Chapter 23 A young man in distress, a hero saves the damsel in distress
On the other side, Liu Guanya sat imposingly on his couch, picking his teeth. He gave a tael of silver to the man who had informed Xiang Huo Yagong, saying, "Here, don't let him know, or you'll be in big trouble!"
The man took the silver, even taking a bite, and grinned broadly: "Yes, yes, I understand."
Liu Guanya waved his hand, signaling the others to take their leave.
Less than three days later, Cui Yagong hosted a banquet for Liu Guanya and said he wanted to personally apologize to her.
Liu Guanya gladly attended the banquet and even took the most beautiful goods to "show off".
When Cui Yagong saw the goods in front of him, he saw that they were only wrapped in a thin undergarment in the dead of winter, shivering. They were slender and soft, with black hair as smooth as silk, and their faces were handsome but still showed a hint of naivety.
After circling around him, Cui Yagong gasped. His figure, his looks, his demeanor—he was indeed a rare beauty! No wonder Granny Liu treasured him so much.
He habitually reached out to check the goods, looking for any injuries, but the other party dodged him. His body trembled uncontrollably, and he cried with tears streaming down his face, looking so pitiful that any woman would feel heartbroken.
It's like I'm the one bullying him! Ugh, you little slut!
Cui Yagong inquired about the man's background from Liu Guanya, but the man didn't respond at all. Instead, he waved his hand and said smugly, "I'll sell him for a high price in a couple of days, seven or eight hundred taels, more than enough."
This can actually sell for seven or eight hundred taels?!
Cui Yagong immediately stopped caring about this person's background. Since Liu Guanya dared to buy it for such an expensive price, she must be of lowly status. He served her tea with great courtesy, "I offended Liu Guanya a few days ago with my rudeness. Today I am hosting a banquet to apologize to you!"
Liu Guanya snorted, crossed his legs, and slowly took a sip of his tea.
When the dishes were served, Cui Yagong poured wine for Liu Guanya with a smile, bowing and scraping, serving her with utmost care. He even called over several male prostitutes from Tianxianglou to surround her and offer her wine.
With the allure of her beauty and the repeated drinking of alcohol, Liu Guanya became thoroughly drunk and collapsed within half an hour.
Cui Yagong, carrying a wine jug, tentatively called out to her, "Liu Guanya, have a few more drinks!"
The other person lay motionless on the table, completely drunk and passed out.
Cui Yagong then put his hands on his hips, full of pride and satisfaction. Taking advantage of Liu Guanya's unconsciousness, he kicked her hard, venting his anger, and looked as smug as a rooster.
Then, he took out the contract he had prepared beforehand, grabbed Liu Guanya's thumb, dipped it in ink, and "helped" her sign it.
Holding the brand-new contract in front of him, he went around to the goods he had just acquired, grabbed his hair without a word, forcing him to look up, pinched his fair cheek with his other hand, and smiled smugly, "Tsk, what a good thing~"
The man's hands were bound with hemp rope. He was so humiliated that he glared at the man with bloodshot eyes, his hatred seeming to turn into knives that could skin him alive, tear him apart, and shred him to pieces.
Startled, Cui Yagong released his grip, feeling somewhat terrified. However, anger then surged within him, and he stepped forward and grabbed the man's hair violently.
They're just slaves in his hands, yet they dare to be so arrogant!
The man winced in pain, letting out a muffled groan, as Cui Yagong dragged him by the hair. A strong sense of humiliation welled up inside him, and he felt extremely ashamed, tears streaming down his face like a broken string of pearls.
But his past pride wouldn't allow him to bow his head. He became furious and, ignoring the fact that his hair was being grabbed, charged straight at Cui Yagong.
Cui Yagong had never seen anything so fierce. He cried out and was knocked to the ground, still clutching a small handful of the man's hair, which was covered in blood.
He scrambled to his feet, his chest heaving with rage, his fat jiggling. In a fit of fury, he slapped the cargo across the face, sending it crashing to the ground. Blood streamed down his face, staining the ground crimson.
"If I don't teach you a lesson today, you won't know what's good for you!"
The person didn't react; he just lay on the cold ground, his shoulders trembling as if he were crying, but he didn't make a sound.
