Chapter 189
byきつね-December 20, 2021
Ever since Chu Changge became a waiter in the Jiugua House, the place had become even more lively and gradually filled with people. But most of them could not be called customers. They could only be called people——people who just came to watch the fun.
Mojiao Sect Leader Chu Changge's reappearance in the world was a big deal. How could one not come to confirm it?
Mojiao Sect Leader, Chu Changge, had been reduced to a waiter. This was big gossip. How could one not come to watch it?
Murong Yunshu was happy to see people overcrowding the Jiugua House. As the owner, although she did not aim to make any profit, since it had become profitable, why couldn't she just go for it?
At this time, Murong Yunshu was snapping away the abacus. From time to time, her eyes would look up at the figure wandering between guests in the lobby, with the corners of her mouth always smiling, neither thick nor light, neither deep nor shallow. That smile in the eyes of the onlookers could make them envious.
"I've something to say, Murong Meizi! We had agreed that you would be the boss and I would be the manager. But now you, who used to be backstage, are coming to the front and grabbing my job. What do you mean by this?" Yun Si Niang, who hadn't yet forgiven Murong Yunshu for pushing her to the sidelines, said discontentedly.
"There is no meaning to it." Murong Yunshu said carelessly while settling today's income on one side. "It's just that I suddenly took a little interest in counting the silver."
"......if you want to count silver, you should go to the warehouse." Yun Si Niang said sulkily.
Murong Yunshu responded lightly, "Summer has not yet arrived."
What does it mean that summer has not yet arrived? Yun Si Niang was puzzled.
At this time, Lu-er explained very cooperatively: "Our Miss will only go to the warehouse to count the silver when the heat is unbearable every summer. At other times, she will not go there even if she dies."
In an instant, three black lines suddenly rose on Yun Si Niang's beautiful face with the grace of the sunrise in the east, as she shook a few times. "Counting silver can relieve the heat?" Her facial expression showed as if she had seen a monster. Please read this chapter at xinshou blogspot com.
Murong Yunshu raised her eyebrows, refused to make any comment.
What a freak! Yun Si Niang curled her lips in disdain when suddenly, her mind had a flash of light, and her two pairs of slender eyes instantly shone brightly. "Hey, is it true that she never goes to the warehouse except in summer?" Yun Si Niang asked Lu-er in a low voice, with a leap of excitement flickering between her eyebrows.
Yun Si Niang originally thought that as long as Lu-er nodded, she would immediately go and take inventory of Murong Mansion's family assets for free. Who would have thought that Lu-er would only give her a very casual glance as she stated afterwards, "The warehouse has been set with traps, and with your IQ, you can't get in until this upcoming summer."
"......" No wonder someone was so calm and collected. However, what she could not solve, did not mean that others could not. The more Yun Si Niang thought about it, the more excited she became. Her eyes gradually shifted to a busy figure with bricklaying trowel in the backyard and quietly left.
Lu-er: "Miss, Yun Si Niang's expression seems a bit treacherous!"
Murong Yunshu did not raise her head as she said calmly, "Let her go. I also happen to know how much silver I have left to squander."
"......"
"If I can't squander it all in this life, I can't die in peace."
"......Miss, that's a very annoying thing to say."
"I know."
"Then why did you still say it?"
"Isn't it good to give those who have a hatred of the rich a reason to hate the rich more?"
"......" Lu-er looked up to the sky and sighed. Miss, don't you even take your time to think that I'm also a poor person for you to be this straightforward?
As the two master and servant were talking, suddenly, a loud bang came from the front and, then the entire restaurant became silent. One could only hear the sound of abacus beads hitting each other in a cheerful rhythm.
"Miss, someone is causing trouble." Lu-er tugged on Murong Yunshu's sleeve nervously and whispered.
"I heard it." Murong Yunshu said while her hand was still rapidly snapping at the abacus. After a while, she slowly raised her head and looked at the perpetrator.
The trouble was caused by diners who sat far from the counter and close to the window. A white man with a golden crown sat facing the window with his back to everyone, with two children in red sitting on his left and right sides. The arrogance that filled their young faces was out of place with their ages. They made onlookers feel highly uncomfortable, and even some found them to be very creepy. Young children with bad intentions were scarier than vicious adults. This was because you never know when the seemingly innocent children would suddenly turn into a viper and bite you.
Murong Yunshu's indifferent eyes only lingered on the red-robed child, who was looking at her, for less than half a second and then looked directly past him to the man in white with the golden crown. She had never bothered to talk to rude people. And to make trouble in her territory was the greatest rudeness.
When the red-clothed boy became aware of her sight, he became even angrier as he cursed indignantly, "What kind of meal is this! This is worse than dog food. How dare you bring it out for people to eat!"
"What are you talking nonsense about you——"
"Lu-er." Murong Yunshu gently interrupted Lu-er, who was about to argue, then shifted his eyes to the child in red again, and only after a few seconds did he say, "Are you sure you are even qualified to eat something better than dog food?"
