Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince
Chapter 103: Pay With One Hand, Deliver With the Other

Chapter 103: Chapter 103: Pay With One Hand, Deliver With the Other

Hearing this, Qi Yu readily agreed.

Song Ling caught her gaze, went upstairs to retrieve a jade pendant of fine quality, with a moist texture, and placed it in front of Qi Anran. He shamelessly declared, "This jade piece is the treasure of our shop, valued at ten thousand taels of gold."

Having spent so much time with Qi Yu, he had become accustomed to deceit without a blush or skipped heartbeat.

Qi Anran carefully picked up the jade pendant to take a look. Noticing its moist luster and faint purplish sheen, she knew it was substantial at a glance and was almost too fond of it to let go.

Her eyes betrayed her greed as she touched the jade pendant and looked at Qi Yu, "Sister, can you buy this jade pendant for me?"

Qi Yu smiled faintly and spoke in an offhanded tone, "Why shouldn’t I?"

Before the joy on Qi Anran’s face could be fully expressed, she was chilled by another voice at her ear, "I’m just afraid sister might not be able to afford it."

The next moment, the jade pendant, valued at ten thousand taels of gold, broke in two in Qi Anran’s hands.

Startled by this unexpected turn, Qi Anran instinctively loosened her grip, dropping both halves of the pendant onto the floor.

The others were drawn by the voice and all turned to look their way.

Now, Qi Anran was at a loss for words, frantically waving her hands, "It wasn’t me!"

But the scene of her holding the jade had already been witnessed by everyone, making her current excuses seem particularly weak.

Qi Yu held back a laugh and pretended to frown, "Even if sister didn’t like this jade pendant, you shouldn’t have smashed it."

In a panic, Qi Anran hurried to pick up the shattered pendant, on the verge of tears as she defended herself, "It really wasn’t me! It just broke in half by itself while I was holding it!"

Song Ling, who knew it was a fake, would have been scared to death by Qi Yu’s dangerous play if he wasn’t in on the ruse.

With a face like a mask, he was unable to convey much expression, which appeared even more terrifying to Qi Anran.

At this moment, she had forgotten her original purpose and wished nothing more than to leave this den of trouble at once.

Following Qi Yu’s previous instructions, Song Ling said word by word, "Breaking the treasure of the shop requires you to compensate for the original price."

Qi Anran’s face turned ashen. She stepped back and grabbed Qi Yu’s hand, speaking in a panicked tone, "You saw it, didn’t you? I didn’t damage the jade!"

The flower petal had long been forgotten, and in her distress, it fell to the floor.

Qi Yu looked down at the petal, already trampled beyond recognition, and with a slight curl of her lips, whispered for only the two of them to hear, "I wonder if sister ever thought this day would come when you were plotting against my Suiyu Pavilion."

Qi Anran’s pupils shrank as her hand fell limp, "You knew all along!"

Qi Yu fixed an unerring gaze on her complexion, speaking with playful sarcasm, "To take over Suiyu Pavilion, sister really went to great lengths."

"It’s a pity," she sighed softly, and in Qi Anran’s shocked expression continued calmly, "the tactics weren’t clever enough."

Qi Anran was completely panicked now.

Looking at Song Ling’s unfamiliar face, she suddenly realized the truth.

Pointing at him, she cried out in anger, "You’re in this together!"

Song Ling, finally released from the need to put on a mysterious front, quietly stepped back, letting Qi Yu take the stage.

Qi Yu clapped her hands and laughed, "Sister has guessed correctly, indeed, but you missed something. It’s not just him; everyone here is with me."

Only then did Qi Anran notice the others standing aside enjoying the scene, finally realizing that she was the one trapped.

The door was already blocked; even if she wanted to run, she couldn’t.

She forced herself to calm down, clenched her fists, and with a trembling voice, asked, "What exactly will it take for you to let me go!"

Qi Yu glanced at her indifferently, and after she nearly had a mental breakdown, he chuckled lightly, "It’s simple, cash for release. I’ve already sent that little maid outside to the Prime Minister Residence to summon someone, elder sister, please be patient."

Qi Anran felt that those broken pieces of jade suddenly became glaring, and regret gnawed at her heart. If only she had known, she wouldn’t have bothered looking at any so-called treasure of the shop.

But when she calmed down, another thought struck her, that so-called treasure of the shop was nothing more than Qi Yu’s trap.

Her gaze towards Qi Yu turned vicious, "It’s just a broken stone, and yet you dare to demand a ransom of ten thousand taels of gold?"

Qi Yu raised her eyebrows slightly but didn’t respond to her words.

How dare she scheme against me, trying to extort a fortune like this?

Qi Anran, infuriated, couldn’t sit still, yet unable to leave, suppressed her rage as she waited for someone to come and rescue her.

As she sat on pins and needles, the Princess finally walked in. Upon seeing Qi Yu, she snorted disdainfully, "You’re the owner of Suiyu Pavilion?"

Qi Yu stood up, smiling at her and said, "Indeed."

A hint of venom flickered in the Princess’s eyes as she said threateningly, "Then give me back my belonging at once!"

Qi Yu smiled unaffected, "I owe you nothing, but both you and your daughter now owe me ten thousand taels of gold. If you cannot pay, then I shall have no choice but to report this to the authorities."

The Princess almost fainted from Qi Yu’s shameless remark, "You wouldn’t dare!"

Should the authorities really get involved, where would she place her face afterward?

Qi Yu knew how much she valued her face, and by saying this, she was sure to scare her. She scoffed coldly, "Then pay up. Otherwise, you might not be able to protect your precious daughter."

The Princess was shaking with anger. Ten thousand taels of gold, where could she possibly find such a sum?

Qi Anran was about to argue further with Qi Yu, but upon hearing about reporting to the authorities, her face turned pale.

"Mother, what shall we do?" Qi Anran clutched at the Princess’s arm, biting her lip as she spoke.

The Princess was also panicking within, after all the scheming for days, they ended up being outwitted instead.

Just thinking about it was suffocating.

Qi Yu was in no rush, sitting quietly to the side, watching the drama of mother-daughter affection unfold, mockery flashing in her eyes.

Human greed knows no bounds, swallowing like a snake trying to devour an elephant. If they were not harboring malice and plotting harm against others every day, she would not have bothered to lift a finger.

"So, have you come to a decision?" Qi Yu suddenly spoke, startling both the Princess and Qi Anran.

Their faces turned ashen as they looked at her.

Someone they once oppressed and demeaned had turned the tables, now towering above them in status and position, capable of crushing them with just a flick of a finger.

Seeing that they remained silent, Qi Yu curled her lips, "If you don’t have the money, just say so. Out of respect for our past acquaintance, I won’t let this visit be in vain."

She turned to Song Ling, calling out, "Send someone to invite Prefect of Jingzhao, Lord Gu, over. Tell him the Princess wishes to speak with him."

Song Ling nodded, truly about to head outside.

The Princess hastily stopped him, even offering Qi Yu a forced smile, "We’re all family, why must we make things so difficult?"

Qi Yu let out a snort of contempt, speaking indifferently, "Family? Do you think you deserve to use that word?"