Chapter 11, I can't think of anything, so I'll just force it into four words...
"Can you please stop talking so rudely? I... wait!" Zhu Mingyue suddenly realized, "You're not the one down there?"
Xu Lingguang's face darkened, and he seemed to be gritting his teeth. "Tell me, what exactly made you come up with such an absurd idea?"
"So, you, the top performer..."
Xu Linguang interrupted him: "Who says the top courtesan has to be someone below her? Did you set that rule?"
Zhu Mingyue shook his head vigorously. He had a feeling that Xu Lingguang probably wanted to beat him up a long time ago, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it because he was a patient. If he continued to talk, the other party might really slap him across the face.
Xu Lingguang finally got out of bed, walked up to him, looked down at him, and after a while, burst out laughing.
Zhu Mingyue felt a chill run down her spine from his gaze, and her heart was breaking.
"I admit I was prejudiced, but it's not my fault, and nobody told me about this!"
When Zhu Mingyue first saw him, she did feel that he was out of place with the other people in Nanfeng Pavilion.
Given his physique, Zhu Mingyue couldn't figure out why he was so popular. After much thought, he finally attributed it to the unique and strong tastes of the people in that area.
Now everything makes sense. It turns out he really was different from everyone else; he was a shill!
Zhu Mingyue's eyes instantly turned into 24k titanium alloy eyes, quickly scanning a certain spot on Xu Linguang. The thought that the other party was like a stallion every day and could still have such good spirits made her feel awe.
"Have you seen enough? Do you want me to take it out so you can take a closer look?"
Xu Lingguang noticed that Zhu Mingyue's gaze wasn't on his face, but rather focused on his brother, almost making him hard. He then became furious and said...
"No need, no need, you're too kind." Zhu Mingyue waved her hand, her gaze not shifting at all.
"Hehe, you're being too polite."
"Mine is quite big, are you sure you don't want to take a look?"
"Really?" Zhu Mingyue swallowed imperceptibly, her eyes revealing undisguised anticipation, but she feigned nonchalance, saying, "Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"
He only confirmed his sexual orientation when he was in high school. Since then, although some boys have pursued him, he has been busy making a living and studying every day. He doesn't even have time to watch movies, let alone date. Now that someone is offering him a movie, he can't help but lose interest.
However, the next second, Xu Lingguang's face turned cold again, and he poured a bucket of cold water on him.
"Fake!"
"You won't even let me touch your butt, and I thought you were straight. But now you want to see my dick? You're dreaming."
“One thing at a time,” Zhu Mingyue said with some regret, “It’s not like I’ll lose anything just by looking at it.”
"Can a piece of flesh fall off just from touching it? I won't show you!"
"Forget it, actually I don't really want to see it. What's so interesting about a dark, soft couch?" Zhu Mingyue started to back down and save face when she realized her goal hadn't been achieved.
"Who are you calling a softie? Even if the sky falls, my bird can hold it up better than you!"
"Look, he's in a hurry again!"
Xu Linguang was enraged and forgot his previous words. He lifted his outer robe and pretended to take it out to show him.
"I don't want to see it!"
...
The two bickered so much that they didn't realize it until dawn.
Xu Linguang, with his keen hearing, was the first to hear the footsteps coming from outside the courtyard and immediately covered Zhu Mingyue's mouth.
"Do you know what to do next?" Xu Lingguang asked in a very low voice, leaning close to his ear.
Zhu Mingyue, unable to speak with her mouth covered, quickly nodded.
"Okay, I'm leaving."
The courtyard gate creaked open, and Xu Lingguang let go of his hand. He saw Xu Lingguang leap into the air from the back window with agility and disappear in the blink of an eye. Before leaving, he even thoughtfully closed the window for Xu Lingguang.
Zhu Mingyue was shocked. The set of movements was so smooth and fluid that he was amazed. He thought to himself: Is this really the wrong profession? With skills like this, he could make a name for himself even as a thief!
The door to the inner room was opened, and Zhu Mingyue remained in the position of lying on the ground, her eyes closed, looking as if she was on the verge of death.
Soon, he was stuffed into a sack by the two men and then thrown onto a vegetable cart.
Zhu Mingyue had already been lying on the ground all night, and now, after being jostled by the cart, his muscles ached terribly. He wanted to turn over but dared not move. Finally, when the cart stopped, he was roughly thrown to the ground.
Zhu Mingyue opened her eyes and looked out through the gaps in the burlap sack.
The two human traffickers were being held down by four or five burly men to prevent them from escaping.
"Didn't we agree on everything? Why are you suddenly asking for a refund?" Big Yellow Teeth said, staring at the sack on the ground.
"What's wrong with you?" the madam's voice rang out. "Go and untie the sack."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Mingyue quickly closed her eyes again, revealing a face covered in red rashes, which caused Da Huangya and the other man to gasp in surprise.
"Is this what you meant by 'everything'? How are we going to entertain customers now that it's turned into this?"
Big Yellow Teeth was a little intimidated by so many people, but when he thought of the money in his pocket, he immediately retorted, "What does this have to do with us? It was fine when we sent it over, and it's not our fault that it's like this now."
“I saw a doctor immediately. The doctor said it was a condition he had from birth, and it would recur from time to time even after he recovered.”
The madam lied through her teeth without batting an eye, even preemptively saying, "Aren't you his distant brother? Don't you know about such an obvious ailment? Or do you know but deliberately try to trick me?"
Big Yellow Teeth and Wang Beard looked at each other in bewilderment. They... they didn't know either!
The madam wanted this guilty conscience; only when the other party was guilty could she make her move. So, she added fuel to the fire by threatening him:
“If I take you outsiders to the authorities, you’ll be arrested without a fight. But I’m glad that you two have no history of grudges against me, so I don’t want to bother with you. As long as you return my money, everything will be fine.”
