Chapter 203 Selling a kidney at midnight?
Xu Laosan was held captive by two burly men and had no chance to escape. In the end, he could only be forcibly taken to the inn where they were resting to retrieve his silver.
However, Xu Laosan's act of running away angered the shopkeeper, and the compensation of two hundred taels of silver was directly increased to three hundred taels.
Three hundred taels is the true price of the jade pendant.
The innkeeper's stroke of genius was like another knife to the heart of the impoverished Xu Laosan, who wept all the way to the inn.
Having finished watching the commotion on the second floor, Sheng An was still somewhat unsatisfied. He poked Xu Jinnian's lower back with his index finger and said, "I want to see what happens next."
Xu Jinnian looked helpless and grabbed her fidgeting hand, saying, "I've already sent Li Tian to follow them."
Li Tian was one of the four guards they brought. The couple brought him and another guard with them when they went out to dinner tonight.
Sheng An was stunned for a moment, completely unaware that he had just been directing Li Tian, who was waiting outside the door, from upstairs.
Xu Jinnian couldn't help but chuckle at her dazed expression.
He knew his wife's temperament very well after living together for more than three years. If he let her only watch half of the show, she probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.
Under the dim corridor lights, the man's handsome smile was even more captivating.
Even after watching it countless times, Sheng An was still captivated by him.
Shaking her head, which had been captivated by his good looks, and seeing that no one had noticed this secluded corner, she tiptoed and quickly kissed the man on the cheek: "Reward!"
Such thoughtfulness and strong execution deserve a small reward.
Xu Jinnian was surprised that his wife was so bold. After a brief moment of surprise, a smile spread across his face, and his magnetic and pleasant voice reached Sheng An's ears alone: "Received."
Sheng An felt a sweet warmth in her heart and whispered to him in the corridor.
Not long after, the group of people who had chosen their jewelry came out of the room.
Seeing the couple chatting around the corner, Liu Xiaoning couldn't help but laugh and said, "These two are really affectionate. They even whisper to each other when they go shopping together."
The others followed her gaze and saw the couple walking side by side, and they also laughed and teased them.
After strolling around for a while, it got late, so the group stopped and headed back in their respective carriages.
In an inn some distance from the farewell courtyard, a low voice confessing their mistake echoed from a superior room:
"Huaining, this time it was your third uncle's fault. Your third uncle accidentally caused trouble for you. Your third uncle promises not to do it again. From now on, I will stay in the inn and not go anywhere."
Xu Laosan was in a sorry state, his already hunched body bent even more, and he humbly apologized to Xu Huaining, who was sitting at the table, for fear that Xu Huaining would send him back to his hometown in a fit of anger.
Xu Huaining came to Jinling to participate in the provincial examination, and it was supposed to be Xu Laosi who accompanied him.
Unfortunately, Xu Laosi had some bad luck recently. While cutting down trees to repair the pigsty, he accidentally rolled down the hillside and injured his back, and he is still unable to walk normally.
So the person who accompanied Xu Huaining to the examination became Xu Laosan.
Looking at the person in front of him with a fawning expression, Xu Huaining closed his eyes, his clenched fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly.
He had never been so humiliated since that woman died.
The thought of being blocked at the door by the people in the brothel demanding compensation, making the other scholars living there laugh at him, made Xu Huaining want to kick the humiliating Xu Laosan back to his hometown.
Xu Huaining suppressed his anger, his tone barely concealing its harshness:
“Third Uncle, there are no fewer than a thousand scholars gathered in Jinling City now, and my status is nothing here. Fortunately, you only offended the manager of Baolou tonight. If it were one of those high-ranking and powerful figures, I wouldn’t need to participate in this provincial examination.”
Xu Laosan's face changed, and he stammered, "I...I didn't know it would be like this..."
Ever since Huaining passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, those who used to look down on him now greet him with smiles, saying that he had the foresight to sponsor his nephew's studies and that if his nephew became a high-ranking official in the future, he would definitely treat him like his own father.
