"What on earth is going on? Didn't they insist on having Xiǎo Yú's deed of indenture no matter what? Why have they suddenly backed out now?"
As soon as Lín Yuè regained his sobriety, the first thing he did was have the steward summoned.
To command a higher price—and to make the foreigners believe he was indifferent to the transaction—he had spent most of this period having the steward meet with them in his stead. After all, the Lin Family prided themselves on being scholars of a reputable lineage; only because the foreigners' offer was exorbitantly high would he ever stoop to such a "shameful" endeavor. Doing it this way, he felt, allowed him to salvage a shred of the Lin Family's dignity.
Chapter 442