The group walked for another half an hour before arriving at the county.
Wang Si repeatedly warned this time: "We will meet at the North Gate in two hours. Remember, it is two hours."
Ning Yue agreed.
Yu Chuan's appearance was too scary, and both men and women were on guard, so he and Yu Ren consciously stayed a few steps behind.
It seems that they are two completely unrelated groups of people.
Caiyan walked on the street, looked at the crowd for a long time, and wondered: "Miss, look at the streets, there are only men, and there are almost no women."
With sharp eyes, Cui Manning pointed to a few old women holding their shoe soles under the trees on the roadside and said, "Hey, aren't there women there?"
Ning Yue looked around and noticed something strange.
Most of the people on the street were men. The only women who went out were some old women and a few attractive-looking women.
There was not a single young woman with brighter colors to be seen.
Ning Yue felt a sense of crisis for no reason.
She pulled the two of them into a deserted alley, squatted on the ground, grabbed a handful of ashes, and rubbed it on her face.
"You guys should rub some, this place is a bit unusual."
Caiyan also grabbed a handful of ashes and soon became disgraced.
Cui Manning stretched out her hand to stop him: "What are you afraid of? My grandfather's students will be parents here, and nothing will happen to them."
Ning Yue grabbed a handful of ashes and looked at her: "Either you listen to me, or I ask You Ren to send you to the north gate to wait for us."
Cui Manning reluctantly took the ash and put some on her neck and face.
Ning Yue was not satisfied and made her even dirtier.
Then all three changed into man buns.
Fortunately, Ning Yue changed all three of them into common clothes before going out, so it was not an eyesore.
They went straight to the market first and bought some rice, noodles, condiments and vegetables.
Ning Yue saw that there were actually a few black-bone chickens, which were white and fat and very cute.
When the shopkeeper saw them, he was startled at first.
Seeing her interest, he tried hard to sell it: "Sister, black-bone chicken nourishes yin and nourishes blood. It's the best to buy this to nourish the body. This black-bone chicken also lays eggs. You spend one part and get two parts. It's a great profit."
Ning Yue's face trembled and she pretended to be lonely. People could see it at a glance.
Women in costume dramas who dress up as men cannot be recognized by others if they change their appearance. It is indeed a lie.
She didn't bargain at all and bought them all in one go.
This is suitable for Ying Xianqing and Zhao Dali, two people who were seriously injured and weak.
Moreover, there are women, pregnant women, and children in the team, so I'm afraid there won't be enough food for them.
The shopkeeper was so surprised that he changed his shape and hurriedly stuffed all the chickens into the cage.
In recent years, apart from the Lu family and the officials, there has been no such wealthy master.
Ning Yue happily gave the money.
The shopkeeper took the money and said kindly: "We are all girls. Go buy whatever you want and go home. Don't linger on the street."
Ning Yue then asked, "What does the store owner mean by this?"
The shopkeeper looked around, came over and whispered: "In our place, any woman of some color now dare not go out. Otherwise, Mr. Lu will take a fancy to him and take him home. That would be called Tiantian's response, and Earth's The earth doesn’t work.”
Miss Xia's beautiful face suddenly flashed in Ning Yue's mind.
"Is the eldest man's name Lu Zhaolin?"
The shopkeeper nodded.
Cui Manning immediately became angry: "Isn't there no royal law here? Why don't the local parents care about it?"
The store owner sneered, shook his head, and raised his hand: "Go home quickly."
Cui Manning wants to say more.
Ning Yue pulled her and they quickly left the market.
Ning Yue originally wanted to buy something else, but she didn't intend to. Plan to go back directly.
She saw a few old women sitting on the roadside, chatting and picking up the soles of their shoes.
The reason why people surnamed Lu are so arrogant now is probably not just because of their wealth.
The student of the old prime minister must have acted as his protective umbrella in the local area, collaborating with him and adding to his arrogance.
Then she couldn't ask the officials. If she wanted to know about Miss Xia, she could only quietly inquire among the people.
She stuffed the chicken and grain into Yukawa Yuren's hands, but finally walked over and took out the portrait in her arms.
Asked: "Excuse me, any of the ladies, have you seen the woman in the painting?"
Several old women squinted their eyes, leaned back and looked carefully, and then looked at the group of three people.
Shake his head.
Ning Yue clearly saw an old woman's eyes twinkling.
She wanted to ask again, and several old women stood up in unison: "Oh, I have to go home and cook."
"Yes, yes, I have to go home too."
As he said that, several people flapping their little feet and ran away without a trace.
Caiyan looked at the speed of these old women and was amazed.
"Miss, let's get out of the city quickly."
Ning Yue shook her head, chased the old woman with twinkling eyes to the door of the courtyard, and knocked on the door.
When the old woman saw how many people there were, she wanted to close the door.
Ning Yue took out a piece of silver and placed it in her hand.
The old woman stared at the money, then looked at a few people: "Who are you?"
Ning Yue: "I am Miss Xia's cousin. I haven't heard from her for a long time, so I came here to look for her."
The old woman sighed, "Come in and talk."
Only then did Ning Yue find out that Miss Xia's name was Xia Rou, and she was the only daughter of a local private school teacher.
A few years ago, Lu Daguan's business was not so big, and his style was not so arrogant. There were still many women on the street, and Xia Rou was the first woman to be snatched away on the street.
The old couple sought help everywhere but found no way, and instead were beaten by the government.
The old woman was so angry that she bumped her head into the door of a Lu official. The old man sold his family property and wanted to file a lawsuit. Within two days, his body was found in the pond.
When Miss Xia heard about this, she failed in her attempt to assassinate the official from Lu. Instead, she was beaten half to death. Later, she heard that she was suffering from tuberculosis. She was thrown out when she was so sick that she had only one breath left. She probably died long ago.
The old woman sighed and finished speaking, which made Cui Manning shed tears.
At first, she only thought her white hair was strange, but she didn't expect that Miss Xia would have such a tragic experience.
Ning Yue thought of the concave characters on the stone wall.
The originally harmonious family suddenly suffered a man-made disaster, and the family was destroyed and everyone was killed. There was no place to appeal.
No wonder she hates those three words so much.
Several people said goodbye and came out, but the old woman was determined not to want any money: "The old man has always been kind and charitable, and he never chases people away when children from poor families come to attend. He also gives books to them. Their family is all good people, how can I ask for your money?" You should stop asking about this matter and leave quickly to avoid getting into trouble."
No matter how stupid Cui Maning is, she knows that the county magistrate must be involved, and she no longer yells about why her parents and officials don't care.
Ning Yue collected the money, thanked her respectfully, and went straight to the north gate.
It was less than two hours before Ning Yue asked You Ren to find an official.
Tell them they have to make the first move.
Unexpectedly, when he was passing by a silk and satin shop, a middle-aged man dressed in rich clothes came out, it was Lu Zhaolin.
Lu Zhaolin has seen countless women, and when he looks at people, he looks at their breasts first.
With just one glance, he saw the curvy figures of Ning Yue and Cui Manning, as well as their charm that was obviously different from ordinary women. He took a few steps to catch up.
