Counterattack of the Concubine’s Invincible Daughter

38. Nongyue from the Triumphant Sect

Translator: Snowball

Mei Qianqian was unhappy when she realized that he was trying to get rid of her.

Everyone wanted to see and be close to Childe Nongyue of the Triumphant Sect. Men were interested in him for his wealth and connections, while women would rather know how handsome his face was under this silver mask.

“Childe Nongyue, I’ve been here so many times, but I had never seen you before. Now that we finally meet, may I have the honor to have you as the guide when I look around?”

She decided to treat him gently as a start, thinking that all men in this world loved girls like that. As long as she kept a low profile, he would fall for her, just like those idiots she met in the Moonlight Pavilion.

Once she thought of the fact that she was used to being surrounded by those men in the past, but now had been replaced by Mu Yingxue, she couldn’t suppress her jealousy and anger.

Mu Yingxue felt funny to see her various expressions. Mei Qianqian was indeed a good actress. She hated her so much, but she still pretended to be a lady in front of Childe Nongyue.

Oh, Mu Yingxue didn’t seem to like that, so she didn’t want Mei to get her way.

Before Nongyue could answer, Mu Yingxue said, “Well, Childe Nongyue, you can’t possibly be the owner of this shop, right?”

There was a faint smile on his face, but at this moment, he beamed, “It’s just a small business. Not a big deal.”

Huh, what a humble man!

Through the ages, every successful pawn business had a lot of money as its base.

How did the saying go? Right, ‘being overly humble was equal to being proud’. Gong Nongyue was really very conceited.

“Childe, you’re so modest that you make us who are here to pawn stuff embarrassed.” She didn’t take her treasures out directly so that he could take a look, but stated the purpose of her visit clearly. It was very strange that when she heard Nongyue was the owner of this shop, she preferred more to pawn it at a high price with dignity.

The smile in Nongyue’s eyes lit up. “I only got here today thanks to my friends. I’m not being modest. Anyway, what did you take here today, Miss Yingxue? May I have a look to broaden my horizon?”

Mu Yingxue was quite satisfied to hear that. Of course Nongyue had heard the report of the pawnbroker, and he was well-aware of the treasures she had taken, yet he kept a low profile to entertain the guests. How could such a businessman not achieve great success?

Although she thought so in her mind, she still looked calm and said, “My treasures are indeed precious. I wonder if you dare to accept them.”

She did not mean to cheat him, because she would fail even if she tried. Even Mei Qianqian could see through the origin of it, not to mention someone as cunning as him.

Since she couldn’t hide the origin, she’d better make it clear. Based on tacit understanding, it would be easier for them to set the deal.

However, there were people who didn’t want this to happen and determined to expose the unpleasing fact and further make everyone unpleasant.

Mei Qianqian was pissed off when she noticed that Nongyue focused on talking to Mu Yingxue, and completely ignored her existence. At this time, Liu’er opened the two boxes under Mu Yingxue’s instruction. Seeing this, Mei Qianqian was no longer looking on coldly, but “enthusiastically” went up and said, “Childe Nongyue, don’t be fooled by her!”

Mu Yingxue and Nongyue turned their heads and looked at her in surprise. Mei Qianqian then realized that it was improper for her to say this in front of the public, especially in front of Nongyue. She was definitely making a fool of herself, so she quickly corrected herself and said, “I mean, I think there’s something wrong with this.”

“Is that so?” Nongyue looked up and asked. From Mu Yingxue’s position, she could see that the sky perfectly outlined his clear and somewhat chiseled chin.

“What do you think is wrong, Miss Mei?”

Mei Qianqian’s face lit up. She pointed at the bottom of the purple jade golden lock in the box on the right and said, “Look here. There is a signature with the character “craft”. As we all know, the word “craft” means Gong Xin. As the best sculptor in the capital city, no one dares to say that they are better than him.”

Mu Yingxue had never heard of the story before. Seeing that Nongyue nodded slowly, she knew what Mei Qianqian said was true. However, why was such a signature enough to prove that the stuff belonged to the royal family? Could it be…

A conclusion quickly crossed Mu Yingxue’s mind. Before she could grasp it, she heard Mei Qianqian say, “Childe Nongyue is very knowledgeable, so you should know that Gong Xin is a royal carving artist appointed by His Majesty, right?”

She looked at Nongyue with expectations that he could keep Mu Yingxue out of his door after learning about the truth. Then, she could naturally expose Mu Yingxue’s intention to the public!

However, after Nongyue heard this, he didn’t say much. Instead, he only picked up the purple jade golden lock and took a look, and then put it back in the box.

“Miss Mei, why are you so sure that this golden lock is a work of Gong Xin? Currently, there are many works in the market in his name. In order to be more convincing, most people would carve the same word.”

Mei Qianqian seemed to have expected him to say that, so she responded, “Childe, you’re absolutely right. The work with the word ‘craft’ may not be produced by Gong Xin, but there are two things that we know for sure.”

“Miss Mei, how so?”

