Chapter 29

"He... seems a bit different from those other men..."

Miss Su did not get angry at Zhao Hongrun for touching her hair without her permission, because she felt that his gaze, though intense, was not lewd. It was as if he was looking at her as a beautiful object, purely appreciating her beauty, which was why she did not get angry.

Confucius said, "Food and sex are human nature."

The true meaning of this saying is that the desire to see beautiful things is a human instinct. In simpler terms, it means judging something by its appearance.

When it comes to people, it means judging a person by their looks.

However, being attracted to beauty is not the same as being lewd. The essence of attraction lies in "admiring from a distance without touching." Once this line is crossed, it is no longer attraction but lewdness, which implies greed and the desire to possess and manipulate something completely.

Zhao Hongrun's gaze, though focused on her from start to finish, treated her as a beautiful object, purely with an appreciative attitude. This was why Miss Su did not get angry.

On the contrary, she was somewhat curious and puzzled by how this young Master Jiang seemed to have not seen a woman for over a decade.

"Pour the wine."

"..."

"Pour the wine."

"..."

"Pour the wine."

"..."

For a full half an incense stick's time, the two did not exchange a single word.

Zhao Hongrun was solely focused on admiring the beauty before him, and when he spoke, it was to ask her to pour the wine for him.

It must be said that the wine poured by Miss Su herself seemed to taste particularly good.

However, his actions made Miss Su somewhat exasperated.

"Hey, are you ever going to stop?"

The young maid, Lüer, could not help but step forward to criticize, "My lady has poured you over a dozen cups already. What do you take her for, you bad man?"

"..." Miss Su did not speak, only looking at Zhao Hongrun.

She was not angry, but puzzled by why this young Master Jiang did not speak to her at all, treating her as if she were an object to be admired. Although his gaze was not lewd, this cold treatment of a beauty was still hard to accept.

"Am I just a decoration?" Miss Su complained inwardly.

After all, the painting of the crane spreading its wings and calling out that Zhao Hongrun had drawn on the wall had touched her heart. Even though he had not truly understood her thoughts, she could not help but want to learn more about this young Master Jiang.

But she did not expect him to be so indifferent, admiring her beauty without any verbal interaction.

"You're being quite unreasonable, you know?"

When Zhao Hongrun said this, both Miss Su and the young maid Lüer found it hard to believe. They wondered who was being unreasonable.

Although their thoughts were different, both Miss Su and Lüer were amused by Zhao Hongrun's accusation.

"Why do you say we're being unreasonable? My lady is not a tavern servant. Why should she keep pouring you wine?" Lüer said angrily.

"Because she lost."

"What's so good about your lousy crane? It's so thin it would fall over in the wind... My lady only let you win because you're young. Pouring you one cup was enough, but you're so shameless, do you really think my lady is a tavern servant?"

Lüer's words made Miss Su blush slightly. After all, anyone with some skill in painting could see that Zhao Hongrun's crane was on a completely different level from hers, the difference between a celestial crane and an ordinary one.

Zhao Hongrun glanced at Miss Su, seeing her blushing and embarrassed, and did not say anything more. He asked curiously, "So, what do you want?"

Lüer tilted her head and studied Zhao Hongrun for a while before suddenly asking, "Hey, do you have money?"

"So direct?" Zhao Hongrun found it somewhat amusing. "That depends on how much you're asking for."

"Ten thousand taels of gold!" Lüer said proudly. "If you have ten thousand taels of gold to redeem my lady, she would pour you wine for the rest of her life... But do you have it?"

"Hmm?" Zhao Hongrun frowned slightly.

Seeing him frown, Miss Su felt a sudden panic, as if she did not want him to misunderstand. She scolded softly, "Lüer, no nonsense!"

She lowered her head, feeling deeply ashamed.

But Lüer did not feel ashamed at all. Pouting, she said, "My lady, why can't we say it? All the ladies in the house think the same way. If they don't find a suitable rich young master while they're still pure, do they really plan to stay here forever?"

"Ah, I see..." Zhao Hongrun understood.

However, while he understood, he found Lüer's exaggerated demands somewhat amusing. Ten thousand taels of gold, which would be equivalent to over a hundred thousand taels of silver, was a ridiculous amount. Even if Miss Su were made of gold, she would not be worth that much.

"About one hundred and fifty taels of gold..." he muttered.

(Note: According to Zhao Hongrun's estimate, Miss Su weighed about fifty jin (old weight system), which would be equivalent to about one hundred and forty-four taels of gold if she were made of gold.)

"??"

Hearing Zhao Hongrun's words, both Miss Su and Lüer were puzzled.

Zhao Hongrun looked Miss Su up and down, then explained, "I mean... Miss Su weighs about fifty jin. Even if she were made of gold, it would only be about one hundred and fifty taels of gold... which is less than two thousand taels of silver. I can afford two thousand taels of silver."

