Day Six of Picking Up a Wife

Who had given this beauty such terrible information?!

Before Lu Ling could even react, the beauty suddenly lunged and grabbed at her.

That fair hand looked, to Lu Ling, almost like a cat’s paw flashing toward her.

Again! Lu Ling was startled all over again and hurriedly shouted, “I spent a lot of money to save you.”

The next second, that palm changed direction and struck the person beside her instead. This time, it was the guard behind her who was caught off guard and crashed into the railing, fainting on the spot.

Fortunately, after sending out that palm, the beauty’s body swayed weakly.

She staggered back several steps and stared at Lu Ling with caution.

And at the guard behind her.

“I won’t hurt you,” Lu Ling tried to explain.

But saying it that way somehow didn’t sound very convincing, so she told the others to leave.

The beauty still didn’t believe her. Her brows were furrowed into a sharp crescent as she questioned her instead: “How much did I sell for?”

The moment she said that, Lu Ling had been about to explain the whole story, but for some reason, looking at that serious face, a mischievous impulse suddenly rose in her heart.

She didn’t step back anymore; instead, she got used to the beauty’s breath so close to her and lightly pinched her chin with her fingertips. “That? It’s a long story, and I’m afraid the price was rather high.”

“How high?” the beauty asked seriously.

Lu Ling casually inflated the number: “Not that much. Just one million taels in total.”

Boom—

The beauty in front of her seemed to freeze on the spot, and very quickly her voice turned cold and sharp. “You’re mocking me?”

“Wasn’t it five hundred taels?”

At that, there really were some very fitting thumping sounds around them.

Lu Ling followed the sound and saw Liu Yuer bending over to steady a vase.

There was even a faintly guilty look on her face.

Lu Ling immediately guessed that the matter of the beauty mistaking her for a madam had something to do with Liu Yuer.

And the beauty even knew the price; that was probably from being tricked out of it by Sister Yu. Pretty clever.

So she raised a brow. “Sister Yu, can you give me an explanation?”

“Huh?” Liu Yuer hurriedly set the expensive vase straight, then stood up and mumbled awkwardly. The night before, the watch had been too boring, so she’d tried chatting with this young lady, complaining about how exhausting things used to be. She didn’t know how much the other woman had actually taken in; apparently she’d only remembered part of it.

Just then the beauty also looked over and couldn’t help questioning her: “Manager Liu, your madam really is a lion with a gaping mouth.”

That second “your madam” made Lu Ling break down completely, and she no longer dared to tease the beauty.

She immediately explained, nodding as she did. “Miss, I’m not some madam. I’m just a nobody from the Lu family who saved you. My name is Lu Ling.”

She lowered herself a little, trying to seem a little friendlier as she introduced herself, and emphasized it especially at the end.

“If you don’t mind, you can call me by my name from now on. Lu Ling, or Xiao Ling, either is fine. But I am absolutely not a madam who forces decent women into prostitution!”

That made Liu Yuer’s mouth fall open and stay there; why was the young lady explaining so much to her?

The suspicion in the beauty’s eyes still didn’t loosen in the slightest, but she still tried courtesy before force, giving a slight nod as she introduced herself politely: “I don’t know what my surname is, or what my name is. If you look at the contract of sale, it should have my name.”

A contract of sale? So the beauty basically knew the situation.

It seemed she didn’t need to explain further.

Lu Ling really did have the contract of sale on her. She took it from her sleeve, unfolded it, and looked for the seller’s name.

Only to see: Bing.

Lu Ling: ???

What was going on? The beauty’s name was actually that simple; it was just Bing, like the third character after jia and yi.

She was thoroughly stunned as she stared at the beauty.

And the beauty glanced at the signature, closed her eyes for a moment as if digesting something, then when she opened them again, she said calmly, “Then from now on, my name will be Bing.”

She really was broad-minded enough to accept it, but Lu Ling, as someone who cared about appearances, felt something was off.

She couldn’t accept it.

That wouldn’t do! How could such a gorgeous beauty be ruined by such a crude name!

“Ahem, Miss, not remembering your name is fine, but there’s no need to make do with the name a broker gave you,” Lu Ling said earnestly. “I believe you definitely had your own name before; you’re just not recalling it for the moment.”

