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

Chapter 220 They Made Their Move

Bai Wanqing and Bai Furong were talking inside the house when a commotion suddenly broke out outside the courtyard.

Du Huan quickly stood up. "Big sister, Furong, don't move. I'll go take a look."

Since coming to the Du family, Furong had never encountered anything like this before, so she couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

"Furong, don't be afraid!" Bai Wanqing gently patted Furong's hand.

Furong nodded obediently, "With big sister here, Furong isn't afraid!"

The two listened carefully to the sounds outside, which didn't last long and soon subsided.

When Du Huan returned, both of them turned their attention to him.

Du Huan frowned, clearly indicating that something bad had happened.

"Husband, what happened?" Furong was timid, but she was trying to keep a straight face and asked in a weak voice.

Not wanting Furong to worry, Du Huan forced a smile and said, "It's nothing!"

"It's just that the shopkeepers were talking a bit loudly, which disturbed you, older sister."

Furong was simple-minded; if Du Huanruo said everything was alright, she completely believed him.

"It's alright! It's alright!" Furong murmured innocently.

Bai Wanqing talked with Furong in the room for a while until Furong felt a little sleepy, then she said she had to leave.

Du Huan stayed with Furong and Bai Wanqing, but ever since he went out to deal with the noise outside, he had been absent-minded.

It wasn't until Bai Wanqing was about to leave that he snapped out of his daze and mechanically said, "Big sister, I'll see you off."

In the past, Bai Wanqing would have refused with a smile, but today she nodded, "Then I'll have to trouble you, brother-in-law."

Du Huan hummed in agreement and then left with Bai Wanqing.

They walked towards the back gate without Du Huan uttering a sound the entire way.

"Brother-in-law, has something urgent happened?" Bai Wanqing turned around and asked Du Huan as she reached the door.

Du Huan was taken aback, then quickly shook his head, "No, it's not!"

Du Huan then sighed, realizing that even if he wanted to hide it, he couldn't.

"Big sister, it's a fabric shop!"

"Something's happened at the cloth shop!"

For the Du family, the cloth shop was like medicine to the Bai family—the very foundation upon which the entire family depended for its livelihood.

If the Du family's cloth shop goes bankrupt, it will prove that the foundation of the Du family has collapsed.

However, the Du family has been operating in Huaizhou City for decades, and ordinary opponents or events could not possibly shake the Du family's cloth shop business.

Madam Du, in particular, is a shrewd businesswoman. If it weren't for the enormous difficulties she faced, the Du family's business would not have been so easily shaken.

"Is it because of the new Fang family?" Bai Wanqing asked.

Du Huan didn't know either, because his aunt generally didn't want him to get involved in the Du family business. His task was to study. If the Du family could produce a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), perhaps they wouldn't have to rely solely on their current livelihood.

Seeing Du Huan's blank expression, Bai Wanqing didn't press him further.

"Why don't you take me to meet Aunt Du, brother-in-law?" Bai Wanqing said.

Du Huan hadn't expected Bai Wanqing to get involved at this time. "Big sister!"

“My brother-in-law is still not well, how can he involve you in this fight?”

Whether or not we can get involved is not up to us.

"Perhaps in the eyes of the Fang family, the Bai family and the Du family are one family."

"Shouldn't we be more united at this time?"

Du Huan smiled wryly. That's true, but who in the world doesn't seek profit and avoid harm? Very few people are willing to take the initiative to participate like Bai Wanqing.

"No matter what, thank you very much, big sister."

Du Huan stopped being so hesitant and took Bai Wanqing directly to see Du Wei.

At this moment, Du Wei was sitting in the front hall, staring blankly at the account books that had been delivered. So many years had passed!

She had been running the Du Family Cloth Shop for so many years, and had never encountered such a formidable opponent.

The Fang family somehow acquired a batch of fabric at such a low price. Once it hit the market, the Du family couldn't sell a single bolt of their own fabric.

This is nothing short of malicious competition.

If an ordinary person were to engage in a price war with the Du family, Du Wei wouldn't even give them a second thought.

But this Fang family
Du Wei has already sent people to inquire. They are well-known wealthy merchants in the Jiangnan area. The Du family has absolutely no chance of winning a price war against such a family.

The news that the Fang family had displayed the Huai King's waist token at the brokerage firm spread like wildfire again.

It is evident that the power behind the Fang family is the Prince of Huai.

Competing with the Prince of Huai? Du Wei shuddered involuntarily, thinking of the consequences of those who opposed the Fang family in the past.

After thinking about all this, it turns out that every path leads to a dead end.

Du Wei curled her fingers in resentment. Was the Du family really going to decline like this?

"Aunt!" Du Huan called out softly as he saw Madam Du sitting in the front hall, lost in thought.

Madam Du looked up and saw Bai Wanqing behind Du Huan. She was taken aback at first, then revealed a bitter smile.

"Wanqing, it seems Huan'er has already told you."

It hadn't been long since they last met, but Madam Du looked much more haggard than before.

"Hmm! I've long heard that the Fang family has an extraordinary background. They bought so many shops in Huaizhou City all at once. I never imagined it was to open a cloth shop."

