Dear, your purchase ratio has not reached the corresponding percentage. You have to wait to see the update.
Mwah.
The owner of the carriage did not say anything.
It did not mean that Li Yue could stay here confidently. She held the inner wall of the carriage and stood up. She used the etiquette she had learned from the women in the brothel and bowed to the young master.
Then, she sat upright and still facing the other party.
She tried her best to praise the young master in the most serious tone. In the end, she asked tactfully and carefully if the other party still lacked an errand boy.
Li Yue's words flowed like a river, but the young master still turned a deaf ear to them.
The burly man driving the carriage in front opened the mink curtain, revealing a rough face with a curly beard. He used a tone that was completely opposite to his appearance.
He asked softly,
"Young master, there's still a long way ahead.
There's not enough time left to return to the pass. I'm clumsy.
It's still not enough for me to take care of young master alone.
Why don't you keep this child and take care of him? If young master feels that it's inappropriate.
Then let's go to a place with people.
Then, we'll find a suitable family to keep this child.
It's not too late. "
The Bearded Man's words were very nice. After all, Li Yue was so young, her background was unknown, and she was a girl. She usually could not do much. On the contrary, the person who took in the child had to spend a lot of effort to take care of her. Ordinary people would definitely abandon her at the border.
Therefore, as soon as the burly man finished speaking, Li Yue hurriedly began to promote herself.
"I don't have any relatives in this world. I don't eat much. I'm very easy to feed. Not only can I read, but I also know how to calculate. So, can I trouble you to take me in for the time being?
I'll work hard to make you feel that it's worth it. "
It was unknown which sentence moved the young master. He finally put down the wine jar in his hand and carefully sized up Li Yue. He let out a low sigh from the bottom of his heart.
"I'm a hopeless person. How can I dislike others? If you're willing, then stay. If you want to leave one day, don't tell me."
After saying this, the young master's lips curled into a bitter smile. He raised the wine bottle again and drank. His entire body was once again shrouded by the aura of defeat, forcibly cutting himself off from the world.
Li Yue didn't like to see people drowning their sorrows in alcohol. She originally wanted to say a few words to the young master, but she swallowed her words.
The atmosphere in the carriage was too oppressive. Li Yue had the idea of sitting outside and enjoying the scenery along the way. However, just as she lifted the curtain, the cold wind made her sneeze.
Shrinking into the warm corner of the carriage, Li Yue suddenly remembered that when she was escaping, she only wore a thin, light-colored, tight-fitting shirt. She didn't wear any thick clothes at all. The reason why she was able to sleep in the carriage for so long was also because the interior of the carriage was covered with a thick layer of mink fur, and she was also covered with the young master's thick coat.
Now she wanted to sit outside the carriage. After a slight hesitation, Li Yue still thickened her skin and took the thick coat that the young master didn't wear. She firmly wrapped it around her body.
Outside the Great Pass, it was mostly a cold place. Although it wasn't the twelfth lunar month of winter and snow hadn't fallen, the wind blowing from all directions had already made Li Yue so cold that she couldn't help but exhale.
The Bearded Man, who was driving the carriage, looked at the little girl who squeezed to his side. He simply took off his cloak and directly covered the little girl's body.
The little girl wrapped the cloak around her body and raised her head to ask the big man:
"My surname is Li, my name is Yue. How do I address you and the young master inside?"
"Child, your surname is also Li?
No wonder you have fate with my young master.
My young master's surname is Li, his name is Xunhuan. He is the Tanhua Lang who was appointed by the Emperor. Unfortunately... alas.
As for me... I, Tie Chuanjia, am just an ordinary servant. You can just call me 'Uncle Tie'. "
"Oh, Li Xunhuan???
Wait... Uncle Tie, you just said... the young master is Li Xunhuan?
That Xiao Li's Flying Dagger … who came in third? "
Li Yue's heart thumped. She looked at Uncle Tie with a face full of horror.
Uncle Tie seemed to be surprised that a mere child knew the title of Li Xunhuan. He carefully looked at Li Yue's hands, clothes, and cheeks. It wasn't clear what he thought, but a disapproving expression appeared on his face:
"Although the young master is a well-known figure in the Jianghu, it's not something a child like you can easily know, right?
Child, did you run away because you had a conflict with your family? You're too bold. What if you met a bad person and fell into a dangerous situation? "
What's wrong with being a child? Before the child transmigrated, she also grew up watching the TV series "Li Fei Dao".
Even though the fans of the original novel who knew the plot of the TV series had been magically altered, Li Yue still couldn't forget Li Xunhuan, one of the two male gods in the TV series with curly hair. She vaguely glanced at the original Li Xunhuan through the gap of the curtain. She compared the difference between the original character and the actor in her heart and softly refuted Uncle Tie:
"Uncle Tie, my family is really not in this world. You see, the reason I can wear such good clothes is not because I was born rich, but because I was sold by a neighbor to pay off a debt.