"You!" The red-clothed child was furious and stared at Murong Yunshu with resentment.
If his eyes could kill, perhaps he would have torn Murong Yunshu's body to thousands of pieces long ago. Good thing he couldn't.
The crowd of onlookers was unanimous in keeping their silence. It went without saying that watching the excitement was the primary purpose of their visit here. Thus, it was natural for them to just stand on ramparts and watch the fight while it lasted. Chu Changge, carrying plates, also stopped in his tracks. His eyes were cold to the extreme, and his murderous aura leaked out enough to destroy the entire restaurant in an instant.
Suddenly, the annoyed boy in red shouted, "Go to hell!"
The crowd gasped in unison. What a quick move! Not to mention Murong Yunshu, even veterans of the jianghu might find it difficult to dodge the lightning-fast, thin as rain hidden weapons.
Unlike everyone's concern for her, Murong Yunshu was still calm and relaxed, with no trace of panic on her face, and did not have the slightest intention to dodge. She was as steady as Mount Tai.
At this moment, another thing flew at lightning speed from the flank, straight to Murong Yunshu's face. It was a palm-sized dish plate. The person who threw it——Chu Changge——came right after it.
Everyone hadn't had the time to figure out how this happened as Chu Changge already stood in front of the counter where Murong Yunshu was, with one of his hands holding a dinner plate, a pot of wine and a few plates with peanuts on them. While his other hand had a small plate between his two fingers, and its surface was filled with needles thinner than blood vessels.
Chu Changge snorted coldly at the boy in red. "What's the use of having hands without eyes?" As he finished his sentence and with a move of his hand, the poison needles on the small plate went back to attack the boy in red.
The boy in red was unable to dodge them, and his face looked terrified. Suddenly, a folding fan unfolded in front of him to stop the poison needles. The fan was painted with an ordinary landscape painting, but he knew whom it belonged to.
"Thank you, Gongzi, for saving my life." The child in red knelt in front of the white-clothed, gold-crowned man holding the fan, as docile as a red-haired dog.
"Get up. Don't be so reckless in the future." The man in white with the golden crown said.
"Yes." The boy in red got up and retreated to the left side of the man in white with a golden crown. His face still had lingering fears written on it.
The man in white with the golden crown slowly raised his eyes to look at Chu Changge, "Sect Leader Chu is as ruthless as the rumours."
Chu Changge acted as if he didn't hear. His face was expressionless. He vaguely understood that the other party's 'Sect Leader Chu' was referring to him, but there was no memory of it in his mind.
"The Mojiao Sect has long been disbanded. There is no Sect Leader Chu here. He is only a waiter at my Jiugua House. If Your Excellency is here to find him, please ask for my opinion first. After all, offending me is not a very good thing." Murong Yunshu's voice was extremely casual, and there seemed to be a slight smile in her calm tone with a touch of ridicule.
The white-clothed, gold-crowned man's face slightly changed when he heard that. Then he constrained his anger as he smiled gently and elegantly, "Miss Murong is as confident as the rumours."
Murong Yunshu smiled faintly without making any comments.
Both sides fell into silence and were at a standstill for a moment. The man in white with the golden crown spoke first. "I have a question to ask."
Murong Yunshu gently raised her eyebrows, signalling him to continue to speak.
The man in white with the golden crown: "Did you truly divorce Chu Changge?" After asking that question, he glanced at Chu Changge.
Chu Changge remained expressionless, but his heart was very nervous. Although he didn't know who this 'Chu Changge' they were talking about was, he always felt that this matter was related to himself. And his heart became inexplicably hostile towards the man in white with a gold crown.
All the onlookers were listening silently to the conversation. If they could verify the rumours, it would be worth the trip.
But Murong Yunshu's answer made the crowd's eyeglasses fall off their faces——"How much silver do you have on you?"
What's all of this got to do with the money? The onlookers did not understand.
The man in white with a golden crown also looked confused, but he still straightforwardly answered Murong Yunshu's question, "I didn't bring too much money with me this time. I only have a thousand pieces of silver."
"Then, do you have any valuable information on hand?" Murong Yunshu then asked with a smile.
The man in white with a golden crown shook his head. "No."
In response, Murong Yunshu smiled again. She lowered her head and continued settling the accounts. "Lu-er, ask Si Niang to calculate the loss. The other party only has a thousand silver. The balance will be recorded in the account, and they will settle it when they come next time." The enjoyable sound of the abacus accompanied the faint command.
"Yes." Lu-er glared smugly at three people, the white-clothed, gold-crowned man and his two servants while muttering secretly: Humph, dare to make trouble in the Murong Mansions territory, the pit you just dig will kill you!
The white-clothed, gold-crowned man then frowned a little and said to Murong Yunshu, "You haven't answered my question."
