Chapter 632: Feier Princess

"You..."

The Sixth Young Lady's nails dug into her flesh. Her expression was volatile, and her eyes burned with intense hatred, as if she wanted to swallow the man in front of her whole.

For her, becoming a maid was impossible, but kneeling was an even greater humiliation, something she could never do.

"Propose a different condition..."

Her teeth were clenched so hard they almost shattered, but the Sixth Young Lady suppressed her anger and spoke.

"Is our young master being too generous with you? You can't do this, you can't do that. Are you doing this on purpose? If you don't want to kneel or be a maid, that's fine. The young master still needs a bed-warming maid. Why don't you do that instead? As long as you satisfy the young master, ten thousand spirit stones are nothing!" Hearing her continue to dither, Sun Qiang interjected with a displeased look on his face. What kind of person was this? Only their young master had such a good temper. If it were him, he wouldn't agree to a bed-warming maid, let alone a regular maid.

"What did you say?"

The Sixth Young Lady's body swayed, her eyes bloodshot, as if she wanted to tear the man in front of her to shreds on the spot.

"What do you mean 'what did I say'? Don't you understand?" Sun Qiang shook his head, then turned to Zhang Xuan. "Young Master, since this person keeps refusing everything and is so picky, may I take charge?"

"Your maid, do as you please!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand, looking indifferent. Sun Qiang appeared somewhat dazed, but he was actually very shrewd. He must already have a plan to handle this task.

"His... maid?"

The Sixth Young Lady's body swayed, and she nearly spat blood. She had thought this young master coveted her beauty and wanted to take her as his maid. She never dreamed that it wasn't like that at all; instead, she was to become a servant to this dazed-looking steward... And what did he mean by that indifferent expression? Her status... even the Emperor of the Phantasm Feather Empire would welcome her. If she revealed it, it would be enough to scare him to death on the spot! To act like this... it was an utter humiliation!

"Thank you, Young Master!"

Sun Qiang circled the Sixth Young Lady, who was standing nearby, and frowned. "You're too ugly. Even if you wanted to be a bed-warming maid, the young master wouldn't want you. Just be a regular maid!"

"Ugly? Doesn't want me?"

The Sixth Young Lady could no longer contain herself and was about to explode with anger. "I am naturally beautiful, and you call me ugly? Are those eyes, or are they just for show?" Actually, she didn't know that Sun Qiang wasn't saying this to deliberately annoy her, but it was his genuine thought. Which of the young master's students, Zhao Ya or Wang Ying, wasn't more beautiful than her? Even Mo Yu and Zhao Feiwu were no less attractive, yet the young master remained unmoved. She was just a spoiled, willful person. It would be strange if he took an interest in her!

"However, if you're to be a maid, my conditions are different from the young master's. There's a time limit... let's say five months! You owe the young master ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones. Divided over five months, that's two thousand per month. Per day, that would be 66, but I'll round it up for you to 70!" Counting on his fingers, Sun Qiang looked over. "If you feel wronged by being a maid, you can buy back your free time on a daily basis. As long as you pay, you'll regain your freedom and can do whatever you want."

"70? Buy back free time?"

The Sixth Young Lady was stunned.

"Exactly. During your free time, you won't be a maid. This means you don't have to pay the ten thousand spirit stones immediately; you can pay them back day by day. As long as you pay it all within five months, you won't be considered a servant or have that status. As for why it's 70 per day instead of 66, it's because buying daily is more expensive. Buying monthly is cheaper!" Sun Qiang explained.

"Monthly package, pffft..."

She had just thought the method was acceptable, but hearing this, the Sixth Young Lady almost spat out a mouthful of blood. Why did their words imply she was a commodity, something to be bought and sold at will? And "pay," "monthly package"... The more she thought about it, the more enraged she became, almost exploding.

However, after her initial fury, she carefully considered it. This method really wasn't bad. Given her status, becoming a steward's maid was certainly out of the question. But paying daily meant she only needed to endure for a few days. Once she returned to her own territory, she could gather enough spirit stones and easily escape this arrangement!

"Alright, I agree!" Having figured this out, the Sixth Young Lady nodded.

"Good!" Hearing Sun Qiang's arrangement, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up. As expected of a merchant, his methods were indeed clever. For anyone, producing ten thousand spirit stones all at once would be incredibly difficult and feel impossible. But breaking it down into daily payments made the amount seem small, significantly reducing the pressure. It was just like installment payments in his previous life; even though more spirit stones would ultimately be paid, everyone could manage it and even did so happily.

"Sixth... Young Lady!"

The young man was filled with anxiety, not expecting her to agree. Others might not know the Sixth Young Lady's true identity, but he knew it perfectly well. Becoming a maid... what kind of joke was that? If this news got out, the entire imperial family of the Phantasm Feather Empire would likely go mad!

"I decide my own affairs!" the Sixth Young Lady snorted.

"But..."

Veins bulged on the young man's forehead.

"Alright, you two can discuss whatever you need to later. From now on, you are a maid. If you don't have the money, then prepare quickly and come back to our mansion with us!" Sun Qiang interrupted their conversation.

"No need, I'll pay for ten days first!"

