Daily Survival After Inheriting a Harem (GL) - Chapter 21

Pei Yuqing lowered her eyes.

“My lord, what do you need that sort of thing for?”

“I’m looking for a business path.”

Qiu Qi excitedly gave Pei Yuqing an example.

“Erotic art makes so much money. Even if I sell one book for only 20 copper, ten books would be 2 silver, one hundred books would be 2 gold. Then if I sell one thousand books, ten thousand books, won’t I be rich?”

The corner of Pei Yuqing’s mouth visibly twitched, which counted as her expression of admiration for Qiu Qi’s bizarre train of thought.

“My lord, if you urgently need money, I still have some jewelry and clothes. You can pawn them for money.”

“That won’t do!”

Qiu Qi’s refusal was extremely firm.

“Things developed to this point because of my own problems. I was too wasteful in the past. How can I sacrifice Madam to help me?”

After saying that, she smiled.

“And I want Madam to be beautiful every day. Those jewels and clothes look especially good on you.”

That mouth of hers was like it had been mixed with honey. Even Pei Yuqing’s eyes softened slightly upon hearing it.

“Then my lord already has an idea?”

“I do, but the success rate is still uncertain.”

Very soon, Yan Wan came to inform them that everyone in the courtyard had gathered. Qiu Qi nodded, took the harem name list, and got up to go to the meeting hall.

This place took up a large area of the entire courtyard. In the past, the original body often invited several dance troupes and singing girls here to perform. Only today, this place that had once been filled with nightly revelry was packed with people, and everyone’s face carried low pressure.

Accompanied by Pei Yuqing, Qiu Qi sat down on that exaggerated golden seat. In order to show a bit of her dignity, she cared very much about face and took a hat to cover the ears on top of her head. Sitting upright and proper, she actually looked somewhat like a serious “king.”

“I called everyone here today because I have an important matter to tell you.”

People below began whispering to each other.

“For something this big, wouldn’t it be enough to have Steward Yan inform us? Why gather all of us?”

“That’s right. This formation is so scary…”

“She wouldn’t be planning to randomly pick a few of us and drag us to the beast-fighting arena, would she?”

A frail beauty trembled as she spoke.

“I’m such a weak herbivore. I can’t beat those ferocious beasts at all. I’m so scared.”

“Cough, cough.”

Qiu Qi cleared her throat, signaling for the people below to be quiet.

“It isn’t anything bad. Everyone, there is no need to panic.”

“Is she comforting people?”

“Are you crazy? This demon, comforting people? I’m afraid she’s hiding a knife behind her smile and will take out a torch in a moment to burn you into ashes on the spot.”

“Like Sister Wang, who secretly escaped the courtyard last time?”

Relying on her excellent hearing, Qiu Qi caught every single word of this group’s “whispers.” The smile on her face became increasingly stiff.

“Steward Yan should already have told everyone what I said, right?”

Qiu Qi finally found a chance to speak again.

“I have canceled the plaque-drawing plan.”

“So my lord gathered us here because you regret it and want to restore the harem plaque-drawing rule?”

Zu Mianmian sounded somewhat expectant.

Her assassination plan had long been prepared. She only lacked a chance to be alone with Qiu Qi. If the plaque drawing was restored, wouldn’t it be much easier for her to act?

Qiu Qi shook her head.

“No. I have already decided to turn over a new leaf. From now on, I will no longer force everyone to serve in bed, and I will peacefully live a life for two with Madam.”

“Heh…”

In the front row on the left, Xiao Chu’er, dressed in blue, curled her lips into a smile, her expression full of mockery.

“What a fine life for two.”

“I know that everyone here doesn’t have much goodwill toward me, so I have decided—”

Qiu Qi stood up and raised her voice, speaking each word firmly and powerfully.

“To disband the harem. You are all free!”

This was one of the methods she had thought of. There were simply too many people in the harem. There were even eighty percent of them whose faces she could barely match to names in the original body’s memories. Among them, many had never even met the original body. The reason they were here might be that their families had sold them here for money, or perhaps that people with ulterior motives had abducted them and sent them to the original body as “gifts.”

