The First Day of Picking Up a Wife

A stinky-foot merchant was just a derisive nickname for merchants used elsewhere, especially as a slur for sea traders.

That was because the first pot of gold for stinky-foot merchants usually came from piracy and robbing along the roads and seas.

But that was only a stereotype. The Lu family’s rise actually began with Lu Ling’s maternal grandparents. The two of them inherited three islands from their ancestors, then opened a caravan office on land and specialized in river transport business with the authorities, making their fortune by collecting tolls and protection fees.

As for the Lu family’s ancestors, when Da Chong had just been founded, they had served in the local customs fortress. Their forebears had once risen to the position of stationed deputy battalion commander; in a sense, they were the predecessors of the navy.

But by now, it was little more than a shell, entirely under the jurisdiction of the prefect of Zhangzhou Prefecture.

Being dragged out as a talking point was nothing new in ordinary times, but this was Lu Ling’s territory.

The other man’s insinuation lowered her view of this deal.

Lu Ling took out a handkerchief and covered her nose and mouth, standing in the corridor without speaking.

How could Liu Yuer not understand what that gesture meant? She hurried over, forcing herself to ignore the stench, and went to deal with the sweat-soaked Kyoto merchant.

If he hadn’t come from Kyoto, she wouldn’t have even looked at him.

“Oh dear, isn’t this Master Wu? How did you end up out here?” Liu Yuer said reproachfully.

The merchant on the floor hastily braced a hand at his waist and got up, looking as disheveled as could be despite his fine clothes.

“Shopkeeper Yu, please don’t laugh at me,” the Kyoto merchant said quickly, forcing a smile.

He had long known that Qingzhu Tower was famous far and wide in Haicheng. Though he had never heard of it in Kyoto, as long as one came to the southeast, no one did not know of its existence.

Information spread very quickly among merchants. So he also knew what the sixth floor’s status meant to the merchants of Haicheng.

Meaning his goods might just fetch a good price.

“Just now, when I saw you leave, I was afraid that wild lot would hurt some distinguished guest, so I went over to say a few words. Who would have thought it would go mad and beat me...” As he spoke, the Kyoto merchant covered his face; if one looked closely, his right eye was already bruised.

He had been beaten hard.

The blow made his already ugly face even less pleasant to look at, and Liu Yuer even regretted being greedy for a bit of easy profit and bringing in someone like this.

Covering her nose with her handkerchief, she said impatiently, “Enough. If you didn’t have a Kyoto travel permit and merchant registry, this shopkeeper couldn’t be bothered to receive you.”

With that, she turned around and formally introduced the person who had been standing quietly behind her all this time, Lu Ling.

“This is the daughter of the Feng County magistrate, Miss Lu.”

The merchant’s eyes lit up. He hurried past Liu Yuer and went straight toward Lu Ling.

Lu Ling couldn’t help raising an eyebrow. “Wild lot?”

Her cold, detached voice stopped the merchant in his tracks. He no longer dared move closer, afraid the deal would be ruined.

He hurried to promote his goods instead. “Miss, I’m sure Shopkeeper Yu has already told you the truth.”

“My goods came all the way from Kyoto. They were originally hot-ticket items that could have sold for a very good price. If I hadn’t run into some trouble and truly had no choice, I wouldn’t have sent them to Haicheng.”

“Even so, the value of this shipment is still... considerable.” The merchant deliberately slowed his speech, rubbing his fingers together.

It was obvious he wanted to drive the price up.

But Lu Ling hadn’t even inspected the goods yet. How could she listen to a few perfunctory words? Instead, she said, “Oh? If they’re so valuable, there’s no need to bring them directly to Haicheng. From Kyoto to Haicheng, even if it’s not a leap of ten thousand miles, it’s still a long journey; the costs alone are high.”

As she spoke, she took out the gold abacus she carried with her and began moving the beads. “But if you say you had no choice, and wouldn’t have come to Haicheng otherwise, does that mean the goods can only be sent to Haicheng, and only Haicheng can buy them and move them on?”

That counterquestion left the Kyoto merchant speechless.

He remembered clearly that he hadn’t said it had to be sold only in Haicheng.

How had this woman figured that out?

So his negotiating posture immediately turned hesitant. “T-this... yes, it does need to be sent to Haicheng, but it may not have to be Feng County.”

