Chapter 88 I’ll Get Even for You

Chapter 88: I'll Settle the Score for You

As the two were eating, a waiter came to report: "Boss lady, that... Young Master Yang is here, saying he wants to eat. Would you like to let him in?"

Xi Qianyue raised an eyebrow. This man dares to show up—is he here to rub it in?

"Let him in, of course. A guest is a guest—charge him full price."

Qi Chengyun's mood soured a bit, but Xi Qianyue seemed indifferent.

It wasn't until they had finished eating that Xi Qianyue came out of the private booth, only to hear Yang Xingxian's arrogant, obnoxious voice.

"Is this the kind of service your restaurant offers? And this food? What a taste! Terrible. You must be hard up for cash, charging so much silver for food like this..."

The waiter and the manager didn't know what to do, and the moment they saw Xi Qianyue, it was like seeing a lifeline.

"Oh? If you can't afford to eat here, why come to this place at all? I've heard you received a pretty hefty reward—a full hundred taels of silver, enough to eat at my place many times over. And you still find it expensive? Seems you're used to being broke!"

Xi Qianyue fired off a bunch of sarcastic remarks, then looked toward the Yang family seated in the private booth. Bai Zhining was absent.

Lady Wu slammed the table: "Vile woman, you've got some nerve! I know you're envious now, but unfortunately, my son already cast you off. Even if he passes the imperial examination and becomes the heir, that's none of your business."

Xi Qianyue looked at her with a smirk.

These people were scared she might not know about these matters, so they all came in a group, just to get under her skin.

"First off, this wasn't a divorce or a mutual split—it was a legal annulment by decree! Since we're legally done, showing up on my turf is shameless! Secondly, you're merely the heir of the Marquis of Changping's household. In this capital, are you even on the map?"

Xi Jiaojiao said displeasedly: "Elder sister, I know you're angry, but there's no need to put on such a brave front and talk so big. As common merchant girls like us, how dare we look down on the Marquis of Changping's household? Besides, I've now been promoted to legal wife, while you've returned home divorced. If you're feeling bitter, you should learn to keep it in check."

The diners outside began to gather, pointing and muttering to each other.

"Enough with the nonsense. Since you can afford to eat out, you should at least repay the silver you owe me, right? You still owe me six thousand taels of silver. The Marquis of Changping's household is nothing but a wolf's den, always blowing through their daughter-in-law's dowry money. In just a few short months, you blew through over ten thousand taels of my silver. By the way, their mansion was pawned off, and it was my silver that bought it back..."

Lady Wu and Yang Xingxian didn't expect Xi Qianyue to air all this dirty laundry in public, and their faces went beet red with panic.

"You vile woman, what crap are you spewing here? Our prestigious marquis household would never owe you silver! With all this crazy talk, my son wouldn't want you anyway."

Lady Wu had come to flaunt her superiority, and the others had wanted to see Xi Qianyue regret her choices.

Little did they know, she didn't give a damn.

"Oh? Whether it's nonsense isn't for me to say, nor for you to decide. The IOU is what matters. And on that IOU is your son Yang Xingxian's name and thumbprint. Want to deny it? Then let's take it to the officials and sort it out in court."

Among the crowd were plenty of nobles and officials, and upon hearing such matters, the way they looked at Yang Xingxian and his family changed.

"Elder sister, you were once the head wife of the Yang household. Why must you be so aggressive?"

Xi Jiaojiao twisted her handkerchief and dabbed at the corner of her eyes, pretending to be shocked.

"This is my dear half-sister, who was already carrying on with her former brother-in-law, now her husband. That's why I was legally severed and returned home, and she got promoted to legal wife. Do you all understand now? I wonder how much silver my dear half-sister has shelled out to the Yang household as well?"

Lady Wu and Xi Jiaojiao were shaking with fury as the crowd's stares nearly burned them alive.

"Let me tell you all—my dear half-sister, in order to repay the silver the Yang household owed me, she also forked over close to ten thousand taels. And despite all that, she still helps this Marquis of Changping's household come after me, her own big sister!"

"How utterly ridiculous." Yang Xingxian tried to look suave. "Lady Xi, I know you're resentful because I divorced you, but a man having several wives and concubines is perfectly normal. To vent your anger by slandering me like this is really low."

Xi Qianyue was practically flabbergasted. Beside her, Qing Bi said angrily: "Young Master Yang, you owe our young lady silver, and there's an IOU with your signature and thumbprint on it. There's no need to badmouth our young lady.

Originally, our young lady didn't care about this silver, but then your sister pushed our young lady into the pond, trying to kill her for the money—it's horrifying."

The crowd erupted in shock.

Yang Luo was twisting her silk handkerchief so hard it was about to tear. She said angrily: "I just accidentally bumped into Lady Xi, and she fell in herself. Besides, I already apologized and got the crap beaten out of me for it..."

She conveniently left out the "kneeling" part of the apology.

"Enough chit-chat. If you came here to flaunt your superiority, you've come to the wrong door. Just pay back the silver you owe—that's the real issue."

As the Yang family was about to head out, the manager stopped them: "You haven't paid your tab yet. That'll be ten taels of silver."

Xi Jiaojiao tossed two silver ingots on the ground, and Yang Xingxian gave her a look of approval.

"Pick them up. Silver is clean; some people are dirty to the core. Manager, take this ten taels and buy rice, flour, and cotton quilts, then donate them to the orphanage to keep those poor kids warm."

The manager answered right away and picked up the silver.

"I thought that opening our doors for business meant welcoming everyone who walks in. But it turns out some people don't deserve to step foot in my place. From now on, everyone get a good look at this family—we won't do business with them."

Xi Qianyue gave the order calmly, and the manager and waiters all said yes in unison.

The Yang family left with faces burning red, scurrying out one after another.

They had come to intimidate Xi Qianyue, hoping to see her regret, but instead they had made total fools of themselves.

For the next few days, they didn't dare leave the house...

Qi Chengyun had heard everything clearly from the private booth. He said softly, "An San, from now on, you'll keep an eye on the Yang household. Gather every piece of leverage you can find."

An San nodded and left.

Little did they know, there was also a noble among the crowd watching the show—none other than Third Young Master Qi Chengguang.

Xi Qianyue returned to the private booth, slightly embarrassed: "Ah, you caught me in full fight mode again."

"It's a pity I couldn't step in, but don't worry—I'll get back at them for you."

Xi Qianyue suddenly recalled how Yang Xingxian had out of nowhere been beaten black and blue for days. A lightbulb went off: "That time that bastard got beaten—was that your doing?"

Qi Chengyun, hearing her call him "that bastard," laughed out loud—which was rare for him.

"That's right, I had that bastard beaten. Want me to have him beaten again? In fact, besides beating him, I also had some amusing and disgusting things done to him, but I'm afraid they'd be too gross to tell you..."

Qi Chengyun was cracking up as he said this.