"You can come back tomorrow." At the end, Murong Yunshu added, "Bring enough silver."
The man in white with the golden crown: "Why?"
"Because a word from her is worth a thousand gold." The one who said this was Yun Si Niang, whom Lu-er had called from the backyard. She walked gracefully to the centre of the lobby, and when she passed the counter, she casually picked up the abacus in Murong Yunshu's hand. After snapping at it for a while, she raised her head sharply and said, "Three thousand seven hundred and eighty-three."
The man in white with a golden crown was dumbfounded. "You did not lose anything."
"I know." Yun Si Niang smiled so charmingly that people were willing to die in exchange to see it. "But my boss wants to screw you. What can I do?" It was rare to see a particular person rarely reveal her unscrupulous merchant's side nature. Hence, how could she not cooperate? [+]
The man in white with a golden crown: "You people even dare to disregard the king's law in broad daylight......"
"Don't mention the king's law to me." The mention of the king's law made her angry! Why should she care about the king's law when her boss's son was the Emperor? Yun Si Niang glared at him and said, "If you have the money, then pay for it. If you don't have the money, then sign the debt agreement. Don't worry. I will send someone to collect it from you even if you've gone to the end of the world."
"......" He didn't feel at ease. "If you want me to pay for the compensation, that's fine. But you must tell me why I have to pay three thousand seven hundred and eighty-three taels."
Yun Si Niang frowned a little at that and said, "Do you have to become smart suddenly?"
"......"
"Then, you may even lose more money."
"......it doesn't matter if I have to lose more."
"Okay." Yun Si Niang thought about it and said, "How much did I just say I wanted you to pay?"
"......three thousand seven hundred and eighty-three taels."
"Oh, yes, three thousand seven hundred and eighty-three taels." Yun Si Niang laughed dryly and said, "Sorry, I just said random numbers. I didn't pay any attention to it."
The face of the white-clothed man with the golden crown was instantly filled with black lines. She just said random numbers......
"In fact, this matter is very simple. You suddenly make trouble here, affecting our business. So, you must compensate us for the loss of our business. And as for how much, it is up to me to decide. Don't ask me how I set it. You heard me just now. I just said random numbers."
"......can you make it simpler?"
"Yes, I can! Since she doesn't like you, you have to lose your money. It's that simple." Yun Si Niang pointed at Murong Yun Shu and said.
"......" Unscrupulous merchants were simply more rampant than bandits these days.
"Okay, enough with this nonsense." Yun Si Niang skillfully rotated the abacus in her hand three hundred and sixty degrees, then placed it on the counter with a loud popping sound and said indifferently, "It's time for you to pay."
Without waiting for the man in white with a golden crown to say anything, the boy in red beside him retorted, "Gongzi, they are bullying us too much!" After saying that, he wanted to make a move.
"Don't be rude." The man in white with the golden crown sternly reprimanded his men and said, "Bring out the silver ticket."
"Gongzi……" The red-clothed boy wanted to say something, but when he saw his master's dignified expression, he swallowed his dissatisfaction and reluctantly took out the silver tickets.
Yun Si Niang saw the situation smiling, said: "Because your look is quite pleasing to my eyes, I will give you another piece of advice for free: before raising questions in Jiugua House, first you must show your silver ticket. Especially such a personal question like whether she has divorced Chu Changge or not. Without a few tens of millions, you won't get your answer."
The man in white with a golden crown smiled with great restraint as he said, "I can see that."
After the white-clad man in white left with the two red-clothed children, the onlookers also withdrew their long necks one after another with waning interest as they resumed drinking tea and chatting. At the same time, Chu Changge continued to carry tea and serve water. Everything inside the Jiugua House turned back to its usual atmosphere as if nothing had happened.
No one noticed that while the white-clothed, gold-crowned man and his group left, two other black shadows followed them out.
*
The sunset was approaching, and Murong Yunshu was sitting in the yard on a lounge chair, staring at the sky with fading colours of the sunset. Her heart was exhausted. Even when she breathed, it seemed a lot more tired than usual.
It was no accident that the white man with the golden crown appeared in the inn today. He knew about her and Chu Changge. Obviously, he had come prepared, and it was for some purpose.
Recently, there were always some new faces that appeared at the inn for some reason.
Her intuition told her that something big was going to happen.
The big things in this world were either involved with national affairs or disputes in the jianghu. Either way, she was doomed to get involved with it.
Murong Yunshu sighed lightly. She then closed her eyes and waited for the night to fall.
She didn't know how long it took. While she was half-asleep, half-awake, there seemed to be an extra piece of clothing on her body, with a very familiar body temperature and smell. Murong Yunshu reflexively grabbed the hand that was about to leave. The hand did not struggle, allowing her to tug at it quietly.
The two of them were silent for a while.
Suddenly, Murong Yunshu opened her eyes, quietly gazed at the owner of that hand for a long time before asking, "Do you know what the boundary between love and hate is?"