Chapter 61: Willing to Fight and Willing to Endure

  "Alright, come on over! You've all paid for those things, it'd be a waste if you don't eat them!" Zhao Ye called out to Zhao Xin, gesturing for him to sit down next to her and pointing at the remaining food.

  "Little brother, what exactly do you want to do? You're not killing us, but it seems like you want to keep us alive."

  "Don't be ridiculous, what use are you two good-for-nothings? You killed such a big shot and only got 5,000 guan, Old Zhang spent tens of millions of guan for that position, if he knew his life was only worth 5,000 guan, he'd die from anger!" Zhao Ke slammed the stack of IOUs in front of them and shouted.

  "Brother, it was our fault just now. Leave all this money to you, as long as you let my junior sister go!" Lu Xiao Yao smiled helplessly, this kid didn't know what kind of rebirth he had, and he had fooled this old rivers and lakes into a mess, but with his sharp weapon in hand, the two of them still didn't dare to make a move easily.

  "I don't like killing people, I just like money. Killing you would also make this place smell bad, and nobody would pay me for it. This kind of losing business I won't do!" Zhao Ye shook his head, "You all don't have to stand either, sit down and continue eating. Since you've paid, it's yours!"

  "Alright, we're still starving, and even if we die, we won't become hungry ghosts!" Lu Xiangyao pulled Xiao Mei down to sit, tore off a chicken leg and handed it to her.

  Zhao Yan ignored him, separated the things on the table, and then pointed out a few more notes saying: "Brother, sister, this money is my treatment fee and material cost from earlier, totaling 300 yuan. You yelled at us to fight, I'll have nightmares tonight, so these 200 yuan are for mental damages, the rest is still yours. These knives and darts, I'll take care of them first, lest you throw them around later and accidentally stab me, don't worry, this doesn't require a storage fee!" Zhao Yan put the remaining notes and some scattered gold and silver into their cloth bag and threw it back to them.

  "You mean you're going to let us go!" Lu Xiao Yao didn't expect things would turn out this way, and he asked in a tone that was not quite believing.

  "Of course, what's the use of keeping you all here? If you leave, those cats and dogs outside will all be gone too, you know. These people have been making a ruckus in our estate, it's chaotic, I can't even go out for a stroll. Those guards are patrolling day and night non-stop, and I still have to pay them overtime, night meal allowances, and shoe sole wear-and-tear fees. If they don't get paid, they won't do their job properly. You all leave, and I'll save on all these expenses!" Zhao Shu said, calculating the costs with her fingers, speaking with a tinge of heartache.

  "Aren't you afraid I'll come back and kill you?" Xiao Mei asked Zhao Che, who was now both angry and hateful, but also had a hint of affection.

  "Don't worry, you're assassins, right? I'm sure you're professional killers!" Xiao Mei nodded in agreement with Zhao Che's words. "A country has its laws, and a profession has its rules. Taking people's money and goods is your rule, but if someone doesn't pay you to kill me, it would ruin the rules of your profession. I'm afraid that from now on, you won't be able to mix in the Jianghu anymore!" Zhao Che said with an evil smile.

  "But you've discovered our secret, aren't you afraid that our employer will pay us to kill you to silence you?" Xiao Mei said.

  "Hmph, if I'm not mistaken, it's that old guy Cai Jing who hired you, right? He dares to kill me? He doesn't even dare scold me! Besides, the people in my hands aren't pushovers either. If you're not afraid of death, you can try again." Zhao Che said disdainfully.

  "Who are you?" Xiao Mei was stunned by Zhao Chen, who actually didn't even put the current prime minister in his eyes, and asked in surprise.

  "You're really useless, having lived in this mansion for several days and yet you don't even know whose territory it is? Listen up, I am the current Emperor's second prince, Prince Zhao of Yan!" Zhao Che said with a swagger.

  "Ah?!" Lu Xiang and Yao looked at each other with wry smiles. No wonder this kid was so arrogant, no one was afraid of him. It turned out that he had a strong backing. In this world, except for his father, there was really no one who could do anything to him. However, people in the jianghu were not afraid of heaven or earth, and they didn't fear him either.

  "Little Prince, can we discuss this? I'm injured and there are enemies lurking outside, I'd like to stay in your mansion for a few days. Of course, we'll pay!" Lu Xiaoyao's mind was quick-witted, if not he wouldn't have survived till now. Going out now would be certain death, hiding here still had a glimmer of hope, so he immediately spoke in a flattering tone.

  "This is a bit of trouble, but if you don't make money, that's stupid. This is the Wang Fu, consumption is high! Your accommodation, food, and medical expenses, as well as security costs are not a small amount, can you afford it?" Zhao Ze questioned their ability to pay.

  "Don't worry, Your Highness, we still have some savings!" Lu Xiaoyao roughly calculated that the money on him would be enough for several days of consumption at today's rate, and he readily agreed.

  Next, Zhao Tie acted like a businessman and discussed the specifics with Lu Xiaoyao, haggling over the price and settling on a deal. Of course, preventive measures couldn't be neglected either - Zhao Tie had each of them swallow a "Nine-Turns-To-Kill Pill", and as for the cost of the medicine, it went without saying that they would have to foot the bill themselves. Lu Xiaoyao wasn't stupid either, fearing that Zhao Tie might play dirty tricks on him, so while ostensibly leaving Zhao Xin behind to "serve" them, in reality he was using him as a hostage, and also to prevent him from revealing everything he had seen and heard.

