He started by killing his abusive father, and from then on, he embarked on the road to wealth.

Chapter 23, The Sixth Concubine

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he looked Meng Fuqing up and down. Although the girl was thin and had dark skin, her features and face were quite pretty. With a little dressing up, she would definitely be a little beauty.

If you can present her to the master, there will surely be a reward.

Meng Fuqing ignored his gaze, only slightly curving her lips into a smile, "Excuse me."

The pharmacy owner, watching from the side, couldn't help but feel worried. He called Meng Fuqing to the backyard under the pretext of discussing the price.

As soon as she stepped into the backyard of the pharmacy, Meng Fuqing keenly sensed a sharp gaze falling on her.

She turned her head and saw two men sitting and standing under the pavilion. The one sitting was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, with his black hair tied up high. He was facing away from her and remained motionless, as if taking a nap.

Her left cheek was covered in scars, and she had a knife at her waist. She looked fierce and very wary.

Both of them were covered in blood.

After only a cursory glance, Meng Fuqing withdrew his gaze.

The two arrived at a teahouse. The innkeeper went to change his outer garments first, and after he finished, the apprentice brought the tea.

He said, “Miss Meng, aren’t you afraid of offending Master Lin by acting this way? You may not know, but he is related to the county magistrate. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to act so arrogantly in Shili Town for so many years.”

Meng Fuqing took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, and after putting down the teacup, he said, "Thank you for the reminder, shopkeeper. I was bound to offend this person sooner or later. I just hope it won't implicate you, shopkeeper."

Seeing her calm demeanor, the shopkeeper was unsure whether she didn't understand what this meant or truly had the confidence to confront the Lin family.

"These servants are just bullies relying on their master's power. I have a relationship with Master Lin, so it's no problem."

Not wanting to say anything more, the shopkeeper got down to business, "The ginseng is indeed of excellent quality. Since you've risked offending Master Lin, I can't very well try to lower the price further. I'll charge you seven taels of silver for one or two ginseng roots, so I'll give you sixty-five taels of silver. How about that?"

Meng Fuqing knew that the shopkeeper's price was already very reasonable.

Wild ginseng grows slowly; many take thirty years to grow less than half a pound. The ginseng she dug up was from a place with fertile soil and weighed more than nine ounces, which is already a very good price.

"Of course it's excellent, thank you very much, shopkeeper."

After the two agreed, the shopkeeper brought out silver ingots for Meng Fuqing to count on the spot. After the counting was completed, Meng Fuqing gave the shopkeeper the few ordinary medicinal herbs in his basket, put the silver ingots in the basket, covered them with a cloth to cover them, and then bid farewell to the shopkeeper.

As Meng Fuqing walked out of the teahouse, she could feel the scarred man's gaze on her, but she left without paying any attention.

After she left, the boy, who had been resting with his eyes closed, asked, "Who was that?"

The scarred man turned around and said respectfully, "She seems to be just an ordinary farm girl, her words and actions are just a little unusual."

He possessed internal strength and keen senses. From the moment Meng Fuqing deliberately offended the servant of the wealthy man, he had been wondering if this person was unusual. He never expected that he was indeed a medicine seller.

She wasn't afraid that the two men would get greedy and steal her newly acquired silver.

The boy with his hair tied up spoke in a clear, spring-like voice: "Isn't she afraid of you?"

The scarred man hesitated, equally puzzled, and said, "They shouldn't be afraid."

When he's not wearing a mask, his face is so striking that he can scare any young woman. This is the first time a young woman hasn't been afraid of him.

The young man's brow twitched slightly. "It's rare to find someone who isn't afraid of your face. You're truly exceptional."

After he finished speaking, he asked, "How is Mu Sheng?"

“The doctors in this small town are not skilled enough, and we don’t know when he will wake up.” The scarred man paused. “Young master, why don’t you let the doctor check your injuries first? We still have a long way to go.”

"A minor injury." The boy slowly opened his narrow eyes and said nonchalantly, "Let's save Mu Sheng's life first, and we can discuss the rest later."

"Yes."

***

Meng Fuqing walked out of the small restaurant under the glares of the two servants. As soon as he stepped out, he saw Shan Qiyu pacing back and forth at the door.

"Mother," Meng Fuqing called out.

Shan Qiyu's eyes lit up, and she quickly stepped forward. "Why are you so slow? Mother thought something had happened."

"Something did happen and I was delayed for a while." Meng Fuqing glanced at the pharmacy behind him and said softly, "Mother, let's go first."

The two figures quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Behind them, two figures, one tall and one short, silently watched their departing backs, their eyes seemingly pondering yet also filled with greed.

The two exchanged a glance, and the shorter servant followed the mother and daughter away, while the taller servant returned to the pharmacy.

On the other side, Meng Fuqing hid in a small alley with Shan Qiyu until the short servant appeared and disappeared from her sight, and then she lowered her hand from covering Shan Qiyu's mouth.

Dan Qiyu was quite frightened by her actions, but dared not speak loudly, only whispering, "Qingqing, what happened?"

“Mother, I remember that after my father squandered all the money from selling grain, he had no money left to buy wine. He didn’t come home for two days before he died, and when he did, he was reeking of alcohol. Where did he get the money to squander?”

Shan Qiyu paused for a moment before saying, "He didn't tell me..."

Suddenly, as if struck by a sudden thought, she looked up at Meng Fuqing and said with difficulty, "Qingqing, you...you mean..."

Meng Fuqing knew she had already guessed, and nodded, saying, "He may have already received money from the Lin family. I overheard a servant from the Lin family at the pharmacy saying that the Lin family is going to take their sixteenth concubine in a few days, and it is very likely that it will be me."

Dan Qiyu panicked instantly. She gripped her palms tightly, trying to calm herself down.

When he spoke again, his voice trembled but was clear and organized: “When it comes to marriage, it has always been the parents’ decision and the matchmaker’s words. Without a matchmaker and betrothal, it doesn’t count. We’ll return their money when the time comes. They can’t just take it by force.”

She took Meng Fuqing's hand and held it tightly, saying, "Qingqing, Mother will definitely protect you this time."

Meng Fuqing lowered her eyes to look at the two hands clasped together, but still didn't reveal the relationship between the Lin family and the county magistrate. She smiled faintly and said, "I understand, Mother."

As if to ease the somewhat heavy atmosphere, Shan Qiyu took out the steamed buns that he had been hiding in his arms.

"You didn't eat much this morning, so Mom bought you some meat buns. Eat them while they're hot."

The steamed buns were large, and Shan Qiyu bought two; they were still steaming hot.

Meng Fuqing took it, unfolded the oil paper, took one and handed it to Shan Qiyu, "Mother, you eat too."

"Mom isn't hungry, you eat, eat quickly."

Meng Fuqing was quite helpless. She turned to the side and gestured for Shan Qiyu to look at the basket on her back. "I've sold the goods. All the money is here. Let's go back and rent a car. Buy whatever you want. You don't need to be so frugal. We'll definitely have enough to eat and drink from now on."

When Shan Qiyu lifted the burlap lining on the basket, he was almost blinded by the gleaming silver.

She couldn't help but murmur, "Oh my God..."

Even though she knew ginseng was precious, she never imagined that a single ginseng root could sell for so much silver.

She quickly covered herself up with a cloth, saying, "Let's hurry up and finish shopping so we can go back."