“It’s not that I can’t remember. I never had a name. I don’t know where I came from, who my father was, who my mother was. Before I was sold, it was always like this.” The beauty lowered her eyes, clearly showing a thick layer of confusion, but very quickly she gave a cold, dismissive laugh. “Naturally, names and forms of address are whatever one chooses.”

“No need not to care.”

You may not care, but I do! Lu Ling couldn’t help rubbing her forehead. She hadn’t expected the beauty to have lost her memory—and that she had already lost it before being sold to Haicheng from Kyoto.

But that man surnamed Wu had said she was the concubine of some convicted official.

That made Lu Ling very concerned; had the beauty already been married?

Lu Ling began comparing information with her. “Miss, do you remember having a convicted official husband? You were originally supposed to be exiled to Lingnan, but because you offended someone from the Xu Prince’s Manor, you were sold to Haicheng.”

To her surprise, the beauty’s brows locked together. “This young lady must have been deceived by the trafficker. I had no so-called convicted official husband, and I was never exiled to Lingnan.”

“I was only taken to the market because I couldn’t afford a meal.”

“Besides, everyone from the Xu Prince’s Manor had already been sentenced to death. Where does offending them come from?”

The moment she said that, Lu Ling’s gaze sharpened.

Everyone from the Xu Prince’s Manor had been sentenced to death? Where had that news come from?

She remembered Second Sister-in-law saying that only the Xu Prince had died of illness, while the others from the manor were all exiled to Lingnan.

How was this not matching up?

But Second Sister-in-law’s information couldn’t be false.

So how did the beauty dare say everyone from the Xu Prince’s Manor was dead?

What a strange thing. Lu Ling kept a wary eye and continued asking, “Miss, you were deceived?”

As if recalling the past, even the beauty’s face carried a trace of killing intent and a hint of anger as she said, “Because the trafficker paid for my meal, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse too harshly. I never expected that once I arrived at the market, he would bring people to seize me, so I had no choice but to beat him up.”

“Unexpectedly, the trafficker dropped to his knees and cried out that he had an eighty-year-old mother at home and a three-year-old child to support, so he had no choice but to do this.”

At that point, the beauty’s expression grew very dark. “I only blame myself for being soft-hearted and letting him go. Then, while I let my guard down, he ambushed me with drug powder.”

“If I’m ruined beyond recovery, it’s because of my own stupidity.”

As she said this, the beauty even kept a cold face and reflected on herself.

The more Lu Ling listened, the more something felt wrong. If it was really as the beauty said, then she had only been tricked to Haicheng over one meal.

Then that merchant surnamed Wu definitely had a problem!

Her expression immediately turned cold as she ordered Liu Yuer, “Go tell Wang Yi to arrest the man surnamed Wu!”

Liu Yuer hurried out to notify the other guards.

Then she came back. “Miss, Wang Yi and Wang Er will bring him back very soon.”

Lu Ling nodded.

She kept feeling that something was off, but she had no reason to doubt the beauty in front of her. Not only because she was easy on the eyes, but because this beauty had had no interests tied to her from start to finish; naturally there was no reason to lie to her.

It was the man surnamed Wu who had taken her money; he was the one with something fishy going on.

As for the truth, once they caught him and interrogated him, they’d know.

Still, Lu Ling looked at the beauty and thought that such unparalleled beauty absolutely could not have been raised by an ordinary family.

At the very least, one side of her parents should have had background, or been an official; failing that, they must at least have been rich.

“Miss, you really don’t remember your name? Think carefully,” Lu Ling coaxed gently.

Now that the beauty had confirmed that the woman in front of her was not an accomplice of the trafficker, she habitually closed her eyes and thought hard. Even that serious, focused look on her face made her already beautiful features appear even more imposing.

So beautiful! Lu Ling watched with utter seriousness.

Only when the beauty opened her eyes did she withdraw her gaze at once. “Remember anything?”

The beauty thought for a moment. “I’m not sure, but I do remember some characters very clearly.”

“What characters?”

The beauty parted her lips. “Xin, wan, shen.”

Of course, the last character—sha!

The beauty deliberately left that one out, afraid of frightening the woman in front of her.