  "You live in the mansion, you must have a suitable identity, so are you going to be Uncle and Aunt Zhao Xinyuan's distant relatives or siblings?" asked Zhao Yan.

  "I'm so old, when his sister is not suitable, let's just call her aunt!" Xiao Mei said hastily.

  "Alright, but next time remember to put some stuff behind your ears and on your hands too. Who has ever seen someone over thirty with a pair of twenty-year-old hands? Our household has people who have been through the rivers and lakes, if they come out it won't be good!" Zhao said as he turned his head and walked away.

  "I thought he was just flattering me by calling me 'big sister', but it turns out he had seen through me long ago!" Xiao Mei suddenly felt a chill run down her spine and couldn't help but shiver, as if she were transparent in front of this child, with no secrets able to be hidden from him.

  This matter did not cause any waves, and the next day everyone in the courtyard knew that Zhao Xin's relatives had arrived and moved into the guest room in the mansion. The man was honest and kind, while the woman was enthusiastic, generous, and polite - a great couple. However, the man seemed to be in poor health and had to take medicine every day. Zhao Xin naturally took leave from his duties and lived with them, reuniting with his uncle and aunt whom he hadn't seen for many years.

  However, after a few days, the people in the mansion changed their attitude and thought that Zhao Xin's relatives were not very sensible. Not only did they not mention rescuing Zhao Xin, but they also made him serve them closely, which made the child ask for leave several times. After a few more days, everyone forgave them again. It turned out that this couple had suffered a disaster at home, and the man was ill. Thinking that their niece was working in the Wang mansion, they came to find something to do. The kind-hearted master arranged for them to work as gardeners in the flower garden, and they finally managed to get a meal.

  "Zhao Xin, are those two still behaving themselves?" Zhao Ke was kneeling on a chair, scribbling and drawing on several sheets of paper on the desk.

  "Second Master, be honest, every day following Old Wang to learn how to plant flowers, no evil thoughts have arisen!" Zhao Xin said with his head tilted to one side as he watched what Zhao E was painting.

  "Hmm, you'd better go to them often, don't let everyone find out!"

  "Alright, Second Master, when are you planning to let them go? I think they're getting anxious!" Zhao Xin said.

  "Wait till they pay us back the money they owe us, then we'll let them go. Didn't we all agree on that?" Zhao said without even lifting his head.

  "Second Master, they now owe us over 6,000 taels of silver in usury, and with their monthly salary of only 5 taels, I'm afraid they'll die old in our mansion before they can pay it off!" Zhao Xin calculated and said.

  "Haha, this is called Zhou Yu beating Huang Gai? One willing to hit and one willing to be hit. I made it clear to them at the beginning that our household expenses are high, and they might not be able to afford it. But they didn't listen, eating big fish and meat every day, wanting to live in a suite, drink liquor, and eat ginseng! Zhao Chu said with a smile, "Hey, did they give you the hush money? Don't be soft-hearted and let them off!"

  "No, they're in debt!" Zhao Xin handed a piece of paper to Zhao Che.

  "Hmm, at first you were bragging, acting like you had a lot of money. Now that you're in front of me, it's like having a mountain of gold - I'll let him build one for free too! Just put it down for now, you're still young and can't handle two good words, don't let them fool you!" Zhao Ke took the IOU and put it into a small box on his desk, where there was already a stack of them, all from top-notch assassins.

  "Prince Wang, who have you schemed against this time? Are you going to give me a share too?" Just then, the door curtain was lifted and Huang Jingchen came in with a smile.

  "Huang Bo is back, you've been gone for ten days and I thought I was going to die!" Zhao Zhan jumped up from his chair and said warmly to Huang Jingchen as he pulled him into a hug. Zhao Xin poured Huang Jingchen a cup of tea and tactfully withdrew.

  "Yes, I heard that the mansion has been quite unstable lately. After finishing my business in the capital, I rushed back. How is Prince Wang's hand?" Huang Jingchen sat down and said after taking a sip of tea.

  "Damn, that chick was too ruthless, she peeled off a layer of my skin!" Zhao Shu stretched out his hand to Huang Jingchen. The swelling had gone down, but the epidermis had already died and fallen off, revealing the newly grown tender red flesh underneath.

  "Yu Zhu's hands are really too heavy, but I just saw her a few days ago, how come she has lost so much weight, did you bully her?" Huang Jingchen said.

  "Huang Bo, I absolutely didn't touch her this time. No matter what, she's still the one who disciplines me on behalf of my mother. Beating or scolding her would be disobedient, and I couldn't bear that responsibility. Maybe it's because everyone is not used to her arrogance, so they prepared a few pairs of small shoes for her to wear!" Zhao Che said seriously. In ancient times, being unfilial was an unpardonable crime, so even if Zhao Che scolded her, she didn't dare to easily take action against her.

  "All right, I believe you. The empress has already ordered me to pass on her decree, telling Yu Zhu to return to the capital and spare you further trouble!" Huang Jingchen said with a few chuckles.