Actually, after seeing Yan Wan’s sky-high salary in the account book, Qiu Qi’s first reaction had been to fire her. But after calming down, she thought of how Yan Wan knew too many of the original body’s secrets and was someone who only recognized money, not people. If she went out, who knew if someone might give her a few gold and have her expose all of Qiu Qi’s background? Keeping her by her side now at least meant she could act as both bodyguard and accountant. It counted as spending money to buy peace of mind.

Other than that, the only expense Qiu Qi could think of saving was this group of beauties.

Her gaze swept over everyone present. Colorful, rare-material gorgeous clothing of all kinds—each piece looked better than the last when worn by a beauty. But in Qiu Qi’s eyes right now, all she could see was money! This was all her hard-earned money!

The moment these words came out, the group below exploded into discussion. Their first reaction was that Qiu Qi was joking. But when Pei Yuqing beside her took out the name list and read names one by one, calling people up to collect severance pay, those doubts faded.

“She’s really… really letting us go?”

“I can go home?”

“It’s one thing to let us go, but she’s even giving severance pay?”

Everyone’s expressions were filled with disbelief, but their movements when going up to collect money were all quite nimble.

With a reluctant gaze, Qiu Qi watched Pei Yuqing slowly divide up what little remained of her treasury. Although each person only received a few dozen copper, it was enough to make her heart drip blood.

When they reached the front row, fewer and fewer people were left in the hall. The people who had received money were even more excited than students on vacation after the college entrance exam, practically skipping and hopping all the way back to their chambers, impatient to pack their luggage and return home.

“My lord.”

Yin Ci, dressed in cuffed clothing, walked forward and bowed to Qiu Qi. Although she looked respectful, Qiu Qi felt that her cold eyes seemed as if she would swing her arm and stab her the very next second.

“W-What is it?”

As soon as Qiu Qi finished speaking, the remaining people, led by Yin Ci, recreated the grand scene from the day they begged her to “share favor equally,” kneeling in unison.

“My lord! We will not leave!”

Qiu Qi nervously swallowed.

“Beauties, are you worried you won’t find a place to stay outside? I can have Steward Yan arrange that for you. And I’ll pay the first month’s rent. Don’t worry. You are all so capable. Once you leave this harem, you will surely live even more gloriously. Besides, after staying in this courtyard for so long, don’t you look forward to freedom? Please don’t miss this chance.”

“We have accompanied my lord for many years and have long developed deep feelings for you. To leave just like this…”

Lin Yujin lowered her head and spoke softly. With her weak willow-like figure, that mournful tone was actually quite lovable.

“We cannot bear to part with my lord. Please grant our wish!”

Qiu Qi covered her mouth, not because she was moved, but to hide her twitching lips and her desire to burst into tears.

Before, she might not have been able to accurately tell who wanted to kill her. Now they had all surfaced. Among the group kneeling below, she could casually pick anyone, and there would be a one-hundred-percent hit rate. Being alone with any one of them could end with her head separated from her body.

“Actually—”

“My lord.”

Pei Yuqing interrupted Qiu Qi’s refusal. Her right hand gently rested on Qiu Qi’s shoulder. The force was very light, but it brought the latter an invisible pressure.

“If it is truly for their good, then leave them a place to shelter from wind and rain. Presumably, from now on, everyone will also be considerate of my lord and reduce that luxurious atmosphere as much as possible, becoming frugal and good at managing the household.”

Qiu Qi wanted to cry but had no tears.

“Everyone would definitely live happier outside than here. I’m also doing this for your good. Really.”

The people below all shook their heads together.

“My lord, we are loyal and devoted to you. We cannot leave you for even a single day. You are the full moon, and we are the surrounding stars. Without you, we would lose our value. Please grant our wish!”

How come she had never seen them so good at saying cheesy pickup lines before?

Qiu Qi tugged at Pei Yuqing’s sleeve and pressed it against the damp corner of her eye. Holding on to her final trace of luck, she asked,

“Is there really no room to discuss this?”

Pei Yuqing’s fingers on Qiu Qi’s shoulder lightly tapped once. The latter instantly straightened her back, not daring to move.

“My lord may follow what is in your heart and make a decision. There is no need to feel troubled.”

That sounded nice, but could you move your hand away?

Attacked from both front and back, Qiu Qi could only nod heavily.

