With tears in his eyes, Zhi Gui said to Xia Xun:
"I was bought by my parents since I was a child, and I went to the capital to be a maidservant. I went to various rich and noble families. I didn't have freedom for a day! My son, can you believe it? I have been in the capital for more than ten years. I don't know what the city looks like. I don’t know! I haven’t even been to the most prosperous Central Avenue in central Beijing!
"A few years ago, I was bought by Master Qi again. His Excellency is generous and generous to his servants, but I can't even leave the house. What use are the gold and silver treasures that Your Excellency rewards to me? !
"I don't accept it! Could it be that just because I was born in poverty, I will lose my freedom for the rest of my life, be a slave forever, and finally die of old age in this high school?? I'm not reconciled! Why?!"
She was emotional and breathless.
This may be the most indecent sentence she has ever said in her life.
Xia Xun looked at her calmly:
"... That barbarian promised you that he will take you away after the matter is over?"
Zhigui shook his head slowly:
"no… "
She told Xia Xun that the Hu people just promised her a lot of money and didn't promise her anything.
Xia Xun asked again:
"Then what's your plan? You want to take advantage of the chaos and leave Qi Yan's side, and then take the money and fly away? Don't forget, your contract of selling your body is still in Qi Yan's hands, and he can get you back at any time. If he Be stingy, and you may even sue your parents to the government to punish them."
Zhi Gui closed her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks:
"... I don't care about this much anymore, I think, this should be the only chance to escape... I took money and hid in a small town that no one knows, and lived my whole life incognito. die."
Xia Xun said softly:
"The day Qi Yan was injured, the government office was in chaos, why didn't you take the opportunity to leave?"
Fat Return Lash Flutter:
"... Slave, I really can't bear to know that your lord and young master are injured... Besides, this place is very close to Qingzhou, and this slave misses my parents at home, it's really..."
Xia Xun thought for a while and said to her:
"When you arrive in Qingzhou, you can leave. This jade belt hook is very valuable. If you pawn it, the money you get in exchange is enough for you to live on."
Zhigui stood stunned:
"My lord, you...you don't have to punish your slaves, why...you want to help with all your money?"
Xia Xun snorted, and answered the wrong question: "It's not my money, it's not mine."
Zhigui refused to let go, persistently asked:
"Why do you want to help the slaves?"
Xia Xun glanced at her:
"Look at you, I deliberately changed the topic. You are not usually the most discerning? Why do you still ask?"
Zhi Guiding stared at him, not resting until he got an answer.
Xia Xun couldn't beat her.
He lowered his head and said softly:
"Once upon a time... I had a maid who was also a barbarian..."
Zhi Gui understood a little bit, she asked: "Is she similar to a servant girl?"
Xia Xun shook her head: "It doesn't look like that at all. If she was half as smart as you, she wouldn't end up in an unknown situation..."
His expression darkened.
After a while, he barely lifted his spirits:
"Don't ask so many questions, so long-winded, just say you want to go?"
Zhi Gui hesitated for a long time, and finally, he tightly grasped the jade belt hook in his hand.
Xia Xun praised:
"That's right, the world can only cross by itself, you must have the courage to break the boat, you just leave, Qi Yan will not pursue it."
Zhigui worriedly said, "Young master, how do you know that your lord won't-?"
Xia Xun looked at the candlelight:
"I can guess that you leaked the news. Qi Yan is far smarter than me. He probably thought of it long ago. Do you think he intends to punish you?"
Zhi Gui was stunned, and said blankly:
"My lord, my lord..."
Xia Xun sighed softly: "Take your things and go, the right is your compensation for being a slave for many years."
Zhi Gui wanted to speak, but he waved his hand and said:
"Never mind, I'm going to rest."
Zhigui had mixed flavors, before leaving, he glanced at Xia Xun several times.
After she left, Xia Xun closed the door and lay down heavily on the bed.
"It won't be a few days."
In the dark, he murmured to himself:
"In a few days, I can go too."
The next day, at Qi Yan's request, Chen Jingyin was going back to Beijing.
She was naturally unwilling, and had to wait until Qi Yan recovered from her injuries before she was willing to leave.
