TSWPF -Chapter 247 Crisis

Li Qingling turned her head to look. A fat man dressed in fine silks and satin strolled in grandly, leisurely waving a folding fan.

With a snap, the fat man closed the fan and looked at the old man. “Did you hear that, old man? I’ll give you five hundred taels—sell it to me.” His small, beady eyes kept roaming over Li Qingling.

This behavior immediately disgusted Li Qingling. Her expression turned cold as she shot him a glare.

Not only did the fat man not get angry, he burst into laughter instead. “Little lady, why are you staring at this young master?” Her skin was really fine—better even than his eighteenth concubine.

Before Li Qingling could speak, Zeng Tietou immediately stepped in front of her, glaring angrily at the fat man.

The fat man snorted coldly, then turned to the old man and demanded that he sell the shop to him.

But the old man was not someone blinded by money. He shook his head and said, “Everything has an order of first come, first served. This young lady arrived first, and I’ve already agreed to sell it to her.” He had no good impression of this arrogant young master—no matter how much silver he offered, he didn’t want to sell to him.

“Six hundred taels.” The fat man’s face darkened after being refused. Frowning at the old man, he raised the price by another hundred taels. “I’ll add another hundred—sell it to me.”

Six hundred taels was more than two hundred taels higher than three hundred eighty. Any fool would know whom to sell to.

Yet to his surprise, the old man still firmly shook his head and insisted on selling to Li Qingling.

Hearing this, Li Qingling finally relaxed a little. She had really been afraid the old man would sell to someone else.

After all, the other party had offered six hundred taels—far more than she could afford.

If she had to pay six hundred taels for this shop, she simply couldn’t. She still needed to keep some silver for emergencies; she couldn’t pour everything into one shop.

Fortunately, the old man was kind-hearted and not tempted by the fat man.

The fat man’s face sank completely. He stared at the old man with a dark expression and spoke ominously, “Old man, are you sure you want to sell it to someone else? Hm?” As he spoke, he gestured to the servants behind him.

Several servants immediately stepped forward, looking as if they would smash the shop if the old man didn’t sell it to their master.

Their actions made the old man tremble with anger. “Under the Emperor’s very feet, do you have no respect for the law?” How could he possibly feel at ease handing his shop over to such people?

The fat man laughed arrogantly and said that he was the law.

Afraid the old man might get so angry that something would happen to him, Li Qingling stepped out from behind Zeng Tietou. She gently patted the old man on the shoulder, telling him not to get angry with such people—it wasn’t worth it.

After calming the old man, Li Qingling looked at the fat man and said expressionlessly, “From what you’re saying, young master, are you bigger than the Emperor?”

The fat man still had some sense. He knew that if such words reached the Emperor’s ears, his entire family would suffer.

“You wretched girl, what nonsense are you spouting? When did I ever say that?”

“Didn’t you just say that you are the law? If even the Son of Heaven is subject to the law like commoners, then if you are the law, doesn’t that mean you’re greater than the Emperor?” Honestly, since coming to the capital, what Li Qingling hated most were these idle, bullying aristocratic youths.

Hearing this, the fat man’s face alternated between green and red. “I never said that. Don’t throw such filthy accusations on me!” He would never admit to those words, even if beaten to death.

Li Qingling gave him a half-smile. “Whether you said it or not, you know it yourself.” She ignored him and turned to the old man. “Old sir, can we go transfer the ownership now?” She had five hundred taels on her and could give him part of the payment first.

The old man nodded. He also wanted to get the transfer done as quickly as possible to avoid further trouble.

“Alright, let’s go then.”

“Okay…”

Seeing that Li Qingling and the old man completely ignored him and went straight to discussing the transfer, the fat man’s face turned so dark it looked like ink could drip from it. He kicked the table beside him hard with a bang, startling the old man.

“Are you not taking this young master seriously at all? Hm?” A shop he had set his eyes on dared to be sold to someone else—utterly courting death. “Block the door! I want to see who dares to leave!”

“You… you…”

“Old sir, don’t worry. I’ll handle this,” Li Qingling said gently, patting his hand again to calm him.

At this point, the old man still didn’t change his mind about selling the shop to the fat man. Li Qingling felt both touched and guilty.

If it weren’t for selling it to her, the old man wouldn’t have been angered like this.

For this alone, she had to drive that fat man away.

“Little girl, you should leave first. He wouldn’t dare do anything to an old man like me,” the old man said, afraid of implicating her.

