Just then, the door suddenly opened. Jiang Xinrou, who had been leaning too close, nearly stumbled and fell to the ground.
As Jiang Xinrou was about to speak, Lin Xiuyan coldly said, "Zhou Chenyang gave you a hairpin."
"Tell me, do you like him?"
She tilted her body slightly and glanced behind her but did not see Ye Junfei.
That guy must have hidden himself. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he didn’t want to reveal himself in front of everyone at Linfu just yet.
Jiang Xinrou’s pupils contracted slightly. How did this fool Lin Xiuyan discover this?
Her panic was fleeting, and she quickly regained her composure.
She felt she understood the real reason for Lin Xiuyan’s unusual behavior today.
With a look of grievance, she said, "Cousin, the city lord gave me the hairpin only because we have a good relationship. He wanted to inquire about you through me, to understand you better."
"The city lord is sincere toward you, and I only respect him. For you to think of us this way breaks my heart!"
Looking at Jiang Xinrou’s aggrieved face and sincere eyes, Lin Xiuyan felt that her downfall at the hands of Jiang Xinrou and Zhou Chenyang in her past life was not unjustified.
Both of them were masters of acting.
Even the excuses they came up with when exposed were exactly the same!
Since they were so good at playing games, she would play along!
With a skeptical expression, she looked at Jiang Xinrou and asked, "Is that true?"
Jiang Xinrou replied with utmost sincerity, "Of course it’s true. Cousin, we grew up together. Though not blood sisters, we are closer than real sisters. How could I ever lie to you?"
Lin Xiuyan inwardly sneered. Hadn’t Jiang Xinrou deceived her countless times over the years?
Seeing Lin Xiuyan’s expression soften slightly, Jiang Xinrou pressed on, "Even if you don’t believe me, you should believe the city lord."
Lin Xiuyan seemed convinced by her words, pouting with a hint of grievance. "So that’s how it is. You should have told me earlier!"
"From now on, no matter what he gives you, you must tell me. Don’t let misunderstandings like this happen again."
She reached out and touched Jiang Xinrou’s face. "Does it still hurt?"
Jiang Xinrou knew Lin Xiuyan was referring to the slap she had given her earlier that day. "It doesn’t hurt anymore."
"But cousin, if you have any questions in the future, just ask me directly. Don’t jump to conclusions and create misunderstandings."
"In my heart, you are the most important person in the world."
Lin Xiuyan looked at her and said, "You are my family, and Brother Yang is my fiancé. Both of you are the most important people to me."
"If you ever try to seduce him behind my back, I’ll scar your face and make you wish you were dead!"
Seeing the coldness in Lin Xiuyan’s eyes, Jiang Xinrou felt a shiver run down her spine.
She quickly pretended to be offended. "What kind of bond do we share? No matter what happens, I would never do such a thing!"
Lin Xiuyan then smiled and comforted her with a few words.
Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Xinrou asked her to go to Xinzhitang to sign the contract.
Lin Xiuyan nodded with a smile and even asked Jiang Xinrou to accompany her.
Jiang Xinrou naturally agreed without hesitation. Hand in hand, they looked like the epitome of sisterly affection to outsiders.
Lin Xiuyan was thinking about how to thoroughly ruin Jiang Xinrou, while Jiang Xinrou was imagining Linfu soon falling into her hands. Both were quite pleased.
Watching them like this, Ye Junfei leaned against the door and murmured, "Women really don’t speak a single word of truth."
"You don’t want to see me? Then I’ll make sure you see me every day."
Before Lin Xiuyan and Jiang Xinrou could leave the backyard, the gatekeeper hurriedly came to report, "The City Lord has arrived."
The corner of Lin Xiuyan's lips lifted slightly. Zhou Chenyang's timing was almost exactly as she had anticipated!
With a delighted expression, she took Jiang Xinrou's hand and said, "Come, let's go see Brother Yang quickly. We mustn't keep him waiting."
