Chapter 72 Notoriety

Suddenly, a hand firmly grabbed Mammy Li’s clothes from behind. She struggled for a long time but couldn’t get down. She turned back and was surprised to see that the miss was pointing to a nearby valley. The miss said, “We can sleep in that valley.”

…

In the valley, Mammy Li followed Su Li and observed curiously. She did not expect that the valley was barren outside but the inside was actually amazing. Why did the miss know this place?

Thinking of this, Mammy Li was worried. The bamboo building was as exquisite as the Jinyuan Court. The owner of this place must be uncommon. Would they be allowed to live here?

At this time, Fang Yuan came out from the bamboo building. When he saw Su Li, his expression was suddenly changed. He walked quickly to Su Li and asked with a low voice, “What happened? Why do you become so dirty?”

When Mammy Li saw Fang Yuan, she was confused. Was not he the waiter of the Baiwei Building? What happened?

Was he a master of some big family? Was he disguised as a waiter deliberately to know the miss better?

Su Li did not answer. She shook her head and said, “Call Qingning and others to come here. I will take a bath first and say something later.”

“OK!”

Fang Yuan glanced at Mammy Li and said nothing. He turned back and ran to the yard.

After Mammy Li heard the conversation between the two persons, she was more confused. Why was Fang Yuan submissive to the miss?

“Wow, Sister Li comes back. Why are you wet all over? I’ll prepare bath water for you!”

Fang Ling came over. When she saw Su Li, she immediately screamed. She ignored the dirt and pulled Su Li to run to the bamboo building.

After a while, Mammy Li sat in the bath bucket and saw that Fang Ling was busy in the kitchen. Fang Ling wanted her to take a bath with Su Li in the bamboo building. But Mammy Li dared not to agree. So, she put the bath bucket in the kitchen and locked the door.

“This… girl.” Mammy Li spent a long time for phrasing and said one sentence, “Where is this place? How do you know my miss?”

Fang Ling said without turning back, “You have so many questions! Didn’t Sister Li tell you before? Since she takes you here, she certainly does not intend to cover it up. For my mercy’s sake, I will tell you. All these houses belong to the Sister Li!”

What?!

Mammy Li was suddenly shocked. This valley yard actually belonged to the miss. When… She served the miss all the time, but she didn’t know it.

Naturally, Mammy Li remembered Su Li had revealed the wisdom and mystery from time to time. She was stunned for a long time and suddenly sighed. She should know earlier.

On the second floor of the bamboo building, Su Li finished the bathing and put on a clean dress. She dealt with her wound and it couldn’t be noticed immediately.

The handprint on her face had faded away. In fact, she could avoid all the wounds today with her cultivation of the inborn first hurdle. But she did not.

Her face was still childish in the mirror. Su Li was in a daze for a moment. She opened the door of the bamboo building and left.

Meantime, Qu Qingning and Fang Yuan were staying in the yard. Su Li glanced at them and sat at the top of the table.

“Is your forehead all right?”

Fang Yuan could see Su Li was injured on her forehead with his vision.

Su Li shook her head and told them what happened in the school briefly. After she said it, Qu Qingning and Heidan gnashed. They cannot wait to heavily beat the Yang Family and the Mam. Su-Cui.

Fang Yuan stared at Su Li. His eyes seemed to have two sheets of flame. He was silent for a moment and asked, “What are you going to do?”

“The reason that I tell you is not to ask you to fight them.” Su Li shook her head and continued, “In the next few days, Heidan will be busy. As for Fang Yuan…”

Su Li thought for a moment and took out a jade token. She put it on his hand and said, “Help me make a survey about the Yang Family.”

Fang Yuan clenched the wooden token and nodded calmly. He said, “I am starting off!”

“How about me?” Qu Qingning saw that even his younger brother had a task and immediately could not help but ask, “What can I do?”

Su Li thought with a tilted head, “Look after the house.”

