Chapter 40: Rotten Kid

Chapter 40: Rotten Kid

As he attempted to flee, a sudden idea flashed across Su Youyue's mind like a bolt of lightning. She promptly cried out, "Xie Yuan, don't let him get away!"

The boy trembled at the sound, scrambling to run. However, the terrifying man behind him shifted swiftly, taking a single step to seize him once more.

"Please spare me, sir! Please have mercy, lady! I won't dare do it again, I was just too hungry... I really had no choice..."

His skinny face contorted with fear, but the man holding him showed no emotion, looking even more menacing than the King of Hell himself. The boy could only curse inwardly while putting on a pitiful display for Su Youyue.

Taking a quick glance at him, Su Youyue instructed Xie Yuan to keep hold of the boy as they headed for the teahouse.

Throughout the journey, the boy sobbed and shivered. "Lady... kind Queen Mother Fairy, please forgive me. My parents are dead, and my three-year-old brother has a fever at home. I had no other option, if I die, there'll be no one to care for him..."

His tears and snot moved even Jin'er, who knew his true nature, to pity. The boy's tattered clothes were a clear sign of his poverty-stricken background.

But no matter how much Jin'er sympathized, her loyalty lay first with her mistress. Without Su Youyue's intervention, she wouldn't beg for mercy on the boy's behalf.

The carriage stopped at the same teahouse as before. Upon recognizing the location, the weeping boy's voice caught in his throat.

Indeed, she really knows him. Oh no, oh no, I shouldn't have acted out just now!

He instantly became a shrinking violet, falling silent and deflated.

Observing Su Youyue being helped off the carriage and then seated in a wheelchair, the boy secretly cast a glance and cursed inwardly. Such a ruthless and cold-blooded woman deserves to be crippled.

Unfortunately, with Xie Yuan, a formidable presence, by her side, he dared neither curse nor flee. He could only follow them into the teahouse.

On a snowy day, there weren't many customers in the teahouse. The waiter recognized Su Youyue and hurried over. "Miss Su, you're here. Please come in. Would you like the same private room as before?"

Upon seeing Su Youyue's confirmation, he was about to tidy up the private room when he suddenly noticed the boy beside Xie Yuan. His face darkened after a moment of stunned silence. "Brat, what are you doing here?"

The boy pouted but didn't respond.

Before Su Youyue could inquire, the waiter anxiously interjected, "Miss Su, don't let this brat deceive you. He's skilled at pretending to be pitiful to swindle money. He's the illegitimate offspring of a courtesan from Spring Flower Brothel and some random man. His father isn't ill, and his mother isn't foolish."

Given the teahouse's location, where all sorts of people gathered, they usually didn't mind the boy's background, at most looking down on him. However, the boy possessed a clever tongue, capable of reciting stories alongside storytelling performers, entertaining the guests. Thus, the teahouse reluctantly allowed him to accompany the storyteller.

But the Su family was not a force they could afford to provoke. If this brat deceived Miss Su, wouldn't their teahouse be implicated in the aftermath?

The waiter, fearing that his teahouse would be implicated, promptly exposed the boy's background.

"..." Jin'er fell silent, glaring at the boy with indignation.

So, he had made up the story about his deceased parents and sick younger brother all along!

The boy wished he could bury his head in the ground at that moment. He cursed the waiter relentlessly for his lack of loyalty.

Su Youyue gave the waiter a faint smile. "Thank you for the information. I was just about to settle scores with this boy who tried to stage an accident."

Upon hearing this, the waiter promptly shot a glare at the boy, "You reckless brat, you deserve it for daring to touch Miss Su from the Minister Su's residence. Just wait until Miss Su whips you, a fatherless and motherless creature!"

The boy froze in his spot, suddenly realizing that the crippled lady from an aristocratic family was none other than the wicked Miss Su, Su Youyue! A genuine hint of fear flickered in his eyes, his legs seemingly glued to the ground as he didn't want to move an inch.

However, Xie Yuan quickly grabbed him by the collar and dragged him into the private room.

The moment the door closed, the boy fell to his knees with a thud, "Please spare me, Miss Su! I failed to recognize your greatness..."

As he spoke, his head pounded against the floor with a resounding thud.

Su Youyue knitted her brows. "Stand up, I have something to ask you."

This child might have made a mistake, but it wasn't grave enough to warrant losing his life. Besides, he hadn't actually succeeded in extorting money from her.

The boy hesitated before getting up, a bruise already forming on his forehead. As he stood, he nervously looked at Su Youyue.

He had grown up in a brothel and usually mingled with people from all walks of life, so he naturally heard plenty of gossip. Hence, when the waiter mentioned Su Youyue's identity, he was stunned.

Why was he so unlucky? After carefully choosing what seemed like a decent carriage, hoping to make some quick cash, he ended up encountering the infamous, hot-tempered, and vicious Miss Su! This Miss Su must be bored out of her mind, despite being crippled, she still ventured out in snowy weather.

He was truly doomed!

"What does the honored person wish to inquire?" he asked cautiously.

Su Youyue lowered her gaze, hiding her emotions. "What is your name, and how old are you?"

The boy froze for a moment before quickly replying, "I'm just a scoundrel, 13 years old this year."

Upon hearing this, Jin'er sensed that he was lying again. She had lost all trust in this nasty kid and immediately rebuked, "If you dare lie to Miss again, I'll give you a good beating!"

"I'm not lying!" The boy shook his head fervently, like a rattle-drum. "My mother is a courtesan; she doesn't know who my father is, so she never gave me a name. Back at the Chunhua Brothel, everyone called me Stinky Kid, and that's what people still call me now. If you don't believe me, just ask the waiter at the shop."

"You don't look a day over thirteen," Jin'er insisted, unconvinced.

Stinky Kid quickly replied, "I really dare not deceive noble people anymore. I realize my mistake. I do look younger than thirteen because four years ago, when I was emptying chamber pots in the brothel, I accidentally dirtied a noble person's clothes and got kicked out. I haven't had a full meal in years."

Jin'er was somewhat skeptical but couldn't muster any sympathy for this Stinky Kid, despite his pitiful tale; his appearance suggested he'd been up to no good.

Su Youyue glanced at Xie Yuan standing before her and cleared her throat. "Well, I understand. Stinky Kid, I didn't have someone bring you here to take your life. I want to ask you something."

"I originally planned to purchase a few younger girls to groom as personal attendants, so I did some extra inquiries. To my surprise, I heard rumors that some of the children in this brokerage might have been kidnapped by traffickers. Do you have any knowledge of such matters?"