“Understood, Miss!” Qingluo did not argue. If Miss was tired and wanted to ride in a carriage, then she would learn to drive one. After all, she could learn anything for Miss’s sake.
The three of them arrived in town sweating profusely, tired and thirsty, but Ye Qingcheng dared not delay and hurried to the Yamen.
After the contracts for selling themselves were finalized, she casually tucked them into her sleeve and smilingly gave the Bailiff a piece of broken silver.
“Thank you for your trouble, Brother Bailiff!” Ye Qingcheng spoke sweetly, her eyes smiling. Although they had traveled a long way, and she was dressed like a peasant girl, which earned her a bit of disdain from the Bailiff, the moment this piece of silver appeared, the Bailiff handling their contracts immediately changed his expression.
“Miss is too kind! This is what this humble one should do!” His face was covered in smiles, acting extremely subservient.
“Brother Bailiff, I also wanted to ask, are there any more commoner-style courtyards for sale around here?” Ye Qingcheng hadn't intended to give the Bailiff silver; they wouldn't dare make trouble over finalizing the paperwork, but she still had matters to inquire about, so paying the silver was unavoidable.
“Oh, Miss, you’ve come to the right person! I actually have such a house on hand. A friend asked me to help sell it. This friend has gone elsewhere to make a living and needs to sell the house! Although the house and courtyard are a bit small, it’s cheap! Only eighty taels of silver! Does Miss want to go take a look?”
Ye Qingcheng could tell from the man’s demeanor that he had skimmed quite a bit off the top. What friend? He was clearly taking private business, wasn't he?
However, she didn't show it on her face and nodded, “It wouldn’t hurt to go take a look then!”
“Alright, this humble one will take you to see it right away! Please wait a moment for this humble one, I’ll be right back!”
He earned only one tael and five qian of silver as a monthly salary as a Bailiff, but this Miss had just given him one tael of silver in one go. Now he had private money to go enjoy the pleasure houses!
The Bailiff was so overjoyed he felt like he was floating, and his attitude toward Ye Qingcheng immediately became much better.
They followed the Bailiff to see the house. The house was indeed located in the Commoner District, but the environment was relatively clean.
The courtyard was certainly not large, surrounding the house was only about one mu of land. The house only had two rooms, plus a small kitchen, and a small outhouse in the back—that was all the construction there was.
The outside was surrounded by a picket fence. As Ye Qingcheng looked, she suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.
After thinking for a moment, she remembered: wasn't this the Sunset Town version of her own home?
The structure, the dilapidated appearance—it was too similar to her home in Taoli Village.
The two maids remained silent the entire time, following her quietly. They didn't know what Miss was planning or why she wanted to buy this house, so they could only follow quietly.
“Miss, how is this house? Are you satisfied?” After watching for a while, the Brother Bailiff impatiently asked.
“It’s not bad, but the buildings are a bit old, and the courtyard is indeed too small!” Ye Qingcheng Calm and Composedly pointed out every flaw of the small courtyard.
She was already tired enough, and now she had to travel this far to look at a house. If they didn't give her a better price, she wouldn't feel right about it.
“Miss! This house might look a bit old, but it can easily last another twenty or thirty years! The yard is big enough to grow vegetables for eating too!” Seeing that the Miss seemed a little unimpressed with the courtyard, the Brother Bailiff immediately started praising it.
“How about this, I won't waste any more time with you. Let’s each take a step back. Will you sell it for seventy-five taels of silver?” Ye Qingcheng said straightforwardly.
“Miss! I am helping a friend sell this. I truly don't have the authority to decide the price!” The Bailiff enumerated his difficulties.
In the end, Ye Qingcheng gave a look, and Qingluo stepped forward.
With Qingluo the maid stepping up, no price was unnegotiable. In the end, the Brother Bailiff sold the house for the price Ye Qingcheng suggested: seventy-five taels of silver.
After following him to finalize the land deed and house deed, Ye Qingcheng was completely exhausted.
“Qingluo, take this silver and go buy rice, flour, cooking oil, and necessary items like meat, eggs, and vegetables! Qingluo! Hire two carriages and go to the Ruined Temple to bring all Six Maids over! Settle them in the courtyard we just bought!” Ye Qingcheng found a teahouse and went inside to sit down.
The two maids were stunned. What did Miss just say? That house was bought for the Six Maids to live in? And she was spending silver to buy them daily necessities—rice, flour, oil—this… both of them were momentarily speechless.
“What are you standing around for? Go do what you need to do! I’ll wait for you right here! If you come and I’m not here, wait here for a while! Hurry up and go!” Ye Qingcheng waved her hand.
She urged the two maids to hurry and make arrangements.
“This slave thanks Miss on their behalf…” Qingluo started to kneel again as she spoke.
“Enough! Stop kneeling and hurry up and handle the business! Once they are settled, you two can also work with peace of mind, right?” Ye Qingcheng smiled. Doing a good deed felt like this; she was happy too.
The two maids quickly wiped their tears and ran out.
Qingluo’s Health was also almost recovered; her wounds were starting to scab over. They were all superficial injuries, and after taking such good medicine, it would have been hard for them not to heal.
Ye Qingcheng sat down, drank a cup of tea, and rested for a bit. She quickly left the teahouse, stopping by a ready-made clothes shop on the way, and then visited a Cosmetics shop.
Then she turned into an alley, and when she emerged, she had transformed into a handsome young man.
However, this outfit really hurt her wallet; it cost her a full twenty taels of silver.
Her purse was already getting thin, and now there was this extra expense. Silver just doesn't last, it really doesn't last.
If Mo Li hadn't observed people's physical characteristics with such meticulous detail, he wouldn't have recognized Ye Qingcheng’s current appearance.
She was almost a different person; even her gender had changed. An ordinary person would absolutely not have recognized her.
Mo Li raised an eyebrow. This young lady was becoming more and more interesting. No wonder the Master was interested in her and left him here to protect her.
He followed her all the way to Sunset Town’s only Auction House. Mo Li appeared Calm and Composed, but Ye Qingcheng wouldn't recognize him even if she saw him now.
Because he had also disguised himself, but instead of makeup like Ye Qingcheng, he was wearing a human skin mask.
The Auction House had no restrictions, and Ye Qingcheng entered easily. However, she didn't rashly try to auction off her Pills; instead, she went to the main hall first.
The auction was about to start, and the hall was already full of people. Here, she unexpectedly ran into an acquaintance.
It was Liang Zongyao, who had delivered his Madam’s baby just yesterday. But he would never imagine that she was their life-saving benefactor.
After entering the Auction House, Mo Li sat more openly behind Ye Qingcheng to observe her closely. However, he would not intervene unless she was in danger, nor would he interfere with her affairs; that was the rule.
Soon, the auction began. On the high platform, two women brought out a tray, which seemed to hold Jewelry.
“Tch, why is it Jewelry again? Didn't they say there would be Pills auctioned today? I came for the Pills! Why don't they just bring out the Pills directly?” a burly Man next to Ye Qingcheng shouted rudely.
Immediately, many similar voices echoed, and the auction hall instantly became noisy.