Instead, Lu Ling’s mind went into self-completion mode, piecing them together. After all, being called Bing was just too jarring.

An unparalleled beauty with a pedestrian name; no matter how she looked at it, it was all wrong.

She kept mulling it over: Xin, Wan, Shen.

Then she instantly rearranged them and clapped her hands. “Shen Wanxin!”

“Beautiful, girl, your name is Shen Wanxin!”

This name was much better than a single character. It also suited her temperament.

“Shen, Wan, Xin.” The beauty tasted the syllables on her lips again and again, and in the end seemed to accept the name.

“Then from now on, this will be my name.”

Hearing that, Lu Ling let out a breath of relief. “Good then. Miss Shen, you’ll stay in Qingzhu Tower for now. Don’t worry about whether this place is some filthy den.”

“Perhaps it was before, but it was never truly filthy. It was a den where some young ladies suffered and fell on hard times.”

After a pause, Lu Ling reminded her very seriously, “Now that den no longer exists. The place that has been reborn from the ashes is called Qingzhu Tower; this is one of Haicheng’s CBD entertainment centers.”

The beauty didn’t understand the meaning of the latter half, but she could tell Lu Ling cared very much about Qingzhu Tower, which was why she had specially defended its name.

Realizing that,

“Heh. You can’t just take a young lady’s word for it.” Shen Wanxin still kept her suspicion, but she did loosen her stance a little. “If it really is my misunderstanding, then I’ll see for myself whether Qingzhu Tower has truly become, as you say, a clean place.”

The moment she said that, Lu Ling froze slightly. Though her tone was still full of thorns, it wasn’t as if she hadn’t listened at all.

She was fierce, yes, but she had principles.

Lu Ling’s eyes unconsciously softened a little. Mm, a good child worth shaping.

Very good, very good!

“Shen Wanxin, then please take care of me from now on.” Lu Ling extended her hand, making the gesture of a handshake.

The beauty, who had already accepted the name Shen Wanxin, frowned and stared at her hand for a long time in confusion, much like that lion cat from before, coveting the dried fish in her hand but not daring to step forward.

“Don’t be so polite,” Lu Ling said, directly reaching for her hand.

Shen Wanxin immediately lifted her arm; she did not shake hands with her, but instead reacted reflexively by grabbing Lu Ling, twisting her around, and pinning her arm down.

Unfortunately, she was not that lion cat after all; or rather, she was even more formidable than one. Lu Ling was pressed against a pillar like a criminal.

“Miss!” Liu Yuer cried in alarm, not understanding why this girl’s temperament was so changeable. Wasn’t she perfectly fine just now?

She hurried over to rescue Lu Ling.

Shen Wanxin merely lifted a foot and tripped her, sending her flying.

“Ah!” Liu Yuer screamed.

So she had been waiting for the chance to strike back all along. From beginning to end, she had never trusted her at all.

Lu Ling couldn’t help feeling helpless. It looked like softness wouldn’t work; she’d have to come harder.

So she said without hesitation, “You’ve got my contract of sale in your hands!”

“Also, I was just trying to shake your hand and ask you to please take care of me; not declare war on you.”

“You’re a person who knows martial arts. Would you really bully a weak woman like me, who can’t even truss a chicken?”

To her surprise, Shen Wanxin bent down, resting her chin by her ear as she gave a low, cold laugh. “Weak woman? I think not.”

“What kind of weak woman has that many guards?”

“And what kind of weak woman would still dare buy me after hearing I was the concubine of a convicted official?”

“Miss Lu, I’m not a fool.”

That last sentence made Lu Ling twitch her mouth and complain, “But you’re not very smart either, otherwise how would you have been sold from Kyoto to Haicheng for the price of one meal?”

The moment she said that, Lu Ling could clearly feel the breath behind her ear pause for a moment.

Sure enough, she still cared.

Shen Wanxin: “Heh.”

“You have nothing to say, so all you can do is heh,” Lu Ling continued relentlessly. “You’re both dumb and smart. Since you know I’m not some ordinary weak woman, you should also know that if you keep holding me like this, you won’t be able to escape either.”

“The Great Chong Dynasty has always strictly regulated contracts of sale. Surely you don’t think you can regain your freedom just by running away?”

