Who in the world does not know you?

Chapter 12 Raising Money

Ning Qi was unaware that Ye Zi's indenture was in Liu Niang's hands, but Yun Luobai knew.

Ning Qi glanced at Ye Zi, who looked pitiful in her thin green dress, then at Yun Luobai, and then gestured with his chin and winked at the latter.

The clouds fell, but the white clouds remained unmoved.

Ning Qi was well aware that most of the women in brothels were recruited by madams through various means to make money for them.

As an official, Ning Qi had seen many dark sides of the lower classes. He also understood that many women in brothels were not in control of their own lives. It was just that the indenture was in the hands of the other party, and it was a matter of mutual consent. Even the government could not interfere.

Ye Zi was clearly not a girl who served customers in a brothel. Her limp was too conspicuous. No one who came to pay for pleasure would choose such an plain-looking woman with a disability. Not only would they feel it was bad luck, but they would also feel that the money was not well spent.

Ning Qi, who was about to leave, glanced at Liu Niang. He was born with a thick beard and a square face, making him look more mature than his peers. He was also known for his clean and efficient manner, and when he was not smiling, he gave people a sense of inexplicable pressure.

"Liu Niang, what's this?"

"My lord, there's no need to worry. Ye Zi used to serve Mu Li, but now that poor woman is gone, this girl has lost her backbone. I thought about selling her, but I was afraid that with her ordinary looks and disability, no one would be willing to buy her as a slave. But our Rouge Pavilion isn't a charity; we can't just stay here and eat for free. Her body wasn't naturally agile enough for manual labor. If it weren't for Mu Li's sake, we would have already lowered her price and sent her out to entertain customers. People are divided into different classes. Some people can pay a high price just to have a drink with a courtesan like Mu Li, while others, for a moment's pleasure, would take a cheap girl like this..."

After Liu Niang's forced, insincere explanation, Ning Qi naturally understood the gist of it.

He turned his head to look at Yun Luobai again. Although he did not speak to her, at that moment, he remembered the scene of him leaving first, leaving Yun Luobai and Ye Zi alone.

Yun Luobai is a refined and handsome man. He is currently unmarried and childless. In addition, he has only recently returned to Ningzhou Prefecture and has already spent a lot of money to buy a spacious mansion for his father, Yun Ping. This matter has been widely known by word of mouth among the local residents.

He's handsome and rich; if Yun Luobai really wanted to get married, matchmakers would probably break down his door to arrange the marriage.

Ning Qi was well aware of this matter, and naturally he had no intention of letting Yun Luobai and Ye Zi develop feelings for each other.

However, the mansion that Yun Luobai recently purchased is now only inhabited by the father and son. Yun Luobai is responsible for all the daily chores, such as laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, and cooking, which makes him quite busy.

If Ye Zi could be there to help him, staying at home as a maid, it would certainly relieve a lot of his stress...

With this thought in mind, Ning Qi raised an eyebrow and suddenly smiled at Liu Niang.

His smile was naturally not as kind and friendly as Yun Luobai's, and Liu Niang was so shocked that the hairs on her body stood on end.

"Madam, you have this girl's indenture. If you want to resell her, how much silver would be appropriate from the buyer?"

"When her gambling-addicted father sold her to me, it only cost me twenty taels of silver. Although the price wasn't high, she worked and ate at my brothel, which helped her develop some ability to read people. Plus, she's never had a client before and is still a virgin. If you ask me, a buyer should offer at least a hundred taels of silver. If it's not that price, I might as well put her on the sign and let her slowly earn back that hundred taels of silver. It'll just take a while..."

As she spoke, Liu Niang kept watching Ning Qi's expression. As a madam in a brothel, she was naturally better at reading people's expressions. The Ning father and son were both government officials and were quite famous in Ningzhou Prefecture. Although Ning Qi was not yet married, there was no way he would be interested in a woman like Ye Zi, who was of ordinary appearance and had a disability. So she did not hide her thoughts and only subtly revealed what she was thinking.

Liu Niang's asking price of one hundred taels of silver was naturally outrageous. What buyer who could afford one hundred taels of silver would want to take a lame girl back as a slave? According to her, Ye Zi would have no choice but to stay in the Rouge Pavilion to entertain guests.

"Liu Niang, please let me go. Just let me continue doing chores like cleaning, I don't even need to be paid, just please don't make me solicit customers, please!" Ye Zi begs you!

Ye Zi burst into tears and almost knelt down to Liu Niang again. However, besides the group of people from Rouge Pavilion, there were also officials led by Ning Mu in the room. They couldn't make things too ugly, so the few girls from Rouge Pavilion beside her still supported Ye Zi on both sides, preventing her from kneeling down to Liu Niang with her disability, and comforting her in a low voice as someone who had been through similar experiences.

"Sister, you know perfectly well what kind of place this Rouge Pavilion is. Once you're in, it's hard to get out. It's already difficult for women to survive in this world. Just accept your fate like your older sisters..."

"That's right, selling one's body is a way to survive. As the saying goes, people laugh at poverty but not at prostitution. If you were to marry a man and live a real life, you might not be as happy and carefree as you are in this brothel..."

With tears welling up in her eyes, Ye Zi completely ignored the words of comfort from those around her. She turned to look at Yun Luobai, and when their eyes met, Yun Luobai's calm indifference only chilled her to the bone.

"Madam, now that someone has died in your Rouge Pavilion, until the case is investigated and the government seals it off, your Rouge Pavilion cannot open for business."

Ning Qi crossed his arms over his chest and said slowly.

"Officer Ning is incredibly skilled at solving cases. With you and your son here, this case will surely be solved very soon..."

Liu Niang responded, her gaze sweeping over Ning Qi's face, but her voice carried a hint of inexplicable hesitation.

"As you know, my second brother just bought a large house on Chang Le Street for twenty taels of silver. Give me this girl's indenture, and she'll work as my second brother's maid from now on. What do you think?"

As Ning Qi spoke, he reached out and patted Yun Luobai's shoulder, causing the latter's eyes to twitch and startle.

"Big brother, this is not good..."

Ning Qi put away his smile and gently shook his head at Yun Luobai to signal her to be quiet. When he looked at Liu Niang again, the smile on his face was gone.

Liu Niang was a smart woman and could definitely hear the threat in his words.

If he doesn't get Ye Zi's indenture today, the seal on the door of Rouge Pavilion will probably have to stay on forever.

"Please wait a moment, sir, I'll go and fetch it for you right away. Ye Zi, you're a lucky girl. Now that you're with Young Master Yun, you'd better serve him well, or you might anger him and be left to fend for yourself on the street..."

Liu Niang tossed the green handkerchief in her hand, turned around, and walked outside.

The common people cannot fight against the officials. Since Ning Qi has made his point clear, she naturally will not bring trouble upon her Rouge Pavilion for the sake of eighty taels of silver.

Moreover, since she cooperated so well today, Ning Qi will owe her a favor in the future, so she won't be at a loss.

After Liu Niang left, Ning Qi looked around, his gaze sweeping over the remaining constables present.

"What are you waiting for? Start raising the money!"