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Chapter 273: The Two-faced Imperial Merchant
Padon City was just as flourishing as the capital. While the capital was filled with officials and nobles, Padon City was filled with the wealthy.
Two women in ragged garments pulled along a very crude cart as they walked. There was something covered with a straw mat on the cart and the only thing of it that was visible were two dirty feet. It only took one glance to figure out that it was a corpse that was lying below the straw mat.
Everyone instinctive avoided the two of them.
The two pulling the cart were Ning Shu and Yue Lan, and the person pretending to be dead was the big brother hidden guard.
Ning Shu was exhausted. She glanced around, then chose to stop at a very busy part of the street. Following that, she worked with Yue Lan to carry the hidden guard off the cart and place him on the street. Afterwards, she took out a wooden sign that had the words, ‘selling self for father’s funeral expenses.’
>Selling self = selling yourself into servitude, not prostitution.<
Finally, she knelt down over the hidden guard and started wailing, “Father aaah, this daughter has let you down ahh, this daughter has let you down!”
“Miss, please don’t cry anymore. The lord is surely aware of your filial piety.” Yue Lan first tried to comfort Ning Shu before she threw herself on the hidden guard and started wailing as well, “Lord, you died such a tragic death! Lord, oh my pitiful lord!”
Ning Shu saw that Yue Lan was hugging a pretty sensitive area. It was probably right where the hidden guard’s little birdie was, but Yue Lan seemed to be completely unaware and just kept wailing as she hugged that place.
Ning Shu felt the hidden guard shift, which caused the straw mat to start moving as well. Ning Shu hastily pulled Yue Lan off the hidden guard. Yue Lan wiped at her tears as she asked, “Miss, what is it?”
Ning Shu wanted to answer that you were crushing his weenie, but when she saw Yue Lan’s baffled expression, she said, “Don’t touch Father’s remains.”
Yue Lan replied ‘oh,’ then sat next to the side silently as tears spilled down her cheeks. As Ning Shu watched, she couldn’t help but feel deep veneration. Yue Lan was truly a master actress.
They made so much noise that the entire street heard. A lot of spectators soon gathered around. However, when they saw Ning Shu and Yue Lan’s dirty appearances, none of them stepped up to buy Ning Shu.
However, Ning Shu didn’t mind since her target wasn’t these people but the imperial merchant male lead, that damned rich pervert.
“Miss, what do we do now? It’s already been a while, but no one has asked us for our price,” said Yue Lan worriedly.
Ning Shu replied, “Don’t worry.”
When Yue Lan saw that no one seemed to have any intention of talking to them, she stopped wailing and just used a dirty handkerchief to wipe at her tears.
People came and went around them. A lot of people stopped to take a look at this spectacle, but not a single person asked them for a price. Ning Shu was feeling a little regret. If she had known earlier that this was going to happen, she wouldn’t have made herself look this wretched. It turned out that if you looked too pitiful, everyone ignored you as well.
Ning Shu had knelt for so long that she was almost about to nod off. Next to her, Yue Lan had already fallen asleep while leaning on the cart. She was even drooling.
“Selling self for father’s funeral expenses?” A low and masculine voice appeared. Ning Shu woke up with a quiver and hastily pushed Yue Lan.
The moment Yue Lan woke up, she started wailing again. “Lord, it was all this servant’s fault for not being able to protect Miss. Now she has fallen to the point of having to sell herself in order to prepare a funeral for you. Miss ah, my pitiful miss.” Yue Lan hugged Ning Shu as she wailed.
Ning Shu used all her strength to peel Yue Lan’s arms off her, then put on a grief-laden face as she answered, “Sire, this humble girl is from Chu Province. This humble girl truly has no choice left but to sell herself in order to give her father a proper burial.”
“Lift your head and let this sir take a look?”
Ning Shu immediately lifted her head to look towards the man. The man shone like the sun and everything behind him was unfocused. This dude was definitely a male lead-sama.
Qi Sheng’s body was filled with a gentle yet seemingly cruel beauty. He seemed trustworthy, but also gave off a dangerous air. His eyes were very dark and seemed to ripple with unreadable intentions.
This was the two-faced imperial merchant, Qi Sheng.