Chapter 29
Qingyun raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. "What kind of deal?"
The woman wanted to use Qingyun to get on board with Mu Helian, who was behind her. This deal was nothing more than transporting some substandard saplings out for private sale. But from the woman's words, she keenly sensed that it was definitely not just substandard saplings; there must be genuine and fake ones mixed in.
Qingyun just couldn't understand why she was chosen. Even if she and Mu Helian seemed to have a good relationship to outsiders, doing something like this would be a capital offense if discovered.
Seeing Qingyun deep in thought, the woman quickly smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Many adults do the same, so you don't need to worry about being discovered." As she spoke, she leaned closer, "If it really works out, we are willing to give up this amount."
Looking at the number the woman was holding up, Qingyun narrowed her eyes, a scrutinizing look in them. Then she gave a kind smile and said, "How can you guarantee that Lord Mu will listen to me?"
The woman smiled at his words, looked at Qingyun, and slowly uttered eight words: "If a man doesn't look out for himself, he'll be punished by heaven and earth." Who becomes an official without wanting to make a quick buck? Otherwise, why would they take on such a thankless job? Leaving aside those who engage in such smuggling, how many of the seedlings allocated by the court each month actually reach the common people after passing through layers of government?
In this place, people can turn into ghosts and eat you alive. The most trustworthy thing is money. No matter what it is, having money in your hand is the most practical thing.
Qingyun stared at the other person for a long time before finally speaking, "Aren't you afraid I'll tell others that you're doing this kind of thing?"
The woman scoffed, then straightened her expression. "You'll have to find something to hold against me first. I've only come to discuss this with you today. Whether you do it or not is your decision."
At that moment, the wind and sand blew by, ruffling the stray hairs on Qingyun's forehead. It seemed that her thoughts were drifting away with the wind. She stopped burying the soil and turned to look at the woman. "I need to think about this."
“Miss Qingyun, human life is the cheapest thing these days. Life is hard for us women; we should try to do something for ourselves, otherwise how can we survive?” The woman stared at Qingyun. “There are people above us covering for us, so you don’t need to worry…”
Before the woman could finish speaking, she paused for a moment, her gaze shifting to Qingyun's back. Qingyun, who was engrossed in her work, was completely unaware that a pair of large hands were approaching. Suddenly, everything went black before her eyes, and her body trembled in fright at the sudden movement. Someone covered her eyes.
"who?!"
The person behind her remained silent, so Qingyun asked again. She then began to grope to remove the person's hand. When she touched the distinct knuckles of the fingers, she realized it was a man's hand. In an instant, she struggled to break free and turned around to find that it was Ye Linping.
The man smiled indulgently, finding Qingyun's panicked state quite endearing. "Long time no see."
Qingyun kept a straight face and subconsciously glanced around, not wanting others to see. She glared at Ye Linping before bowing and calling him "Sir".
Ye Linping stroked the ivory fan in his hand, smiled, and said calmly, "Come with me."
After saying that, he didn't care whether Qingyun would follow or not, and walked back on his own. Hearing the murmurs around him, Qingyun's face turned ugly. She didn't know what this guy was up to, but she also sensed the danger in his tone. After thinking it over, she followed him.
Ye Linping sat imposingly in his armchair, then looked at Qingyun, slowly fanning himself with a fan, "I heard you're getting married?"
Looking at the person in front of her, Qingyun noticed that Ye Linping seemed to have changed his fan again. She was about to take a closer look at the pattern on the fan when she heard these words. She was stunned and stood there for a long time before asking in a hoarse voice, "Who said that?"
Ye Linping stared at her intently, his smile gone, his eyes filled with malice, yet he still maintained a composed and serene demeanor. "You agreed?" he asked, pausing for a moment before changing the subject. "Or do you like him?"
Qingyun found it increasingly absurd. She had never even met the man, so how could she possibly marry him? As a modern woman of the 21st century, she opposed arranged marriages and advocated for free love, right?
"Whom I marry is none of your business, sir. If you have nothing else to say, I will take my leave now."
Ye Linping chuckled twice upon hearing this. He met Qingyun's serious gaze, and the man said, word by word, "If you want to marry him, why don't you marry me instead?"
Qingyun: "?" Are they all crazy? Their brains are fried, she thought to herself with a cold laugh, complaining to the system, "[This isn't some kind of novel world, is it? Are you trying to pull off one of those scenes where everyone falls in love with me?]"
System: [The original owner was born beautiful and was a renowned talented woman in her circle even before her exile. It's normal for her to have admirers! We're not the kind of clichéd characters from Jinjiang novels.]
Qingyun: [Where did Jinjiang even come from? It's just a small website.]
"My lord, please don't joke with me. I don't want to get married right now, so I really can't comply," Qingyun replied with her eyes lowered, neither humble nor arrogant.
The two exchanged barbs, but there was only one bottom line they wouldn't budge on. Ye Linping's offer was quite tempting to others: to remove Qingyun from her lowly status and make her his legal wife.
