Chapter 108: A Show of Wealth on the Street
"I don't know." Qin Huai's attitude made Su Luo very strange. "Why? Do you have a grudge against that Wan guy?"
Qin Huai's face looked very ugly, and the old housekeeper who brought Bi Hen in was even more worried. He anxiously said to Qin Huai: "Master, do you want to inform the old lady?"
"No need!" Qin Huai waved his hand with a sullen face, "Don't let my mother know yet, I'll go over and take a look."
The old housekeeper was so anxious that he kept turning in circles, which made Su Luo even more confused. Could it really be an enemy? No, no, no. Su Luo looked at Qin Huai who was walking beside him and asked, "Your enemy's surname is Wan, right?"
Qin Huai nodded slightly with a serious expression, and Su Luo immediately breathed a sigh of relief, "Don't worry, he is definitely not your enemy."
The two had already arrived at the gate of Qin's house. Qin Huai was stunned when he heard this. "Didn't you say his last name was Wan, and that he was from another place? My enemy... should be here soon."
"Have you read too many martial arts novels?" Su Luo looked at him with contempt, "It's still a matter of days."
Qin Huai said nothing, and asked the servants to carry two sedan chairs and signaled Su Luo to get on. Su Luo was not in a hurry to tell him now. Anyway, when he arrived at the scene, he knew at a glance that the man could not be Qin Huai's enemy. If he was really a royal relative, his surname should be Zhu, how could it be Wan?
Anyway, Su Luo was not worried at all, but it would be a good idea to take the opportunity to let Qin Huai escape from the blind date venue to save him from being upset.
Su Luo leisurely leaned out of the window and asked Bi Hen, "How do you know that Mr. Wan went to Lincui Residence?"
"I met them on the street. I followed them all the way there and came back to find you." Bi Henyou said, "If he is not a eunuch, he must be a royal relative. Miss, you must show your sincerity later."
"Guarantee to complete the task!" Su Luo felt that Bi Hen was becoming more and more like her mother. If she didn't show her attitude at the first moment, the subsequent persuasion would be like the Yellow River, endless.
Soon, the sedan stopped. Su Luo thought they had arrived, so he lifted the curtain and saw that it was just parked at the street corner. The red-light district was crowded with people, so it was unlikely that the sedan could be carried in.
Su Luo couldn't help but clap her hands in amazement. She had never imagined that the brothel industry in Nanjing had grown so big. The crowds on the street included not only wealthy young men in fancy clothes, but also working people in coarse cloth clothes. She even saw a few ragged beggars squeezed in the middle, not to mention the small vendors carrying vegetables on their backs and baskets who were trying their best to squeeze into the crowd.
What? Flower girl, big discount?
Su Luo looked at Qin Huai, "Is this place always so lively?"
Qin Huai was also extremely puzzled and shook his head slightly, "It's very lively today." After saying that, he realized that he had said something wrong and added, "Actually, I don't come here often."
Su Luo smiled like a gossipy woman who knew a shocking secret, "I understand. He doesn't come here often. When he comes, it's to entertain clients." This is the standard answer given by a man when he is caught.
The teasing in Su Luo's tone made Qin Huai smile bitterly, but it was obvious that he was not in the mood to joke. Su Luo stood on tiptoe and hugged his neck, muttering softly for a while. Qin Huai was stunned for a long time, "Eunuch?"
Su Luo let go of his hand and shrugged, "Does your enemy also bring eunuchs?"
It was hard to tell whether Qin Huai looked relieved or more solemn. He pulled Su Luo into the crowd and finally squeezed to the front near Lincuiju. They found a vacant space there, as if some kind of event was being held. A veiled girl was sitting on the railing on the second floor of Lincuiju facing the street. Her posture of leaning against the wall was full of charm and made people imagine. Even though Su Luo was so far away, she could still feel the hint of teasing in her eyes.
She leaned there, looking downstairs with great interest, and then raised her head to tell the maid beside her a few words . The maid stepped forward and said, "The young lady said that the things the two gentlemen brought out were equally good, and it was difficult to choose at the moment. I hope the two gentlemen will keep trying."
Su Luo stretched his neck and stood on tiptoe to look at the open space. He saw a long table in the middle of the open space with some scattered things on it. There were two people sitting on both sides of the long table. One of them was Mr. Wan. He looked not very good, probably embarrassed but forbearing. His two servants stood behind him, and their faces were also very bad.
The person on the other end had his back to Su Luo, so his appearance could not be seen clearly, but judging from his clothes, he must be from a wealthy or noble family.
Su Luo looked at the two of them, then raised his head to look at the girl on the second floor, and said with a smile: "Two phoenixes seeking a phoenix, this time it's going to be exciting."
Qin Huai looked at the field and asked Su Luo, "Who is Master Wan?" Su Luo nodded, and Qin Huai finally breathed a sigh of relief. He then said worriedly, "If he is a royal relative, and you offend him, I'm afraid it won't be so easy."
