Chapter 9: "You Blocking My Person Here Means..."
Wen Yu saw that the men didn't seem like decent folk and silently thought, "This is bad." She grabbed the silk cloth and New Year's goods placed beside her, preparing to leave.
But the gang leader pushed aside the waiter who came to serve tea, hooked a long bench with his foot and stepped on it, directly blocking Wen Yu's path. With a lecherous grin, he threatened: "Little lady, no need to hurry off. The last one who rushed off like that broke her leg and is still lying in bed."
The tea drinkers nearby, seeing this situation, all kept their distance.
"Sirs, sirs, let's talk this over properly..." The waiter who had been shoved aside by the gang leader scrambled up and tried to intervene, but was pushed away again by two other thugs. The melon seed shells they spat out nearly hit his face: "Go brew your tea and mind your own business!"
The waiter didn't dare offend these local bullies either. Clutching his knocked-off felt hat, he retreated to the stove, looking back anxiously every few steps.
Wen Yu noticed the lecherous looks the men were giving her and felt disgusted. She raised her hand and removed the cloth covering her face, revealing a face full of red rashes as she coughed: "I have no grievance with you gentlemen, why block my way? I recently contracted a serious illness that caused these rashes. I cover my face with cloth to avoid spreading it to others. Surely you gentlemen have mistaken me for someone else?"
"Hiss..."
The thugs gasped in shock. From afar, they had thought she was a young, pretty woman. Now seeing Wen Yu's face full of red rashes and hearing her say it might be contagious, they immediately avoided her like the plague.
Even the gang leader who had been blocking her path with his foot on the bench quickly withdrew his leg. His previously lecherous expression turned ferocious as he cursed: "Damn woman, if you're contagious why didn't you keep that cloth on? Ugly leper-faced woman who could scare the King of Hell to death!"
Wen Yu raised her hand to put the cloth back on, but whether from fear or nervousness, her hands trembled so much she failed several times to properly cover her face.
The gang leader was so disgusted he didn't dare look at her face again, growling roughly: "I've got the right person, I'm looking for you. I oversee the entire East Market - every vendor doing business here pays me tribute!"
"You and that old woman went to sell embroidered handkerchiefs at the cloth stall and sold out a whole basket in no time. Someone saw it, so you've got to pay your share of tribute too!"
Wen Yu keenly caught a piece of information revealed in his words - that she and Xiao Huiniang selling handkerchiefs had attracted these ruffians' attention because someone had informed on them.
She just didn't know whether the informant was one of these thugs' lookouts, or some jealous vendor.
Observing how arrogantly these men carried themselves while the surrounding tea drinkers and waiters didn't dare speak up, she guessed these men had been tyrannizing the market for a long time.
Although the three men were now disgusted by her facial rashes and had lost interest in harassing her, it seemed the tribute money was still unavoidable. She said: "We're new to the market doing small business and truly didn't know the rules here. How about I treat you gentlemen to some tea and snacks as tribute?"
As she spoke, she took out the only ten coins left after her shopping from her sleeve and placed them on the table.
The gang leader glanced at the few copper coins and slammed his palm heavily on the table, his triangular eyes glaring fiercely at Wen Yu: "Ten coppers? Ugly woman, are you trying to pay off beggars?"Wen Yu's eardrums ached from the slamming of the table. Frowning, she deliberately coughed as if she could barely stand, taking a step forward to lean on the table. The gang leader who had slammed the table hastily retreated a step.
Covering her mouth with a light cough, Wen Yu said, "This is all I have. How much could a few silk handkerchiefs be worth? I beg you, sir, do not make this difficult."
The gang leader gritted his teeth and sneered, "When I was collecting debts for the gambling house, I broke a man's legs, and he didn't dare say I was making things difficult for him. It's just that your pockmarked face disgusts me, so I don't want to waste any more words on you. Leave the silk cloth in your hands and get lost."
The man's crude words and outrageous demands made Wen Yu's eyes turn cold. The most valuable things she had were those pieces of silk cloth, and she absolutely could not give them up.
As two thugs moved forward to snatch the silk cloth from her, Wen Yu quickly shielded it, deliberately revealing the rash on the back of her hand. "No, you can't. I've already touched this cloth when I selected it, and I've been carrying it all this way. If anyone else uses it, they might catch this vile disease from me. Besides, my Second Brother also works at the gambling house. Gentlemen, if not for my sake, then for his, please do us this favor!"
Wen Yu remembered that the rogue at the gambling house didn't seem to be a low-level lackey. If these men knew him and learned that Xiao Huiniang was his mother, they probably wouldn't dare trouble them further.
Whether frightened by Wen Yu's first statement or hearing that someone in her family also worked at the gambling house, the two thugs stopped trying to grab the silk cloth and looked toward their leader.
The gang leader, however, snorted with laughter. "When I'm out collecting debts, even neighbors who work as kitchen scullions dare ask me for favors. What kind of stray cat or dog is your Second Brother that I should do him a favor?"
He spat on the ground and glared at Wen Yu. "Go on, then. What's your Second Brother's full name? Say it loud so I can hear."
Wen Yu had only heard Chen Lai Zi call the rogue "Second Brother Xiao" and didn't know his actual name. But Xiao Huiniang often called him "Huan'er." Common folks believed that humble names helped children survive, so perhaps the rogue was really named Xiao Huan?
