Chapter 9: I Have Decided to Take This Girl for Myself; Wangcai, Bite That Fellow

On the street side.

A young woman, selling herself to bury her father, knelt upon the blue bricks. Her face was deathly pale, and tears still clung to the corners of her eyes. Beside her, a white cloth covered the body of a man lying flat on a straw mat. Next to the woman stood a sign bearing only two lines: "Selling myself to bury my father; thirty taels of silver."

The message was concise and the price clearly marked. In ancient times, such sights were common. Class barriers were insurmountable, and human life was as cheap as grass. However, thirty taels was by no means a small sum. In the Great Xia Dynasty, a ninth-rank county clerk received a monthly salary of only two taels of silver and two stones of rice—and that was after sixteen years of peace and prosperity, when the purchasing power of silver was relatively high. Some people could spend their entire lives without ever saving thirty taels. From this, one could see how absurdly high the woman's asking price was.

Yet, it was not that the price was high; it was simply that the lives of the common people were worth nothing.

"Thirty taels of silver? That is far too expensive. I think one tael would be about right."
"Indeed. With thirty taels, I would rather go to the Red Sleeve Pavilion and gaze upon the beautiful Chen Yuanyuan."
"Young lady, why would burying a father cost thirty taels? I think a string of coins is plenty. If you agree, I will pay right now."
"You are robbing people! Little girl, come with me; I need a wife, and I will give you three taels."

The joys and sorrows of humanity are not shared. The woman, selling herself to bury her father with a heart torn to pieces, had to endure the jeers of the passersby. Yet, she seemed accustomed to the mockery and turned a deaf ear to it.

Ye Xun stood to the side, looking at the man under the white cloth and then at the woman. It did not seem like a scam.

"I will give you thirty taels of silver. Come with me," Ye Xun said calmly.

The woman looked up at Ye Xun, her eyes as clear as spring water, making one’s heart stir. The surrounding onlookers looked at Ye Xun as if he were an idiot. Buying a maidservant for thirty taels? He must have been kicked in the head by a donkey.

"Young brother, you are spending thirty taels to buy a live-in maid?"
"What a fool with too much money."
"Thirty taels? With that money, you could hire ten maids and have a different one every day."
"Sigh... thirty taels. I fear there is a trick here."

The crowd did not understand Ye Xun’s actions and mocked him accordingly. However, Ye Xun could not be bothered to explain. Saving a fallen girl—could such a thing be measured by money? Besides, none of those watching were decent people. What decent person would gather to gawk at someone selling themselves to bury a parent? He simply could not bear to see the woman fall into the hands of such beasts. And she was such a delicate, spirited girl. Of course, even if she weren't, Ye Xun would have done the same.

Inner beauty is what matters most, Ye Xun comforted himself. The money was well spent.

However, Cao An, standing nearby, felt a sharp pain in his heart. At this rate, their five hundred taels would be gone within three days. But he understood Ye Xun’s temperament and chose not to intervene.

The woman looked at Ye Xun, suppressing her grief, and asked softly, "Are... are you truly willing to spend thirty taels to buy me?"

Ye Xun nodded and took the silver from his robe. "Thirty taels is no problem, but you must tell me: why do you need such a large sum?"

"Very well," the young girl nodded hurriedly. "Because..."

Before she could finish, a discordant voice rang out from beyond the crowd.

"I offer fifty taels. I’ll take this little girl."

A man squeezed through the crowd, wearing a deep red damask robe, a purple-gold headband, and holding a jade fan. He had narrow, triangular eyes and the air of a nouveau riche, his face full of arrogance. Behind him followed two hulking men with fierce expressions.

Ye Xun turned to look at him, his brow furrowing. Are we holding an auction here? Fifty taels, indeed.

The man looked at Ye Xun, a smirk playing on his lips, his expression unkind. "Oh, oh, oh... who could it be? It is none other than His Highness, the Prince of Qin. No wonder you are so free with your money today; you must have just received your five hundred taels and came here to buy a maid. It makes sense—the Prince of Qin’s estate doesn't even have a woman in it. As for the nights, hehehe..."

Ye Xun recognized the man. He was Liu Mingyuan, the eldest son of Liu Guangxun, the Vice Minister of Revenue. Usually, he relied on his father to bully others and act in a dog-eat-dog manner. Of course, back then, he had followed Ye Xun’s lead. Ye Xun had seen through it all; those who once fawned over him had all become lackeys for the Prince of Wu, Ye Tao.

Ye Xun looked at him with indifferent eyes and said coldly, "Get lost."

"Heh..." Liu Mingyuan looked at Ye Xun, completely unafraid. "Your Highness, how impressive. Are you going to hit me? If you do, I certainly won't hit back. But when buying a maid, it should go to the highest bidder. You wouldn't be trying to use your status as the Crown Prince to suppress a commoner, would you? Oh, that’s right—you are no longer the Crown Prince. Hahaha! How about this: I offer five hundred and one taels. If you can offer more, I will stop competing. How does that sound?"

Liu Mingyuan mocked him, acting like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water. Hearing it was Ye Xun, the surrounding onlookers stepped back, fearing they might be caught in the crossfire, but none left, waiting to see the spectacle.

Ye Xun lowered his eyes. This man was clearly sent by Ye Tao to stir up trouble. But there is a limit to what one can endure.

"You son of a..."

Before Ye Xun’s greeting could finish, the woman suddenly stood up, looked at Ye Xun, and said, "I only need thirty taels. I am willing to go with you."

Although she had heard of Ye Xun’s infamous reputation, it was only hearsay. But she had seen Liu Mingyuan’s cruelty with her own eyes. Last month, in the West Market, she had seen him break an old woman’s leg in the street just because some vegetables she had been selling had fallen onto his boots. It was outrageously monstrous.

The surrounding crowd was shocked. She refused fifty taels and chose thirty? The girl must have been crushed by a door. Ye Xun was also surprised, but he nodded slightly. "Very well."

Liu Mingyuan’s face, however, could not hold its composure. Setting aside whether he could accomplish Ye Tao's mission, he was a man of some standing in the capital; he could not allow a lowly person selling herself to bury her father to make him lose face.

He pointed at the woman, his face turning livid. "You damn slut, are you looking for death?! How dare you defy me?!"

"Slap her!"

At his command, the two hulking men moved to strike. Cao An panicked. Having lived in the palace for so long, he knew the methods of these princes. This was definitely Ye Tao’s conspiracy. Ye Xun’s current status was sensitive. If he were to get into a street brawl with the son of the Vice Minister of Revenue over a woman, the matter would escalate. Regardless of who was in the right, Ye Xun would face the wrath of the Emperor. But they could not simply stand by.

In an instant, Ye Xun looked at Cao An, his eyebrows knitted. Cao An nodded in silent understanding. He unhooked Wangcai, pointed at the two hulking men, and shouted, "Wangcai, don't go over there, don't bite anyone..."

Wangcai had been raised by Cao An and shared a profound understanding with him. In a flash, Wangcai let out a roar, dug its claws into the blue bricks, kicked up a cloud of dust, and transformed into a black bolt of lightning, charging madly toward the two men. It did not care who stood in its way. If Cao An told it to bite, it would bite.