"I was sold here, from a... dilapidated mansion..."
Not daring to look directly into Jingting's eyes, Jin Meiniang lowered her head: "I'm used to being sold from one place to another."
"This is not a good practice."
"When I was a kid, I would be punished if I did something wrong, and I would be beaten all over my body. At that time, a sister told me that this is fate, and you are destined to do whatever you do. I didn't believe it at first, but over the years... I believe it."
Jin Meiniang's voice paused: "Later I escaped, was captured and tortured, sold to the Jinsha Gang, and signed a selling agreement."
"Nothing is meant to be."
"These words are not like those of a Taoist priest."
"The so-called destiny is inherently illusory. Who can really understand it? Rather than trying to understand it, it is better to move forward and get out of your own destiny."
Jingting poured a cup of tea and pushed it in front of Jin Meiniang: "Pindao has been practicing medicine for many years. Many people say that his life is not good, but what is good? To be a relative of the emperor or to be rich and incomparable to the enemy. Pindao went to Wu Palace , cold and depressing, not as safe as a thatched cottage in the countryside."
Jin Meiniang listened, took a sip of tea, and bit her lips lightly on Xingzhou's white porcelain.
"If you could leave Jinsha Tower one day, what would you like to do?"
"I have no idea."
After hesitating for a long time, Jin Meiniang had a trace of confusion in her eyes.
"Are you happy in Jinsha Tower?"
"Everyone in Jinsha Tower is very nice to me, so it's... okay."
"That's good. It's better to live a life you like than to escape one embarrassing situation after another."
Jingting nodded, took out a wad of silver notes from his arms, and handed them to Jin Meiniang: "Here are five hundred taels. If you get tired of living here one day, you can redeem yourself."
"Is the Taoist going to buy a slave family?"
"No, whether or not to redeem your life, and when to redeem your life, all depends on you. If you really redeem your life, you don't need to come to look for me in the future. You and the poor man meet by chance. If there is a fate, it will be good to see you again in the world."
"you……"
"Take it, it's just something external to you. You don't need to return what you just won at Jinsha Tower."
"Jinsha Tower has very strict rules. What if... they don't let me go?"
"Jinsha Tower has a channel for passing news. You can send a message to Liu Daotang and ask them to find me. The Pindao Association will come to Jinsha Tower again and take the girl away."
"Then you will become enemies with the Jinsha Gang. The Jinsha Gang is very powerful, with tens of thousands of members." Jin Meiniang held on to Jingting's sleeves.
"Pindao doesn't have many friends, and you know that I take good care of others."
"Am I... considered a friend of the Taoist Priest?"
"Of course forget it."
Clenching the banknote in her hand, Jin Meiniang froze on the spot, looking into the boy's eyes, a long-lost sense of security came to her heart, then her shoulders twitched, and a faint cry came from her clenched lips.
Jingting took out a clean white handkerchief, placed it on the table, and slowly pushed it in front of Jin Meiniang. The woman suddenly raised her head, with red eyes, leaving two clear tears.
"Can you...can you lend me a shoulder?"
"No, Pindao, I borrowed this clothes..."
Before Jingting could finish speaking, she rushed forward. It wasn't until her shoulders were wet with tears that the woman's twitching body slowly stopped.
"I'm sorry, I lied to you."
This time when she raised her head, Jin Meiniang was finally able to look directly into Jingting's eyes: "I used to be Zhu Yiwei's Feiyi envoy. After I defected, I was rescued by the Jinsha Gang, so I married the leader of the Jinsha Gang. The leader died of illness three years ago. Everyone in the gang elected me as the gang leader."
"It turns out that this girl is the famous leader of the Jinsha Gang. She is disrespectful."
Jingting smiled and cupped her hands.
"I lied to you, aren't you angry?"
"The poor man and the girl just met by chance. It's good for the girl to be defensive."
"I approached you just to get some information about the Six Paths Hall envoy."
"I'm afraid that will disappoint the gang leader. Pindao doesn't know much. He only knows that Ning Yuanzhou came to find information about those two princes. I didn't even remember their names..."
"do not talk!"
Jin Meiniang suddenly came closer and put her fingers on Jingting's lips: "I don't want to know!"
"What do you want, girl?"
"I'm just a little tired. In order to save my life, I haven't had a good rest for a day since the first day I joined Zhu Yiwei. Later, when I joined the Jinsha Gang, the old gang leader died within two years. I took over When I came down to this position, I don’t know how many pairs of eyes were watching me, secretly or openly, I just thought... nothing."
