Liu Ximei smiled miserably and said: "Since ancient times, I have only seen new people smiling, but not old people crying. I have passed the age of half a lady, and Miaochun Pavilion is full of beautiful girls in their prime. An old and senile person like me should have married long ago. I wasted the rest of my life as an unpopular concubine with a businessman's wife. But the glory of the past was still there, and there were wealthy businessmen who were willing to spend a lot of money to buy it back. Of course Miaochun Pavilion was willing, so I was freed, and I no longer had any worries about that. So. In this way, they will naturally leave me alone."
Gu Shengchao was still confused after hearing this, and thought deeply: "Since he is willing to spend a lot of money, he must not be a mediocre person. Looking at the posture of the escort, it does not match the girl's worth!"
Liu Ximei nodded, "I overheard something in Miaochun Pavilion. They said that I once served a high-ranking official in the capital and praised me. It happened that a wealthy businessman wanted something from that high-ranking official, so he bought me and prepared to give it to that person. It's just that This matter was not easy to spread, for fear of being caught by the high-ranking official, and the wealthy businessman had his family accompanying him and could not bring me with him, so I entrusted the escort agency to escort me. They and the escort agency did not tell the truth, and lied that I was hired privately by the wealthy businessman. Concubine, just ask the escort agency to send it over. It was originally a private transaction, but it turned out to be a flash of swords, and I am also afraid. "
Gu Shengchao sighed: "It happened that I also overheard something, saying that the recent changes that happened around you are related to the dispute between the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of Punishment in the capital. It seems that you need to be more careful in the next trip."
Liu Ximei was calm, "I only know that I am from Lizhou. I have been sold to Miaochun Pavilion since I was young. I have learned music, chess, calligraphy and painting since I was a child. I can't help myself in everything. I am used to accepting the consequences. Just take it one step at a time!"
Gu Shengchao said: "Now that you are not bound, can't you fly far away and go to a place you like to live anonymously and make a living on your own?"
Liu Ximei shook her head: "As you can imagine, they have already considered it. Before I left, someone planted a poisonous bug on me. They said that as long as I obeyed, someone would come and remove it for me, so that I would not escape halfway and cost them money and money. .If we leave it alone, it will emerge from the pupa in half a year, eat up my internal organs, and make me die in pain."
"Shameless!" Gu Shengchao said angrily, hitting the floor with his fist to vent his dissatisfaction.
Just as Liu Ximei was about to speak, her body shook and began to twitch violently, and she became unconscious. Gu Shengchao did not panic after experiencing it twice. He helped Liu Ximei sit up and patted her back with his palms, using his strong inner strength to protect her heart.
Not long after, Liu Ximei woke up slowly. She leaned on the couch and said gratefully, "Thank you, Master, for your help."
Gu Shengchao said sincerely: "Girl, you are very polite. May I ask if these symptoms are caused by the poisonous insects in the body?"
Liu Ximei was stunned for a moment, pursed her lips and said quietly: "Master, have you ever heard of the kung fu of men and women?"
"I've heard that it's said to be an evil martial art in the world. Most couples practice it together, and their skills can be improved at the same time." Gu Shengchao said without thinking.
Liu Ximei's eyes were full of resentment, and she said dimly: "It would be great if I were older. Miaochun Pavilion would teach us kung fu. It said it was a dual cultivation for both men and women, but in fact it allowed us, poor women, to act as a furnace to filter out the evil of those stinky men. Dirty Qi allows the dirt to accumulate in our bodies. Over time, it cannot be released and turns into poison. In the end, we are injured by those poisons."
"Oh, it would be nice if Senior Lu Chuan was here." Gu Shengchao couldn't help but sigh.
Liu Ximei was also curious: "Are you your master? I see that you are very good at martial arts. Is there any way to help me detoxify?"
Gu Shengchao sighed, shook his head and said: "He did not teach me the basic kung fu, but the most powerful moves were indeed taught by him. I would like to become a disciple, but this senior refuses to accept me as his disciple. Shenlong never sees the end. I can’t see any sign of senior either.”
"That's a pity." Liu Ximei felt regretful. She didn't know whether it was because she was sad that the ancient sage couldn't see Lu Chuan, or because she couldn't find an expert to heal her wounds and eliminate poisons.
The ship sailed smoothly, and after several days of sailing, a sudden heavy rain fell from the sky at night, and the strong winds and showers fell overwhelmingly. The ship swayed from side to side and stopped at anchor, not daring to continue sailing. The heavy rain continued all night, and the next morning it was still raining heavily. It continued to rain intermittently for a while in the afternoon, and then it turned into light rain. People thought that sailing would be normal the next morning, but there was still no movement until noon. Gu Shengchao went to inquire about the news. The man on the boat said that the downstream river bank had burst and it was impassable.
There are many passengers who are as anxious as Gu Shengchao, and the man has two solutions. The first is that refunds can be made based on mileage, and passengers can disembark and go to their destinations on their own; the second is to wait patiently for when normal navigation can be resumed and then leave again.
Gu Shengchao went back to discuss with Liu Ximei. They both felt that the wait was too long, so it was better to go ashore and make further calculations. However, Gu Shengchao was a little embarrassed after going through his money bag. After landing, he would need silver to buy horses and stay in a hotel. He calculated that it would not be enough.
Liu Ximei smiled and said: "What's so difficult about this? After all, I was once the top oiran of Miaochun Pavilion. In addition to hiding it secretly, the banknotes I carry with me now are enough for us to spend."
