Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 303: The Local Ruffian_1

Chapter 303: Chapter 303: The Local Ruffian_1

On the twenty-eighth of May, an indecent incident sparked by liquor happened at San Wei Residence.

At the time of the incident, both owners, Nanzhi and Shen Miaomiao, were away from the restaurant. Even Uncle Ping had left for the restroom due to diarrhea, leaving Aze as the only person from San Wei Residence in the main hall.

The matter was simple enough; a female guest who had just come down from the women’s pavilion was verbally harassed by a drunk local ruffian.

According to Aze, the ruffian even tried to catch the female guest’s hand, but he stopped him in time.

The guest was a delicate young lady from Yan City, pampered in her daily life. She only ventured out this once, having heard about the reputation of the women’s pavilion at San Wei Residence. The shocking incident caused her to fall ill and be bedridden at home, sending only her personal maid to relay the message.

With her mistress wronged, the maid naturally was not going to be polite. She even gave Nanzhi and others a cold shoulder when she saw them.

It goes without saying for the ruffian; upon seeing Nanzhi, he kept yelling that Aze had bruised his hand and demanded they compensate him with fifty taels of silver.

Nanzhi had just returned happily after discussing the fruit wine business with Ms. Xie in Dawan Village. Yet, in the blink of an eye, she was dumbstruck by the crowd in the hall.

According to the maid, her young mistress fell ill after the incident at their restaurant during noon.

Seeing the crowd that had gathered due to the commotion, Nanzhi could only pacify the maid and led her to the backyard. She didn’t forget to tell Aze to stay outside.

As for that ruffian, she had Shen Yuntian take him to the lodgings where the servants lived.

The maid of the Zeng Family was named Hexiu. She was only sixteen and quite delicate, but she was not at all receptive towards Nanzhi.

"Miss..." Nanzhi had a smile on her face, and after pouring a cup of tea, she began to speak with an apology.

"I have a rough understanding of what happened today based on the servants’ description. Indeed, it’s our restaurant’s responsibility. We will definitely give your young lady an explanation. However, I’m more worried that this incident may have harmed your young lady’s health."

With a sincere tone, Nanzhi placed the cup of tea in front of Hexiu and sat down.

Hexiu, who had come prepared to vent all her anger, was taken aback by Nanzhi’s manner and merely humphed before saying, "Please don’t call me ’sister’. My young lady is naturally frail and wouldn’t have insisted on coming here had we not heard of your esteemed women’s pavilion. Now, look what has happened. While flaunting your women’s pavilion, you allowed my young lady to get harassed by a vulgar ruffian."

Nanzhi sighed inwardly but could only nod in agreement, "You are right, sister. After this incident, we will make improvements at San Wei Residence. Starting tomorrow, our women’s pavilion will cease operations until we have made the necessary changes. Once we are done, we will, of course, invite young mistress Zeng to cut the ribbon."

Hexiu had not expected San Wei Residence to cease operations because of this issue. It took her a while to process Nanzhi’s words, who did not seem to be lying. Finally, she hesitated before speaking, "Are you trying to trick me?"

Her master had sent her here to make things difficult for San Wei Residence. After all, she was just a small maid. However, the owner, Lin, did not seem perturbed by the situation.

"Whatever San Wei Residence promises, we keep. If you don’t believe us, we could give you a written agreement to assure you."

As Nanzhi was about to go and bring pen and ink, Hexiu finally spoke, "Well, I assume you are not that petty. Since you are so sincere, I’ll trust you. But this doesn’t mean my young lady is going to pretend as if nothing happened!"

After speaking, the young maid stood up pridefully and left.

Looking at the still steaming cup of tea, Nanzhi finally shook her head.

It seemed that the Zeng Family did not intentionally cause trouble; they simply wanted some explanation.

Before she could catch her breath, Nanzhi massaged her temples and exited the room, where Aze was disheartened at the door.

Why couldn’t he handle such a small matter?

Just as he was chastising his incompetence, he heard the door open and quickly composed his expression.

"Miss..."

"Are you sure that ruffian didn’t touch young mistress Zeng?" asked Nanzhi, looking at Aze’s guilty expression with a hint of helplessness. The Zeng family had not intentionally made things difficult, but this ruffian might just have.

After all, since their opening, she had invited Officer Liu Jie who dined at their restaurant several times with government officials. Anyone with eyes could see Liu Jie was connected to San Wei Residence.

Now, with Shen Wenchen not in Yan City, Liu Jie was in charge. Who would dare to make trouble here?

"Miss, I’m certain that ruffian didn’t touch young mistress Zeng!" responded Aze, wanting to swear his honesty but was stopped by Nanzhi.

"Can you remember what happened at lunchtime? Especially the ruffian’s behavior and condition."

"Business was good then, so only Liao Da and I were stationed in the hall. Liao Da was preoccupied with the guests inside, while I greeted the customers at the doorway. That ruffian came with a couple of hooligans. They came early and ordered food and drinks. But while eating, they constantly watched the staircase. " As Aze recalled the ruffian’s situation, a realization suddenly struck him.

" They had almost finished their food but kept ordering drinks. Still, they ordered them half a pot at a time, and only one of them drank. Besides, they didn’t talk, they just stared at the staircase. They only acted drunk and began uttering verbal obscenities and gathered around young mistress Zeng and her maids when they descended the stairs."

Hearing this, Nanzhi had a cold sneer in her heart. Indeed, the person behind this was rank amateur.

"When I realized there was a problem, I intervened and stopped him with a napkin. He did not touch young mistress Zeng."

Aze was guilt-ridden recalling the incident. After all, he would have prevented this incident had he sensed the ruffian’s abnormal behavior earlier.

"Don’t overthink it. You helped me a lot by stopping him," sighed Nanzhi.

A mere fright was one thing. But if the ruffian had gotten the upper hand on young mistress Zeng, then it would be a big issue.

Although women’s status had risen somewhat compared to two years ago, a single rumor could ruin a woman’s reputation. In the best-case scenario, having faced public criticism, young mistress Zeng’s marriage prospects would suffer. Worst-case scenario, if old master Zeng cared more about face, young mistress Zeng might be forced to marry the ruffian.

Thanks to Aze intercepting the ruffian. Otherwise, closing down the women’s pavilion would have been too simple compared to the consequences. They might have to pay several hundred taels to extricate themselves.

After all, the Zeng family held considerable wealth, even if they weren’t extravagantly rich.

"As long as you aren’t blaming me, Miss..." Aze was despondent and held himself responsible for the entire incident.

"Enough, stop blaming yourself. Come with me to take a look at that ruffian. I want to know who sent him," said Nanzhi, a cold glint flashing across her face.

He claimed his hand was broken. She would grant him his wish.