The county magistrate covered the sky with his hands and gave another hundred taels of gold to the envoy Lu Shouwen. From the amount of the gift, we can guess the huge profits he made every year.
After discussion, the two decided not to alert the enemy, but quietly accepted the gift and went to Beihu. When they returned to the capital, they reported to the emperor, found out the county magistrate's backers, and then eradicated it.
The journey to Dong E's hometown was dusty, and the ancient sage was covered in dust. He returned to his guest room to take a bath, and found that there was also a cowhide bag on the table. When he opened it, there was a hundred taels of silver inside.
The county magistrate was able to operate in this place without revealing anything, but the court knew nothing about it. The relationship network behind it must be extraordinary.
After resting peacefully that night, Gu Shengchao took his money bag and went to Lu Shouwen to explain the situation early the next morning. Lu Shouwen laughed.
"Where did Brother Lu's laughter come from?" The other party was inexplicably happy, and Gu Shengchao was furious.
Patting Gu Shengchao's shoulder, Lu Shouwen opened a small wooden box, which was full of identical pockets.
"In addition to you, the other deputy envoys also sent them, but the amounts inside were different. Some sent them intact like you, some packed fifty taels, and some packed thirty taels. What do you think I should do? Who do you believe?"
Gu Shengchao pretended to be serious and said: "It goes without saying that whoever gives the most gifts will be obeyed. Isn't this a natural right?"
The two looked at each other and smiled.
The mission spent a few days repairing locally. In addition to horses and vehicles, they also added a few camels to facilitate their use in the desert.
A guide is also essential, as is plenty of food and drinking water, and the space on the vehicle should be filled as much as possible.
After one night's sleep, they will leave tomorrow. The county magistrate arranged a banquet for everyone. After the banquet, Gu Shengchao returned to the guest room. There was already a woman dressed up waiting for him, but it was not Dong E.
"Who let you in? Get out, I want the girl from last time." Gu Shengchao scolded loudly.
The woman was frightened and said solemnly: "Sir, please do well. I will be punished if I am driven away."
Although he couldn't bear it, Gu Shengchao still drove her away because he had a lot to say to Dong E.
The woman was unwilling but helpless and left with tears in her eyes.
Not long after, a more coquettish woman came in. Yingying saluted and said, "Sir, please calm down. The girl from last time is unwell and cannot accompany you. Let me serve you."
Gu Shengchao looked up and down. Although this woman looked frivolous with heavy make-up, her behavior was generous and decent. She had no stage fright at all. She should have some status in the Cuihong Mansion. Unlike the timid and groveling girl just now, she seemed to have no right to speak at all.
He had a calculation in his mind.
Sitting on the chair and putting his feet on the edge of the bed, Gu Shengchao looked leisurely and contented.
"What's wrong with that girl? I know some medical skills. Please bring her here. I'll take her pulse and prescribe the right medicine. I'll keep the medicine until the illness is cured."
The woman looked embarrassed and said, "Your Majesty, it's difficult for her to have sex since she's menstruating. Please forgive me and don't embarrass her."
"I see, just follow me inside and take a bath first!"
The ancient sage walked ahead, and the woman followed behind with her hands down. She felt relieved immediately, threw her shawl and thin coat on the bed, and went in wearing only her underwear and underpants.
The bathing hut was damp and dark, with shelled beetles and mosquitoes and flies hiding in the corners.
After lighting the candle, the ancient sage's hands were like lightning. He instantly pinched one with two fingers and stepped on the other lightly with his toes.
He put the two bugs in the palm of his hand and closed his fingers slightly. The beetle trapped inside could be seen through the gap between his fingers.
The palm of his hand was stretched out in front of the woman. She was so frightened that she turned pale. She covered her eyes with her hands and screamed: "My lord, please throw it away. I'm afraid."
"Really?" Gu Shengchao took off the woman's slender hands that were covering her eyes.
She opened her eyes and saw the black bug in Gu Shengchao's palm right in front of her eyes. Her legs couldn't stop trembling as she tried to run away.
"Wait." Gu Shengchao grabbed her arm and performed his kung fu in front of her. A layer of transparent material condensed on the two insects, as if they were trapped in ice.
Holding her delicate little hand, their fingers intertwined.
The woman's face turned pale with fear: "Insect, insect, the insect is in my hands."
Letting go of her hand, Gu Shengchao showed her that the bug had disappeared.
The woman staggered out and ran out. She stumbled and got up quickly. She took off all her clothes and pants, crying and patting her chest and back to prevent insects from crawling onto her skin.
Seeing Gu Shengchao walking out of the hut, the woman hurriedly bowed down and apologized, and tears fell down her face: "My lord, please spare me. I know why you are angry. As long as you can calm down your anger, don't make fun of me."
"I have planted bugs in you. If there is any lie, I will let the bugs bite you in your stomach. You must know the taste." Gu Shengchao warned.
The woman lowered her head and touched her abdomen with her hands, and her whole body began to tremble.
"Tell me why the woman named Dong E didn't come over." Gu Shengchao was half lying on the bedside.
The woman raised her head and looked over, but she still had some scruples and said, "The slave family has told the truth. Your Excellency must keep the secret secret for the slave family, otherwise the slave family's life will be in danger."
"I promise you." Gu Shengchao promised.
The woman hesitated for a moment and looked out from the crack in the door to make sure no one was eavesdropping. Then she knelt down beside Gu Shengchao and whispered: "Dong E picked up a distinguished guest from the coal mine the day before. Somehow, she suddenly found him." The scissors stabbed the guest randomly, almost killing him. The madam was so angry that she beat her half to death in front of the guest. Now she threw her in the dungeon of Cuihong Building, saying that she would wait for the guest to recover and let her go. People dispose of it.”
