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Looking at Feng Lingjun, he continued, "Thirty-seven is fine, and if that doesn't work, then twenty-eight. It can't be that we sell a living person and gain nothing from it." He stuffed the last piece of cake into his mouth and then wiped his hands on his clothes.
At that moment, Feng Lingjun truly didn't know whether to laugh or go mad. If it weren't for the fact that he knew she was a woman, he would have suspected she was a market trader, bargaining over goods, and the worst part was that the goods were herself.
He rubbed his temples, suddenly feeling a bit of a headache. How should he react to such a woman and such demands?
Thinking that Yan Ping should still be around, he turned his head. Upon seeing the scene, he was even more furious.
Yan Ping was sitting at a table full of delicious dishes, enthusiastically gnawing on a pig's trotter, occasionally using one greasy hand to scratch his nose. Perhaps his nose was itchy.
He usually stood while eating because his height while standing was about the same as others when they knelt or sat. If he really sat down, he wouldn't be able to reach the table. He was enjoying his meal so much that he didn't even notice Feng Lingjun's frequent glances. Feng Lingjun could only cough twice to remind him.
It seemed that Yan Ping only then heard her, elegantly wiping his mouth with a white cloth as if it had been someone else who had been eating rudely just moments ago.
He asked, "What does my lord wish to command?"
Feng Lingjun gritted his teeth and repeated the conditions proposed by San Chun. He thought to himself whether he was just unlucky or truly unfortunate to encounter both of them at the same time.
Yan Ping smiled slightly upon hearing this. "My lord might as well agree with her."
"Why?"
"It's rare for her to cooperate; my lord surely doesn't want anyone to hinder your plans before they come to fruition."
Feng Lingjun thought about it and agreed. This girl had many tricks up her sleeve; if she really put her mind to opposing him, even sending her away would be troublesome. It would be better to give her some benefits as Yan Ping suggested, making her willingly serve him. However... it truly hurt his heart; whether it was thirty-seven or forty-six, it was still a significant amount.
He nearly bit his teeth to pieces before squeezing out a word from his mouth: "Fine."
Then he said, "Women talk too much, which is something men dislike."
Yan Ping laughed, "There are those who see things differently from Lord Jun." The implication was that whether he liked it or not was of no concern to her.
San Chun rolled her eyes first, then broke into a wide smile. That truly was a large sum of money; even if converted into coins and pulled by an ox cart, it would never be enough. Even if she never worked another day in her life, she would still have more than enough to eat and wear. However, her insistence on this was not for the sake of gaining more silver; while having more money was good, it wasn't worth sacrificing her entire life for. She did this merely to numb them, making them think she would cooperate fully, thus lowering their guard—this would be the perfect moment for her to escape.
What Lord, what young master, what king—let them all go to hell! If they dared to lay their hands on her, they better consider whether they had more brains than others.
She smiled, "I wonder how the preparations for the Lord's banquet are coming along?"
"The banquet doesn't require much effort," Feng Lingjun frowned. The difficult part was how to spread the news that he had secured a beauty; he couldn't just issue a public announcement inviting all nations to come and appreciate his newfound beauty, could he?
He glanced at Yan Ping. "Yan Qing, what do you think?"
Yan Ping squinted her round eyes. "Lord, I can't handle this; it's too difficult."
Having spent several years with him, Feng Lingjun understood his temperament somewhat and gritted his teeth. "So what? State your conditions."
"You are the Lord and I am your subject; how can a subject threaten the Lord? However, for this matter to succeed..." He extended three fingers.
"Three?" Feng Lingjun nodded. "This Lord understands; you have three methods to resolve this."
Yan Ping shook her head. "I want three Noble Ladies."
Feng Lingjun immediately lost his composure. "Oh dear, you are truly wicked! You're even worse than San Chun!" Three Noble Ladies? This was asking for his demise.
San Chun curled her lips, wondering what it had to do with her.
Yan Ping rubbed his hands together, "My Lord, whether it's one sheep or two sheep, since a large sum of money has already been spent, why bother about this little amount?"
Feng Lingjun felt a deep resentment; today his residence was robbed by two formidable individuals, which was far worse than being waylaid on the road.
He extended four fingers, "Alright, this Lord agrees."
Yan Ping quickly said, "Thank you, Lord Jun, for bestowing four Noble Ladies."
Feng Lingjun had a problem with his fingers; they wouldn't retract properly. To him, three and four made no difference, yet he always liked to gesture, having been tricked by Yan Ping several times before.
At this moment, he was infuriated again by another Noble Lady but found himself powerless against Yan Ping. If what he just did didn’t count, then he would have to uphold his word as a gentleman; otherwise, if it was merely a "joke," he could no longer be considered a gentleman.
He pointed outward, and Yan Ping immediately rolled out. San Chun also consciously exited the hall and was about to head back to her quarters when she heard someone call from behind, "Miss, please stop."
Turning around to see Yan Ping, she forced a smile and asked, "Is there anything else, my lord?"
"Nothing much, just wanted to remind you of one thing: if you wish to escape, it's better to give up that thought early."
San Chun felt a surge of anger; he was indeed sharp enough to guess what she was thinking.
