The next morning, You Shu got up early as expected. He originally planned to have breakfast and then go to Tingyue Tower to pick up Luying at the agreed time. However, just after he walked a few steps out of the door, Xiao Weixin met the carriage of an acquaintance who was returning from court on the side of the road. The two exchanged greetings for a while across the carriage. Mr. Huang was very enthusiastic and familiar. He insisted on chatting with Xiao Weixin. Xiao Weixin, who always pretended to be tolerant outside, could only let him chat enthusiastically. He had already begun to get irritable inside.
No one wants to know what your daughter-in-law gave birth to. What's wrong with showing off to him that you have a grandson
You Shu was very helpless as he drove the carriage. If it weren't for the fact that Lord Huang was quite talented, given the prince's temper, he would have found a way to get rid of him.
But the chatterbox is really terrible. He has been talking for almost half an hour and is still there.
Seeing that it was already past noon, You Shu sighed deeply, hoping that Luying wouldn't have to wait too long.
——
And at this moment in Tingyue Tower.
Luying stood in front of the window holding her little package, staring longingly at the downstairs, hoping that the young man would appear in front of her the next moment. They had agreed to pick her up at noon.
But one stick of incense had already passed the Hour of Chen.
The girls next to her kept teasing her: "I told you, how could you be so lucky to meet a good person who is willing to pay a hundred taels of silver to redeem you!"
"That's right! I think they are just trying to fool you. Do you know how much one hundred taels is? We can only earn a few coins a day."
"Maybe he has a family, and when he got home his wife scolded him, so he regretted it!"
"Stop dreaming and go to bed early. You still need to open the door to receive guests at night, otherwise your mother will scold you later!"
The sisters may have some truth in what they said, but Luying still refused to rest. She stubbornly held her little bundle and insisted on staying in front of the window, while quietly retorting: "No, he will definitely come to pick me up! He promised me!"
"Tsk, aren't there many unfaithful people in this world? Besides, they only ordered one song from you. Do you really think they are so affectionate and loyal?"
"But I think you should make some plans. I heard that Lord Xia is not easy to mess with. If you offend him, you don't know what will happen..."
Their words poured basins of cold water on Luying's head. Although Luying firmly believed that the young man would come to pick her up, after hearing what the sisters around her said more and more, she gradually felt disheartened.
Maybe he was just delayed, maybe... he really wouldn't come.
Luying hugged her little bundle and snuggled against the window, wondering at a loss what to do in the future.
At this moment, the little sister next to me suddenly asked in surprise: "Hey? Why are there people here at this time? We don't do business during the day!"
"Look at the regulations. It looks like a carriage for the royal palace."
Luying's body trembled, and she quickly leaned her head out of the window and looked down anxiously.
You Shu stopped the carriage, opened the curtain and helped Xiao Weixin down. Before he walked into the door of Tingyue Tower, he felt as if a pair of eyes were staring at him above his head. Out of the alertness of a shadow guard, he immediately looked up.
Luying waved at him from upstairs in surprise and shouted, "Master!"
You Shu nodded slightly to her, then followed Xiao Weixin into the gate of Tingyue Tower.
Tingyue Tower is not open during the day. Their rule here is to hide during the day and go out at night. Early in the morning, when they have just gone to bed, they are forced to get up to greet the distinguished guest. The madam came out with a smile, thinking to herself that this is the famous His Royal Highness Ling Wang in the capital, what a rare guest!
"Stay away from me." Xiao Weixin said coldly without waiting for the madam to come closer. He didn't like the smell of rouge and powder in this place, which made him feel uncomfortable.
You Shu brought him a stool and asked him to sit down. He went forward to talk to the madam and said, "We are here to redeem the person."
"Ransom someone?" The madam was stunned. She never expected that the distinguished guest would take someone away before he even had a sip of tea. After she came to her senses, she smiled and asked, "Which girl is so lucky?"
Luying stood upstairs holding her little package, her eyes full of surprise.
You Shu raised his hand and pointed, "That little girl, the one wearing green clothes."
The madam looked back and said with some embarrassment: "She...but Lord Xia ordered her to be kept..."
"You mean, he has more face than me?" Xiao Weixin asked indifferently, "Did Xia Huaizhang buy her?"
The madam knelt down hurriedly and kowtowed: "No, no, no! Lord Xia didn't pay to buy her. If the prince wants to take her away, of course he can."
"How much." Xiao Weixin was too lazy to talk nonsense with her. He just wanted to take everyone and leave quickly. This place smelled very bad.
The madam had an idea. His Royal Highness Prince Ling is a royal relative and comes from a wealthy family. Although she doesn't understand what he likes about Luying, since he came to ask for her so early in the morning, he must like her very much. She might as well take the opportunity to ask for more silver.
"Speaking of Luying, she came to our building when she was four years old. She was so thin that she was just a bag of bones. I personally found several masters to teach her how to play the pipa and dance. It cost a lot of money."
"Besides, we provided all her gold and silver jewelry. We spent a lot of money on them over the years. Now she is about to bid for her virginity, and I haven't gotten a penny back from her yet!"
