Chapter 7: Drugged and Sold at Nanfeng Pavilion
"Any news from the capital?"
The man cautiously looked around, and only after confirming that it was safe did he speak: "My subordinate and Ying disguised ourselves as vendors and loitered around the Grand Tutor's residence four or five days ago, but the residence is heavily guarded and we could not get close. The Grand Tutor's current situation is probably not optimistic."
Cui Jian took out a wooden hairpin at some point, closed his eyes, and stroked the patterns on it, remaining silent for a long time regarding the situation reported by his subordinates.
As the man lowered his head and waited to speak, he glanced at the hairpin in his hand out of the corner of his eye, quite puzzled. It was just a low-quality, broken wooden hairpin; why would his master like such a thing?
As he was distracted, Cui Jian's voice rang in his ears, "Have Ying Si do everything possible to infiltrate the Grand Tutor's residence and contact me as soon as possible..." He paused, then continued, "...the Grand Tutor and his wife, or the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."
"Yes!" The man received the order and quickly left, rejoining the refugee group. His previous shrewdness and sharpness had vanished, and upon closer inspection, he was no different from a real refugee.
Cui Jian's eyes remained closed. If it weren't for the fact that his hand, which was still caressing the wooden hairpin, hadn't stopped, no one would have suspected that he was fast asleep.
After a long while, he suddenly opened his eyes.
"Granny."
Aunt Huayi stood before Cui Jian with a solemn expression. Upon hearing this, she advised, "Young Master, don't ruin your health."
After saying that, she handed the cake to him.
The series of bad news made Cui Jian lose his appetite, but he still accepted the pancake in the end.
"Sir, please take a look. Here are twenty coins. I'm returning every single one to you."
Zhu Mingyue stood in front of the hairpin stall she had sold yesterday, handing over all the wages she had just received from work today to the old man.
The old man was busy right now! There was no time to chat with him, so I counted the money twice, said "money and goods settled," waved my hand, and let him go.
Debt-free, Zhu Mingyue gathered her clothes, which had been blown open by the wind, and turned to walk into the alley.
To get back to the Land God Temple from the county town, he had to take a shortcut through two alleys, and that's how he'd been doing it for the past two days.
But for some reason, as he walked, he began to feel uneasy, as if someone was watching him from the shadows.
He always trusted his intuition, and when he felt the alarm bells were ringing, there was a high probability that danger was about to occur.
At this time of day, he was the only one walking in the alley. Most of the houses had their doors closed, probably because people were having dinner. The few doors that were open were empty.
Zhu Mingyue's unease grew stronger, and he seemed to hear someone constantly reminding him, "Run!"
Yes, run!
The next second, all his muscles tensed up, and he turned around and fled back. He wasn't going to take those two alleys anymore; they weren't safe there.
The sound of hurried footsteps followed closely behind him; he was fast, and so were the people behind him.
Zhu Mingyue was now completely certain that the other party was after him.
Although he couldn't understand what could be taken advantage of in someone as poor as him, now was clearly not the time to think about that question.
Damn it! Run!
He now only regrets why he neglected exercise in the past. Now his physical fitness is completely inadequate, and he can't keep up after running 100 meters without enough stamina to take another step.
The footsteps behind him grew closer and closer, and it seemed there was more than one person, but he didn't have time to turn around.
Finally, a pair of hands climbed onto Zhu Mingyue's neck. Overwhelmed by fear and gratitude, his legs went weak and his scalp tingled.
His throat was firmly locked, and a wet, medicine-soaked white cloth was placed over his mouth and nose.
In the final moments of Zhu Mingyue's consciousness, two large words appeared in her mind:
It’s over!
Then the world spun around him, and he fell into a coma.
"Damn it, that slut! I almost let him get away."
The man tied Zhu Mingyue's hands and feet tightly with rope, and after he finished, he spat on the ground and cursed.
"How were we discovered when we were hiding so well?"
"Who knows, this slut is quite alert. Gag him too, so he doesn't wake up and make a noise that attracts attention."
If Zhu Mingyue were sober at this moment, he would be so angry that he would vomit blood, because these two people were none other than the thugs who had clashed with him twice in just a few days.
Zhu Mingyue was limp and boneless as she was stuffed into a sack and thrown onto a cart piled with haystacks.
In less than fifteen minutes, the cart was pulled to a stop in front of a magnificent gatehouse.
Wang Huzi, who was leading the cart, looked up and saw the three large characters "Nanfeng Pavilion" written on the plaque above the door.
Wang Hu Zi was pleased. The Nanfeng Pavilion looked quite large from the outside, suggesting it was well-off. He figured the people they brought would fetch a good price.
"Wait at the door, I'll go in first."
After saying this, the gang leader with yellow teeth swaggered over the cart and into the gate.
As soon as he entered, he was overwhelmed by the fragrance inside. He had only been to brothels before, but never to a place like this. Who knew that the male prostitutes would apply rouge and powder to their faces as if it were free, and wear light and bright clothes, as if you could see their soft breasts through the fabric.
The madam swayed her hips as she approached him. Seeing his simple clothes, she showed no disdain and greeted him warmly, "Sir, are you here for a drink or to spend the night?"
