Chapter 380 Warmth (First Update)
Prince Ning was considering whether or not he should raise the price.
The reason he still needed to consider it wasn't that he couldn't afford to raise the price, but rather that this young man didn't play by the rules, and he felt that there was little point in continuing the negotiation.
Although he said he didn't raise the price because of this consideration, it inevitably makes people suspect that he is stingy and unwilling to raise the price. The awkward feeling of being dominated by the question "Are you going to buy me a house?" comes back.
Despite it being their first meeting, the young boy's abilities and the mutual trust they displayed were hardly worth a house, yet it ultimately gave the impression that Prince Ning was stingy and couldn't afford the house.
Prince Ning had lived for over twenty years, and this was the first time he had experienced such a predicament—feeling unwilling to advance and frustrated when he retreated.
Prince Ning took a deep breath, opened his mouth, and was about to speak.
Gu Jiao raised her small hand with an air of nonchalance, making a gesture for him to stop talking, and then wrote in her notebook: "Consideration time is over, goodbye!"
Prince Ning was dumbfounded. What did he mean by the time for consideration being over? He had only hesitated for a moment, and now even his right to choose had been terminated?
He's always the one who stops others; no one has ever stopped him.
This statement is far more damaging than "Are you going to buy me a house?" or "If you listen to him again, the price will go up!"
Originally, he planned to leave Gu Jiao hanging and dampen her arrogance so that he wouldn't be in such a passive position when they talked again next time. But who could have predicted that the other party wouldn't even give him the chance to raise the price!
Prince Ning felt as if he had been struck in the chest with a club, and one sentence kept flashing through his mind—he should have raised the price sooner!
Gu Jiao kept her word. After writing that sentence, she put away her notebook and left without looking back.
No matter how much the guards tried to persuade him to stay, Prince Renning remained unmoved.
Prince Ning was unlikely to resort to violence against her. He clenched his fists, suppressed the slight trembling in his body, and finally asked her, "When will Young Hero Xiong come again next time?"
Gu Jiao didn't answer; she had already walked out.
Prince Ning leaned back in his chair, panting heavily. He wasn't really angry, though. After all, he was a young man from the martial world, and it was inevitable that he would be a bit arrogant. Prince Ning wasn't that narrow-minded, and he wouldn't feel offended by someone who disrespected him, like the Crown Prince.
He has always been very tolerant of these talented staff members or chivalrous figures.
But today's...
Prince Ning wanted to say that he wasn't angry, but that he felt like he had been stabbed in the heart repeatedly!
How could there be such a bizarre person!
He didn't reveal his identity, so it wasn't surprising that the other party was so bold. What was strange was the way they used to shut him up... It was truly unheard of!
"Water!" said Prince Ning.
The guards hurriedly brought him tea, and Prince Ning drank half a pot in one go before he finally felt some relief from the pent-up frustration in his heart. He said to the guards, "Go and find out who introduced this Xiong Batian."
The underground martial arts arena is well-hidden and most people can't find it. It's usually only through introductions from acquaintances or by people from the martial arts arena digging around.
It wasn't difficult to find out, and the guard quickly returned to report: "Reporting to Master, it's a branch manager named Old He."
"Branch manager" is a respectable term; in reality, they are recruiters hired by underground martial arts schools to recruit people. They usually hang around major martial arts schools in the capital, looking for highly skilled talents and then bringing them to the underground martial arts schools.
Each person they bring will receive a share of the profits from the future arena battles.
Prince Ning gave the guard a bag of silver: "Go and tell him that next time Xiong Batian comes, have him go to my residence to inform me."
"Yes," the guard replied.
The residence that Prince Ning mentioned was not his own princely residence, but another residence. Prince Ning would not easily reveal his identity.
As the guard went to find Old He, he thought to himself that this Xiong Batian was really a troublemaker. He had been with his master for so long and had never seen him get so easily defeated by anyone.
Prince Ning is the most outstanding and composed among all the princes. He is intelligent, brave, and highly talented, and serves as a role model for all the princes. His performance today was indeed somewhat unexpected.
He should go back and think it over carefully, and try not to be so passive next time.
Gu Jiao left the Narcissus Embroidery Building and hired a carriage to go to the Imperial College.
Just in time, Xiao Jingkong came out of school, his head covered in sweat.
