Su Xue's expression immediately changed. Mei Qingxue sighed inwardly. Sure enough, actors have no mercy.
Hehe... Madam Fang immediately showed her true colors, completely forgetting who had just given her a gold nugget and whom she had treated like an honored guest.
"I said, if you don't have any money, why come to my Moon Fragrance Pavilion? This is a money - sucking den, not a place for beggars. Anyone can't just come here." Madam Fang jumped up and down, pointing at Mei Qingxue and scolding.
Mei Qingxue didn't bring any money. She felt she was in the wrong!
So she kept silent.
Yueru wanted to step forward and argue, but Mei Qingxue didn't dare to let others know her identity. She immediately pressed Yueru down and forced a smile at Madam Fang. "Didn't I just give Madam Fang a gold nugget? Isn't it enough?"
Madam Fang's spittle flew everywhere. "Who saw it? Why don't I remember? You have no money but still act so high - and - mighty? Eating, drinking, and listening to music in my place? If you don't have money, what kind of big shot are you pretending to be? You've got a good - looking face. I've got a good job for you." A lewd smile appeared on Madam Fang's face.
Mei Qingxue immediately understood what she meant. Originally thinking she was a real man, Madam Fang wanted to trick her into being a gigolo to pay off the debt.
"Madam Fang, you're being unreasonable. There was clearly such a big gold nugget. How could it not have been there?" Mei Qingxue originally thought the gold nugget should have been enough. She had just drunk a pot of tea, listened to two songs by Su Xue, and sat there for a while.
Madam Fang's finger was almost poking into Mei Qingxue's nose. Spittle flew everywhere, and a few drops landed on Mei Qingxue's face.
Mei Qingxue almost lost her temper. Damn it. I'm not a talking dictionary. Why are you poking me non - stop? It seemed that she should feel guilty for not having money. Her imposing manner wilted before it could even rise.
"Your Highness, I..."
Du Guqing was sipping his tea leisurely. He raised his hand to stop Han Chao. It wasn't time for the prince to make his move yet. What was the rush? If he went out now, he wouldn't get his princess's gratitude but would only be blamed.
"But..."
That old madam's hand was almost touching the princess's face.
Actually, Du Guqing had already been impatient. His princess was someone he himself was reluctant to bully, but today she was being bullied by a servant. He would definitely get revenge for her later.
"Madam Fang, these two guys have good - looking faces..." Su Xue completely changed from her previous gentle and charming appearance. A hint of venom flashed in her eyes. She whispered a few words in Madam Fang's ear, and the old madam immediately beamed with joy.
"You're still the most considerate, my dear daughter." Madam Fang grabbed Su Xue's small hand and gently stroked it. Then she immediately turned fierce and waved her finger.
"Can you drink the tea for free? Can you sit in the seat for free? Can you listen to the songs for free? Everything costs money! Do you know how much time you've wasted of Su Xue's? Because of you, she's missed out on two customers, which means at least 150 taels. Even if I sold you two right now, you couldn't pay off the debt."
"Wasn't Su Xue supposed to be a chaste entertainer who only sold her art, not her body?" Mei Qingxue looked at Su Xue.
It turned out it was all a gimmick. She had thought Su Xue was a pure lotus in the mud. The thought of asking the prince to redeem her was now gone.
Yueru couldn't bear to see her mistress being treated disrespectfully.
Just as she was about to speak, Mei Qingxue covered her mouth.
Madam Fang asked someone to bring an abacus. After a flurry of calculations, she gave a figure. "A total of 300 taels!"
"I just didn't bring any money!"
"No money? Humph... Do you think my place is easy to enter?" Madam Fang swayed her hips. She had someone backing her up. Otherwise, her Moon Fragrance Pavilion wouldn't have been open here for so many years while other brothels had changed hands countless times. Only the Moon Fragrance Pavilion always had new girls every year.
Madam Fang sized Mei Qingxue up and down carefully again, and did the same to Yueru. Yueru was so scared that she kept hiding behind Mei Qingxue.
What bad idea was this woman up to? She was a maid in the prince's mansion. She didn't want to become a prostitute. She just didn't know when the prince would discover that she and the princess had sneaked out of the mansion.
"Xue'er really has good taste. This..." As she spoke, Madam Fang pinched Mei Qingxue's face. "So fair - skinned and tender. The Third Prince will definitely like this."
Du Guqing's eyebrows twitched. He had long known that his third brother was into both men and women. He didn't expect that his minions would dare to target his princess today.
Du Guqing's anger flared up, but he couldn't go out now. If he did, his princess would surely guess that he had been watching the show for a long time.
"Madam Fang, what do you want to do?" Mei Qingxue tried to stay calm, but Madam Fang was clearly up to no good. She waved her hand, and several strong men immediately surrounded them.
Mei Qingxue didn't need to think hard to know what Madam Fang was up to. She never would have thought that the Third Prince had a preference for men!
"What do I want to do? I just want to help you pay off your debt to me quickly. Since ancient times, it's only right to pay back debts. Even the emperor wouldn't say a word against me." Madam Fang crossed her arms.
Those who owed her money were just asking for trouble. Didn't they even bother to find out who Madam Fang of the Moon Fragrance Pavilion was?
A cold light flashed in Du Guqing's eyes. He saw Madam Fang give a signal to someone on the side. He knew they were going to use force. If they were taken away, how could he find her?
"Drag them away."
Madam Fang waved her hand, and the men surrounded Mei Qingxue and Yueru tightly.
