Volume 1 Chushan Bandits Chapter 21 Life is just a gamble
Xu Huai said: "What should we do next? The first step is of course to redeem you, Miss Qiong'er!"
"My worth is not high. It only costs three thousand taels of silver. If you can afford it, you can redeem me." Liu Qiong'er said.
"Miss Liu can even make a hanged ghost happy. Could it be that she hasn't saved up even three thousand taels of silver in her private savings over the years?" Xu Huai asked.
"You said that there might be something wrong with this silver. Will it be useful if I take it out?" Liu Qiong'er said unhappily.
She walked to the bed, opened a secret compartment, and took out a wooden box in despair. She laboriously poured out a dozen silver ingots onto the bedding for Xu Huai to see. Xu Huai glanced and saw that there was still quite a bit of stock in the secret compartment.
Liu Qiong'er has been in contact with all kinds of people over the years, so naturally she has heard about iron-framed silver and tin-framed silver.
After Xu Huai's reminder yesterday, she took out the silver and examined it carefully. Without even cutting it open, she was sure that most of the silver ingots she had exchanged at the Tang Family Warehouse in the past had problems.
Not to mention that these silver ingots were privately minted, even if they were stamped with the exclusive mark of the Tang family's warehouse, would the Tang family recognize her if she took them out to redeem herself or report them to the authorities?
Liu Qiong'er knew better than anyone what cruel means Yue Honglou usually used to control those disobedient girls and servants. What else could she do to resist except swallow her anger?
Do you think your death is not fast enough or ugly enough?
"Miss Qiong'er, do you want to make a bet with Xu Huai?" Xu Huai asked.
"What are you betting on?" Liu Qiong'er asked.
"Miss Qiong'er, you take these silver ingots and redeem yourself from Yue Honglou today. Does Yue Honglou dare to verify the authenticity of the silver?" Xu Huai said.
"Do you think the Tang family is so easy to bully?" Liu Qiong'er couldn't help laughing and wanted to tell Xu Huai to stop making trouble. They had no chance of winning at all.
"I borrowed this leather armor today specifically, and I also brought two short blades with me. I thought I could take a gamble." Xu Huai sat up and took off his coat, revealing the leather armor underneath. His sword was of average quality, and if they really got into a fight, it might not last long before breaking, so he also kept two short blades with him.
"..." Liu Qiong'er stared at Xu Huai in surprise.
"Everyone has to take a chance." Xu Huai said with a smile.
"..." Liu Qiong'er took a breath and sat back at the table, her face gloomy and uncertain.
Xu Huai said it lightly, but how could Liu Qiong'er dare to confront Yue Honglou so easily?
"Who should I ask for redemption? I'll help you call them," Xu Huai stood up and said, "Miss Qiong'er, don't worry too much. With Wang Xiang's poem, even if we lose, I don't believe Yue Honglou will dare to sink Miss Qiong'er into the pond to plant lotus tonight. If you hesitate again, don't blame me for looking down on you in the future!"
"I'm just a prostitute, how can you look up to me?" Liu Qiong'er said unhappily, but after thinking about it carefully, she had to admit that Xu Huai was right. She gritted her teeth and moved all her private collections from the past few years onto the table, called in the maid who served her, and said, "Hong Cui, go call Madam Wang and Steward Tang over. They promised me that I could redeem myself at any time. I want to redeem myself today!"
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"How can you just leave without telling me in advance? We have been together as mother and daughter for a long time, you should at least tell me in advance. How can I explain this to my boss?"
Nanny Wang was the top girl in Yue Hong Lou. Although she was old and no longer attractive, she had trained several girls who were very popular, which made her position in Yue Hong Lou as stable as a rock.
Even Tang Lingde, who was in charge of the Tang family, was usually very polite to her and would consult her about anything.
Nanny Wang had long forgotten the painful memory of being abducted to Yuehonglou. She was very satisfied with her current situation. There was no way she could watch Liu Qiong'er, who was like a cash cow and one of the guarantees of her status in Yuehonglou, redeem herself and leave.
Nanny Wang didn't know what medicine Liu Qiong'er had taken wrongly, but she still counted on her to make money from her patrons in the future, so ensuring that she was in a good mood and had a cooperative attitude was more important than anything else.
