Su Mingfu watched as his daughter seemed possessed by a demon, his hand recoiling from her face. Only then did he realize that Su Cuixia had released her mouth at some point, and two segments of his middle finger had been bitten off.
"Ah...! My hand, my hand..." Su Mingfu finally came to his senses, clutching his injured hand and crying out in pain.
Ding shi, seeing this, threw Su Cuixia aside and threw herself onto Su Mingfu. Su Cuiling felt Su Cuixia's gaze on her and was so frightened that she also let go. Su Cuixia, now free, turned and ran.
Old Madam Chen, seeing Su Cuixia escape, couldn't help but shout loudly for the surrounding people to help. "Quick, catch her! Hurry and help me catch her!"
Unfortunately, not a single person from Houxi Village paid her any mind. Such an elder was a true menace! She wasn't even at a point where she couldn't afford food, yet she wanted to sell her beautiful granddaughter to be defiled by others. She truly stirred up trouble in the household!
Seeing that no one was helping and the wretched girl had already fled far away, Old Madam Chen immediately yelled at her two sons, "Third son, fourth son, are you two dead? Hurry and catch that slut!"
Su Minggui and Su Mingcai heard their mother's words and quickly chased after her, dragging Su Cuixia back from the crowd she had disappeared into.
Su Cuixia was brought back like a prisoner, her arms twisted by her two uncles. Her arm had been dislocated, and she was still struggling violently.
Old Madam Chen, enduring the pain in her chest, told her two sons to escort Su Cuixia to the middle-aged man. With a fake smile plastered on her face, she nodded and bowed subserviently, acting like a fawning pug. "Sir, look at my granddaughter. She's only 13 this year, just at the age where she's easy to train. You won't lose out by buying her."
The middle-aged man walked over and pinched Su Cuixia's chin with two fingers, lifting her face. He examined her closely, his eyes filled with disdain. What a mediocre specimen! She was too ordinary.
The man pulled out a handkerchief from his怀, meticulously wiped his fingers, and then pointed into the distance, saying to Old Madam Chen, "This specimen is too ordinary. If she had the looks of that one over there, I might offer twenty taels of silver."
Old Madam Chen followed the direction of his finger and saw her. It was Su Muqing, that little harlot!
Su Cuiling's heart leaped with joy. She quickly smeared dirt on her face and then whispered a few words into Old Madam Chen's ear.
Old Madam Chen's heart rejoiced upon hearing this, and she immediately spoke ingratiatingly to the man. "Sir, that one is also my granddaughter. It's just that her parents are gone, and she has a very strong temper now. She doesn't pay me, her grandmother, any mind at all. If you like her, then I'll sell her to you for twenty taels!"
The man stroked his handlebar mustache and cast a cunning glance at Su Cuiling. Su Cuiling thought the old man had taken a fancy to her and, frightened, hid behind Old Madam Chen.
The man saw her actions and let out a sneer. "Tch~ Why are you hiding? Do you think I, this Lord, would fancy a specimen like you? And to smear your face like this! If you looked like that little beauty, this Lord would pamper you like a precious jewel. With your current appearance, even if you stood naked before me, I'd still find you a tasteless ugly hag! Hahahaha..."
The thugs around them, upon hearing this, also stared at Su Cuiling with lewd smiles!
These insulting words flushed Su Cuiling's face crimson, and her eyes welled up with tears. Her hatred for Su Muqing grew even stronger.
Su Muqing, Su Muqing. It was all Su Muqing again! All the humiliation she had suffered these past few days was because of that slut! She had to make that slut pay a heavy price!
Twenty taels of silver! She had sold that slut for such a high price, Su Muqing would surely thank her, wouldn't she?
Madam Wang, seeing the Old Su family causing trouble again, hurried over to see what Su Muqing was up to. From afar, she saw Muqing standing in the crowd like a block of wood.
Meanwhile, Old Madam Chen was on the other side, discussing something with the well-dressed man, pointing at Su Muqing as she spoke. In a short while, the man took out a piece of paper, wrote on it quickly, and then Old Madam Chen affixed her handprint.
Seeing this, Madam Wang felt a sense of foreboding and quickened her pace towards Su Muqing.
Over here, Su Cuixia's arms were bound behind her back. Hearing Old Madam Chen selling Su Muqing, and that old witch even pressing her handprint, she took advantage of everyone's inattention, slammed into Su Cuiling who was blocking her way, and then ran towards Su Muqing.
"Girl, what are you doing here? Come back with me quickly!" Madam Wang said, reaching out to grab her hand.
"Ah!" To her surprise, Su Muqing's hand felt as if it had countless steel needles, causing Madam Wang's hand to ache intensely.
Su Cuixia ran, whimpering, shaking her head frantically at Su Muqing.
Madam Wang saw Su Cuixia running towards her like a madwoman, about to fall. She quickly stepped forward to help her and, at her pleading gaze, pulled out the wad of dried grass from her mouth.
"Ugh~ Ugh~" Su Cuixia gagged a few times and couldn't help but vomit. But she hadn't forgotten what she needed to do.
In the brief moments between bouts of vomiting, she mumbled indistinctly, "Quick... run, the old witch sold you, run..."
After speaking, Su Cuixia continued to retch violently. What she vomited out were the leftover dishes that Su Muqing and the others had lost yesterday!
Madam Wang, enduring the nausea, pulled Su Cuixia up. "What did you say? Your grandmother sold Muqing?"
Seeing Su Cuixia nod, Madam Wang released her and tried to pull Su Muqing, but Su Muqing dodged her outstretched hand.
"Girl, hurry and go! Let's find your uncle! Have him think of a way!" Madam Wang was also a little flustered. Although they were estranged, Old Madam Chen was indeed Su Muqing's grandmother.
In rural households, as long as it wasn't a matter of unprovoked killing, elders had the absolute right to decide the fate of their juniors. In other words, technically, Old Madam Chen did have the right to decide whether to sell Su Muqing or not!
Su Muqing glanced at Madam Wang, giving her a reassuring look. Then, with a complex gaze, she looked at Su Cuixia, reached out, and untied the rope on her arm.
At this moment, one of Su Cuixia's arms hung limply, dangling loosely. Su Muqing pushed her into Madam Wang's arms and then stood in front of them.
At this point, Old Madam Chen and the others had also caught up. She ran, panting, but still managed to spew insults. "Qing girl, your grandmother has found you a good place. You'll eat well and drink luxuriously from now on. Don't forget who gave you that immense fortune."
The middle-aged man stood a couple of steps away from Su Muqing, stroking his chin and examining her carefully. Wonderful! This was truly a top-grade commodity! Such a beauty sent to the capital could at least be resold for a hundred taels.
Or he could directly present her to the master, let the master train her, and then send her to the capital. This only cost twenty taels of capital, but the future benefits were immeasurable!
This deal was truly worth it!