Yao Suyi was completely stunned by Liang Youyi’s beating. She only came to her senses when Fu Sangyu clutched her and cried.

“Ahhh! You actually hit me?” Her front teeth had fallen out, and her speech whistled through the gaps.

Dental technology was primitive—false teeth were made of tin and silver, tied to neighboring teeth with silver wire. The discomfort was intense, especially for the front teeth, and they looked nothing like the originals.

At thirty-two, Yao Suyi had maintained a delicate, pampered appearance in the capital. Her neat white teeth had added to her beauty. Now, with her front teeth gone, her appearance was ruined. She glared at Liang Youyi, sobbing, “You did this on purpose!”

Liang Youyi looked at her coolly. “You asked this princess to hit you.”

Hong Xiu added, “I can testify—you begged the princess to strike you.”

Liang Youyi turned to Hong Xiu. “Manager Hong, I’ll take responsibility only for the first time I brought her here. The rest—collect as you see fit.”

Hong Xiu bowed, eyes brimming with tears. “Thank you, Princess Yunshang.”

The beating drew a crowd—three layers deep.

Liang Youyi had Hongxiu recount the events to the onlookers. Yao Suyi, who had hoped for sympathy, was instead harshly condemned by the citizens of Tianfeng City.

“My heavens, how shameless! Just because Manager Hong gave her a discount once for the Princess’s sake, she extorted the shop for six years!”

“Dragging in every aunt and cousin to freeload—how thick-skinned can you be?”

“I heard the Prime Minister’s servants wear silk and satin. Turns out they’ve been stealing fabric!”

“Shameful! Crawl into a hole already!”

Some despised her greed; others envied the massive discount.

“The Princess did well to hit her! And she asked for it!”

“She didn’t ask—she wanted to smear the princess!”

Fu Sangyu sobbed and cursed, “You heartless wretches! Just wait till my second uncle gets you!”

“Whoa, Miss Fu, threatening people now?”

Just then, the Old Madam’s maid, Xi Que, arrived at Chisu Workshop.

“Madam Yao, the Old Madam asks you to return to the residence immediately.”

Even Xi Que couldn’t bear to speak of the chaos at home.

Yao Suyi climbed into the carriage, closed the curtain, and checked her face in a mirror. Seeing the gaping hole where her teeth had been, she broke down sobbing. How could Zhang Lang ever love her now?

She couldn’t take the items she’d selected. Hong Xiu packed them up, grabbed the ledger, and brought five assistants to the Prime Minister’s residence to collect payment.

Hearing Yao Suyi sob and Fu Sangyu curse the Princess, Hong Xiu sneered and whispered to a maid.

The maid nodded, chased after the carriage, and discreetly handed the driver Huai Wenqing a silver note, whispering, “If you get it done, you’ll get ten more taels.”

Huai Wenqing eyed the ten taels and gritted his teeth. “Thirty.”

“Deal.”

Yao Suyi had planned to return home and complain. But outside the residence, the crowd was overwhelming. “What’s going on?” she asked.

Xi Que braced herself. “Madam Yao, they’re all here to collect debts… The Old Madam is waiting for you to handle it.”

She was in charge of household finances—she couldn’t avoid it.

Fu Sangyu helped her mother cover her swollen face with a veil.

Hearing that Rongbaozhai had come to collect, Yao Suyi was dazed.

“Why would Rongbaozhai come? Didn’t they say we didn’t need to pay?”

The crowd burst into laughter.

“Buying things for free? Where can I get that deal?”

“Looks like the Prime Minister’s residence never pays for anything!”

Someone shouted, “Manager Shen, how much do they owe?”

Manager Shen shook the ledger. “Aside from the premium goods they took outright, the signed but unpaid bills total 20,200 taels. They also brought classmates to shop—those accounts total 84,200 taels.”

Gasps all around.

“Over 100,000 taels? That’s daylight robbery!”

“I couldn’t earn that in two lifetimes.”

“They’ve bled the shop dry.”