She hadn’t wanted to treat the beauty this way, but it seemed they really had to start with courtesy before force.

As expected, Shen Wanxin had no intention of staying in Qingzhu Tower from the very beginning. “So what? Even if I have to become a beggar, I won’t stay here.”

With that, she moved closer to Lu Ling again. “I can only wrong Miss Lu for a moment.”

“Then I have no choice,” Lu Ling said as if giving up. “I bought you through proper channels. I have the contract of sale. I paid five hundred taels for you, and all of it will go down the drain.”

“I’m a businessperson in a tavern; why make things hard for me? Why make things hard for yourself?”

“If you can pay me back the five hundred taels, what if I return the contract of sale to you?” Lu Ling sighed. “So I say you’re stupid. You insist on using force. Speaking of which, you’re not exactly someone with a proper, lawful identity yourself.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Lu Ling suddenly went limp and collapsed. Because of her movement, Shen Wanxin had no choice but to adjust her posture. The two of them pressed together again; Lu Ling was already lying in her arms, while Shen Wanxin had one hand gripping her and the other supporting her waist.

It didn’t look like a kidnapping at all; more like Shen Wanxin was pinning her against a wall.

Shen Wanxin frowned slightly, sensing that something was off. But very quickly, Lu Ling borrowed the force of her embrace and reached into her sachet to take out something.

As she did, she said, “Shen Wanxin, I’m the lawful businesswoman here. You’re the one illegally holding someone hostage.”

“You’re the one breaking the law.”

The words “breaking the law” passed through Shen Wanxin’s ear like a jolt of electricity. She blanked for an instant, and the strength in her hand unconsciously loosened a little, as if even her body were wavering.

“Now!” Lu Ling crushed the pill and flung it straight at Shen Wanxin.

Shen Wanxin turned her head to dodge, but suddenly everything in front of her went pitch-black. A searing pain shot through her skull, forcing her to release Lu Ling and drop to one knee, clutching her head.

Lu Ling had originally wanted to seize the chance to run, but she still couldn’t help looking back. She saw Shen Wanxin covered in cold sweat, holding her head, and not chasing after her at all.

“What’s going on?”

By then Liu Yuer had already called Wang San and the other guards over.

He Chou also came in a rush, carrying her medicine chest. “Miss, I’m afraid this matter still needs He to explain.”

“This young lady’s high fever wasn’t caused by catching cold, but by poisoning.”

Poisoning? Lu Ling looked astonished.

Her gaze instinctively fell on Shen Wanxin, who was crouched on the carpet, curled into a ball. At that moment, she no longer had the ferocity from before; she had become a pitiful little thing hugging herself for warmth.

Alone there, enduring alone, struggling alone.

Lu Ling suddenly understood why she was so guarded, why she always wanted to run. Because she had never been treated properly before, so deep in her bones she didn’t trust anyone.

“Forget it; you didn’t hurt me anyway.” Just now, even when Shen Wanxin twisted her arm, she had only pinned her down without using much force. Otherwise, with that strike, Lu Ling could have knocked her out and then jumped out the window.

This was the back courtyard, not the sixth floor; if she had the strength, she could have run away completely.

She didn’t run; was it because she was still worried about something?

Was she still confirming her, testing over and over whether she was the same kind of merchant as that man surnamed Wu?

Or perhaps she still wanted to keep a shred of trust in people and not hurt an innocent person by mistake.

Lu Ling couldn’t help walking over and telling her, “Whether you believe I’m a good person or not, you can try giving me a little more time.”

“Okay?”

She looked at her patiently.

Shen Wanxin slowly raised her head and followed the voice to look at her, revealing a pair of unfocused eyes. In the end, she pressed her lips together as if she wanted to say something.

But very quickly, her body tipped and she fell toward Lu Ling.

“Careful!” Lu Ling caught her upper body and placed her head in her arms.

“Shen Wanxin.”

Shen Wanxin struggled to breathe a few times in Lu Ling’s embrace, but she still couldn’t hold on and fainted.

Only, her lips still seemed to be moving soundlessly at the end. Lu Ling looked at her in confusion, as if she could read some meaning from her lips.

It seemed she was saying: sorry?