Zeng Xiaoyan and Aunt Zhu’er wrapped their money in handkerchiefs and left it with Xu Zhichun, planning to dig konjac and pick lantern fruit first, then bring the money home later.
Xu Zhichun was willing to help them get rich, letting them earn 151 wen a day, so of course she wouldn’t be greedy for their money.
They had nothing to feel uneasy about.
The next day, Jiang Ning rose early and went to the courtyard to practice with her whip.
She swung it with ease, finding it more and more effective, and couldn’t bear to put it down.
At that moment, a waiter from Qingxin Teahouse delivered a tea box.
Chunlan carried the tea box over; it was made of rosewood, looking very precious.
As A Xuan spoke, a glint flashed in his eyes. It was almost exactly when the Pingyun army surrounded Liaozhou—by then, his injuries had already healed.
That night, Madam Hua made him a bowl of noodles with a poached egg. Then she asked him to search for her daughter, saying: if he found her, he should take the trouble to escort her back to Liujing; if not, he should find his own path and not return.
When Wen Qingwan heard the inner thoughts of Madam Hou, her eyes widened, wanting to curse, and at that moment a voice sounded in her mind.
[Host, taking over the Marquis residence’s household authority will earn you one thousand merit points. Besides, saving a single life surpasses building a seven‑tier pagoda.]
Yo! What a good deal—one thousand merit points can buy lots of mind‑reading charms and gossip charms!
The fluorescent pigment continued extending into the canyon, and several people stopped in front of it.
The cold wind blowing out from the canyon was bone-piercing, striking the face like needle pricks, painfully severe.
In the pitch-black night, icicles hung on both sides of the canyon. The end of the road was unseen. Mist billowed around, like a beast opening its mouth to devour human desire, leaving people unable to move.
When they reached the Sifang Restaurant, Zeng Xiaoyan and her husband stopped the ox cart some distance away, choosing not to come closer. Xu Zhichun and Aunt Zhu’er stepped forward with the baskets and knocked on the back gate.
“Who is it?” After a long while, a worker opened the door impatiently.
Seeing two rural women, he immediately showed a look of disgust and wariness, sizing them up rudely.
Jiang Ning had no idea she’d become the target of resentment.
She didn’t know that her casual act of saving Jin Jingxiu would shift something in him—and cause Jiang Mengyue no end of trouble.
She was swinging a whip in the courtyard at that moment.
The whip Jin Jingxiu had gifted her felt just right in her hand. She liked it better than a dagger—whipping suited her more.
