The merchant's rebirth led to the complete downfall of the Marquis's mansion.

The moment Xia Qiutang went in, Xiao Liu excitedly told Qin Yao.

Qin Yao just smiled after hearing this, but Xiao Liu scratched his head, feeling that her reaction wasn't strong enough.

Xia Qiutang almost ruined her reputation by conspiring with Jiang Su to exploit the Qin family's aging lineage.

This is a deep-seated hatred.

How come now that the Jiang family has fallen and Xia Qiutang has reaped the consequences of her actions and avenged her great grudge, Qin Yao seems to have no reaction at all?

Shouldn't they be laughing heartily, celebrating something?

"Miss..." Xiao Liu hesitated before speaking, afraid that Qin Yao might be too happy and keep it bottled up inside.

Qin Yao was still flipping through the account book when she heard Xiao Liu call her, and she looked up in surprise.

Seeing the worry in his eyes, I suddenly understood.

Those who follow her know a lot about her.

He also understood her hatred for Jiang Su and Xia Qiutang. They had wholeheartedly helped her, and now that everyone had met a tragic end, her reaction was so indifferent, which was illogical.

Qin Yao put down the ledger and smiled from the bottom of her heart.

"Let's call everyone and have a good celebration tonight."

"Okay!" Xiao Liu quickly agreed and happily turned to run outside.

The purpose of this celebration is to get them to put down what they're doing and come back to the Qin family to drink until they drop – what a great thing!

It was rare for the brothers to get together, let alone have the opportunity to dine with the maids and servants around their young lady.

Even though the young lady will only show her face briefly, it won't stop everyone from having fun!

After Xiao Liu left, Qin Yao continued looking at the account books.

In recent years, the Qin family's wealth has multiplied many times over.

As for her hatred and resentment.

The Jiang family has fallen.

Jiang Su and Jiang Liu are dead, and she is no longer the Qin Yao of the past. Xia Qiutang's fate was her own fault, and her enemies have all met their ends.

She had let go of the past, and all the resentment had left her.

She has more important things to do now.

……

Jiang Xiaoxiao accepted reality on a day when she was almost sent to a military prostitute in a carriage. She couldn't accept becoming an ordinary girl and a prostitute without the freedom to entertain customers.

However, her resistance seemed so ridiculous in the face of absolute power.

That day, she was still resisting a patron who was the same age as her father when her mother came along with two men in armor.

She pushed the man out of the room, and they met her mother's sharp eyes.

Xia Qiutang felt scared for the first time, but she quickly realized that she had been a courtesan for so long, had many patrons, and had earned a lot of money for her mother, so she had some prestige.

So, in front of her mother, she started yelling and publicly cursing the man who entered her room, calling him a "toad trying to eat swan meat."

In the past, her mother only smiled at her because she was making money. Now that she can't see the situation clearly, her mother naturally wants to make her see it clearly.

"Sirs, what do you think of this? This was our previous courtesan!"

The two soldiers immediately began to scrutinize Xia Qiutang from head to toe.

Before they came, they wanted to find a clean girl. Since she was a courtesan, she must not have a large number of clients, and the quality of her clients must be good. She wouldn't have any of those weird diseases or anything like that.

This definitely meets the requirements.

Moreover, this courtesan is exceptional in both beauty and talent; she is the perfect fit for the role.

The two nodded to their mother in unison, indicating, "She's the one!"

Mom was very satisfied.

Xia Qiutang was dumbfounded.

She looked at the two soldiers, then at her mother, and fear showed in her eyes.

She's no longer the top courtesan; someone specifically requested her to come and decorate. These two are clearly here to select someone to go out with.

Sir!

It would have been fine if they were in casual clothes, which would have shown they were there to relax, but the fact that they were wearing armor was a problem.

What could they be doing here representing the military? Of course, they'd be looking for women—no, to be precise, buying women.

The purpose of buying it is self-evident.

The army is desperately short of women!

Thinking about all this, Xia Qiutang's already unattractive face grew even paler.

She acted arrogantly in front of her mother not only because of her past earnings, but also because her mother still expected her to earn money and wouldn't do anything to her.

After all, if you hurt her, she'll be the one who suffers the loss!

But now, that's a military camp. If she goes there, she'll become a military prostitute. If her mother really sells her, there's only one outcome for her: death!

The man she pushed out had initially wanted to argue, but seeing that she was about to be sold, he stroked his beard, a smile playing on his lips, greeted his mother, and went to find other girls.

Jiang Xiaoxiao didn't care about anyone else anymore. She immediately gave in, all her pride vanished, and she knelt down on the ground, screaming hysterically.

“Mom! Aren’t I your favorite daughter? You said that as long as I’m obedient, I’ll be the most respected person in this building…”

No one would believe such a thing, but unfortunately Jiang Xiaoxiao did.

Her mother rolled her eyes to the sky. She didn't really want to sell her. Among ordinary girls, Jiang Xiaoxiao was quite good. She couldn't bear to sell her like that.

But these people! They need to be taught a lesson; otherwise, they'll still act like they're some new, beautiful young lady.

Without saying whether she was selling or not, her mother waved for two people to come over and drag Jiang Xiaoxiao away.

Such nice rooms are all for entertaining guests; the punishment would definitely be being confined to the woodshed in the backyard.

Jiang Xiaoxiao was terrified and kept calling for her mother the whole way. She regretted her impulsive act and was locked in the woodshed. As darkness fell, she curled up in a corner.

After a long period of stunned silence, Jiang Xiaoxiao finally realized that she didn't want to die.

They did not bind her hands and feet, which made it easier for her to move around.

She wanted to escape; the worst that could happen was being caught and beaten, but that was better than doing nothing and waiting to die!

Jiang Xiaoxiao tried to pry open the window, and it actually opened. She wondered if they were confident she wouldn't escape, since there were no guards outside.

As the top courtesan, she had been in and out of the building countless times and was quite familiar with its layout. Jiang Xiaoxiao fumbled around, trying to climb over the high wall next to the kitchen.

It's the busiest time of day in the building, and there are quite a few people in the kitchen, so she has to be extra careful.

Soon, she reached the corner of the wall. Just as she was congratulating herself on her good luck, a figure suddenly appeared, startling her so much that she almost screamed.

When Jiang Xiaoxiao saw who it was, her eyes widened. "You...you! How did you get here?"

Xia Qiutang was also startled and very surprised to see her.

"Why are you here?"

The two looked at each other, bewildered.

Jiang Xiaoxiao thought that her former sister-in-law, even if she wasn't someone's concubine, must still be living a life of luxury and wealth.

Xia Qiutang felt that although Jiang Xiaoxiao's family had fallen on hard times, she was honest and upright, and she should be able to find a good husband and live a good life.

The two stood under the wall, looking at each other. So... how did they both end up here?