Madam Du sighed, "Yes!" "It turns out that the Fang family had their eyes on the medicinal herb business. At the time, those of us who were not affected chose to stand by and watch. Little did we know that fortunes change every time."

"This time it has been transferred to our Du family."

After Madam Du finished speaking, she couldn't help but clench the handkerchief in her hand, her eyes revealing her resentment and indignation.

"Then, Aunt Du, what do you plan to do?" Bai Wanqing asked.

Du Huan was also eager to know the answer. Now that the Fang family had arrived and the cloth shop had opened, the competition had begun. What would the Du family do next?
Suddenly, Madam Du loosened her grip and her expression fell. "I'm going to close all my cloth shop businesses."

Clothing store closed?
Bai Wanqing's expression didn't change much, but Du Huan was stunned in shock.

He knew all too well what the consequences would be if the Du family closed the cloth shop.

"Auntie, closing the cloth shop now would be a huge loss for us."

"Not to mention our stockpiled goods in the warehouse, there are also the newly harvested silkworms."

Madam Du didn't let Du Huan finish speaking; she simply said emphatically, "I know!"

Du Huan didn't understand, "Aunt, since you know all this, why are you asking?"

“How can we just close down a business that has been built up over decades by the Du family?”

“What can we do if we don’t shut it down?” Du Wei stood up. “Can we fight against the Fang family, or can we fight against the Prince of Huai?”

"Huan'er, you've studied for so many years, don't you know what it means to have immense power?"

"What does it mean to have one hand cover the sky?"

Du Huan clearly could not accept this statement. "Aunt, there's no such thing as someone who can cover up everything."

"The Fang family is just a wealthy household in this area. Does the existence of the Prince of Huai give them the right to engage in malicious competition and act lawlessly?"

Madam Du sneered, "I don't know what the Fang family is like."

"All we know is that if we engage in a price war with the Fang family, we will undoubtedly lose."

"Besides, I know what the Fang family is like!"

Du Huan, however, didn't take it seriously. "Aunt, the Fang family has fallen! The Fang family finally got their comeuppance. Doesn't that prove anything?"

Madam Du chuckled lightly, "The Fang family has fallen!"

"But the Wei family's Man Niang and the Ning family's young master will never return!"

Du Huan knew about the Wei and Ning families' affairs and was immediately speechless.

"Isn't there any other way?" Du Huan was somewhat lost; he had never felt so powerless as he did now.

Madam Du is no different; you think you're from a respectable family.

But faced with the absolute power of the Prince of Huai, you have no choice but to yield!
Seeing that Du Huan had stopped speaking, Madam Du turned to Bai Wanqing and said, "Wanqing, I'm sorry to have made you laugh."

Bai Wanqing then asked, "Aunt Du, if I were confident that I could help you win this business battle, would you still have the courage to compete with the Fang family?"

Madam Du was taken aback. Their Du family had been in the cloth business for so many years and had no solution. What could Wanqing possibly do?
Moreover, this isn't a competition with the Fang family; it's clearly a competition with the Prince of Huai.

Even if you win, can you really call it a winning chance?
Du Huan was now anxious. "Aunt! If we don't even try, how will we face our ancestors in the afterlife?"

Du Huan's words were extremely harsh!
Madam Du had no choice but to look up at Bai Wanqing, "Do you really have a solution?"

"Wanqing, are you familiar with the Fang family's financial resources?"

"He just wants to wage a price war with me for a year, and the Fang family can afford to do that."

"But our Du family can't do that!"

"We don't have that capability."

“Wrong! Aunt Du! You’ve made a mistake in one of your statements,” Bai Wanqing said.

"Where is wrong?"

“The Fang family can’t afford to fight a year-long price war with the Du family. They can afford it, but the Prince of Huai can’t.”

Is the Prince of Huai unable to wait?
Lady Du was momentarily confused. "Why? Is the Prince of Huai short of money?"

Bai Wanqing cannot tell the Du family about the Prince of Huai's secret stockpiling of troops, as that would only bring disaster upon the Du family.

She shook her head. "I can't tell!"

Madam Du and Du Huan naturally understood the implications of this situation, and since Bai Wanqing couldn't say anything, she must have her own reasons.

"How confident are you that you can get the Fang family to leave?" Madam Du asked.

Bai Wanqing stretched out both hands and bent one of her fingers, "Ninety percent!"

"I'm 90% sure," Bai Wanqing said firmly, leaving Madam Du and Du Huan no choice but to believe her.

Yes! What's there to disbelieve?

Before the Fang family fell from grace, who would have thought that one day they would be the ones everyone kicks when they're down?

Who would have thought that those who were bullied by the Fang family would finally get justice?

It's all because of Bai Wanqing.
Maybe she really can do it.

Madam Du did not dare to agree immediately. She only said, "Wanqing, I hope you understand that this matter concerns our Du family."

"I'm afraid I can't make the decision on my own."

"We still need to discuss this with the Du family's older brothers."

Seeing that his aunt had already relented, Du Huan was in no hurry to get her to agree immediately.

Bai Wanqing nodded, "Wanqing understands."

(End of this chapter)