Speaking of dangerous situations... is there any place worse than a brothel? "
As she spoke, Li Yue sadly lowered her head. The Bearded Man thought of all kinds of rumors in the Jianghu over the years. In the end, he still didn't say it to scare the little girl. He gently rubbed the little girl's head and shook the reins with his other hand:
"Jia!"
From the time Li Yue had escaped until she woke up, half a day had passed. Therefore, after a period of bumpy ride on the carriage, Tie Chuanjia stopped the carriage on the flat ground by the roadside and started a bonfire to boil some water.
He and Li Xunhuan were both men, so they could make do with lunch. However, with a little girl in the carriage, he couldn't eat lunch so easily.
Forcing the little girl to stay in the carriage, Tie Chuanjia picked up a cloth bag and got out of the carriage. After a while, he came back with a few more rabbits in the bag.
Tie Chuanjia had originally wanted to leave one rabbit for the little girl to play with, but the little girl was more excited than he had imagined. However, this excitement wasn't because of her love for pets, but because of her anticipation for roasted meat. The little girl even continuously asked Tie Chuanjia what seasoning to add to make the roasted rabbit taste better. Tie Chuanjia was speechless when he heard this.
The roasted meat filled their stomachs, so they naturally didn't take out the dry rations. After resting for a while, Tie Chuanjia filled the kettle with hot water. He took the little girl to sit outside the carriage and started the carriage again.
In the eyes of the common people, the area outside Yanmen Pass was a desolate place with few people. However, ever since the founding of the Xian Dynasty, the court had never prohibited the people living on the border from trading with each other. After a hundred years, the trade caravans between the Central Plains and the Western Regions became more frequent. Naturally, there were relay stations, small towns, and cities of various sizes outside the pass led by the people of the Central Plains or the people living on the border.
Following the tracks left behind by the traveling caravans, Tie Chuanjia hurried the entire way. When the sky was completely covered by night, he finally drove the carriage to a quiet small town.
Probably because they often encountered late travelers, the only inn in the small town wasn't closed. The candles in the lanterns at the door swayed in the cold wind. Tie Chuanjia looked around and hesitated for a while before stopping the carriage inside the inn.
The Waiter was lying on the table near the outside of the inn drowsily. He had no intention of coming out to greet the guests. Tie Chuanjia skillfully pulled the horse into the shed and added some fodder. He then carried Li Yue down and pulled up the hood to cover her face. He then called out to Li Xunhuan in a soft voice but didn't receive a response.
Tie Chuanjia habitually pulled open the curtain of the carriage and helped the drunk Li Xunhuan off the carriage. Li Yue did the best she could to take some things and followed closely behind the two.
There were very few people in the inn. Other than The Waiter, there was only a short and fat middle-aged man standing inside. He continuously fiddled with the abacus in his hand, calculating something.
Under the dim yellow light, the middle-aged man appeared dark and gloomy. He heard footsteps inside the inn and slightly raised his eyelids to glance at the newcomer. His voice was hoarse and unpleasant to the ears.
"Do you want to eat or stay?"
"Stay. I want two of the best rooms. If there is hot water, bring two buckets and send it directly to the two rooms."
"How can there be a good room in this place where even birds don't shit? There's only one room. Just make do."
The middle-aged man did not say whether there was hot water or not. He went straight to The Waiter and kicked him. His expression became more and more impatient. "Get up and get to work."
The Waiter's body swayed, and he stood up listlessly. He led Tie Chuanjia and the other two upstairs, pushed open a door, and left. He did not care about the faces of the guests who were left aside.
Tie Chuanjia silently led Li Xunhuan into the room. He asked the latter to sit on a chair first, and then he spread a sheet on the dirty bed before letting Li Xunhuan lie on it.
Li Yue frowned as soon as she entered the room. There was no other reason than that the room smelled too bad. It was so dry outside the Great Wall, but the room was filled with a musty and rotten smell. She could not help but want to open the window to get some fresh air. Tie Chuanjia reached out to stop her. Li Yue could only sit quietly on the chair and watch Tie Chuanjia tidy up the room.
After a while, The Waiter entered the room with half a bucket of hot water and a pot of hot tea.
Li Yue looked at the dirty teacups and teapot. She gritted her teeth and poured a cup of tea. The water in the cup was also very muddy. She scratched her head and stood aside, watching Tie Chuanjia wash up Li Xunhuan, who was drinking. She felt that she could not get involved at all.
After washing up Li Xunhuan, Tie Chuanjia tidied up the teacups and teapot. He moved the dining table inside and found a quilt from the next room to lay on it. Then, he wiped Li Yue's hands and face with a hot towel and comforted the child to sleep on the table.