Steadying herself, she suppressed the hesitation in her voice and said, "My Second Brother is named Xiao Huan."
At the mention of the surname "Xiao," the gang leader's arrogant expression faded slightly, but the full name didn't match. His face shifted uncertainly as he barked, "Xiao what? Speak up, damn it!"
Wen Yu had coughed too forcefully earlier, and her throat was now hoarse. Shouted at by the gang leader, she could only yell back, "My Second Brother is named Xiao Huan!"
After that outburst, she noticed the gang leader's expression shift from gloomy to mocking. Wen Yu's heart sank—was the rogue really just a lowly lackey at the gambling house after all?
Holding the silk cloth tightly, she lowered her gaze, wondering what other escape plan she could devise.
The gang leader scoffed, "I thought your Second Brother was someone important, but it turns out he's just a..."
The two thugs standing beside Wen Yu stared blankly outside, their faces suddenly filled with terror. They desperately signaled to their leader, their eyes wide with fear and legs trembling uncontrollably.The gang leader sensed something amiss and had just cut off his words when he heard a voice from behind him—light as a feather yet chilling him to the bone:
"Just a what?"
The howling cold wind outside the tea stall seemed to converge on his neck in that instant.
Stiffening his neck as he turned, the gang leader’s legs gave way at the sight of Xiao Li’s handsome yet sinister face, which seemed to hold a faint smile but had murderous eyes. He dropped to his knees.
"Xiao... Brother Xiao..."
"I... I didn’t know she meant... you..."
His purplish-red face now visibly paled, his tongue tangled as if knotted, and his words stumbled. Kneeling there, he trembled like a sieve.
Wen Yu was rather bewildered. She couldn’t fathom how the situation had escalated so abruptly. Just moments ago, this gang leader had scoffed at the Rogue’s name she mentioned—why was he now cowering like a frightened child upon seeing him?
Moreover, he claimed he hadn’t known she was referring to that Rogue. Hadn’t she clearly stated the Rogue’s name? How could he not have known?
Were there many in their gambling house named Xiao Li?
Before she could unravel the mystery, she saw the Rogue lean forward slightly, pat the gang leader’s face, and ask with a chilling smile, "What were you trying to do, cornering my person here?"
The gang leader was on the verge of tears. "I... I didn’t know she was yours! If I’d known, I wouldn’t have dared even with ten thousand guts..."
Wen Yu, who had just narrowly escaped trouble, momentarily overlooked the ambiguous implication of being called "his person." She immediately accused, "Second Master, this man saw the elderly lady exchange embroidered handkerchiefs for silver at the market and seized the chance to corner me, demanding I hand over the silk fabric she bought as a tribute to him!"
Terrified, the gang leader frantically waved his hands. "N-no... that’s not..."
He wanted to explain but found no grounds—Wen Yu had merely extricated herself without lying. Those handkerchiefs were sold by her and Xiao Huiniang together, but they essentially belonged to Xiao Huiniang, and the silk fabric was indeed purchased by Xiao Huiniang.
In the end, the gang leader could only weep bitterly and plead, "Brother Xiao, I wouldn’t dare... truly wouldn’t... I didn’t know the old lady with her was Auntie Xiao..."
"It was all that peddler from the East Third Stall—the one selling sundries. He told me Auntie had made a big deal with the cloth merchant without paying tribute, so I lost my head and came looking..."
Fear had driven him to confess everything indiscriminately.
Hearing this, Wen Yu frowned slightly. A peddler?
Could it be the one who tried to forcibly buy the handkerchiefs from Xiao Huiniang this morning?
When Xiao Li heard that Xiao Huiniang was involved, the casual amusement in his eyes froze. The hand patting the gang leader’s face abruptly seized his collar, slamming him hard against the table edge. His gaze sharpened like a honed blade as he enunciated each word, "Where. Is. My. Mother?"
Terrified by his ferocity, the gang leader trembled uncontrollably, a wet patch spreading beneath him. "I... I didn’t trouble Auntie! I saw this young lady with the goods at the tea stall and... came straight here..."
Only then did Xiao Li release him, looking down from his height, his profile cast in shadow by the sunlight. His deceptively light tone dripped with menace: "If there’s a next time, I won’t spare you."
"Get lost."The gang leader seemed as if he had already died once. Upon hearing those words, he was almost grateful and eager to scramble away, but his legs were as weak as noodles and completely refused to obey. In the end, two young rogues, their own legs trembling, went over and dragged him away, half-carrying and half-crawling as they all made their escape.
Wen Yu watched their awkward retreating figures and felt a wave of satisfaction wash over her, finally venting her pent-up frustration. But when she turned around, she saw the Rogue staring at her with a gloomy expression.
She thought he was blaming her for not staying with Xiao Huiniang and instead lazing around alone at the tea stall. She explained, "Auntie went back to buy some silk fabric and asked me to watch the things here..."
"My surname is Xiao, given name Li," the other party slowly interrupted her.
Wen Yu was struck dumb.
Author's note:
Fish Treasure (Yu Bao): Got the boss’s name wrong while working a temporary job, fired tomorrow morning for stepping into the office with the left foot first QAQ
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