Chapter 137: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 137: Seeking Help (2)
Seeing the boss lady's brazen attitude, Mo Yan's heart sank. This brothel indeed had some background; otherwise, this woman wouldn't react this way. It seemed that barging in forcefully today wouldn't work.
"So, what will it take for the boss lady to release them?"
The boss lady's coquettish eyes assessed Mo Yan as if she were assessing goods, her intentions clear: "If you're willing to stay, even Xing'er, I'll let her go straight. How about it?"
"Yan'er, you shouldn't get involved. These are just a bunch of thugs who won't stop until they've bled you dry. Leave quickly!" Li Zhong cried out in pain. This was clearly a matter for their family, and Mo Yan shouldn't have been dragged into it!
Mo Yan comforted him, "Grandpa Li, don't worry, I'll be fine." Then she turned to the madam and said, "You know this is impossible. You're only holding Grandpa Li for money. How much do you want before you'll release them?"
"Miss really won't stay?" The Lady boss feigned regret, shaking her head. "Since you're so straightforward, I won't beat around the bush. The price is set: two thousand taels! As long as you produce two thousand taels, you can take these two away right now."
Two thousand taels?
Mo Yan's face darkened upon hearing this. "Madam, don't ask for the sky. Even a moderately wealthy family would have to sell everything they own to come up with two thousand taels. We're just commoners; even if we sold everything, we couldn't come up with half of that."
The Lady boss casually played with her nails. "It doesn't matter. With Xing'er here, I'll make that two thousand taels back sooner or later."
"So, there's no room for negotiation?"
"None!"
The Lady boss's firm reply made Mo Yan lose all patience.
She couldn't come up with two thousand taels, and she couldn't force the issue with this woman who had some background. Her only option now was to seek help from Yan Junyu. If he could shut down this brothel that coerced women into prostitution, it would be considered eliminating a scourge.
With this in mind, Mo Yan said coldly, "Since that's the case, I'll go back and raise the money. But Madam must guarantee that they won't be harmed until I gather the money."
"Haha, of course. Business is business, and harmony brings wealth!" The Lady boss covered her mouth and chuckled. Then her tone turned threatening. "However, I must see the money by tomorrow at the latest. Otherwise, I can't guarantee what will happen to them."
"It's settled then!" Mo Yan agreed in a single breath.
Exiting the brothel, Mo Yan breathed a sigh of relief, listening to the licentious sounds emanating from within with a cold smile.
The reason that woman was so arrogant was undoubtedly because she had someone backing her, thinking that as a mere commoner, Mo Yan couldn't do anything to her. Well, then, she would start by toppling her supporter.
Though she was borrowing Yan Junyu's influence, they had an agreement long ago, so Mo Yan didn't feel she owed him any favors. Her only concern was whether there might be repercussions from the brothel's backer, causing Yan Junyu to hesitate to act.
If that were the case, she could only spend money to resolve the crisis.
With her decision made, Mo Yan returned to Huixian Residence with the eight men, briefly explaining the situation to the shopkeeper. She didn't mention Li Xiu, only stating that Li Zhong had been framed and detained in that brothel.
Although Mo Yan's explanation had loopholes, the shopkeeper wasn't one to pry. He promised to pass the message to Yan Junyu as soon as possible and asked Mo Yan to rest assured and wait for news at home.
By the time Mo Yan returned home, it was already late at night. The three children were still awake, and when they saw her return, Li Yan rushed up eagerly, her eyes red and swollen.
Mo Yan didn't dare to tell her the truth, only saying that her grandfather had news about her aunt and was asking friends for help to find her. It was too late tonight, so they would have to wait until tomorrow.
Li Yan didn't know whether to believe her or not, quietly reheated the food and brought it out for Mo Yan to eat.
Mo Yan was very hungry but had little appetite. She ate hastily and then sent the three children to bathe and sleep.
Tonight, both Mo Qingze and Li Zhong were absent, and Mo Yan was worried that Zhen'er might kick off his blanket in his sleep. So she decided to sleep with him.
Perhaps knowing that Mo Yan was in a bad mood, Xiao Hua, unusually, didn't make a fuss. Instead, it obediently dragged the cotton mattress Mo Yan had made into the main room and lay down beside the bed.
After Zhen'er fell asleep, Mo Yan listened to his shallow breathing but found herself unable to sleep. So she brought Xiao Hua into the space and planned to plant the herbs she had collected today.
All the herbs were planted around the spirit spring pool. The spiritual energy around the pool was abundant, making it easy to water them. These herbs would soon become top-grade medicinal materials.
After planting the herbs, Mo Yan gave a little water to the thing beside the spirit spring pool that resembled lingzhi.
What puzzled her was that with other plants brought in, even if only an hour had passed outside, there would be some changes in appearance, either growing a bit or deepening in color. However, it had been five or six hours since the other plants were brought in, yet this thing showed no change at all.
Xiao Hua drooled as it stared at the blood clump, almost dripping saliva onto it.
Mo Yan looked at it and asked, "Can this thing be eaten?"
Xiao Hua understood Mo Yan's meaning but didn't dare to eat without her permission. It stuck out its big tongue, slurped once, took a bite of the blood clump, and closed its eyes, as if savoring the taste.
Mo Yan was speechless at this behavior. This guy was too disgusting, no wonder Yan Junyu didn't want to take it back even after so long.
However, judging by its performance as a wolf, this thing should be non-toxic, and eating it might even be beneficial. It looked so much like lingzhi; perhaps it was a kind of lingzhi. She just hadn't seen it in her past life, and it had grown so big; who knows how many years it had been. It might indeed be the legendary thousand-year-old lingzhi.
Well, let's assume it's lingzhi for now!
Thinking of this, Mo Yan solemnly warned Xiao Hua, "Without my permission, you can't eat this thing secretly. Otherwise, don't expect to come in again in the future."
Xiao Hua looked at Mo Yan plaintively, then at the lingzhi, and finally, with a sigh, it agreed.
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