Qu Qingning looked bitterly and immediately said to the Heidan, “Look after the house. I’ll disguise myself and go out to inquire about news!”

“Ah, why?” Heidan was not happy instantly and said with an aggrieved tone.

“Because I am your big brother!”

“Ah!! Don’t beat me. I know I am wrong!”

Next day, the sky was cloudless and clear.

Early in the morning, Qu Qingning took the younger brothers to the town to inquire about news. Su Li concentrated on practicing in the bamboo building. In the previous life, she learned a lot of mixed martial arts. Only the bowing, swordsmanship and poisoning of the inborn state could be shown.

Now those inspirations were still there but she needed to be familiar with them. In the valley, there were no swords and bows. Su Li used tree branches as swords, which also could achieve her aim

After dark, Qu Qingning and others came back one after another and looked serious. When they went to the Dasu Town, they knew Su Li had suffered a lot. They were all so angry that their eyes were red and they wanted to pull down the Baiwei Building!

Su Li worked so hard to operate the Baiwei Building. When it became a cash cow, the Su Family removed the plank after crossing the bridge. They slandered Su Li and drove her out of the Su Family. They did not even give her a place to sleep. If Su Li did not ask them to let the Su Family off, they really wanted to let them all eat Poisonous Heart Biting Insect!

Su Li did not ask. One day was not enough for a complete inquiry. She needed to wait.

Until the fifth day, Su Li finally appeared in the yard.

Qu Qingning, who had lots of words for a long time, spoke a lot and gnashed. He was really angry.

Su Li listened very calmly and she was not surprised at all.

Sure enough, after the news that Su Li was driven out spread out, many people of the Dasu Town were skeptical. But then the Su Family spread the news that Su Li had many bad behaviors and was driven out from the Muyang Girls’ School, which let the Su Family suffer an unprecedented shame.

The Old Lady personally managed the Baiwei Building these days. She found that Su Li embezzled a large amount of silver and had indistinct relationships with a lot of childes. Su Li’s biological mother Zhu Yan was so angry that she fainted, which almost affected the fetus in her belly.

These one-sided words also fooled many ignorant people. But a lot of people did not believe, especially the people who had tasted the dishes which Su Li cooked such as Mr. Zhou. These were only one-sided statements of the Su Family. Now Su Li was driven out and it was impossible to confront.

But some people said that Su Li was guilty. She hid herself and didn’t dare to come out. At that time, the Old Lady slapped her and a lot of people saw that scene. If she was not guilty, she would avoid the slap.

Mr. Zhou’s prestige was extremely high, and his trust for Su Li made many people suspect the Su Family. Then the Su Family released a message that the precious Beggars’ Chicken was not invented by Su Li but He Shi who was the chief cook of the Baiwei Building!! It was He Shi that taught Su Li to cook, but finally Su Li was so shameless that she took away the title.

Hearing the news, Mr. Zhou was shocked and rushed to the Su Family to verify it. Under the threat of the Su Family, He Shi made a dish of the precious Beggars’ Chicken, which seemed to justify what the Su Family had said.

Mr. Zhou still had many doubts, but his faith was finally shaken. He no longer stood up for Su Li.

As the attitude of the Mr. Zhou changed, Su Li’s notoriety and bad reputation as a flirt spread in the Dasu Town. The fairy who was always praised, worshiped and missed immediately became the most heinous and dissolute girl!

“Alas!!” Qu Qingning took a sip of tea and said with anxiousness, “Oh my god! I have said so much. Can you give me some reactions? People are talking about you! Aren’t you angry at all?”

“I am very angry.” Su Li said calmly. “So, I want to increase the price. How many seasoning ingredients are left in the warehouse?” she continued.

Qu Qingning’s eyes immediately became bright and said, “Many. There are 200 jin at least! You sold them at 1,000 taels per jin and we can earn 200,000 taels at the same price.”

Su Li responded with “Oh” and said, “Well, it will increase to 2,000 taels per jin.”

