Chapter 15 Buying People or Buying Lives
Su Cheng's almond-shaped eyes suddenly became sharp. He pulled Xie Cuicui behind him, and a sneer appeared on his lips. "So that's what you were planning."
Tian straightened her back, cleared her throat, and advised earnestly, as if she was doing it for the good of the Xie family, "My daughter, this girl is a freeloader after all. When she grows up, she will be married off and won't leave anything behind."
"Mr. Qiu in town is looking for a maid, offering five taels of silver a year. If you let me take her over, we'll return the land to the Xie family."
Seeing Tian's eyes, Xie Cuicui was terrified and took two steps back, muttering, "Stepmother..."
"Don't be afraid." Su Cheng protected her, his face as cold as ice, "I won't let them touch you."
"Su Cheng, don't be so shameless." Su Guocai picked his teeth, his green eyes sweeping over Xie Cuicui's body, "Being able to work for Mr. Qiu is a lifelong blessing for this girl. Maids in wealthy families have a more comfortable life than young ladies in ordinary families!"
"You're dreaming!" Xie Chen suddenly rushed out, pretending to rush towards Su Guocai, "None of you can take my sister away!"
"Thank you."
Xie Suzhou's two short words brought the little guy back to his senses. Xie Chen stood still, staring at the Su family members hatefully. His feet did not move, but his eyes were like knives, fixed on the necks of the Su family members.
"I was surprised that you came to me to return the land. It turns out you have a new plan." Xie Suzhou twitched his lips and laughed. "It's because I seem too easy to talk to that you think the Xie family is easy to bully."
"Xie Chen, go report to the authorities."
The Su family's expressions changed, and then they relaxed, looking very confident.
"Xie Xiucai, please stop wasting your time." Tian snorted and folded her hands at her side. "Do you really think there's no one above us in the Su family? Go out and ask around to find out who Mr. Qiu was before!"
Xie Chen gritted his teeth, glanced at his stepmother, and rushed out according to his second uncle's words.
The Su family seemed to be watching a joke, and they stayed in the Xie family's yard and refused to leave, as if they were sure that the Xie family could not do anything to them.
Xie Ming curled his fingers tightly around the gun, trying his best to suppress his anger.
Can’t fight…can’t cause trouble for the family…
"Don't be impulsive."
The third brother's voice sounded in his ears. Xie Ming was startled and looked at the man beside him in a trance.
Xie Jinyu smiled at him calmly, not looking flustered at all. She glanced at the woman standing in the yard and raised the corners of her lips slightly, "I think she can handle it."
For some reason, there was an inexplicable voice in Xie Jinyu's heart, telling him over and over again to believe in Su Cheng.
After a long time, so long that the Su family became impatient, Xie Chen finally came back with a group of people, followed by Aunt Liu.
"Sir, it's them! They're forcing someone else's child to sell!" Aunt Liu, upon entering the courtyard, pointed at the Su family and shouted, "You're a bunch of evil-hearted scoundrels! The Xie family is suffering, and you're stepping on it! Aren't you afraid that God will take you away?"
"Oh, sir, it's not a big deal, is it really necessary to invite you all here?" Tian came over with a smile and handed over two copper coins. "Mr. Qiu must have given us a message, right? We are all doing it according to his instructions. You sirs should be partial to us."
"It's you." The leading officer calmly accepted the copper coins, looked around, and said displeasedly, "It's not a big deal to begin with. Disputes between ordinary people should be settled among themselves. If we have to go to the government for everything, won't we be so busy that we'll vomit blood?"
"Besides, the Qiu family is wealthy and powerful. What was wrong with their past?" After saying that, they turned around and were about to leave.
Xie Chen's eyes widened. The officials' inaction stirred up a huge wave in his small mind. He stood in front of the door, unwilling to believe it. He stood with his thin arms, his big eyes filled with tears, and a stubborn look on his face. "You can't leave! It's clearly their family who forcibly occupied our land. We want our things back. Why should we exchange our little girl for them?"
Aunt Liu was also dumbfounded, and leaned forward eagerly, "Sir, did you misunderstand? It was the Su family who was unreasonable first!"
"Go away, don't bring bad luck to me!" The officer pushed Aunt Liu away and looked coldly at the little boy in front of the door. "Get out of the way, or don't blame me for being blind with my sword!"
Xie Suzhou's brows were knitted into knots, and just as he was about to speak, someone spoke first.
"stop."
A female voice, neither loud nor soft, sounded. There was a moment of silence in the yard, and everyone looked towards Su Cheng.
Su Cheng's eyebrows were blank, and he said calmly, "Does the new county magistrate, Lord Wang Lin, know what you've been doing behind the scenes?"
The leading officer sensed something was wrong and slowly turned around, looking at her suspiciously. "How do you know there's a new county magistrate?"
The old county magistrate committed some misdeeds and was thrown into jail. The new county magistrate, Wang Lin, was transferred from the capital. He only arrived yesterday and was supposed to take office tomorrow. This news was only known within the yamen. How could she, a young wife from the village, know all this?
Xie Suzhou frowned slightly, and there was a hint of inquiry in his eyes as he looked at her.
How did she know that the soon-to-be-appointed county magistrate, Wang Lin, was her trump card?
"How should I know? It's none of your business." Su Cheng opened her pink lips slightly. She didn't say anything harsh, but her aura was frightening.
"I'm sure you've met Lord Wang and heard of his deeds. He's an honest and upright official, transferred from the capital. He was sent here to curb the corrupt practices in Ganping County. If he knew his officers were colluding with such scoundrels, would he start with you?"
"you……"
The leading officer was about to speak when he was stopped by his brothers behind him.
"Brother, I see this little girl is so confident when she speaks. Could it be... that she really has some connection with Lord Wang?"
"I haven't heard that Lord Wang has any poor relatives in Xinghua Village..."
"I'm just afraid of the worst. We'd rather take a step back than get into this bad luck!"
Hearing this, the officer swallowed unconsciously, reached into his collar, pulled out two copper coins from his inner pocket and threw them at Tian. He then changed his expression and smiled at Su Cheng, "Young Madam, you are too harsh. It was we who misunderstood at the beginning and didn't understand the whole story, which led to the misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding? I'm afraid not." Su Cheng looked indifferent, glanced at the Su family, and said softly, "If they really wanted to send my daughter to Mr. Qiu's house to be a maid, why would Mr. Qiu go to the government office to inform you?"
"It's just a maidservant in the house. They should be used to it. Why would they make such a big fuss? Besides, with such a big mansion and a lot of money, they don't have to worry about not being able to hire a maidservant."
Su Cheng's eyes were cold, and just one glance made people feel cold in their hearts. "Five taels of silver, are you buying a person or a life?"
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