Chapter 249: Slap Yourself

Young Master Zhou shot her a sidelong glance and smirked proudly. "What do you think? Is there anything I can’t figure out?"

His lips barely moved as he whispered, "I think the Young Master Heir has taken a liking to Little Fei."

Sister Dan nodded and smiled. "I think so, too."

Young Master Zhou added nonchalantly, "He’s the biggest backer in all of Ping’an City. I’d better hold on tight to Little Fei’s coattails from now on."

Sister Dan gave him a light punch, suppressing a smile.

About half an hour later, a commotion stirred the crowd outside, and they parted to form a path.

Gu Fei, standing behind Xiao Yu, saw Housekeeper Wu enter, drenched in sweat and followed by several servants. The Chief of the Government Office cowered behind them.

As soon as they entered, Housekeeper Wu and the servants dropped to their knees. Gu Fei saw them trembling uncontrollably.

The servant who had pushed her earlier was especially pathetic. Kneeling on the ground, he looked as if he wished he could bury his head in the ground.

Xiao Yu snorted. "I never would have thought... Housekeeper Wu, what an impressive show of authority you put on outside. Smashing shops and seizing people on a whim. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Anyone who didn’t know better would think the Prince Qi Mansion does nothing but bully the common folk!"

Housekeeper Wu broke out in a fresh cold sweat. He crawled to Xiao Yu’s feet and kowtowed. "Young Master Heir, I was wrong! My crimes are deserving of death! I beg the Young Master Heir to spare my life!"

Xiao Yu kicked him away. "You bastard! If you know you’re wrong, why aren’t you slapping yourself?"

Housekeeper Wu scrambled over to Gu Fei’s feet and began slapping his own face furiously with both hands.

The servants, as well as the Chief of the Government Office and his men behind them, all remained kneeling and began to strike their own faces fiercely.

For a moment, the only sound in the main hall was SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!

The onlookers, both inside and outside the shop, didn’t dare to breathe too loudly, afraid of disturbing the Young Master Heir.

Xiao Yu snorted coldly. "Have you not eaten? Put some force into it!"

Gu Fei watched them with cold eyes. ’They’re ruthless, even to themselves. And they really are sincere about it,’ she thought, ’each one hitting their own face with all their might.’

Housekeeper Wu and the servant who had pushed her were especially brutal. One’s face quickly swelled up like a pig’s head, while the other’s lip was split, blood dripping down as he continued to slap himself desperately.

Gu Fei felt a sense of revulsion. ’These people are only servants in front of their masters. In front of common folk like us, they act like masters themselves—arrogant and haughty.’

She frowned. "That’s enough!"

The blood dripping onto the floor was disgusting to look at.

The men all stopped. Housekeeper Wu, still kneeling, kowtowed repeatedly to Gu Fei. "Thank you, Miss Gu, for your magnanimity in sparing this lowly one."

"I deserve to die! I never should have sent people to smash your shop, miss! I am willing to compensate Miss Gu for all her losses."

A servant from the back crawled forward and timidly offered up a silver note. Gu Fei glanced at it and saw the three large words "One Thousand Taels" written in the center.

Gu Fei didn’t reach for the silver note. ’The entire renovation and furnishing of my shop only cost about three hundred taels. One thousand taels? Is this a robbery?’

Xiao Yu glanced at the silver note. "Only one thousand taels?" He had absolutely no concept of money; to him, one thousand taels was a paltry sum.

"Are you trying to shoo away a beggar?"

Beside him, Stone let out a soft cough. Xiao Yu quickly turned his head, glanced at Gu Fei, and said, "I wasn’t talking about you."

Gu Fei shot him a sidelong look. ’No need to explain. Compared to you, my net worth probably isn’t much different from a beggar’s.’

Seeing that the Young Master Heir was displeased, Housekeeper Wu trembled as he pulled several more silver notes from his robes. He held them above his head. "This is my entire fortune. If it’s not enough, I’ll go back, sell my house to raise more money, and deliver it to Miss Gu."