Chapter 12: Rather, She Destroyed It Herself

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Shen Hua's expenses returned to their previous standards, even surpassing them. Plenty of Silver Bone Charcoal Fire made the room warm like spring. No longer did she have to worry about freezing at night.

After this incident, the baby broker wanted to show her skills, and was very careful in selecting, sending over servants who were indeed honest and straightforward.

Shen Hua glanced over them and tiredly rubbed her brow.

She was very cautious; Yicui remained the only first-class maid, and none were added.

However, the vacancies of second and third-class servants were all filled. The courtyard regained its vitality and no longer seemed so lifeless.

She took note of these unfamiliar faces one by one.

"Your monthly salary will not be processed through the accounting office; it will come directly from me."

She had money, left by her biological mother and given by Shen Wei. All of it was stored in a bank.

In her previous life, something happened at the embroidery workshop. A large sum of silver was urgently needed to settle it. Even though she was furious, she couldn't bear to watch the embroidery workshop collapse, and she foolishly listened to Shen Qu's instigation and withdrew everything...

So foolish.

Yicui couldn't help but give the new servants a stern warning.

"Do you know who you're supposed to listen to?"

"Those who served the lady before were blind and heartless. They couldn't distinguish who the master was. They flaunted power they didn't have, dreaming of instant success. Foolish and ignorant."

"Do your job well, and keep your loyalty. If I catch anyone betraying us..."

Yicui paused her words, tilting her chin up as she was about to break a fine vine whip in half to intimidate them.

Under the gaze of seven or eight pairs of eyes that were bright yet fearful, she mustered all her strength.

Ho!

!!!

It didn't break.

Her arm almost got fractured.

Shen Hua: ??? She felt embarrassed for Yicui.

The new servants, trembling: "Yicui sister, do you need help?"

Yicui: Miscalculated.

Shen Hua's lips curved slightly; she couldn't deny that everything was getting better.

The snow hadn't melted, but today the sun was unexpectedly bright. The light quietly fell on the girl's pallid, sickly cheek.

Shen Hua took the warm medicine bowl and drank it all.

The wind blew, causing Shen Hua's head to feel dizzy. She was about to walk back to the courtyard, but suddenly paused her steps.

Fine embroidery is inseparable from the embroidery fabric, thread, technique, and patterns.

Embroidery fabrics are mostly silk, satin, silk gauze, brocade, velvet, decorative flowers... with different uses, the differences between fabrics are vast.

The Shen Family's Embroidery Workshop has a great reputation and excellent word of mouth. Many dignitaries pay advances without a second thought, waiting for the finished product.

However, Shen Qu, being an outsider, had a short-sighted view. He only focused on immediate profits, disregarding the workshop's long-standing rules and principles, ignoring advice and being stubborn.

Different fabrics vary in price, some expensive and some cheap; yet he passed off shoddy goods as good quality, making a substantial illicit fortune.

Customers usually didn't know the depths, as the touch and appearance of the embroidery fabric were fine and the embroidery itself exquisite, most were deceived.

But those who walk by the river often catch wet shoes, as they say.

Eventually, an expert exposed the issue. Most of the embroidery workshop's orders were returned, and many customers demanded refunds and compensation. Some even banded together to make a scene at the workshop's entrance.

The illicit profits from the price differences were nowhere near enough to cover Shen Qu's compensation.

There's still a year before the embroidery workshop encounters trouble.

But Shen Hua didn't want to wait that year.

She wouldn't live long; the main house had no heir. Rather than letting the second house take all the advantage, she might as well destroy it herself.

She really wanted to see Shen Qu helplessly struggling.

"Yicui, prepare the carriage."

The world was covered in snow, the white silk hanging from the eaves added to it, making the surroundings even colder and more desolate.

Shen Hua loved snow scenes. At this time of year, she would always spend a fortune buying various furs, making high-profile appearances at different places.

Whenever she encountered the second house, she would directly hold her head high and confront them.

Lady Zheng from Da Heng Rice Shop never got along with Shen Hua. Last time, she spat everywhere, calling Shen Hua a sickly person who brought bad luck to kill her mama and brother, angering Shen Hua to the point where her vision blurred.

On the spot, she fell down and demanded money without saying a word.

"I have always been in poor health. Perhaps this time, Lady Zheng will have to face a criminal case over a life."

Shen Hua was extremely temperamental, wild and unreasonable, and accepted that death was approaching.

She lived each day as it came, so why not live freely before the end? Enjoy life without being bound by rules.

Shen Wei treated her so carefully, afraid she'd melt in his palm; who were these people to judge her?

Going out on the spur of the moment, she was ill-prepared and hadn't brought a warmer.

Leaving the courtyard and walking on the narrow path, her hands almost froze stiff.

The cold wind was piercing, making her lower her head more, burying it in her furry neck warmer.

This fox fur neck warmer was bought with the money she swindled. Wearing it for the first time, she went to show off in front of Lady Cheng, blatantly hinting for the latter to be generous, almost driving Lady Cheng to madness.

Yicui: "Lady, are you cold?"

Shen Hua's teeth chattered: "Not... cold."

Yicui frowned deeply, blaming herself for being careless: "I should have brought another cloak. I'll go back to get it right away."

By now they were halfway there; even if Yicui went back, in this freezing weather, Shen Hua would still have to wait here for a while.

Shen Hua buried her head further, leaving only a pair of bright eyes to watch the path.

While they were talking, they ran into Aunt Liu, who looked deeply worried.

She was Shen Wei's only concubine. After losing her young daughter, she could no longer conceive. In the household, she had become completely invisible.

She said bitterly, "Lady, your body hasn't recovered. How can you be out wandering?"

After speaking, her face paled with cowardice, fearing Shen Hua's displeasure.

Shen Hua looked at her complexly.

"Hanging oneself makes the neck uncomfortable, and death is ugly. Poison can corrode the organs, making one vomit blood and foam. Jumping from a building, one might splatter, leaving a broken corpse."

Aunt Liu: ???

Shocked!

She timidly grasped her handkerchief.

Shen Hua asked unhurriedly, "You want to die?"

Her tone was as provocative as usual.

Seeing this, Yicui noticed Aunt Liu's dismal expression, and couldn't hold back, softly advising, "Lady, Aunt Liu is a pitiful person; you've been at peace with her for many years..."

Before she could finish, she heard Aunt Liu's low response.

"Yes."

She was indeed considering which method of dying was most suitable.

Yicui: ???

Shen Hua understood.

"Alright, well, dead either way, might as well freeze; give the warmer to me."

Aunt Liu, bewildered, handed over the warmer.

As her fingers touched the warmth, Shen Hua hugged it in her arms, sighing comfortably.

She bypassed Aunt Liu, took a few more steps forward, and soon furrowed her brows in thought.

She actually felt guilty towards Aunt Liu.

She also remembered Aunt Liu followed Shen Wei not long after his death.

"Hey."

Aunt Liu's heart skipped a beat.

"I'm going out of the residence; since Aunt Liu has nothing to do, might as well come along."

"Concubine... doesn't want to go out."

Seeing this, Shen Hua made the decision for her: "Don't say more, just follow."

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