The Five Wards Cavalry and Infantry Command, under the Ministry of War, was specifically responsible for patrolling and apprehending thieves in the capital.

When the young woman saw the officials from the Five Wards Cavalry and Infantry Command arrive, she rushed towards the lead officer with her ghastly face and wailed, “This humble woman is the victim! I used the facial toner from this shop, and my perfectly fine face turned into an awful state. I came here with some people to reason with them, but this shop keeps female thugs who not only refuse to take responsibility but even beat people up…”

The lead constable was startled by the young woman’s face and quickly averted his gaze, asking those around him, “Is this true?”

The onlookers hesitantly nodded.

Watching the drama unfold and joining in the commotion was a nature inherent in many.

The lead constable looked at Lu Chuchu and Madam Xiu, frowning as he asked, “Are you the shopkeepers?”

Madam Xiu, enduring her pain, replied, “This humble woman is the proprietor of this small shop. The situation is not as described—”

“Take them away!” The lead constable interrupted Madam Xiu with a wave of his hand, having confirmed their identities.

Lu Chuchu stepped forward angrily and demanded, “Officer, you haven’t even clarified the situation. On what grounds are you taking us away?”

“On what grounds? You’re running a fraudulent business here and beating victims. What else should we do but take you away?” The lead constable sneered.

Lu Chuchu forcefully pushed away the yamen runner trying to grab her, a flash of murderous intent in her eyes.

Madam Xiu hugged Lu Chuchu, pleading, “Chuchu, they’re government officials. Don’t do anything rash!”

Suddenly, Lu Chuchu reached out and pulled the young woman close.

The young woman let out a high-pitched scream, “Help!”

The lead constable grew furious, “Audacious female thief, you dare to take a hostage? You’re compounding your crimes!”

“Officer, you misunderstand. I’m not taking a hostage. I’ve heard that even in court, there can’t be an accused without an accuser. If you’re taking people in, you should take us all. How can you only listen to this woman’s one-sided story?” Lu Chuchu retorted.

This damned woman! She thought the misfortune that had plagued her for over a decade had finally lifted, but trouble found her again after just a few days of peace. The facial toner from Lu Sheng Xiang couldn’t possibly be faulty. This situation was an extortion attempt.

How she wished she could snap this woman’s neck, Lu Chuchu thought bitterly.

“Enough talk! Release the hostage and come with us now, or else—” The lead constable brandished his long sword.

The uniformly issued long sword gleamed in the sunlight, causing the onlookers to step back.

“Or else what?” A cold voice interjected, as chilling as melted snow turned to icy spring water.

The lead constable tightened his grip on the sword and looked towards the voice. He saw a stern young man, between adolescence and adulthood, with an exceptionally beautiful woman standing beside him.

Seeing the pair, Lu Chuchu’s eyes suddenly lit up. She was about to say something but caught a glance from Jiang Si and swallowed her words.

The lead constable, noting the pair’s distinguished appearance, softened his tone slightly, “I advise the young master not to interfere with official business in apprehending criminals.”

“Criminals?” Yu Jin’s phoenix eyes swept over the Lu Sheng Xiang sign, and he sneered, “This is a dispute between a buyer and a seller. How can you determine who the criminal is?”

The lead constable pointed at the young woman still held tightly by Lu Chuchu, “Young master, can’t you see how this woman’s face has become after using this shop’s facial toner? It’s obvious who the criminal is.”

Jiang Si let out a light chuckle and said, “I also use the facial toner from this cosmetics shop and have never encountered such issues. Whether this sister-in-law’s face became like this due to the toner, or if she accidentally ingested some medication, or if she was originally this unattractive, who can say for certain?”

The crowd burst into laughter.

The young woman jumped up in anger, “Who was originally this ugly? You vicious woman, how dare you speak so maliciously—”

Before she could finish, she felt a sharp pain in her mouth and spat out a mouthful of bloody water, along with two front teeth.

The young woman stared blankly at her two teeth for a moment before breaking into a pig-like wail.

“Murder in broad daylight! Officer, you can’t let these criminals go unpunished—”

The red welts on her face would subside with medication, but what about her lost teeth? The thought of smiling with two missing front teeth and how she would keep men’s attention made her cry even more bitterly.

Meanwhile, the lead constable’s attention was drawn to the golden bead that had fallen to the ground. It was this golden bead that the young master in brocade robes had used to knock out the young woman’s teeth.

The lead constable didn’t dare to be careless. His gaze swept over the jade pendant hanging at Yu Jin’s waist, and his heart suddenly jolted. If he wasn’t mistaken, that jade pendant was carved with a four-clawed dragon pattern—a design only princes were allowed to use!

“Your… Your High—” the lead constable stammered.

Ignoring the officer’s stuttering, Yu Jin candidly said, “This prince happens to be learning how to judge cases from the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture. Today, I shall determine who is right and who is wrong.”

“This prince?”

Upon hearing Yu Jin’s words, the onlookers were stunned.

Equally surprised was Cui Mingyue, hidden among the crowd.

The appearance of the Prince of Yan and his wife here was unexpected, but for the Prince to openly acknowledge his identity was even more surprising. Why did this couple always act in such unpredictable ways?

Cui Mingyue felt a vague sense of unease.

“This lowly official greets Your Highness,” the lead constable said, his face pale as he bowed to Yu Jin.

The other yamen runners followed suit.

In such a setting, there was no need for a sea of people kneeling.

Yu Jin nodded slightly and turned to the young woman, “You say your face became like this after using this shop’s facial toner?”

“Yes…” the young woman replied, her voice trembling.

Heavens above, how did she end up encountering a prince? And one who likes to meddle in affairs!

If she could just get through this, she would demand more money.

“Where is the facial toner?” Yu Jin asked.

The young woman hesitated for a moment before taking out an exquisite glass bottle from her bosom.

Yu Jin reached out to take it, examining the bottle of facial toner.

The semi-transparent glass bottle refracted rainbow-like light in the sun, revealing the pale pink liquid inside.

One glance at such a bottle of facial toner was enough to tell it was not inexpensive.

“This facial toner in a glass bottle must not be cheap, right?” Yu Jin asked Madam Xiu.

Madam Xiu immediately replied, “In response to Your Highness, the facial toner in glass bottles is our premium rose water, the most expensive facial toner in our shop.”

“May I ask how much it costs?”

“It’s twenty taels of silver per bottle.”

The onlookers immediately gasped.

Goodness, twenty taels for such a small bottle of facial toner?

What did twenty taels mean?

According to the current prices in the Great Zhou, one copper coin could buy a large baked flatbread, and a catty of pork cost only twenty to thirty copper coins. One tael of silver was worth a thousand copper coins or even more.

For these spectators, toiling for livelihood for a month would only earn them about one tael of silver.

Twenty taels of silver for a bottle of facial toner? This was beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

Yu Jin looked at the young woman with a half-smile, “I really couldn’t tell that sister-in-law was so generous.”

The young woman grew nervous but tried to maintain her composure, “What’s wrong with twenty taels for a bottle? My husband dotes on me so much he’d willingly spend two hundred taels on me!”

“You said you used it before bed last night, and your face became like this today?” Yu Jin inquired.

The woman nodded.

“May I ask where you applied it, and is this the first time you’ve used it?”

The woman felt uneasy but dared not refuse to answer, “It was the first time, I only applied it to my face.”

Yu Jin glanced at the glass bottle and sneered, “Sister-in-law must have quite a large face, you’ve used quite a lot.”