Only then did Xu Bao'er understand that the old man had struck up a conversation with her earlier to find a potential buyer.
Five hundred taels was no small sum, but the young man was breathing weakly and looked as though he would not last much longer.
If she haggled any further, he would probably breathe his last.
“Fine, I’ll buy him.”
It was not her money anyway, so she would buy him first and worry about the rest later.
“Open the door.”
Seeing how straightforward Xu Bao'er was, the old man immediately gave him five hundred taels in silver notes, then happily ordered someone to open the cage for Xu Bao'er.
“These two are yours now.”
“Someone, put chains on them.”
Xu Bao'er had not brought an attendant, and the old man was afraid she would be unable to subdue the two slaves. He therefore had someone bring chains, intending to shackle their hands and feet.
“No need. Leave them as they are.”
Xu Bao'er had not bought the two of them to take back as slaves. Given Zhou Jin’s temperament, he absolutely would not let her bring people into the residence, especially two men.
It was obvious at a glance that these two were extraordinary. Since the system had given no further prompts, it meant she had bought the right people.
Seeing Xu Bao'er refuse, the old man said nothing more. He handed her the two men’s contracts of servitude.
“All right, let’s go.”
The tall man scooped up the unconscious youth, carried him over his shoulder, and followed behind Xu Bao'er.
“What is your name?”
Xu Bao'er looked at the tall man. His face was covered in bruises, but his features were fairly regular.
“This one is Da Wu.”
“Why would you do such a thing?”
“My aged mother is gravely ill. This is a quick way to make money.”
He really was a pitiful man, Xu Bao'er thought with a sigh. No wonder he had looked as though he was striking with lethal intent earlier, when in fact he had been repeatedly leaving the youth a way to live.
Xu Bao'er arrived before the government office, intending to cancel Da Wu and the youth’s slave registrations and restore their freed status.
“Master, what are you doing?”
“My household is not short of people.”
“Your martial arts are impressive. Being a slave would be a waste of your talents.”
Da Wu’s eyes reddened when he heard Xu Bao'er say this.
Selling oneself into slavery meant that one’s descendants would all be slaves as well, forever unable to rise above their station.
The beast slaves who had been bought by others before this were often abused to death.
Da Wu had never expected the wealthy young nobleman before him to let him go and even restore his freed status.
At this thought, Da Wu set the youth down beside him, knelt, and kowtowed to Xu Bao'er.
“Thank you, benefactor. If you ever need me, Da Wu, I will brave fire and water for you and never shrink from a thousand deaths.”
“There is no need for that. Please rise.”
Restoring the two men’s statuses went smoothly for Da Wu. However, things did not go smoothly for the unconscious youth.
He had no identity at all. He was an unregistered person.
“Young master, I think he escaped here from a foreign territory.”
“He happened to be captured and was reduced to food.”
Xu Bao'er recalled the youth’s catlike eyes. He indeed did not seem to be from the Great Zhou Dynasty.
“If he is an unregistered person, I’m afraid it will be difficult for him to survive outside.”
“Anyone could seize him and make him a slave.”
The Great Zhou Dynasty did not protect escaped members of a foreign ethnicity. As long as an unregistered person had no master, anyone could capture and enslave them without breaking the law.
“Then I’ll take him in for the time being.”
“Young master, you are kindhearted.”
Xu Bao'er looked at Da Wu. He was not a bad man. If life had not forced him into it, he would never have become so ruthless.
Xu Bao'er tossed the injured youth into the medical clinic. After paying, she instructed the clinic staff to take good care of him.
“Princess consort, this is bad.”
The moment Xu Bao'er returned to her room, Cuihua hurried over.
“The empress sent someone just now to say that she wants princess consort to attend the flower-viewing banquet tomorrow.”
Xu Bao'er was somewhat puzzled. In the past, banquets organized by the female members of the household of the imperial family had never invited her.
In the eyes of the many legitimate daughters and principal consorts, this concubine-Born Daughter who had schemed a substitute marriage was practically guilty of a thousand deaths and utterly unworthy of playing with them.
