The man's words earned him another beating. In front of the tavern, two shirtless, burly men rained blows upon him.
This was the first time Wei Shuyao, a pampered young lady raised in a high-class house, had ever witnessed someone being beaten in the street, especially in broad daylight, right under the Buddha's nose. Though indignant, she dared not cause trouble and pulled Caizhu away.
"It is not a good place to stay for long in a place of trouble."
Caizhu, fearing she would be caught in the crossfire, quickly left with her mistress. But little did she know that this bad luck was specifically targeting her and her maid! The man who had been beaten was kicked by someone, and his body spun around and crashed into her and her maid, knocking them both to the ground.
Caizhu was a bit better off; she had been bumped to the side and quickly got up, only to find Wei Shuyao pinned down by the man. She couldn't help but call out nervously, "Miss!"
Wei Shuyao lay on her back, frowning as she instinctively reached for the back of her head, which had hit the ground. Fortunately, she hadn't suffered any serious injury. However, when she tried to get up, she found that the man on top of her was incredibly heavy, and she couldn't move him at all.
"Caizhu...come help me quickly."
Caizhu rushed forward to help, and the two of them finally managed to push the man aside. As Wei Shuyao caught her breath, she glanced to the right and met those dark eyes that seemed to be drunk but not quite.
To her surprise, she discovered that although the man had been beaten black and blue, looked disheveled, and had bloodshot eyes, he still possessed a refined and handsome air about him.
He bears a striking resemblance to Du Xun.
The man stared at her intently, and after a long pause, he managed to choke out, "Young lady, please save me..."
Wei Shuyao's heart trembled. She couldn't quite describe the feeling. Caiyao helped her to her feet, but her gaze was still drawn to him, as if they were glued together from a distance.
"Girl, let's leave quickly," Caizhu advised.
The two burly thugs smirked as if watching a show. Wei Shuyao, supported by Caizhu, left. Behind her, she heard one of the thugs mock the man, saying, "You little brat, you're just trying to freeload. One minute you're bragging about having a father who's a third-rank official, the next you're asking some passing young lady to save you. What, you think you can eat and drink for free just because you're a bit handsome?!"
As they spoke, they kicked the man several more times, and he curled up on the ground, groaning in pain.
Wei Shuyao had her back to him, but she couldn't shake the look in his eyes that was so similar to Young Master Du's. After taking a few steps, she suddenly stopped and uttered a sentence in a low voice, as if she were speaking to Caizhu beside her, or perhaps encouraging herself:
"The master told me to do one good deed a day, to help those in distress, and to save people from danger. It seems I can't stand idly by in this matter."
Upon hearing this, Caizhu stared in astonishment, only to see Wei Shuyao resolutely turn around and say to the two thugs, "How much money does he owe you? I'll pay you."
As soon as the words were spoken, not only were the three people involved extremely surprised, but even Wei Shuyao was shocked by the words she had just uttered.
She knew better than anyone what state the eldest son's family was in. When she went out of town to offer incense today, she felt a pang of regret for the few taels of silver her mother gave her for survival. However, thinking that perhaps Buddha would grant their wish and their future would be better, she generously gave it to them.
But she couldn't bear to spend all that money on incense and oil, yet she wanted to spend it on this kind of place.
The two burly men burst into laughter, and one of them bent down and patted the man's cheek: "Looks like your face is actually worth something!"
The other man stopped smiling, extended a palm, and replied, "Five taels!"
Wei Shuyao's heart skipped a beat. She clutched the money pouch containing exactly five taels of silver in her hand and turned her gaze to the fallen young master: "You spent so much on a single meal of food and wine?"
"No, it wasn't just me...it's just that everyone else...they all ran away..." The young man kowtowed to the ground in frustration, then struggled to lift his head again: "No, I clearly remember the waiter saying it was three taels..."
Wei Shuyao immediately turned to the two thugs: "Is it three taels or five taels?"
"The cost of the food and drinks is three taels, but the tavern owner hired my brother and me to settle this matter, so the commission is two taels, which you should naturally pay!"
"Why should we pay you commission after you beat someone up?" This isn't just being sold out and then helping the seller count the money; it's clearly us paying to sell ourselves!
Although Wei Shuyao was indignant, she dared not speak too aggressively, but rather softly and weakly, for fear of truly angering the two thugs and causing trouble for herself.
The thug laughed arrogantly: "Boss, if you pay two ounces, we'll break one of your legs. If you're not willing to pay those two ounces, we'll keep beating you until you break one leg!"
After saying that, he made a move to go up and hit someone again.
"Wait, I'll go!" Wei Shuyao hurriedly stopped her.
Wei Shuyao handed the money bag to Caizhu, gesturing for her to give it to the two thugs. She thought to herself with a self-deprecating smile: if each of these forty-nine good deeds required such a huge financial outlay, she probably wouldn't last more than a few days before she herself became a beggar.
The two thugs took the money and left with satisfied expressions. Only then did Wei Shuyao dare to step forward and help the beaten young master up: "Are you alright?"
His face was so swollen he was unrecognizable; it would be a lie to say he was alright. The young master gave a wry smile. Wei Shuyao then said, "I'll take you to the clinic."
"Your money...didn't...didn't you give it all to them?"
Wei Shuyao blinked twice and looked away, somewhat embarrassed. The young man then requested, "Would you please call a carriage for me, young lady? I'll pay the fare when I get home."
That's easy. Wei Shuyao nodded and instructed Caizhu to call a carriage. Soon a carriage arrived. The coachman also got off to help, and together they carried the seriously injured young master into the carriage.
The carriage curtain was lowered, separating Wei Shuyao from him. Just as she was about to leave, she saw the curtain being lifted slightly from the inside, revealing the young master's face.
"May I ask where your residence is, young lady?"
Wei Shuyao hesitated for a moment before replying, "The Wei family at the north end of Gongchen Street."
The young master lowered the carriage curtain with a look of satisfaction and drove away with the carriage. Wei Shuyao stood there for a long time, not moving an inch.
"Miss, could it be that he wants to return the five taels of silver? Wouldn't that mean it would end up in the hands of the second wife?" Caizhu reminded her from the side.
Wei Shuyao suddenly realized, and stamped her foot in regret: "Yes, he must be trying to pay back that money..."
She had only been too embarrassed to admit she was homeless and staying at an inn. Now, her chance to get her five taels of silver back plus a thank-you gift was gone!
"Fine, I've already done the good deed anyway. If I can't get it back, I can't get it back." With that, Wei Shuyao left dejectedly.
Meanwhile, on a carriage across the street, the felt curtains were rolled up high, and two heads had been staring at it for a long time, clearly seeing the scene of the beauty rescuing the young man in distress.
Wei Shuwan: "Weren't you going to chase after them to say hello? Why didn't you go up and help them just now?"
Cai Die clutched her purse, thinking to herself that her grandmother was not the same as before, and the allowance she could give to her and her mother had been reduced by more than half. Five taels of silver was not a small amount for her. What if her fourth sister asked her to borrow silver after she had gone downstairs?
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