But Qingyun himself understood that no matter how capable Ye Linping was, the matter of removing someone from their social status was originally for his own benefit. Even commoners could not marry someone of low social status, let alone someone like him who was an official in the court. He spoke as if he wanted people to be grateful.
With most of the day already gone, and if they kept arguing, would they even get the work done? Qingyun forced a smile and made excuses until he was finally free. He had no idea what was wrong with this guy.
[This guy feels like an NPC; I almost forgot about him after not seeing him for a while, and then he reappears.] She thought to herself. By the time she wanted to go back and look for the woman, she was gone. [It's all his fault; he made me lose track of her.]
[Yes, yes, dating can really interfere with your career. Host, please don't succumb to an arranged marriage!]
Qingyun found it amusing; why was the damn system being so eloquent today?
Don't worry, I don't have that idea right now.
Qingyun originally planned to look for the woman again, but then thought she should finish planting the trees she was working on. As the sun set, exhausted, she opened her panel and found that she didn't even have a hundred points. She was truly at a loss.
Why didn't you increase my score? Your company's algorithm is unfair.
Upon hearing this, the system simply replied, "These are all settings made by higher-ups, and it has no right to modify them."
Damn it, this is a fucking system.
When she got home, she found that the miscellaneous boxes from that morning were still lying in the middle of the road, and no one said they wanted to go back. When she got closer, she realized that a person was standing with their hands behind their back under the eaves of their house. It was almost dark, and it was quite frightening.
"Who?" Qingyun didn't rush in, but peeked out and asked.
The man turned around, and by the light of the lantern in his hand, one could vaguely make out that he was a man dressed in fine clothes, and his face was also discernible, though Qingyun did not recognize him.
It didn't matter that she didn't recognize him; the man immediately bowed and introduced himself.
"I am the youngest son of the Qin family. Today I am here on behalf of my father to propose marriage. I would like to hear your answer, Miss Qingyun."
Upon hearing this, Qingyun pursed her lips. It was the first time she had ever seen a son rushing to marry his father. She immediately replied, "I have no intention of getting married. I would like your father to choose another suitable person."
Is this really true?
"Naturally true."
The man's face darkened, but in the darkness, no one could see clearly. Qingyun had finished his business and was about to push open the door and leave the man alone when he heard the man suddenly say, "Then I apologize for my rudeness."
As she spoke, Qingyun suddenly felt a tightness behind her, and a sense of unease swept over her. In just a moment, she quickly pulled out the small knife from her bosom, leaned against the wall, and confronted the man. When she turned around, she saw a bunch of people behind her. Good heavens, when did they all appear?
Qingyun composed himself, swallowing hard as he asked, "What do you mean by this, young master? If you intend to use force, I would rather kill myself than let you get away with it."
The man's eyes flickered slightly, clearly not expecting this turn of events. "Why bother, young lady? Wouldn't it be better to enjoy wealth and luxury in the Qin family and live a peaceful life in this frontier region?"
Qingyun was too lazy to waste words with this person. Everyone has their own way of living, why bother with so many other people's business? "I won't marry, that's all. Are you out of your mind?" She suppressed her tension and anger, and brought up Song Chaoyun again, "His Highness now wants me to offer a plan to control desertification. If you insist on doing it, do you also want your whole family to be exiled?"
"Does His Highness concern you with your marriage?" the man asked skeptically, his eyes narrowed slightly.
"I don't know if Your Highness cares about marriage, but if I'm not satisfied, I'll make sure your whole family suffers." She had considered that if someone dared to use force, they could all die together; she was tired of being treated like a slave every day.
Besides, what's the difference between this and forcibly abducting women?
Seemingly sensing the seriousness and murderous intent in Qingyun's tone, the man couldn't help but ponder. The servants around him spoke up, "In that case, young master, as long as you force the issue, this person will naturally submit."
"But what if she reports it to the authorities?"
The crowd was noisy and chattering, and Qingyun found them utterly shameless, making her feel nauseous.
“I would never use anything that Song Junwu has used, but my father, in his old age, still treasures it.” The man said earnestly, dismissing the arrogant servants, and then looked at Qingyun and said, “Miss, why don’t you make a deal with me?”
Qingyun held up her knife, staring fiercely at the man. She stepped forward, looked at him, and spat in his face. "I disdain having anything to do with a scoundrel like you."
Seeing this, the man calmly took out a handkerchief and wiped his face, suppressing the servants who wanted to attack again. "They say that ruthless people are afraid of those who don't value their lives." As he said this, he gestured for the cold weapon pressed against his chest to be moved away. "Since you are so strong, I naturally won't do anything."
In the dim light, his eyes shone with an alarming light. The man smiled and said, word by word, "I know you're interested in the deal I'm about to make. It's related to your father. Don't you want it?"
The other person's smile was sinister, like a wild beast lurking in the dark ready to bite you at any moment, making one's heart tremble.
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