You Shu was getting a little impatient, "Just tell me how much you want."
The madam glanced at Xiao Weixin and saw that he was obviously letting this confidant speak for him, so she plucked up her courage and smiled: "How about this, for the sake of the prince, I won't ask for more, just one hundred and fifty taels."
You Shu looked at her coldly: "You are asking for too much, you want one hundred and fifty taels right away?"
"Luying is a good person. I have cultivated her, so I have to take back some of it, right?" The madam smiled and said, "One hundred and fifty taels is not much for a noble like the prince."
You Shuxin said it was not much for the prince, but it was too much for him.
"Eighty taels, will you give it to me?" You Shu didn't want to argue with her, so he just cut the price in half. "I'll take the man away if you make the deal."
The madam was stunned.
Xiao Weixin raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Eighty taels!" the madam screamed. Seeing that the prince was displeased, she lowered her voice again, "That won't do! I have raised her for more than eighty taels of silver over the years!"
You Shu looked back at Xiao Weixin and found that he had been silent, as if he wanted him to express himself freely, so he plucked up his courage and said, "One hundred taels, no more! Don't think we don't know what your market is like. It won't take that much money to cultivate Luying. You won't spend more than ten taels on her in a year."
The women in the brothel are also divided into different levels. A girl like Luying is just an ordinary girl. The master she hired is not particularly good, and her food and clothing are very simple. How could she spend so much? The madam simply wants to rip her off.
You Shu looked very difficult to deal with. The madam glanced at the prince who remained silent, unsure of what he was thinking. Just as You Shu said, they also train girls based on their personalities. Some are trained intensively, while others are trained collectively. A girl like Luying would not be worth one hundred and fifty taels even if she was raised for another ten years. Prince Ling seemed very unhappy, and it would be bad if they offended him. He was a prince of the current dynasty and the emperor's brother, so they could not lose face.
Besides, Luying’s worth is only one hundred taels, so we should stop while we are ahead.
The madam figured it out, and waved her fan and said with a smile: "Only the prince has such a great face, our Luying is so lucky! I will send someone to get her indenture contract right away."
After all the formalities were completed and the silver contract was cleared, You Shu looked up at Lu Ying who was standing on the stairs and looking at him timidly and said, "Let's go."
With tears in her eyes, Luying rushed downstairs holding her package, holding his sleeve and crying, like a kitten who had found a supporter. You Shu couldn't hug her, so he could only pat her shoulder to comfort her, while Xiao Weixin was unusually good-tempered and sat still.
The young ladies upstairs squatted together and watched Luying walking out downstairs holding Youshu's clothes. They looked at each other and became envious.
Are there really such good people
Why don’t they have such a good life
If she follows the prince, Luying will have a good life in the future.
No matter what the future holds, Luying has escaped from the hell today. Before leaving, she looked back for the last time at the place where she had stayed for ten years. All those days of being beaten and scolded and forced to prostitute, just like that... ended
Until she got on the carriage, Luying didn't really react.
However, You Shu began to worry again. He took the person out of the brothel on impulse, but after taking her out, he found that he had no tricks up his sleeve. Luying was only fourteen years old and could not make a living except playing the piano and singing. How could a little girl like her survive in the capital city, alone and helpless
He himself is a slave in the palace, so how can he give Luying a safe place to live
You Shu felt that he was too reckless and acted so rashly. He didn't know how to settle her now.
"I, I can be a maid in the mansion." Luying saw his hesitation and pleaded in a low voice: "It's okay if I don't want wages, as long as I have a place to stay..." She knelt carefully in front of Xiao Weixin, "Your Majesty, I can also do the cleaning work, and any dirty and tiring work. Please show mercy, Your Majesty!"
Xiao Weixin knew that the little shadow guard had not thought about what happened next, so he kept waiting for him to speak, and when he heard that, he turned his gaze to You Shu.
You Shu struggled for a while and asked tentatively: "My Lord, your subordinate... your subordinate..."
"You can try to bring it up." Xiao Weixin calmly played with the jade pendant on his waist, "Although I may not agree with everything, but if I'm in a good mood, you can say whatever you want."
You Shu's mind was moved, and he suddenly knelt down: "Your Majesty, I caused trouble for you in a moment of impulse, but Miss Luying is indeed my responsibility. I beg your Majesty to give her a place to go so that she will not be helpless outside."
"I am at the mercy of Your Majesty."
Luying followed suit and kowtowed continuously, with gauze on her head, looking very pitiful.
Xiao Weixin pulled You Shu up from the ground and pretended to think deeply for a while: "I heard Huachun complain a while ago that she was in need of a capable maid... She must be smart and articulate."
"She looks smart!" You Shu couldn't help but say, "I think Miss Luying is very suitable."
Seeing some anxiety in his eyes, Xiao Weixin finally couldn't help but pursed her lips and smiled, her eyes full of indulgence: "You finally know how to speak."
"It's not impossible to keep her."
"My family doesn't lack the money for this meal."
At that moment, You Shu heard something loosening in his heart.
Is the prince being... a little too tolerant towards him