Although Coachman Ah Ying had taken the blame, allowing He Su to escape unsullied,
there were things that everyone knew, even though they did not speak of them outright.
From that day on, He Su suddenly found that the shopkeepers of her stores had drastically changed their attitude towards her.
Shopkeeper Sun led the charge.
He rallied several others to resist He Su.
Her stores began to close rapidly as the shopkeepers collectively went on strike, forcing He Su to fight alone.
She was somewhat infuriated by these shopkeepers, thinking, "Three-legged toads may be hard to find, but men are a dime a dozen!"
She refused to believe that her shops would really shut down completely without these shopkeepers.
So, He Su posted a recruitment notice and began hiring. But before she could fully staff her shops, she turned around and found something so infuriating it nearly made her vomit blood.
Shopkeeper Sun had defected to Tianji, laughing and chatting with Madam Tian of Tianji, clearly enjoying each other’s company. The other shopkeepers followed suit, defecting to what were once rival shops.
Thus, those who had worked for He Su had all defected to her enemies.
He Su was livid, her face turning an iron blue. Yet, even then, He Su had not realized that the mysterious wealthy merchant from Qingfeng Prefecture, her deliberate and unreachable adversary, was none other than Phoenix Blood, none other than Liang Shujun.
Initially, when Liang Shujun appeared outside Tianji, He Su had not thought in that direction. Perhaps because in her heart, although she admired Liang Shujun and professed a persistent devotion to him, and knew of Liang Shujun’s minor talents, she did not believe he could achieve such a vast and successful business.
Moreover, Liang Shujun had only left Taihang Town a little over a year ago. No one could believe that Phoenix Blood, the actor who once lived by performing, could achieve such business success in such a short time.
Additionally, it might have been due to some naivety on He Su’s part. She ignored Liang Shujun’s grudge and his hatred. In her heart, grudge and hatred were merely simple words devoid of any real meaning.
Instead, she forcefully projected her emotions onto Liang Shujun, masochistically declaring her deep love, repeatedly harmed by love, entangled time and again. She accepted Liang Shujun’s indifference, yet she never considered what would be best for him.
Nor had she considered that keeping her distance and not disturbing his life could be the way to enable his happiness. She constantly reaffirmed her presence, irritating him incessantly, calling it love, yet it was the greatest harm.
Moreover, she privately did not believe Liang Shujun would retaliate against her, nor did she think he had the capability to do so. Ultimately, she underestimated Liang Shujun.
The business rivalry between them intensified, sweeping across all of Taihang Town.
Liang Shujun decided to press his advantage, while He Su frantically tried to cope.
But at that moment, He Su’s stores were suddenly embroiled in one appalling scandal after another.