"Xing'er, Daddy remembers that you dismissed all the people under you?"
"Those two lovers refused to leave and didn't want money. They said they had nowhere to go and insisted on staying."
"Can we not take the lovers with us?" Xiao Xiuluo asked carefully, fearing that the wrong words would make his daughter angry.
To be honest, the original Xiao Xingxing didn't like this father before. Not to mention his private life, anyway, with his financial resources, supporting those concubines was nothing.
What she minded was that since she was a child, as long as she went out and did something out of the ordinary, she would be laughed at as a wild child who was born by a mother but not raised by a mother and lacked family education.
At that time, she thought to herself, since you all laughed at me for having no family education, then I will do as you wish and be a reckless and arbitrary person. Let's see who dares to point at me and say something. When the time comes, I will beat one by one when I see one, and if it's broken, she has her father as a big backer, and there is no mess that can't be cleaned up, so who dares to say anything?
Xiao Xiuluo's attitude towards her was blindly obedient. If she said east, he didn't even dare to say west. If she wanted the moon in the sky, he would never pick the stars to coax her. She grew up to be a tyrant.
"Dad, in this case, let's go to Leizhou together. You just said that you don't need a bite of my food."
But Xiao Xingxing now feels good about this father. According to what she has learned in the past few days, it can be said that the prosperity of the Xiao family in this generation is all supported by the Marquis alone.
Even if the family fell into decline, he only locked himself in the study for two days. After two days, the door opened. He was still the handsome and unrestrained uncle. There was no decadence in his eyes. He told her that life is actually like the ebb and flow of the tide. No one will always stand on the peak, nor will they stay at the bottom of the valley forever. Going back to Leizhou, my hometown, may be another sky!
It's really not bad to have such an open-minded father.
"Dad, I can endure hardships. Although our family seems to have no property or money at first glance, being able to keep a life is better than anything else, isn't it? The most important thing is that the family can be together."
She didn't think she said anything extraordinary, but Xiao Xiuluo's eyes slowly gathered some suspicious water marks. Although she blinked quickly, she still saw it.
"One does not learn from experience. My daughter is sensible now. We will not go to Zhang's house."
Xiao Xingxing returned to the Four Admonitions Courtyard and asked Meimiao to call the only two remaining concubines.
If it weren't for her father, she really wouldn't have remembered that there were two people in her backyard who she had no impression of at all.
"Why did the girl think of those two disgusting guys again?" It was obvious that Meimiao had no good impression of these two young men who made a living by their beauty.
"How did I bring them back?"
They had been hiding in the backyard and had not come out. Since she woke up with the body of "Xiaoxingxing", she had not seen these two male favorites who were said to be charming and charming, and could make the whole city fall in love with them with one smile and the whole country fall in love with them with another smile.
"Miss, don't you remember?"
"You have a good memory, tell me." She crossed her legs.
"Miss, you were drunk and saw the flag of the Xiaoguanguan. You said that even the doorman was handsome, and the Xiaoguan inside must be more pleasing to the eye. You said you wanted to broaden your horizons, so you rushed in without thinking. Who knew that you would spend 10,000 taels of silver to redeem them for no reason."
10,000 taels, 10,000 taels, 100 taels of silver was enough to honor these two people, but the girl didn't blush or breathe, and didn't treat the money as money.
Qi Nian was the top girl in the Xiaoguanguan, but what about the top girl? In the capital, how much can a top girl be worth? At most, it's only 1,000 taels.
But the girl just didn't like the old man who was drunk and had no intention of drinking, and was trying to touch Qi Nian. That's fine, Qi Nian was an adult after all, but the pitiful Yu Guan, who was sitting beside her with a horrified face, had a face full of white powder and rouge, but her age could not be deceived. The old procuress was harming the young seedlings like this.
Xiao Xingxing didn't say much, rushed up and touched Qi Nian's face first, and said provocatively to the old man who was dressed in silk and satin and had all kinds of rings on his ten fingers: "I like it!"
Qinian's face was full of shame and shame.
For the young man, being touched by a man and being touched by a girl should be two completely different feelings.
To be honest, Mei Mei felt ashamed at that moment. Her own girl was so bold that she actually went so far as to tease the young man in public.
The old procuress couldn't stop the girl's move, and her eyes almost fell out.
As a result, the old dandy who was determined to get Qi Nian was not satisfied.