Indeed, two thousand taels of silver was about four months' salary for Zhao Hongrun as a prince, not a small amount but not an exorbitant one.

"Phew!"

Before Miss Su could react, Lüer angrily retorted, "You're only worth two thousand taels! Haven't you heard that beauty is priceless? A rich young man recently offered five thousand taels of silver to redeem my lady, but the manager of the pavilion didn't even look at him."

However, Lüer's opinion of Zhao Hongrun improved slightly. After all, his casual mention of two thousand taels of silver suggested that his family might be wealthier than she had initially thought.

"But even so, ten thousand taels of gold is still an exaggeration... How much does Miss Su owe the pavilion?"

"Ah? Does this mean you want to redeem me?" Miss Su was taken aback, looking at Zhao Hongrun. The more she looked at his youthful face, the more awkward she felt.

He was fourteen, she was twenty. The idea of a fourteen-year-old boy wanting to redeem a twenty-year-old woman seemed awkward.

After all, to Miss Su, this fourteen-year-old young Master Jiang was just a child. Could his words be taken seriously? (Note: In ancient times, nobles came of age at twenty, while commoners came of age at fifteen.)

But looking into Zhao Hongrun's serious eyes, despite telling herself not to take him seriously, her heart still raced.

"Well... I don't know exactly, I'll have to ask the manager of the pavilion..."

She lowered her head, her cheeks flushed.

"Hmm, in that case..." Zhao Hongrun frowned in thought. "Go and ask. If it's within my means, I will do my best."

He knew that women who ended up in such places usually did not owe much money when they were sold to the brothel. The problem was that when someone wanted to redeem them, the brothel would not let them go without a substantial profit. That was the key.

Of course, what to do with Miss Su after redeeming her was also a problem. He couldn't secretly hide her in the Wenzhao Pavilion, as that would have serious consequences if discovered.

But if he did nothing...

Zhao Hongrun looked at the woman before him, feeling somewhat moved. After all, such a gentle and serene woman was the type he had always admired.

"Oh..." Miss Su replied, trying to sound calm, but her heart was racing.

Even so, she did not take him seriously. After all, the words of a fourteen-year-old child lacked credibility.

It wasn't that she doubted his family's wealth. After all, someone who could casually mention such an amount must come from a wealthy family. The problem was that even if he had the means to redeem her, it didn't mean he could give her a good future.

Her age and background were issues.

Because of this, Miss Su did not take him seriously, finding him merely interesting.

By this time, it was already dusk. Zongwei Shen Yu, who had not disturbed them the entire time, approached and whispered, "Young Master, it's time to go back."

"Hmm."

Zhao Hongrun nodded. Although he felt reluctant to leave, the Emperor of the Great Wei had placed a restriction on him, and if he did not return to the palace by dusk, he might lose the token in his possession.

"Miss Su, I must take my leave. ... Lü Mu."

Zhao Hongrun stood up, bowed to Miss Su, and then called out to Zongwei Lü Mu.

Lü Mu understood and took out several fifty-tael ingots from his bag, neatly arranging them on the table, a total of eight ingots.

Four hundred taels!

Lüer's eyes widened in surprise, unable to believe that a Zongwei dressed as an ordinary person could carry four hundred taels of silver.

But Miss Su, seeing this, was not pleased.

She bit her lip and said softly, "Is Young Master Jiang mocking me?"

This was the first time she had looked at Zhao Hongrun with a defiant and dignified gaze.

From her eyes, Zhao Hongrun saw a stubborn and proud spirit. Realizing she had misunderstood, he smiled and explained, "I said I would do my best. Keep this to deal with the manager of the pavilion. ... Even a crane as pure as snow has to lower its head to peck at food in the mud sometimes."

"!!"

Miss Su trembled, looking at Zhao Hongrun's retreating back in disbelief, her heart unable to calm down.

"He... guessed?"

"Guessed what?" Lüer was happily collecting the ingots, rubbing them against her face with a greedy look.

Miss Su ignored her maid, her gaze fixed on the painting Zhao Hongrun had drawn on the wall, lost in thought.

After a long while, she sighed softly.

"Alas, you were born too late, through six cold and hot seasons..."

At the same time, in the Chonggong Hall of the imperial palace, the chief eunuch Tong Xian was reporting to the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, the Eighth Prince guessed that I would send an eunuch to follow him, so..."

"Lost him?" the Emperor of the Great Wei interrupted casually.

"Yes..." Tong Xian lowered his head.

"That the rebel son guessed is not surprising," the Emperor said calmly. "Tomorrow, send more people. I want to know what he does every day when he leaves the palace."

"Yes."

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