It was early autumn, and the morning wind was like a thin ice blade, scraping a light pink color from Shen Dingzhu's cheeks.
She first went to the pawn shop and wanted to pawn the ancient copper coin she brought out.
Xiao Langyan loved collecting antiques. She stayed in his house last night and took a hundred-year-old bronze coin, intending to exchange it for some money.
This was not expensive, and it was only exchanged for one hundred taels, which was enough for her to stay temporarily outside until Xiao Langyan came to find her. It was enough.
Because Fu Yunqiu would suffer from a strange disease that kept her coughing and wheezing in the near future, Xiao Langyan searched for famous doctors all over the world for her. In the end, only Jiang Manzi, known as the ghost doctor, could cure the disease.
But Jiang Manzi was a man of the world. He had been idle all his life and had never been subject to any power. The only difference was that the Shen family had been kind to him. As long as Shen Dingzhu opened his mouth, he would definitely show up to help.
Therefore, Shen Dingzhu was sure that Xiao Langyan would definitely come to her. Before that, she just had to wait quietly.
However, after handing the bronze coin to the pawnshop owner and looking at it for a moment, he looked at Shen Dingzhu up and down through the bars and windows.
"Is this yours?" the shopkeeper asked.
Shen Dingzhu nodded. Unexpectedly, the shopkeeper threw out the bronze coins: "Fake items will not be accepted."
Shen Dingzhu was stunned: "Shopkeeper, take a closer look. This is a genuine product. How could it be fake?"
The shopkeeper snorted, opened the account book, and did not look at Shen Dingzhu: "The ancient coins of the Warring States period a hundred years ago, which were preserved in such good condition, were all taken away by His Highness Prince Ning. How can you have real coins?" of? "
"Although the fakes you have are realistic, our store won't accept them. You can go somewhere else to deceive people."
Shen Dingzhu was stunned: "You..."
The shopkeeper urged him impatiently: "Hurry up, or I'll report you to the official position!"
Shen Dingzhu could only put away the bronze coins, bit his lip and turned to leave.
If she couldn't pawn anything, she would be penniless. Wherever she stayed tonight would be a problem.
Just as she was thinking about a solution, she heard a surprise call: "Cousin!"
Shen Dingzhu raised her head, and a carriage stopped suddenly in front of her. Her cousin Zhao Anyuan, wearing a silver-edged moire cloak and a crown on his head, walked up to her happily.
"Cousin!" Shen Dingzhu was particularly surprised, "You are back from Shangzhou? Where is your aunt!"
At this time in her previous life, she had not heard about her aunt's return to Beijing.
Zhao Anyuan nodded quickly: "We have only been back to Beijing for three or four days. My parents heard about your family's affairs and were very sorry. We thought you had followed the guilty army to Mobei. Fortunately, you are still safe and sound, cousin. Where do you stay now?"
The autumn wind blew, Shen Dingzhu's figure was thin, and his tall collar made his pale but charming face even more beautiful.
She frowned and said sadly, "It's a long story. I have nowhere to go right now."
Zhao Anyuan was overjoyed: "That's just right. Come home with me. My mother will be happy if she sees you!"
Shen Dingzhu nodded without thinking. Seeing his relatives at this moment, he was quite relieved and had tears in his eyes.
She had been doted on by her aunt since she was a child, but something unexpected happened at home. Her aunt's family in Shangzhou could not pick her up in time. Now that her aunt and the others have returned to the capital, she no longer has to be homeless!
In the carriage back to the Zhao family, Shen Dingzhu told Zhao Anyuan about being almost turned into a prostitute.
When she talked about her grievances and sadness, she no longer concealed them. Her eyes turned red and wet. When she turned to wipe away her tears, her slim and delicate figure trembled like a willow. Inadvertently, she attracted all of Zhao Anyuan's attention.
"That's unreasonable!" Zhao Anyuan clapped his knees and angrily shouted, "It must be my uncle's former political enemy who was behind the plan. He almost caused your cousin to end up in the military camp. Don't be afraid. When you get back to my house, someone will make the decision for you!"
Shen Dingzhu choked up and nodded. She believed that with her aunt's love for her, she would never be wronged again. Then, it would not be difficult for her to stay in the capital and break away from her sin-slave status.
It turns out that you don’t have to rely on Xiao Langyan for everything.
After returning to Zhao's house, Zhao Anyuan took her to the main courtyard. As soon as she entered the house, Shen Dingzhu saw a beautiful woman in silk robes and pearls on her head hurrying out.
When the aunt and nephew met, they hugged each other and cried.
Shen Dingzhu's aunt, Mrs. Zhao, held her tightly in her arms and cried loudly. She felt sorry for her and pitied her sister-in-law who had already left for Mobei.
"Good boy, I'm really sorry for you." Mrs. Zhao's tears fell even more when she learned about Shen Dingzhu's experience.
Shen Dingzhu wiped her tears: "Aunt, luckily I just met my cousin on the street, otherwise I don't know where else I would have gone."
Zhao Anyuan took a step forward and said, "Mother, let's leave our cousin to take care of her. She is a weakling, how can we leave her alone?"
Mrs. Zhao’s eyes flashed.
At this moment, a girl of thirteen or fourteen years old came in the door, it was her aunt's youngest daughter, Zhao Yuyuan.
