"Master, please stop joking. You are so charming and elegant. How can it be impossible?"
Bai Shinian laughed dryly twice, then realized the situation was not right. He quickly pulled him to a secluded corner and said, "Sir, please don't joke with me. I just promised Li He to send you women. If you can't do it, what will happen to those beauties?"
"What can I do? I'll give them all to you." Xu Jing patted Bai Shinian's shoulder with such force that it almost broke his bones.
Bai Shinian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I'm not lucky enough to enjoy the kindness of a beautiful woman. Li He gave me a house and a beautiful woman. He just wants a piece of clothing. No matter what you say, you have to give it to him, right?"
"How much benefit has he given you that's worth you speaking for him?"
Under his stern pressure, Bai Shinian was forced to confess. "I gave it to a woman."
"Pah." Xu Jing hit him with a chestnut, making Bai Shinian howl. "You're so shortsighted that you're captivated by a beautiful woman. From now on, follow me and I, and you can have any beautiful woman you want. Even beauties from Jiangsu and Zhejiang are available to you. Why settle for some bandit den of Northeastern women?"
"Your Excellency is right." Bai Shinian laughed awkwardly twice and said, "I will go and withdraw now."
"It's too late. You've already sent me there. Take me to see it."
When the enemy comes, we will fight with soldiers; when the water comes, we will block it with earth. No matter what, we have to think of a proper solution.
The two of them entered the courtyard, one in front and one behind. Inside the courtyard, two beautiful women sat in a tea pavilion, sipping tea, while another sat on a stone table playing the zither. The lingering sound of the zither lingered for three feet in the courtyard, and the gentle breeze swept away the fatigue on my face.
The three of them were stunned when they saw Jiang Xuqing, dressed in green official robes. They had expected him to be a middle-aged man with a potbelly, but he was unexpectedly handsome, elegant, and as heroic as a military commander. Such a man was simply their dream lover.
The three of them stared at him in bewilderment until they heard a cough. They realized their mistake and quickly stood up and knelt on the ground, humbly greeting him. "Your humble servant greets His Excellency the Prefect."
"No need for the gift." Xu Jing looked at Bai Shinian. "Only three?"
"There are two more in there. I'm shamelessly asking you for one. I wonder if you would agree to it?"
"Bring them out first, I'll take a look first."
The other two heard the commotion outside and came out without Bai Shinian shouting. They didn't dare to look up when they saw anyone, but knelt down and saluted. "No need to kneel, are you all girls from Li He's mansion?"
The woman in the pink cotton-padded jacket said shyly, "To answer Lord Jiang, my daughter and I came from Master Li's mansion. As for the other three, we bought them from human traffickers outside."
"Look up and let me see."
When the woman in red, orange, yellow, green, and blue looked up, Xu Jing gasped. Goodness, Li He was incredibly lucky, willing to spend so much money to buy such a stunning woman. He'd really spent a fortune just to get a piece of clothing.
Yan Huan comes in both fat and thin shapes, and her posture is top-notch. No wonder Bai Shinian is so obsessed with her.
Judging from their expressions, they are all kind people, and none of them has a mean look. It seems that they were carefully selected. I can’t tell anything at the moment, but I have to spend a long time with them to know the ins and outs.
Xu Jing looked at Bai Shinian. "Which one do you like?"
Bai Shinian slumped to his knees. "I've fallen for the pearls and jade on the green dress, and I hope you'll grant me your blessing."
"Then I, the master, will grant you Zhu Cui as your concubine. Keep the indenture of sale, and she will be yours from now on."
Bai Shinian was overjoyed and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, sir."
"Get up, the ground is cold." Xu Jing glanced at the other four, frowning. "Go get twenty taels of silver, five taels each."
"Sir," Yanhong, the girl in the pink cotton-padded jacket, knelt on the ground and cried, "Please, sir, give us a way to live, but please don't drive us away."
Several others also knelt down and begged the same thing.
Xu Jing found a stone bench and sat down, saying quietly, "You are already my property, so I have the right to make the decision. Five taels per person is enough for you to live a good life in the future. Are you still not satisfied?"
Yanhong said with tears in her eyes, "Your Excellency is so kind. I will never forget your kindness to my sisters and me. But our indentures are still in the hands of Master Li. If you drive us away, I'm afraid our fate will be worse than death. I beg you to have mercy on us."
"Shi Nian, go get their deeds and take them directly to the county government office to cancel them. From now on, you will be civilians and won't have to serve anyone anymore."
Yanhong was about to say something, but Xu Jing's cold glance left her feeling uneasy. With this being a matter of life and death, Yanhong decided to give it a try. Losing would mean a bitter death, but winning would guarantee a bright future. "Please, sir, keep me. I'm willing to go through fire and water for you, sir."
Xu Jing raised an eyebrow. "Are you willing to do anything?"
Yanhong gritted her teeth. "If you have anything to tell me, please tell me. I will do it without delay."
Xu Jing smiled faintly and said, "The first thing I want you to do is to send those three back. Can you do it?"
The other three were terrified. One of them, dressed in blue, pulled Yanhong's sleeve and said, "Sister Yanhong, please don't. If I go back to the Li Mansion, I will be beaten to death."
The yellow-clothed and orange-clothed women also started crying. "Sister Yanhong, please give us a chance to live and spare us."
"Sir." Yanhong couldn't bear it. After all, these people had already formed feelings for her, and she really couldn't bring herself to do it. When she looked back at Jiang Xuqing, her voice still trembled. "Where do you want to send them, sir?"
"What do you think?" Xu Jing played with the necklace in his hand, looking at her with a half-smile. "Their fate is up to you, and only today. If you can't do it well, you will disappear."
Bai Shinian tried to persuade him, but was stopped by Xu Jing's cold gaze. "If you meddle in my business again, I won't mind sending you on your way."
There was no sarcasm or verbal threats, but the words sent a chill down his spine. Bai Shinian hesitated for a moment and then looked back; the master had already left.
"Master, please wait for me."
Zhu Cui wanted to speak up for the sisters, but Bai Shinian said, "I can only protect you, not the others. If you want the deepest sisterly love, then I can only let you go."
On one side was readily available wealth and glory, and on the other, a ridiculous sisterly bond. Zhu Cui chose the former without hesitation, bowing her head respectfully. "Yes, sir. I will obey you."
"That's more like it." Bai Shinian took out a key and handed it to her. "This is the key to my warehouse, the master. You will keep it from now on."
Zhu Cui was overjoyed and took it with both hands. "Thank you for your kindness, Master. I will do my best to serve you in the future."
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