Yet Qu Qingning frowned and said, “I’m afraid that we can’t. Although the price doubles, they can still take out 100,000 taels for the 50 jin to be sold by you at a time. In this way we can’t make trouble for them.”

“Why do I only sell 50 jin?” Su Li frowned and said, “Come with me tonight.”

“Can I go with you?”

Qu Qingning’s eyes widened. The way in which Su Li sold the seasoning ingredients to the Su Family had been a secret. They did not ask her consciously. It was unexpected that Su Li asked him to come with her.

***

After a few days, Su Li’s reputation had been worse and worse. Mei Ruohan was in the Muyang Girls’ School far away from the Dasu Town. Even she had heard of it. She could do nothing but pray that Su Li was safe.

After Su Zipei heard that Su Li was expelled by her grandmother successfully, she could wake up with a smile every day. She had failed many times but finally made it before Su Qingtan came back. God helped her!

Ning Yunzhi also heard of the news. He was so angry that his beard almost curled up. As a nominal senior fellow apprentice, he would be shameful to see Mr. Qi when he came back! That’s because he hadn’t done anything.

On this day, the moon was bright, and the stars were rare.

Two persons were standing next to the Sanhe Bridge. One was tall and the other was short.

Qu Qingning was disguised by Su Li with liquid medicine. Afterwards, he had a poison pill. The pill could make him fat. Then he completely changed from a handsome young man to a short, fat and ugly guy.

“Su Li’s poison was really endless. I hope the medicine does not have any side effect.”

Qu Qingning touched his chubby belly and regretted he came together with Su Li.

Time passed slowly. Suddenly, Su Li blinked coldly and saw two figures slowly appearing on the Sanhe Bridge. They were Li Yin and Su Huanli. They had not seen for a long time.

Su Huanli wore a radiant face. Maybe something good had happened recently. He took out a bank note without hesitation and said, “I have prepared 500,00 taels!”

Li Yin stood silently on the side as a guard. When he saw another person standing on his opposite, he had an ominous premonition. The transaction this time would not be as successful as the previous three times.

“500,00 taels?” Su Li snorted with a hoarse voice. Her eyes were like a cold poisonous snake. She said, “What your Su Family has done recently is really disgusting.”

Su Huanli’s expression slightly changed. He scolded, “Do not talk nonsense! Our Su Family is upright and will never do anything disgusting. What’s more, it is none of your business.”

Su Li was disguised as a middle-aged man. She seemed to have heard a good joke and bent down to laugh. The hoarse and unpleasant voice was like a crow’s cry echoing in the night sky.

“You did those things but don’t allow us to judge you. How shameless…”

Su Li counted her fingers and said, “Let me tell you the whole story. The Old Cat bribed the Mam. Yang-Cui and made difficulties for Su Li. Whether Su Li could succeed or not, she would finally be driven out of the Muyang Girls’ School!”

“When Su Li came back, the Old Cat performed a play in the Baiwei Building. She deliberately hid those things in Su Li’s baggage and exposed them in front of the crowd to ruin Su Li’s reputation. You have paid the ruffians in the South Street a lot of money these days to spread rumors everywhere. The effect… is really good.”

Su Huanli’s face was thicker than a city wall. At the moment, he was shocked. It seemed that he was stripped and seen by others.

Li Yin’s expression changed dramatically, and he couldn’t help but ask, “You should be responsible for what you said. Are you telling the truth?”

Su Li picked her fingernails and looked a little angry. She said, “I don’t have the leisure to tell a story to you. You are the butler of the Su Family but even do not know what happened. You are really stupid.”

“Don’t believe him. What he said is untrue!”

Su Huanli woke up and immediately denied what the man said in a crazy way. However, he found that the latter stepped back two steps and looked at him in a different way.

“I have talked too much. In short, my mood is very bad because of you.” Su Li sneered with coldness flashing in her eyes and said, “Now, let’s talk about the new transaction.”