Jiang Xinrou smiled, allowing herself to be pulled along. Inwardly, she felt a sense of smugness—Lin Xiuyan was nothing but a fool. The earlier incident of breaking the agreement was just her throwing a tantrum.
The two met Zhou Chenyang at the main gate of Linfu.
As soon as Lin Xiuyan saw him, she asked joyfully, "Did you come to give me the hairpin? Show me quickly!"
Zhou Chenyang had patiently gone to buy a hairpin for Lin Xiuyan today, only to find her gone upon his return.
Shortly after, he received news that Linfu had failed to sign the contract with Xinzhitang, and his men had been escorted to the government office. He immediately rushed to Linfu.
He had originally intended to enter directly, but Lin An stopped him, saying that without the owner's permission, he could not enter.
In the past, he could come and go from Linfu as he pleased, with no one daring to stop him. Being barred today was an unprecedented treatment.
Reflecting on Lin Xiuyan's unusual behavior earlier, he suspected she had given the order. But now, seeing her innocent face, he wondered if he might have overthought it.
Zhou Chenyang, his face dark, handed a box to Lin Xiuyan. "Why didn't you wait for me at the intersection?"
Lin Xiuyan opened the box, revealing ten exquisite hairpins inside. She said happily, "Because I wanted Brother Yang to come find me at my home!"
She turned to Jiang Xinrou and said, "Cousin, Brother Yang gave me hairpins too!"
Jiang Xinrou and Zhou Chenyang exchanged a glance, silently sharing some information in that brief moment.
Lin Xiuyan, however, acted as if she hadn't noticed. She said cheerfully to Jiang Xinrou, "Brother Yang gave you one hairpin, so he made it up to me with ten."
"Now that everything's cleared up, I'm not angry anymore. I'll give you one hairpin too."
With that, she picked out a hairpin shaped like a little pig from the box and directly inserted it into Jiang Xinrou's hair.
Jiang Xinrou suspected Lin Xiuyan was calling her a pig, but since all these hairpins were given by Zhou Chenyang, her feelings were somewhat complicated.
Jiang Xinrou softly reminded her, "Cousin, about the Xinzhitang matter…"
Lin Xiuyan immediately said, "I was so happy earlier that I almost forgot about the important matter."
"Brother Yang, today a swindler came to our home trying to deceive us. Fortunately, Cousin was clever and saw through his scheme right away."
This was different from what Jiang Xinrou had expected. She anxiously said, "Cousin, that's not how it was…"
"I know you never like to take credit," Lin Xiuyan interrupted her. "But this time, you performed such a great service for Linfu. Keeping it hidden would be unfair to you."
A sense of foreboding arose in Jiang Xinrou's heart.
Sure enough, Lin Xiuyan continued, "That swindler, using Xinzhitang's name, tried to get my father to invest a hundred thousand taels of silver in exchange for only twenty percent of the shares."
"Xinzhitang only rents a three-courtyard compound in the west of the city. All their assets combined aren't even worth ten thousand taels."
"They actually dared to claim that Xinzhitang belonged to Brother Yang, knowing full well that I like Brother Yang and wouldn't bother to verify it."
"Fortunately, Cousin was sharp. She reminded my father that Brother Yang is the City Lord—how could he possibly establish a business himself?"
"Even if Brother Yang wants to establish his own business and needs silver, he could just ask my father. He would give however much is needed, and would never use such methods to swindle Linfu out of silver."
Jiang Xinrou: "!!"
Seeing Zhou Chenyang's extremely unpleasant expression, she hurriedly defended herself: "That's not how it is, this was clearly your idea!"
Lin Xiuyan looked at Jiang Xinrou with sparkling eyes and said happily: "Cousin is right, this was all my idea!"
After saying this, she secretly gave Jiang Xinrou a thumbs-up and winked.
Jiang Xinrou: "…"