青春期撞上更年期第1部

Therefore, he believed that being cautious would be of great help. However, the conflict with Madame Dong frustrated him. He had thought that it was no big deal. Madame Dong was merely a businesswoman with a history of close contact with him. They hadn’t met for many years, but so what? She had to follow his arrangements obediently no matter what.

Therefore, he relaxed vigilance against this matter. As a result, he provoked Princess Chen.

Wei Dahai paid no attention to Princess Chen, who had just married Prince Chen. It was universally known that Prince Chen was a dying sick man. Since Princess Chen would soon become a widow, how could he care about her feelings?

However, against his expectations, this matter implicated him, and his backer, Nanny Wei, was punished because of it. Nanny Wei was furious at him and even sent someone to rebuke him. She even knew that he had asked someone to impersonate Lady Ming.

Early in the morning, Wei Dahai appeared in the teahouse opposite the Butterfly Clothing Shop and asked for a private room facing the Butterfly Clothing Shop. From this position, he could see the people coming and going from the shop.

He had been sitting there for the whole morning. During this period, the Butterfly Clothing Shop looked peaceful, and no unusual people appeared. All people seemed to be ordinary guests coming here to buy things. From time to time, a shop-boy would send some guests out with a bright smile. Many people had visited the shop, most of whom were Misses and Madams of aristocratic families.

All smiles, these customers came out, followed by servant girls carrying the items they had just bought. It was evident that they were very satisfied with the goods of Butterfly Clothing Shop.

Judging by what he saw, Wei Dahai estimated that the shop would earn lots of money even in one morning. With this conclusion, his desire to take over this shop was becoming stronger and stronger. Now, he needed money to stay afloat. It would benefit him a lot if he got Lady Ming’s shop. For Lady Ming, marrying him as a secondary legal wife was worthwhile. Wei Dahai felt that he was pretty considerate toward her.

As he thought about it, he became increasingly confident that it was an excellent idea. It was also a good thing for Lady Ming. However, Lady Ming was somehow bewitched by Princess Chen and was determined to sell the shop to her.

However, Wei Dahai wouldn’t let Princess Chen succeed so easily. Deliberately, he implicated the Butterfly Clothing Shop in a case of the Ministry of Justice. Before the matter was made clear, the Butterfly Clothing Shop wouldn’t be allowed to change hands. In this way, he still had a chance to get it.

The key to the matter was Madame Dong. As long as she changed her mind, everything else could be negotiated. Princess Chen couldn’t abuse her power to bully people.

Because Prince Chen recently shot up into eminence, many people treated him with reverence and awe. But meanwhile, the Prince Chen’s Mansion was pushed to the heart of the power struggle. At this time, it was best for the Prince Chen’s Mansion to keep a low profile. From this point of view, Wei Dahai was sure about one thing: Princess Chen couldn’t and didn’t dare to make trouble at this time. If she ruined Prince Chen’s business, what benefits could she get as a woman?

After thinking about this, Wei Dahai relaxed. Then, he ordered a few snacks in the teahouse but didn’t go downstairs — he kept watching the shop. He was relieved that no carriage from the Prince Chen’s Mansion appeared. It seemed to be only Lady Ming’s idea.

When it was almost time, he straightened his clothes, stood up, and went downstairs with a trace of smugness on his face. According to his perfect plan, he felt the Butterfly Clothing Shop was already in his pocket.

If Lady Dong was sensible enough, she should voluntarily put the shop under his name. Otherwise, he would tell others that she was only his mistress.

Anyway, his official position was not high, and he was a nobody in the capital city. No one would criticize him before the Emperor for such a small matter. He and his wife were willing to do this. Besides, since Lady Ming appeared to be in the wrong, she wouldn’t argue. Under these conditions, others wouldn’t care about their business. With this in mind, Wei Dahai grew more and more certain that he would succeed.

When Wei Dahai stepped into the Butterfly Clothing Shop, a shop-boy saw him. He approached Wei Dahai with an unhappy look and reluctantly clasped his hands together to greet him. “Lord Wei!”

Almost all the people of Butterfly Clothing Shop were familiar with Wei Dahai. However, they knew he had schemed against their shopkeeper, so few would be nice to him.

“Where is your shopkeeper?” Wei Dahai asked, not taking their negative attitude seriously. The shop-boy’s hostile attitude showed that Lady Ming wanted something from him.

“The shopkeeper is in the accountant’s office!” The shop-boy pointed to a room in the corner. This accountant’s office on the ground floor was much larger than the one upstairs. Madame Dong had handled most of the affairs in it.

Wei Dahai waved his hand carelessly and said, “I’ll go and find Lady Ming!”

Without waiting for the shop-boy to lead the way, he walked over along the familiar route with his servant. When they reached the slightly closed door, he asked the servant to wait outside and walked in.

The young servant understood what he meant. After Wei Dahai entered, he closed the door and waited outside.

Behind the large desk, Madame Dong raised her head and stared at Wei Dahai coldly.

Madame Dong’s reaction didn’t surprise Wei Dahai at all. Smiling broadly, he came in and sat on the chair opposite the desk. With great ease, he put his hand on the desk and asked, “Lady Ming, what can I do for you?

