When the woman saw Xiu'er, she bowed and scraped.
Xiu'er looked down at him with an arrogant and impatient expression, and held out her hand, saying, "Are you ready?"
The woman nodded. "Ready, ready."
As she spoke, she took out a silver ingot and placed it in Xiu'er's hand.
The silver ingot was of excellent quality. Qiao Qiao, observing from the shadows, guessed it was worth ten taels of official silver. She couldn't help but wonder, how could this woman, dressed in rags like a poor old woman, be so generous?
What does this woman want from Xiu'er?
Xiu'er weighed the gold ingot in her hand and said, "Alright, come find me at this time tomorrow!"
As she spoke, she hid the gold ingot in her sleeve and walked out.
The woman was overjoyed and kept bowing and thanking her, saying, "Miss Xiu'er, I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow, rain or shine!"
Xiu'er left without looking back.
Qiao Qiao stopped the woman who was about to leave and asked, "What favor do you need her to do for you?"
The woman rolled her eyes at her. "What's it to you?"
He no longer showed any politeness towards Xiu'er.
Qiao Qiao was furious. Was she even less valuable than a maid?
However, since she needed a favor, she couldn't afford to make a scene. She took out a small piece of silver from her purse and handed it to the woman, saying in a forced tone, "I also have a favor to ask of Miss Xiu'er, but I don't know how to knock on the door, so I've come to ask you for help."
The woman took the silver and rudely put it in her mouth and bit it.
Qiao Qiao's brows were furrowed so deeply they looked like they could trap a fly—it was utterly disgusting.
The woman verified that the silver was genuine before putting it into her purse, saying, "It's nothing. I just asked Miss Xiu'er to take me to the Prince's mansion to collect scraps."
"Collecting junk?" Qiao Qiao thought she had misheard.
The woman said impatiently, "What's wrong with collecting junk? The Wang family is so wealthy and powerful; they can buy whatever they don't want for just a few coins, and they often give it to me for free. Earning dozens of taels of silver in one trip is easy."
That's quite novel...
"Then I'll give you fifty taels of silver, and you can take me inside," Qiao Qiao said.
The woman looked at her as if she were a fool. "Fifty taels of silver, and I'd ruin my own livelihood? Besides, if you were an assassin, wouldn't my whole family be buried with you?"
"I am naturally not an assassin." Qiao Qiao blushed with anger.
What a troublesome woman who collects scraps!
"Who knows what you're up to?" the woman rolled her eyes. "If you really want something, go ask Miss Xiu'er. As long as the money arrives, everything is negotiable."
Are you sure?
"Of course, besides me, if you want to find someone to work as a servant in the Prince's mansion, Xiu'er can arrange it too, for a year's salary. There are many other things as well; basically, as long as you give the money, she can get it done."
Qiao Qiao thought to herself, "This Xiu'er has some nerve! Is she obsessed with money? She'll take on anything!"
But she was also secretly delighted.
Although Xiu'er treated her coldly, as long as someone loves money, there will always be a way to get away with it.
She stopped wasting time arguing with the woman and focused solely on talking to Xiu'er.
--What she needed to do was not just infiltrate the Prince's mansion.
The whole process requires the cooperation of others.
Moreover, Xiu'er had previously helped Tang Zhuyun successfully climb into bed with him.
Practice makes perfect...
Perhaps Xiu'er is a lucky charm.
Eager to win Xiu'er's heart, Qiao Qiao had already put aside past grievances and was Zidu thinking about using money to pave the way for Xiu'er to work for her.
She's going to take off!
Tang Zhuyun was overjoyed to hear Xiu'er come back and start speaking.
"You're really making things up, a junk collector, huh?"
Xiu'er snorted and said, "Don't all those who collect scraps want to get into the Prince's mansion?"
Tang Zhuyun: "Your words seem to be alluding to the Prince!"
"I'm not alluding; I'm stating the facts directly."
Tang Zhuyun: "..."
"If the prince can control himself, he'll be a treasure of the prince's mansion; if he can't, he'll be nothing but trash. It's better to let her take him directly."
Tang Zhuyun laughed loudly, "I have to tell the Prince what you said."
Xiu'er turned away, saying, "I'm not afraid at all! I need to calculate how much silver I should ask Qiao Qiao for."
"Two thousand taels?" Tang Zhuyun said, "We need to make her feel the pinch, and then with some effort, she can still come up with the money."
"OK!"
Qiao Qiao didn't even wait until the next day; she came looking for Xiu'er that very afternoon.
"Two thousand taels of silver?" Qiao Qiao's eyes practically screamed, "Why don't you just rob us?"
Xiu'er said with an aloof expression, "Come if you want, don't come if you don't. Last time, a merchant girl begged me with ten thousand taels of silver, and I didn't budge. She's utterly worthless!"
Qiao Qiao always felt that she was making veiled criticisms.
But there was nothing she could do; she desperately wanted the opportunity to get close to Prince of Jin.
She gritted her teeth and said, "Fine, two thousand taels it is! I'll give you one thousand taels tomorrow, and you can make the arrangements as soon as possible! After it's done, I'll give you the remaining one thousand taels."
"I'm not completely stupid, "Xiu'er thought to herself.
But she looked impatient. "Two thousand taels of silver, get it all together first before we do anything. Take it or leave it!"
Qiao Qiao was completely under her control and had no choice but to compromise.
She thought to herself that if she could get into the Prince's mansion, she would make Xiu'er return those two thousand taels of silver with interest!
So Qiao Qiao went back to raise the money.
She certainly didn't have two thousand taels of silver. All her savings amounted to just over eight hundred taels, which was accumulated over many years.
If you don't have enough money, you have to pawn it.
I can't bear to part with my own things, and there's also my sister's dowry.
When Tang Zhuyun heard that Qiao Qiao had pawned Qiao Jiao's dowry, she was dumbfounded.
--Is this even possible?
She's really smart.
Qiao Jiao's wedding date was already set, and she was preparing to get married at the end of the year. At this crucial moment, Qiao Qiao pawned her dowry. It would be strange if the two sisters didn't become enemies.
Did Qiao Qiao think that entering the Prince's mansion would end everything and she would never associate with her sisters again?
That's amazing!
The next day, Qiao Qiao handed the two thousand taels of silver notes to Xiu'er.
Xiu'er said, "The prince will be on leave in a couple of days. You can come then."
Seeing that she was about to leave, Qiao Qiao quickly grabbed her sleeve. "You can't just take the money and not do anything! You can't just take me in and leave, you have to..."
"I'll have to send you to the prince's bed," Xiu'er sneered.
She should take a good look at herself; she doesn't even deserve it!
Qiao Qiao nodded. "Yes, it must succeed!"
"Just watch and see," Xiu'er said, turning and walking away with a haughty expression.
Qiao Qiao clenched her fist inside her sleeve.
This time, she can only win, not lose.
Her cousin, a man of high status and in charge of the Golden Scale Guard, was taken over by a lovesick woman who climbed into her bed, and she was not happy about it.
She could have done better; she should be the Consort of the Prince of Jin.
Qiao Qiao has an inherently competitive and ambitious nature; she always strives to get the best.
She was unusually unconcerned about the Prince of Jin's bad reputation; she believed that a man's ability to instill fear in everyone was also a skill.
Only a man like this is worthy of her.
She didn't want her father to find her a man; she could tell from her sister's marriage that her father was completely muddle-headed.
Someone like Sun Jun isn't even worthy of carrying my shoes!
Qiao Qiao is determined to win over the Prince of Jin!