The next day, Ye Qingcheng took paintings from Xiao Wangye's room and opened the study. After looking around, she found a few she liked. One was a calligraphy piece with a single character, "Power," written on it. For some reason, she found the character beautiful and packed it. Another was a landscape painting that truly captured the vibrant greens and the essence of the land. Ye Qingcheng liked it very much, but liking it couldn't compare to the practicality of money. Besides, Xiao Wangye had promised her she could take any painting from his study. If this one was gone, he could just paint another.
With that thought, Ye Qingcheng felt much better.
To get rich and expand her financial resources, Ye Qingcheng decided to go all out.
Then, she intended to convert the paintings into cash, so she went to the largest pawnshop in the capital, a place rumored to be able to pawn anything.
There were quite a few paintings and calligraphy pieces. Ye Qingcheng couldn't carry them all, so she had Bi Xi carry them while she dealt with the staff.
Bi Xi looked at the artworks and felt regretful as she accompanied her Wangfei to the pawnshop. "Wangfei, our monthly allowance has increased, why do we need to come to a pawnshop? Do you intend to pawn these calligraphy pieces and paintings? You absolutely cannot do that! What if the Prince finds out."
Ye Qingcheng pulled her closer. "Oh, if you don't say anything, and I don't say anything, who will know!"
"But..." Bi Xi wanted to say more, but a pawnshop employee came out.
Ye Qingcheng wanted to finish quickly, so she directly unrolled a painting. When the employee saw the seal of the Regent's Manor at the bottom, he knew it was a big deal. He quickly brought tea. "Esteemed guest, please have a seat. I will call the manager."
Ye Qingcheng nodded. "Alright." She continued to drink her tea.
Bi Xi was still chattering at her side, urging Ye Qingcheng to go back quickly.
But Ye Qingcheng only heard one ear and let it out the other.
Just then, another customer entered. The employee rushed to greet them. Ye Qingcheng merely glanced and didn't pay much attention.
Fortunately, the manager arrived quickly, otherwise, Ye Qingcheng would have lost her temper.
When Ye Qingcheng opened the paintings and calligraphy, the manager's eyes lit up!
"This, this is the Regent's calligraphy and paintings!"
Ye Qingcheng nodded proudly. "That's right."
The manager grasped Ye Qingcheng's hand. "Miss, how did you get these?"
Before Ye Qingcheng could speak, Bi Xi was ready to explode.
"You old fool, where are you touching!"
The manager snapped back to reality and quickly let go. "Oh! I apologize! Miss, this is just my habit. I get very excited when I see good things."
Ye Qingcheng shook her head and said it was fine.
Seeing the manager eagerly examine the artworks, Ye Qingcheng didn't understand them but judged from his reaction that Xiao Wangye's paintings must be very good.
Suddenly, a nearby customer nudged Ye Qingcheng outwards and excitedly exclaimed, looking at the painting, "Oh! It's so beautiful! Manager, how much is this painting?"
The manager couldn't give a definite answer. "This painting hasn't been pawned by this lady yet, so I don't know!" The manager pointed at Ye Qingcheng.
The customer immediately grabbed Ye Qingcheng's arm excitedly. "Miss, how much are you asking for? I'll buy it."
Bi Xi by her side became agitated.
"Let go of my young lady, why are you touching her!"
The customer somewhat bashfully let go and sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Heh heh, I'm sorry, Miss. Let me introduce myself, my name is Huang Jinzhong, I'm a merchant, and I love collecting famous paintings. Seeing this painting just now, I was incredibly amazed. Don't worry, Miss, I won't let you suffer a loss. Whatever price you name, I will buy it."
What a stroke of luck! Ye Qingcheng's eyes darted. "Then how about one hundred thousand taels."
One hundred thousand taels! Bi Xi was stunned and couldn't help but tug at her Wangfei's sleeve. "Isn't that too much?"
In fact, Ye Qingcheng herself felt it was a bit much right after saying it. She should have asked for five thousand taels. What if this fool didn't buy it, wouldn't that be a wasted effort? But then...
"Okay, I'll buy it."
Everyone was stunned.
It was obvious that Ye Qingcheng had deliberately set a high price, yet he still wanted to buy it. Was this customer not crazy?
"Miss, please give me an address, and I will deliver the money to your manor."
Ye Qingcheng accepted with a beaming smile.
"Alright, but it can't be delivered to the manor. Please exchange it for bank notes for me."
This was naturally even better. Huang Jinzhong readily agreed. "Okay." He then took out a bank note for one hundred thousand taels from his pocket and handed it to Ye Qingcheng.
Ye Qingcheng carefully accepted it, money for goods.
At this moment, she was very pleased. "Bi Xi, we're rich."
Bi Xi's eyes turned red. She had never seen one hundred thousand taels before!
It shouldn't be touched, for fear of smudging the ink.
Emerging from the pawnshop, both of them felt refreshed, walking with a spring in their step.
Ye Qingcheng pointed down the street. "Let's go, Bi Xi, let's have some fun and stroll around."
Bi Xi nodded in agreement.
So, the two of them quickly browsed through the entire street.
At a corner, they saw a little girl begging.
Seeing her, Ye Qingcheng felt as if she was seeing a scene from the end times, except back then, everyone's eyes held no cowardice, and no one begged.
Ye Qingcheng couldn't bear it and was about to step forward, when her view was blocked by a group of beggars. The beggars formed a circle, and Ye Qingcheng couldn't see what was happening inside, but she heard the sound of the girl's bowl being knocked away.
"What are you doing! This is our territory, don't you beg here!"
The girl's voice was faint, but it could still be heard.
"I was here first."
The group of beggars burst into laughter. Then Ye Qingcheng saw someone grab the girl's hair. The girl, frightened, covered her head.
Those people were relentless. "What did you say? I can't hear you."
"Can't hear? Speak louder!"
Ye Qingcheng, unable to stand it any longer, stepped forward and kicked one of them over.
"Who, who is it!"
The person got up and started shouting.
Turning around, he saw Ye Qingcheng standing there. Looking at Ye Qingcheng's luxurious attire, the beggars' eyes lit up.
They hadn't eaten in days. If they stripped this woman of her clothes and pawned them, they could eat.
The beggars exchanged glances, their intentions clear.
Suddenly, a beggar attempted a sneak attack on Ye Qingcheng, but he was kicked away by Ye Qingcheng.
Hah! This group, malnourished and skinny as skeletons, wanted to rob her? Truly, if their brains lacked nutrition, they also lacked intelligence.
This was almost a one-sided beating by Ye Qingcheng. She defeated them all in a few swift moves.
Seeing them writhing on the ground in pain, and also seeing how thin they were, bony as skeletons, Ye Qingcheng couldn't bear it and threw some silver at them.
They froze, looking at Ye Qingcheng with disbelief.
Seeing the hopeful look in their eyes, Ye Qingcheng couldn't help but shake her head. "To be honest, you are somewhat innocent, but robbing and extorting people is also wrong. It's just that this world is too bleak."
Seeing them run off with the money, Ye Qingcheng said nothing. She stepped forward and helped the girl up. Looking at the girl's wounds and scars, Ye Qingcheng felt a pang in her heart.
"What is your name?"
The girl just shook her head. "I don't have a name."
Ye Qingcheng and Bi Xi were somewhat surprised. They exchanged glances.