The empress was even more hostile. When the matter of the substitute marriage first came to light, she had been the first to advocate executing Xu Bao'er as a warning to others.
Later, after Xu Bao'er married Prince Duan, the emperor compensated Xu Yu'er by making xu family's daughter the crown princess, nearly infuriating the empress to death.
The daughters of the Lu clan had originally been meant to become crown princess, but now they could only lower themselves to become secondary consorts.
How could the empress not hate her?
If Prince Duan had not been so difficult to provoke—one had to consider the master when striking a dog—Xu Bao'er would have died hundreds of times by now.
“Understood.”
Although it was a Hongmen Banquet, Xu Bao'er was rather curious about the imperial palace.
Why could none of the imperial princes of the Great Zhou Dynasty produce children?
It was very strange.
The empress’s invitation to Xu Bao'er was entirely the result of Xu Yu'er stirring up trouble.
Xu Yu'er knew that the empress despised the Xu Family, so she used all sorts of underhanded schemes against her.
They were all daughters of the Xu Family, so why should Xu Yu'er be the one to suffer?
If she could not have a good life, Xu Bao'er could forget about having one either.
Thus, when meeting the empress, Xu Yu'er pretended to mention it casually. “I never expected the Princess Consort of Prince Duan and Prince Duan to have grown so much closer. Their marital relations are harmonious now.”
“They have consummated their marriage?” The empress’s expression suddenly turned unpleasant.
Everyone in the imperial palace knew perfectly well that Prince Duan and the Princess Consort of Prince Duan had not undergone consummation of marriage.
Which household had no informants? It was only natural that the Princess Consort of Prince Duan was not favored.
Prince Duan had finally managed to rise again, advancing from a forgotten imperial prince to his current position through military achievements. Yet because of the Princess Consort of Prince Duan, he had once again become the laughingstock of the entire imperial palace.
Prince Duan wanted to kill Xu Bao'er more than anyone.
Prince Duan’s birth was unfortunate. His mother had been the empress of the former dynasty. After the emperor destroyed the former dynasty, he seized Prince Duan’s imperial mother.
Prince Duan’s imperial mother was extraordinarily beautiful. Yet because of her identity, her rank as a consort was not high, although the emperor doted on her immensely.
For a time, she was the most favored woman in the Six palaces.
But one day, she actually attempted to assassinate the emperor. She failed and was sent to the Cold Palace. Before long, she hanged herself there.
Having such an imperial mother was a lifelong stain on Prince Duan. He was even less noble than an imperial prince born to a palace maid.
But who could have imagined that Prince Duan would turn his fortunes around through warfare and gain tremendous popular prestige?
Originally, it did not matter much that Prince Duan had never undergone consummation of marriage with the Princess Consort of Prince Duan and had no offspring.
After all, the emperor had said that offspring was the foremost matter of the imperial clan. Whoever could break this curse would have a chance to inherit the imperial throne.
An imperial prince with outstanding military achievements could not threaten the crown prince’s position if he had no offspring.
But if he had some, that might not remain true.
“Yes, they have consummated their marriage.”
Xu Yu'er’s words stirred a thousand waves in the empress’s heart.
“Then one day soon, I truly must meet the Princess Consort of Prince Duan.”
Zhou Jin also learned that the empress intended to summon Xu Bao'er. He hoped to use the empress’s hand to kill Xu Bao'er.
Decades of hiding his strength had been disrupted by the Xu Family’s actions.
To Zhou Jin, which woman he married was unimportant.
What mattered was that the woman would not obstruct his grand ambitions.
Zhou Jin was not fond of women, because no woman could be more beautiful than his imperial mother.
For some reason, Zhou Jin suddenly recalled Zhang San, whom he had seen that day.
If it were her, she might even rival his imperial mother in beauty.
Zhou Jin removed his clothes and entered the pool. Scars covered his entire body, forming a stark contrast with his handsome, flawless face.
If Xu Bao'er could not still help him prevent the empress from openly planting informants.
She would have died hundreds of times already.
He had never expected Xu Bao'er to dare drug him. She was audacious and reckless; it was time she suffered a little.
Since the empress wanted to make a move, he would simply go with the flow and lend her a hand.