“Miss should know how far it is from Kyoto to here. Just the expenses for smoothing things over along the way are probably worth this much.”

He held up five fingers and turned his hand over and over, clearly setting a very high price.

If the price didn’t come out right...

This deal might not go through.

But whether the deal went through or not, Lu Ling would not back down. In business, haggling always meant cutting into the ex-vessel price of the goods; as long as it wasn’t too extreme and left the other side some room to profit, the deal could usually be struck.

She could tell why this man had come all the way from Kyoto to Haicheng and was still trying to squeeze a profit out of Haicheng.

From that alone, she was certain this batch of goods was risky.

But in Haicheng, risk was as good as no risk.

She said, “In that case, take it to the other counties.”

She had no intention of bargaining at all.

The Kyoto merchant grew anxious.

Thinking that she was a woman and could be squeezed for a little extra, he hadn’t wanted to let this trip end in vain. He never expected her to pinpoint the key point of the deal in just a few words.

As expected, she was one of the trade.

But Lu Ling added one more reminder: “Since you’ve come to Haicheng, you should know the richest county is Feng County. The prices offered by the other counties may not even be higher than mine, Miss.”

“Besides, if we’re talking about risk...” She paused, then gave a cold laugh. “In Haicheng, I’m the only one who can take it.”

The two-pronged pressure left the Kyoto merchant with nowhere to retreat. He quickly said, “Miss, don’t be anxious. We can discuss this properly.”

With just a few words, before the goods had even been inspected, the price had already been driven down to something foreseeable.

Even Liu Yuer, who had been listening the whole time, couldn’t help but marvel.

As expected, Miss was a merchant!

The Kyoto merchant no longer dared underestimate the woman in front of him. Bowing and scraping, he repeatedly invited her, “Let’s take a look at the goods first?”

“I guarantee you’ll be satisfied.”

Only now did he remember the normal procedure for doing business.

Liu Yuer rolled her eyes. As if you were worthy of being Miss’s little brother.

Even Miss’s three older brothers wouldn’t dare really treat her like their younger sister.

Lu Ling didn’t refuse this time. More importantly, she was also curious about this deal. From the commotion just now, there should have been a person inside.

If not for Yu-jie’s recommendation, she might have left just now. Since she stayed, it was naturally because she trusted Yu-jie was thinking of her.

“Let’s take a look first,” Lu Ling said, not in any rush to make a purchase.

But the Kyoto merchant no longer dared play any more tricks. He just wanted to get rid of this troublesome shipment as quickly as possible so he could give his superiors an explanation; otherwise, he’d be in danger himself.

“Miss, rest assured. Since I came from Kyoto, I definitely won’t cheat you.”

“You’ll definitely be satisfied with this shipment.”

Whether it was because of his appearance or not, in any case, the whole man gave off a sleazy air.

Even Liu Yuer couldn’t stand it. She shoved him aside and led Lu Ling in.

“Miss, watch your step. Don’t step on anything.”

Only then did Lu Ling lower her head and notice that the floor was covered with shattered teacups and blue-and-white porcelain pieces, scattered all over the carpet at the entrance. One careless step could easily cut someone.

Inside the private room’s chess-and-card area, tables and chairs were piled in disarray. The bead curtain had been yanked down, and the expensive decor inside—gold inlays, silver inlays, agate, crystal—had almost all been torn apart.

Only the huanghuali wardrobe, because it was too heavy, still stood intact. Everywhere there were scratches going in all directions.

Liu Yuer nearly gasped and almost fainted on the spot.

Whose cat had torn the house apart like this!?

Even Lu Ling’s eyes flashed with surprise. With this kind of energy, she could have the whole private room renovated from top to bottom.

That would be several thousand taels!

No wonder the Kyoto merchant didn’t dare go in and only peeked in from outside, calling carefully, “Miss, she’s in the bedroom behind the chess room.”

As soon as he finished speaking, something came flying from behind the chess room; a teacup smashed against the doorframe. It didn’t break, but it bounced and came straight toward Liu Yuer’s face.

“Ah!” Liu Yuer’s face went pale with fright.

Lu Ling moved fast and caught the teacup with one hand, her two fingers just brushing the rim.

