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Chapter 776: Chapter 781 I Am Willing_1
Qiao Mei’er bit her lip and mustered the courage to say, "Xu Yuanwai said I don’t have to marry him, but I would need to pay him five hundred taels as compensation for damages."
Qiao Duo’er pursed her lips and couldn’t help but imagine that scene.
An old man with grey hair and a plump body clamoring for compensation for his lost youth—truly... an eyesore!
And he had the gall to demand five hundred taels—who gave him the face to ask for so much?
Qiao Mei’er watched Qiao Duo’er nervously but could not read her thoughts.
She had said all she could; she hoped heaven would grant her a way out, but the longer she waited, the more despair she felt.
Five hundred taels was no small sum; she had no face to ask Qiao Duo’er to give so much silver to Xu Yuanwai.
Outside, there was another round of knocking on the door, accompanied by cursing. 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝔭𝖚𝖇.𝔠𝔬𝖒
"Idiot, hurry up and bring Qiao Mei’er out!"
"You’re courting death, not opening the door when I arrive—watch out, or I’ll kill you all!" "Stupid girl, you think you can avoid trouble by hiding here? I tell you, even if you die, I will still deliver your corpse to Xu Yuanwai’s mansion."
"Open the door quickly; don’t blame me for being rude if you don’t!"
Qiao Jingu pounded on the door with a brazen attitude.
Now, let alone five hundred taels, his family couldn’t even come up with ten taels of silver.
Originally, that ten taels were divided with two going to Qiao Hua’er, five spent here and there, and the rest had to be saved for his own marriage.
So no matter how much Qiao Mei’er made a fuss, marrying Xu Yuanwai was her only option.
Hearing Qiao Jingu’s voice, Qiao Mei’er’s body trembled.
She never wanted to return to that dreadful house, where she was treated worse than a dog!
Every day she starved but had endless chores to do, bullied by Qiao Hua’er and Qiao Jingu, constantly fearing being sold off, just like her elder sister once was.
No, her elder sister had it even worse.
At that time, her sister was not mentally sharp, and the Qiao family disregarded her even more.
Now, what she regretted most was never helping her sister during those times, instead mocking and ridiculing her.
If she were Qiao Duo, she wouldn’t forgive those who had hurt her either, let alone reach out to help.
"Elder sister, can you let me leave through the back door?" Qiao Mei’er said, resigned to her fate.
No one could help her; rather than marrying Xu Yuanwai, she’d rather find a place to end her life now.
If there were a next life, she would surely be a kind person.
"I can keep you here, but you must sign a servitude contract. If you behave and cause no trouble, we will coexist peacefully. But if you have other intentions, I won’t be considering familial ties—you need to think it over," Qiao Duo’er said indifferently.
She disliked the idea of human trafficking, but sometimes she had to take precautions.
If Qiao Mei’er had ulterior motives, she wouldn’t agree to this. If she did agree, there would be something to hold over her in the future.
Qiao Mei’er was surprised; she hadn’t expected Qiao Duo’er to offer help, let alone require her to sell herself into servitude.
Her elder sister was inherently kind; being a servant here would still be better than life with the Qiao family.
So Qiao Mei’er gritted her teeth and agreed, "I am willing."
"Almond, take her to wash her face, then give her needles and thread, and pick a design for her to embroider," Qiao Duo’er instructed.
If Qiao Mei’er’s embroidery skills were good, she could work in the Embroidery Room; otherwise, she could help sell goods at Duo Meifang, or at the very least, clean.
All things considered, she wouldn’t keep Qiao Mei’er at home because she couldn’t pretend nothing had happened.
The extent of her help was this much; everything else would depend on Qiao Mei’er’s own choices.