Big Yellow Teeth didn't want to pay back the money. He had already planned how to spend it, and there was no way he would ever take the money out of his pocket again.
He stiffened his neck and shouted, "I have no money, but I'll take your life. You can arrest me and take me to the authorities, I'll accept it. You can do whatever you want with me!"
The madam's face instantly darkened, and she shrieked, ordering her men, "Beat them! Beat them until they submit!"
Big Yellow Teeth had a pretty good idea. Of the seventy taels of silver he had given, he had only kept five taels and deposited the rest in a money exchange. As long as he didn't give it to them, no matter what others did, they couldn't get it.
It's just a beating, nothing serious, so he'll just take it and the money will still be his afterward.
Five burly men surrounded him. Wang Huzi took on the fire from two of them, while the remaining three surrounded him. A barrage of punches rained down on him. Big Yellow Teeth gritted his teeth, feeling as if his bones were about to be crushed.
After being beaten for about fifteen minutes, Wang Huzi was the first to give in and cried out for mercy: "Please stop hitting me! All the money is with him, I'll confess everything!"
Big Yellow Teeth was furious that he had been so easily betrayed. He wanted to teach the man a lesson, but he was instead trapped and unable to move by the big man brought by the madam.
Wang Huzi was beaten black and blue. After the madam ordered the beating to stop, he was thrown to the ground. He was covered in sores that he was panting heavily against the wall.
The madam threatened, "Speak up, or I'll keep beating you."
"Tell me, tell me, I'll tell you right now." Wang Huzi glanced at Big Yellow Teeth out of the corner of his eye, their gazes met briefly, and then he quickly turned his head away guiltily, completely betraying Big Yellow Teeth.
“I didn’t handle a single penny of the money; he pocketed it all.”
"Nonsense! Did I take you to brothels? We ate, drank, gambled, and whored without spending any money!" Big Yellow Teeth was beaten until his mouth was full of blood, and blood spurted out every time he spoke, but he still couldn't help but retort angrily.
"Yes, but we kidnapped the man together. How much silver would we get at most after spending two days in brothels? You didn't even plan to share the rest with me." Wang Huzi had long harbored resentment, secretly hating Da Huangya for his dishonest actions and unfair distribution of the stolen money. Even though he hadn't received a single penny, he still wanted to make him share the beating.
Now that things have come to this, he can no longer follow Big Yellow Teeth. Since he can no longer be Big Yellow Teeth's lackey, what does it matter if they are enemies? He might as well sell him out completely and vent his anger.
So he steeled himself and said bluntly, "All his money is in the money exchange here, and the money certificate is hidden under Xiao Juxian's bed in Yihong Courtyard. You can go and search it now."
Zhu Mingyue struggled to suppress his laughter; nothing was more entertaining than a dog-eat-dog scene, but unfortunately, he couldn't open his eyes and could only enjoy the sound.
After a long time, Qian Yin was found in the brothel. The madam held the light piece of paper, saw the amount on it, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the seventy taels of silver weren't all lost; at least sixty taels could be recovered.
With the money certificate, the problem was easily solved. The madam didn't even need her yellow teeth; she personally took the certificate to the money exchange and retrieved all the money.
Big Yellow Teeth was left in the alley, and he cursed loudly as he watched them leave.
They only remembered there was someone lying on the ground after they got tired of yelling.
Zhu Mingyue sensed someone staring at him, stopped pretending to be asleep, opened his eyes and met the gaze of the man with yellow teeth. He said in a calm tone:
"I forgot to tell you, you've had this illness since you were born. It flares up every now and then, and your face will swell up like a pig's head. You probably won't be able to sell me to that kind of place anymore."
He had actually wanted to run away as soon as the madam left, but unfortunately, the people who tied him up had ropes tied around his wrists and ankles to prevent him from moving around and attracting attention.
Zhu Mingyue appeared calm on the surface, but inside she was already in tears. Thinking of Xu Lingguang's agile skills, she realized that if he had only learned half of it, he might have been able to slip away unnoticed, and she wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble.
Big Yellow Teeth looked around and, seeing no one in sight, quickly walked forward, tied up the sack, and slung it over his shoulder.
As he limped along, he muttered viciously, "Useless thing, all that face for nothing. I thought I could get a good price for it, but in the end I just got beaten up."
"I'm not having a good time, do you think you'll be? Let me tell you, I'm going to sell you off today, even if it's just for a bag of rice, it won't be a loss."
Zhu Mingyue hated this kind of person to the extreme. She wanted to bite him to vent her anger, but she felt it was dirty and couldn't bring herself to do it. In the end, she was thrown into a sparsely populated rural area.
"You just wait and see, I'm going to find you a good family right now."
After saying that, Big Yellow Teeth hurriedly left.
Not far from here in Gouhe Village, two men of similar age are having a heated argument.
The shorter man shoved the taller man aside, his face flushed as he cursed, "You lazy good-for-nothing, you deserve to be single! Even the woman with the smallest appetite would starve to death if she lived with you."
"Say that again!"
"What's wrong! I'm just stating the facts. Do you want to hit me?" He continued to berate each of them angrily: "This land was sold to me with a signed contract before the new year. You still have the audacity to try and take it back? There's no such thing as a free lunch. In my opinion, you shouldn't be saving up for food to get married. You'll be struggling to support yourself!"
The tall man glared at the other man with hatred, his neck turning red with anger, but he was powerless to refute him.
After a long pause, he finally managed to utter, "You just wait!" and then fled as if his life depended on it.
Little did they know that this whole scene was being watched by someone in the shadows.
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