Chapter 220 – The Foolish Prince Consort’s Farming Struggles – Buying and Selling a Person (03)
Lin Xiaoshuang was so furious at Gao Luo’s comment about her that her face twisted in anger.
How was she ugly? Back in the modern world, she was practically the campus belle! It was only because she had transmigrated here and become a village girl who toiled in the fields all year round that her skin had darkened. Once she left the Lin family and combined her modern skincare methods, she’d return to her beautiful self in less than three months.
“Village Chief, you heard it. Young Master Gao chose him. That person is someone I bought. That makes him mine. If he’s going to marry over there, the bride price should go to me, not the Lin family. I’ll split the money in two—one part to repay the Lin family for raising me all these years, and the rest is mine.” Lin Xiaoshuang laid out her account clearly and decisively.
Mother Lin glared and put her hands on her hips, about to speak, but Lin Xiaoshuang cut her off.
“Don’t glare at me. Over the years, I’ve done most of the work in this house—washing clothes, cooking, working in the fields, feeding the pigs—which of these wasn’t done by me? Look at my dear little brother, eating like a pig, and now you want to sell me to get him a wife? I paid to sever ties with the Lin family. From now on, we’ll go our separate ways. That’s already more than generous of me.”
In this remote, impoverished mountain village, it was common for daughters to be married off to get money to help sons take a wife, and no one usually made a fuss about it. But Lin Xiaoshuang did.
According to the law, the actions of the Lin elders weren’t exactly wrong. But just moments ago, Mother Lin had said she wanted Lin Xiaoshuang to marry multiple times—which amounted to marriage fraud, something strictly forbidden by law. Lin Xiaoshuang’s desire to sever ties wasn’t rebellion; rather, it was a righteous act, refusing to enable deceitful behavior.
“Either give me the money and we cut ties, or don’t cut ties—but the person is mine, and the bride price is mine. I won’t give you a single coin.” Lin Xiaoshuang stood firm in front of her shrew-like mother. She was afraid—after all, she was alone against three members of the Lin family—but she couldn’t back down. If she did, her life would be over.
“Mother…” Lin Xiaohan tugged at Mother Lin’s sleeve. He was still waiting for the money to get himself a wife.
Mother Lin was so enraged by Lin Xiaoshuang’s actions that she nearly had a heart attack. She looked at her son, then at her husband. “Old man, what do you say?”
As a woman, she could only count on Father Lin, the head of the household, to speak up now.
Father Lin thought for a moment, glanced at Lin Xiaoshuang’s determined expression, and gritted his teeth.
“Fine. Let the village chief bear witness. From now on, Lin Xiaoshuang is no longer a member of the Lin family.”
Father Lin did feel distressed about the silver, of course, but more importantly, it had taken a lot of effort to find a potential bride for his son. If they missed this opportunity, who knew when the next one would come? He couldn’t let the Lin family bloodline end with his son.
“Words alone are not enough. Let’s put it in writing,” Lin Xiaoshuang insisted. She knew full well how unreasonable Mother Lin could be, and having things written in black and white would be much more reliable.
The village chief looked a little troubled. “But we don’t have any paper or writing tools here.”
The village was poor and had never produced any scholars. Things like brushes, ink, and paper were considered a waste of money—no one would buy such costly items just to keep around.
Uncle Gao had been watching the entire drama unfold.
He had originally heard that the Lin family’s daughter was honest, well-behaved, simple, and gentle—ideal for leaving descendants for the Seventh Prince. But now, seeing the real situation, he realized rumors were just that—rumors. She was so sharp-tongued and difficult that if she were married into their household, she might even bully the Seventh Prince. That quiet and obedient young man, on the other hand, was far more pleasant and seemed to get along well with the prince.
Whenever the boy was with the Seventh Prince, the prince calmed down and was much more well-behaved.
