Bai Xiangxiu felt extremely content knowing that she now had a son and a husband. However, She wasn’t the only one who felt that way. The old madame was as equally content as Bai Xiangxiu. She now had an extremely capable and reliable son, a daughter-in-law who was properly down-to-earth, and a very well-behaved grandson. What more could she ask for? Her health had also taken a turn for the better now that she was in a better mood. She didn’t have much time to bother with the matters in the manor as her grandchild was more than enough trouble for her. One was always busy when taking care of a child, even more so when the child was extremely pampered.
The old madame was supposed to take care of Lin Qianzi’s matters, but Long Lin just had to have an upset stomach at the same exact moment. So, she decided to pass this matter onto somebody else. The responsibility was passed from person to person until it finally landed in Bai Xiangxiu’s lap, which made her a little depressed.
While it may be true that her fear of the female lead had already dissipated quite a bit, but that didn’t mean that she could simply decide the fate of others! However, it was quite obvious that her husband had every intention of watching her handle this matter. In fact, he was now sitting right beside her to watch the proceedings, with a constant smile on his face that might or might not mean anything.
“What should I do? Minister Lin isn’t sending anyone here anymore.”
He actually had sent someone else to the Prince Li Manor yesterday afternoon, but they came with no intention of accepting Long Heng’s offer. The Lin family was also unable to locate someone to speak on their behalf, so they gave up in the end. Indeed. Minister Lin had chosen his career, wealth, and power over his own daughter. This was actually the logical decision as Minister Lin didn’t just have one daughter. He had his son and his entire family to think of. He couldn’t possibly sacrifice his family just for his daughter. Lin Qianzi should’ve been content just from having such great parents. They were extremely caring and loving of her.
“Will we be selling her off? Just like that?”
“Well, you can keep her and let her serve you. You can even torture her for fun when you feel like it.”
Bai Xiangxiu didn’t have the courage to keep such a person by her side to torture for her own entertainment. “Fine. We’ll sell her off,” she shrugged. Selling her off will be for the best. I’ll finally be able to kick her out of my life.
Unfortunately, there was another problem waiting for her to solve. After Sun-mama had gone out to inquire discreetly about the sale, numerous brothel owners had stepped forward to bid for Lin Qianzi after word got out that she’d be sold off today. The mama was now uncertain who to sell to. She was incredibly efficient. She apparently once been an old servant who did menial work, but rose through the ranks when they were in Tranquil City. The old madame was quite dependent on her. She should be quite capable or the old madame would’ve never promoted her. And judging from the way she currently looked, Lin Qianzi’s matters were probably quite difficult to handle.
“Send them all in!”
Sun-mama glanced at Long Heng. He almost seemed like an outsider watching from the side. It was obvious that he simply wanted to watch how his princess consort was going to solve this matter. Thus, she really did summon the representatives from the brothels. Five or six women with faces full of makeup entered the hall in a row. They didn’t dare cause any drama and in fact immediately sank to their knees to greet the prince and the princess consort.
“You may all rise. Stand aside and wait a bit.” Ye-mama knew that her mistress didn’t know how to put on airs, so she decided to help her mistress with it. These women stood by the side as the smell of fragrance powder on their bodies was truly overpowering.
Bai Xiangxiu’s five senses were a little sensitive as she hadn’t gotten much rest in the last two days. She creased her forehead a little and turned to the other side. “Bring forth Miss Lin!”
What was to come, would come. Bai Xiangxiu straightened her back almost instinctively as she felt resolved to defeat the female lead no matter what she said. She was the one who won the battle between the female lead and the female supporting lead anyways. However, Bai Xiangxiu noticed that Lin Qianzi’s face was a little swollen while she was being dragged out to the front. Other than that, she was dressed very well and there were no obvious anomaly other than her slightly swollen face.
She was still the same style adored by all men. Bai Xiang finally realized why all the brothels were fighting to purchase her. She alone could be their breadwinner! As expected, everyone’s eyes shone when they saw Miss Lin with their own eyes. None of them dared make a sound however, as the prince and the princess consort had yet to decide who to sell her to.
Bai Xiangxiu was just about to speak but was promptly interrupted when Lin Qianzi tried to charge at her. Lin Qianzi’s eyes were bloodshot and she seemed to be extremely furious. She probably wanted to charge at Bai Xiangxiu in a last attempt to kill her, but she was promptly held down by two old servants. She couldn’t even move a muscle as she kneeled. However, she seemed a little odd today. There were no words of slander coming out of her mouth.
It was at this moment when Long Heng decided that this was his turn to speak. “She will no longer speak because her tongue has been cut off. She won’t be able to cause any trouble for any of you. Even if she did cause trouble, just make a trip to the Prince Li Manor and all will be solved,” Long Heng said lazily as though he couldn’t even be bothered.
Bai Xiangxiu immediately reacted with a face of horror. Male lead, is it really alright for you to torture the female lead to such an extent? Even if she did deserve torture, it should’ve been Bai Xiangxiu who chose the sentence. After all, nobody could ever like someone who was almost always actively trying kill them.
“Listen up, Lin Qianzi’s enslavement paper is in our hands. A beauty like her is rarely seen, so you of all people should know her true worth. Since so many have come, I cannot make up my mind on who to sell her to. To make things things easier, I’ve decided to open it up to bidding, with five thousand as the minimum. She will be sold to whoever offers the highest price.” Bai Xiangxiu had decided to sell the female lead by auctioning her out. More money wouldn’t hurt anyways.
Lin Qianzi had never imagined that she’d be sold off to a brothel like some kind of item. This made her uncommonly angry, but there was nothing she could do about it. However, she could only form gibberish noises now. She was trying to beg Long Heng to save her for one last time, after all Long Heng had once saved her in the past. However, all she could see was the mockery and the ruthlessness in his eyes. Men had swarmed around her ever since young because of her gentleness and beauty. She then read a few books, written some poems to make them adore her wherever she went. This was why she’d formed the misconception that men would all save her as long as she sought their help. Unfortunately, none of that was going to happen today. Truly, all men are perverted bastards!
Even though Bai Xiangxiu felt that this was a bit immoral, she couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable when the female lead looked at Long Heng with such disappointment. “Quickly name your prices or I’ll just sell her to someone else!”
The representatives from the brothels instantly began offering their prices when they heard her words. The price slowly increased from five thousand all the way to seven thousand. Any higher and they’d be cutting it a little thin. In the end, a brothel called Gazing Upon Spring offered eight thousand taels in exchange for Lin Qianzi. This price was quite high, and they might not be able to make any money back if they offered ten thousand.
Bai Xiangxiu was quite eager to get that woman out from her house. “We will hand her over to you immediately when we see the money. However, we do not wish to see her stir up any trouble in the future. I trust that you will be able to control her?”
“Naturally.” Which brothel wouldn’t have a way to control their courtesans? How else could they remain in this trade if otherwise?
Bai Xiangxiu decided to sell the enslavement paper to that particular brothel after she heard the swift and clear-cut reply. Lin Qianzi stared at Bai Xiangxiu with eyes that were filled with murdering intent. “Miss Lin, I’ve always wanted to tell you that you are simply too wretched. You’re base and low and way too full of yourself. You’ve forgotten that a lady should have some semblance of self-respect for her body and soul. One should only give undivided love to one person. Things will only end badly if your heart cannot make up its mind. However, this line of work likely suits you most.”
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