“Never thought the Prime Minister was that kind of man…”

Panicked and angry, Yao Suyi said, “Is that ledger real? Our household records show that every purchase was paid for. What others owe has nothing to do with us!”

Manager Shen remained respectful. “I wouldn’t dare lie at your gate. Every entry has a signature and fingerprint.”

The Old Madam stayed silent in the back.

The household’s savings weren’t deep. Yesterday’s 24,440 taels owed to Yulouchun hadn’t been resolved. Now another 100,000 taels—this would bankrupt them.

Then a Chisu Workshop assistant stepped forward. “Madam Yao, please pay our 15,000 taels first. Our manager’s husband needs medicine—you wouldn’t let him suffer through New Year, would you?”

“Good heavens—24,000 to the restaurant, 104,000 to Rongbaozhai, 15,000 to Chisu Workshop… That’s 140,000 taels in debt!”

The crowd spread the news like wildfire, painting the Prime Minister’s residence as greedy freeloaders drowning in debt and refusing to pay.

Soon, shops that had delivered New Year goods also came to collect.

Lamb and beef were rare delicacies—hard to buy even with silver. These shops had hoped to profit, but the Prime Minister’s residence had forced them to sell at cost. Seven or eight shopkeepers and assistants blocked the gate, demanding payment for three years of deliveries.

Another 10,000 taels.

The crowd jeered—what were they doing with all those goods?

“Isn’t it obvious? Hosting banquets and currying favor!”

The shopkeepers chanted in unison:

“Pay up! Pay up! Pay up!”

Yao Suyi wanted to drive them away, but more people arrived—including nobles eager to watch the spectacle.

“Madam, what do we do?” Steward Bai panicked. He knew exactly how much he’d embezzled.

Yao Suyi was terrified. The kitchen and tailoring departments were run by her brothers—they couldn’t withstand an audit. She’d never imagined the residence owed so much. Back home, a year’s expenses were just a few taels. Even Zhang Lang’s studies cost only a dozen. But 150,000 taels? She was overwhelmed.

Meanwhile, the carriage driver Huai Wenqing snuck into Yao Suyi’s courtyard and bribed a maid named Ge’er.

“If we pull this off, we can buy our freedom, get married, and live well. Hurry!”

With the senior maids at the gate, only the rough maids remained.

Ge’er rushed into the inner room, grabbed Yao Suyi and Fu Sangyu’s undergarments, bundled them up, and handed them to Huai Wenqing. He slipped away and traded them with a Chisu Workshop maid—silver for goods, deal done.

At the gate, Yao Suyi was surrounded by creditors. Some reasoned, some cried, some raged.

Steward Bai argued with them. A scuffle broke out.

A middle-aged man stomped and shouted, “What’s the world coming to? Debtors act like lords and beat their creditors!”

“No silver? Then stop flaunting! Even your servants wear silk!”

“Freeloaders! Shameless!”

The scene spiraled out of control.

Manager Shen shouted, “If the Prime Minister’s residence won’t pay, we’ll go to Young Master Fu’s classmates’ homes!”

The butcher joined in. “They sent our meat to the Duke of Yi and Duke of Ding’s residences—we’ll go there!”

Yao Suyi’s mind raced. Yes—go to the Duke of Ding’s residence. Find Princess Yunshang!

If she paid, the crisis would be resolved. If not, she’d be blamed for abandoning them—Zhang Lang would resent her even more.

Tears streaming, Yao Suyi redirected the blame.

“Everyone, I’m sorry. The Prime Minister is upright and won’t let the household suffer, so we’ve delayed payment. Princess Yunshang is his fiancée—though she admires him, they’re not yet married. Asking her to pay isn’t appropriate. Please go home. We’ll sell everything if we must.”

A butcher’s assistant took the bait. “Right! The Princess owns a money-making tavern—let’s ask her!”

Manager Shen laughed. “Ridiculous! The Prime Minister owes money, and they want his fiancée to pay?”

“Using a wife’s dowry is shameless enough—now they want to leech off a fiancée? The Prime Minister is truly one of a kind!”

“Any censors around? Care to comment?”