From slave trader to the Immortal Lord of Ten Thousand Laws

Chapter 30 Clear Rewards and Punishments

Behind the screen.

Seeing Liu Shun collapse unconscious, Xu Qingyue rolled up her sleeves and stood up, saying softly:

"Since one of them has fallen to the ground and is unconscious, then this match is won by Little Sun."

hiss....

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but gasp.

If Xiao Suntou wins, then Jiang She wins the competition. If Jiang She wins the competition, then... Li Nian loses.

Li Nian lost...

"Wait a minute!"

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out in the courtyard. Li Nian clasped his hands in a fist salute, stepped forward, and said urgently:

"Miss, wait!"

"Oh?"

Xu Qingyue frowned slightly:

"Young Master Li, what urgent matter is it?"

Li Nian cupped his hands in greeting: "I dare not presume to make such an important matter, but... I do have something to mention."

"What is it?"

Xu Qingyue's eyes were cold as she said:

"Tell me about it."

Li Nian nodded, then glanced at the young grandson below him, and said righteously:

"Leaving aside the outcome of this competition, I find it hard to believe that Jiang She could teach Little Sun to make such rapid progress in just three days."

As soon as he said this, some people in the courtyard immediately echoed his sentiments.

"Yes, Brother Li is right. Jiang She is no immortal. What can he possibly accomplish in just three days?"

"Little Sun shouldn't be so powerful."

"......"

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingyue frowned slightly, a hint of displeasure flashing across her face, but she suppressed her anger and said softly:

"Are you making this claim based on conclusive evidence?"

Li Nian replied, "No, no."

"I don't have the ability to know what dirty tricks Jiang She has secretly played, but judging from what Little Sun did today, it's not hard to guess."

"Perhaps he already possessed such skills before he became a servant in this household; he has simply been hiding his abilities all these years."

He spoke with such conviction, as if it were the truth.

Everyone echoed in agreement, nodding repeatedly. Qiao'er, unable to bear it any longer, stepped forward and said:

"Young Master Li, what you say is unfair. My family is very particular about rules. Before a servant enters our house, we must first have a contract signed by the market and verified by the government. We will also check their place of origin and background. If there are prisoners of war or family members of convicted officials, we will absolutely not buy them."

"If young Sun were hiding his abilities, the city officials would have already verified it. How could my family have allowed him to conceal it until now?"

Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried immense weight. Wasn't the personal maid of Miss Xu the emperor's most favored eunuch?

Their status and connections are incomparable to those of their servants.

Sure enough, as soon as she said that, Li Nian's expression immediately turned ugly.

His eyes were sinister, but not wanting to lose face in front of Xu Qing, he clasped his hands in apology:

"Miss Qiao'er's words make sense, but I was just seeing things from a limited perspective and was somewhat prejudiced."

But Qiao'er didn't want to let him off so easily.

She raised an eyebrow and said:

"Young Master Li, Liu Shun previously said that the outcome of the contest here would be used as a wager, but Little Sun didn't mention the stakes. Now that he has won, I wonder if the agreement still stands?"

Li Nian's lips twitched: "Of course it counts."

"Alright then."

Qiao'er clapped her hands and said with a smile:

"Young Master Sun, what are you planning to wager?"

She asked about the bet, but she was actually asking Xiao Sun what reward he wanted.

Little Sun isn't stupid; he naturally understands what he's saying.

He wiped his face, removing the tears, and bowed, saying:

"I don't want any reward, I only hope that Miss will allow Yunniang and me to redeem ourselves and go back to our hometown to beg for food."

Ok?

Qiao'er's pretty face froze for a moment.

Is it really that simple?

He was bullied.

Little Sun, unaware of her inner thoughts, simply nodded and said:

That's good.

"..."

There was a moment of silence in the courtyard.

Everyone stared blankly at Little Sun.

But they found they couldn't understand it at all. Some said he was cowardly, while others said he was too kind-hearted.

Little Sun, however, acted as if he hadn't heard a thing.

He simply turned around, a forced smile—more painful than a grimace—on his tear-streaked face, and said to Jiang She:

"Brother Jiang, I've won..."

