Twenty taels, but Tianxianglou paid one hundred taels to buy the person. This time they lost eighty taels.
“Madam, isn’t twenty taels too little? How about this, let’s compromise: you give me seventy taels, and I’ll take her away right away.”
"She's only twenty. Her appearance is completely ruined, and she can't even work properly with her hands. I still need to find a doctor to treat her."
"And she's determined to die. If she's dead, what's the point of me spending so much money?"
Even if Steward Lü doesn't sell Xie Wanwan, if she commits suicide, she'll be worthless. Twenty taels it is.
Anyway, such a woman is of no value to their Tianxiang Pavilion.
"Alright, twenty taels, I'll give you the indenture."
Money is exchanged for a contract.
Seeing Xie Wanwan acting like a madwoman, Steward Lü waved his hand and said, "Let's go."
Su Luo bent down and helped Xie Wanwan up: "Come with me, and I'll give you your freedom."
The word "freedom" seems to have a magical power. Xie Wanwan had nothing to cherish in this world, and no one could force her to do something she didn't like.
Otherwise, she could have simply died.
Du Xiuyuan quickly put the cloth into the carriage and said to the onlookers, "Stop looking, stop looking, everyone disperse, disperse..."
"Madam Su, her injury is serious, let's go back quickly."
Helping Xie Wanwan, whose face was covered in blood, into the carriage, Su Luo tore off a piece of cloth and covered the wound on her face to stop the bleeding.
Neither of them spoke; they just stared at each other.
Xie Wanwan looked at the woman who was a little older than her and the middle-aged man driving the carriage outside, and mentally considered the relationship between the two.
They went shopping together, and he even helped carry their things. The carriage they were riding in didn't look cheap either.
"Who are you? Why did you save me?"
Su Luo looked at the woman and said, "My surname is Su, and my given name is Luo. I am from Yongle County. Saving you was just a matter of course."
After her entire family was murdered, Xie Wanwan no longer trusts anyone as easily as before.
“Miss Su, I will not become a concubine. I can’t even boil water or cook. Buying me, no matter what your purpose is, is not worth it.”
Su Luo did have an ulterior motive, but Xie Wanwan probably thought she was Du Xiuyuan's concubine and that buying her back would also make her a concubine.
"Don't worry, you can learn what you don't know how to do. You have to be self-reliant."
Moreover, I will not let you become anyone's concubine. The one outside is Doctor Du from Ji'an Hall in Yongle County, and he also has his own family.
Don't be too afraid of the unknown. I just heard those people say that you are the daughter of a disgraced official?
After Su Luo finished speaking, Xie Wanwan leaned back, her eyes and body immediately becoming wary of Su Luo.
"In the families of disgraced officials, the men are usually exiled and the women forced into prostitution. You have already gone through that process, and now you are free."
“My father is innocent; he was framed.”
Xie Wanwan almost roared these words.
After a moment of silence, Xie Wanwan said again, "You say I am free, but my indenture is still in your hands."
After calming down, Xie Wanwan felt the pain in her body reach her brain, and she could only grit her teeth and endure it.
Su Luo slipped the indenture from her sleeve and handed it to Xie Wanwan.
For a fleeting moment, Xie Wanwan truly saw hope. The contract of indenture before her—if she simply took it, she would truly be free.
“I mean what I say. I can also heal your injuries. But if you don’t know where to go, I can give you a choice: come with me.”
Xie Wanwan accepted her indenture.
Su Luo wasn't stupid either. Xie Wanwan's personality meant that the more you pressured her, the more she would resist.
It would be better to give her the choice herself. Where could a daughter of a disgraced official go?
She was physically weak and injured. Even if Su Luo let her go, without money, she would have to beg to survive. But with her pride, she would rather die than beg.
Therefore, any smart person would think of these things. Whether the indenture is returned to her or not, she will still stay by Su Luo's side.
Su Luo also repaid her with the debt of gratitude for saving her life.
After thinking for a while, Xie Wanwan looked up at Su Luo and asked, "If I go with you, what can I do?"
Su Luo chuckled: "I looked at your fingers. There are indentations from holding a pen, and thick calluses between your index and middle fingers."
I believe what those people said: a young lady from a prestigious family, skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and possessing an extraordinary demeanor. Come with me and become my daughter's tutor.
Teach her everything you know: music, chess, calligraphy, painting, etiquette, morality, and a sense of shame. All food and lodging will be provided, and I'll even give you an extra tael of silver each month as tuition.
Compared to a life of wandering, this might be the best path for Xie Wanwan right now. She can't be a maid, but she's willing to be a teacher.
“Alright, Madam Su, I’m willing to go with you.”
The carriage soon arrived at the Xu residence. Madam Xu saw that Su Luo and Du Xiuyuan had gone out and rescued someone.
"Madam Su, what... what's going on?"
As Xie Wanwan calmed down, the more lucid she became, the more intense the pain became, and the heavier she felt leaning against Su Luo.
"Madam, there's no time to explain. Could you please have someone bring a few basins of hot water to my room?"
"well……"
With so much blood, Old Madam Xu was also worried.
Back in the room, Du Xiuyuan brought over his medical kit.
Su Luo looked at her hand and arm; the entire arm was swollen. She checked to see if any bones were broken.
"ah……"
Su Luo's actions caused Xie Wanwan to break out in a cold sweat from the pain.
"Just bear with it, it's just a broken bone."
Du Xiuyuan boiled the bone-setting herbs together with white wine, and after it was done, he applied it to Xie Wanwan's arm.
Su Luo used several small wooden boards to fix it in place.
When treating Xie Wanwan's knife wound, Su Luo used a sedative to paralyze her.
"Don't move, I will try my best to stitch up the scar on your face to make it as small as possible."
Xie Wanwan said indifferently, "Beauty isn't necessarily a good thing."
Su Luo used cosmetic sutures, and once the wound healed, there would only be a small scar. With medication, it might even become invisible.
"Lady Su, the hot water you requested is here."
Two maids brought in hot water.
"Just let it go."
Su Luo needed to clean Xie Wanwan's bloodstains, so Du Xiuyuan had to leave first.
After finishing all this, Su Luo laid Xie Wanwan on the bed and cut up and threw away her dirty clothes with scissors.
The two women were about the same size, and Su Luo helped her put on her own clothes. Fortunately, the sleeves of the clothes here were large, otherwise Xie Wanwan's hand, which was wrapped with medicine, wouldn't have been able to fit into them.
"Madam Su, it turns out that you and Doctor Du are both physicians."
As Su Luo cleaned up the mess on the ground, she said, "I guess so."
"You should rest well. This is Prefect Xu's home; it's very safe here."
In the courtyard of the Prefect of Anchang Prefecture, Su Luo actually knew the government officials. Xie Wanwan wondered if it was right or wrong for her to agree to go with Su Luo.
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