“Since Madam has spoken for them, how can I disappoint you?”

The group was delighted and bent down to kowtow.

“Thank you, my lord.”

Qiu Qi: No need to thank me. I was forced too. Wuwuwuwu.

…

After the dismissal, Yan Wan counted the numbers. In the end, fewer than twenty people remained. Fortunately, this was still within Qiu Qi’s range of tolerance.

So she began to focus wholeheartedly on her grand plan to get rich.

Before starting to draw, Qiu Qi first laid out the currently best-selling erotic art books and read through them once.

The first book had monotonous poses and no innovation, but the drawing skill was good.

The second book had richer poses, but the production was clearly much rougher.

The third book was also the best-selling one. It combined the advantages of the first two, and it also had the gimmick of limited release, stimulating public consumption.

No matter what, Qiu Qi could be considered a well-read senior in this field. According to her comparison standards, not a single one here could fight.

First of all, in order to produce images quickly, most of them were black-and-white drawings. Aside from the main figures, the backgrounds were extremely empty. Also, perhaps because they were influenced by predecessors’ art styles, most of them only used a few rough strokes to skim over the facial features and body shapes, only emphasizing a few human body parts that were treated as selling points. And most, most, most importantly! There was no plot at all!

In Qiu Qi’s eyes, at most, these were human-body diagrams from a middle school textbook. They could not even count as a kiddie car.

She smiled confidently, picked up the brush, and planned to first reproduce the few comics that had sold the best for her in the past.

Considering the time issue, Qiu Qi did not plan to color them either. But even with black-and-white manga, she was very confident she could crush those human body science diagrams in quality.

Using a brush was somewhat inconvenient, but it did not affect Qiu Qi’s speed too much. She shut herself in the study from noon until late at night before finally finishing the first little car.

“Sigh. If only I had a cup of cola right now. Then I could still fight for another day and night.”

Qiu Qi rested her chin on her hand and said regretfully. As soon as she finished speaking, she was frozen by the cold wind blowing in through the crack of the door and sneezed, making her crave it even more.

Drinking iced cola on a cold day—wasn’t that adding refreshment on top of refreshment?

“My lord.”

This was the third time Pei Yuqing had come to knock on the door tonight.

Qiu Qi rarely returned to the room this late. At first, Pei Yuqing thought the other woman had been frightened by her that day and did not dare be alone with her. But every time she entered, she saw Qiu Qi seriously bent over the desk creating, so she finally believed that Qiu Qi’s idea of selling erotic art was not a joke.

“It is time to rest, my lord.”

Pei Yuqing held a thick fur cloak and draped it over Qiu Qi’s shoulders.

It was now the end of the month, and the weather was turning cold very quickly. Qiu Qi, who could not adapt, had been sneezing wildly these past few days. But the original body liked the cold. Even in winter, she had worn thin robes and wandered around everywhere. In the name of it, cold made her feel comfortable and refreshed.

But looking at Qiu Qi’s current state, she clearly could no longer experience any of that refreshment. Added with the fact that there was not a single slightly thicker piece of clothing in the original body’s wardrobe that could help Qiu Qi keep out the cold, she could only be forced to wear thin fabric every day and endure the cold.

Pei Yuqing had found those coughing and sneezing sounds too noisy, so she took out her own clothing and gave Qiu Qi one.

Qiu Qi clutched the fur cloak tightly around her. Her face was circled by the snow-white fur collar, making her look even more well-behaved and gentle. When she spoke to Pei Yuqing, the beast ears on her head stood up excitedly, as if they recognized their owner.

“Madam, you haven’t slept yet? Were you waiting for me?”

Pei Yuqing did not answer her question. Her gaze landed on the drawing on the white paper and paused on the protagonist’s face for a while. Her eyes clearly grew much colder.

Qiu Qi shrank her neck. She kept feeling that the way Pei Yuqing looked at her was as if she were looking at some hopeless scumbag.

“W-What is it?”

This time, the protagonist was her original creation. She had not been bold enough to use Pei Yuqing’s face again.

Author’s Note:
I’m so touched! Everyone actually “loves” Sister Qiu this much!

P.S. This will go VIP at midnight the day after tomorrow, Friday.