When she saw Shen Dingzhu, she looked like she had seen a ghost and her eyes widened: "Shen Dingzhu, you are not dead?!"
Shen Dingzhu looked at her inexplicably, and Mrs. Zhao immediately scolded her with a straight face: "Yuyuan, don't talk nonsense. Your cousin is a lucky person who escaped from danger. She is a blessed person. Don't say anything about death or immortality!"
Zhao Yuyuan was quite surprised, and turned to call out the door: "Dad, come and see, Shen Dingzhu has returned to our house."
As she finished speaking, a majestic man quickly walked into the hall. Shen Dingzhu stood up immediately: "Uncle."
"My husband, you came back just in time, Zhuzhu..."
Before Mrs. Zhao could finish her words, her uncle Zhao Shouwang's expression changed and he shouted hurriedly: "How could you bring her home at this time?"
Shen Dingzhu froze on the spot, and Zhao Anyuan stepped forward two steps: "Dad, my cousin has nowhere to go. If we don't take her in, where can we let her go?"
Zhao Shouwang waved his hand and said angrily: "I don't care about this. I only know that as soon as our family returned to the capital, you brought back the sinners of the Shen family. What will others think of the Zhao family, and what will the emperor think?"
He stared at Shen Dingzhu with stern eyes: "The Shen family's crime is collaborating with the enemy and treason. If you are not avoiding suspicion at this time, do you think you will be satisfied until our Zhao family meets the same fate as them?"
"I don't care what she is here for, she must be sent away within two days!" After saying that, Zhao Shouwang rolled up his sleeves and left.
Shen Dingzhu opened her mouth several times, but could not find a chance to speak. Her face, as beautiful as a newly bloomed hibiscus, turned pale and helpless.
Why did her uncle, who used to be kind and caring to her, become like this now?
Zhao Yuyuan's reaction just now was also very strange.
Suspicion arose in Shen Dingzhu's heart. Before she could think about it, Mrs. Zhao held her hand to comfort her: "Zhuzhu, don't think too much. Your uncle is just too cautious and worried. I'll go and talk to him in a while." explain. "
"Don't think about anything else. Now that you're here with your aunt, settle down properly."
After saying that, she turned around and called the maid next to her, asking her to take Shen Dingzhu to Nanyuan.
Shen Dingzhu bowed and thanked Yingying before leaving the main courtyard.
For two days in a row, she didn't see her uncle Zhao Shouwang again. She wanted to plead with him to get rid of her slave status, but thinking about his attitude of not allowing her to stay in the Zhao family last time, Shen Dingzhu felt unable to speak. .
Her aunt, on the other hand, sent two medical ladies to diagnose and treat her, and even called an old woman to come up and examine Shen Dingzhu's area.
She struggled vigilantly, refusing to be touched.
But I saw that the old woman's face was as dry as tree bark, and her voice was even more ugly: "Miss, it's better to cooperate and check properly to ensure that no other diseases are brought into the house."
Shen Dingzhu felt embarrassed and didn't want to, but she didn't want to cause trouble to her aunt, so she agreed.
On the third and fourth days, she still didn't wait for her uncle. Her aunt, Mrs. Zhao, arranged for a maid named Ruyan to serve her.
Through Ruyan, Shen Dingzhu found out some news about Xiao Langyan.
That day in the palace, after she left, Xiao Langyan was beaten thirty times by the emperor for being a filthy mess in the harem. Just like in his previous life, he was punished, but after all, he was not related to the prince's corruption case, so the consequences were not serious.
But Shen Dingzhu always had the illusion that Xiao Langyan's secret guard Cheng Ting was nearby that day, and it was impossible not to notice that the queen's maids were eavesdropping.
Could it be that... Xiao Langyan deliberately let others see it? But what does he want, just to be punished?
Before Shen Dingzhu could figure it out, Ruyan came in and said, "Madam, please go to the main courtyard to talk."
When she arrived at the main courtyard, the maids were lined up in twos and twos outside, all with their eyebrows lowered. After she entered, Mrs. Zhao held her hand affectionately as before.
"I heard from Ruyan that you haven't eaten well these days, and you've lost so much weight. If you don't take good care of yourself, how can your aunt be relieved?"
Shen Dingzhu's bright white face is like jade, flawless, and her beautiful eyes are sparkling.
She smiled slightly: "Don't worry, aunt. I've just been worried these days, so I haven't eaten much. By the way, uncle, has he calmed down? I want to ask him to help me get rid of my slavery, so that I can stay with my aunt. It won’t be a hindrance.”
Mrs. Zhao raised her eyebrows and sighed with a sad face: "To tell you the truth, these days, your uncle is running around asking for help just for your business, but you probably don't know that your uncle has only mediocre connections when he returns to Beijing to report on his work. This time, because I am related to the Shen family, it is now very difficult for me to move forward in the court."
"Zhuzhu, what your father committed was a serious crime of confiscating your home and being exiled. How easy is it to get you out of slavery? My aunt is also looking for a way, but she is really desperate. However, fortunately, you are very lucky, and we finally found a way."
Shen Dingzhu looked at her aunt's expression and felt a little bad in her heart.
"any solution?"
"Prince Xuan asked us privately that he is willing to free you from slavery and take you as his concubine. However... you must be raised in his father-in-law's family."