So, even though she was furious, she was still able to control herself. She walked over with Tang Lingde and kindly advised Liu Qiong'er not to act impulsively and do anything stupid.
"I just want to know if what Mother Wang and Manager Tang promised me is still true. I have saved enough money to redeem myself, and I'm looking forward to redeeming myself today. I don't want to stay here for a moment. I hope Mother Wang and Manager Tang will help me and let Qiong'er go!" Liu Qiong'er said through gritted teeth, knowing that the arrow has been shot and there is no turning back.
"What are you doing here, you idiot?" Tang Lingde was filled with rage. He didn't want to rush to use any means against Liu Qiong'er, but stared gloomily at Xu Huai who was sitting next to him wearing armor and holding a sword.
"Your uncle is the fool. I'm fucking your mother. Can't I just sit here?" Xu Huai glared at him angrily.
Tang Lingde was not in a hurry to vent his anger on Liu Qiong'er, the ungrateful bitch, but how could he continue to watch Xu Huai act so unruly in Yuehonglou?
He didn't make any other moves, just glanced at the thugs behind him, and one of them jumped forward, stretched out his left hand to grab Xu Huai's collar, and clenched his right fist to hit Xu Huai directly in the face:
"How dare you come to Yue Hong Lou and act wild? Open your dog eyes and see, is this a place where a piece of shit like you can sit?"
Xu Huai stepped up from his seat and stood in midair. His left hand turned into a claw to catch the man's eyes. His right leg kicked out like a giant python from the bushes. In a flash, he kicked the man in the chest. There were repeated "cracks" and the man broke through the door and fell out.
Without waiting for the other thugs behind Tang Lingde to make any move, Xu Huai drew out his knife the next moment, took a step forward and chopped at Tang Lingde's head.
The Fumang Sword is a military sword and does not have any complicated routines. Whether it is a horizontal slash, a stabbing, or a heavy chop, the essence of the many changes is to ensure that the force can fall on the blade just right.
Xu Huai used to be clumsy, but no one could deny that he was born with supernatural powers. Once he was incorporated into the army, he was able to fight ten enemies at once.
In the past, Xu Wujiang also hoped that he could play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses, and deliberately asked him to practice the chopping and slashing techniques of the Fumang Knife more, so that he would have a foundation for establishing himself when he joined the Inspection Office in the future.
Before receiving Lu Xiong's advice, Xu Huai drew his sword and chopped with it, with the momentum of splitting mountains.
Xu Huai drew his sword sharply and chopped at Tang Lingde. He felt as if he was possessed and unable to resist. His body froze and he instinctively knew that he would be cut in half by the sword in the next moment.
"Xu Huai, you can't kill anyone!" Liu Qiong'er screamed.
Xu Huai put away his knife and stood behind Liu Qiong'er.
Tang Lingde had been pampered for many years and his skills had long been dulled. He stood there like a wooden chicken, suspecting that Xu Huai's sword had already been chopped down. If he moved a little, his body would be split in two.
There were two thugs in the room, with thick faces, who followed Tang Lingde and wanted to intimidate Liu Qiong'er. At this moment, he felt a chill on the back of his head. He turned around and saw the man who was kicked out of the door by Xu Huai. He had been kicked to death and had not even gotten up yet.
This is embryo killing!
Xu Huai didn't even look at the two men who took off their knives to protect Tang Lingde. He just stood there holding the knife, frowning impatiently, and asked Liu Qiong'er rudely: "How long will this matter take before we can leave? Old Wang only gave me ten copper coins, and I don't want to miss the bacon steamed by Aunt Seventeen - if these bastards don't give way, I'll fight them out for you, why are you dawdling!"
This killer just took ten copper coins and he just drew his sword to kill people without caring about anything?
Is the world crazy, or is hiring a killer really that cheap?
At this moment, Tang Lingde felt a chill on his neck, thinking how unjustly his mother would have died if Liu Qiong'er hadn't called him!
Am I only worth ten copper coins?
This idiot from the Xu family, does he have any brains at all?
