"Excuse me," Samuel said slowly, "what did you just say?"

Heena looked at him directly and repeated clearly, "I’m going shopping. I need money. Give me some."

She held out her hand palm-up in front of him, waiting.

Seeing this brazen demand, Samuel raised his eyebrows and said with a slight amused smile, "Ma’am, if you’ve forgotten, we are in a CONTRACTUAL relationship, not a traditional mutual marriage. So why exactly do you think I’m obligated to fund your shopping expenses and personal expenditures?"

Hearing that reasonable objection, Heena looked at him with a sweet, dangerous smile and said, "Well, DEAR HUSBAND, I heard that in a few days, some of your merchant friends and business associates are coming to visit here for an important meeting. Is that correct?"

Samuel nodded cautiously, not sure where this was going.

Heena continued cheerfully: "So I was just imagining—how exactly would it LOOK to your respected colleagues if I walked out to greet them wearing tattered clothes with seven visible holes in them, all patched up with dark yellowish fabric, looking like a beggar wife that you refuse to properly clothe?"

She tilted her head innocently.

"What do you think would happen to your reputation and business relationships when they see how poorly you treat your legal wife? When they wonder if a man who won’t even provide decent clothing for his spouse can be trusted with business contracts and financial agreements?"

Samuel stared at her for a long moment, then said flatly, "Are you threatening me right now?"

Heena’s smile became even sweeter as she replied, "Of course not, dear husband! I’m simply informing you about your duties as a responsible household head and reminding you of the social expectations that come with your position."

Samuel looked at her, then at her still-outstretched hand, then back at her face.

Finally, he sighed, pulled out his money pouch, and counted out a generous amount of silver.

"Here. Buy whatever you need. But please, for the love of all that’s profitable, don’t embarrass me in front of Master Zhao and the others next week."

Heena took the money with a bright smile. "Thank you, husband! You’re so generous and understanding!"

"I’m being extorted," Samuel muttered.

"Extortion is such an ugly word," Heena said cheerfully. "I prefer ’negotiating household budgets.’"

Samuel just shook his head, but there was a hint of a smile on his face despite his complaints.

---

’’[Thirty Minutes Later - Maya’s Quarters]’’

After another thirty minutes of preparation, Heena was completely dressed and ready—and she looked GOOD.

She’d actually put effort into her appearance today, wearing one of her nicer outfits and styling her hair properly (with the System’s grudging assistance since her own hair-tying skills were still mediocre).

She was honestly more dressed up than she’d been for her own wedding, which had been such a rushed affair.

Now she stood outside Maya’s quarters—yes, the quarters where Maya was currently under house arrest.

How could Heena let this perfect opportunity pass without rubbing it in a little?

She looked at the closed door and knocked politely.

Of course, knocking was just a formality. Anyone was technically allowed to enter—Maya wasn’t in a prison cell, just confined to her rooms with supervision.

But Heena was being deliberately polite and proper.

"Mother-in-law?" she called sweetly through the door. "It’s me, Heena. I’ve brought you some water!"

She emphasized the word "water" with almost mocking cheerfulness.

From inside, Maya’s voice came, sharp and irritated: "Who is it?! Get lost! I don’t want to see anyone!"

Ignoring that hostile response, Heena opened the door anyway and said with exaggerated concern, "Oh, Mother-in-law! What’s wrong? I just came to bring you some refreshment since you must be so stressed from recent events."

She walked in carrying a ceramic jug of water.

Maya, who’d been sitting on her bed in disheveled clothes with her hair half-undone—looking absolutely nothing like the proud, vain woman she usually was—turned to look at Heena.

Her expression immediately twisted with rage.

"You BITCH!" she shrieked.

She grabbed a small decorative metal ornament that had been sitting on the nearby table and hurled it directly at Heena’s face with all her strength.

Of course, Heena dodged it with a swift, minimal movement—the ornament passed within one centimeter of her face and clattered against the wall behind her.

And through all of this, Heena was still smiling pleasantly.

She looked at Maya and said with false sympathy, "Oh my, Mother-in-law, you seem quite angry! Is something troubling you?"

Hearing that infuriating false concern, Maya glared at her with absolute hatred and said venomously, "You BITCH! Do you really think I don’t KNOW that YOU’RE behind all of this?! That you’re the one who caused this entire situation?!"

Hearing that accusation, Heena looked at her with slight annoyance mixed with amusement and said with a smirk, "Come on, Mother-in-law. Do you REALLY think that everything bad that happens to you is somehow my doing? Why would you assume I even have the time or interest to orchestrate all this nonsense?"

Maya stood up from the bed, shaking with fury, and said, "Because I KNOW it was you! Except for you, NO ONE else would do this! You’re the only one with motive and opportunity!"

Hearing that certainty, Heena looked at her, and suddenly a wicked smile flashed across her face.

She calmly set down the water jug on the table and said in a completely different tone—dropping all pretense of politeness:

"Well, even if I DID do it, so what? What the fuck can you actually DO about it, you fucking moron?"

Hearing that sudden vulgarity and open contempt, Maya was shocked into momentary silence.

"What... what did you just call me?!"

Heena looked at her with cold amusement and repeated slowly, "What? Oh, I said: ’fucking moron, you bitch.’ Did I stutter?" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Maya’s eyes widened in absolute disbelief at being spoken to so directly and crudely.

She shrieked, "How DARE you speak to me like that?! I’m your elder! I’m—"

"You’re WHAT?" Heena interrupted, taking a deliberate step forward and suddenly grabbing Maya’s face roughly with one hand, forcing the older woman to look directly at her.

"Do you really think that just because you married some old man and have a few more years than me, I’m supposed to respect you or get on my knees before you, you pathetic bitch?"

Maya immediately started trying to scratch at Heena’s face with her long decorative fingernails—yes, because there was a fashion in this era for women to grow and maintain long, sharpened nails as a status symbol.

If those iron-hard nails had actually touched Heena’s cheek, they definitely would have left permanent scars across her face.

But Heena just grabbed Maya’s wrist mid-strike and, with her other hand, delivered a sharp slap across Maya’s face with her open palm.

’CRACK!’

The sound echoed in the room.

Maya’s head snapped to the side from the force, and she stumbled backward.

She turned back to face Heena, her cheek already reddening, and said in disbelief, "How DARE you?! You DARE to strike me?!"

Heena just casually waved her hand, massaging her wrist where she’d gripped Maya, and looked at the older woman with cold eyes.