"Ling Yu? A member of the Ling Family?"
Gu Ruoyun looked at the elegantly dressed lady who was glaring at herself furiously and couldn't help but felt slightly startled.
As a matter of fact, she happened to have met Ling Yu once before, during her first visit to the Hundred Herb Hall. She had coincidentally came across the scene where Ling Yu was making a fuss and was kicked out of the Hundred Herb Hall in the end. Even though she was forced to return to apologize by Master Ling, she was still refused an entrance by the Hundred Herb Hall.
Never did she thought that she would run into Ling Yu over here again.
"What are you doing here?"
Because of Ling Xi, Ling Yu’s eyes blazed with hatred the moment she set her eyes on Gu Ruoyun. The glint in her eyes was as sharp as a sword, ruthlessly directed towards the young girl who was standing by the door; how she wished she could inflict some marks on that delicate little face of hers.
Gu Ruoyun glanced past Ling Yu and finally, her gaze landed on the middle-aged man who was standing right in front of her, "How much does it cost for this house?"
Before the middle-aged man could even open his mouth, a sardonic jeer was heard coming out from Ling Yu's mouth.
"You little bitch! Don't you dare have the idea that being part of the Hundred Herb Hall could allow you to be self-righteous and conceited! Come to think of it, you’re only a mere servant of the Hundred Herb Hall. Do you really think that you could use the influence of the Hundred Herb Hall to your advantage, obtain this house by force and make it yours? Let me tell you something. I bought this place as a gift to the crown prince because he was thinking about moving out from the palace lately. The crown prince is from the Weapon Refining Sect! Even if Hundred Herb Hall was that strong, it won’t be able to beat the power of the Weapon Refining Sect at all, let alone making an enemy against the Weapon Refining Sect for the sake of a small petty servant like you!"
Ling Yu spoke while lifting her little face up high in aloofness.
Just the thought of herself being chucked out from the Hundred Herb Hall was enough to make her gnarl her teeth in hatred.
But it didn't matter - wait till she became the crown prince's wife. That small little Hundred Herb Hall would then become her property in no time! When that time finally came, she could freely decide the fate of Gu Ruoyun, that mere servant of the Hundred Herb Hall!
"How much is this house?"
As though not listening to a word that Ling Yu said, Gu Ruoyun continued her inquiries.
"Gu Ruoyun, I am talking to you right now! How dare you ignore me!"
Ling Yu's little face became scarlet in anger, her eyes glaring in rage at Gu Ruoyun.
"Oh?"
Finally, Gu Ruoyun showed some reaction and lifted a brow while looking at Ling Yu. Smiling happily, she said, "You were talking to me? I'm sorry, I thought you were muttering to yourself."
Pffft!
Ling Yu almost spit a mouthful of blood out when she heard this. Her little face livid with rage, her eyes glinting with resentment and her teeth clenched in annoyance. "Gu Ruoyun, it's better for you to scram now! You can’t afford this house at all! Not to mention the fact that you have no right at all to compete with the crown prince!"
Swoosh!
In an instant, a swift and fierce double-edged sword abruptly appeared and rested on the neck of Ling Yu. Instantaneously, her whole body went rigidly cold, and when she lifted her eyes up, they were met with a pair of supercilious and chilly eyes.
"You better shut your mouth up! Otherwise..."
Looking at Ling Yu coldly, Xun Feng said in a bone-chilling tone.
"Do you... Do you even know who I am? My aunt is the highest-ranking imperial concubine. How dare you threaten me? Wait till I go back and tell my aunt! She will wipe off your whole clan!"
The look in Xun Feng eyes darkened a few shades and without warning, he let out an icy-cold laugh, "Who cares if your aunt’s the imperial concubine or even the queen herself? Whoever dares to offend my master will end in death!"
In the eyes of this young man, Ling Yu could clearly see his killing intention.
That was right! This fellow really did intend to kill her. This was not just a mere intimidation attempt.
In that instant, Ling Yu turned pale in fright, her legs shaking uncontrollably. Not even a proper sentence could be strung out from her mouth.
"Xun Feng, I am here for a serious affair. As for other matters, take care of them some other time instead," Gu Ruoyun threw a glance at Xun Feng as she spoke.
