USWHC -Chapter 333 Tricked but Tricked Back (Part 3)

“Five hundred taels! Five hundred taels, and I’ll release her!” The madam said greedily. “She’s young, after all! And when she was bought, it was agreed—she’s worth five hundred taels!”

“What? Five hundred taels again?” Old Madam Zhu nearly fainted. She really was out of money! This time, she had even taken out her coffin savings!

“That’s right, not a single tael less!” The madam even used their own words against them.

Old Zhu couldn’t take it anymore. Fuming, he said, “This is robbery!” Huh… that sounded familiar.

But the moment he raised his head, a flurry of punches and kicks landed on him. Everything went red before his eyes. Well, his head had been cracked open! Wailing, he realized—they were hitting him brutally!

The madam looked at them with a sly grin and said bluntly, “Yes, it’s robbery!”

Old Madam Zhu burst into tears. “Don’t… don’t hit him! We—we really will get Zhu Jie back for you. I promise, just release my daughter! Didn’t we just give you 550 taels? That should count as ransoming her, isn’t that enough?”

“What about my money!” The madam snapped, gritting her teeth. She was twisting the terms—did she think they were fools?

“If we get Zhu Jie back, she’s worth five hundred taels, right? That’s our money, isn’t it?” Old Madam Zhu argued desperately.

Get Zhu Jie back? Could they even do that? Secretly, she felt a flicker of hope.

“Then go get her first! I’ll hold her for now. If you can’t get her back, I’ll have her take Zhu Jie’s place and make sure you earn all your money back!”

Always thinking about making money, huh! Old Madam Zhu couldn’t help but cry again. “But she’s not pretty! She can’t replace Zhu Jie! Let her come with us! More helpers mean a better chance of success!”

“Yes, yes! I’m ugly, scary even, so it’s better to go with my mother! I’ll definitely bring her back for you!” At that moment, Zhu Shishi even rushed to admit her ugliness.

Unfortunately, the madam wasn’t buying it. With a sly flourish, she pinched Zhu Shishi’s cheek, her lips curling in a smirk. “You’re not ugly at all. With a bit of dressing up, you could take a customer easily!”

“N-no, I… I couldn’t!” Zhu Shishi scrunched her face into the ugliest expression she could manage. “See? I’m ugly!” She truly wished everyone would call her ugly right now.

Smack! The madam slapped her and growled, “Stop shamelessly showing your face!”

Old Madam Zhu saw that her daughter’s face was already red from the slap. Heart aching, she quickly said, “Fine, fine. We’ll let you hold her for now. Once we find Zhu Jie, we’ll swap her back!”

Zhu Shishi heard this and thought her mother was abandoning her! She immediately burst into tears. “Mom, I don’t want to stay here alone. Please, take me with you!”

Old Madam Zhu looked at her pitiful daughter and couldn’t help feeling heartbroken, yet she remained firm. “Don’t worry. I’ll get her back, I promise!”

Then she turned to the madam. “But let’s make it clear—before we bring her back, no one can touch my daughter!”

The situation was dire—they were in a wolf’s den. All they could do was beg for the minimum protection. Honestly, Old Madam Zhu’s judgment was sharp; at least she realized it was impossible to take Zhu Shishi away right now.

The madam seemed to consider this for a moment and actually agreed. Coldly, she said, “Fine. But I’ll give you only three days. Three days to find her. If you succeed, I’ll release your daughter. If not, she’ll become the top courtesan, and you can enjoy the consequences!”

She laughed triumphantly, as if she had thought of something amusing. Then she added, “Of course, if we find her first, sorry… I’ll take both little ones!”

The Zhu family felt as if struck by lightning. They collapsed to the ground! This… this madam was even worse than they were!

At this moment, they more than anyone else hoped that Zhu Jie would not be found—so they could have a chance to find her themselves. God, please help them!