"Xu Xiaoge, please calm down. Madam Wang and Manager Tang are both reasonable people," Liu Qiong'er comforted the irritable Xu Huai, and explained to Madam Wang and Tang Lingde, "Qiong'er has some personal belongings to move out after redeeming herself, so I specially asked Mr. Wang to call Xu Xiaoge to help. Xu Xiaoge does not distinguish between the important and the trivial, so please don't be offended by Madam Wang and Manager Tang."
"What's the big deal? Hurry up. It's only ten coppers, and you still want me to serve you all night?" Xu Huai hooked a chair with his foot, lifted it up and knocked open the wooden lattice window. He raised his knife and was about to chop him, but was stopped by Liu Qiong'er.
Xu Huai impatiently pushed Liu Qiong'er towards Nanny Wang and shouted, "I was irritated by you guys yesterday. You wouldn't even let me touch my breasts! Hurry up!"
There were two thugs guarding outside the window. They were caught off guard and screamed in pain when they were hit by the falling chairs and collapsed wooden windows. However, they held their weapons in their hands, but did not know what to do next. They all looked at Tang Lingde.
Tang Lingde was able to represent the Tang family and sit in charge of Yuehonglou. He had experienced many storms before, and after he calmed down a little, he felt a headache.
He knew that there was no way to reason with this idiot from the Xu family. Moreover, this idiot from the Xu family did not look like he wanted to reason with her, so it was impossible for him to send someone to drag him away easily.
However, if we really had to draw our swords against each other, it might cost a few lives before we could subdue this bastard, but does this matter really have to get to the point where someone dies?
Tang Lingde suddenly realized that if things really got to the point where someone died, no matter if the blood of that idiot from the Xu family was splattered all over Yuehonglou, or if three or five people from Yuehonglou died under the knife of this idiot, the matter would not end there.
"Why hasn't Xu Wujiang's mother arrived yet?" Tang Lingde asked the people in the yard angrily.
Liu Qiong'er asked her maid to come over and say that she wanted to redeem herself. When Tang Lingde learned that this idiot from the Xu family was there, he took precautions and sent someone to find Xu Wujiang.
"I don't know where Xu Wujiang has gone. Maybe Mr. Deng has sent him out of the camp. Find Di Niang and tell her that he was sent here by Mr. Wang and she has no control over him!" Someone in the yard replied, "Should we send someone to look for the Second Master?"
Tang Lingde thought that the second brother was the deputy chief of the Inspection Bureau, but this killer was indeed sent by Wang Bing . Could the second brother really bring people to drag this killer away?
Tang Lingde stared at Liu Qiong'er for a while with an uncertain expression, and asked, "Is that piece of paper really the poem that Mr. Wang gave you?"
"Manager Tang is also interested in writing lyrics?" Liu Qiong'er asked pretending to be confused.
Only then did she believe that Xu Huai's plan worked, and the person whom Tang Lingde, or the Tang family behind Tang Lingde, was really afraid of was Wang Bing.
Even if civilians die, there is no redress for them.
Among the girls and servants who sold themselves as slaves in Yuehonglou, there were always one or two who did not follow the rules every year and were beaten to death or killed to scare monkeys. But even if they were reported to the authorities, they would only be sentenced to accidentally killing a slave and fined.
So, if it weren't for Wang Bing, if she had asked to redeem herself today, Tang Lingde would have discovered on the spot that there was a problem with the money and would most likely not have allowed her to appeal and would have ordered her to sell her body to clients today.
Even if she was beaten to death, she would only have to surrender to the government and pay a fine of two or three hundred taels of silver.
It’s different with Wang Bing.
With Wang Bing behind them, Xu Huai and her can really make some waves by making a scene in Yuehonglou today.
It seems that Wang Bing has been demoted to Tangzhou and no longer holds an official position, but if Wang Bing really wants to redress the grievances of the victims, how much will the Tang family have to pay in order to make the county magistrate Cheng Lunying and the prefect Chen Shi continue to favor the Tang family?
Or will Cheng Lunying and Chen Shi take advantage of this opportunity to blackmail the Tang family?
Seeing that Tang Lingde was afraid, Liu Qiong'er calmed down and picked up the poem on the table and handed it to him...
