Chapter 8 Provocation Failed_2

Young Master Du was not the worst kind, instead of buying only Han Qiu alone, he decided to buy both siblings together.

"Du San, give them one hundred taels," Young Master Du didn't hesitate and waved his hand generously. Currently, an official slave costs but twenty to thirty taels, and getting the sibling duo for fifty taels was already a good deal. What he didn't know was that Old Lady Xu was very generous, having sold them to Gu Changsheng for only thirty taels in a deal that was half sale, half gift.

Gu Changsheng slowly shook his head, expressing regret as he spoke, "Young Master Du misunderstood, not a hundred taels, but ten thousand taels."

Xiao Cui looked at Young Master Du, whose mouth was agape in sympathy. Her mistress has always been difficult to speak with, and Young Master Du was quite the tragic figure.

"Ten thousand taels?" Young Master Du finally regained his voice, asking uncertainly.

"Yes, ten thousand taels, and they both belong to you," Gu Changsheng said leisurely as she smoothed her hair bun, showing herself to be quite amiable.

"Good heavens! You truly open your mouth wide like a lion! Such a big mouth!" Young Master Du's temples throbbed, clearly angered.

"Master, don't listen to her tricks. Last time we bought them, we only spent forty taels." Du San smartly stepped forward, protesting the rip-off; ten thousand taels was insane—it was enough for a family to spend for generations!

Gu Changsheng turned and looked at Han Qiu and her brother with sympathy. Obviously, their value had depreciated since reaching her hands. Young Master Du had spent forty taels to buy them, yet she became their new master for just thirty taels. Tsk tsk, the market really did drop quite fast.

"Young Master Du, you say it as if it's simply a fair trade, haggling over prices. Now that I am their master, and seeing that they quite like it here, ten thousand taels—consider it done for your passionate interest, a painful sacrifice," Gu Changsheng said, appearing very generous, which infuriated Young Master Du further as he gritted his teeth and seethed, "It seems you intend to be ungrateful?"

"So what? If the deal doesn't go through, do you mean to rob us outright, Young Master Du?" Gu Changsheng shrugged her shoulders, quite regretfully.

"I am indeed going to rob you!" Young Master Du was furious, having spoken politely yet she still showed no respect; it was not his fault anymore. With a loud shout, his anger flaring, "What are you waiting for? Grab Han Qiu now!"

"Hold on, Young Master Du, won't you reconsider?" Gu Changsheng squinted her eyes, not really wanting to fight—it was too corrupting for her precious son, and though Young Master Du was somewhat power-drunk, he was not altogether bad. The look he gave Han Qiu even carried some concern.

"I have considered, and with people like you, reasoning is pointless. Men, come and get them!" Young Master Du was fulminating, struggling to even play the rich wastrel, no wonder his father always disdained him—seizing them early would save him from being spun around by this young lady!

"Don't fight, don't fight, let's talk this through! Madam, madam, for the boy's sake, please don't wreck my little shop," pleaded Shopkeeper Zhang, seeing the fight about to break out and knowing he couldn't avoid it, he could only crawl out, not daring to ask Young Master Du, but instead, imploring Gu Changsheng.

"Don't worry, if anything gets broken, Young Master Du will pay for it; he looks like he isn't lacking any money," Gu Changsheng twisted her wrist, dismissing Han Qiu who was about to step forward to help, "Just take good care of my precious son and your brother, that's what matters. These petty matters, Madam, I can handle alone; I've been short of practice!"

Xiao Cui, speechless, hugged Little Meat Bun Gu Ze and the usually reticent Han Mo as they stepped back, "Is it really okay for my wife to love fighting this much?"

When the men brought by Young Master Du saw her like this, they hesitated a bit. Isn't it normal for most people to have knelt and begged for mercy by now? Why does this wife look like she's asking for a fight? Where did things go wrong?

"Didn't you say you were going to seize someone? Come on, what are you stunned for?" Gu Changsheng, rubbing his hands together, looked eagerly at the dozen or so thugs, unsure whether their quality was up to par.

"Why are you still hesitating? Attack!" Young Master Du kicked the person in front of him, his men proving to be completely useless, "What are you afraid of? I'll take the blame if anything happens, surely you're not so incompetent that you can't even beat a woman? You're a waste of resources!" Another kick caused the servant to stumble.

Stabilizing himself, the man returned to stance, feeling particularly aggrieved. He too wanted to charge, but something felt off!

As they readied their bows and crossbows, it looked like the fight was about to start. Shopkeeper Zhang had already despairingly hidden beneath the counter.

"Make way! Let me through! My lord, something terrible has happened..." A servant boy struggled through the crowd outside and inside, pushing his way in while shouting loudly.

Young Master Du furrowed his brows, turned his head, and his men, due to this sudden development, lowered their hands and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"What's going on? Fussing around like this, what a disgrace!" Young Master Du looked disapprovingly at the servant who had crawled to his feet, still furious.

Gu Changsheng found it ironic hearing Young Master Du speak of dignity, and realizing the fight was probably not going to happen, he relaxed his stance and stood aside to watch the drama unfold.

"My lord, Madam found out you were here to find Miss Han again and got so angry she triggered labor pains," the servant boy, clearly out of breath from hurrying, reported.

Upon hearing this, Young Master Du's entire demeanor changed, the anger forgotten as he grabbed the servant boy's shoulders, looking anxious, "How is Madam now? Is she alright?"

"The midwife says it's a difficult birth, afraid that both mother and child might not make it. My lord, Madam is waiting to see you for the last time!" After speaking, the servant boy collapsed to the ground and began to sob.

Collapsing to the ground, Young Master Du looked disbelieving, his body uncontrollably trembling, "Impossible! This can't be happening! Wanniang won't have anything happen to her! Nothing will happen..." He muttered while trying to get up from the ground, but perhaps because he was too nervous, he fell down twice more.

Gu Changsheng frowned as he watched Young Master Du on the ground, then glanced at Han Qiu who was standing coldly aside. Something was definitely not right! One moment, Young Master Du was determined to take Han Qiu back as a concubine, and the next, he was deeply concerned about his wife at home. What was going on?

Felt unnerved by the look Gu Changsheng gave her, Han Qiu's face showed a trace of struggle before she stepped forward, "My wife, actually, Young Master Du isn't a bad person."