The Blessed (Book 1)

183. Buying People (2)-The Prince Is Getting Jealous (2)

Before an apparently fine-boned girl, even those coarse linen clothes cannot conceal her beauty, Ling Jingxuan paused. He picked his eyebrows, with his eyes moving to her hands thoughtfully. The reason she could attract him was all because that pride under her eyes. To others, pride was necessary to others, but wasn’t that appropriate under the eyes of a sl*ve. This girl was either a chaste and undefiled dominant person or a snake-like vicious person. There wouldn’t be a third possibility. But judging through her delicate face and her hands with all blisters and cocoons, she should belong to the first kind.

“What’s your name?”

The girl did not answer him immediately, but moved her beautiful star eyes between Ling Jingxuan and Yan Shengrui and then lowered her eyes, saying gently, “My name is Gui Yun, fourteen years old. I have ever served in Gui family, and the big madam granted me ths name. If Lord Ling is willing to buy me, I can use the name you grant me.”

Only a short sentence, she had explained all her information, obviously a very assertive girl, not knowing why, although her attitude was still kind of humble, which reminded Ling Jingxuan of those modern girls, so it was avoidable he grew some affability of her.

“Well, your name is Ling Yun then. Go over.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Gui Yun, not, she should be called Ling Yun now. She bent her knees to give a salute and then joins Liu Xiaosui and others taking gentle and little steps. A maid from a big family was really different, even had to learn etiquettes. Ling Jingxuan was very satisfied, but…Yan Shengrui on his side wasn’t happy now, for his wife chose a big beauty!

“We’re choosing those who could do labor jobs. No more women!”

Stepping closer to his ear, Yan Shengrui nearly squeezed those words through his teeth in whispers. He could bear with it if he chose women. But he only chose the pretty ones! Is he doing it on purpose to piss him off?

Ling Jingxuan suspiciously looked back and saw the undisguised jealousy under those peach blossom eyes. He was stunned, but soon smiled. What is he thinking? Just some women. Why bother?

As if seeing his complaining in the heart, Yan Shengrui abruptly held his waist, and then gave a hard pinch on the side of his waist as a warning. Ling Jingxuan shook his head helplessly, and moved his steps again, finally he stopped before a four or five years old kid.

“Master Ling, if you want to buy Eggie, can you buy us all? My wife and I can do a lot of things. My father is a bit old, but he can drive a carriage, and also good at farming. Eggie is our only hope. Please show mercy. Don’t separate us. I swear we’ll repay you!”

Before he could speak, a middle-aged man standing aside dragged the oldest man among all of them and a woman with straggly hair to kneel down, that four or five years old child was leaning in the woman’s arms, although he looked a little terrified, big dark eyes were staring at Ling Jingxuan without blinking, his small mouth tightly pressed into a straight line.

Ling Jingxuan turned to look at Yan Shengrui. They both saw the reflection of Ling Wen on the child.

“What is your name? Where are you from?”

With his hand holding Ling Jingxuan tightened slightly, Yan Shengrui finally opened his mouth and asked. Seeing that, Ling Jingxuan directly left it all to him, and swept over at other kids, his eyes stopped on a comparatively older one and soon moved away. Buying people was not a pushy thing. You had to see everyone clearly. Although he could return them, it’s still troublesome, right?

“My lord, my name is Zhou Er, thirty five years old. This is my father Zhou He, fifty two years old. This is my wife Lady Wu and this is my son Zhou Changsheng, pet name Eggie, six years old. We are from the south. This year, the rains were too heavy and became a disaster. My house, my crops, my brothers and my mother, my big and son daughter, they were all dead. We had no choice but to escape here. Last month, my aged father suddenly got badly ill, without money, we could only sell ourselves. My two honorable lords, please show mercy and buy us all!”

The man dragged his father and wife to keep kowtowing to them. He had heard what Guarantor Liu said. This family was trying to pick kids as footboys for their sons. Of course he hoped that his son could be chosen, but he couldn’t afford parting with his son, so he could only risk begging them.

“There was a flood in the south?”

Yan Shengrui frowned uncontrollably, then quickly tried to hide it, he turned to Ling Jingxuan, “What do you think?”

“It’s up to you.”

“Then buy them all.”

The brief conversation soon decided the fate of the whole family. The few adults surnamed Zhou obviously did not expect that it would go so smoothly. They were so stunned there that they even forgot to thank them. But the kid was smart enough. He pulled his mother but got no response, so he directly went over and knelt down, “Thank you, my lords!”

“Thank you, my lords, thank you, thank you…”

Led by him, the family cried and kowtowed to them. With a wave of his hand, Yan Shengrui held Ling Jingxuan to walk before the kid who looked the oldest of those kids, “How many families do you have? And what’s your name?”

Just now he noticed that the way Ling Jingxuan looked at him, apparently he wanted him.

“My lord, I only have my mother Lady Zhang, she is twenty-seven years old, she can weave cloth and do some embroidering job, and basically all farm work. My name is Long Dashan, I’m nine.”

With the Zhou family as an example, the skinny boy seemed to see hope. He pulled his mother who was keeping wiping off her years and knelt down before them. A nine-year-old kid could already be taken as an adult. And Long Dashan also performed quite mature and sensible. Ling Jingxuan sized him up and down and then turned back, “Brother Han, how about letting this kid be Tiewa’s footboy/servant?”

Compared with Ling Wen and Ling Wu, Tiewa was more soft and introverted, so the first requirement was that his footboy should be older than him, so he could look after him. One important reason he wanted Long Dashan was because of his age. As for his being mature and sensible, to say it bluntly, is there any nine-year-old kid from those poor families who isn’t mature and sensible?

“Urgh…wouldn’t he be a little too big?”

Han Fei walked over and looked at Long Dashan. He had never bought people before. So he was only thinking of what Ling Jingxuan had said at first. A footboy should be at almost the same age with their kids. But Tiewa was only five years old, while this kid was nine. So subconsciously, he felt it was inappropriate.

“Hehe…actually not that old, Tiewa is timid and shy. A footboy who is older than him could take care of him, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Hearing that, Han Fei couldn’t help nodding. And Ling Jingxuan said with a smile, “If you have no objections, then buy them.”

“All right, I trust you, but…”

Han Fei looked at Long Dashan’s mother embarrassedly. It was not that he didn’t want to pay, it was that they were both men, wouldn’t people gossip if they bought a woman back?