Gu Shengchao stood up uneasily: "Where is the dungeon you mentioned, and where is Dong E locked up?"
Listening carefully that there was no one outside, the woman then leaned into Gu Shengchao's ear and said, "The Cuihong Building is located three miles straight east from the Flower Building. There is a dungeon in the backyard and it's not big inside. You can find Dong E as long as you enter."
So that's it. Gu Shengchao threatened: "I planted insect poison for you. You should know how powerful it is. You also understand what you should and shouldn't say."
"I understand, I understand." The woman nodded.
Gu Shengchao turned off the lights and stood behind the door to sense the situation outside.
There were two people guarding the entrance to the courtyard, and another person was checking in the corridor on the second floor. You can see from the crack in the door that the two people at the door are standing against the wall and cannot see the third floor.
The man on the second floor is now walking up the steps. He is just around the corner and can't see here.
Gu Shengchao dodged out, flew onto the roof, jumped down from the back, turned back to the front street and ran towards Cuihong Building.
After walking for about a quarter of an hour, the lanterns hung high on the north gate of the road, with three big characters "Cuihonglou" in the middle. Looking inside, the brightly lit colorful building is filled with laughter and laughter, making it a lively scene.
Walking around to the backyard of Cuihong Building, sensing that no one was inside the wall, he turned over like a civet cat and entered.
The backyard was messy and far from as magnificent as the main entrance. Gu Shengchao was worried about not being able to find the dungeon when he suddenly saw light coming from a wooden door in front of him.
He walked over quietly and saw a downward slope leading to a wooden door. It looked like a dungeon.
"Girl, just take a bite. No matter what happens tomorrow, fill your stomach first." It was a man speaking.
"I won't eat. Anyway, my father and brother are gone, I can't take revenge, and I don't want to live anymore. Just kill me." Dong E's voice was correct, and the sound of iron chains could be heard.
"I saw how pitiful you were, so I helped you. Don't dig your nose and show your shame."
The man seemed to be forcing Dong E to do something, and she made a "woo woo" sound.
Gu Shengchao pushed open the wooden door and strode in.
A lantern hung behind the door.
The dungeon was indeed not big, and there were six cages inside. Dong E's hands and feet were chained to a room near the door, and there was no one else in the other cages.
Her clothes were torn and there were blood stains all over her body.
The man was opening Dong E's mouth and forcing food into it. Dong E was also stubborn and spit out all the food.
"Snapped!"
The man slapped her in the face with a wave of his hand, and his face, which was already bloodless, suddenly became red and swollen.
Hearing the movement behind him, the man thought it was his companion who was disapproving of it. When he saw Dong E's face beaming with joy, he noticed something strange. As soon as he turned around, he saw a huge fist already reaching his face.
"boom!"
The man hit the wall and died.
"My lord, please leave quickly. It's dangerous here." Dong E was frightened when she saw that the ancient sage was killing people.
Reaching out to break the chains on Dong E's hands and feet, Gu Shengchao picked up the food box and handed it to her: "Eat, you can only take revenge when you are full. If you have lost your life, there is no need to talk about revenge. Die worthless. , doesn’t it make the enemy even happier?”
"Can you help me take revenge?" Dong E couldn't believe it.
"I will definitely do it." Gu Shengchao promised, "But not now. When we come back from Beihu, I will avenge the people who have been oppressed in the county."
After hearing his promise, Dong E's distracted eyes were filled with hope again, she took the food box and wolfed it down.
When Dong E had eaten and drank enough, Gu Shengchao put out the lantern and helped her out of the dungeon. There was a lock on the wooden door, so it was locked easily.
After reluctantly taking a few steps forward, Dong E could no longer hold on and fell to the side. Fortunately, Gu Shengchao had a firm grip and was able to avoid injury.
Observing that there was no one around, Gu Shengchao carried Dong E on his back, jumped out from the wall, and disappeared into the night.
It took nearly an hour to get Dong E settled.
Taking advantage of the darkness, he returned to the guest room in the pink flower building via the original route.
In the middle of the night, everyone went to bed early, and Gu Shengchao's return was even more silent and no one knew about it.
Only the woman in the room was uneasy. Seeing that he came back safely, she lit the candle and was filled with joy: "My lord is back, but the slave family is too scared to sleep."
"You're worried that I'll fall into a trap and no one will be able to detoxify you!"
Seeing through her thoughts, the woman lowered her head and said nothing, for fear of offending the other party and really not caring about her.
"Don't panic, I will keep my word and won't lie to you."
At that moment, the ancient sage removed the insect's poison from the woman.
The woman looked at the two beetles that had been spit out, and raised her shoes to swat them. After hesitating for a long time, she lacked the courage and had to throw away her shoes and run to the bed to hide.
After turning off the lights, the two of them lay on the bed. Gu Shengchao asked her: "Go back early tomorrow morning. You should know how to reply!"
"The slave family knows." The woman said and leaned towards Gu Shengchao.
Gu Shengchao said dissatisfied: "Wait a minute, let's use the middle of the bed as the boundary. If you come over even half a minute, I will still plant the poison for you."
She was so frightened that she hurried away. The woman said softly: "The slave family said that they had fun with the adults all night long and never left the guest room."
"It's good to know. Since I can rescue Dong E, I can also poison you. I hope you can take care of yourself." Gu Shengchao was afraid that she would go back and talk nonsense, so he warned her first.
The woman was also frightened and whispered: "The slave family understands and will definitely keep it secret."
Everything was peaceful and they all gradually fell asleep.
However, while the people in the flower house were still sleeping, a large group of officers and soldiers had already surrounded the place.
The bright lights woke up Gu Shengchao and the woman who was curled up beside the bed and did not dare to cross the line.
