Madame Liu didn’t receive the grateful gaze she hoped for from Young Master Qiao. She shifted her gaze and said: "Don’t overthink it. Once you’ve solved these matters, you can start anew. As long as you pass the Imperial Examination, your family business can thrive again."
It had to be said that Madame Liu’s eloquence was indeed admirable.
Young Master Qiao seemed oblivious to what others were saying. He continued to sob and muttered to himself: "He told me how he won the money back—said he bribed the dealer at the casino, who knew the ins and outs of the place and could give him signals. He simply bet according to those signals and won nine out of ten times. Then after a couple of days, he invited me to take some dinner guests out and be generous. He asked me if I wanted to earn some money to help revitalise the family business and earn my parents’ admiration."
"I don’t know how I got intoxicated by his words. I went with him to the casino in a daze and bet according to the dealer’s signals. At first, we really won. Later, he persuaded me to gamble bigger and bigger until, eventually..."
Bai Ruozhu furrowed her eyebrows and said: "You were drugged, weren’t you? Just as you said, led by the nose. Your family let this slide? You should have reported to the Government Office and had the matter cleared up."
"We can’t, we can’t. If we go to the Government Office and the Study Palace finds out about my gambling, they definitely won’t let me stay. Not to mention, after losing, I got drunk and somehow... forced myself on a respectable woman..." Young Master Qiao confessed in agony.
"What?" Master Qiao was startled, he seemed completely unaware of the situation.
The expression on Madame Liu’s face drastically changed, she opened her mouth to speak, but eventually didn’t dare to say a word.
Seeing this exchange, Bai Ruozhu felt even more confident that there were indeed hidden secrets kept by Madame Liu and Young Master Qiao.
"The woman’s family wanted to kick up a fuss. It happened that Madame Liu arrived to buy the shop and stepped in to guarantee. She said this wasn’t an honorable matter and it disadvantaged the woman the most. She promised that I would marry her after I pass the Rural Examination. Only then did her family temporarily let me off. But every time I think about it, I get scared. I’m afraid she’ll accuse me of assault-- I can say goodbye to taking the Imperial Examination." Young Master Qiao looked as though he’d been possessed, sobbing while spilling all his secrets.
Bai Ruozhu glanced at Madame Liu and said, "You should tell your parents and marry the woman. Even if she becomes a concubine, at least no one will hold this incident over your head. And if you could be drugged once, who’s to say there won’t be a second time? Are you certain you did something inappropriate? Be careful not to be exploited by people with ulterior motives."
Master Qiao was a businessman and a shrewd one at that. He couldn’t help but glance at Madame Liu. It was too much of a coincidence that Madame Liu just happened to step in and vouch for him on that very day. And why didn’t he know about that day’s events because he wasn’t home?
"Since I’ve arrived today, might as well go all the way. I’ll send my subordinates to find out who the woman is and who’s behind your colleague. I imagine that most girls from decent families wouldn’t have as many opportunities to end up in another man’s bed, right?" Bai Ruozhu glanced at Jianqi as she finished speaking.
Jianqi looked at Young Master Qiao, who shuddered and revealed the woman’s name and address. Jianqi saluted Bai Ruozhu and then disappeared without a trace.
The color of Madame Liu’s face kept changing and she appeared quite nervous. She could only hope that Young Master Qiao would come through for her. She softly called out: "Clear your mind, we still haven’t finished our business."
"What business is left? My son was framed. If this matter isn’t cleared up, nobody is selling Qiao Baosheng’s shop. Even if it leads to the ruin of the Qiao Family’s fortune, I want this matter clear!" Master Qiao shouted, then turned to his son and said: "Let’s go, we’re going to report this. Your dad will take care of this for you. Even if the Study Palace expels you, we still have the Academy. It’s not like you can’t take the Imperial Examination."
Bai Ruozhu felt that it was about time. She flicked her finger and sent an antidote over; Young Master Qiao slowly sobered up. Although he was surprised at what he’d just done, he remembered everything. He glanced at Bai Ruozhu and said: "If you can help me find out who’s harming me, I’ll sell the shop to you."
"Young Master Qiao, you can’t go back on your word!" Madame Liu cried anxiously.
But Bai Ruozhu just smiled and said: "Whether you sell to me or not doesn’t matter. If you clarify the matter, you might not even need to sell the shop. As long as you continue to rent the property to me. It was because my shop was taken back by Madame Liu at the last moment, causing my business to be unable to continue, that made me need to buy a shop urgently."
Master Qiao glanced at Madame Liu with disgust in his eyes. "So you want to buy my shop to prevent Ms. Bai’s business from operating? How can you conduct business so unethically?"
Madame Liu wanted to defend herself, she wanted to say that she was avenging Liu Xianxian, but she couldn’t say too much. Liu Xianxian’s matter wasn’t honorable and implied that she had planned this long ago. In a moment, Madame Liu turned so red that she looked like a monkey’s butt.
"Qiyu, let’s go. I’ll accompany you to beat the drum and file a complaint. We must get to the bottom of this!" Master Qiao grabbed his son’s hand and they started heading out.
Young Master Qiao seemed to be somewhat nervous. He thought for a moment and said: "Dad, how about we wait until Ms. Bai finds out some information?"
Bai Ruozhu thought for a moment and responded: "I suggest you go ahead and file a complaint. If you keep hesitating, the mastermind behind this might silence you permanently. However, if your case is handled by the Prefect, the culprit won’t dare to act recklessly."
The color drained from Young Master Qiao’s face and he suddenly stood up straight. "Father, I’ll go with you to file the complaint right now. Even if I lose the chance to obtain my degree, I can still learn the trade from you. I can’t risk the entire family’s lives because of me."
Father and son looked at each other, each seeing determination in the other’s eyes. They left arm in arm.
At that moment, Madame Liu was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. She wished she could rip Bai Ruozhu apart, but she couldn’t say much to avoid arousing the suspicion of the Qiao family. She could only hope that the authorities wouldn’t trace it back to the Liu family.
Seeing Madame Liu secretly leaving, Bai Ruozhu quickly called another dark guard to follow, to see whom Madame Liu was going to meet.
Madame Qiao was already crying ghastly at the doorstep. Bai Ruozhu moved forward to comfort her, then whispered: "Your son must be old enough to get married, right? Why is his wife nowhere to be seen?"
"To my shame, my daughter-in-law and my son divorced a while ago, specifically after Qiyu gambled for the second time and borrowed money at a high interest." Madame Qiao choked up with tears.
Bai Ruozhu stayed silent, she thought to herself, if it were her, she would’ve divorced too. Because she’d been beaten by her gambling-addicted father in her past life, she absolutely loathed gamblers.
After that, she bid farewell to Madame Qiao, got into the horse carriage and headed towards the Government Office. She wanted to observe the situation and see if the Liu Family would make a move.
Unexpectedly, halfway through the journey, a masked man suddenly stormed into the carriage and immediately hit her acupoint...