Though marrying a male spouse wasn’t quite respectable—it was usually something only poor families did when they couldn’t afford to marry a woman—it couldn’t be helped if the Seventh Prince liked him.
Well, whatever. It was just one more mouth to feed. He could afford it. The restaurant business in town was booming, so this little extra expense wasn’t an issue.
“I brought paper and a brush,” Uncle Gao said.
Having made up his mind, he retrieved the writing materials from the back of the cart. They had originally been part of the betrothal gifts.
A village chief had to be literate, of course—though his handwriting wasn’t exactly elegant.
Before long, the chief had written out the severance agreement. At that point, Uncle Gao added, “Village Chief, please write another document for us—a statement confirming that, once the boy marries into our family, he will have no further ties to the Lin family or to Miss Lin Xiaoshuang.”
He had seen clearly enough—this Lin family was a bottomless pit. No matter how much wealth you threw at them, it would never be enough. It was far safer to finalize things and sever ties completely.
Lin Xiaoshuang nodded—she had no objections. She didn’t want a little beggar dragging down her path to wealth, anyway.
Since both parties agreed, the village chief picked up his brush and wrote another statement: as long as Lin Xiaoshuang accepted the bride price, the boy would be considered officially sold to the Gao family.
“Child, what’s your name?” The village chief paused before writing the final part.
The boy looked up at the gathered crowd. Nestled in Gao Luo’s arms, he replied softly, “My name is Bai Tang.”
Everyone was a little stunned. No one had expected such an ordinary-looking boy to have such a beautiful voice. It didn’t sound like he came from a poor family at all—rather, he sounded like someone carefully raised in a noble household, the kind where such a voice could be nurtured and protected.
Gao Luo held Bai Tang protectively in his arms, as if someone might snatch him away at any moment.
Uncle Gao, who had served by the Seventh Prince’s side for many years and seen all kinds of things, was the quickest to react—second only to Gao Luo himself. “Village Chief, go ahead and write it.”
“All right, all right.” The village chief waved his brush a few times, and the proof of agreement was soon completed.
After both parties pressed their fingerprints on the document, Uncle Gao took it, read through it carefully, and, seeing no issues, folded it neatly and tucked it into his robe.
“And all of this…” Mother Lin’s greedy eyes locked onto the several large carts behind Uncle Gao. If all of that belonged to him, how much money would be left for Xiaohan? The unused items could even be sold off, especially the brushes and ink—those would fetch a good price.
“Since it’s a bride price, we have no intention of taking it back. We’ll leave it to Miss Lin Xiaoshuang to handle,” Uncle Gao said.
While those carts of goods looked valuable to Mother Lin, to someone like him, who was used to seeing gold and jewels, it was nothing more than a minor expense.
The moment Mother Lin heard it was going to Lin Xiaoshuang, her face fell.
Lin Xiaoshuang had no objections. Uncle Gao’s approach was generous—he hadn’t used his wealth or status in the village to throw his weight around.
Mother Lin, however, did have objections. But the village chief had already said earlier that the bride price would go to that “wretched girl.”
“Xiaoshuang, your brother’s wedding will cost money—there’s the bride’s dowry, and the house needs fixing up too. Everything takes money. So maybe you could…”
Her meaning was crystal clear—she wanted those carts of goods.
Lin Xiaoshuang turned back for a look. The carts were mostly filled with inexpensive goods—plain cloth, mostly hemp and cotton, and some tables and chairs.
She divided the items into two portions. Under the village chief’s witness, she gave half to the Lin family and kept the other half for herself.
She had no intention of staying with the Lin family any longer. She would have to find another empty house in the village to live in, and furniture like tables and chairs would be necessary. As for the things she wouldn’t use, she could take them to town and sell them.
The Lin family, of course, was dissatisfied with this arrangement. Mother Lin and Lin Xiaohan made a big fuss, arguing and shouting—but none of this had anything to do with Gao Luo or Bai Tang.
By now, it was already midday—time for lunch.
