The Princess of Northern Land
Chapter 840: Dealing With Rumors (4)

"Presumptuous," Hong Ying chastised coldly. "Who do you think you are to yell like that in front of the Princess Consort? Keep disrespecting her, and be careful or you’ll get a beating."

"We, we are relatives of the Princess Consort, how could you talk about beating us?" the woman retorted defiantly, glaring at Hong Ying.

Lin Ziyin couldn’t help but laugh upon seeing her reaction. She figured today was the day she encountered a real piece of work.

"Get out, get out of here," Guo Huiniang exclaimed in real anger, "The Lin Family doesn’t welcome you."

"Aunt Guo," Mrs. Zhen’s sister-in-law looked at her timidly, trying to garner sympathy.

"Is it because you can’t remove the peculiar smell from the duck down that your business is failing?" Lin Ziyin asked, drawing out her words.

"Yes, it’s because we can’t get rid of the smell," the woman replied, her eyes lighting up as she stopped crying.

"What if I just tell you how to remove the smell? Then your workshop would be saved, right?" Lin Ziyin continued to speak with a smile.

"Thank you, Princess Consort."

"Thank you, Princess Consort."

The odd couple happily kowtowed to Lin Ziyin, while Mr. and Mrs. Zhen looked ashen. They had suffered at the hands of Lin Ziyin before and knew that the Princely Consort was not easy to fool.

"Drag them out and chop," a commanding voice suddenly boomed.

Everyone looked up to see Suifeng had returned.

"Princess Consort," Lin Ziyin greeted him with a smile.

"Filth like this should be dragged out and chopped without a second thought," Chu Suifeng said with a vicious glare at the kneeling couple. Mr. and Mrs. Zhen, still standing, trembled uncontrollably with fear.

"Spare us, Prince, spare us, Princess Consort," the people on the ground screamed in terror.

Mr. and Mrs. Zhen’s faces looked terrible. The people they had brought with them were not there to cause trouble but to apologize out of guilt. They didn’t expect these four to be so greedy, trying to pry the secret recipe from the Princess Consort was utterly shameless.

By now, Mrs. Zhen’s feelings for her family had completely faded.

"You brought this upon yourselves," Lin Ziyin said with a light laugh, looking at the people on the floor. "For the sake of Guo Zhongkui and his wife, I will spare your lives this time. But if there’s a next time, don’t blame me for being ruthless."

"Yes, yes." Both couples had no more illusions once they saw Suifeng. Thinking of the creditors at home, they were filled with regret.

"Thank you, Prince, Princess Consort, we shall take our leave," Guo Zhongkui said, his tone tinged with sadness and embarrassment.

Mrs. Zhen was so ashamed she couldn’t even lift her head.

Guo Huiniang didn’t ask them to stay for a meal because of the misunderstanding and her anger.

"Sister-in-law, don’t blame Guo Zhongkui and his wife. They’ve been deceived by that couple too," Lin Ziyin said with a soft laugh, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Pfft, they are weak, they deserve to be bullied," Guo Huiniang retorted, her fiery temper flaring, and she was not one to relinquish an argument easily.

"It won’t happen again," Mrs. Zhen promised, her eyes red.

"Sister, brother-in-law, I didn’t come today to plead for them; it’s because of them that we’ve had much less down feather collected in the past few months," Guo Zhongkui replied dully.

Lin Ziyin sighed inwardly; Guo Zhongkui and his wife were honest people, which was why she had helped them. But because they were too honest, they had suffered more than their share of losses.

"Sort things out when you get back. If anyone is being dishonest, don’t accept their down. This warning should keep them in line," Lin Ziyin advised, giving them a strategy.