After traveling through time, I was raised by a little brat

After all matters were settled, Tang Qi and his sister, Tang Wenshu, leisurely set off for the pawnshop. Their purpose was clear: to carefully select two attentive and charming maids for Tang Wenshu. Initially, the siblings hadn't placed high hopes on the pawnshop in the tiny Liu County. However, upon arriving, they were truly astonished by what they saw. Who could have imagined that such a small, unknown county would harbor a pawnshop of such grandeur?

This business was packed with everything, from renting and selling houses to buying and selling shops, and even trading livestock. Human trafficking was also a given.

Upon entering the brokerage, Tang Qi headed straight for the real estate transaction area. After careful selection, he finally settled on a spacious, well-planned, four-story house. The location was excellent, adjacent to the county government office, offering convenient transportation and excellent public security. At this moment, a courteous broker approached, smiling broadly, introducing the house: "Sir, you have excellent taste! The annual rent for this house is only ten taels of silver. If you are interested in purchasing it, the total cost would be two hundred taels."

Hearing this, Tang Wenshu had assumed her brother would opt for the more economical option of renting. After all, she believed her father had always been a philanthropist, and most of the family's wealth had already been used to aid the suffering people of southern Xinjiang, so there shouldn't be much left. Unexpectedly, Tang Qi decided to buy the house outright without hesitation.

Seeing this, Tang Wenshu couldn't help but look puzzled. Unable to suppress his curiosity any longer, he blurted out, "Brother, where did our family get such a large sum of money for you to buy this house? Could it be that Dad gave it to you secretly? But I know that Dad donated almost all of his money to the people of Southern Xinjiang to help them alleviate their urgent needs. How could he have any extra money to buy us a house?"

Facing his sister's question, Tang Qi raised an eyebrow and asked, "Who said this money was given by Dad?"

"If it wasn't given by my father, could it be given by my mother? My mother is so generous to you." Tang Wenshu couldn't help but pout.

"Mother did give me a part of it, but have you forgotten? The house that Princess Fuhui bought before was much more expensive than here in terms of housing prices in the imperial city!" Tang Qi explained with a smile.

Just then, a trafficker approached, accompanied by a group of young girls. Each of the girls had been meticulously dressed and bathed, their already tender faces appearing even more delicate and voluptuous. The girl in the lead suddenly shouted, "This house was listed for 150 taels yesterday!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Wenshu's face instantly turned as red as a ripe apple, nearly bleeding. Her eyes widened, blazing with rage, her chest heaving violently, clearly utterly furious. She stamped her foot and roared at Tang Qi, "Brother, this man is so audacious! He dares to overcharge you! This is simply lawless and excessive!"

At this moment, the despicable trafficker saw this scene and felt a little panicked, but then he forced himself to remain calm. He rushed forward, raised his hand and slapped the poor girl hard. With a crisp "snap", the girl's petite body flew out like a kite with a broken string, falling heavily to the ground.

The girl's fair cheeks swelled rapidly, leaving five bright red finger marks visible. Despite the beating, she showed no sign of giving in. She clutched her injured face tightly, struggling to get up from the ground. She stubbornly raised her head, staring at the trafficker with eyes filled with accusation and unyielding determination.

Tang Wenshu, watching this scene from the side, felt a pang of anxiety. Without a second thought, she quickly ran forward, arms outstretched, and without hesitation, placed herself in front of the girl. At the same time, she straightened her back, her gaze blazing, and shouted righteously, "Stop! How dare you act so recklessly in broad daylight? Are there any laws?"

However, the trafficker sneered dismissively, "I'm beating up my own people, what's it to you? What right do you have to tell me to stop?" He even looked Tang Wenshu up and down. Seeing that she was just a little girl, alone and without any servants, and Tang Qi beside her also looked very polite, he guessed that the two of them were not powerful people. So he became even more arrogant, spitting on the ground and kicking the girl hard, saying smugly, "Humph, in this place, I am the law. Who dares to go against me?"

"Brother, look how arrogant he is in front of you." Tang Wenshu looked at the human trafficker who was constantly courting death, with an expression of watching a good show on his face.

Tang Wenshu turned his gaze to the house seller next to him, and a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth: "And that house seller."

At this time, Tang Qi straightened up, cleared his throat, and said loudly: "I am the county magistrate of Liu County!"

"Oh, there are still people who dare to pretend to be a county magistrate these days. Everyone knows that there is no county magistrate or county magistrate in our Liu County. Even if you want to pretend, you have to find someone who looks decent." The broker who was selling the house sneered with disdain.

"That's right. Why pretend to be a big shot if you don't have money?" The people on the side echoed.

At this moment, an urgent voice suddenly rang out from the crowd: "County Magistrate, please save me! My father is the prefect of Yangzhou, and they abducted and trafficked me here."

Hearing this cry for help, Tang Wenshu couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, then quickly walked over to the woman, looked her up and down, frowned and said, "Yangzhou prefect? ​​How could my father have such a big daughter?"

Someone in the crowd whispered, "I heard that Magistrate Yang's son and nephew have arrived and have been appointed county magistrates. It seems they are in our Liu County."

At this moment, Master Chen, the Chief Clerk, came over quickly with several yamen runners and said respectfully to Tang Qi, "Sir, these are the runners assigned specifically for you. If there's anything you need handled, just tell them. They're also quite familiar with this pawnshop."

Hearing this, the trafficker turned pale with fear, took two steps back, and then fell to his knees with a thud. He kowtowed repeatedly and begged for mercy, "Sir, I know I was wrong. Please forgive me this time!"

Originally, Lord Chen was about to deal with other matters, but after seeing the situation in front of him, he couldn't help but hesitate whether he should solve the trouble here first.

Seeing this, Tang Qi waved his hand and said calmly, "It's okay, you can go first." Then, he turned his head to look at the brokerage firm and asked, "How is this house for sale?"

The trafficker quickly replied respectfully, "Sir, only one hundred taels of silver will be enough." He did not ask for a free gift just because the other party was the county magistrate. Instead, he offered an extremely favorable price.

However, the silly girl suddenly shouted, "Look, he can be sold for one hundred taels. When you didn't know your identity just now, you actually dared to ask for two hundred taels!" This sentence made Yazi so angry that he hit her twice again.

"Girl, is your father the prefect of Yangzhou?" Tang Wenshu looked at the pitiful woman in front of him with suspicion and confirmed again.

"Former...former prefect." The girl seemed a little guilty and her voice lowered unconsciously.

Tang Qi on the side frowned, stared at her sharply, and said coldly: "The daughters of the former prefect are either dead or in the Huimin Navy. Are you sure which one you are?" He ruthlessly exposed the other party's lies.

Hearing this, the girl's face instantly turned pale as paper, her body trembling slightly, her eyes filled with fear and helplessness. She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say to defend herself.

After a long while, the girl seemed to come back to her senses and explained anxiously, "No, it's not like that! I lied. Actually, my uncle was the prefect of Yangzhou. Now my uncle has suffered a stroke and is paralyzed. Our family has fallen into poverty. We were attacked by bandits on the way back to our ancestral hometown, and I was unfortunately robbed here. Please save me!" As she spoke, tears rolled down her beautiful cheeks, making her look particularly pitiful.

Tang Qi was not moved by her sobbing. Instead, he pressed on, "If that's the case, why didn't your family look for you? Did they just watch you get kidnapped by bandits?"

The girl sobbed and replied, "I... I ran away secretly on the way back to my hometown. Please buy me. I don't want to go back to my hometown and marry a stranger. Wuuuu..." After she finished speaking, she cried even more sadly, as if she wanted to pour out all the grievances and fears in her heart.