“Wei Dahai, you know the answer, don’t you?” Madame Dong threw the account book onto the table rudely and snapped, “Wei Dahai, I have nothing to do with you now, and it’s the same with the Butterfly Clothing Shop. Princess Chen owns it now. Do you dare to play tricks on her?”

“Of course, I won’t dare to do that. But are you sure this shop belongs to Princess Chen? Lady Ming, you’ve always been stubborn, but what’s the benefit of that? You must have been deceived for nothing. Do you think everything will be fine with her help?”

Wei Dahai leaned back and said with indifference.

Glancing around, he found that no one else but Madame Dong was in the room, which was very good. Of course, he figured that there was no one around Madame Dong.

Madame Dong was not a Madam of an aristocratic family, so she had no servant girl accompanying and serving her. The shop-boys would only come here occasionally. How could they stay by her side all the time?

“These account books must have been placed behind the large screen, right?” Thinking of this, Wei Dahai felt a surge of excitement in his heart.

“What have you done to my shop?” Madame Dong asked, glaring at Wei Dahai.

“Lady Ming, why do you act like we’re strangers? What’s your relationship with me? Why would I do anything to your shop? If you’re in trouble, how can I be fine? What happened that year was a misunderstanding. Back then, I was determined to marry you. The result came as a surprise, I must say!”

Wei Dahai sighed, ignoring Madame Dong’s furious look.

It could be said that the angrier Madame Dong was, the calmer Wei Dahai became. There was even a light smile on his face. He looked at Madame Dong with a bit of magnanimity, which made Madame Dong feel nauseous. Wei Dahai acted like an affectionate man facing an unreasonable woman.

After taking a deep breath, Madame Dong calmed down and said, her eyes turning cold, “Wei Dahai, no matter what your plan is, I can tell you clearly that I don’t like you at all now. Don’t think you can still fool me like before. Now, you…”

At this time, Madame Dong gave him a contemptuous look and said with a sneer, “Madame Ouyang didn’t give you enough money, did she? You look so anxious. You must have lived in poverty and misery after marrying her. Your life must be no better than that of the past, right? After all, you live off a woman. In fact, I can understand why you are so hungry for money. I can give you some for old times’ sake!”

As she spoke, Madame Dong took out about ten taels of silver from her sleeve and pushed it to Wei Dahai. She didn’t hide the sarcasm in her eyes. “Wei Dahai, stop scheming against me. If you can’t make a living, take the silver and leave. Please don’t come here and bother me anymore. It’s all I can do for you!”

Looking at the piece of silver on the desk, Wei Dahai couldn’t bear it anymore, no matter how generous he was. He suddenly jumped to his feet, pounded the table, and snarled, “Lady Ming…”

“What’s wrong? Are you going to hit me because you can’t deceive me?” Madame Dong also stood up, glared at Wei Dahai, and rebuked him loudly, “You’re a good-for-nothing gigolo. What makes you think you can get a secondary legal wife? Your Madam wants to get my money by making me your secondary legal wife. Am I right?

Her words, “a good-for-nothing gigolo,” irritated Wei Dahai so much that the blue veins on his forehead bulged. The last thing he wanted to hear were those comments.

It reminded him of the miserable past when he was still a poor young man. Now Madame Dong brought up the old days that were too sad to reflect on for him. No one but Madame Dong knew about his tragic past.

These harsh words were like a hard slap in his face. It seemed that he was in charge of everything in the mansion, but it had always been Madam Ouyang who made the final decision.

Because of that, he felt aggrieved and depressed in the depth of his heart. Now, Madame Dong ruthlessly touched him on his most sensitive spot.

“Lady Ming, you don’t know how to appreciate favors, do you?” Wei Dahai flew into a great rage and barked.

“Wei Dahai, do you think you can trample upon me at will? Don’t kid yourself! You involved the Butterfly Clothing Shop in the case of the Ministry of Justice. You are competent. How could you naively assume that the Prince Chen’s Mansion can’t do anything to you?” Madame Dong said coldly.

“So what? If she has the ability, she can do it.” Wei Dahai was so angry that he was in no mood to hide the sinister thing he had done. In exasperation, he glared at Madame Dong with wide-open eyes. Initially, he planned to coax her into giving up the shop, but Madame Dong drove him mad. In a fit of anger, he forgot the refined manner he had cultivated for years.

“So, you secretly played the trick? Wei Dahai, how dare you plot against the Prince Chen’s Mansion? I don’t know you have such an exaggerated opinion of your abilities!” Madame Dong spared no effort in displeasing Wei Dahai. Since they fell out openly, she no longer showed any consideration for his dignity. “Does your Madam know about this? Or is it her idea? Wei Dahai, you have to ask for her opinion even on this kind of thing. Shame on you!”

Madame Dong had seen his Madam before. It was that woman who forced her to go far away. Otherwise, she and her baby in the belly would die. Madame Dong kept this old grudge firmly in her mind and had never mentioned it to anyone!

But now, her old wound was mercilessly reopened!

“Madame Dong, good to see you again!” The door was suddenly opened. The woman stood there and glared proudly at Madame Dong in the accountant’s office as if she were looking at something filthy. What an aggressive posture!