allonlinenovel Chapter 360
Chapter 360
Hearing this, Prince Lanhuai furrowed his brows deeply.Did the young lady of the Cheng family really snatch Huo Yunzhi's belongings?
If Cheng Qingli truly bullied Huo Yunzhi, it would be unreasonable for him not to stand up for her.
"Then tell me, what land deeds did the second young lady of the Cheng family swindle from you?" Prince Lanhuai asked, frowning at Huo Yunzhi.
In his heart, he was also wondering: could those deeds be the very items Huo Yunxuan intended to give him?
"It's... it's a mountain and a courtyard in the suburbs," Huo Yunzhi hesitated, but ultimately told the truth.
"It is merely a mountain and a courtyard in the suburbs. Let us speak no more of this matter." Hearing this, Prince Lanhuai breathed a sigh of relief. In the capital, every inch of land was worth its weight in gold. A suburban estate and mountain peak were of absolutely no use.
"But... but those were the items my younger brother asked me to pass on to Your Highness." Hearing that Prince Lanhuai meant to just let it go, how could Huo Yunzhi be willing to accept that?
She knew very well that if she said the items were hers, the Prince would definitely brush it off lightly.
However, if these items were originally meant for the Prince, he certainly would not let the matter drop so easily.
"What?"
Prince Lanhuai lost his composure upon hearing this. After all, he knew very well the nature of his deal with Huo Yunxuan.
If these two deeds were what Huo Yunxuan intended to give him, they couldn't possibly be just an ordinary estate and mountain on the surface.
They must contain what he desired.
At this thought, Prince Lanhuai looked at Huo Yunzhi and asked again, "Did your brother leave a letter?"
Prince Lanhuai still held onto a final sliver of hope in his heart.
If it were just an ordinary estate and mountain, he could let it go.
But if it was truly given by Huo Yunxuan, there might be something else involved.
"Yes... yes..." Huo Yunzhi tremblingly handed a letter to Prince Lanhuai.
She had no idea what her brother had written in the letter.
Prince Lanhuai snatched the letter from her hand and tore it open without hesitation.
The letter from Huo Yunxuan clearly stated that the mountain held a silver mine, and the courtyard contained a secret room filled with enough treasure to help him achieve his grand ambitions.
These things were originally his, but now they had all been gambled away by this stupid woman.
Gambled away!
At this thought, Prince Lanhuai gnashed his teeth in fury.
"Your Highness... what did my brother say in the letter?" Huo Yunzhi asked nervously.
"Idiot!" Hearing this, Prince Lanhuai furiously slapped Huo Yunzhi across the face. If not for this stupid woman, how could his belongings have fallen into the hands of others?
Thinking of the Cheng family's arrogant and condescending demeanor, they weren't even willing to cede a brothel to him, so how could they possibly hand over these two deeds?
At this thought, Prince Lanhuai grew even more enraged.
"Ah! Your Highness, it wasn't my fault!" Huo Yunzhi never expected Prince Lanhuai to react this way. She stared fixedly at the letter in his hand, wondering what her fourth brother had told the Prince.
"Not your fault? Then why did my belongings fall into someone else's hands?" Prince Lanhuai angrily accused.
Huo Yunzhi slumped to the ground, looking at Prince Lanhuai with a defeated expression.
She didn't understand how things had turned out this way.
"If you cannot get those two deeds back, you might as well go reunite with your good brother!" With that, Prince Lanhuai flicked his sleeves and stormed off.
Meanwhile, Li Zhiwei had just arrived at the human marketplace with Qinghua and Qingyue.
"Miss, are you looking to buy young maids or older servant women?" A man quickly walked out, bowing slightly, and asked Li Zhiwei with a smile.
"I would like a few young maids with some skills. If there are suitable young male servants, that would be fine too," Li Zhiwei said gently.
"Oh my, Miss, you've come to the right place. We just got a new batch of people in. I'll have them come out to meet you right away." Hearing this, the marketplace boss smiled so broadly his eyes turned into little crescents.
The boss had someone bring over a chair and then hurried off to bring the people out.
Qinghua and Qingyue remained silent, simply standing guard by Li Zhiwei's side.
The boss soon brought out ten young girls, all around fifteen or sixteen years old.
"Miss, take a look. Will any of these do?" the boss asked Li Zhiwei with a smile.
"Introduce yourselves and tell me what skills you possess," Li Zhiwei instructed, looking over the uniformly thin and frail girls.
The girls standing before her looked somewhat at a loss.
A few of the young maids had just been sold to the marketplace. They had no idea that serving as a maid in a wealthy household required special skills.
But they didn't know how to do anything.
"This servant is Xiuhe, and I know how to read!" At that moment, one of the maids stepped forward with a smug look on her face.
She had already noticed that the young lady before her was dressed extraordinarily well, implying her family was quite wealthy. If she could be bought by this lady and become a personal maid, her good days would surely be ahead. Furthermore, Xiuhe believed she was quite pretty. When the young lady eventually married, she would inevitably elevate a few of her own maids to become concubines for her husband.
Perhaps, when that time came, she could even shed her slave status and become a master herself.
Thinking of this, Xiuhe immediately put on a well-behaved and sensible expression.
Li Zhiwei frowned. She had clearly caught the flash of smugness in Xiuhe's eyes just moments ago.
She had no shortage of such servants.
It was true she wanted obedient and well-behaved maids, but she detested those with too many scheming thoughts.
"This servant is Fengwu. I... I know how to use an abacus!" After speaking, Fengwu shyly lowered her head.
Her father had originally been an accountant, but unfortunately, he had fallen ill. To pay for his medical treatments, she had voluntarily sold herself into servitude.
At this moment, she desperately hoped to be chosen by this young lady so that she could earn a monthly wage to buy medicine for her father.
Hearing this, Li Zhiwei thought knowing how to keep accounts was indeed a good skill.
However, Li Zhiwei didn't say anything. After all, there were ten people in total.
She wanted to see the others first.
"This servant is Chunya. I have great strength. Whatever I don't know, I can learn!" When Chunya mentioned having great strength, Xiuhe let out a mocking laugh.
Chunya's face flushed red with embarrassment.
She was strong, but she also ate a lot. Her parents were dead, and her older brother and sister-in-law despised her for eating too much, which was why they sold her to the marketplace.
She wasn't afraid of doing hard work; she was only afraid of going hungry. She had been at the marketplace for several days now and hadn't had a single full meal.
In the end, out of the ten girls, Li Zhiwei chose Fengwu who could keep accounts, the strong Chunya, Qiuyue who could make pastries, Dujuan who knew how to make incense, Liuzhi who understood medicine, and Cui'er who was skilled in needlework.
"On what grounds?" Xiuhe, the first to step forward, looked at Li Zhiwei with indignation and asked.
How was she any worse than these people?
That Cui'er had such an ugly mark on her face, yet the young lady chose her. She herself was so pretty, how could the lady not pick her?
"On the grounds that you are stepping out of line right now," Li Zhiwei looked at the person before her with sarcasm.
What use would it be to buy someone like this?