Mei Qianqian said complacently, “I think you should know that most of my family businesses are related to the palace. The treasures in and out of the palace are all delivered by my brother! He bought these two boxes for the palace last month.”

Nongyue was listening to her with a smile at first. When she finished, there was no longer any hint of a smile in his eyes, and the look on his face even contained a trace of contempt. “Humph, that’s such a wild guess.”

Somehow, Mei Qianqian felt a chill down her spine, but she managed to keep the smile on her face. “Childe, I’m telling the truth.” But on second thought, she felt a little aggrieved. Why did she feel scared?

Nongyue did not continue the topic, but kept tapping the mahogany table with his fingers every now and then, as if he was considering the reliability of Mei Qianqian’s words.

Noticing him acting like there was no one around, Mu Yingxue knew he was a tough one to deal with. Fortunately, Mei Qianqian was the one who needed to worry about this right now.

“Miss Mei, have you ever heard the story of buying the box but returning it with a pearl in it?”

After thinking for a while, Nongyue suddenly narrowed his eyes and smiled gracefully and brilliantly.

Mei Qianqian was a little confused, “Yes, I’ve heard of it. What’s wrong?”

Mu Yingxue had already understood what he meant, explaining to her, “What he wants to say is that the box and the stuff inside aren’t connected. The box is for the use of the royal family, but the thing in it may not be the same. Don’t you understand?”

“… How dare you!” Mei Qianqian was stunned and couldn’t help raising her voice. She didn’t dare to judge Nongyue, but she cared about Mu Yingxue the least, “It’s a gift from His Majesty. How dare you put trash inside it?!”

Mu Yingxue was stunned for a moment, but then she smiled. “Since it’s a trash, it can’t be an imperial gift from His Majesty. Or does Miss Mei think that His Majesty gave me trash as a reward?”

Mei Qianqian gritted her teeth. Obviously, that was not what she meant, “You deliberately misunderstood me. That’s not what I meant!” She then turned to Nongyue and said, “Childe Nongyue, don’t be fooled by her. It’s a felony to pawn the rewards bestowed by the royal family. You don’t have to degrade yourself by helping her.”

Nongyue bent down slightly and saluted with his head tilted. Originally, this action would be a little frivolous, but when he did it, it looked very comforting and elegant.

“Many thanks for Miss Mei’s advice. I have my own judgment about this. Besides, I am a businessman. Of course I won’t make a loss. Miss Mei, you can rest assured.” Then he turned to look at the pawnbroker and said, “It’s getting late. Since Miss Mei wants to see the stuff here, you’d better show her around.”

With a tacit understanding, the pawnbroker stepped forward and made a gesture of invitation to Mei Qianqian. “Miss Mei, this way, please!”

Mei Qianqian glared at Mu Yingxue and stamped her foot hard, and then she followed the pawnbroker with great reluctance.

Mu Yingxue heaved a sigh of relief as she watched the two leave. It was not easy to pawn an object. Why would her opponent appear at any time?

Watching her expression, Nongyue fixed his gaze on her, saying, “Now that she’s gone, it’s time to talk about these two pieces. How much money are we talking about?”

Mu Yingxue looked at the purple jade golden lock and then glanced at the jade Ruyi. She did not know how much these two items were worth, so she asked for the price that she currently needed.

“Two thousand taels?” Nongyue was surprised. “Miss Yingxue, do you think I’m running a restaurant?”

As soon as Mei Qianqian left, Nongyue was not so polite to her anymore. Mei Qianqian thought that this man was helping her. Bullshit. If it weren’t for the fact that he wanted to obtain these two things in a legal way, he wouldn’t have had the patience and necessity to ask her expected price.

Mu Yingxue felt that this was who he really was.

“Is it too much?” She asked, “I don’t think so. Both of them are contained in royal rosewood boxes. If you don’t think they are worth your negotiating with me here, I can’t think of any reason to let the famous Nongyue of the Triumphant Sect chat with a young girl.”

The silver mask streaked across a gorgeous line of multicolored light. In an instant, it became brilliant. There was a smile in his eyes. He said, “Who said you’re a fool? I say you are pretty smart. No, you are more than simply smart.”

Mu Yingxue, of course, did not care about his evaluation. Business was business, she said, “Since you have agreed, let’s exchange the money and deliver the goods.”

Nongyue stared at her silently for a while and was not in a hurry to set the deal. He suddenly asked, “Don’t you think you should express gratitude?”

Mu Yingxue was shocked by his question. After a long while, she realized that this guy was probably referring to the fact that he drove Mei Qianqian away. Huh, it was obvious that he was the one who tried to avoid her.

So she said, “You haven’t given me the receipt. I’ll be very grateful if you give me that.”

Nongyue probably didn’t expect her to be so stubborn, so he was stunned for a while and said with a smile, “Huh, you ungrateful girl.” Then he lifted the curtains and walked into the room.

“Hurry up and come in. Do you want me to carry you two with a sedan?”

Mu Yingxue had no choice but to follow him inside. After all, she was the one asking a favor. As a tough girl, she knew when to yield and when to beat back. The only thing mattered now was getting the money.