After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 154 So You Aren't Mrs. Huang
Hai Shengyang was naturally a spoiled person, and this time she came to Huai'an County to establish her authority. She wanted the Lin family to see the strength of the Hai family.

How could she let such a small thing ruin her plans?

"Anything else? Shopkeeper, do you have any better material than this?"

"If you can produce something else, I can naturally look at others."

The shopkeeper was speechless for a moment. Where could he find a piece of fabric better than this? This one was a bargain he had found in another place.

He wouldn't have taken it out if it weren't for the young lady's noble air.

"Miss, this is the best fabric in the shop. There's nothing better," the shopkeeper said, rubbing his hands together with obvious difficulty.

Hai Shengyang smiled slightly, "In that case, I won't make things difficult for the shopkeeper."

The shopkeeper breathed a sigh of relief, but before he could catch his breath, Hai Shengyang threw out another sentence.

"How about I have a contest with this lady to see who knows more about this fabric?"

"Whoever knows it better should buy it. That way, it won't be a waste. What do you say, shopkeeper?"

The shopkeeper thought it was a good idea, but when he saw Bai Qinglian's confused look, he immediately fell silent.

Oh dear! These two old ladies are having a battle of wits here, how did it get dragged into this?

Seeing that the shopkeeper remained silent, Hai Shengyang was not annoyed. He simply repeated to Bai Qinglian, "I wonder what this lady thinks?"

Bai Qinglian had no idea what fabric was!

"No! It's just a piece of cloth, what's there to know? I'll buy it if I like it, that's all," Bai Qinglian said.

The shopkeeper was taken aback, not expecting that Bai Qinglian didn't even know the value of this piece of cloth, and a sigh rose in his heart.

Hai Shengyang smiled and said, "Shopkeeper, as you can see, this lady doesn't recognize this Shu brocade at all. Even if you sell it to her, she won't appreciate it. It's better to sell it to me, and I will definitely make the most of this Shu brocade."

The shopkeeper hesitated, and Bai Qinglian's face turned red with anger when she heard Hai Shengyang mocking her.

"Who are you calling ignorant?" Bai Qinglian asked angrily.

Hai Shengyang countered with a question, "Then, Madam, do you understand?"

Bai Qinglian was stumped by the question. How could she possibly understand? Her face flushed red and then turned pale, and she was visibly angry.

"I don't understand! So what if I don't understand? I have money." Bai Qinglian took out a stack of silver notes and slammed them on the table.

The shopkeeper's eyes widened immediately. As expected of the Huang family, they were incredibly generous.

Bai Qinglian felt she had outmaneuvered Hai Shengyang and was secretly pleased with herself.

"How about it? Why don't you come up with more money than me and rob me?"

"Otherwise, how could you possibly take something this good from me?"

Hai Shengyang didn't expect Bai Qinglian to be so uncivilized and act so aggressively. As expected of a poor, remote place, full of ignorant nouveau riche. Unrefined, not refined at all.

Seeing that her young mistress was angry, Chunru turned around and called out to her.

Three or five constables rushed toward them.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? Miss Hai, has something happened?"

The shopkeeper was terrified, not expecting the young lady to be so capable, having actually attracted the attention of an official.

"Sir, sir, there's nothing wrong here."

"I'll wrap this young lady up in Shu brocade right away."

Bai Qinglian was furious when she saw the shopkeeper turn against her on the spot and cursed him loudly.

"Shopkeeper, they're just a few constables, why are you so afraid?"

"Have you thought this through? If you sell to this young lady today, I will never patronize your store again, and I will also make sure that no one in the Huang family will patronize your store. Let's see how your business will operate then."

The shopkeeper's face scrunched up when he heard this. Others might not know, but those of them in business naturally understood just how much influence Master Huang wielded.

They still vividly remember how the young lady of the Bai family was forced into this situation.

The shopkeeper looked left and right, and was about to burst into tears.

Just as the two sides were deadlocked, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the door.

A moment later, a lady dressed in noblewoman's attire walked in. She glanced at Hai Shengyang, then turned and glared at Bai Qinglian.

"Hmph! You have quite the nerve, daring to flaunt the Huang family's name here. Since when did the Huang family become your domain?"

Indeed, the person who arrived was Madam Huang.

Madam Huang had just learned from the broker that Lord Meng had arrived in Huai'an County with the daughter of an official and was urgently looking for a house.

Now that they had found the Huang family's brokerage firm, the Huang family would naturally give Lord Meng and this young lady face.

After all, putting everything else aside, the young lady who can order Meng Zhan around must have a rather complicated background.

So Madam Huang went to the brokerage firm without stopping to personally supervise the manager in handling the matter. But she had just left the brokerage firm and was preparing to return to the Huang family home.

Passersby said that Bai Qinglian had gotten into another conflict with someone, this time accompanied by a government official's daughter who was also a constable.

She thought about it carefully and realized something was wrong, so she rushed over to check.