"How dare you abduct a scholar in broad daylight? What do you want to do?"
Mei Qingxue let out a series of shouts, hoping someone would come to her rescue.
Yueru was about to shout loudly when Madam Fang gave a look. A guard took a piece of ragged cloth and stuffed it into Yueru's mouth, making her face turn red. She almost couldn't catch her breath.
Seeing that resistance would only lead to this result, Mei Qingxue didn't resist. Since no one was coming to their rescue for now, she would just wait for an opportunity.
She had been so unlucky in her previous nine lives. Could she be unlucky again in this life? She just wanted to have some fun. If she had known she would forget to bring money, she would never have left the house. Mei Qingxue had no idea that her usually careless maid would also go out without money.
Just as the hands of those strong men were about to touch Mei Qingxue's clothes, Du Guqing immediately kicked open the window and jumped in front of Mei Qingxue.
He himself was reluctant to even touch Mei Qingxue's finger, yet these people dared to touch her? He would have their hands chopped off later. Weren't they just relying on the Third Prince as their backer?
"This young master is my close friend. I'll pay for him!" Du Guqing stood beside Madam Fang.
"Who are you? This is for the Third Prince. Can you afford it?" Madam Fang rolled her eyes at Du Guqing.
Madam Fang didn't recognize Du Guqing. Yueru opened her mouth to call out "Your Highness", but Mei Qingxue quickly covered her mouth.
Hahaha, now the fun was just beginning. A madam didn't recognize the prince. What could be more fun than this?
"Brother Liu, why did you just show up? I forgot to bring money and was being harassed by this Madam Fang."
"Really?" Du Guqing said calmly.
But Mei Qingxue could already sense a dangerous aura. Du Guqing was angry. They wanted to send his princess to the Third Prince and even dared to say it was the Third Prince's request.
"How much is it? Let me see if I've brought enough!"
Hearing Du Guqing's words, Mei Qingxue immediately understood what he meant. If there was going to be chaos, then let it be complete chaos. A brothel relying on the Third Prince's support wanted to act high - and - mighty in front of the Sixth Prince?
"It seems to be 300 taels." Mei Qingxue pretended to think for a moment.
Du Guqing felt in his pocket and took out a handful of small silver coins, about ten taels or so. Madam Fang eyed the two of them disdainfully.
"You? You want to help him pay off the debt? First pay for your own damage." Her eyes glanced at the window that Du Guqing had kicked open.
Mei Qingxue followed Madam Fang's gaze and almost burst out laughing. Han Chao, following the prince's order, was standing far away. Now seeing that the madam was giving the princess and the prince a hard time, if it weren't for the prince's plan, he would have jumped over long ago.
"I..." A look of timidity appeared on Du Guqing's face.
"Madam Fang, please reduce the amount. I didn't bring much money when I went out." Du Guqing's show of cowardice seemed so real.
If Mei Qingxue didn't know that this guy was not a good person, she would have been deceived by him. "Humph..."
Madam Fang was heartbroken looking at her broken window. Her chubby face twitched.
"Beat them..." she growled angrily.
Just as Madam Fang was about to give the order to beat them with clubs, a hand stopped her. It was Su Xue.
"Madam Fang, don't beat them too badly. How else can they pay off your debt? They both have good - looking faces!" Su Xue's beautiful eyes scanned the two of them and finally landed on Du Guqing.
"Yes, yes!" Madam Fang waved her hand and signaled the guards to back off.
"Once you enter the Third Prince's mansion later, as long as you serve the Third Prince well, I won't make things difficult for you."
Once you enter the Third Prince's mansion, whether you can come out is another matter. Madam Fang scanned the two of them up and down, secretly regretting in her heart. If she could keep them, she could still make a lot of money.
Mei Qingxue understood Du Guqing's intention. It seemed that someone from the Third Prince's mansion would come to pick them up later. They could just sit back and watch the show.
"Madam, are you going to send all three of them?"
Su Xue seemed to have some plan in mind. Madam Fang stroked her smooth hand and asked with a smile. "My dear daughter, what do you want to say?"
"There are three of them. Send two to the Third Prince and give the other one to me!" Su Xue's eyes looked at the timid mute servant behind Mei Qingxue.
It must be fun to bully this one. Su Xue pointed at her. "I want this one."
"Okay, okay. When someone from the Third Prince's mansion comes later, if they don't want this one, this one will be yours." Just like that, she had arranged the fates of the three of them.
Mei Qingxue could hardly hold back her laughter. Damn it, it was going to be so exciting later. What if her stomach hurt from laughing?
Mei Qingxue slowly sat back at the table. Since they weren't going to run away, Madam Fang didn't interfere. Du Guqing sat beside Mei Qingxue.
"Brother Mei, you really have good taste." Du Guqing said word by word, deliberately emphasizing his tone to blame her for sneaking out of the mansion.
"I've already said that it's boring at home. I just came out to relax. It's quite interesting, except that Madam Fang is a bit fierce." And her spittle had landed on her face. She hoped Du Guqing would avenge her later.
Actually, when she saw Du Guqing just now, she was overjoyed. Her luck had been incredibly good recently, not like the bad luck in her previous nine lives. Earlier, she had been silently praying for a hero to come and save the day, and Du Guqing had appeared gloriously.
It was really God's blessing. Amitabha, Jesus Christ, and Prince Yang, you're so kind!
Mei Qingxue's eyes curved into a smile. Du Guqing saw her smile and felt happy too. For her happiness, anything was worth it. The idea of punishing her severely that he had had before had now completely disappeared.