“She’s gone mad again,” the Kyoto merchant said, and even his sleazy face turned alarmed.

Clearly, he hadn’t come out ahead on the way over either.

Lu Ling glanced toward the bedroom and told Liu Yuer to stay back while she went over herself.

Liu Yuer couldn’t help worrying. “Miss, you must be careful!”

“All of you, get out,” Lu Ling signaled.

She knew very well that there had been no movement in the bedroom from the moment she came in; it was only the merchant’s voice that had triggered the person inside. So she had Liu Yuer drive the Kyoto merchant out first.

Of course Liu Yuer understood her. She immediately chased the man out.

When the door closed again, Lu Ling placed the teacup on the chessboard and stepped toward the bedroom little by little.

It would have been fine if she hadn’t approached, but as soon as she did, a strong musk scent hit her full in the face, sharp enough to make her frown tightly.

So the musk scent she had smelled in the stairwell was coming from here?

Just how much had been used? And this musk wasn’t even cheap. With that much of it, one could still pick out a faint trace of fragrance inside it.

When she finally stepped into the bedroom, she moved as lightly as possible, making no sound at all.

The first thing she heard in the room was ragged, suppressed breathing.

Along with some pained, restrained groans.

Low, muffled whimpering sounds.

It made Lu Ling think of the lion-cat that had been abandoned by her in childhood. It had a thick yellow mane, was impressive enough, ate a lot, and was broad-bodied, beating the Lu family’s dogs into miserable submission. It was fiercely domineering.

The only time it was obedient was when she fed it little dried yellow croaker. Only then, while it ate, could she briefly pet it.

Once it was full, it would lie on her lap and make a whirring purr like a tiny electric motor; the noise was absurdly loud, almost as if it were showing off.

It was enough to make all the dogs in the house refuse to come near her.

For some reason, why was she thinking of that fiery little cat in the room now?

Lu Ling shook her head. She was probably just feeling sentimental at the sight of things.

When she lifted the hanging strings blocking her view and approached the source of the sound that really did resemble a tiny electric motor, she saw a woman in a blue-green long dress lying slanted beside the couch, her slender legs hanging over the edge. In that half-reclined posture, her waist looked like a sharp sword in its sheath; dark hair spilled over her entire face, and the cold, exquisite outline beneath it looked like a beauty painting of mountains and rivers drawn by a master hand.

And she herself was the heroine in the painting.

Even though Lu Ling couldn’t see her features, from her figure alone she could already tell that the woman lying before her was a breathtaking beauty.

A flicker of emotion passed through Lu Ling’s eyes. She was a woman who loved admiring beautiful people.

She had opened Qingzhu Tower not only to do business, but also to support some people and things she couldn’t stand among the old-world ugliness of this era.

In fact, she also had a sexual orientation buried deep in her heart, something she could never say out loud.

She liked women.

Whether in her previous life or this one, her feelings for the same sex had never changed.

Though this was obviously not the time to think about that.

Lu Ling leaned forward slightly and lifted her fingers, letting them brush through strands of the woman’s hair one by one, without actually touching her.

That would be too rude.

Just as she was about to withdraw her hand, there was a sharp crack. The sound was so loud that she couldn’t help showing an expression of surprise.

The woman who had just been lying on the bed like a sleeping beauty suddenly opened her eyes. Through the dark hair that hung like a hazy veil, those beautiful yet blade-like phoenix eyes lifted with arrogance; her lips were tightly bitten until they were almost bleeding. Beauty taken to the extreme became sharpness, full of aggression. Wariness and thick killing intent erupted together across that utterly stunning face.

In the next instant, with a burst of strength, the beauty actually pushed herself up, brushed past Lu Ling’s face, and reached for her throat.

Lu Ling felt as if electricity had passed through her pores and raced over her entire body.

Not fear, and not disgust either, but... how should she put it? A little bit of an accelerated heartbeat, like the feeling of getting off a roller coaster.

Excited?

Before she had time to dwell on it, she shook off those lingering thoughts.

Because she felt that the hand at her throat hadn’t even exerted any force before it dropped weakly away.

Or perhaps, after tearing apart her private room, the person simply no longer had any strength left.

Her skin was hot as a red-hot iron plate.

Her temperature was abnormally high.

This beauty had a fever!