Gao Luo, distressed by how little meat Bai Tang had on him, took his hand and said to Uncle Gao, “Let’s go home and eat.”
“Ah, yes, let’s go home for lunch,” Uncle Gao agreed readily. Naturally, he prioritized the Seventh Prince above all else, and he had no interest in getting involved in the Lin family’s petty drama.
The three of them said their goodbyes to the village chief and began their walk home.
The Gao household was built at the far end of the village, close to the back mountain. The area was spacious—ideal for constructing a large home.
Although Uncle Gao had brought the Seventh Prince here to hide from enemies, he had never intended for his master to live poorly.
He had pawned off all his valuables and used the money to purchase a restaurant in town, hiring people to manage it. Then he brought Baili Luo (the Seventh Prince) to live in this remote village.
He only went to town once a month to check on the restaurant’s earnings. When they first arrived in the village, he had arranged with the village chief to buy a large plot of land and hired people to build a grand residence—bright and spacious.
It stood in stark contrast to the low, cramped wooden or thatched homes of the villagers, and while it didn’t quite fit in, it was certainly the envy of the village.
Lunch was already being kept warm in the kitchen—it had been prepared by Uncle Gao before he and Gao Luo had gone out. All that remained was to stir-fry some fresh vegetables.
Uncle Gao carried hot water into the bathhouse and told Gao Luo to wash up and change clothes.
Even after returning home, Gao Luo was reluctant to let go of Bai Tang’s hand. He even insisted on bringing him along to bathe.
“Go on. Help the young master wash up properly,” Uncle Gao instructed Bai Tang.
Bai Tang nodded and followed Gao Luo into the room.
“Dirty. Bath. Take—take clothes off for a bath…” Gao Luo pointed at the steaming bucket of water.
“Mm, I’m dirty, I need to bathe. Ah Luo, you go first,” Bai Tang said.
Steam filled the bathhouse. After Gao Luo’s line, Bai Tang wasn’t sure exactly what caused it, but his face started to feel hot.
“Tang… Tang Tang… Bathe… together…”
Completely self-taught in mischief, Gao Luo stripped himself bare without a hint of shame.
His figure, which seemed slim when clothed, turned out to be impressively toned when undressed. Especially those sleek abdominal lines—it made Bai Tang’s nose feel a bit warm.
Why was his husband’s body so perfect in every lifetime, while he himself always looked like a pale, scrawny chicken?
Gao Luo grabbed Bai Tang’s hand and started undressing him.
“I—I’ll do it myself…” Bai Tang clutched at his collar, refusing to let Gao Luo continue. He was determined to undress on his own.
In the end, thanks to the system’s “familial protection mode,” Bai Tang ended up wearing a pair of modern-style briefs and joined Gao Luo in the large wooden bath.
“Dirty. Wash…”
Gao Luo gleefully scrubbed Bai Tang clean, rubbing wherever he thought was dirty.
Soon enough, under Gao Luo’s enthusiastic efforts, Bai Tang transformed from a “little black kid” to a “little white kid,” and finally into a “little red kid.”
The boy’s skin couldn’t exactly be called delicate, but it was definitely fair. Whether it was from the scrubbing or from embarrassment, his skin turned a shade of red, like a squirrel being boiled alive.
He quickly escaped the tub, no longer daring to bathe with the male lead.
If he didn’t have to worry about his little briefs, he might’ve managed, but… forget it, forget it. Flustered, Bai Tang hurriedly put on the new clothes that had been set aside.
The boy was quite slim, so the clothes didn’t fit very well—they were a bit too big on him.
Bai Tang struggled for a while to tie the sash properly. Just then, Gao Luo stood up in the water, and with a splash, water streamed down his body, revealing his firm chest muscles.
Bai Tang instantly covered his face. “I—I’ll do it myself!”
Author’s Note:
Happy Sixth Day of the Lunar New Year~ 🎉