Chapter 47: Chapter 48 - 48 She Really Can't Afford to Provoke This Person!

“The official said he was willing to offer one thousand taels to purchase the wheelchair,” the shopkeeper’s voice became quieter and quieter, as if he were committing a theft.

“To make up for the lady’s loss, the shop is also willing to offer another one thousand taels, and if the lady still wants a wheelchair, the shop is willing to craft a new one for free…”

Qi Yue put some force into her hand and instantly pulled the wheelchair back.

“I’m not selling!”

After dropping that cold remark, Qi Yue pushed the wheelchair and walked away, not caring about whoever this official was, thinking that a mere one thousand taels could snatch her possession.

She was someone with a space full of gold, silver, and jewels!

However, before she had even taken a step, the shopkeeper grabbed hold of the wheelchair again.

“Miss, this is Prefectural Magistrate Hu Chengxuan. You should sell it to him!”

The shopkeeper was in a rush, half of his body pressing down on the chair, lowering his voice as if pleading.

“Our little shop cannot afford to offend the Prefectural Magistrate, and neither can you, miss. It would be better to sell it!”

The Prefectural Magistrate, appointed by the Imperial Court, holds an exalted position within the County Government, responsible for managing public order and leading the stationed troops.

Especially in Longnan County, located in the south and bordering the Nanyue Kingdom with high Combat Power, matters of national territory are concerned, so the position of Prefectural Magistrate is usually held by someone who is close to the Emperor.

Qi Yue’s beautiful pupils shrank.

This was indeed a person she could not afford to offend!

Especially now that she was a deported criminal, if she provoked him, she feared she might be mostly dead before even reaching Longnan Ridge.

The Zhao Family would probably not be able to escape either.

With Hu Chengxuan leading the stationed troops, the entirety of Longnan Ridge was under his command. Dealing with the Zhao Family would be a piece of cake for him.

Seeing her hesitate, the shopkeeper thought Qi Yue had changed her mind and spoke more cheerily.

“Miss, as soon as the Prefectural Magistrate came, he took a liking to this chair. If it weren’t for my earnest obstruction, he might have already taken it by now.”

“The official is willing to offer one thousand taels for it solely because of the chair’s ingenious design. If you still refuse, I’m afraid it might provoke the official’s wrath…”

He was speaking with great enthusiasm, but then he saw Qi Yue drop the wheelchair and head towards the hall, which scared him into hurrying after her.

“Miss…”

Qi Yue walked straight into the hall and looked up at the group of people who were having tea, including the Prefectural Magistrate.

“May I ask if the official has taken a fancy to my wheelchair and wishes to buy it for one thousand taels of silver?”

Hu Chengxuan lifted his eyes to look at Qi Yue, and a look of surprise gradually appeared on his face.

Wearing poorly made commoner’s clothes, even dressed as a peasant girl, she could not hide the compelling aura about her.

If she were a man, she could be under his command, going to battle and making a name for herself.

He inwardly sighed in regret.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Is that wheelchair yours?”

“To answer the official, the wheelchair is indeed mine,” Qi Yue replied.

Qi Yue had thought it through. Hu Chengxuan clearly could have taken it by force, but instead, he waited for her and was willing to pay one thousand taels for the wheelchair.

This meant he was an official who reasoned things out. She thought if she could persuade him successfully, she could also take her wheelchair with her.

However, such people were unlikely to have much sympathy for others, so she switched to a different approach.

“Official, I already gave the blueprint for the wheelchair to the shopkeeper. Why not wait a couple of days for the shopkeeper to craft a better one?”

“Are you implying that this wheelchair is not good enough?”

“Correct. If I weren’t urgently in need of it, I certainly wouldn’t accept this wheelchair.”

Qi Yue gestured for the shopkeeper to push the wheelchair over, and the moment she touched the wheelchair, she discreetly exerted some force, and the backrest of the wheelchair cracked open a noticeable seam.