Later, Huaining became increasingly successful and was recommended by a powerful figure to study at the Imperial Academy in the capital. He associated with only sons of powerful and influential officials, and the villagers looked at him with awe.
He thought that once he arrived in Jinling City, people would know that he had a successful nephew and would respect him like the villagers would. He never expected that those people would not take him seriously at all!
A barely perceptible look of disgust flashed in Xu Huaining's eyes, but his tone softened slightly:
"Third Uncle, I don't mean to blame you. But you must be careful with your words and actions when you go out in the future. If you act recklessly and offend people you shouldn't, even if I pass the imperial examination and become an official, I won't be able to protect you."
That person was arrogant, domineering, capricious, and difficult to please. If he did anything to displease him, everything he had worked so hard for would vanish in an instant.
Xu Laosan hurriedly waved his hand: "No, no, Uncle promises I won't cause you any more trouble!"
He will rely on Huaining to take care of him in his old age from now on, so he can't make Huaining angry again, otherwise all his hard work over the years will be for nothing.
Although he thought this way, Xu Laosan was subconsciously very unhappy, even though he had already admitted his mistake.
Xu Huaining was unaware of Xu Laosan's inner dissatisfaction. Seeing that Xu Laosan's apology was sincere, his expression softened a bit: "Third Uncle, just remember that."
After saying that, he sighed, a trace of melancholy on his face: "This provincial examination is very important to me, and I imagine it is the same for Jin Nian. I wonder if he has come."
Xu Laosan couldn't stand the name, and anger immediately flashed across his face: "Forget about that bastard, you just need to study hard and make sure you pass the imperial examination and become a scholar, surpassing him!"
Something flashed quickly in Xu Huaining's eyes, and a hint of hesitation appeared on his face: "Third Uncle, Jin Nian is still your own son. With his talent, he is bound to have a great future. Do you really not acknowledge him?"
Xu Laosan said without hesitation, "He's a cursed star; we wouldn't accept a son like that even if he were given to us for free!"
After saying that, he smiled obsequiously and tried to please Xu Huaining: "In this life, your third uncle has treated you like his own son. All those money-losing children that your third uncle raised are not as good as a single hair on your head, let alone that bastard!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Huaining's face flashed with regret, and he ultimately dismissed a somewhat immature idea that had been brewing in his mind.
Sheng An returned to the villa and had just sat down to have a sip of tea when Li Tian returned with gossip he had heard firsthand.
Upon learning that the people in the brothel were forcing Xu Laosan to return to the inn to retrieve his silver, Xu Huaining actually pulled out three hundred taels of silver at once. She scratched her face, her brows furrowing in dismay.
"Where did he get so much money? Even if a big shot took a liking to him, they wouldn't be this generous, would they? Did he sell a kidney at midnight to get it?"
Xu Jinnian didn't react at first, but after understanding the implied meaning of selling a kidney at midnight, his lips twitched slightly, and he covered her face with a half-dry handkerchief: "Nonsense."
Sheng An refused, shaking her head and temporarily declining his face-washing service.
"What do you mean by talking nonsense? He was able to pull out three hundred taels so readily, so he must have had more than three hundred taels on him. There must be some source for all that silver."
Xu Jinnian steadied the back of her head with one hand and gently wiped her face with a handkerchief in the other: "You've been reading too many storybooks."
Xu Huaining is shrewd and has his own pride; he is unlikely to do something like selling a kidney at midnight.
Sheng An glanced at the man: "You're quite magnanimous, you even defend someone like him."
Xu Jinnian said helplessly, "Let's just stick to the facts."
Sheng An poked his hard abs, her large almond-shaped eyes deliberately revealing a coquettish tone: "He's unlikely to sell himself, so what about you?"
Xu Jinnian's eyes were deep and unfathomable. He put down the handkerchief, wrapped his long arms around the woman's slender waist, and pulled her into his embrace with a slight force. He leaned down and whispered seductively in her ear, "How about selling yourself to An'an tonight?"
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