Of course, that was impossible.
Su Xiaoqi was the most pragmatic. She had nothing to contend with Madam Huang Lian, the wife of the Marquis of Yong'an, at the moment. So after a moment of silence, she said, "If Madam truly desires it, I can let you have it. However, your maid is being rather aggressive. Doesn't that smack of bullying someone with power?"
Su Xiaoqi deliberately raised her voice, cornering the Marchioness of Yong'an in front of the passersby she had attracted.
The Marchioness of Yong'an stared at the girl with her narrow, almond-shaped eyes. This ordinary-dressed, slightly stunning girl, upon knowing her identity, neither yielded nor retreated. She was too audacious. Had she not been properly disciplined?
However, this was Mianzhou City, not the capital. A dragon might not be able to suppress a local snake.
After some thought, she patiently said, "Name your price." In this day and age, there was nothing money couldn't buy. If the other party refused to sell, it must be because the price was not high enough.
"This box is not cheap," Su Xiaoqi deliberately argued, even advising them that the shop would have new mooncakes tomorrow. They had no need to quarrel here.
"Since our Madam asked you to name a price, just name it. What's with all the nonsense... Mmph, mmph... My, yes..."
The little maid had opened her mouth wide and chattered for quite some time. Su Xiaoqi grew impatient. Seizing an opportunity when no one was watching, she flicked a walnut into her mouth.
She was instantly silenced. At the same time, the hard walnut hit her teeth, causing her considerable pain. She couldn't speak and could only glare around, trying to figure out who was playing this trick on her. But after looking for a long time and seeing no one, she stomped her feet in anger.
With no one to speak for her, Huang Lian had to step in herself. She glared at Chen Jinniang, asking who had done it.
Chen Jinniang also disliked such rowdy customers. What was this all about? It was just buying a box of mooncakes, yet it was making a scene like a gang fight.
Just as Chen Jinniang was about to dismiss them, she saw Su Xiaoqi winking at her. Understanding, Chen Jinniang, following Su Xiaoqi's lead, snatched the mooncakes from the counter, declared she wanted a refund, and that she wouldn't sell to them anymore, but would sell to the lady from the capital.
"That won't do, I've already paid," Su Xiaoqi shook her head, indicating she wouldn't back down. She even held up four fingers, saying, "She offered double the price, I offer four times. Hand it over." As Su Xiaoqi spoke, she took the mooncakes from Chen Jinniang's hands.
Amber, having finally managed to dislodge the walnut from her mouth, and ignoring the pain in her mouth and gums, immediately began to attack Su Xiaoqi at her mistress's prompting. "Our Madam offers five times the price."
"I offer six times," Su Xiaoqi retorted, not to be outdone.
"Seven times."
"Eight times."
"Nine times."
"Ten times."
"Twenty times."
The bids had been increasing by one increment at a time, and Su Xiaoqi had been shouting with gusto. But Huang Lian suddenly called out, "Twenty times."
Su Xiaoqi hooked her fingers and calculated. The mooncakes were one string of cash per box. Twenty times that would be twenty strings. Not enough, far too little.
Su Xiaoqi snorted and loudly declared, "I offer forty times, sell it to me."
Huang Lian looked at the impudent woman before her, filled with anger. She really wanted to slap her, to show her lack of respect and to disgrace her. But she couldn't. The crowd of bystanders surrounding them was growing larger, and she didn't want to be pointed at and called a bullying Marchioness.
In truth, Su Xiaoqi didn't have that many schemes. She considered herself someone who didn't want trouble, but she was not someone who feared it either. Moreover, when someone bullied her to this extent, almost to the point of defecating on her head, how could she remain silent? Besides, Shen Yun had been holding her hand tightly the whole time. Although he hadn't said anything, Su Xiaoqi could clearly see his intentions. He was cheering her on, telling her not to be afraid because he was here. This made Su Xiaoqi even more confident. She wasn't even afraid of the other party being a Marchioness. Especially seeing the ferocity that flashed in Huang Lian's eyes several times, only to be suppressed, it delighted her. She enjoyed seeing her hate her but being unable to do anything about it.
"One hundred strings, no, one hundred taels, I offer one hundred taels." Huang Lian finally lost her patience and dramatically increased the bid. This time, it wasn't a tenfold or twentyfold increase, but a jump of over a hundred times.
Su Xiaoqi smiled. From one string of cash to one hundred taels, she was very satisfied with this price. She really wanted to burst out laughing, but the money wasn't in her hands yet, so she could only feign a shocked and sad expression, "Madam, this is just a food item worth one string of cash. Why must you do this?"
"Hmph, as if I need your advice. What are you to tell me?" Huang Lian's temper flared, and she couldn't hear anything. Not only did she ignore Su Xiaoqi's feigned advice, but she also paid no attention to her personal maid Amber's words. She directly reached out to Amber for a hundred-tael silver note, stuffed it into Chen Jinniang's hand, snatched the mooncakes from Su Xiaoqi, and left without looking back.
"Oh, Madam..." Su Xiaoqi put on a sad and disappointed act. A few tears welled up in her large peach blossom eyes, about to fall, clinging to her long lashes, making her look utterly pitiful. The onlookers were all pointing fingers, saying the Madam was unreasonable, acting out just because she had money...
Su Xiaoqi finished her performance, her eyes feeling a bit dry and unable to continue. She burrowed into Shen Yun's arms and fainted. Shen Yun, at the opportune moment, borrowed the backyard from Chen Jinniang to care for his wife. After a brief commotion, Chen Jinniang explained to everyone that Su Xiaoqi was not seriously ill, just a bit stimulated. She admitted it was Chen Jin's responsibility and that they were letting the customer rest in the backyard for a while. She dismissed the crowd, deciding to have Xiao Xique board up the shop and close for the day. The pastries were almost sold out anyway. Moreover, Su Xiaoqi's last transaction had earned enough for a month.
Hearing that there was no more commotion outside, Su Xiaoqi stopped pretending. She opened her eyes and looked around, seeing that she was still in Shen Yun's arms. She turned to get up. But Shen Yun held her tightly, making it impossible for her to move. She quickly signaled to Shen Yun, indicating that she was fine and needed to get up.
"My wife is weak. You should rest," Shen Yun said, his thin lips curving slightly as he pretended to touch her forehead.
"Oh, I'm fine now," Su Xiaoqi pushed him. She wanted to see the hundred-tael silver note Chen Jinniang had received. After struggling for a while, she finally got Shen Yun to let go. Chen Jinniang had already handed over the silver note. Her face showed happiness, but also a trace of imperceptible worry. She felt the price was too high and feared the other party might become displeased upon realizing it.
Su Xiaoqi told her that the other party would definitely be unhappy. However, it wouldn't be directed at the shop, but solely at her. Hearing this, Chen Jinniang felt no comfort and became even more worried. She was worried about Su Xiaoqi.
Su Xiaoqi spread her hands and said somewhat shamelessly, "Anyway, I don't know her at all, and she's from the capital. She'll be leaving in a few days. Who knows if we'll meet again after this? What's there to be afraid of?" Su Xiaoqi was in excellent spirits now. The capital was where the original protagonist of the novel died. She would not go there lightly. She didn't want to challenge the plot. However, at this moment, Su Xiaoqi was unaware that from the very beginning, this matter had already been beyond her control!