The students of the elementary school have figured out his pattern: he is usually even more aloof than the teacher, but when he suddenly becomes as intelligent as a three-year-old, it must be the older sister in the family.
Gu Jiao was standing under a big tree by the roadside, pondering how much she should charge when Prince Ning came to see her next time.
The Zhuang family is so wealthy, and Prince Ning, as the grandson of Grand Tutor Zhuang, should not lack money.
This is a pot of golden chives; we need to harvest them carefully.
"Jiaojiao!"
Xiao Jingkong pounced on Gu Jiao and hugged her leg.
Gu Jiao snapped out of her thoughts, looked at the little dumpling who had become her leg accessory, picked him up, and asked, seeing his sweaty face, "Did you run again today? You're sweating so much."
"I learned Cuju (ancient Chinese football) today!" Little Jingkong said cutely.
Gu Jiao had seen Cuju (ancient Chinese football) in Zhao Kingdom on the grass field of Qinghe Academy. It was similar to the game of football in her previous life, in which the ball was kicked into the goal. However, the goal of football was called a goal, which was very large, there were two of them, and they were on the ground; while the goal of Cuju was called a Fengliuyan (wind and flow eye), which was very small, there was only one, and it was in the sky. Moreover, the Fengliuyan had no net.
In short, Cuju is a sport that is highly regarded in the six countries at present.
Gu Jiao took out a handkerchief.
Little Jingkong obediently stretched his little head over.
"How's it going? Can you kick it yet?" Gu Jiao asked while wiping his sweat.
Xiao Jingkong nodded vigorously: "I know! I know! I'm learning really well! I'm just a little bit away from kicking into Fengliu's eye!"
...A tiny bit of clear space is half a football field.
It's not entirely Jingkong's fault; he's just too small, with short arms and legs. When he kicks out, he falls down before he even hits the ball.
Moreover, the height of children in elementary school is set according to the height of most children, who are between six and eight years old. Although he is already four years old, Xiao Jingkong looks only three and a half years old, which puts him at a disadvantage.
He almost never touched Cuju again after that, because no one passed it on to him!
The little guy is getting really frustrated!
Gu Jiao smiled and asked, "Did you really play very well?"
Xiao Jingkong's eyes widened like a bull's: "Really?! I've been kicking all along!"
"Jingkong! Want to come to my house and play Cuju (ancient Chinese football)?"
On the carriage by the roadside, Xu Zhouzhou waved to Jingkong.
Little Jingkong's eyes flashed, and she put her little hands behind her back: "No, I'm not going! It's not really that fun!"
He resolutely refused to admit that he was bad at the game and couldn't even touch the ball.
Xu Zhouzhou wasn't in the same class as him and didn't know that he had barely played Cuju today. Feeling a little insecure, Xu Zhouzhou waved her hand and said, "Okay, I'll go now! Tell me what you want to play next time, and I'll play with you!"
"Hmm," Xiao Jingkong mumbled in response.
After wiping Xiao Jingkong's sweat, Gu Jiao took his hand and led him back to Bishui Hutong.
After returning home, Gu Jiao personally made a football for Xiao Jingkong, and dismantled her medicine drying rack. She then made a "Fengliuyan" (a type of acupuncture point) next to the crabapple tree in the backyard, slightly larger than the one in the academy, using a height suitable for Xiao Jingkong.
When Xiao Jingkong finished his homework and came out, he immediately saw the football on the threshold.
"Wow!"
His big eyes lit up, his eyelashes fluttered, and even the most beautiful eyelashes couldn't compare.
He bent down, picked up the cuju ball with his small hands, and ran towards the backyard. He saw the dashing-looking man who was obviously a little shorter than the one at the Imperial Academy, and excitedly pounced on him.
He put down the football, stood on tiptoe, and hugged that big, flirtatious-looking man.
...
Xiao Liulang is on official business again. This time it's in the capital. The Imperial Examination Hall is conducting random examinations for some officials from the Six Ministries. The examination will last for three days, and Xiao Liulang, as one of the examiners, will enter the Imperial Examination Hall with the officials.
This wasn't Xiao Liulang's first time at the examination hall; however, he used to sit in the examination booth, but now he was sitting in the invigilator's seat.
He didn't need to grade the papers; the exam would end in three days, and he could leave with the officials.
Xiao Liulang was not home, so Gu Jiao went to the underground martial arts arena again the next day.
Old He accepted the money from the guards of Prince Ning, but instead of immediately sending a message to Prince Ning, he first found Gu Jiao and told her about it.
