Chapter 4 — Hoa Mi Revenge of Vengeance

Three years ago, when he walked through the To family's gate, he had to keep his head down, his back slightly hunched, and he didn't dare even breathe loudly. Now he walks in the small yard of the To family, his steps are steady as if he were walking on his own territory. Because he thinks that sooner or later this place will belong to him. At dusk, Vuong ma ma came in from the back door. Today she ran around outside all day, her shoes were covered in mud.
“Miss, we found someone.”
She lowered her voice, pulled out a piece of cloth tied with a straw string from her chest, "Taoist Thanh Hu is currently stopping at an old rented house in Thien Truc alley in the west of the city. When I arrived, he was reading the eight characters for someone. I didn't go inside, I had to question the tofu seller next door all day to confirm."
“It's good that he hasn't left yet.”
I breathed a sigh of relief, picked up a piece of cloth, and on it was drawn a simple route map.
“One more thing,”
Mother Vuong hesitated for a moment, forcing her voice to lower, "On the way back, I deliberately took a detour by Lieu alley outside the city." My hand stopped.
"You go there at least three times a month. The old man guarding the gate there told me that every time you come, you bring a big bag and a small bag. That house was bought new last fall, the name Bach is hanging on the outside, and inside there is a young woman and a boy about two or three years old."
I clutched the piece of cloth tightly, my knuckles pressed against the jade hanging on my side, the cold air penetrated into my palm. In my previous life, I didn't know this until I died. In this life, we must calculate this debt three years earlier.
“Mom,” I whispered, “Help me make an appointment with Taoist Thanh Hu, at the hour of the Rat the night after tomorrow, to meet at the foot of Thiet Nguu bridge in the west of the city.”
“At night?” Mother Wang was a little worried.
"It has to be at night. During the day you can't leave the palace, old lady Tham's people are staring at the door of the West Courtyard."
Mother Vuong nodded, put the cloth back, and walked away step by step, not even the door shaft made a sound. I closed the door and turned to look at the nightingale outside the window. Under the moonlight, its iridescent fur became gray, its color could not be seen clearly, leaving only its eyes flashing a spot of blue light. The blue jar was damaged at the dye factory, that color was swallowed by you, wasn't it? Just swallow slowly. Wait until I get what I need, I will withdraw both capital and profit from your master. The next place where something happened was the tea shop. On the fourth day after the nightingale was brought in, the Su family's long-standing tea shop in the south of the city was suddenly blocked by someone. A middle-aged woman led three strong men and squatted on the stone steps in front of the store, crying bitterly and accusing the To family of drinking tea to death. The shopkeeper, sweating profusely, ran to find me.
"Miss, that woman told her husband to drink our Long Tinh tea picked before the rain. That night he vomited, and this morning he died. Right now the body is lying right under the shade tent at the end of the alley. There are a lot of people coming to see it. If you don't come forward, this shop won't be able to do any more business today."
When I arrived at the tea shop, there were dozens of people gathered around the door. The woman sat on the ground, her hair hanging down, her voice howling so loud that three streets could hear it.
"The Su family has a wild beast! Selling poisoned tea has killed our family. You Su family must pay for it!"
I stood at the edge of the crowd, not stepping forward immediately. First I glanced at the shoes of those three muscular men. New shoes, the soles are clean and neat, not like someone rushed over.
“Treasurer Luc, have you reported to the officials yet?”