“Miss, we were rude. Which piece of cloth do you fancy? How about I give it to you as a small token of our apology?” Hai Shengyang looked at the lady in front of him, then glanced at Bai Qinglian behind her.
"Are you Mrs. Huang?" Hai Shengyang asked.

Madam Huang nodded with a smile, "Yes! My husband is indeed Master Huang."

"If you are Madam Huang, then who is this Madam?"

"Why does the shopkeeper keep calling her 'Madam' when she claims to be from the Huang family? Could she be from another Huang family?"

When Madam Huang heard Hai Shengyang say that the shopkeeper kept calling Bai Qinglian "Madam" while his face was very unpleasant, the shopkeeper was so frightened that he didn't dare to look up.

Bai Qinglian didn't really care, but during her time at the Huang family, she had already clashed with Madam Huang several times without gaining any advantage and had even been punished a few times. Now, seeing Madam Huang, Bai Qinglian was still somewhat afraid.

"Ha! This is all a misunderstanding. She is my master's concubine, and she is indeed a member of the Huang family," Madam Huang said with a dry laugh.

"Oh! I see!" Hai Shengyang deliberately dragged out his words.

Bai Qinglian's face turned almost green with anger. Humph, why is it that wherever she goes, people criticize her status as a concubine?

Whether at home or outside, it was all because she was a concubine.

"Hmph! It's just a piece of cloth. If you don't want it, fine. You can have it if you like it." After saying that, Bai Qinglian didn't look at Madam Huang again and turned to leave.

Madam Huang wanted to curse Bai Qinglian as she watched her retreating figure, but since they were in public, she still had to consider her reputation.

Madam Huang smiled as she bought the cloth and personally handed it to Chunru.

"Please don't find this offensive, Miss."

Hai Shengyang raised his eyebrows. "The real Madam Huang is sensible. Then I thank you."

After buying the cloth, Hai Shengyang left with his maids and servants, leaving Madam Huang standing there with a grim expression.

"Shopkeeper, you certainly know how to do business!"

"It's just that her eyesight isn't very good. How come you call just anyone who walks in 'Madam Huang'?"

"Who exactly is Madam Huang? Don't you know her?"

Madam Huang was known for her fiery temper, and now that no one was around, she started yelling at the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper immediately apologized, "Madam, Madam, I know I was wrong, I will never call you by the wrong name again."

"Good to know!" Madam Huang said, then flicked her sleeves and left.

Seeing that the guests had all left, the waiter approached the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper was sweating profusely. "Oh dear, I must have forgotten to check the almanac before opening today. I should have taken a day off."

"We've offended so many people now, how are we going to do business in the future!"

The waiter sighed, and the two looked at each other and shook their heads, finally numbing themselves to stop thinking about it.

Bai Qinglian was in a bad mood after being humiliated at the cloth shop.

"Madam, where are we going now?" asked Bai Qinglian's maid.

Madam? She's still calling herself Madam.

"Stop calling me 'Madam' all the time. Do you think I wasn't embarrassed enough just now?" Bai Qinglian growled.

The maid was startled, but Bai Qinglian was always happy to see them treat her like this!
"Then what should we call her if not 'Madam'?"

"Is she also called Bai Xiaoniang?" the maid muttered aggrievedly.

Unexpectedly, Bai Qinglian overheard this and, in anger, slapped the maid on the right cheek.

"How dare you! Who gave you the right to gossip like that?"

"Whatever you call me, 'little girl,' 'little girl'!"

"From now on, you shall call me Lady White Snake, and never let me hear the word 'little lady' again."

The maid covered her face, her eyes red, and immediately agreed.

Bai Qinglian grew angrier the more she thought about it. It was one thing for Madam Huang to suppress her on ordinary days, but that was in the Huang family, in the Huang family's backyard.

But why did he start lecturing her right outside today?

Isn't she afraid of making the Huang family a laughing stock?
Feeling indignant about this, Bai Qinglian didn't return to the Huang family but went straight back to the Bai family.

Butler Liu was no longer surprised to see Bai Qinglian return. Even after Bai Wanqing got married, she never returned to her parents' home as frequently as Bai Qinglian.

She would come back almost every three to five days. Even Bai Chenming sighed, saying that his daughter was married but it was as if she had never left.

I spoke to Chen several times, asking her to talk to Bai Qinglian and tell her not to keep going back to her parents' home, as it would look very improper to outsiders.

But Chen couldn't bear to do that. Every time Bai Qinglian came back, she would tell Chen about how she was suppressed by Madam Huang in the Huang family. Chen felt even more sorry for her and would never kick Bai Qinglian out. So, over the past six months, the Bai family had gotten used to it.

At this moment, Chen was having dinner with Bai Chenming. Upon hearing that Qinglian had returned, Bai Chenming frowned slightly.

"Look at this! Look at this! You've completely corrupted our daughter."

"You just got back yesterday, why are you back again today?"

Mrs. Chen was also surprised. She put down her chopsticks and said, "How can you, as the father, not be happy that the child is back? You don't need to worry about it. I'll go and see for myself."

(End of this chapter)