My Wife is a Frustrating Genius!!! - Chapter 23

After hearing Panda Eyes’ words, Lu Jiahe frowned. Her two older brothers were supposed to be studying at the academy during the day. How could they have known she had taken over a shop here?

Cheng Yi could tell from Lu Jiahe’s expression that things weren’t as simple as they seemed. She didn’t bother asking for an explanation; since the two ghost impersonators were right there, she could just question them herself.

“You said Lu Jiazheng sent you here. Then tell me, why did he have you come in the middle of the night to play ghost?” Cheng Yi asked, sitting back in her chair and eyeing Panda Eyes and his companion with calm authority, as if she were the proprietress herself.

“Well.” Panda Eyes darted glances between Lu Jiahe and Cheng Yi, then at his accomplice, the one missing a front tooth. “I-I can’t say!”

He had heard that ever since this woman entered the Lu family, she had turned the household upside down. The thought made him tremble. If he didn’t tell the truth, he might not make it out of this shop alive tonight.

“What? There’s something you can’t say?” Cheng Yi sneered. He had already exposed Lu Jiazheng’s name, why clam up now?

Reaching for the teapot, Cheng Yi poured herself a cup of tea. “Looking at you,” she said slowly, sipping as she studied the trembling man, “you’re like a dead pig, unafraid of boiling water.”

With that, she flung the tea onto the ground in front of him.

Panda Eyes recoiled, curling up tighter. He had always relied on the Lu family’s eldest and second young masters, who swaggered through Bianjing with unchecked arrogance. Never had anyone, least of all a woman, treated him like this.

“M-Mistress, I’ll talk!” Panda Eyes stammered, eyes welling with tears. “I’ll talk, please don’t hurt me!”

“The eldest young master saw you in this shop during the day,” he said between shaky breaths. “He had someone look into it and found out that you, Young Master, had taken over a shop here. That’s why he sent us tonight, to scare you away.”

Lu Jiahe’s brow furrowed. Except for new students like her, no one was excused from classes these days. How could her eldest brother have been here?

“Has he been at your shop recently?” Lu Jiahe demanded, her tone cold.

“Yes, yes, but it’s not my shop! The eldest young master is the owner!” Panda Eyes stammered, hoping that invoking Lu Jiazheng’s name might spare him.

Lu Jiahe turned to Cheng Yi, disbelief written all over her face.

“What’s wrong?” Cheng Yi asked, puzzled by her reaction.

Lu Jiahe paced for a moment, then leaned close to whisper the academy’s schedule into Cheng Yi’s ear.

Skipping class, huh.

Cheng Yi tilted her head, looking up at Lu Jiahe with amusement. How old is her eldest brother, and he’s still pulling stunts like this?

“Where is the eldest young master now?” Cheng Yi asked, tugging on Lu Jiahe’s sleeve to pull her behind her. If Lu Jiazheng wanted to scare her, she thought, she would return the favor tenfold.

Panda Eyes trembled. “R-replying to the young mistress, the eldest young master is, staying overnight at the shop tonight.”

Cheng Yi frowned. “Lu Jiazheng, the eldest young master, staying overnight in a shop? Hard to believe he’d set foot in such a shabby place.”

She sneered. “Your shop must be so busy that even the boss has to stay overnight, huh?”

Panda Eyes, thinking she was softening, rushed to explain, “No, young mistress. It’s just that the girl the eldest young master likes had no customers today, so he stayed to keep her company.”

“Girl? Customers?”

Lu Jiahe’s suspicion deepened. The place Panda Eyes described sounded eerily similar to the one Jiang Huai and Tan Siyuan had taken her to before. The realization made her heart skip, if Cheng Yi found out she’d been there and lied about it, she might lose more than just her dignity.

Cheng Yi seemed to understand. She nodded. “Aside from tonight’s little haunting act, have you been pretending to scare people here before?”

“This.” Panda Eyes hesitated, watching her face carefully.

Seeing his hesitation, Cheng Yi lightly kicked his shoulder.

