I bring bad luck to my husband, you bring bad luck to your wife.

After leaving Shuanghua Pavilion, Yang Tongchuan took Xiangxi to Xiangqiang's stall to show his face and reassure his brother-in-law.

Instead of rushing home, Yang Tongchuan took Xiangxi to a clinic and asked the doctor to check Xiangxi's pulse.

"Doctor, is there anything wrong with my husband's health?"

"No, the pulse is steady, nothing to worry about."

"Thank you, doctor."

Yang Tongchuan breathed a sigh of relief after learning that Xiangxi was not pregnant again.

The night before the bandit suppression expedition was too much, and Yang Tongchuan was worried that Xiangxi wouldn't get pregnant. Now that he knew she really wasn't pregnant, Yang Tongchuan felt relieved.

It's good that you're not pregnant.

Xiangxi was unaware of Yang Tongchuan's ulterior motives, simply assuming he was just passing by and stopping by.

On their way back to the Yang family home, the two bought some cooked food along the way.

Yang Tongchuan told Xiangxi to take the things home first, while he went to another place to take care of some business.

"where are you going?"

This phrase has almost become Xiangxi's catchphrase.

Since Yang Tongchuan returned safely, Xiangxi has become even more clingy, wishing she could be with Yang Tongchuan every moment.

"I suddenly remembered something I forgot to do. I'll be home in a bit, you go ahead."

After watching Xiangxi walk away, Yang Tongchuan turned around and went alone to the most chaotic street in the west of the city, where he found a rather influential person in charge – Tietong.

"What wind blew Officer Yang here?" Tie Tong was nearly forty years old. He had been a local ruffian for half his life. Later, he made his first fortune by running a brothel and won over many people, thus gaining a foothold in Changxing County.

"I don't come here unless I need something. I'm here to plead on behalf of a relative." Yang Tongchuan adopted a very humble attitude.

Before leaving, Constable Wang had warned Yang Tongchuan that Tie Tong was a treacherous and ruthless character who would bite without making a sound, and that he must be wary of him.

If I had to find something redeeming about him, it would be that he's intelligent and generous to his subordinates.

"Officer Yang is insulting me with those words. We're brothers, so let's not mince words. Just say what's on your mind." Tie Tong had also heard of Yang Tongchuan's reputation for killing bandits and didn't want to make enemies with him.

"My cousin runs a cosmetics shop on your turf, and a while ago, people blocked the door," Yang Tongchuan said with a smile, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

"Damn it! Which blind fool is this? Get out here!" Tie Tong slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

A few thugs shakily emerged from behind the crowd.

"Boss, we didn't block the door, it's just, it's just..." The gang leader knew he had gotten into trouble.

He was just trying to bring bad luck to the shop on behalf of his girlfriend, but he didn't expect to stir up such a hornet's nest.

Her lover had also set her sights on that shop, but Duan Ziqiu snatched it away. She was furious and wanted to go and retaliate against him.

"Damn it, don't you know that's Officer Yang's business? You sons of bitches almost ruined our brotherhood." With that, he picked up the teapot on the table and smashed it over the head of the man in front.

Still not satisfied, he picked up the bench he was sitting on and beat up the other people.

Blood was drawn on the spot.

"Brother Tietong, please don't be angry. We brothers have never had any disagreements. There must be some misunderstanding here. I came here to ask you to be lenient and to take better care of our family members in the future."

Yang Tongchuan knew, of course, that there was an element of performance involved in Tietong's actions; it was mainly meant to be a show for him.

However, he was willing to give the other party a way out.

"It's my fault for not disciplining them properly and causing trouble for Officer Yang. I apologize. Please stay for dinner tonight; I'll treat you well."

"No need. Since it's a misunderstanding, it's good to explain it clearly. I just got back and I have a lot of things to do at the yamen. Next time, I'll treat Brother Tie to a drink."

Tie Tong grinned, revealing his big teeth, and with a fake smile on his face, seeing that Yang Tongchuan didn't investigate further, he didn't linger any longer.

-----------

When Duan Ziqiu returned home that evening, Qingzhu told her mistress what had happened during the day.

"Manager Yue said that Constable Yang did not accept the money."

"Okay, let him handle this, we won't worry about it."

"And then there's that custom order thing, what do you think about taking it on?"

"Go ahead and take it. We're after the rich. Don't go to the store these next couple of days. Come with me and finish the samples. Make two or three samples for each price range: high, medium, and low." This is Duan Ziqiu's usual style; she likes to consider every aspect.

"Do we need so many kinds? The other party probably won't want that many."

"He definitely won't take it. The role of the lower-priced items is just to serve as a foil, to make our high-end products look more valuable."

More than ten days later, Duan Ziqiu finally had all the samples ready.

I also took the opportunity to find out more about this family's situation.

Meng Dongqing's husband's surname is Liang, and his given name is Liang Da.

Meng Dongqing's father worked on a boat and died in an accident on the water.

His mother was Liang Da's wet nurse when he was a child.

After her father died, the Liang family took pity on them, a widow and her orphan, and took them in to do odd jobs at home.

A few years ago, Meng Dongqing's mother also passed away due to illness.

Before leaving, he entrusted Meng Dongqing to Liang Da.

The Liang family was thinking of a young boy from a wet nurse's family, who could be promoted to a concubine after Liang Cheng got married. That would be fine.

Unexpectedly, Liang Da eventually withstood the pressure and married Meng Dongqing.

The elders of the Liang family were so angry they were furious.

Liang Da was also tough. He used the money he earned from running a boat to buy the house next to the Liang family's house and moved in with Meng Dongqing.

It's like they're dividing up the house but not the family.

Life is much quieter now.

With the agreed-upon time fast approaching, Duan Ziqiu first sent Qingzhu to deliver a visiting card to the Liang family.

Liang Da replied that he would bring his husband to Shuanghua Pavilion to see the samples the day after tomorrow.

When Duan Ziqiu first met Meng Dongqing, she simply thought he was just a rich man's husband, never expecting such an unexpected gain.

The appointed time has arrived.

The staff of Shuanghua Pavilion were on high alert, intending to receive Liang Da, their important client, with the highest standards.

The Liang family's carriage stopped at the entrance of Shuanghua Pavilion.

Is the first one that came down a "monkey"?

Xiangxi imagined Liang Da to be a burly, strong man, so that he could bully Meng Dongqing so badly.

In reality, Liang Da was about the same height as Meng Dongqing, lean and wiry, with dark skin from years of sailing, and shrewd eyes.

After Liang Da got out of the car, he turned around and helped Meng Dongqing down.

Then he looked at the crowd at the entrance of Shuanghua Pavilion.

"Boss Duan, I've heard so much about you." Liang Da greeted him first, and spotted Duan Ziqiu at a glance.

Duan Ziqiu was no pushover either; he quickly regained his composure and warmly invited the group upstairs.

Qingzhu was downstairs tending the shop. Yuewu and Xiangxi accompanied her on the second floor.

Since everyone was there to do business, after exchanging a few pleasantries, they got down to business.

"These are several samples at different price points, made according to Boss Liang's requirements," Duan Ziqiu proudly displayed his work.

Liang Da skipped the mid-to-low-end products and only looked at the two high-end models.

After opening and smelling each hydrosol, I even started blending it myself using the blending tools in the set.

I didn't feel embarrassed at all.

After a long time, Liang Da finally finished inspecting the goods.

It just seems like they're not entirely satisfied.