Ms. Diviner: The Prodigal Daughter's Return

”Ten thousand taels, eh? That’s no small sum, enough for an ordinary family to live in luxury for generations,” Mu Hanyan mumbled to herself.

Mu Nan felt like crying. He had wanted to say a few good words in the hopes of invoking Mu Hanyan’s mercy for a discount, but listening to her tone, that now seemed unlikely.

To Mu Nan, the gentle smile on Mu Hanyan’s face seemed more like the prelude to the weasel paying New Year’s respects to the chicken, reminiscent of the notorious wealthy landlords known for their unkindness and bullying of men and women.

”Ah, with that much money, I’m afraid I’d have to sell myself and still wouldn’t be able to pay it all off,” Mu Hanyan added insult to injury, inadvertently hitting close to home with Mu Nan’s worries.

Mu Nan’s heart almost bled. It was true that small gambling brought joy, while heavy gambling harmed the body, and reckless gambling led to total ruin. Mu Nan now had an intense urge to punish himself.

”By the way, I heard about Young Master Wei from the west side of the city who also comes from a somewhat powerful family. Because he refused to repay his gambling debts, someone broke his legs, and now he’s still bedridden, tsk tsk. It’s just a few thousand taels, and such a fate has befallen him; how tragic. If it were ten thousand taels, I’m afraid one wouldn’t even be able to save their own hands,” Mu Hanyan remarked as though recalling a memory, her gaze sweeping over Mu Nan’s hands and feet.

Mu Nan felt numb in his hands and feet, as if a knife were being held to him, a chill running down his spine.

Threats. This was an unequivocal threat. Anyone else, even for ten thousand taels, might not harm a member of their own clan, but was Mu Hanyan just anyone? She was Heishi City’s number one playboy; what was there she couldn’t do? Mu Nan went pale, with sweat dripping down his forehead.

”Ah, I see you’re in quite a pickle. So here’s the deal, given our close familial ties, I’ll give up on the ten thousand taels of gambling debt,” Mu Hanyan quickly said, before Mu Nan could faint from shock.

”What?” Mu Nan almost doubted his own ears, looking at Mu Hanyan in amazement.

”I mean, I can waive the gambling debt, but I’ll need you to do me a small favor. If you satisfy me, then the debt will be considered settled,” Mu Hanyan added with a twist.

”What favor?” Upon hearing the phrase ’debt settled,’ Mu Nan felt his hands warm and his numb legs recover, as if a huge mountain were flying away from atop his head, and he immediately felt better, asking briskly.

”I know you’ve opened an auction house, and I’d like to see if there’s anything good there. Of course, I don’t have money right now, as it all lies with you. So, if I take a fancy to anything, you’ll have to find a way to get it for me. Whether you spend money or default on the payment is none of my business. You figure it out,” Mu Hanyan explained.

”You want my help with that? How did you know I opened an auction house?” Mu Nan had thought Mu Hanyan would ask for help with some terrible deeds, like killing, arson, or bullying, but to his surprise, it was just this trivial matter, and his eyes widened in shock.

The Mu Family’s assets in Heishi City were managed by the Third Elder, who had many opportunities to handle silver coin. Having been exposed to the business world from a young age, Mu Nan had a greater interest in commerce than in cultivation, so he secretly diverted some clan assets to open an auction house for fun.

Since he used clan assets to open the auction house, it was considered theft from one’s own family and would be punished by the family code if discovered, so Mu Nan kept it extremely secretive. Not even his closest siblings knew, and he wondered where on earth Mu Hanyan had gotten wind of it.