stingy landlady

Chapter 234 Gui Hong's Troubles (1)

After taking a closer look at Gui Hong and Miss Zhou's faces, Young Master Du said:

"Tch! I thought she was some stunning beauty! She's just average-looking!"

No one knew who he was talking about, but they all glanced at the richly dressed playboy!

It was just a minor incident, and everyone laughed it off. Little did they know that this Young Master Du had already secretly sent his men to investigate Gui Hong's background.

When Young Master Du learned that Gui Hong was just a farmer's daughter, struggling alone in the county town, he couldn't help but scoff.

"That suits her personality!"

Upon learning that she was already engaged to Zhou Shaoyu and ran a brothel called "Lirenfang" in the county town, she said to her subordinates:

"Since the engagement is already arranged, she's already taken. Let it go! Just stay put in this county town and don't cause any trouble for my uncle!"

As fate would have it, that night, Guihong was sleeping when suddenly someone slipped into the room, startling her awake.

She sat up, about to call out. The man quickly jumped onto the kang (heated brick bed), came over, hugged Guihong, and covered her mouth with his hand, whispering:

"Don't make a sound! Or I'll kill you!"

For a moment, Gui Hong didn't dare to utter a sound. Although her heart was full of questions and she didn't know how this person had gotten in, she dared not make a sound.

All that could be heard outside were hurried footsteps and shouts.

"That person ran faster than a rabbit, where did he disappear to?"

"They beat up our young master and then ran away. I wonder which kid has the guts to do that!"

"Chase him! He probably hasn't gone far! He's obviously from out of town; he doesn't even recognize our young master! Let's see where this kid can run!"

The commotion finally subsided, and Guihong was released. Just as Guihong was about to light the candles, she heard the man say:

"Don't order yet! They haven't gone far!"

Gui Hong mustered her courage and asked in a low voice:

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"Hehe! Manager Wang, Manager Gui Hong! You must have a bad memory. We met at the theater entrance just a few days ago!"

Gui Hong asked in confusion:

"The theater entrance? I don't know, and I don't remember! We only serve female customers, not men! You'd better leave!"

A man and a woman alone in a dark room! Let's get out of here!

The man wasn't in a hurry to leave, and still asked:

"Manager Wang, I heard you're still a young woman of marriageable age. We've already hugged and embraced! Shouldn't I take responsibility for you?"

Gui Hong was both angry and anxious, and her fiery temper flared up, so she started cursing:

"Get out of here! Who needs you to take any responsibility! I saved your life and now I'm being threatened! Just go! You don't need to repay any favors, just avoid me from now on!"

"Hahaha! Wang Guihong! Guihong! You have such a great personality! You're so spicy! So energetic!"

Gui Hong was about to push him.

"What's all the noise about! You woke up those two girls! Do you even care about my reputation anymore?! Get out of here! What's so funny?!"

"Gui Hong! My surname is Du, remember that!"

"What do I care about your surname and given name! I'll never see you again!"

Young Master Du left quietly. But the next morning, as soon as the Lirenfang (beauty brothel) opened, a servant brought in a large bouquet of flowers. The maid reported to Guihong:

"Miss! These flowers were given to you by a young master named Du!"

Gui Hong was startled and asked:

"Where is he? I don't know any 'Pot-bellied Young Master' or 'Waist-shaped Young Master'! Send him back!"

The girl was troubled:

"Miss! The servant delivered the flowers and left! I don't know where to return them!"

Gui Hong said helplessly:

"Forget it! Let's just throw it away!"

The girl had a sudden inspiration.

"Miss! It's a shame to throw away such beautiful flowers! Let's put them in the shop; they'll be pretty and add a touch of spring to our shop!"

Gui Hong was not a person of extravagance.

"Fine! Do whatever you want!"

The girl went to arrange the flowers with a smile.

The next day, Gui Hong received another pastry from Young Master Du, and it was osmanthus cake, which was currently so popular that people had to queue to buy it.

Gui Hong was intimidated, but she retorted defiantly to the two maids:

"They just delivered pastries and left again? Who was this person? Should we all split the spoils? Or did someone take the wrong medicine and target the wrong person?"

On the third day, when Guihong received mung bean cakes from Young Master Du again, Guihong realized that this was not a misperception; she was clearly being pestered by that Young Master Du.

Guihong had no experience of being pursued by men; all she knew were the romantic scenes on stage. Guihong considered herself engaged and already taken. How could she possibly have affairs with other men? What was the point of being ambiguous?

After figuring things out, Gui Hong became firm in her decision and stopped paying attention. Whatever Young Master Du gave her, it was none of her business; she would either refuse it or give it to a maid.

Young Master Du persisted, delivering the package every day, yet never showing his face. Gui Hong was deeply troubled and utterly annoyed!

Gui Hong was originally from a humble background and didn't understand the intrigues and backstabbing among large families. She had only heard from passing guests that recently a local bully had been harassing a weak woman when he was beaten up by an outsider.

The locals breathed a sigh of relief, no longer worried about this little tyrant causing trouble. But the outsiders were subjected to all sorts of harassment by the yamen runners under various pretexts. They wondered when this ordeal would end.

The first to be affected were Aunt Jiang and the peddler, An. Their business had just started, and they had planned to earn some money before renting a place. Now, however, the situation was urgent, and they had no choice but to rent a place to settle down first.

Gui Xiang thought Gui Hong had been doing well at Lirenfang and was always easygoing, so she didn't bother Gui Hong and naturally didn't know that Gui Hong was deeply troubled.

Young Master Du didn't care what others said; he only cared about his own happiness and didn't care what others thought!

Young Master Du's servant delivered food to Lirenfang every day, and gradually became familiar with Guihong's maids, even striking up conversations with them. He even asked the two maids what they wanted to eat the next day, offering to go and buy it.

The two maids, being mischievous, secretly discussed behind Guihong's back that since the young lady wasn't eating the gifts anyway, they should give them all to the two of them. They suggested that they ask a servant to buy whatever the young lady wanted: butter tea, five-nut pastry, donkey rolls, candied fruit, and so on.

The servant bought them all, which delighted the two maids. Gui Hong knew nothing about this and paid no attention, going about her daily routine at the Beauty Pavilion. Occasionally, in her spare time, she would visit Zhou Shaoyu's bookstore to browse the books.

Zhou Shaoyu was sometimes at the bookstore and sometimes not. When he was at the bookstore, the two would just greet each other and then go about their own business without disturbing each other.

Just because Gui Hong didn't know something didn't mean Young Master Du was unaware. He simply didn't have time to deal with it all at the moment, letting his servant and Gui Hong's maid get along well.

As dusk fell, just as Guihong's two maids were about to close and lock the door, Young Master Du and the servant boy who brought them food every day approached.