"My lord is mistaken; right now, for the sake of a thousand taels of gold, I must also work for Lord Jun."
"As long as the young lady understands."
He smiled lightly and turned to leave.
San Chun spat at his back, secretly thinking that he was in such a bad state, how could he not have pus oozing from his feet or sores on his head?
Yan Ping did not have the pus and sores she wished for; he was living quite well in the short term.
It seemed he was determined to turn her into an unparalleled beauty, seeking out Qin Master, Artist, Embroiderer, and a Confucian Master who had supposedly traveled the world and taught several kings, to teach her reading and poetry.
After learning for just two sessions, San Chun felt her limbs cramping and her mouth twitching, overwhelmed by an impulse to end it all.
She complained to Yan Ping, "Lord Yan, with poetry, painting, music, and embroidery to learn, I hardly have time to sleep. Without sleep, I have no energy, and without energy, I won't be beautiful."
Yan Ping replied, "Just hold on a little longer."
"Why don't you hang me with a rope? If I die, I can borrow two hands from Yama King and come back to continue learning?"
Yan Ping was silent.
In the end, he was still afraid she might actually die and decided to reduce her workload. After all, her embroidery only left her fingers full of holes, and her paintings made people look like demons (the subject being him). Even after ten more years of practice, she might not improve. So he removed those two subjects. Because of this decision, San Chun finally had time to think about how to escape in between her studies.
One day, after finishing her lessons with several masters and returning to her residence, a maid reported that someone had been waiting for her for a long time.
Turning around, she saw that the person standing outside the door was Cheng Ming. She couldn't help but feel overjoyed; among all the warriors in the manor, he was probably the one she got along with best.
Cheng Ming did not expect to see her in such a situation. As he watched a graceful beauty smile and nod at him, he momentarily felt disoriented, finally letting out a sigh of relief, "Are you really San Chun?"
"Yes."
"Spring is actually a woman." There was a hint of disappointment in his expression.
When he first heard about the new lady resembling San Chun, he was somewhat skeptical, but seeing her with his own eyes left no room for doubt. It was just unfortunate that someone so upright, so bold, and skilled in swordsmanship turned out to be a woman; it felt like a waste.
San Chun sighed. Being a woman was not her choice; if possible, she would rather be a man to avoid being treated like a commodity, sold off like goods.
She intended to keep Cheng Ming around for a while longer and had her maid prepare tea as they knelt and chatted casually.
These days, she had been observing the guards at Fengling Jun's Residence and learned that Cheng Ming was one of the warriors responsible for guarding her. While pouring him tea, she deliberately brought up the incident at the training ground where she stood up for him, hoping to evoke his gratitude before starting to ask some questions about the guards in the residence and subtly requesting his help.
As soon as Cheng Ming heard this, he jumped up as if someone had stepped on his tail. "No way, not even a little bit."
"Why not?"
He glanced around to ensure no one was listening before recounting what happened on his way there.
While he was walking over, he spotted Yan Ping approaching from a distance. Usually, this Doctor Yan often wandered around without care, so he didn't pay much attention and was about to leave after greeting him. Suddenly, he heard a cool voice from behind say, "If what Spring says is true, I'll break your dog leg."
Doctor Yan was always cunning and ruthless; hearing her request now made him wary of agreeing.
San Chun clenched her teeth upon hearing his retelling. This Yan Ping was truly a troublemaker; since he could guess that she wanted to use Cheng Ming, this plan would surely fail. It seemed she would have to think long and hard about how to leave this place.
After sending off Cheng Ming, she squatted on the ground and began to ponder what to do. Squatting allowed the blood to flow to her brain faster than sitting, making it easier to think. She didn't see the results of her efforts, but at least this position was more comfortable than sitting.
It was impossible to leave through the front door; perhaps the path behind the mountain was feasible. She had been to the training ground there before, and maybe she could climb up the mountain path to find a way out. With her excellent swordsmanship, she might be able to escape.
She had planned well and was ready before dark, with a fire starter in her pocket and a disguise potion as well, just waiting for Late Night when it would be quiet enough to act. As long as she got out of Fengling Duke's Residence, she could change her appearance afterward, ensuring that those power-hungry men would never find her again.
After dinner, a maid brought in a pot of soup.
"Miss, the kitchen has prepared some soup for you to nourish your beauty. Please drink it while it's hot so you can sleep well."
For these past few days, she had been drinking a bowl of soup every day—soybeans boiled with pig's trotters, which was said to be invented by Feng Lingjun for beauty and nourishment.
She had been drinking it for several days now, and it was indeed effective; her skin seemed more delicate than before. It seemed that Feng Lingjun's reputation for understanding food, drink, and women was not unfounded.
After pouring a bowl from the earthen pot and drinking it, she watched as the maid cleaned up the dishes. Suddenly feeling heavy-eyed, she fell asleep shortly after.
This sleep lasted until noon the next day when she finally opened her eyes again.
Her head hurt a bit, as if someone had struck it hard with a solid object. She got out of bed and saw the bright sun outside. Suddenly realizing that her plan for escape had gone awry after preparing all night.
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