"Not yet. Auntie told me to settle things first, spreading the word would affect the store's reputation. Auntie said I would pay three hundred taels of silver in compensation, send the person away and that would be the end of the matter."
“What did the aunt say?”
"Yes. The lady just sat in the shop for about a moment, gave a few instructions and then left."
Three hundred taels. One human life was exchanged for three hundred taels, a peaceful settlement. In my previous life, the first problem at the tea shop was also handled this way. Silver compensation, settlement was smooth, but reputation was immediately damaged. For the next half a year, every few days or a month, someone would come and cause trouble. Each time, Tham Thanh Van would say "resolve it smoothly" and pay back every time. In the end, all the regular customers of the tea shop left, and even the servants did not want to work at the Su family anymore. I don't go into the shop. I went under the shade tent and glanced at the body. It was a man in his fifties, his face was pale, and the corners of his mouth were foaming. I'm not knowledgeable in medical arts, but in my previous life I married a husband who liked to plot and plot. Which piece he placed on the chessboard, I could see right away with a glance.
“When did your husband buy tea?” I asked the woman.
She looked up at me, stunned for a moment. She probably didn't expect that the To family would let a young woman solve the problem.
“The day before yesterday.”
"The tea I bought the day before yesterday, I only drank it last night? Why did I leave it alone for a day before drinking it?"
Her mouth opened and she turned to look at the three muscular men. One of them interrupted:
“People buy tea to drink every other day, so what does it have to do with you?”
“You are right.”
I didn't argue with him, I turned and said to Mr. Luc,
"There's no need to settle. Report it to the officials. Let the government come to examine the corpse, let the government officials come and check the tea. The Su family's tea is not afraid of testing."
Treasurer Luc's face turned pale: "But the aunt said we had to settle things smoothly."
"The To family's shop hangs the To family's sign. Report it to the officials."
I turned around to leave. The muscular guy who had just interrupted suddenly stood up and blocked the way:
"Who are you? Do you rule the To family?"
“I am the eldest lady of the To family.”
The other guy was stunned. In the crowd gathered around, someone whispered loudly, "This is the eldest lady in charge of the To family's accounts." I didn't pay attention to him anymore and went straight out. When returning to the main courtyard, Tham Thanh Van was already waiting in the lobby. His expression showed concern, but the act of smoothing his sleeves sold him.
"Van Ngam, I heard about what happened at the tea shop. Why did you go there personally? Scenes like that, just leave it to the people below to handle."
“I told Treasurer Luc to report to the officials.”
Tham Thanh Van's hand smoothing his shirt stiffened.
"Report to the officials? Didn't I say to settle things first? If this story gets out, the Su family's reputation—"
"If there is no problem with the tea, reporting it to the officials will only prove that the Su family is clean. But if the tea has a problem, three hundred taels cannot cover it, three thousand taels cannot suppress it."
He stared at me for a few breaths, his face twitching, as if he wanted to say something.
“What she said makes sense.”

He let go of his sleeve, smiled and gave in, "It's because I didn't think carefully. In the future, let her decide what's going on at the store." He said I'll leave the matter at the store to decide later. But I know very well that as long as I turn away, he will immediately think of another way to cover up this matter according to his wishes. In the previous life, the tea shop was the same. During times of "smooth arrangements", it lost all its prestige. In this life, I won't let him block this path anymore. That night, the dentist sent someone to examine the body. Ngoc Tac discovered that the cause of the man's death was arsenic poisoning, not tea drinking. The seal was removed from the tea shop, and the woman and three men immediately fled into the night. The next morning, the shopkeeper came to thank me. He bowed his back and entered the door, offering a packet of tea and cakes with both hands as a thank you.
"Eldest lady, it's fortunate that you asked to report to the authorities. That woman is really the type to scold, I don't know who is pulling the strings behind her back."
I took the tea package and nonchalantly asked a seemingly careless question:
“Treasurer Luc, how many years have you been at the Su family?”
"Twenty-three years. The Old Master personally supported and guided him from the first days."
“So are you from the To family, or are you from the Tham family?”
Shopkeeper Luc's face immediately turned red, his lips trembled, his voice became frantic:
"Eldest Miss, Luc That, I only recognize the To family in my whole life. I... I... I just, it's just that I have to listen to the things that the aunt told me."
“I don't blame you.”
I put the tea bag on the table, "From now on, copy the shop's order form for me every day. No need to go through the manager Ton, just hand it directly into Xuan Vu's hands." The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly. When he walked away, his back was a little straighter than when he arrived. This is the first small debt to be reclaimed after the resurrection. But still not enough. Far away is not enough.