With a snort, the Sixth Young Lady flipped her palm, and a pile of mid-grade spirit stones appeared before everyone. Counting them, there were exactly seven hundred.

"Hmm!"

Sun Qiang's eyes lit up. He looked at Zhang Xuan, then heard Zhang Xuan's voice. "You take it first!"

"Yes!"

Sun Qiang swept his hand, collecting the spirit stones into his storage ring. He then looked at the girl in front of him again. "Looking at you, your status and position shouldn't be low, so you probably won't just run away. However, one can never be too sure. How about this: leave something as collateral with me. After five months, or once you've paid all ten thousand spirit stones, I'll return it to you!"

"You..."

Veins twitched on the Sixth Young Lady's forehead. She had already agreed to such a humiliating request as becoming a maid, and yet they still worried she would run away! It was simply infuriating! However, she also knew that these two individuals in front of her were completely unyielding. The more she argued, the angrier she would become. With another flick of her wrist, she took out an emblem.

A Master Teacher emblem!

Five dazzling stars shone brightly on it.

"This emblem represents my identity. It should be enough collateral for ten thousand spirit stones, right?"

"It'll do," Sun Qiang replied, taking it and putting it into his storage ring. The young man earlier had also shown a five-star Master Teacher emblem, and now this girl too. However, even five stars were nothing to him. As the steward of an eight-star Master Teacher, if he didn't have this much composure, he wouldn't be worthy of his position.

"Hmph!"

Seeing that this man showed no shock or fear upon seeing her emblem, remaining as calm as still water, the Sixth Young Lady was momentarily stunned. Her expression turned ugly, and she spun around, walking directly downstairs. She couldn't stand another moment here, not because she felt humiliated by losing the bet, but because... she was utterly infuriated. What kind of people were these?! She had always believed that as a five-star Master Teacher so young, she would be respected and feared wherever she went. Yet... these people didn't even bat an eyelid, as if her status meant nothing. The strong sense of disparity made her so frustrated she wanted to spit blood.

"Sixth Young Lady..."

Seeing her leave directly, the young man was startled. He turned to Zhang Xuan and the other man. "You two... just you wait!" He said menacingly, then hurried after the Sixth Young Lady, finally catching up to her downstairs.

"Princess Fei'er, those two don't know their place. If this isn't resolved, I'll tell Crown Prince Ye Qian to send someone to kill them!" His eyes flashed as the young man snorted. This time, he addressed her not as "Sixth Young Lady" but as "Princess." If Crown Prince Ye Qian of the Phantasm Feather Empire were here, he would surely recognize that this "Sixth Young Lady" was none other than Princess Fei'er of the Hongyuan Empire! And the young man beside her was her classmate, a five-star Master Teacher named Xing Yuan! The two had been out strolling, saw the Pavilion of Wonders, and wanted to find some treasures to prepare for their upcoming trials. They never imagined that in such a short time, they would suffer at least ten thousand points of emotional damage! The highly noble Princess, respected even by the Emperor of the Phantasm Feather Empire, had been taken as a maid by others, losing all dignity.

"I, a dignified princess and a five-star Master Teacher, should I go kill someone because I'm unwilling to accept a lost bet?" Princess Fei'er stopped, raising an eyebrow.

"This..."

Xing Yuan's face flushed. Losing a bet was already humiliating. If they actually went to kill someone over it and caused a big scene, he might as well stop being a five-star Master Teacher.

"Then... we can't just let it go. Those two are too arrogant and infuriating!" Xing Yuan gritted his teeth.

"They are indeed infuriating. However, he could solve over a hundred stone pillars that neither you nor I could in under a minute... and that servant showed no fear at all upon seeing a five-star Master Teacher emblem... These two's identities are probably not simple. Have Ye Qian send someone to investigate them!" Princess Fei'er waved her hand. Her reason for agreeing was not a sudden impulse. Having reached the five-star level, her state of mind had surpassed 15.0, long past the stage of impulsiveness and rashness. The strange master and servant pair upstairs, though not particularly strong, displayed a chilling composure and steadiness. Their identities were likely more complex than they seemed. Moreover, she was curious how the man had so easily solved the stone pillars that she herself couldn't.

"Alright!" Xing Yuan nodded.

"Young Master, may I ask your name?"

After Princess Fei'er and the others left, Gan Yiping seemed to recover. He approached Zhang Xuan, bowed, and clasped his fists.

"You can just call me Zhang Xuan!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

"So it's Young Master Zhang. These are all the treasures from the Pavilion of Wonders. You accumulated enough points by solving the stone pillars just now, so these are all yours..." The attendant who had gone downstairs earlier had already finished packing the items. He placed them in a storage ring and handed it over.

"Hmm!"

Zhang Xuan took the ring and scanned its contents with his spiritual sense. Indeed, all the treasures from the lower levels were neatly arranged inside, not a single one missing.

"You're giving all these treasures to me? What will happen to your Pavilion of Wonders?" Zhang Xuan looked at him doubtfully, feeling a bit awkward. To be honest, he didn't have much interest in these treasures. Yet, the other party was giving them all to him, making him feel a bit impolite to refuse, but also quite helpless. However, if he really took all of them, wouldn't the Pavilion of Wonders collapse immediately without the support of its treasures?