Chapter 54 Rejection
After not seeing him for two months, Wen Ping no longer looked like a butler. His hair was messy, his cheeks were sunken, and he looked like a completely different person.
Lin Hao was able to recognize them because Wen Ping and Wen Rusheng left such a deep impression on her.
"What is Manager Wen doing?" Lin Hao said indifferently, "I think we've already settled things between us."
Wen Ping kowtowed at Lin Hao's feet: "Second Miss, please be kind. Yun'er's leg was broken by the gambling house people, and now she is almost dying."
"No more?" Lin Hao raised his eyebrows slightly, without a trace of fluctuation in his heart.
She knew that even without her taking action, the father and son would not have a good ending, but she didn't expect it to happen so soon.
Lin Hao's indifference made Wen Ping even more emotional: "Second Miss, just give me ten taels of silver so that I can hire a doctor for Yun'er. Yun'er has a high fever and can't delay any longer——"
Lin Hao took two steps away and said calmly, "Manager Wen, let me say it again. We are even now. You don't owe me anything, and I don't owe you anything."
Wen Ping didn't listen to what he said at all, and kept begging: "Second Miss, ten taels of silver is just a meal for you, but it can save my son's life. Please..."
In the distance, someone was already looking this way.
Lin Hao frowned, "Manager Wen, there are many people on this street for whom ten taels of silver is just a meal. Why don't you ask them for help instead of asking me?"
Wen Ping stopped and looked at the calm girl, and saw a hint of sarcasm in her eyes.
Wen Ping was stunned.
He thought that as long as he put aside his pride and begged, the second girl would definitely agree to a mere ten taels of silver. After all, she had given hundreds and thousands of silvers so readily before.
But now, Lin Hao's eyes made him realize that he could not get the ten taels of silver.
"Second Miss, I did help you at that time after all."
"You've received the money." Lin Hao smiled. "Butler Wen has been the steward of the Minister's Mansion for so many years. Can't you tell the difference between a transaction and a friendship?"
Wen Ping was speechless for a moment.
Lin Hao stopped looking at him and walked forward.
"Second Miss!" Wen Ping shouted.
Lin Hao stopped and looked down at him.
Wen Ping got up from the ground, his begging attitude gone, a fierce glint in his half-closed eyes: "Second Miss, aren't you afraid that I will tell others about how you bribed me?"
Lin Hao raised an eyebrow: "Manager Wen, are you threatening me?"
Wen Ping gestured and said, "One hundred taels. As long as the second lady gives me another hundred taels of silver, I will keep that matter to myself forever."
"Tell it out."
"What?" Wen Ping thought he had heard wrongly.
Lin Hao smiled calmly, "You can go ahead and tell them. But who can a man like Manager Wen, who looks no different from a beggar, tell them? And who would believe what he says? You have no evidence whatsoever and are tarnishing the reputation of the young lady from the General's Mansion. Aren't you afraid of being arrested by the police?"
Wen Ping's ferocious expression froze on his face.
He couldn't understand how a little girl could be so calm and fearless.
"What a pity." Lin Hao sighed softly, "If Manager Wen had just said he was willing to work for me in exchange for his son's medical fees, I wouldn't have used you, but I might have given you the ten taels of silver out of pity."
Some people always let evil thoughts emerge at the first moment, and Wen Ping is undoubtedly such a person.
Such people do not deserve mercy.
Wen Ping's eyes lit up, his face full of anxiety: "Second Miss, I am happy to do things for you. I can be your slave!"
"No need." Lin Hao shook his head and strode over.
If she wanted, she could indeed get someone who was easy to use, someone who would do anything to get her orders done.
But she never needed such a person.
She didn't want to be that kind of person either.
In front, several newly-minted scholars who had just attended the Qionglin Banquet stopped and talked about Lin Hao.
"That girl has such a hard heart. She refused to give up even a little bit even after the beggar knelt and begged for so long."
"Yes, it's not too much. It's only right to give a bun as alms."
As Lin Hao approached, someone exclaimed, "Isn't this the young lady from that day?"
"Which day?"
"That was the young lady who was nearly hit by a flowerpot when we went to have tea that day."
"It's really her."
"I thought this girl was kind-hearted..."
Seeing the girl approaching, several people stopped talking and looked at the beautiful face under the light. Some were nervous, some were expectant, and some were disappointed.
When Lin Hao walked over without looking around, someone sighed, "I didn't expect that young lady to have two different attitudes towards little girls and beggars."
"Could it be that the young lady was so kind to the girl because she saw us there that day?"
Wen Feng looked at his classmates who were all confused, and said, unable to bear it any longer, "That man might not be a beggar. He might have some other reason. Let's not speculate."
"It's getting late, let's go." A young man wearing a golden flower on his head said.
The young man had handsome features and was neatly dressed. He was none other than Yang Zhe, the top scholar who became famous overnight.
The crowd obviously followed him as their leader, and dispersed after hearing this.
Wen Feng hurried to catch up with Wen Ping.
"Manager Wen?"
Wen Ping looked at Wen Feng, his expression changing from bewilderment to surprise: "You are...Mr. Feng?"
"How could Manager Wen become like this?" Wen Feng asked in surprise.
If it weren't for his cousin, he would never have recognized that this was the steward of the Wen Mansion.
Wen Ping burst into tears immediately: "After leaving the Wen Mansion, my father and I were left alone and vulnerable to bullying. A few days ago, Yun'er had her leg broken by a villain. Now the wound is festering and she has a high fever. She is almost dying..."
"So serious?"
Wen Ping cried even harder: "Just now, I came to the second young lady, hoping that she would be kind enough to give me a few taels of silver so that I could find a doctor for Yun'er. I didn't expect that -"
Wen Feng did not follow Wen Ping's lead in commenting on Lin Hao, but simply said, "Manager Wen, please take me to see Wen Yun."
Wen Ping showed a look of joy, and knelt down and kowtowed: "Thank you, Master Feng, thank you, Master Feng."
Wen Feng dodged aside and said, "Manager Wen, there's no need to be like this. It's more important to go see Wen Yun."
Wen Ping wiped her tears and led Wen Feng around and around until they entered a narrow alley.
The alley was filled with sewage and a foul smell. Only the moonlight could barely illuminate the gray walls and the moss at the base of the walls.
"It's here." Wen Ping pushed open a broken door and invited Wen Feng in.
"Yun'er, Dad is back."
The room was dark and silent.
Wen Ping walked quickly into the house and lit the oil lamp.
The light was dim, and the room looked dark and gloomy, with an indescribable stench drilling into people's noses.
Wen Feng saw Wen Yun lying on the bed.
Compared with Wen Yun, who was almost inhuman, Manager Wen was actually quite decent.
"Yun'er, how are you?"
Wen Ping called out twice more but received no response, so he walked over quickly.
"Yun'er, Yun'er, wake up." Wen Ping pushed Wen Yun's arm a few times and used trembling hands to check his breath.
The hand reached out to the tip of Wen Yun's nose, then suddenly retracted. Wen Ping's heartbreaking cry soon rang out in the room: "Yun'er!"
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