The ancient sage was overjoyed. He asked his clerk to return some silver, and he and Liu Ximei got off the boat and found an inn where they could stay. Liu Ximei only took off her mask in the cabin, but kept it tightly covered outside to avoid trouble. Gu Shengchao settled Liu Ximei in and took a silver note from her. He asked the waiter about the largest bank nearby. The waiter said that it would take three or four hours to go back and forth on horseback.
"Excuse me, brother, can I borrow the horses from your store?" Gu Shengchao asked.
But the waiter refused: "No, it never makes sense. Who can I find to explain to you if you run away on horseback?"
During the dispute between the two, an elder came up and asked about the situation: "You can go to the accounting office and ask about this. As long as the mortgage is enough, you can borrow the horses."
The ancient sage was overjoyed. He went to the counting house to explain the situation and weighed the remaining silver. The other party said it was OK, so he wrote an IOU, then went to the stable to find a horse and rushed to the town.
When he arrived at the bank, Gu Shengchao handed over the banknote for fear of being asked, but he didn't know anything. Fortunately, no one made things difficult for him, and soon someone took out a long box. Gu Shengchao glanced at it and saw that there was at least a hundred taels of silver. He did not dare to take it directly and asked: "Are these all mine?"
"Of course, it's all yours." The people in the bank showed no expression when they saw Gu Shengchao's appearance as someone who had never seen the world before, perhaps because they had seen him too much.
The ancient sage was so happy that he put all the money into his pocket and returned happily. He returned the horse and went to the counting house to get back his own silver, and then returned to the guest room to see Liu Ximei. He took out a piece of shining white silver and sighed, "I never thought that such a thin piece of paper could be exchanged for so much silver."
Liu Ximei smiled and said, "Young master, you are kidding me. This is just my smallest banknote. There are even bigger ones!"
Gu Shengchao was stunned. He didn't understand the relationship between banknotes and silver. He placed all the silver in front of Liu Ximei: "That's it, please take a look, girl."
Liu Ximei didn't know what to do, so she said softly: "It's better to ask the young master to keep it for you. My martial arts skills are low, and it would be a burden and inconvenient to carry it around with me."
Gu Shengchao thought for a moment and said, "That's it. I'll buy the horse tomorrow first, and each of the remaining people will get half of it. I'll give it all to you when we get there."
Liu Ximei nodded in agreement.
After dinner at the inn the next day, the two of them strolled on the street. Although Liu Ximei wore a mask, her slim figure attracted the attention of passers-by from time to time. The horse shop was in the east of the city. They carefully selected and bought two bay-red horses. They were both equipped with brand-new saddles and saddles. The people who rode on them became much more energetic. By the way, she bought brand new clothes for easy replacement later, and Liu Ximei bought herself some rouge and put them on carefully. Gu Shengchao also bought fire sickles, fire knives, daggers, etc. and kept them in case of unexpected events. They returned to the inn and asked the waiter how to go. The waiter replied: "We can't go, we have to wait. The heavy rains a few days ago caused the embankment to burst, and there was a vast ocean for hundreds of miles around. It was futile to ride on horseback. We couldn't move forward, we could only go forward. Returned."
The two had no choice but to wait patiently.
Gu Shengchao and Liu Ximei almost starved along the way. He would buy a few more large cakes and put them in his arms every night, and eat them as breakfast the next day. Liu Ximei laughed at him, and Gu Shengchao smiled and said: "It's not a waste anyway, it's always right to be prepared."
That night, Liu Ximei was lying on the bed and fast asleep. Gu Shengchao was wrapped in quilt and leaned against the door, unable to sleep. He was thinking about the safety of Uncle Xu and his party. It was unclear whether they were out of danger or were still being attacked by the dragon. The people from Huzhai chased and intercepted him.
Suddenly, someone spoke loudly in the courtyard of the inn, like a waiter's voice: "Come back tomorrow, we are closing. Hey, hey, how can you force your way in!"
"Shh, don't talk. I'll give you money." Someone lowered his voice. The ancient sage had excellent ears and could hear clearly even through the door.
"No, no, I'm already resting and sleeping. If you come in and there's no one to entertain you, you won't be able to stay in the store." The waiter's voice was still loud.
There was the sound of horse hooves in the distance. Gu Shengchao carefully distinguished it and saw that there were three horses galloping towards them.
"He's here, he can't run away." Someone didn't have time to rein in his horse, so he jumped off the galloping horse and reached the door of the inn in a few steps.
Gu Shengchao was shocked. If he didn't have excellent light body skills, he would definitely fall down and land on his face when he dismounted like this. Liu Ximei was also awakened by the sound outside, and sat up sleepily: "What's going on outside?"
"Don't make any noise. I'll go out and take a look. You should close the door from the inside first." Gu Shengchao was worried that the visitor would be harmful to them, so he asked Liu Ximei to close the door, and he quietly walked out.
In the courtyard of the inn, a man in gray robe seemed to be drunk. He staggered and supported the stable fence next to him, and moved forward with difficulty, looking back from time to time. The waiter tried his best to block the door, preventing people from behind from breaking in.
"Don't even come in. The guests have already rested, and they can't stay in the hotel if they come in." The waiter pushed the door hard, trying to lock the man outside.
The man outside the door was angry and hit the door panel with his palm. The door panel immediately shattered into countless sawdust. The man also fell out and fell to the ground groaning, as if he had been injured.
"I'm in a good mood today. I'll spare your life." The man outside the door passed by the waiter and kicked him.
Gu Shengchao didn't know who was who and he stood in the corridor of the inn and watched. Many guests who had been woken up also came out to watch the fun. Some were topless, some were wrapped in quilts, and some ran out barefoot.
