The young lady is delicate and soft, yet she criticizes the powerful minister for bowing and scrapin

I saw Wei Ruochun again at the brothel run by the human broker.

Qi Yunli, wearing a veil, stood at the front of the courtyard, followed by Ru Feng.

The matrons of the Imperial Music Bureau put on respectful, smiling faces:

"Madam, all the maids in this courtyard are newly brought in within the last half month. Take a look and see which one you like. It would be excellent to take her in as a concubine."

This was the first time the headmistress of the Imperial Music Bureau had received a business order from the madam to buy maids.

Only lustful high-ranking officials would come to such a brothel as the Jiaofangsi to find a lowly but beautiful woman to take home.

The lady was veiled, and a subordinate standing like a pine tree followed behind her, making her extremely mysterious.

Qi Yunli glanced at it briefly, and then she saw that familiar face.

"None of the maids here have ever served anyone before, have they?"

The headmistress of the music academy was somewhat puzzled:

Could it be that the master of the house wants this lady to personally come out to purchase maids for her, and even requires them to be virgins?

"Of course they've never served before. They were only brought in half a month ago. How can we let them serve people? They haven't even been taught the rules and etiquette yet. What if they scare the guests away? What are we going to do?"

The headmistress of the Imperial Music Bureau approached the veiled lady, wanting to see her true face.

Unexpectedly, the "wooden" figure behind the lady suddenly moved, blocking her way. The brothel matron could only retreat, feeling somewhat frightened.

"That's good. I don't like it happening a second time. If I find out that the maid I bought isn't a virgin, then your brothel should close down."

Qi Yunli took out a large silver ingot from her sleeve.

The headmistress of the Imperial Music Academy held the silver ingot in both hands with a beaming smile, her eyebrows dancing with delight.

"We operate with integrity, so please rest assured, madam. If there are any problems, we can exchange it."

"I told you I don't want to come a second time. If there are any problems, you can close down."

Qi Yunli's voice was very cold and hard, and although the volume was not loud, her tone was as cold as ice.

The headmistress of the Imperial Music Academy immediately stopped laughing:

"Yes, yes, Madam, rest assured, I won't lie to you. Tell me which maid you've chosen, and I'll have someone send her to your residence immediately."

"No need to trouble yourself, we'll take it ourselves."

Qi Yunli's gaze swept from the front row to the back row, and all the girls looked at her with expectant eyes.

Judging from this lady's tone, she's a strong-willed but principled person. Being a maidservant in a high-ranking household would be far better than serving different guests daily in a brothel. A maidservant who is lucky enough to gain the master's favor might even be promoted to a concubine after giving birth.

The girls looked at her expectantly, but none of them looked up except for that familiar face that Qi Yunli remembered.

"That one will do. He's timid and wouldn't dare to disobey his superiors."

The headmistress of the Imperial Music Bureau glanced at it:

"Madam, why don't you change to another one? That girl, no matter how you teach her manners, she can't be taught properly. She's very clumsy and can't serve the noble ladies well."

"I said, I want her."

Qi Yunli couldn't understand why there was so much hesitation in doing a business deal.

The headmistress of the music academy quickly shut her mouth and hurriedly sent the maid chosen by the noble lady to her side.

Together with the other servants, they respectfully saw Qi Yunli off.

Qi Yunli pulled the maid she had just bought into the carriage.

Before Qi Yunli could even remove her veil, the maid spoke first:

"Aren't you very smug? Now that you see me down on my luck, wandering between brothels, you specially came to the brothel to buy me back, treat me like a servant, and order me around to show off your superiority in suddenly becoming a phoenix?"

Qi Yunli slowly removed her veil and smiled helplessly:

"Ruochun, it's been so long since I heard your voice, it feels like I'm dreaming."

Wei Ruochun paused for a moment, but the anger around her remained unabated.

"Did you hear that? Are you satisfied now? You bought me and brought me back to your mansion so I could serve my elder brother. You played this card perfectly."

"I'm not trying to humiliate you. Your indenture is right here." Qi Yunli took out the indenture and tore it open.

Wei Ruochun was stunned. Without a contract of indenture, she was a free woman, free to leave the manor at any time, and the other party had no leverage over her, nor could the authorities arrest her.

"You just asked me in front of so many people if I was a virgin, wasn't that just to humiliate me?"

Wei Ruochun refused to believe it and insisted on confirming it.

"I do need to make sure that if you have been wronged, I will seek justice for you."

Qi Yunli raised her hand and gently removed the hair bun of the maid behind her.

"I remember how good you were to me in the Marquis's mansion, but some things happened later that caused you to misunderstand me. I never intended to take anything from you."

"Really? Then why didn't you help me at the temple? If you had helped me, I could have married into the Duke of Wen's mansion without any problem."

"How did Wei Ruolan die? You saw it with your own eyes, don't you understand? If I help you and you really get what you want, your older brother won't allow someone with a stain to exist."

Qi Yunli lowered her brows.

It's exhausting to argue with someone who's looking at you through a thin veil.

"Fine, believe it or not, it's done now. You've become my husband. If you don't want to stay by my side, then leave."

For some reason, Wei Ruochun's eyes filled with tears.

She thought a lot when her stepmother sold her off. She thought that the second wife at least had feelings for her, since she was now the second wife's only daughter. But her stepmother sold her off without hesitation.

Throughout her life, she kept reminiscing about the past. She was sincere towards the second wife, but the second wife treated her like a pig or a dog.

The day before going to the temple, her stepmother treated her exceptionally well. But afterwards, her attitude changed drastically. Wei Ruochun seemed to have figured it out: her stepmother only paid attention to her when there was something in return; otherwise, she would be abandoned like roadside chaff.

"If I go with you, how will you treat me? Will you expect me to clean the house spotless and be a proper servant?" Wei Ruochun was at a loss.

Even a decent woman is vulnerable to being bullied if she is alone and helpless. Besides, the contract of indenture itself was created by those bad people, and she never agreed to sell her body.

"If you stay with us, we'll get you a small courtyard. It won't be very big, but it'll be big enough for you to take care of yourself, and it'll be right next to us, so we can be neighbors. And later, if you meet someone you love, and you're a good man, you can marry him. If you want, you can still call me sister-in-law. If not, then we can just be neighbors and visit each other from time to time."

Wei Ruochun's nose stung with tears: "Why are you so good to me? I misunderstood you. You took me away with money, and I'm still ungrateful."

"I can't help many people, Ruochun, but I remember how good you were to me."

Qi Yunli gripped her hand tightly.