"You're qualified to be the head instructor in the young lady's brothel."

"..."

Jiang She remained silent, but felt deeply indebted to Xiao Suntou. He hadn't wanted to meddle in other people's business, so whenever he talked to Xiao Suntou, he either tried to extract information or spoke vaguely.

She was only thinking about how to take advantage of him.

Unexpectedly, Little Sun was able to endure such humiliation for this imposter "Brother Jiang".

"You're calling me a villain."

Living in another world, Jiang She knew he had to proceed cautiously, be ruthless and cruel, so that outsiders could not bully him.

But he doesn't seem to be completely evil.

Otherwise, why would he feel so lost?

"Okay, I agree."

A woman's voice came from behind the screen.

Xu Qingyue nodded slightly, which was taken as her agreement.

Overwhelmed with gratitude, Xiao Sun immediately kowtowed three times in the direction of Xu Qingyue, expressing his thanks:

"I am fortunate to have received the master's mercy, and I have no way to repay him."

Xu Qingyue shook her head: "Since you won the competition, you should naturally be rewarded." As she spoke, her gaze swept over the crowd, and she said:

"My family is very fair in its rewards and punishments. Those who deserve rewards will be rewarded, but those who deserve punishment... none of them can escape it."

Her words were icy, and her gaze swept over everyone, revealing an imposing aura in her beautiful almond-shaped eyes.

hiss....

Upon hearing this, everyone gasped in shock.

Some people unconsciously lowered their heads, not daring to look at the screen anymore; others avoided eye contact, sweat beading on their foreheads, wondering if they had spoken rudely.

"They must be punished."

Li Qingnian said it casually, his expression calm, as if it were none of his business.

Xu Qingyue smiled slightly:

"Young Master Li, what do you think should be the punishment?"

"I wouldn't dare."

Li Nian apologized and said, "It's all up to Miss's arrangements."

"it is good."

Xu Qingyue was waiting for him to say this: "If that's the case, then I will punish him severely."

Her voice was cool and clear, coming through the screen:

Before the competition, Liu Shun used Yunniang as a wager to deliberately confuse her; during the competition, he resorted to underhanded tactics, completely disregarding the rule that the fight should end when the opponent had made a point.

"With such a crime, how can we let him off so easily?"

"Immediately remove Liu Shun from his position as a guard in the courtyard, hand him over to the steward, give him thirty strokes of the cane, and send him to the outer courtyard as a latrine cleaner."

"Furthermore, we must reward Xiao Suntou and Jiang She with one hundred taels of silver each, lest outsiders gossip and say that the Xu family's rewards and punishments are unfair..."

"Thank you for your kindness, Miss!"

The group nodded in agreement and bowed in thanks one by one.

After this matter was concluded, everyone was about to disperse.

Li Nian flicked his sleeves and snorted coldly, his face particularly unpleasant.

He glanced coldly at Liu Shun, who had fainted on the ground, but turned and left without asking anyone to help him up.

Jiang She frowned, helped Xiao Sun up, and then went to find Yun Niang, who was just slowly waking up after being unconscious.

The cooks were still cursing, spittle flying everywhere.

Jiang She raised his eyebrows and stood beside Yunniang, blocking her way. His gaze swept over the crowd, a murderous intent hidden beneath his polite demeanor.

"Gentlemen, Liu Shun, who was gossiping earlier, has been demoted to a menial servant by the master. If you think the kitchen is not as clean as the latrine, you may continue to act recklessly here."

hiss....

The cooks fell silent, trembling with fear, and slowly dispersed.

Jiang She led Yunniang into the west courtyard, then stood guard at the door again, and said gently:

"Yunniang, you should rest well."

As he spoke, he walked outside and plopped down on the threshold.

Yunniang didn't say anything, but silently walked into the house.

"Squeak..."

The door closed quietly.

After a long while, a sound suddenly came from the crack in the door.

"Brother Jiang, I know you're not him anymore, but since things have come to this, I only ask that you help me kill a few people, okay?"

Jiang She was stunned.

It turns out that Yunniang had already realized that she wasn't Jiang She...