Those who visit the brothels have money in their pockets, and there are also people who have a perverted hobby for thin and weak boys. The old dandy's family is engaged in business, and they are engaged in maritime business, making huge profits. Unfortunately, he did not know the eldest daughter Xiao Xingxing from the Marquis's Mansion, otherwise there would not be such a big storm later.
The man was very angry when he saw Xiao Xingxing coming to interfere. Seeing that she was a girl, he treated women as toys and ridiculed Xiao Xingxing for going the wrong way with extremely obscene words.
Such people have too much money to spend, so naturally they gather a group of accomplices around them, and they are bullying Xiao Xingxing, and some even make moves to take advantage of her.
If the eldest daughter of the Marquis' Mansion could be taken advantage of, she would not be called the eldest daughter of the Marquis' Mansion. She waved her delicate little hand, and the guards of the Marquis' Mansion pounced on her like wolves and tigers. Naturally, the men beat them up and made them cry for their parents.
The old dandy's nose was bleeding from both sides, and he shouted, "It's shameless enough for you, a woman, to visit a brothel, and you bully others by relying on your numbers. If you have the guts, redeem her and take her back, and enjoy her behind closed doors. If you don't have enough money, I'll lend it to you, and the interest is only 5% a month."
The people who were beaten into pigs' heads on the side also made a fuss. "Who has more money in the capital city? Who can compete with Mr. Hao? Little girl, I advise you to step aside and stop competing with men for men."
The drunken Miss Xiao said with a red face, "I have no guts, but you have guts. You name a price and we'll see how they compare."
"I can't beat you in a fight, so now you want to compete for money?" Mr. Hao was stunned. Where did this heavenly soldier come from?
When the madam heard about the money, she was heartbroken because of the broken furniture and porcelain in the museum and the losses. She cursed Xiao Xingxing and the old man eight hundred times, and she was still thinking quickly about how to skin them alive. At this time, she quickly came out with a handkerchief.
"The two nobles, please stop arguing. How about this: whoever bids the highest price can take Qi Nian back."
In fact, Qi Nian is old enough for the young prostitutes. Although he is the top prostitute, he is stubborn and difficult to deal with. Instead of keeping him for two more years, it is better to sell him at a high price while someone wants him. This will make a fortune and offset the anger they have suffered from him over the years.
With this bid, Qi Nian, whose original price was only 1,200 taels, was raised to 10,000 taels by a dandy and an old dandy. The old brothel owner was so happy that she almost knelt down and called her ancestors.
Many years later, people still talked about the bid, saying that the eldest lady of the marquis's mansion spent a sky-high price of 10,000 taels of silver to redeem the two young prostitutes, and the old dandy was so angry that she vomited blood and fell to the ground.
The most boring is that the rumors became more and more real. After countless versions, the most widely circulated was Houfu's big girl who robbed the beautiful men on the street to go home in person. For a while, the men with some colored men were so embarrassed that they would be robbed back to Houfu Jinwu Zangjiao. She was so angry that Xiao Xing Xing heard that she had not calculated the account with Lao Xun. She didn't know that she asked her to make money from her. Afterwards, Xiao Xiuluo paid all the repair costs of the young mansion and gave the officer 20 taels of hard work fee to redeem Xiao Xingxing from the government office. However, he went to the young mansion, put on the style of a marquis, took out 10,000 taels of silver, took away Yuguan and Qinian, and wanted to take their indentures. What's more, he left them on the road and went back to the marquis' mansion.
If he took the two young men back to the marquis' mansion, it would be strange if the emperor didn't slap him twice!
Later, Xiao Xingxing stayed at home for three days. She was really bored. She had completely forgotten that she had been jealous of others a few days ago and finally went to the government office and was redeemed by her father.
She went out excitedly and immediately saw two pitiful shadows hiding in the dark corner, looking like they had been sleeping in the open for several days.
As soon as the two knelt down, Xiao Xingxing took them home without thinking, but she solemnly told them not to hang around for no reason, because if her father saw them, she couldn't protect them.
Qinian and Yuguan also knew their own limitations, and stayed in the small courtyard arranged by Xiao Xingxing for them. They never left the courtyard easily, hoping that Xiao Xingxing would go to see them when she was free.
After hearing such a big drama, Xiao Xingxing felt that the original owner was a genius, but no matter what, she had to meet him.