Tie Chuanjia was an eight-foot tall, muscular man. He was even more virtuous than Li Yue's cube in her previous life. Seeing Tie Chuanjia guarding the door, Li Yue felt relieved and closed her eyes.
Ignoring the loud noises she heard in her daze, this night could be said to be the most peaceful night Li Yue had ever slept since she transmigrated. When she sat up with a yawn, the first thing that appeared in her vision was Tie Chuanjia, who was sewing clothes with an embroidery needle, and then Li Xunhuan, who was sitting on a chair and drinking wine with his head tilted back.
Sensing that the little girl had woken up, Tie Chuanjia let go of the embroidery needle and went downstairs to fetch two buckets of hot water. He carefully washed the little girl's face and hands, and then brought two bowls of hot noodle soup from downstairs.
After the three people in the room had tidied up everything, Tie Chuanjia carried Li Yue downstairs and directly covered the little girl's eyes with his big hands.
Li Yue peeked through Tie Chuanjia's fingers into a corner of the inn. The floor was full of broken pieces of tables and chairs, and traces of a fight. Combined with the fact that the inn staff had not been seen since she woke up until now, Li Yue was a little confused.
Eh, what exactly happened last night?
"Heh ~ You're such a glib talker. Tell me, how much money do you want to extort from me?"
"The price, it's not a problem, it's not a problem. I just need to trouble mother to help this little one …"
The human trafficker and the brothel madam were flirting with each other as they discussed the price of the little girls being sold as goods. They completely ignored the fact that the little girls, who had been starving for a long time, were huddled together in the cold wind and shivering.
Among the little girls, the one with the highest value, although her clothes were ragged and her face was covered in dirt like the others, it still couldn't hide her beauty. It was a pity that she was still young, and her eyes were lifeless and her expression was dull. She lived like a fool, standing alone in the cold outside the crowd. It was inevitable that people would wring their hands and sigh.
The brothel madam and the human trafficker discussed the price for a long time before settling on the price. The other little girls were all taken away by the fierce-looking women in the brothel. Only the most beautiful little girl was brought into the brothel's boudoir by the madam to personally dress and dress up.
After the little girl changed into a new set of clothes, the madam's eyes shone brightly as she stroked the little girl's head. It was as if she saw a sea of gold and silver.
"Jiaojiao ah, you were born with such a beautiful appearance, it's fine even if you're a little foolish.
The people at the border are all rough people, they don't care about poetry or talent. It's best if they can serve their customers well.
You eat well, mother has the best cook in the brothel to teach you.
In a few years, when I give you poison, mother will pick a good tempered one for you ~ "
The little girl sat motionless on the bed, allowing the madam to talk to herself as she imagined her future life of earning a lot of money. In a place where the madam couldn't see, she rolled her eyes and cursed the madam's family in her heart.
This seemingly foolish and pitiful little girl was naturally not truly foolish, but she was indeed pitiful. She was born in a poor family. When she was five years old, both her parents died, and she had no other relatives. Seeing that she was about to wander the streets, the kind female neighbor next door took her in.
The female neighbor was a kind person. Originally, she wanted to keep the little girl as a child bride for her infant son. Unfortunately, her husband was not a good person. He had a bad temper and was addicted to gambling. One day, he was chased by debt collectors. The female neighbor and the baby were both bedridden. The man had already lost all the valuables in the house. He really couldn't take out anything to repay the debt, so he decided to use the little girl as payment.
At that time, the little girl's face was covered in dirt and it was impossible to see her appearance. The casino's people simply let the trafficker take her away.
The trafficker was very smart. He felt the little girl's bones and measured her age. Then, he quietly mixed her in with the other girls who were sold to repay the debt and took them away from the town.
On the way to the border, the trafficker never gave the children enough food to prevent them from having the strength to escape.
However, among the children, there was still one who was older and more daring. He stole money from the trafficker's accomplices and secretly stole other children's food. He saved enough food to escape. Naturally, his actions did not escape the attention of the other children. As a result, on the night of his escape, he was exposed by another child.
The furious trafficker caught him on the spot and beat him to death in front of all the other children.
On the spot, many children were so scared that they lost control of their bowels. Because the little girl's body was weak, she directly fainted. When she opened her eyes again, the little girl had become Li Yue, who was too tired from working overtime and was walking down the stairs.
Li Yue suddenly realized that she had changed from a 1.8 meter tall adult to a child who was less than a meter tall. Moreover, she was mixed in with a group of ancient people who were no different from beggars. This made Li Yue completely dumbfounded. The trafficker, who thought that he had scared the valuable girl silly, felt sorry for her. The trafficker was afraid that Li Yue would have some problems again. Every time, he would let Li Yue eat until she was half full.