Such things are not uncommon in the martial arts world. Many important figures secretly bribe masters, but these important figures are all influential in the capital and generally do not let people in the martial arts world know their true identities.
"If you want to see him, I'll send him a message now. If you don't want to see him, I'll walk slower on the way." By the time the message was delivered, Gu Jiao had already left.
This doesn't count as him being negligent; he only guaranteed to deliver the message, not that he would keep Gu Jiao here.
Gu Jiao said "Oh," and replied, "It's alright, go deliver the message, the sooner the better."
Gu Jiao fought two matches in the afternoon. She didn't have a third match because she didn't have a suitable opponent. The underground martial arts arena has rules that prohibit fighting across three levels. In other words, Gu Jiao, who has no rank, can only fight against a level two expert at most.
Daoshanke was the first expert Gu Jiao faced. She thought it would be an appetizer, but it turned out to be the toughest one.
No wonder Daoshanke is so popular; there are probably few people below level three who are stronger than him.
At least the four people Gu Jiao faced later were not as good as him.
After defeating Daoshanke, Gu Jiao gained some fame in the underground martial arts arena. Today, she finally received more bets on her to win, but unfortunately, she only received ten taels of silver.
It's alright.
If the profits aren't enough, the韭菜 (a metaphor for inexperienced investors) will step in to make up the difference.
Here comes the chives.
Gu Jiao stepped off the stage.
Prince Ning walked towards the arena himself. He had changed his clothes, but the jade mask on his face was still the same as yesterday.
His mask revealed his mouth and chin. He smiled and said, "Young Master Xiong, we meet again. I watched the two matches just now, and you fought even better than yesterday. Would you like to come in and have a seat?"
Gu Jiao took out a price list that she had already written in her notebook and handed it to him—fifty taels of silver, one incense stick.
The guard's brow twitched: "It wasn't ten taels yesterday!"
Gu Jiao wrote: "Prices have gone up."
Guard: "..."
Prince Ning: "..."
One incense stick's time is roughly equivalent to two quarters of an hour in her previous life, no more, no less, which is within Gu Jiao's acceptable range.
The guard behind Prince Ning twitched his lips: "You're trying to raise the price on the spot!"
Gu Jiao: Congratulations, you got it right.
Prince Ning also felt that the price was too high. He knew that fifty taels of silver could buy a master martial artist outside.
However, having learned from the previous experience, Prince Ning did not dare to hesitate again today, especially since fifty taels was nothing to him.
"Okay," he agreed.
Gu Jiao accepted the money before going inside with him.
As soon as Prince Ning sat down, he saw Gu Jiao light an incense stick on the table.
Prince Ning: "..."
"Young Master Xiong, to be honest, I came to you not only to make you my friend, but also to make a deal with you."
Making a deal was a strategy that Prince Ning came up with after returning home last night. Since this young man named Xiong Batian was so greedy for money, then he would use money to make him bow down.
There's no need to force him to come and be your bodyguard.
Gu Jiao quickly wrote: "Transaction fees will be charged separately, but the time fee remains the same."
Prince Ning's lips twitched, and he laughed, "Of course, I will not mistreat Young Hero Xiong."
In another room with gourds hanging on the wall, a richly dressed man and a woman with ethereal beauty slowly sat down.
They just arrived; they had something to do today and were a little late.
"Are there any knives-climbing warriors today?" the veiled woman asked.
The servant replied, "Reporting to Madam, Daoshanke was injured in yesterday's martial arts competition and is still unable to get out of bed today."
"Oh? He's injured?" the woman exclaimed in surprise. "Who hurt him?"
In the woman's mind, Daoshanke should be unmatched at his current level.
The servant said, "A new young boy, who looks frail, is actually very skilled. He defeated Daoshanke in one move and then won three more matches in a row."
Winning three consecutive matches is nothing special, but defeating Daoshanke with a single punch was far beyond the woman's expectations.
"Your Highness," the woman said, looking at the man.
The man asked, "Where is that boy?"
The servant thought for a moment and said, "I think I was called away after the competition."
The man said, "Go and see if he's left. If he hasn't, bring him here to see me."
The woman looked at him with concern: "Your Highness..."
The man held her hand and smiled indulgently: "Linlang, don't worry, I will have someone take you to the Yan Kingdom."
(End of this chapter)
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