Meimao muttered, but still called people over.
The two young men who came to the Four Precepts Courtyard were very young. The one wearing a moon-white shirt was called Yuguan, and the taller one wearing a bamboo-green shirt was Qinian. Their common characteristics were that they were fragile, fair-skinned, and beautiful.
When asked, Yuguan was only twelve years old, the same age as her half-brother, with watery eyes and eyelashes like two fans. If it weren't for the baby fat on her chin, she would look pure and innocent, just like the children of a farming family.
Qinian was seventeen years old, with eyebrows like distant mountains and eyes like autumn water. Her brilliant facial features were cold, and her deep contours showed three points of melancholy. The inappropriate vicissitudes of life in the corners of her eyes were simply heart-wrenching, and her temperament was very amazing.
Xiaoxingxing couldn't help but sigh, Xiaoxingxing, you really don't care about the cold and the old, you eat all the old and the young!
But her vision is really good, every one of them is a handsome man.
"I called you here to tell you that we will set off to return to our hometown in Leizhou tomorrow. If you change your mind and want to leave the Marquis' Mansion, this is your last chance."
Yuguan and Qinian knelt down at the same time.
"Qinian wants to stay with the girl."
Since they came to the Marquis' Mansion, they have not had much chance to get close to the girl, but compared to the days before, it is like heaven here.
He has nothing else to ask for in life. Plain porridge, white rice, tea and water, a book and a clear sky and bright moon are enough.
"Yuguan also wants to stay here. The sisters here are very kind to me." He shook his head like a wave drum, holding his hands tightly, and looked afraid of being abandoned.
"You may not understand the current situation of the Marquis' Mansion. It was not a problem for the Marquis' Mansion to support a few more people in the past. Now it is not like the past. In the future, the family will not support idle people. If you want to eat, you may have to work in the fields and run a small business in the public eye. You two are not suitable for this." Xiaoxingxing did not give them any extra thoughts, and pointed out the key points concisely and forcefully.
"I can! Yuguan also helped the family when she was at home." The little one was busy expressing his attitude.
His family is a flower farmer. Although the flowers they grow are not all outstanding, they are enough to feed the family. His parents work diligently, working from sunrise to sunset, and the family is content with poverty.
If the Yellow River had not flooded and submerged everything he knew, the faces of his family members were swallowed by the yellow mud and water, and he was left alone in an instant, he would not have become a prostitute.
"Qinian knows arithmetic and has studied for a few years." The girl said that she would not support idle people. Apart from the "expertise" of serving people, he was not without any normal means of making a living.
Xiaoxingxing never put down her hand on her forehead, and then took out two pieces of paper from the table with colorful birds, flowers and unicorn feet.
Yuguan and Qinian looked at each other blankly.
"This is your indenture, I will return the indenture to you. No matter what your decision is, you will be good citizens in the future."
The two did not even dare to breathe louder.
"It takes about a month to get from the capital to Leizhou. During this period, as long as you have thought about your future, you can leave at any time. The Chengyi I promised to give you will still count. As for whether to inform me or not, it's up to you."
She reduced the servants of the Four Precepts Courtyard to only the two maids around her. As for the two lovers, they were also reduced. She hoped that they could leave. Even if they left the caravan, she would acquiesce.
Maybe she thought too much. Although she didn't know how much property the Marquis's Mansion had now, and her father didn't say it, but people who consume food rations, one less is one less.
As for the Fifth House, she saw that there was no maid left beside the Fifth Madam, and only the Fifth Master had a servant. It seemed that the Fifth House was more tactful than she thought.
As for the lack of manpower? If there is a need in the future, just hire more.
Holding their indentures, Yuguan and Qinian left the Four Precepts Courtyard woodenly.
Yuguan pinched her plump face, it hurt. "Am I dreaming? The girl just returned the indenture to us?"
Qinian didn't say a word. Because of this piece of paper, he was sold like a commodity, and was degraded to the dust, and was ridiculed and trampled by people, but she returned it to him lightly without asking for anything.
He looked back at the brightly lit courtyard, and his steps suddenly gained strength. "I will follow the eldest girl for the rest of my life, what about you?"
"I'm the same as my brother." Yuguan also felt that some shackles were removed from his shoulders, and he felt relaxed all over.
Qinian suddenly showed a stunning smile. "Then go back and pack your bags."