Ever since she came to this dynasty that she had never heard of before, Li Yue spent a whole day just to sort out her thoughts. At the same time, she also planned her escape route. The software was in place, but the hardware was not good enough. Li Yue touched her thin and weak body and could only temporarily give up her escape plan.
When she finally grew some meat, Li Yue barely had the ability to escape. However, before she could officially carry out her escape plan, the trafficker had already sold her to the brothel's madam.
The madam worked hard to make Li Yue into the brothel's future top courtesan. She raised her in a tall building and gave her luxurious food and clothes every day. She even hired people to teach her the four arts.
Apart from not being able to go out and only being able to see the outside world through the window every day, Li Yue's life was already better than most of the people in this town. However, when she thought that her current life was equivalent to an overdraft of her credit card and that she would have to sell her body to pay off her debt in the future, Li Yue's idea of escaping became more and more fervent.
Most of the people in the brothel stayed in the daytime and went out at night. Only the guards at the door and the rough women worked in shifts. There were people on duty 24 hours a day. Li Yue's bedroom door was guarded by two rough women.
Therefore, Li Yue first eliminated the idea of escaping through the front door.
There were only two options left. One was to jump onto the roof of the building next door and run. Li Yue looked at her thin arms and legs and chose to give up without hesitation. The other was to tie the curtains and bedsheets together to make a long rope and slide down the window. Fortunately, Li Yue lived on the third floor. This plan was the easiest to carry out in all aspects.
The last thing to consider was the problem of escape time. Li Yue chose the time when the brothel closed its doors.
This was the time when the guards were the most sleepy and only wanted to go home to rest. Their attention and alertness were greatly reduced.
The guards at the door had misty eyes and were constantly yawning. Li Yue took this opportunity to find the dog hole in the corner and quietly crawl out of the brothel.
After leaving the brothel, the first thing Li Yue did was to throw the hairpin the procuress gave her to the wall of the brothel next door. Then, in a spurt of energy, she ran to the inn two streets away. She did not directly enter the inn. Instead, she went around the stable and got into a horse carriage.
Li Yue's current body was too young. Just doing these things consumed most of her energy. After getting into the horse carriage, she casually found some debris to cover herself. Then, she draped the horse carriage owner's coat over her body and simply fell asleep.
The next thing Li Yue woke up was the jolting of the horse carriage. She rubbed her eyes and raised her head. She was stunned to see a pair of eyes that were as gentle as a summer lake.
"You are talented and intelligent. Moreover, your family is wealthy. You even have such a gentleman as your elder. Even if you don't become an official, your future life will be fine.
However, Zhu Er and Lu San Egg, who are close to you, have always come from poor families. If they pass the imperial examinations, they will be able to reach the heavens in a single step.
Zhu Er is not a big deal. He is addicted to mathematics and is quite talented in the way of Lu Ban. In addition, he has a calm personality and is not completely clueless about human relations. This old man can be quite at ease.
However, this Lu San Egg … "
The old man looked at the quick-witted Li Yue. It was as if he was looking at a little troublemaker. He muttered to himself for a long time and then let out a long sigh.
"Lu San Egg is quick-witted. At such a young age, he is quite experienced in the ways of the world. Although he is a bit restless, if he enters the Shuo Province Academy, he may have a great opportunity.
This old man knows that he has dealings with the people of Jianghu and has never stopped him. However, this old man has also heard that the Jianghu world is full of dangers. The human heart is even more complicated and difficult to distinguish.
If Lu San Egg wants to make a name for himself, he will have to fight with his life. This kind of action is far more reliable than passing the imperial examinations.
Even if he doesn't pass the imperial examinations, he will still be much safer on the streets than in the Jianghu world.
A wise man once said that a teacher's job is to teach and dispel doubts. This old man should have personally said these words to Lu San Egg. However, this old man has not seen Lu San Egg since the New Year. Since you and Zhu Er are good friends with him, you should give him a few words of advice. Whether or not he can be enlightened is also his destiny. It is more or less … sigh. "
Li Yue wanted to reply to the old man that Lu San Egg would not go astray no matter who took the wrong path. After the sudden death of the original leader of the Long Dragon Gang, he had suddenly awakened an "auspicious" aura and started the protagonist's script. He wanted to become a character in the Wuxia world of Holmes. Even if he went to Jianghu, he would be the only one who would be affected by his auspicious aura and bad intentions. How could he be so easily led by a dog?
However, just as the words were about to come out of her mouth, Li Yue swallowed them back down. After all, the old man was already old. It was not easy for him to be willing to worry about his students and hope that they would walk the right path.
As a good student in the eyes of the teacher, Li Yue didn't want the old man to be unhappy. As the old man spoke, she smiled and agreed, not showing the slightest hint of being in a difficult position.
When the other students arrived in the classroom one after another, the old man naturally stopped talking about Lu San Egg and sent Li Xunhuan and Li Yue out of the study.