Chapter 1103: Robbed

"Okay." Gu Jinli responded, taking Erqing with her as they left and returned to the main house in the manor.

Xiao Ji had already heated the water. Seeing Gu Jinli return, he quickly mixed the hot water to a warm temperature, tested it, and said to Gu Jinli, "Young Master, hurry and wash up. Once you’re done, we need to head home."

"Mm." Gu Jinli replied, went to the room next door for a bath, changed into clean clothes, and then took Xiao Ji and the others home.

While passing through Qingfu Town, they overheard some gossip about Young Master Dou being robbed.

"Do you know Young Master Dou? He’s the one who spent a hundred taels of silver to buy a basket of wild fruits, that money-spender lad. Oh dear, I heard he was robbed by a gang on his way back to the county and got beaten up so badly that his handsome face is all swollen. Poor Er Yu is heartbroken; she’s been crying ever since she heard the news."

Er Yu is a girl from the town who, after seeing Young Master Dou, became hopelessly infatuated with him and was determined to marry him as a concubine. But Young Master Dou had no interest in her at all, even calling her ugly, fat, and bucktoothed.

Er Yu’s parents were furious. Every time they heard that Young Master Dou was coming to the town, they’d lock Er Yu up to prevent her from running off to him and would vehemently curse Young Master Dou, blaming him for bewitching their daughter, making it difficult for her to marry anyone else.

Young Master Dou understood that if people heard Er Yu wanted to marry him as a concubine, his reputation would be ruined. It would be hard for him to find a good family to marry into later on... Well, honestly, with Er Yu’s looks, it would be hard for her to marry well even without a tarnished reputation.

But Young Master Dou had money, and he couldn’t be comfortable unless he was spending it. He had a servant send a three-hundred taels silver note to Er Yu’s family, saying it was for Er Yu’s dowry, so she could marry into a good family.

When this happened, Er Yu’s entire family went nuts and stopped cursing him. Instead, they kept praising him, eagerly begging him to take Er Yu away, saying she wouldn’t even need to be a concubine, just a maid to serve him would be enough.

After all, three hundred taels of silver was enough to support a farmer’s family for a lifetime.

Young Master Dou was very vexed. He gave the silver to make Er Yu stop pestering him, but things backfired. Now not only Er Yu, but her entire family adored him.

After hearing he was robbed, Er Yu’s family cried their way to the county, intending to beat the drum and petition the magistrate to report the crime, but fortunately, Young Master Dou discovered this quickly and stopped them.

Gu Jinli laughed quite sweetly upon hearing that Young Master Dou was robbed, sure that it was Brother Qin’s doing—Brother Qin had promised to avenge her... To dare say he fell in love with her at first sight, which in ancient times was considered quite flippant. If Young Master Dou wasn’t taught a lesson, he’d think she and Brother Qin were easy to push around.

"Young Master Dou was robbed, does that mean bandits have come to Tianfu County? I heard there was bandit trouble in Hukang County recently; might those bandits have fled to Tianfu County? Oh dear, if that’s the case, what are we going to do?" Old Lady Cai was very worried as she hugged her little grandson, asking her good friend Second Lady Xu.

Second Lady Xu said, "Impossible, Company Commander Qin is so capable, how could he let the bandits from Hukang County escape? Those bandits were already caught and sent to the Prefecture. Young Master Dou was robbed because he simply doesn’t value money. He gives it away every day, enticing evil thoughts in people; if they don’t rob him, whom will they rob? If it weren’t for fear of punishment, even I’d take a kitchen knife to rob him, he’s too rich!"

"Dou Sancai" is another nickname the women in the town gave to Young Master Dou, and it suits him quite well.

Old Lady Cai strongly agreed with Second Lady Xu, saying, "Dou Sancai certainly deserves a robbery, but as law-abiding citizens, we can’t rob him... Well, maybe we should learn from Er Yu, cry and scream to become Dou Sancai’s concubine, and we might get Dou Sancai’s three hundred taels for free."

The two grannies chattered on and on, even discussing how to swindle Young Master Dou’s money.

Xiao Ji listened with great interest and said to Gu Jinli, "Young Master, Old Lady Cai is really smart to come up with such an idea; the Cai Family is bound to make a fortune."

Gu Jinli replied, "Make a fortune, my foot! This lousy idea can only bring harm to their families. Do they really think that Dou is that foolish?"

Xiao Ji responded, "But Young Master Dou really isn’t bright. He looks sharp when doing business, but when dealing with these grannies, he’s pretty dim."

Gu Jinli: "..."

It seems the incident where Young Master Dou spent a hundred taels of silver for a basket of wild fruits left everyone with the impression he is a fool, but knowing how good Dou is at business, how could he possibly be a fool? His penchant for tossing money around is probably because he sees how poor the people’s lives are and is giving out of sheer kindness.

"Erqing, let’s go." Gu Jinli already knew about Brother Qin avenging her, so she didn’t stay any longer and instructed Erqing to drive the mule cart back home.

...

Young Master Dou really isn’t foolish. Although he was beaten up and bruised, he was quite happy, knowing it was Qin San Lang who had someone teach him a lesson.

And his happiness is simple; it was because the gang that beat him left him with a message: "Don’t meddle. No matter what difficulties others face, others can resolve them on their own without your help. If you help but cause harm, you’ll end up being burned in the stove."

An ordinary person might not think much upon hearing this, but Young Master Dou realized this message was specifically sent by Young Master Qin.

The message signified that currently, no assistance was needed from him, and any help offered now would be counterproductive, potentially causing harm.

And the part about being thrown into the stove was crucial.

Young Master Dou’s real name is Dou Ke, and Young Master Qin and his playmates used to call him Dou Ke, treating it like a bean shell for burning. When they were little, they’d often joke about tossing him, Dou Ke, into the stove to burn.

Young Master Dou was very happy, almost to tears. Young Master Qin wasn’t dead; he was alive and had reached out to him!

"Ten thousand taels is too little compensation; it should be fifty thousand. If there’s a chance in the future, I’ll kneel and apologize properly." Young Master Dou muttered, and don’t think he’s joking. He’s dead serious.

Young Master Dou has always had deep respect for Young Master Qin, not only because Young Master Qin once helped him, indirectly saving his life and preventing his stepmother from harming him, but also because of class differences.

Young Master Qin’s family holds an inheritable noble title, while his own is just a family of Imperial Merchants. Despite the wealth, they still looked down upon as merchants in the Capital.

Growing up in such an environment, Young Master Dou learned early on to bow and make way for nobles like Young Master Qin, never daring to offend. Thus, although he became friends with Young Master Qin, he still felt inherently that Young Master Qin was much higher in status, someone he and Young Master Qin’s future official wife must respect.

"Young Master, please go out and see the Liu Family people; Liu Eryu says she’s going to jump into a well." Dou Zhi was helpless; Liu Eryu was way too infatuated with the Young Master, a situation she really couldn’t manage.

One must settle their own romantic debts.