The young servant beside them saw Wei Dongling's furious expression and was about to turn around with Green Button in his hand and go back. He stopped only when the madam waved her hand.
The madam smiled imperceptibly, took out a small abacus, and fiddled with it in front of Wei Dongling. "Miss, you don't know! I've bought her deed of sale. Since she's mine, she has to serve guests properly in my Rouge Tower. Let me calculate it for you today. Let's assume she serves guests for one year. The starting price for her virginity is one thousand taels, and the highest bidder gets it. With her looks, you can go and ask outside. Three thousand taels is a sure thing!"
Wei Dongling was gobsmacked.
Green Button had already been in a daze after being beaten and scolded. Hearing what the madam said, she was even more frightened and couldn't stop crying.
The madam continued, "The least profitable girl here can earn sixty taels of silver for one night's guest - serving. Even if she earns 1,300 taels a month, that's 15,600 taels a year..."
Suddenly, Wei Dongling understood why Yu Zixi could always give her so many silver notes. It turned out that running a brothel in the capital was really profitable! It was much more profitable than her getting up early and staying up late to sell milk tea!
The madam became more and more sad as she calculated. Sighing painfully, she said, "Alas, if I sell her to you like this, I'll really suffer a great loss! Such a beautiful girl can surely work in my Rouge Tower for at least ten years!"
Ten years? Green Button felt dizzy. She thought it would be better to just smash her head against the wall and die!
Hearing this, Wei Dongling's face turned as black as charcoal. Green Button cried loudly and looked at her with pleading eyes. Wei Dongling snorted, "Madam, there's no need to calculate! Li the Lame brought this girl here this afternoon. The most he sold her to you for was three hundred taels. With just one deal, you're asking me for ten thousand taels! That's really outrageous!" Wei Dongling counted the silver notes on the table, slapped a few and pushed them in front of the madam. She said in a deep voice, "I'll give you one thousand taels. That's enough for you to get your money back. Don't say anything else. Hand over the deed of sale."
The madam's face changed. She sneered, "Since the miss says so, this deal probably won't work out. Please leave!" With that, she got up and was about to leave.
Green Button beside them shook her head frantically in a hurry. She looked at Wei Dongling pitifully, and her tears were almost dried up.
Wei Dongling sneered, "You can't blame me for this! Jingzhe, beat her up!"
Jingzhe immediately drew out the soft sword from his waist. He flew forward and with one stroke, cut off the hairpin on the madam's head. Strands of black hair floated down.
The madam let out a scream and fell to the ground. She quickly called in a large group of thugs to surround Jingzhe.
Jingzhe didn't hesitate. With one stroke of his sword, he cut off the head of a servant who rushed forward. The head rolled far away, scaring the madam into a heart - rending scream. Some curious people in the main hall opened the door and peeked. Seeing the scene in front of them, they were so scared that they wet their pants.
Jingzhe waved his sword again and again. In a short while, the ground was full of lack - limbed minions who were moaning miserably. Blood splashed all over the madam's face. Her face was ashen, and her wide - open eyes were filled with horror.
Wei Dongling stepped forward to help the madam up and sighed, "Madam, I really wanted to do business with you, but you had to make things difficult for me. You've really put me in a difficult situation!"
The madam was already scared out of her wits. Only then did she realize that she had offended someone she couldn't afford to offend. Crying loudly, she said, "I was blind. Please spare me, miss! I'll send someone to get the girl's deed of sale right away." With that, she quickly waved to the servant who was cowering under the table in the distance. The servant trembled and turned around to go out.
Wei Dongling took the deed of sale of Green Button, looked at it, and stuffed it into her sleeve. Then she sighed, "It would have been better to do this earlier. There was no need to make such a big fuss."
The madam regretted it so much that her intestines turned green. She could only watch helplessly as Wei Dongling carried Green Button away.
"Stewardess, wuwuwu..." Green Button had never seen such a bloody scene before. She was so scared that her whole body couldn't stop shaking. After being untied, she hugged Wei Dongling's arm tightly and refused to let go.
"Green Button, don't cry. It's okay! Let's go home!" Wei Dongling comforted her softly. She carried Green Button onto the horse and galloped straight towards the Su Mansion.
Green Button, who was jolted dizzy, was brought back to the Su Mansion by Wei Dongling. Wei Dongling gave her a small room in the South Courtyard, which was next to her own boudoir.
Wei Dongling helped Green Button wash her hair and take a bath, and changed her into clean clothes. Afraid that she might not adapt, she stayed by her side and chatted with her.
Green Button was very nervous. Lifting her thin and pointed chin, she choked with sobs, "Stewardess, even if you sell me, you can't get back that one thousand taels of silver..."
Wei Dongling waved her hand, "Hey, it's just silver. We can earn it back if we lose it!" Although that one thousand taels of silver really hurt her, it was worth it if it could keep Green Button safe.
Seeing that Green Button's mood had calmed down a bit, Wei Dongling asked, "What exactly was the reason for the Qi Mansion to sell you today? Was it because of the ring I gave you?"
Green Button sat on the bed with her head down, hugging her knees. She replied in a low voice, "I originally thought that the eldest miss had reconciled with you today, so I was very happy and didn't hide anything from her. Who would have thought that after she returned to the mansion, she claimed that I had stolen her ring. Not only did she ask the master to punish me with the family law, but she also wanted to sell me out in the end... Stewardess, why did the eldest miss treat me like this?"
Facing Green Button's innocent face and her sobbing, Wei Dongling felt a chill running down her spine and couldn't say a word.
She had originally comforted herself that Qi Jinxuan would never do such a thing, but now she felt really slapped in the face!
Green Button sobbed with red and swollen eye sockets, "I have to go and ask the eldest miss for an explanation. How could she wrongly accuse me like this?"
Wei Dongling had a splitting headache. Sighing, she said, "If you go again, you'll probably be driven out by her."
Hearing this, Green Button cried even more loudly. Wei Dongling coaxed her for a long time before she finally ate some noodles reluctantly and fell asleep hugging Wei Dongling's arm.
Wei Dongling was also tired and sleepy after a whole day's running around. When her consciousness gradually became blurred, she vaguely felt that she seemed to have forgotten something.
But she just couldn't remember what it was no matter how hard she tried.
Forget it. She'd think about it tomorrow! Wei Dongling tucked her head back into the quilt.
In the middle of the night, the customers in the Fragrant Night Pavilion gradually left. A certain man was sitting on the railing on the second floor, glaring angrily in the direction of the Su Mansion.
Wei Dongling! That hateful woman! She had shouted "husband" and said not to go far and that she'd come to find him after she was done! Where was she? By the time the Fragrant Night Pavilion was about to close, he still hadn't seen her.
At first, he was worried that something might have happened to her and Jingzhe in the Rouge Tower. It wasn't until the servant who had gone to investigate reported that the woman had massacred the Rouge Tower and then swaggered away with a newly - bought maid.
It seemed that she had already gone home to take a bath and sleep, completely forgetting about him, her husband!
Yu Zixi was so angry that he was fuming. He even wanted to rush into the Su Mansion, drag the woman out of the quilt and beat her up to vent his anger!
Just then, the madam, who didn't know any better, came over and asked him, "Young Master Yu, shall we wait a little longer?"
Yu Zixi gritted his teeth and roared, "Wait for what! Close the door!"