The Liu family, rarely gathered, naturally didn't rush to the Hengde Pharmacy.
Wei Zimiao, lodging at their house, had to temporarily stay at other villagers' homes, leaving the space for the family.
Wei Zimiao's generosity had spread earlier, and the villagers were so enthusiastic they almost fought over him, each wanting him to stay at their place.
At that time, Li Yueshu stood by, watching Wei Zimiao with amusement. "Young Master Wei, how does it feel to be so popular?"
Wei Zimiao seemed not to notice the teasing in her eyes and turned, "Not bad. Madam Shen, would you like to try?"
Looking at his gentle smile, Li Yueshu only saw three words: sly old fox!
Li Yueshu pouted, "Forget it, I don't have that fortune!"
She felt that if she agreed, she might be tricked by this fox the very next day.
Shen Wei, standing on Li Yueshu's other side, looked at the two, his gaze pausing subtly on Wei Zimiao.
After their last encounter, this guy hadn't continued his investigation into him, seemingly having given up.
But according to the information he had gathered, this Wei Zimiao was not someone who gave up easily.
...
The next day, Li Yueshu personally escorted Liu Lanlan and her husband to Hengde Pharmacy, briefed Doctor Chen on the situation, and then took Shen Wei to the neighboring town.
Today, she had to teach the restaurant's chefs how to prepare next month's "Immortal's Lair" dishes and also check on Shen Can.
The restaurant's business was getting better and better, and Shen Can couldn't handle it alone. She needed to find an opportunity to hire another manager.
However, Li Yueshu didn't expect to see Shen's mother and Shen Wang aggressively blocking the restaurant entrance before she even got close.
"Shen Can, you ungrateful wretch! I'm your birth mother, and Cheng Cai is your nephew! You're not helping us when we're being bullied like this, have you eaten your conscience with dogs!" Shen's mother, hands on her hips, hopped and cursed.
Shen Can's expression was extremely unpleasant.
The restaurant's servers stood behind her, not afraid of being bullied, but their commotion was affecting the restaurant's business!
"I am your daughter who you sold off, and now I've signed a contract of servitude with Liu Xian Restaurant, yet I still give you monthly support. Even if it goes to the authorities, I've done my utmost!" Shen Can's voice was not low, and her demeanor was strong.
Since Shen Cheng Cai was caught poisoning the medicine factory, Shen Wang and his mother had not dared to approach Li Yueshu. They came to the restaurant daily to find her, which was incredibly annoying.
In the beginning, they had feigned concern, but later, their true intentions were revealed. They wanted her to help frame Li Yueshu and even wanted her to abscond with the restaurant's money!
Shen Can refused without a second thought and directly kicked them out.
But she didn't expect them to dare to cause a scene at the restaurant's doorstep!
Thinking of this, Shen Can's gaze towards the two grew colder.
Shen's mother's fierce expression stiffened. She clearly hadn't expected her second daughter, whom she had always bullied at will, to have become so strong-willed.
Shen Wang's expression was also ugly. "What about Cheng Cai? You are his only aunt, you even held him when he was born. How can you bear to see him ruined by that venomous woman, Li Yueshu?"
He deliberately lowered his voice, trying to make his sharp voice sound less like a woman's.
Shen's mother glanced at the onlookers, then suddenly sat down on the ground.
"There's no justice! Everyone, come and see, this restaurant is trying to harm people!" Shen's mother wailed and shouted like a shrew. "My dear grandson is not even ten years old, and the proprietress of this restaurant, relying on the government's backing, wants to lock my dear grandson in prison and ruin his life forever! Everyone, please judge! I don't want to live anymore!"
Liu Xian Restaurant was already the liveliest restaurant in Tongmu County. Hearing her shout, even more people gathered to watch.
Everyone knew the owner of Liu Xian Restaurant had a good relationship with the current magistrate. Thus, upon hearing Shen's mother's words, they believed seventy to eighty percent of it and began to point fingers at the restaurant.
Shen Can had been managing the restaurant for several months and could see from the expressions of these people that something was wrong.
She quickly said loudly, "You still have the audacity to mention that idiot Shen Cheng Cai! At his young age, he dared to put arsenic on medicinal herbs! If he had succeeded, it would be a small matter to tarnish the reputation of Hengde Pharmacy. If he had harmed the lives of innocent patients, you two, as elders, would not be absolved of responsibility!"
"You're spouting nonsense!" Shen's mother retorted, her neck stiff. "Your contract is with that venomous woman, of course, you're speaking for her! This is clearly a trap she set for my dear grandson, a baseless excuse!"
Shen Can let out a cold laugh. "The mouth is yours, say whatever you want. But if you can't produce evidence, I can sue you for defamation at the county yamen!"
"Furthermore, there is eyewitness and material evidence of Shen Cheng Cai's poisoning, even the entire village can testify. Are you still going to say that the whole village was bribed?"
Shen's mother subconsciously said, "When..."
"Of course, you can say that the villagers saw Madam was rich, so they wanted to curry favor with her and deliberately gave false testimony. Anyway, with a flick of your lips, any lie can be told with conviction. But what is fake is fake. Do you think everyone here is a fool, and they'll believe whatever you say?"
Shen Can interrupted her directly, even cutting off her escape route.
No matter what Shen's mother said afterward, people would not easily believe it.
Among the crowd, Li Yueshu watched Shen Can handle the situation calmly from beginning to end, her eyes filled with admiration.
"Shen Can, you are such an idiot!" Shen Wang, enraged, forgot to lower his voice and cursed, pointing a finger at her nose, his little finger unconsciously curled. "We are your relatives, everything we do is for your own good!"
"Do you think Li Yueshu, that venomous woman, is a good person? She treats you like a dog, and she'll definitely torment you to death in the future!"
Upon hearing his words, Shen Can's face turned even colder.
She was about to say something when a voice interrupted her first.
"It sounds like you know me quite well. Are you not afraid that I'll retaliate against you?"
The familiar voice made Shen Wang and his mother tremble, a chill creeping up their scalps. Shen's mother scrambled up in a flash, her movements more agile than a young person.
Li Yueshu walked over slowly, her casual expression making Shen Wang and his mother tremble, involuntarily stepping back.
Seeing her, Shen Can's eyes reddened, as if she had finally found her backbone.
Looking at the frightened Shen Wang and his mother, Li Yueshu said coldly, "It seems the lessons I gave you before were not enough..."
Her light words made Shen Wang and his mother's legs tremble. If they hadn't been holding onto each other, they would have collapsed to the ground.
Especially Shen Wang, he felt a bone-chilling pain all over his body, clearly remembering the agony he had endured that night.
"You... you venomous woman, you will surely face retribution!"
He glared fiercely at Li Yueshu, his pointing hand still trembling slightly, it was unclear if it was from anger.
Li Yueshu glanced at his delicate finger and smiled enigmatically.
She said nothing and simply walked past them.