Su Luo actually didn't take this matter seriously at all. Who is so petty? Maybe he had forgotten it a long time ago, otherwise he wouldn't be in such a good mood to come and compete with others for a girl in the middle of the day. Su Luo wanted to see who was opposite Mr. Wan, so she squeezed to the side. Qin Huai probably wanted to see that person too, so he squeezed with her. After squeezing in and complaining countless times, she finally found a good position. Su Luo stood on tiptoe and looked inside the venue.
Qin Huai's hands protected her waist and gently supported her, "It's Ji Jun."
"Do you know him?" Su Luo saw the man's profile clearly. He was a young man in his early twenties with a proud face. He didn't know him. "Hey... his last name is Ji..."
Qin Huai nodded slightly, "Ji Mei's younger brother, the Ji family only has this one male, they dote on him very much."
"No wonder..." No wonder he had such an "I'm awesome" attitude, he also had the capital to be awesome. But he probably didn't know that the person sitting opposite him was a person that no businessman could afford to offend in his lifetime.
Su Luo felt that today was not a good time to apologize. The members of the Zhu family did have a noble status, but not all of them were rich, especially those who were away from home. Su Luo was now looking forward to when this Master Wan could no longer bear it and call for the prefect of Yingtian, the governor-general of Zhili, or someone like that to come and help. That would be lively.
Hey... no, wait... Su Luo slowly narrowed his eyes. Instead of waiting for him to reveal his identity, it would be better to rush up and be a good person now!
As soon as Su Luo's thoughts came out, he saw the situation change again. Ji Jun probably sent a servant home to get something, and now that person has returned with a small box filled with jewels and jades. The situation that Master Wan had maintained immediately fell into a disadvantage.
Master Wan seemed to have made up his mind and took out a red thread from his neck. In the sunlight, Su Luo saw that the red thread reflected a star-like golden glow, and it was obviously woven with gold thread.
A line is like this, the thing tied to it must be extraordinary. Su Luo's eyes widened, and the eunuch behind Master Wan suddenly knelt on the ground, saying something repeatedly. The distance was too far, so Su Luo couldn't hear clearly. I think he was trying to persuade him not to take such a thing. Master Wan seemed not to hear, and the eunuch began to kowtow repeatedly. Su Luo felt a little bit sorry for him. It seemed that this thing was Master Wan's heirloom, that is, the royal treasure.
Su Luo didn't have much time to think about it. If she didn't come forward now, when would she? Su Luo pulled Qin Huai closer and whispered, "Don't go out for a while. Don't talk to that Master Ji, and don't introduce him to me."
Qin Huai was a little confused, Su Luo patted him, "Do as I say first, hide here well, and don't make any noise."
Qin Huai was still a little confused. Su Luo had already squeezed to the front of the crowd and shouted, "Master Wan!"
While the onlookers were still confused about where the sound came from, Su Luo had already run into the arena, came to Master Wan, and clasped his fists, "Master Wan, do you still remember me?"
Master Wan finally didn't pull out the thing from his neck. He glanced at Su Luo and nodded in disappointment. Su Luo glanced at the table. Wow! There were quite a lot of things, silver bills, jade pendants, gold leaves, scattered in a large pile. There was also a small mountain of things in front of Ji Jun. Someone sent by Lincuiju was appraising the prices of each item and putting them on a tray, apparently intending to serve them to the girl upstairs.
After a while, the items on the table were counted and the two sides' estimates came out. Both sides estimated that the price was between 20,000 and 30,000 taels. Not only did Su Luo secretly smack his lips, but the crowd was also amazed. Although the items on the table were all comparable, Ji Jun had backup. He simply poured all the jewelry and jade in his small box onto the table, smiled triumphantly at Master Wan, then stood up, straightened his clothes and went upstairs.
The madam at the side greeted him with a smile on her face, then turned back and shouted upstairs, "Xianyu, why don't you come down?"
Miss Xianyu upstairs stood up slowly, glanced back at Master Wan, and then planned to go downstairs.
Master Wan was unwilling to lose the game in the street, but he had nothing else on him except the jade pendant passed down from his family. He was so angry that he kicked the long table. The eunuch kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Master, calm down."
"Slow down—" Su Luo raised his hand and shouted until he was almost out of breath before he added the next word, "Wait!"
Ji Jun stopped, turned around and looked at Su Luo with disdain: "What? You want to fight again? This young master will accompany you to the end."
Hearing what he said, the madam of Lincui Ju hurriedly told Xianyu not to rush down. Xianyu then sat back in her original seat, staring at Master Wan with her beautiful eyes.
Master Wan looked at Su Luo in confusion, "You..."
Su Luo smiled and waved at him, not letting him speak, and said to Ji Jun, "You took these broken beads and rotten stones, which were priced by anyone. How can we know whether you colluded with Lincuiju to say that our Master Wan's things are worthless?"
Ji Jun laughed, "Then what do you say we should do? Should we exchange these things for silver? Can you carry it?"
Su Luo also laughed, "Do you know what the highest level of wealth competition is?"
Ji Jun curled his lips, "What else do you have? Take it out. I have never lost since I was a child. I just said that as long as you want to play, I will accompany you to the end."
Su Luo glanced at the golden thread on Master Wan's neck and secretly encouraged herself, hoping that her help would be worth it.
"The highest level of wealth competition is...burning money."