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Please don’t get violent, young mistress!” Panda Eyes cried. “The eldest young master runs a brothel on the corner of this street. He wanted to buy this shop too, but the owner looked down on our line of business and refused to sell. In a fit of anger, he ordered us to scare off anyone who tried to rent it by pretending to be ghosts.”

“Tch.” Cheng Yi’s lips curled in disdain. “Does Old Master Lu know about his eldest son’s business venture?”

“N-no. he doesn’t.” Panda Eyes lowered his head, trembling. He had offended both sides, there would be no good days ahead for him now.

Lu Jiahe, who had been standing by, frowned deeply. “How dare you do such things! Aren’t you afraid Father will find out?”

Panda Eyes stayed silent, curling up even smaller.

“Lu An,” Cheng Yi called. “Go to the back and fetch two ropes. Tie them up and throw them in the woodshed. Then go home and bring a few trustworthy servants to keep watch over them.”

“Yes, madam.” Lu An hurried out of the shop.

“Tsk!” Lu Jiahe gritted her teeth as she watched him go. “Didn’t I tell you not to call her that? You!”

After the two “ghosts” were subdued, Cheng Yi picked up the rouge and powder Guo’er had brought and began smearing them haphazardly across her face.

Lu Jiahe frowned at the sight. She wanted to offer help, Guo’er could assist, but one look at Cheng Yi’s fierce concentration made her swallow the thought.

Cheng Yi used up the entire box of powder, then added bright red blush to her cheeks until she looked like a frightened monkey. Even she shuddered when she caught her reflection.

Behind her, Guo’er pouted at her young master, clearly upset that her cosmetics were being used up.

Feeling Guo’er’s gaze, Lu Jiahe turned and gave a silent, comforting nod. Though they said nothing, both master and servant knew exactly what the other was thinking.

Cheng Yi caught their reflection in the mirror. “What are you two doing? Talking about me with your eyes?” she asked, narrowing her gaze.

“N-no, we weren’t!” Lu Jiahe stammered and quickly turned away, pretending to examine a chair instead.

Guo’er panicked. “Nothing at all, Madam! Please don’t misunderstand! The young master and I are completely innocent!” she blurted. She knew better than to cross the woman who now ruled their household’s dynamics.

Lu Jiahe sighed. It was useless correcting them, no one seemed to remember she wasn’t married yet.

Noticing the empty cosmetic boxes, Cheng Yi said casually, “Guo’er, buy new ones tomorrow. She’ll pay for them, get whatever you want.” She pointed at Lu Jiahe.

Lu Jiahe’s eyes widened in disbelief, but when she looked at Cheng Yi’s ghastly makeup, she decided not to argue.

Originally, Cheng Yi hadn’t intended to bring Lu Jiahe along, but the latter insisted on coming. No amounts of threats could deter her.

The four disguised themselves: Cheng Yi and Lu Jiahe each wore wide-brimmed hats that concealed their faces. In the dark, they looked more like specters than humans.

After searching the brothel thoroughly, they still hadn’t found Lu Jiazheng. Cheng Yi’s gaze drifted to a low building behind the courtyard, but there seemed to be no path leading there.

“Young Master Cheng,” Guo’er whispered, covering her nose against the overpowering perfume in the air, “we’ve been searching forever. Why not pay one of the girls to ask?”

Lu Jiahe looked up at the moonlit sky, then at the people mingling nearby. “Follow me,” she said finally.

She had no choice. She didn’t want to admit she’d been here before, but wandering aimlessly would only waste more time. Besides, her relationship with Cheng Yi was only nominal surely, the other woman wouldn’t beat her for this.

Cheng Yi paused for a second, surprised, then nodded for her to lead the way.

Without hesitation, Lu Jiahe took her purse and guided them through winding corridors until they reached a hidden door. She knocked twice, and when it opened, she slipped a silver ingot into the hand of the person inside.

Once inside, Cheng Yi noticed the lavishly dressed patrons and realized that only those of considerable means could enter this place.

As a thought struck her, she reached out and grabbed Lu Jiahe’s hand. “Have you been here before?” she asked quietly.