Big Yellow Teeth snapped out of his daze and glanced around at the male prostitutes drinking with customers on the first floor. Although they had excellent figures and were skilled at flirting, none of them could compare to the one he had brought with him.
If we absolutely have to compare them, then without a doubt, all of these people combined are not even half as good as that one.
Thinking this, he couldn't help but puff out his chest, a sly smile appearing on his face. "I have a business deal to do with you. I wonder if you're interested?"
"What kind of business?" the madam asked, puzzled. She was used to doing business with other people, and this was the first time she had seen someone come here to do business with her. However, her curiosity was piqued, so she gestured for the other party to continue.
To his surprise, the other person didn't say anything, but raised their arm and gestured for him to go outside.
He did as instructed and stopped beside the cart.
Huang Ya nodded at Wang Huzi, who understood immediately and quickly untied the rope from the sack.
First, Zhu Mingyue's beautiful, even somewhat captivating, face was revealed. Perhaps because the burlap sack was not breathable, a blush appeared on his face from the stuffiness, which added to his attractiveness.
Even though the madam had lived for decades and seen countless handsome men and women, including many with striking, aloof, and charming looks, none of them could compare to this one.
The madam instinctively held her breath, reached out and touched the other person's face, then gently pinched it.
Her skin was smooth and soft to the touch, like the tender heart of a baby cabbage in early spring, bursting with moisture.
"Good, good, good!" The madam exclaimed three times, her eyes gleaming. "You said you wanted to do business with me, and this is exactly what you were talking about."
“Exactly.” Yellow teeth grinned, his expression quite proud: “What do you think?”
"Very good." This was the first time the madam had seen something so pleasing to her, and she didn't bother with beating around the bush, so she readily held up five fingers.
"Five taels!" Wang Huzi blurted out as soon as he saw the madam's gesture.
Big Yellow Teeth slapped him across the cheek, "Get lost!" Then he turned around, his expression changing, and said with a grin, "Fifty taels?"
The madam nodded with a smile.
Big Yellow Teeth shook his head. “I want seventy taels. This is my younger brother from afar. His family is suffering from famine and can’t make ends meet, so his parents asked me to sell him for some money.”
The madam raised an eyebrow. She had seen people haggle before, but never one like this. Just because someone was a relative didn't mean she should give them more. There was no such rule in her business.
Seeing that he couldn't persuade the other party, Big Yellow Teeth swallowed hard, still unwilling to give up and wanting to make a final struggle.
He gritted his teeth and pinched Zhu Mingyue's tender face. "Look at this, how white and tender the skin is. Anyone with eyes can see that her family has spent a lot of money to raise her. Fifty taels is not enough, it should be at least seventy taels. You won't find another like this once in a lifetime. Such top-quality goods are rare."
The madam's expression remained unchanged, but her mind was racing.
This is indeed a rare and top-quality woman. With proper training and conditioning of her short hair, she could definitely become the top courtesan in their Nanfeng Pavilion. Buying her for seventy taels would be a complete bargain.
If they can't agree on a price and let these two sell to other companies, wouldn't that steal their business?
The madam lowered her head and pondered for a moment. Just as Yellow Teeth was about to give up, she finally spoke:
"Alright, seventy taels it is!"
He turned around and beckoned a servant to carry the still unconscious Zhu Mingyue upstairs, and took out seventy taels of silver from the money box.
Big Yellow Teeth and Wang Beard's eyes lit up at the same time, and they quickly stuffed the silver into their pockets with cloth bags.
He picked up a silver ingot and bit down hard, his teeth aching so badly they went weak, but his yellow teeth didn't care at all.
That's a full seventy taels! With that money, he could buy a decent house in the countryside and marry a beautiful bride. The remaining money would be enough for him to eat and drink for several years without him doing anything. And to achieve all this, he only needed to sell a person. It was practically a risk-free business.
Snap—
He slapped away Wang Huzi's outstretched hand once again, wrapped the silver tightly in cloth, and held it in his arms.
"My younger brother is now yours. Take good care of him. I'll take my leave now."
The madam had no time to deal with them; she was completely absorbed in watching Zhu Mingyue's sleeping face, growing more and more satisfied with the sight. So she simply let them leave on their own.
Zhu Mingyue felt that he had slept very heavily. He had a long dream in which he was in a dangerous post-apocalyptic world. He was sitting in a bumpy truck and was thrown into the battlefield. As the fighting went on, a mutated tentacle suddenly attached itself to his face with a wet, slippery suction cup, which startled him awake.
No, he was awake, but not fully awake. His eyelids felt as heavy as if they were weighed down, making it impossible for him to open them completely.
A smooth hand stroked his face, making Zhu Mingyue's hair stand on end.
"Please, stop touching me!" Zhu Mingyue cried out, but when she tried to speak, she found that she couldn't open her mouth and no sound came out.
"He claims to be a distant brother, but he's clearly a kidnapped man. Otherwise, why would he be given such a potent drug?"
Zhu Mingyue's ears twitched; he could clearly hear the man's voice.
"Yes, yes, I was drugged and kidnapped! Wake me up and let me go!" Zhu Mingyue continued to shout, but this time it was destined to be in vain.
"Who cares where it came from? I bought it, so it's mine. Just wait, it won't be long before our Nanfeng Pavilion will be able to launch a new top performer."
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