Cui Yagong even wondered: Could this person be mute?
When Liu Guanya woke up, clutching her buttocks and grimacing, Cui Yagong arrogantly came over and patted her face.
"Liu Guanya, I've put the money on the table, and I'm taking the person with me."
Liu Guanya looked confused. "What money? Who?"
Cui Yagong smiled provocatively: "You sold this beautiful commodity to me for ten taels of silver. Here! This is the contract."
Liu Guanya hurriedly snatched the contract and, upon reading it, angrily pointed at him and cursed, "You scoundrel! How dare you set me up!"
Cui Yagong, with his orchid-like fingers raised, chuckled and said, "You signed this, so there's no way to deny it."
Liu Guanya glared at him fiercely, then glanced at the goods he had brought. He was shocked to see people lying on the ground in a mess, their expressions unclear, but there was blood everywhere.
Her heart skipped a beat, thinking to herself that this fat man Cui was too ruthless. She was so frightened that she hurriedly turned her sleeves and left. Halfway there, she remembered a silver ingot on the table and quickly turned back to take it.
Fearing that the performance wasn't convincing enough, he even swore to Cui Yagong that he would make him pay in the future!
Seeing her jumping up and down in anger, Cui Yagong was extremely pleased. He picked up the goods and dragged them back.
Little did he know, Liu Guanya, who had his back to him, was still shaken and was wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
If anything happens to Fatty Cui in the future, don't blame her!
......
Meanwhile, Zhang Ting's business has improved in the past few days, but the shop assistant hasn't been doing well for a long time, and with a shortage of manpower, he simply can't manage the workload.
She also wanted to acquire some property, so she specially set aside a free day to go to the east of the city to ask Cui Jingji, but she found no one there.
"Did Cui Jingji go on a family visit?"
The broker said, "Your Majesty, the merchant set off the day before yesterday and will not be back for about ten days."
Property purchases can wait, but the Ke Ying Building can't wait ten days.
Zhang Ting recalled the broker who had brought the man that day and asked if the man was still alive.
After thinking for a while, the shopkeeper said, "Your Majesty is referring to Master Cui, right? Master Cui is Jingji's cousin, but he works at a brokerage firm in the south of the city. You'll have to go there to find him."
Fortunately, there was a horse-drawn carriage. After carefully asking the waiter for the address, Zhang Ting set off for the south of the city.
She'd been in Kyoto for almost two months, and she'd never been to the southern part of the city before. She lifted the carriage curtain—
A sweet, cloying scent of perfume seeped in through the crack. Zhang Ting frowned and barely managed to endure it. Looking up, he saw that on both sides of the road, there were carved and painted pavilions, their vermilion doors half-closed. Through the cracks, he could see the supple waists of dancers, and he could hear the lingering music and the clear laughter of men coming from inside.
What they do is obvious.
Zhang Ting lowered the curtain, blocking out the cloying fragrance.
There were many things to do at Keyinglou today. Zheng Er and Li Ruilian were both sent out to help, so only Zhang Ting came alone.
After instructing the coachman to guard the carriage, Zhang Ting leisurely walked inside.
She arrived at just the right time, just as a lively scene unfolded.
Cui Yagong organized an auction, with five men standing in front of him to introduce the limbs and teeth of the goods to the customers below. Interested customers could also go up on stage to "inspect" the goods themselves.
Seeing that Cui Yagong was busy, Zhang Ting had no interest in watching this boring event. She originally planned to come back tomorrow, but then a torrential downpour started outside, so she had no choice but to find a place to sit down and wait for the rain to stop.
The customers below were not satisfied with the goods on the stage and complained and booed.
Cui Yagong was very anxious, afraid that if he pushed the guest too far, he would really run away. He gritted his teeth and pulled the person who was hiding against the wall up.
The man had a white cloth wrapped around his head. He clung tightly to the peeling pillar as if he were being dragged to the guillotine. His disheveled hair covered most of his face, and only tears could be seen streaming down his cheeks and onto his pale, chapped lips.
His struggles were futile.
Cui the broker originally didn't want to damage the goods' face and affect the selling price, but he was so angry that he slapped him again and called over two brokers to pry his hand off the pillar little by little.
