The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 246: Chapter 246: The Sooner, The Better

"Pfft! She stole their recipe and won’t even admit it. If she’s so clever, why doesn’t she go learn how to mint money?"

"You can’t marry into a family like that. No matter how big your family fortune is, they’d scheme to take it all!"

"The old saying is true: an unworthy wife will ruin three generations! Just look at this. Their perfectly good recipe was stolen, and their business was snatched away. The poor Hu Family..."

Amid the cacophony of gossip, Ji Huan pointed to one of the older women in the crowd.

"The truth is just as this woman said. The Cao Family stole the recipe. Hu Liang was furious and accidentally injured Cao Fugui during the argument. The Caos then threatened to report him to the authorities, forcing the Hu Family to pay dozens of taels for so-called ’medical expenses.’ After all that, the marriage was obviously off. However, the Cao Family is holding Hu Liang’s betrothal card hostage and shamelessly threatening them. They said if the Hu Family wants to officially break the engagement, they must promise to stop setting up their stall in town."

There were only a few key points to the story, anyway. It was all about arranging them, trimming them, and seeing who could tell the most fluid, convincing tale.

Clearly, Ji Huan’s version of events fit better with what the crowd already suspected.

"You’re lying! Hu Liang didn’t want to break the engagement because Yunyun stole the recipe! It was because..."

Standing at the doorway of the main hall, Hu Ximei suddenly flinched.

She was standing where she had a direct view of the main gate. All those eyes weren’t on her yet, but she knew they would be soon. They would point at her, whisper about her, pity her, mock her...

Hu Ximei couldn’t stop trembling. She instinctively took a step back, then another, and another, until she had retreated into a dark corner where no one could see her.

"Because of what?" Ji Huan cut Granny Cao off, her eyes fixed on the older woman’s. A faint, unsmiling smile played on her lips.

"Hu Liang was quite pleased with Miss Cao at first. If you hadn’t used her, the two of them would never have reached the point of breaking off the engagement. Isn’t that so? Or is there some other reason? Perhaps Miss Cao did something that Hu Liang found unforgivable?"

She advanced a step with every sentence, forcing Granny Cao to back away.

As she backed away, her heel caught on a bump on the ground. She lurched backward, about to fall.

With lightning reflexes, Ji Huan stepped forward and caught Granny Cao.

But as she steadied the woman, she leaned in and whispered:

"Go ahead, tell everyone. Try to turn this back on us. We’ll just see who comes out of this with their reputation in tatters—Hu Ximei, or your precious daughter."

Despite the sweltering heat, a chill ran straight through Granny Cao.

She frantically pushed Ji Huan away and swallowed hard.

"It was... Yunyun didn’t know anything. We were the ones who made her..."

"Mother!"

In truth, Mrs. Wang’s head was spinning from all the talk, but as an onlooker, she still had some presence of mind. The moment she heard Granny Cao’s words, she panicked.

’We can’t admit it! If we do, we won’t have a leg to stand on.’

By then, Granny Cao had also come to her senses, but it was too late. The words were already out of her mouth.

Granny Cao made no move to retract her words, however. A sudden uncertainty had taken root in her heart.

’If it were just Widow Xie, I could have handled her. All I’d have to do is mention Cao Yunyun tried to hang herself, and who wouldn’t side with our family? Turning black into white would have been a piece of cake.’

’But this Ji Huan, who popped out of nowhere, is too damn difficult!’

’I made a mistake coming here. Not only will we not get anything out of this, we might not even be able to get away. And from the venom in Ji Huan’s voice, it sounds like she wants to absolutely destroy Cao Yunyun!’

Granny Cao was old and shrewd. Seeing the situation turning against her, she began to think of retreating.

Mrs. Wang, however, refused to back down.

"Stop twisting your words to confuse everyone! My mother-in-law is old; what she just said doesn’t count! And don’t you mind how we learned the recipe. The agreement is signed! They have to keep their word and pay up!"

Ji Huan feigned a look of sudden realization. "Oh, I’d almost forgotten about the agreement until you brought it up. That’s right, it’s all written down in black and white."

Right on cue, Hu Liang handed the paper to Ji Huan.

Ji Huan unfolded it. Knowing full well that neither the Cao mother-in-law nor daughter-in-law could read, she deliberately held it with the writing facing them.

