She quickly looked at the old master with pleading eyes, but unexpectedly Liu Baishi dodged. Her heart sank to the bottom unconsciously, and things were developing in the worst possible direction.
Thinking back to that year, she was just an ordinary maid, ordered by the master to sell the eldest young lady to a pleasure boat, feeling extremely wronged. She had vented her resentment then, but now she had to bear the consequences. It was a pity her mouth was gagged, otherwise, to save her life, she would have definitely exposed the master first.
"Father, Aunt Chun and the stableman seem to have something to say. Is it appropriate to gag them? It's hard not to suspect something is hidden here." Wu Caiwei knew her goal for today had been achieved, and these two people would not have a good end, but she also would not let Liu Baishi get away with it so easily.
"It was the two of them who sold you to that place back then. Today they still want to defend themselves. What's there to say? Every prisoner makes a plea before their execution, claiming they are innocent. They are no different. As soon as you pull the cloth from their mouths, they'll start complaining. For the sake of our peace and quiet, let's finish this quickly." This time Liu Baishi would not comply with her wishes no matter what, because he knew that as soon as the cloth was removed from their mouths, things would be terrible.
Wu Caiwei immediately looked at him with expectant eyes, wanting to see how he would punish these two next. After interacting with him so many times, this was the first time Liu Baishi had seen her show an expression other than disgust or unwillingness to deal with him. He unconsciously straightened his chest, thinking perhaps he still had hope. If he could win back this daughter's heart, he would have endless wealth and honor. So he hardened his heart and directly called for the servants in the mansion to drag the two to a long bench and give each of them forty strokes.
Chun Lan and the stableman showed despair on their faces when they heard Liu Baishi's command. Having been in the Liu family for so many years, they had seen the punishment of servants. Let alone forty strokes, even thirty strokes could take half a person's life. It seemed the master was being severe this time, going so far as to kill them to please his daughter.
As the blows began to fall on their bodies, Chun Lan continued to struggle, looking at Liu Baishi with accusing eyes and then at Wu Caiwei with pleading eyes. Wu Caiwei knew what she wanted, which was for her to save her, saying she had something to say. But she didn't want to hear it at all. What needed to be done now was to let these people face the consequences of their actions.
Slowly, the movement on the long bench grew smaller and smaller, until both of them fainted. Without Liu Baishi's orders, no one dared to stop. Even though Wu Caiwei hadn't come closer to watch, she knew these two were likely ruined. So she changed her aggressive attitude and, laughing and talking, returned to the living room with Liu Baishi.
"By the way, after all this commotion, I still don't understand why you're here. Are you planning to stay this time and not leave?" Liu Baishi stared at her without blinking. If she was willing to stay at the Liu family, it meant things had not reached an irreversible point.
"Oh, I almost forgot. I came today because I heard you were planning to sell the shops at a low price to the Wu family. I do not agree with this."
Others say the shops are yours, so you can do as you please. But no matter what, I am still a member of the Li family. If you insist on selling the dilapidated houses against my wishes, then I will go to the Wu family and stir up trouble. I believe the Wu family will reconsider, and outsiders will also know that these shops of yours cannot be bought." Wu Caiwei looked at him with a half-smile.
At this moment, Liu Baishi truly wanted to slap himself a few times. He had tried to be secretive, yet she had discovered it. While secretly startled, he looked at her with uncertain and suspicious eyes, never expecting she had sent people to follow him. Yes, it was impossible to discover anything unusual without tracking him.
"I know these shops mean a lot to you. I took the liberty of wanting to sell them because the Liu family can no longer sustain itself and is on the verge of collapse. So, I can only set my sights on these shops. How about this: since you won't let me sell these shops, then I'll sell them to you. It costs two thousand taels of silver to sell six shops to others, but who are you? You are my biological daughter, and I won't let you suffer a loss. As long as you pay two thousand taels, not only will the six shops be yours, but this courtyard will also be given to you." Liu Baishi secretly wiped the sweat from his forehead. Fortunately, he reacted quickly, otherwise, the air would have frozen. Sudan Novel Network
"Dream on. Back then, my maternal grandparents wanted to leave the shops to me, and I wouldn't have paid a single tael of silver." Sometimes Wu Caiwei felt Liu Baishi had no brains, and sometimes she thought he was too cunning.
In fact, his intentions were not put to good use. He was busy around the shops all day, but he never truly focused on business or studied it properly. Instead, he spent his days among women, thinking about how to balance things to keep his household peaceful.
"I am your biological father. Are you not leaving me a way out by doing this? Do you want me to starve on the streets?" Liu Baishi was also angry when he heard this. Nowadays, filial piety is practiced, and people often say that there are no unfilial children, only unfilial offspring. It's just that he sold her to a pleasure boat once, there's no need to force their whole family to death, is there?
"I accidentally heard some news that Father once went to the neighboring county and met Ren Jiajia at that time. Not long after, her husband died, and then my mother also passed away. How can there be so many coincidences in the world?
Actually, I've always had a question: Father never met Ren Jiajia after marrying Mother. Why did you two suddenly get in touch, and why did your relationship develop so rapidly in such a short time? Did you know each other long ago? Was marrying my mother into the Li family also a trap?"
This time Liu Baishi truly couldn't sit still. He immediately looked up, his eyes filled with surprise, and said nervously, "Why would you think that? You were old enough to remember when your mother passed away. Didn't you see how loving we were? Why do you suspect our feelings? Besides, I went to the neighboring county that time for business. It was our first meeting. How could it be as complicated as you imagine?"
"If my guess is wrong, why are you so nervous?" Wu Caiwei looked at him, unwilling to back down. For some time recently, she had been thinking about Li Jinyu's matter, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt his relationship with Ren Jiajia was extraordinary. Given her understanding of Liu Baishi, he wouldn't have married that woman after meeting her only once, so were they old acquaintances?
But in the original owner's memory, her father had never left Yangcheng and had been with his wife day and night. He thought he had guessed wrong, and suddenly one day he stood up in shock. Perhaps his direction was wrong. What if the two knew each other before they got married?