The waiter forcibly dragged him to the front of the table, and Cui Yagong suddenly ripped the stray hairs off his face, revealing his clean and fair face to the customer.
With a beaming smile, Cui Yagong introduced, "Miss, esteemed ladies, come and take a look—this is top-quality stuff."
The man looked terrified, his lips trembling, and he felt incredibly humiliated. He struggled desperately. When Cui Yagong saw this, his eyes were so fierce that he seemed to want to tear him apart. He reached out and grabbed the man's neck tightly, forcing him to tilt his head back.
The guests all got up and came to the front of the stage to take a closer look, discussing among themselves.
Someone stared lewdly at his face, assessing it, "Truly a fine piece of work, look how tender his face is, like a peeled egg, hehe."
Someone lewdly lingered on his body, muttering, "Not bad, I wonder how it'll be tonight..."
Some people even tried to reach out and touch him, saying, "Let us touch him to see if he's any good, hehe."
Cui Yagong slapped the man's hand away in annoyance. This was no ordinary person; he wouldn't let anyone take advantage of him for free.
Outside, the wind howled, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and the rain poured down harder and harder, like endless tears falling to the ground and onto Zhang Ting's heart.
She rested her chin on her hand, calmly watching the farce unfold, recalling many things and many words.
Someone pinched her face and presented it to the crowd, letting their gaze linger on her.
"This is your daughter? She's really pretty! Not bad, hehe, you're just giving her to me like this?"
Someone pressed down hard on her shoulders, making it difficult for her to break free. "Haha, if you like it, just take it with you!"
"Okay! I'll take him with me, and the debt will be settled."
The man bowed and thanked her, then pushed her forward with a forced smile.
Despite the inevitable cycle of cause and effect and the inevitable retribution, she will never forget that feeling of powerlessness and embarrassment.
Zhang Ting clicked her tongue and slowly walked onto the stage.
Everything is the same as before.
......
When Zhang Ting came out, the sky had cleared up, and a little tail was following behind her, wearing her fur coat.
The driver glanced at it curiously, then tactfully looked away.
Zhang Ting felt a pang of heartache; this trip, which had only taken half an hour, had cost her a thousand taels of silver.
Who would sell themselves for a thousand taels? Even the top courtesan in a brothel wouldn't cost that much, right?
There's no point in saying more now that things have come to this.
She gave the boy huddled in the corner a resentful look. "Hey! What's your name?"
Upon hearing her voice, the man shrank back in fear, wishing he could be a thousand miles away from her.
Alright! Since communication was impossible, Zhang Ting didn't press the issue.
We soon arrived at Zhang's residence. The plaque was magnificent and imposing, and it looked very grand.
Every time Zhang Ting entered the house, she would take a good look at it. The night the Zong family was arrested in a sorry state, she could tell that they had a rich background. Since she still had some money, she also made a piece to hang up, just to make a show of it.
But Zhang Ting soon faced her first problem: where should this person live?
She has converted the west wing into a large study, the side rooms of the east wing are all occupied, she lives alone in the main house, and the outer courtyard is not an option.
Currently, there is only one empty space.
But it was originally intended for entertaining guests, so he got a good deal.
"From now on, you will live in the east wing."
In addition, Zhang Ting couldn't let him keep hoarding her fur coat, so she quickly called Xiao Rong over and asked her to make a new set of clothes for the man as soon as possible.
Xiao Rong was initially a little confused, but after seeing the boy's handsome face and the fur coat he was wearing, she suddenly realized what was going on.
If someone can wear a lady's clothes, this must be a male confidant, right?
Upon hearing Zhang Ting's arrangement, the timid little tail secretly glanced up at her before hurriedly burying its head back down.
Zhang Ting discovered his spying but didn't take it to heart. She didn't regret bringing the person back, but she had no good feelings towards the person who had caused her to lose money.
A quick glance at him revealed that his hair was a mess, his clothes were filthy, and in this cold weather, he probably had frostbite.
Zhang Ting told Xi Ge to take him downstairs to wash and bathe first, so that he wouldn't make the east wing room a mess!
A note from the author:
----------------------
Zhang Ting (smiling): Wife, what's your name?
Zong Suyi (smiling): My name is Wei. I love to take advantage of others, I'm sloppy, dirty and smelly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