“Please observe, official, the flaw of this wheelchair lies right here. In his rush to finish the job, the shopkeeper used wood that had not dried properly, and I’m afraid more cracks will appear later on.”

“Under these circumstances, does the official still wish to purchase it with one thousand taels?”

Hu Chengxuan set down his teacup with a “thud” and quickly walked over.

Qi Yue immediately took two steps back, watching him coldly as he approached to inspect the back of the chair.

She had to take this wheelchair with her at all costs.

Hmph!

The shopkeeper on the side had broken into a cold sweat, continually explaining on the side.

“Sir, I clearly used the best quality wood to craft it; I have no idea how this could have happened…”

Hu Chengxuan sighed deeply.

“If that’s the case, Shopkeeper, go ahead and make another one! There must be no mistakes this time!”

“Yes!” the Shopkeeper responded with a tremble.

Finally, Qi Yue left with the wheelchair as she wished, feeling very smug.

All the way, she was calculating her next steps.

Once she was back, she planned to block that small crack with iron filings, then cover it with wood lacquer for a perfect wheelchair!

What she didn’t know was that shortly after she left, Hu Chengxuan sensed something was off.

“Shopkeeper, could the wood you used really cause such a crack?”

When he visited before, that chair was like a work of art, flawless.

How could it have developed a crack in the blink of an eye?

Without the chair, it meant delaying the trip to Longnan Ridge, and his son’s illness would continue to drag on.

But how could he, the Prefectural Magistrate, use a broken wheelchair? Wouldn’t that be laughable?

At that moment, he started to have regrets. Maybe fixing the chair would be faster than making a new one.

But the woman had said that many such cracks would appear in the future!

What if his son took a fall because of it!

He truly felt caught between a rock and a hard place!

The Shopkeeper was also full of doubts at this time.

Upon hearing the Prefectural Magistrate ask, he quickly deflected blame from himself!

“Absolutely not. The design provided by that female customer was unprecedented, and I crafted it with all my might—such an oversight would never occur.”

As the Shopkeeper thought of everything that had happened, his brow suddenly furrowed, “Could it be…”

“Could it be what?”

Hu Chengxuan felt his own brow twitch. If this wheelchair didn’t work, he wouldn’t know where to find a suitable alternative.

After all, the journey to Longnan County had narrow roads where common carts could not pass, and his son loathed being carried!

The Shopkeeper bowed his head meekly, and after a long pause, he said, “Sir, when that female customer was pushing the chair earlier, I noticed that she was very strong… Maybe she secretly fractured the back of the chair…”

Upon hearing this, Hu Chengxuan instantly pictured Qi Yue’s formidable presence in his mind.

“Strong? How strong?”

The Shopkeeper scratched his head in bewilderment.

“I couldn’t size it up precisely, but I felt helpless and could only watch the chair slip away.”

Hu Chengxuan felt a pulsing in his temples.

Thinking it over, he realized that the woman had no intention of selling the wheelchair, yet she had purposely come back to ask him, just to come up with a strategy to deceive him!

He immediately shouted loudly.

“Zhang Fang!”

The lean man guarding outside quickly stepped in, calling out, “Sir!”

“Zhang Fang, in your opinion, could a very strong person possibly cause a piece of wood to crack?”

Hearing this, Zhang Fang walked over to a chair and placed his hands on its back.

All of a sudden, he shouted, and with a “crack,” the back of the chair split open.

But then the chair was ruined, splitting in half and collapsing to both sides.

“Sir, theoretically, if a person is very strong and also able to skillfully control their strength, it is possible.”

Hu Chengxuan furrowed his brows tightly, his gaze fixated on the broken chair, growing increasingly grim.

“You can’t do it?”

“Forgive my incompetence.”

“Brute force is useless!” Hu Chengxuan jumped up from his chair, eyes wide, “Quick, chase that woman down for me!”