There is a happy inn in the capital.

That day, Li Shuchen took grapes to buy fresh ingredients for Liang Yuying and passed by the dock.

I saw many people carrying bags; there were far fewer merchant ships at the dock than before. Business is tough these days, and the seas are not safe.

There are too many workers, supply exceeds demand, and many men are unemployed, waiting for their turn. If someone can't do the work, they'll immediately step in.

However, heavy work like carrying bags is usually done by men.

Li Shuchen took a closer look and wondered how a girl dressed as a man could be mixed in with them.

His face was almost as black as coal from the sun, and he was sweating profusely, but his steps were steady as he carried the bag with a firm and steady gait.

She was more steady than many men and quite tall, which might explain why others didn't recognize her as a woman.

Li Shuchen was about to leave, but the words of a middle-aged man beside her made her stop and frown.

"Yao'er, hurry up and carry it. What are you dawdling about? Is your leg lame? You're walking so slowly. We haven't even collected enough tuition fees from Tianci yet. Don't you want your younger brother to go to school?"

Your brother is destined to be a scholar and a high-ranking official. Hurry up and make sure you earn at least three hundred coins today, or you won't get dinner tonight!

Upon hearing this, a cold smile appeared on Li Shuchen's lips.

Three hundred coins? That's easy for them to say. For someone as robust as Brother Zhao, it would take a whole day of backbreaking work, without a break, to earn that much.

This middle-aged man doesn't do anything himself, he just orders people around. Does he know how tiring it is to carry a bag?

He's really treating his daughter like a donkey in the production team; it makes one wonder if she's even his biological daughter.

The daughter is named Yao'er, and "Yao" means "premature death." Does this mean the father wishes for his daughter to die? This is extremely unlucky.

The son, however, is named Tianci (Heaven-sent), meaning a precious gift from heaven, and is cherished dearly. It's utterly ridiculous that such a vast difference in status exists between children born of the same sex.

The girl named Yao'er didn't even glance at the man, and walked straight ahead with her head down.

The middle-aged man, seeing that the girl didn't respond, angrily grabbed her, ripped off the sack, and another man immediately carried it away.

The middle-aged man grabbed the girl by the collar and dragged her aside.

He said fiercely, "Your father is talking to you, don't you know how to answer? Are you deaf or mute?"

The girl kept her head down and didn't respond.

The middle-aged man rolled his eyes at her and said impatiently, "Liu Laowu will come to marry you tomorrow. Just go with him."

The girl panicked upon hearing this and grabbed the man's sleeve.

He pleaded, "Father, you can't sell me to Liu Laowu! He's fifty-four and still doesn't like to bathe!"

He always smells terrible, and people have vomited from the stench. Dad, didn't you know that?

"I can't go with him, Dad, I can't go with him. I will work hard."

The middle-aged man grabbed his sleeve and said sternly, "What nonsense are you talking about? Liu Laowu has always been a man of integrity and has never had a wife. Besides, what do you mean by not liking to bathe?"

That's to save water. It's your good fortune that he's interested in you. Your father is doing this for your own good, so just listen to him and marry him.

Yao'er lowered her eyes. She couldn't marry Liu Laowu. Liu Laowu had never had a wife, but he had slept with other girls.

She had seen that girl before; her body was covered in bruises and wounds, not a single unscathed spot on her body—a truly shocking sight.

Thinking of this, Yao'er knelt down, clutching her father's long robe, pleading and begging to awaken her father's love.

"Father, I beg you, Father, I really can't go with him." If I go with Liu Laowu, I'll never have a good life again.

It's better now; it's tiring, but at least it's more dignified.

The middle-aged man said coldly, "You have to leave whether you like it or not. Liu Laowu gave twenty taels of silver as a betrothal gift, and I've already bought writing materials for Tianxi."

Upon hearing this, the girl released her grip on the man's clothes and slumped to the ground. The money was gone, and there was no way to get a refund. Her life was ruined. Two clear tears streamed down her face.

Li Shuchen kept watching the girl, considering taking her on. She was so agile, and since the receptionist had confirmed her arrival, keeping her around to work alongside Xiao Feng in the waitstaff wouldn't be a bad idea.

Yao'er noticed Li Shuchen's gaze, glanced at him, and saw that she was dressed in silk, with a gold hairpin in her hair and pearl earrings, and had a round face.

She's clearly a young lady from a wealthy family; it's better to be her slave than to marry Liu Laowu.

Yao'er made up her mind, stood up nimbly, rushed towards Li Shuchen, and deliberately knocked the wooden box out of Li Shuchen's hand.

The wooden box fell to the ground, and the ginseng inside fell out. It didn't break when it first hit the ground, but the wooden box gave the ginseng a second impact, and then it broke in two.

Li Shuchen met the girl's gaze in surprise. In that instant, he suddenly understood her intention: she wanted him to save her, even as a servant, rather than marry Liu Laowu.

Li Shuchen stood still, looking at Yao'er. "Good taste," he thought, "you've got a good eye, you know how to pick someone."

This move is somewhat risky; if she weren't kind-hearted, she might fly into a rage and drag her aside to beat her to death.

But she was beautiful inside and out, so she was determined to help.

Li Shuchen started acting, acting arrogantly, and said loudly, "How dare you! Don't you have eyes when you walk?"

"You actually broke my century-old ginseng! I spent a hundred taels of silver to buy it. You have to pay me back, right now, immediately! Pay me back!"

Yao'er said timidly, "Miss, I have no money."

Li Shuchen snorted and said condescendingly, "No money? Even if you gave me your life, it wouldn't be enough to pay for this century-old ginseng."

Seeing that things were going badly, the middle-aged man immediately walked over and started spouting nonsense to Li Shuchen.

"Miss, how could you be so careless as to drop the wooden box and bump it into my precious daughter?"

She's always been pampered, and now she's been injured for no reason. She's so wronged! You have to give me twenty taels of silver to remove the bruises from my precious daughter's body.”

Yao'er stared at her father in shock. It was the first time she had witnessed his abilities; he could turn black into white, blaming the young lady for not holding on properly when she was the one who had bumped into him.

What should she do? She looked at Li Shuchen, hoping she could think of a solution.

Li Shuchen sneered.

This man spouts nonsense without thinking and is quite adept at shirking responsibility. I glanced at him.

Then, clutching a handkerchief, she pretended to wipe away tears, pitifully saying, "Everyone, come and see! Aren't you taking advantage of my youth?"

His precious daughter accidentally broke my century-old ginseng, which cost me a full one hundred taels of silver! He doesn't want to compensate me and even falsely accused me of hurting his precious daughter.

I've been standing here perfectly fine, not moving an inch. It was his precious daughter who bumped into me. In this sweltering heat, I feel more wronged than Dou E (a legendary figure known for her tragic fate). It's going to snow soon!

"Aww, aww, aww!" Li Shuchen's performance was incredibly poignant, conveying the utmost grievance and helplessness.

Grape, standing by, was also there to lend a hand, clutching a handkerchief and wiping away tears, looking just as pitiful.

"Miss, why are there always bad people bullying us? Aren't there any good people in this world who will speak up for us?"