Pulling out the hairpin on top of her head and throwing it away, leaving her hair tied up high to fall on her shoulders, Jin Meiniang pressed herself against Jingting's back, her voice was a bit delicate: "I can't remember the last time I had a big fight. When did you get drunk?"
"It doesn't matter if you don't remember last time, the next time will be today."
Jingting reached out and rubbed his head on his shoulders: "I wonder if Pindao has the honor to get drunk with Gang Leader Jin."
"What if someone takes the opportunity to kill me?"
"Tonight, even if the King of Heaven comes, I will pass the test of Jingting first!"
"Wait."
Jin Meiniang stood up and walked out of the room. Not long after, she came back with a few of her men. Fine wine and fine wines were placed on the entire table. The rich aroma of the wine was lingering, and just smelling it was intoxicating.
"I, Jinsha Tower, have the strongest drunkenness of the Eight Immortals, Taoist Priest~ Do you dare?"
Picking up a jar of wine, Jin Meiniang raised her chin provocatively towards Jingting.
"It seems that tonight, the girl wants the poor man to risk his life to accompany her?"
"Don't you dare? It's better for me to feed you myself." Jin Meiniang was like a coquettish water snake, crawling along Jingting's back and up to his shoulders.
"The girl is so beautiful, I'm afraid I won't be able to bear it. The bright moon hangs above her head, and the cup contains jade liquid and fine nectar. For me, that's enough."
Jingting laughed and raised his glass: "Do it!"
"Dry!"
The crisp sound of the clinking of wine glasses resounded throughout the room, followed by the laughter of the two of them.
This wanton drinking continued until the sky suddenly brightened, and the sunlight filtered through the window lattice and entered the room full of empty wine jars.
Rubbing her sore eyebrows, Jin Meiniang squinted her drunken eyes and quietly crawled over to Jingting, who was lying drunk on the cushion in front of her. She carefully leaned her head on Jingting's chest, feeling the reassuring heartbeat of her heart.
Boom! Dong Dong...quiet and peaceful.
"Why are you so nice to me?"
Jin Meiniang's eyes fell on Jingting's dusty face, and tears flowed down her cheeks and seeped into the Taoist's clothes: "If you didn't have the woman in your heart, would you... take a look at me? In fact, I... am also pretty. "
The Taoist didn't respond. He was already drunk and sleeping peacefully.
After hesitating again and again, Jin Meiniang rubbed upwards, gave Jingting a gentle peck on the face, lay back on her chest, and slowly closed her eyes.
——————
Jingcheng, Luoshi Street.
Ren Ruyi walked slowly through the streets. Jingting did not return home last night. When he asked Ning Yuanzhou and others, he only vaguely said that Jingcheng was close to the battlefield and the people affected by the disaster were too busy.
She couldn't sleep, and she felt a little flustered for some reason, so she thought about going out for a walk, maybe she could be of some help.
The sky is already bright in Jingcheng, and the streets of Luo Shi are constantly noisy at this time. Steamed buns and shortbread mixed with the aroma of sugar and oil are constantly reaching Ren Ruyi's nose.
"Peach~Fresh peaches, the first batch this year~"
The fruit farmer's cries made Ren Ruyi stop.
"He likes to eat peaches the most." Thinking of her lover, the woman smiled and approached the fruit stand.
"Girl, are you buying peaches? One copper coin, each one is guaranteed to be juicy. It's absolutely delicious."
The fruit farmers greeted and promoted their fruits.
"Give me some."
Ren Ruyi picked up a basket and continued forward. At the corner, a beggar was sitting slumped. Seeing Ren Ruyi, he ran forward, stretched out his hand and said in a sweet voice: "Sister, please give me something to eat."
"Want some peaches?"
Ren Ruyi took out a peach and shook it.
"Think~"
"Here, but after eating my sister's fruit, I have to answer a question from my sister!"
"Okay~" Beggar took a bite of the peach and smiled sweetly.
"Do you know that there is a Taoist priest who provides medicine and medicine in Jingcheng? Where is he?"
"Sister, you are wrong. There are no Taoist priests in Jingcheng!"
The beggar lowered his head and gnawed on the peach, smiling brightly. He did not notice that the sister in front of him, who had been smiling brightly just now, suddenly turned horribly pale.
Click! ! !
The bluestone beneath Ren Ruyi's feet shattered, and the peach in his hand rolled to the ground.