Having heard her words, only then did the killing intent that was exuded from Xun Feng’s body dissolved away.
Unmistakably, Ling Yu let out a sigh of relief. Just a short while ago, she really had the feeling that the grim reaper was just standing right beside her.
If it was someone else, that person would have tried to leave the scene as soon as possible - afraid that the young man would change his mind of killing her anytime.
However, Ling Yu was no ordinary person.
This house was serene and quiet, the surrounding environment was pretty good as well. No matter what, she still wanted to buy this house as a present for the crown prince. If she could really make the crown prince happy, perhaps she would be able to become his imperial concubine...
As she was thinking about this, Ling Yu calmed herself down and turned her head to look at the middle-aged man. "The price that you’ve set for the house is too expensive. Even though the surrounding ambient is quite nice, it is not worth as much as eight million gold coins. I will offer you eight hundred thousand, take it or leave it."
"Are you kidding me, young lady? Eight hundred thousands gold coins? Is this daylight robbery?" The middle-aged man let out a snort of laughter, "As I’ve said before, this price is too low. No way I would accept it!"
Having heard this, Ling Yu lifted her head high up in haughtiness. "You better think about it carefully! I'm buying this as a present that to gift it to the crown prince. Such a good opportunity to please him, and you plan to let it go just like that? It’s not that I'm calling you an idiot but this is seriously quite a fool of you! Do you even know how many people in this world would do anything just to get on the crown prince's good side? If it weren't for me, Ling Yu, would you even have gotten this chance? It’s already amazing that I didn't ask you to present me eight million gold coins as a token of gratitude. Besides, it’s not like I'm taking this house for free. Didn’t I plan on giving you five hundred thousands as a compensation?"
In Ling Yu's eyes, the crown prince was in a prominent position that not anyone could even go near to him. Now that she was giving him a chance to get on his good side, he should have been the one presenting her a few million gold coins to show his gratitude instead. After all, not everybody could come across such good opportunity.
At once, the middle-aged man was at loss of whether to cry or laugh. Having his house taken away by force? And even go so far as to have to thank her for that? He had never heard of such outrageous nonsense before.
"Lady Ling, my wife is now sick with a critical illness. Only the ghost doctor can cure her of the illness. However, the price of the ghost doctor is eight million gold coins. I have no other alternative but to sell this house. Please don't make things difficult for us. I am already at wit's end now."
Ghost doctor?
When she heard the words of the middle-aged man, Gu Ruoyun's heart leaped a little but she remained quiet.
"What an idiotic person you are!" Ling Yu responded with a sneer, "Your wife is a mere low life, how could she be compared to a comfortable dwelling place for the crown prince? As long as you get on the good side of the crown prince, you would have a promising future ahead of you, even the most beautiful woman would willingly fall into your arms. I am sure your wife’s not that selfish to want to destroy your future, isn't she? Otherwise, why would you still want this kind of woman around?"
The face on the middle-aged man immediately took on a ghastly expression. "Lady Ling, it’s not that I don't want the crown prince to stay here! As long as you could give me the eight million gold coins, this house would automatically belong to you!"
"You....."
Just when Ling Yu was about to open her mouth to respond, Gu Ruoyun's voice was suddenly heard.
"Can you sell this house to me then? I'm willing to make an offer of eight million gold coins!"
The heart of the middle-aged man gave a leap of joy. Lifting up his head, his glance shifted towards Gu Ruoyun instead.
This time, he carefully observed the young girl who was standing in front of him.
That delicate face of hers still showed a sign of adolescence and puberty; her not fully grown and yet-to-be-developed body made her looked meager and undernourished at the same time. However, her face was lighted up with a faint smile, along with a pair of bright and well-lit eyes. Perhaps the first impression she gave off was not captivating nor breathtaking enough, but she undeniably exuded a pleasant and warm aura.
"Young Lady, you wanted to buy a house?"
"That's right," Gu Ruoyun smiled as she spoke. "As for those gold coins, just go to the Hundred Herb Hall and inform Elder Yu, he will give the coins to you. He will also be the one handling all the take-over matters and arrangements. However..."