Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 400 Take action
Shengfu.

Although it is late autumn, the scenery of Linxi Pavilion is still full of flowers.

Because Sheng Hong considered himself a man of refined taste and loved elegance, Linxi Pavilion was always filled with the fragrance of blooming flowers, no matter what season it was.

As the saying goes, spring has daffodils, summer has lotus, autumn has daisies, and winter has plum blossoms. As long as Lin Qinshuang is there, Sheng Hong's poetic spirit can always be "stimulated" to the greatest extent.

It's no wonder that Sheng Hong prefers Lin Qinshuang; it's not that Madam Wang is too weak, but that the enemy is too strong!

However, Lin Qinshuang, who usually enjoyed tending to flowers and plants in the courtyard, had no interest in doing so at this moment. She, who always liked to be served, even sent away her maids and servants, and hid alone in the room, sitting blankly at the table, her mind elsewhere, looking somewhat dazed.

"rustle!"

Just as Lin Qinshuang was in a daze, she suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps.

"Xue Niang?"

Upon hearing those familiar footsteps, Lin Qinshuang's expression changed!
"Snow Maiden, is that you?"

Lin Qinshuang immediately woke up with a start, and without saying a word, she stood up abruptly.

"Xue Niang, is that you back?"

Lin Qinshuang clenched the handkerchief in her hand and asked nervously to the person about to enter.

"Young lady, it's me!"

"Squeak~"

The person who entered pushed open the door nimbly, revealing a face that Lin Qinshuang recognized.

"My lady, it's me who's back!"

Zhou Xueniang first lowered her voice and repeated a sentence softly, then quickly turned around and bolted the door shut.

They act very cautiously.

"Xue Niang, how is it?"

Upon seeing that it was Zhou Xueniang, Lin Qinshuang felt slightly relieved, but then, thinking about what Zhou Xueniang had asked her to do, she suddenly became nervous again.

Have you managed to contact those people?

Before Zhou Xueniang could even catch her breath, Lin Qinshuang asked anxiously.

"them……"

"Did they... agree? Did they... say anything?"

When she finally finished speaking, Lin Qinshuang hesitated, a hint of fear on her face.

After all, it was the first time that Lin Qinshuang had contacted villains outside, and she was inevitably uneasy, having spent most of her time in the inner quarters.

but.

"Young lady, I know you're in a hurry, but please don't rush!"

Compared to Lin Qinshuang's fear and trepidation, Zhou Xueniang appeared much more composed.

After all, she was the one who contacted the person and arranged everything; only she knew the full story.

"Don't worry, young lady, my husband has already contacted those people," Zhou Xueniang assured her.

"Contacted?"

Lin Qinshuang's expression brightened, and she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, saying, "That's good! That's good!"

"As long as we've made contact... that's good!"

"By the way, Xue Niang, what are their conditions? How much silver do we have left?"

To resolve the hidden dangers from back then, Lin Qinshuang went to great lengths. Apart from some farmland and manors that were difficult to sell, she sold everything she could, and even misappropriated the monthly allowances of Molan and Changfeng. In the end, she finally managed to raise a total of 1,500 taels of silver.

Don't think this amount of silver is small. You should know that at this time, the average farmer's annual income was only forty or fifty taels of silver, and this does not include the various taxes that had to be paid to the imperial court.

"Young lady, we don't have much money left."

As she spoke, Zhou Xueniang's eyes flickered slightly, but she quickly regained her composure: "They said that this amount of silver is still not enough!"

"What?" Lin Qinshuang exclaimed in surprise, "Fifteen hundred taels of silver isn't enough?"

"Young lady, those people said that if we can provide specific information about that person, this amount of silver will be enough."

As she spoke, Zhou Xueniang secretly swallowed, carefully glancing at Lin Qinshuang in front of her, and continued to explain in a low voice, "However, we don't have any news about Xiaodie, and it will take a lot of time and effort to find her. So, what to do next still depends on those people, so..."

"So, those people deliberately asked for an exorbitant amount, is that right?"

Hearing Zhou Xueniang's reply, Lin Qinshuang was quite dissatisfied, but she did not refuse outright.

"How many more do they want?" Lin Qinshuang frowned, thought for a while, and finally asked.

“Young lady, they said that this life, from beginning to end, must be paid this much!” Zhou Xueniang stretched out her right hand, revealing three fingers.

"What? Three thousand taels more?"

"Who do they think I am? A sucker?"

"Ah? Young lady, it's not just three thousand taels, it's three thousand taels of silver in total!"

Seeing Lin Qinshuang's anger, Zhou Xueniang immediately explained, "They said that after the matter is settled, we will need to give them another 1,500 taels!"

"But...but even so, three thousand taels is still too much!"

Even though it was three thousand taels in total, Lin Qinshuang was still very reluctant. She looked at Zhou Xueniang and said with dissatisfaction, "Buying a maid only costs fifty taels, but now they want three thousand taels. Isn't that too much..."

"Young lady, please don't think like that!"

Before Lin Qinshuang could finish speaking, Zhou Xueniang immediately jumped in and dissuaded her, saying, "As the saying goes, 'times change.'"

"Right now, we're the ones who need their help, so we have to agree to their request no matter what. Otherwise, if what happened back then is exposed, it might affect our Feng-ge's future!"

"Brother Feng!"

Hearing Zhou Xueniang say this, Lin Qinshuang could only grit her teeth inwardly.

"Xue Niang, you're right!"

"No matter what, we can't let Feng-ge's future be affected!"

Even though her heart was breaking, Lin Qinshuang still had a good "big picture" perspective in some ways: "You're right!"

"Never mind, it's only three thousand taels. As long as Feng-ge'er has a bright future, it's nothing!"

“Yes, young lady!” Zhou Xueniang quickly agreed, “Think about it, as long as our Feng’er can pass the imperial examination, what will a mere three thousand taels be?”

"Correct!"

Lin Qinshuang was quite confident in her son: "Xue Niang, you're right, my Feng-ge'er has the potential to be a top scholar, these..."

"...These...are nothing!"

While trying to calm her reluctant heart, Lin Qinshuang said, "Alright, Xue Niang, you continue to contact those people. Just tell them we agree to the price!"

"However, you must remember that we are only giving them half of the deposit for now. The rest will be paid after they finish the work!"

As she spoke, Lin Qinshuang's face was filled with malice: "You must see that bitch's corpse with your own eyes!"

"do you know!"

"Yes, young lady!"

Seeing that Lin Qinshuang had agreed, Zhou Xueniang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Luckily, my mistress didn't investigate further. This matter is finally settled!"

"Now I can finally rest assured!"

In fact, Lin Qinshuang did not know that the final price Zhou Xueniang paid to the bandits of Lüliang Mountain was not three thousand taels, but only two thousand taels. As for the remaining one thousand taels, it was just her own "errand fee".

Lin Qinshuang thought she could control Zhou Xueniang and make her loyal to her, but she didn't expect that Zhou Xueniang had her own ulterior motives. In fact, if Lin Qinshuang couldn't maintain her position one day, she might be bitten back by Zhou Xueniang.

Many thanks to readers 160223124303197, Mingqiu, ZDyu, Ai Wuxian-BA, Qingyang Gongzhu, Qingkuang, Shusheng, and many other great readers for their support!

(End of this chapter)