Chapter 576: Chapter 564: Do You Think Bowing Your Knee Is Worth One Hundred Taels?
The evil wind sweeps past, bringing bone-chilling cold.
Fengzhou is evidently colder than Shengjing.
The pedestrians on the road, each one wrapped in a cotton coat. As they speak, they all exhale puffs of hot air.
Ying Er, wracking his brains and moving as if returning to his own home, managed to extract Mrs. He from the government office. Then, with the brain of a leader, he turned around and sent her to the brothel in Fengzhou.
Yes, the brothel.
Fight fire with fire.
In the brothel, a Madam fanning herself, upon receiving the silver and understanding his intentions, looked at Mrs. He, bound tightly and extremely terrified, with critical Phoenix Eyes: "She’s old and truly ugly. Never mind appearances or figure, her hands are all callused. Skin dark and yellow, teeth not white either. Our girls here are all raised like protected young ladies skilled in playing instruments and painting."
Ying Er inadvertently revealed the sword by his waist: "This aunt of mine, old but never too old to meddle in others’ affairs, always wrecking other families’ girls, stealing and sabotaging their reputation and honor. I thought, since she likes being treated this way."
The Madam, sharp-eyed, took a look.
It was exceptionally rare Xuantie, likely craftsmanship from a Shengjing blacksmith. Looks quite valuable.
Mrs. He widened her eyes.
Why are some people born superior? To be able to degrade her like this?
Where did she go wrong? Setting her sights on Shen Hua was also her good fortune from a previous life! Marrying her to Chu, could it still be considered a grievance for her?
"Hmm!" She struggled, wanting desperately to curse out the Shen Family for being unscrupulous.
The Madam’s fan paused, she withdrew her gaze, and chuckled coyly: "Auntie, take a look, how devoted your nephew is. Paying out of his own pocket, wishing you your dreams fulfilled."
Mrs. He was left behind. Settled together with the newly gathered prostitutes of the building.
The prostitutes, each one young and beautiful. The one with the highest spirit among them, upon seeing Mrs. He crouching in the corner cursing incessantly and crudely, was utterly displeased. She summoned the strict training old woman.
"This old woman, with nails full of dirt, isn’t she really meant for scrubbing toilets in the backyard? How could she stand alongside us?"
Mrs. He had never suffered such humiliation!
She thought of escaping, but there was always someone watching.
It’s really like crying to heaven and earth but no help comes.
She was truly mortified. All she could do was hope that He Chu would rescue her from this dire situation soon.
His mother disappeared, did not return all of last night, He Chu was indeed in a panic. He had searched everywhere familiar, but all in vain.
Until.
"He Chu, are you looking for your Mama?"
In the school, a rich and most disdainful rascal good at nothing called out to him aimlessly on the street.
"Brother Chu, you know where she is?"
The rascal smiled meaningfully: "How can I not know, I just saw her."
"Right in the brothel, it’s you, even if your home is poor, you shouldn’t let your mother sell herself."
"Even if she truly were to sell herself, at least choose another place, your mother’s appearance is, not to belittle her, unattended in terms of business. Just now, Mr. Qiu, the one with the heaviest taste amidst eight prostitutes and two clean officials, picked nine people but explicitly left out your mother."
"I felt really sorry seeing her all alone, considering our acquaintance, I even specially gifted her one string of coins."
He Chu was dumbfounded.
He charged through the crowd, heading non-stop towards the brothel.
But he only caught a glimpse of Mrs. He, they did not even exchange words, before Mrs. He was taken away.
"How could my Mama be here? According to imperial laws, even selling one must be documented in the government office! Yet you took her here by force, I can report this to the authorities, release her at once."
This statement rather made Madame Zhou laugh.
She managed to run the brothel to its current state with certain skills and connections. She had served many people, even had an affair with the notable Marquis Chengbo from Shengjing in early years.
As if she could be fooled by him?
"Still so young."
"Kid, in here, we follow my rules, your so-called laws are worth shit."
She assessed He Chu from head to toe. Walking over, she lifted his face.
"Though you are mother and son, you certainly have a delicate appearance. Want to save your mother? Why not use yourself as a substitute?"
How could that be possible! There couldn’t be a single stain on his body. He stepped back several paces.
He went to drum for an audience with County Magistrate Liu.
County Magistrate Liu looked troubled: "I am already aware of the situation."
"But your Mama is no longer free, and the government office cannot intervene in her coming and going."
How could she not be free?
"What, you look unaware? Last night, your Mama insisted on going to the brothel, pleading to stay behind, personally signing a contract selling herself; the brothel sent it over and the government office has already stamped it."
He Chu couldn’t believe it.
"Your Honor, surely those people coerced my mother into signing! She must have been helpless."
County Magistrate Liu sighed: "Your Mama really is reckless, insisting on going her own way. You are a good person, but I fear she will drag you down. Alright, I am busy with official duties and will not keep you."
Upon leaving the government office, He Chu felt as if he’d fallen into an ice cellar.
He visited the brothel once more, his eyes filled with blood-tinged tears.
But this time, he only saw the messenger old woman.
"Pay up one hundred taels and you can redeem the person."
One hundred taels? He could barely scrape together five taels.
Seeing his anxious and troubled expression, the old woman maintained her composure: "Actually, it’s no harm if you can’t pay."
"We just need your Mama to show her face every day, sorry to say, even if she really gets picked, we won’t make her accompany guests, our brothel never sabotages its own reputation."
"What in the world are you trying to do!" He was inherently indecisive, always following Mrs. He, now he was utterly disheartened.
"That would depend on what exactly you and your mother have done?"
"Mama said, she doesn’t deserve to commit crimes for you all. We here provide your Mama with good food and drink, look at you, why this crying child?"
————
Half a stick of incense later, he stood outside the embroidery workshop, his eyes brimming with hatred.
Upon hearing of his arrival, Chun Yun frowned; obviously, she had already heard about the matters concerning the He Family, but still went to the side hall to see the visitor.
"Madam."
You Qing approached quickly, her expression grave: "This is a letter forcibly given to me by a man in black outside."
She took it over and glanced at it. Her expression suddenly darkened.
When she reached the side hall, He Chu was already kneeling down.
"Madam, I beg you to spare my mother."
"Regardless, I have saved Miss Shen, surely I can atone for my sins with this merit."
Chun Yun’s gaze was cold and indifferent.
"Atone for sins with merit?"
"He Chu, what merit do you have?"
He Chu’s pupils shrank slightly.
Seeing him like this, Chun Yun felt a pain in her heart as if it were being cut by a knife.
"Yangyang and Lady Zheng, the forest they frequent the most."
"What about your coincidental passing there. Even if she hadn’t disturbed the wasp nest that day, she would still come back covered in injuries, right or not?"
"You He Family people! Truly shameless!"
"Your Mama commits outrageous and harmful acts, yet you ask me to save her? What a joke, even if she hadn’t encountered this incident, could I let her go? How so, does bending your knees, He Chu, worth a hundred taels now?"
