One of the attendants hurriedly pulled out a purse from his bosom and threw it over.
Yang Ruxin took it and gave it a squeeze—it was light. Upon opening it, she saw two silver notes, each worth fifty taels, adding up to one hundred taels in total. She then nodded, "This will do for now. Next time you come looking for a beating, make sure to bring your own coffin..."
"Let’s go, let’s go..." Hao the fatty didn’t want to stay a moment longer.
But because he was so overweight, his attendants struggled to carry him and couldn’t move quickly. They nearly tripped on their way out, and the young lad leading the way was kind enough to lend them a hand. Even before closing the door, he went so far as to say, "Come back anytime," before finally shutting the gate.
A twitch formed at the corner of Yang Ruxin’s mouth—these attendants from Taibai Building were truly exceptional talents. However, she had only just realized that despite the commotion, no outsiders had come to gawk. Only a few people directly involved were present, and the door that had been open to the main hall had long been shut, with attendants guarding it. She grew even more impressed with Taibai Building—dealing with emergencies wasn’t their only strength, she reckoned. In fact, there might be more to Taibai Building than met the eye.
Zhu Hengtai had witnessed the entire process of Yang Ruxin beating someone up. This time was much more satisfying than the last. He couldn’t believe that Yang Ruxin was just a village girl; he felt there was something extraordinary about her as well.
"Big sister..." Now that the trouble was over, the door to the front hall was opened again and Sanni rushed in, "Are you alright?" she then addressed Zhou Xiao.
"All’s well now, let’s go upstairs," Yang Ruxin said with a smile.
However, Xiaofeng came over and hugged Yang Ruxin’s waist.
"It’s all right," Yang Ruxin patted his head. "You’ve got your big sister here..."
Xiaofeng pouted and then let go.
Sanni then took Xiaofeng and Zhou Xiao back to their room.
"Shopkeeper Zhu, I’m sorry, it seems I’ve caused you trouble again," Yang Ruxin said apologetically to Zhu Hengtai.
"What are you talking about?" Zhu Hengtai waved his hand, "I’ve said before, the last thing Taibai Building is afraid of is trouble... haha... but..." he suddenly furrowed his brow, "acting this way, you must have thoroughly offended the Hao Family by now. Aren’t you afraid..."
"If I dare to act, then there’s nothing for me to fear," Yang Ruxin shook her head, "Thank you for your concern, shopkeeper." After beating up Hao the fatty previously, she had asked Gu Qingheng about it. Gu Qingheng had someone look into the Hao Family, which turned out to be unremarkable, except they had risen to prominence due to a beauty—the young Concubine Hao Xiaoyun, who was the favored concubine of the Magistrate of Linjiang Prefecture. With this connection, the Hao Family had started doing business, and now monopolized the Sichuan pepper trade in the entire Linjiang Prefecture.
Gu Qingheng’s exact words were: No matter who’s concubine she is, if she causes you trouble, beat her up hard. He would handle any consequences.
Yang Ruxin had full trust in this. There was no need to do anything else; just having Lord Qi visit once would be enough. Forget the Magistrate of the Prefecture—even the Governor of Changhuai State wouldn’t dare to openly confront her. Thus, she felt even more fearless.
Zhu Hengtai no longer asked. Although she didn’t say anything, he could guess there were powerful figures backing this little village girl.
"Consider this compensation," Yang Ruxin handed over the silver note left behind by Hao the fatty.
"I really can’t accept this," Zhu Hengtai shook his head, "There was no real disturbance."
"Then let’s split it half and half," Yang Ruxin suddenly flashed a sly smile, stuffing the fifty taels into his hand, "If that fatty comes a few more times, I beat him up a few more times, and then we get rich together..."