sleeve and said, "This is the receipt for picking up the goods. Take a look. Is it from your store?"

Ming He took the note and read it: "Yes, but when we placed the order yesterday, the servant said that your master specifically told us to hurry up and finish the dress within three days. The fabric was cut and handed over to the embroiderer last night, and she is busy embroidering today. If you want to break the contract, it is clearly written in black and white that the deposit will not be refunded." The maid raised her eyebrows: "Bah! Five hundred taels for a skirt, that little bitch doesn't deserve it!"

"You can talk to your own master about whether you are worthy or not," Ming He said, "I am just opening the door to do business. If everyone is like you and asks for a refund of the deposit halfway through, who will compensate me for the fabrics and labor I used?"

"You!" The maid glared at her and said to the others who came with her, "Smash this shady shop for me!"

"How dare you!" Ming He stopped the man and ordered the shop assistant, "Go to Jingzhao Prefecture and report to the police. Say someone broke into the store and robbed it in broad daylight."

"Don't worry, boss," the clerk said, "Juan'er has already left."

Ming He nodded, pulled a chair over and sat in the middle of the store: "I want to see how powerful the servants of the Minister of Rites are. They dare to act wildly here."

Upon hearing that the servant had already reported to the police, the leading maid hesitated for a moment and looked at the sedan chair outside.

Fang Tong saw this and walked out the door. He said to the person in the sedan chair through the curtain, "Madam, the Minister's wife, Tianyixuan has clear prices for business and is fair to everyone. You allow people in the mansion to cause trouble here. Aren't you afraid that it will spread to Jingzhao Prefecture and ruin the Minister's reputation?"

"He has no shame, why should I care about his official career?" A middle-aged woman's voice came from the sedan chair, "For so many years, he has been eating and using all my family's money. I want the five hundred taels not because I can't bear to part with the money, but because I don't want that little bitch to be proud."

"Madam, since you are not afraid of being laughed at, I might as well tell you straight. It was your husband who ordered the clothes, and he wanted to send them to someone else. Tianyixuan just accepted a normal business deal and has nothing to do with this matter. If you are upset, you should go to the Minister to reason with him. Why bother to embarrass others?" Fang Tong took two steps forward and said in a deep voice, "You are making a fuss here, which will not hurt the Minister, but there are people coming and going on the street. Once this affair gets out, it is hard to say what the Minister will think. I am afraid your son will not be able to hold his head up."

The father was disrespectful to his elders and had affairs with other women outside. The mother brought people to smash the store and the incident became known far and wide. As children, how could we feel good listening to outsiders laughing at us?

The wife of the minister in the sedan was silent for a while when she heard her son mentioned.

"I came to Tianyixuan with no intention of causing trouble for the shopkeeper, but I must catch that little bitch." The wife of the Minister said hatefully.

"Madam, don't you know where that person is?" Fang Tong asked.

The assistant minister's wife snorted, "I've been to Mr. Ji's house outside, but I didn't find him, so I came here to take a look."

"That's it." Fang Tong said, "Madam, if you want to find someone, you can't run around without a clue. If you guys make a fuss here, wouldn't it alert the enemy if the news leaks out?"

"Then what do you think we should do?"

Fang Tong smiled and said, "Madam, since you don't care about the five hundred taels, it shows that you are wealthy. You might as well spend more money and ask people in the capital to find out where the Minister has been these days and who he has made friends with. You may find some clues."

The assistant minister's wife was silent for a while: "You are right."

She snorted coldly, "Those sour scholars are still not honest at their age. They love to give away beautiful maids and concubines. Bah, wait until I find out whose idea it is, and I will slap him in the face."

Fang Tong listened to her muttering angrily in the sedan chair and chuckled: "Then look here..."

"Forget it," said the assistant minister's wife, "it's not easy for you to do business. Just treat these five hundred taels as if I lost them on the street. But you must promise not to make that skirt again."

Fang Tong turned his head and looked at the store: "Manager Ming, the Minister's wife does not want us to refund the deposit, but only wants to terminate this order. What do you think?"