Li Qingling shook her head. “Old sir, since you’ve agreed to sell this shop to me, it already belongs to me. I will never let anyone snatch my shop away. Don’t worry—I’ll be fine.” No matter how powerful that fat man’s background was, she stood on the side of reason. She wasn’t afraid.

Seeing how firm she was, the old man stopped persuading her and only told her to be careful—if things really went wrong, she should leave.

Li Qingling smiled and said she understood.

But in her heart, she had already made up her mind—she wouldn’t leave easily.

She turned to the fat man and coldly asked what he wanted to do.

The fat man curled his lips into a grin. “At first, I had my eye on this shop. Now… I’ve got my eye on you, little lady.” All his concubines were gentle and obedient; he thought having a spicy little one would be nice for a change. “Men, take this little lady back with me.”

“Yes, Young Master.” The servants blocking the door rushed over, surrounding Li Qingling and the others.

Li Qingling’s expression grew even colder.

Heh… wants to grab her? That depends on whether he has the ability.

The old man, unaware of Li Qingling’s abilities, panicked and pushed her, urging her to run. He was terrified that he might ruin this young girl’s life and never have peace of mind again.

Li Qingling told him not to worry—she could handle it.

Zeng Tietou had already stepped in front of Li Qingling when the servants surrounded them.

Even if he had to risk his life, he would protect his mistress and ensure she left safely.

“Little girl, don’t fight them head-on. You should leave first. This old man can handle things here.”

“Old sir, don’t worry. I won’t overestimate myself. If I say I can handle them, then I truly can.”

One look at those servants told her they had no real martial training, so she wasn’t too worried.

“Little lady, I’m someone who cherishes beauty. If you’re sensible, come over yourself. Don’t force this young master to use force—it won’t end well for you,” the fat man said in a fake, syrupy tone.

Li Qingling snorted coldly. “Who gave you the guts to abduct a respectable woman?” She had a handsome husband like a jade tree in the wind—how could she ever look at an ugly fat man like him?

Now she truly understood the saying: ugly people cause the most trouble.

“A respectable woman? You’re married?”

“I am. Is that so strange?”

The fat man scrutinized Li Qingling carefully. Seeing that she wasn’t dressed like a married woman, he assumed she was lying. “So what if you’re married? Any woman this young master wants can’t escape.” His sixteenth concubine had been married too, hadn’t she? She still became his concubine in the end.

Hearing this, Li Qingling knew how many women this man had ruined.

Her expression turned icy. She reached out and touched the crossbow at her wrist. If this fat man dared to touch her, she would definitely teach him a lesson.

“Get him! Bring that little lady home to be my nineteenth concubine!”

As soon as his words fell, the servants moved.

Afraid the old man might get hurt, Li Qingling gently pushed him aside and told him to hide somewhere safe.

She then quietly instructed Zeng Tietou to hold off the servants—the fat man was hers.

Zeng Tietou, having seen her skills before, wasn’t worried. He nodded.

He flung aside the servant blocking the fat man, clearing a path for Li Qingling.

Seeing Li Qingling walking toward him, the fat man thought she had changed her mind and grinned widely.

Before he could even laugh, Li Qingling pressed the crossbow at her wrist against his neck.

“Tell your servants to stop. Or else…” She pressed the crossbow down slightly, making him feel a sharp sting at his throat.

Terrified, the fat man shouted repeatedly for them to stop.

When the servants saw their young master being held hostage, they immediately stopped and cried out in alarm.

If anything happened to him, their own lives would be forfeit.

“Do you know who my father is? Do you know who my sister is? I’m telling you—if you don’t remove that thing from my neck, you’ll regret it!”

Li Qingling lifted the corner of her lips in a smile. “Sorry, I really don’t know who your father is, or who your sister is. All I know is, if you keep yapping, this crossbow might pierce your throat.”

“You… you be careful…” The fat man glanced down at the crossbow against his neck and swallowed hard, afraid she would really kill him.

From childhood to now, he’d always gotten whatever he wanted. Today, he had truly kicked an iron plate.

Li Qingling glanced at the servants still lingering nearby. “Tell them to get out.”

The fat man blinked at them frantically, signaling them to leave.

Once the servants had hurried out, Li Qingling continued pressing him, asking whether he would dare do this again.

Hatred filled the fat man’s heart, but he obediently said he wouldn’t dare.

Li Qingling knew he was only saying it and didn’t mean it, but she also knew when to stop.

She gave him a cold look and withdrew the crossbow.

Only then did the fat man finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Just as he looked at Li Qingling and was about to speak, a harsh, furious voice sounded from the doorway: