Chapter 29: Chapter 17: The Blue-Faced Disaster
Xiao Cui looked at her mistress scaring the Young Master with a sense of resignation on her face. She really had no more opinions about her.
Now that Gu Changsheng’s anger had subsided, and the tofu pudding tasted more delicious, she watched her beloved son eat with joy while ambitiously looking all around. Customers at the tofu stand were frightened by her, and when they saw her looking their way, they quickly lowered their heads as if they were afraid of being charged, turning their gaze elsewhere.
“Pfft!” Gu Changsheng snorted disdainfully. With that little bit of nerve, they still think of hooking up with a beauty? Without a strong heart and a face thicker than the city walls, handsome guys are definitely out of your league. She no longer paid attention to them and continued to look around aimlessly.
This random glance brought her some fun. She excitedly tugged on Xiao Cui’s sleeve and pointed across the street. “Xiao Cui, look at the person selling herself on the other side of the road. Doesn’t she look like you did back in the day?”
Xiao Cui had mentioned before that this was how she had been rescued by Old Grand Master Gu.
Xiao Cui stretched her neck to take a glance and shook her head, earnestly replying, “Not really, she’s selling herself to bury her father, while I buried my mother back then.”
Gu Changsheng was taken aback. She didn’t expect that Xiao Cui, this housekeeper, had a bit of dry humor in her.
“Just watch, this situation is bound to attract one or two thugs or troublemakers,” Gu Changsheng continued to watch, speaking with certainty. It’s always written this way in the scripts; a solo act is the least likely to happen.
Her words made Zhou Mu also glance in that direction, then he lowered his head and continued eating tofu pudding.
“Look, look, the thugs have arrived.” Gu Changsheng pulled her son over, gave everyone a ‘see, I knew it’ look, and excitedly said, pointing across the street, “The show is about to start.”
As expected, a couple of ruffians with a menacing aura approached the small figure selling herself to bury her father.
Xiao Cui looked on with worry, empathizing with the person and feeling sad for a moment, then turned to Gu Changsheng. “Mistress, shouldn’t we go help?”
“No, no, it’s not time yet. Heroes always make their entrance last, only then does a heroic rescue feel precious.” A rare live act; it would be a pity not to watch it through.
Zhou Mu paused with his teacup in hand, seemed to think of something, his lips twitched, and then he lowered his head again.
Gu Changsheng didn’t care about him, she was enjoying watching the show, even encouraging a table of people to watch with her.
Unfortunately, Gu Changsheng had only guessed the beginning correctly, not the end.
The thugs indeed approached with malevolence, but after standing there for a short while, they angrily kicked the corpse on the ground and left!
The thugs blocked the view so that Gu Changsheng didn’t see the specific situation, but the outcome surprised her. What about seizing the common girl? The heroic rescue? These despicable thugs weren’t following the script at all, which made her feel a loss of face.
“Let’s go, let’s take a look.” Gu Changsheng, perplexed, took the lead in standing up and stepping toward the other side of the street.
Xiao Cui hastily threw down a few Copper Coins and followed.
The group arrived at the side of the pitiful person selling herself to bury her father, and the little figure felt their presence and raised her head.
“No need to ask, I think I know why even the street ruffians didn’t rob you.” Gu Changsheng shook her head with an air of understanding and sympathy. “Your looks are really a bit too poor.”
Looks? Do you think you’re shopping for vegetables?
The person on the ground was as thin as a bean sprout, her body lacking any hint of flesh, with only her unusually large eyes full of hope, looking up at the people before her. “Are you going to buy me to take home?”
Her voice was pleasant, soft, and crisp, but clearly lacked confidence.
“Forget it, let’s just do a good deed for the day. Xiao Cui, give her some pieces of silver.” Gu Changsheng shook her head; she didn’t want an extra young girl to take care of. This girl was only thirteen or fourteen, a typical case of severe malnutrition. Gu Changsheng wasn’t a saint; she couldn’t take care of so many people.
“Yes.” Xiao Cui stepped forward and slipped a few pieces of silver into her bosom.
“Never mind, Han Qiu, go to that alley we just passed, the one with laborers for hire, recruit two men to come help her bury the body.” She figured that if she gave the silver directly to the girl, it would likely be stolen right away.
Han Qiu obeyed and quickly brought back two strong laborers.
Watching the two laborers carry the corpse outside the city, Gu Changsheng led the group of people towards the carriage parked by the roadside.
“Let’s go, it’s time to find an inn to rest. Han Qiu, Xiao Cui, we’ll continue our journey tomorrow. Use the rest of the day to prepare some dry rations for me properly. The cakes we brought last time were too dry; they were too hard to eat.” Gu Changsheng was quite particular about her food. Although she could make do during special times, she was reluctant to swallow a bite if conditions allowed.