Falling into the mortal world

You come to a brothel to solicit prostitutes and expect a prostitute to take responsibility for you? That's utterly ridiculous. Besides, you got it for free, without spending a single penny. Now you're talking to me about feelings? Isn't that absurd?

Min Nancheng was deeply stung by Lan Qingqing's words about getting something for free. In your eyes, are we just a customer and a prostitute?

"What else did you think?" Lan Qingqing said coldly. This world is far too harsh on women. How many men have been willing to give their all for Lan Qingqing? If every man had to reciprocate, he would have been reincarnated eight hundred times over. Falling in love with someone isn't wrong, but forcing that love on another person is unfair.

Lan Qingqing felt no guilt about the other men's admiration, since she had not flirted with or seduced anyone.

But she also felt a little guilty towards Min Nancheng, since she had taken advantage of him. But she couldn't sacrifice her whole life to repay that.

At this moment, Lin Shaoyuan came over. As soon as he entered the private room, he sensed that something was wrong. Just as he was about to leave, he heard Min Nancheng call out: "Brother Shaoyuan, wait a moment."

Lin Shaoyuan stopped walking out and found a stool to sit down. He had fallen in love with the pregnant woman in front of him the moment he saw her.

But Lin Shaoyuan was also keenly aware that his family would never allow him to marry a prostitute. He couldn't disregard his entire family for his own selfish desires. Therefore, he had no choice but to suppress his feelings.

Since I was just a customer of a prostitute to you that night.

Then I should pay you for the prostitution. That night, Master Hong paid 100,000 taels to sleep with you.

"For the night you spent with me, I'll give you the same 100,000 taels of silver. From now on, we're even." Min Nancheng said coldly, having suppressed all his love for Lan Qingqing.

He's been driven almost mad by the woman in front of him lately. All his love feels so cheap in her eyes, and his sincerity is met with mockery.

It's time to see things clearly and return to reality.

Lin Shaoyuan was completely baffled. When had Brother Nancheng ever slept with Honglian? He had no idea. And what about this 100,000 taels?

"Brother Shaoyuan, how much silver do you have? Bring it all here," Min Nancheng said.

Lin Shaoyuan mechanically pulled out a stack of silver notes from his pocket, then said blankly, "What I have isn't even enough for 100,000 taels!"

"How many?" Min Nancheng asked.

"Fifty thousand taels, but this is the payment my father asked me to give to Manager Cen for goods." Lin Shaoyuan said softly.

Tell Master Lin that this is a loan. I will repay it double in the future. After saying this, Min Nancheng took the silver note from Lin Shaoyuan and placed it on Lan Qingqing's table.

Here is the remaining 50,000 taels. I will have someone deliver it to you tomorrow.

"Where do you live now?" Min Nancheng asked.

Lan Qingqing looked at the silver notes on the table. After thinking for a moment, she decided to accept them. Could face be more important than the child in her womb and her own life?

Since you're going to pay, I'll naturally accept it. The rest will be delivered to Yunlai Inn tomorrow. Just look for Lan Qingqing. Also, my name is Lan Qingqing; the name Honglian no longer exists for me. After saying this, Lan Qingqing picked up the silver notes on the table, got up, and left. When Lan's mother and the others saw Lan Qingqing come out, they quickly went forward to check if she was alright.

Lan Qingqing said: Let's go!

Seeing that Lan Qingqing was indeed alright, Lan's mother left with her.

Lin Shaoyuan, inside the private room, asked: "What's going on between you and Lan Qingqing? When did you two get together? I have no idea."

"When it happened isn't important. What's important now is figuring out how to raise another 50,000 taels for me," Min Nancheng said.

"You want to raise another 50,000 taels? Min Nancheng, do you think my money grows on trees? You think you can just give me whatever you want?" Lin Shaoyuan said somewhat discontentedly.

"I'll pay you back with interest later," Min Nancheng said.

"You just casually spent 50,000 taels in one go, and now I have to figure out how to raise another 50,000 taels. Min Nancheng, you really think too highly of me." Lin Shaoyuan resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Forget everything else, just tell me if you can raise 50,000 taels," Min Nancheng said impatiently.

"Yes, yes, yes, I must have owed you something in my past life," Lin Shaoyuan complained.

The next morning, Lan Qingqing received a silver note containing 50,000 taels of silver from a servant of the Lin family.

Lan Qingqing accepted the money without any remorse. She was short of money right now; who would refuse money offered to them?

Yesterday, when Lan's mother returned to the inn, she learned that the young master had given Lan Qingqing 50,000 taels of silver. She began to question him, and only after repeated questioning did she learn the whole story.

It turned out that the child in her daughter's belly belonged to that young master from yesterday. Madam Lan now wanted nothing more than to slap that man. If it weren't for him, her daughter wouldn't be in this state. And he even wanted to marry her daughter—a man who frequented brothels all day long. What kind of good person could he be? She immediately demanded that Lan Qingqing return the money.

When Lan Qingqing heard her mother tell her to return the money, she immediately refused. "Mother, we need the money right now. We can't return it, or we won't even be able to get into the black market."

Lan's mother thought about it and agreed. She was angry, but she couldn't joke about her own daughter's life!

After delivering the silver notes, Lin's servant went back to report.

After resolving his issues with Lan Qingqing, Min Nancheng set off back to the capital. There, he would face people he didn't want to see. But to get what he wanted, he needed power. Only by becoming a superior person could he avoid being looked down upon by others.

Min Nancheng and Lin Shaoyuan boarded a carriage and set off for the capital. Master Lin watched them leave from the gate. Once their carriage was gone, Master Lin's concubine complained, "Master, that Min Nancheng is just a poor scholar. You lent him 100,000 taels of silver, when will he ever be able to pay it back? That's half of our family's savings!"

"What do you know, you're just a woman?" Master Lin scolded his concubine, who kept complaining beside him.

After finishing his words, Master Lin went inside, leaving his concubine stomping her feet in anger.

Having received the money, Lan Qingqing naturally headed to the black market. Her mother was hesitant to go without, yet reluctant to part with the money, since five thousand taels could only be used for two people. In the end, she decided to let Lan Qingqing and Lan Xiaotian go in, while she and Feng Caidie waited at the entrance.

After discussing their options, the group set off. Many people in the city already recognized them, so to avoid trouble, they decided to leave as soon as possible.

The black market was located in a very secluded place. If Lan Qingqing hadn't heard about it before, she really wouldn't have been able to find it.

The alley was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Unexpectedly, we entered through a small door. After walking a short distance, we saw several burly men standing on either side of the main gate, blocking our way.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" one of the burly men asked.

"We've come to buy some items," Lan Qingqing replied.

There's an entrance fee of five thousand taels of silver to pay before you can go in. "You two should consider whether you want to go in," the burly man kindly reminded them.

"I want to go in, but I don't know how to pay the fee," Lan Qingqing asked.

Once the burly man was certain the two wanted to go in, he opened the gate and led them inside.