"’Upon discovering the Cao Family selling the Golden Duo on the street, Hu Liang, in his fury, accidentally injured Cao Fugui. Furthermore, due to the Cao Family’s forceful demand for compensation, a payment of thirty taels of silver was made. In tandem, a promise was made to cease setting up a stall to do business in town. This was in exchange for the return of Hu Liang’s betrothal card, and henceforth the Hu and Cao Families shall have no further relations...’"

As Ji Huan read, she deliberately emphasized the words "accidentally injured" and "forceful demand."

The members of the Cao Family had no idea what she was getting at.

Ji Huan smiled and kindly "translated" for them.

"Aunt Cao has already admitted the hot and spicy soup recipe was learned from the Hu Family. The Cao Family then publicly sold the Golden Duo without informing Hu Liang. In his rage, Hu Liang lost his senses, making his actions understandable—they fall into the category of ’accidental injury.’ But you all used this as an opportunity for blackmail and extortion, forcefully demanding compensation, holding the betrothal card hostage, and trying to steal someone else’s business... Oh, that’s right. I forgot to read a section. The reason the Hu Family broke off the engagement is written on here, too. And it lists Village Chief Meng and Village Chief Cao as witnesses."

"You’re lying! That’s not what it means at all!"

Mrs. Wang was so furious she was practically hopping.

Before they’d put their handprints on it, they had asked Village Chief Cao to look it over. He had said there was nothing wrong with it and never mentioned anything about the reason for the broken engagement.

’Why does it sound so twisted coming from Ji Huan’s mouth?’

She didn’t stop to think that since the marriage had fallen through and she’d refused to return his matchmaking fee, Village Chief Cao now held a grudge against her. Why would he have bothered to carefully check the document for her family?

"Whether that’s what it means or not, I can’t convince you, and you can’t convince me. That’s precisely why we should go to the government office and seek a just ruling. We’ll let the County Magistrate decide who’s in the right. What do you say?"

Shi Yong, who had been waiting outside, heard this and shouted into the courtyard at the perfect moment, "I’ve borrowed the cart! We can leave right now!"

Ji Huan nodded. "Then let’s go."

With that, she turned and headed for the main gate first.

Mrs. Wang was thrown into a panic. "You—what do you think you’re doing?"

"Going to Yeyang, of course! You brought so many people with you, did you come by cart? If not, I suggest you go back to your village and borrow one. The sooner we get there, the better."

Mrs. Wang was completely at a loss and looked to Granny Cao for help.

Granny Cao suppressed her growing panic and sighed. "Fine, forget it. This is a messy affair between the younger generation. Both sides are at fault, and it’s impossible to sort out. We’re not the type of family to press an advantage..."

’Heh, so *now* it’s a "messy affair between the younger generation."’

’What happened to that aggressive attitude from when they first showed up? Well, *I’m* going to be the one to press my advantage.’

"So you admit that everything I said earlier is true?"

Granny Cao couldn’t deny it, but she refused to admit it outright.

"Our family was in the wrong first, but the Hu Family broke their promise afterward. My son is still laid up in bed! And the Hu Family promised themselves. Now five or six other stalls have popped up in town... It’s all just a big, confusing mess. Let it go, let it go. Listen to this old woman, and just let it be."

"Your business with the Hu Family may be over, but my business with you is not."

Ji Huan’s faint smile vanished, and her expression suddenly turned icy.

"I told you before, the Golden Duo recipe is mine. Don’t bring up those other stalls in town. They have my permission. You do not!

And don’t give me any of that ’finders keepers’ nonsense! Theft is theft. You didn’t just steal my recipe, you repeatedly blackmailed and extorted the Hu Family. Even if they agree to let it go, I won’t!

You think because I’m a lone woman, I’m an easy target? Let me tell you, we are seeing the magistrate today, and that’s final!"

"You... you..." Granny Cao was aghast. "We may have stolen the recipe, but we learned it from the Hu Family! Our fight is with the Hu Family! We never came looking for trouble with you! If you want to settle a score, go to them, not us."

"None of you are getting away with this!"

Ji Huan’s voice suddenly rose, her expression taking on a rare, sharp edge.

"The Hu Family leaked my recipe, and you stole it and sold it without my consent. Are you all ganging up on me? I refuse to swallow this insult. I’m going to the government office to demand justice!"

Hu Liang and Widow Xie lowered their heads in shame.

Even though they knew Ji Huan must have a reason for saying this, they still wished they could find a hole to crawl into and disappear.

Seeing that Ji Huan wasn’t even sparing the Hu Family, Granny Cao completely lost her composure.

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