Qi Yan persuaded her: "The news of your leaving home privately, I'm afraid your lord already knows about it, so he might be worried, you'd better return to Beijing as soon as possible."
Chen Jingyin had no choice but to leave, reluctantly leaving.
Qi Yan sent her away and came to Xia Xun's room.
In the past few days, Xia Xun stayed in the room from morning to night, the doors and windows were closed, and she didn't even come out to see her favorite koi.
Qi Yan stood at the door for a while, raised his hand to knock on the door, put it down again, tossed back and forth three times, but finally did not knock on Xia Xun's door.
He glanced in through the window screen, the room was dimly lit, and he couldn't see what Xia Xun was doing.
He paused for a moment, then turned and left.
A few days later, Qi Yan received the emperor's order, and he was finally able to leave.
It is less than three days away from Gyeongju.
In the carriage, Xia Xun remained silent.
Qi Yan didn't force him to speak, and sat quietly with him.
After a while, Xia Xun suddenly asked, "What are you going to Gyeongju for?"
Qi Yan told him:
"Chu Anyu, the governor of Qingzhou, served in Douzhou many years ago. At that time, Chen Xiangong was still living in the fiefdom of Douzhou and did not go to Beijing. In order to cover up the jade mine, he bought off officials. Chu Anyu was young at that time. Furious, upright by nature, unwilling to accept bribes, so he was suppressed by Chen Xianggong, framed and imprisoned."
Xia Xun asked again:
"How do you know such secret details?"
Qi Yan said lightly:
"Chu Anyu was not afraid of severe torture. He wrote letters many times in prison to redress his grievances, but they were all suppressed by the county magistrate Chen. Finally, a letter was sent to the capital. The person who sent the letter for him knew that I was at odds with the county magistrate Chen, so he deliberately sent the letter to me. Send it to my house. At that time, I was the director of Dali Temple, and I was in charge of investigating Zhao prison. His Majesty ordered me to investigate this matter.
"In the end, although Chu Anyu was released, Lord Chen was not punished. His Majesty just let him leave the fief and bring his family to Beijing, while Chu Anyu was sent to Gyeongju as the governor."
Xia Xun thought about it:
"So... you went to Gyeongju to find Chu Anyu, in order to get clues about the jade mine from him?"
Qi Yan shook his head:
"Mr. Chen is strict in his affairs. Chu Anyu even refuses to accept his money. How could Mr. Chen disclose such confidential matters to him? He is afraid that he doesn't know anything about it."
Xia Xun said again:
"In this way, your trip is just to knock mountains and shake tigers? You deliberately came to Chu Anyu to make Chen County Lord think that he has some incredible evidence, and you are here to ask him for it? Chen County Lord thought If you are afraid, will you show your horse's feet?"
Qi Yan smiled and said yes.
Xia Xun's worries arose spontaneously.
He thought that Lord Chen had attacked them several times, and now, for him, it was a critical moment, so there was no guarantee that he would not regroup his men and attack Qi Yan again in Qingzhou.
No matter whether he thought about letting Qi Yan live or not before, this time, he will never show mercy.
But…
Xia Xun glanced at Qi Yan.
Qi Yan seemed confident, maybe he had other plans.
That's all.
Xia Xun leaned against the carriage and closed her eyes.
This is not something he should worry about, the only thing he has to think about now is to find the right time to leave.
The wheels are busy.
Gyeongju City, the destination, gradually appeared in front of my eyes.
Chu Anyu brought Qi Yan into his residence to live in, and Xia Xun lived next door to Qi Yan in the name of his entourage.
That night, a black crow landed silently in front of Xia Xun's window, with a note tied around his ankle.
It was Fumeng Tancha who sent the message. He told Xia Xun:
——At the foot of Yunshan Mountain to the east of Gyeongju, there is a teahouse named Tongchang. He asked Xia Xun to bring Qi Yan with him tomorrow night. At that time, he would cause a commotion and take Xia Xun away.
Xia Xun was puzzled, and returned a note to Fu Mengtan, asking him to come and see him in person.
The crow flew away with the note, and not long after, Fumeng Tancha appeared in Xia Xun's room like a wandering spirit.
Xia Xun glanced at the door. The wooden door was still closed just now, but now there is a gap, which is probably where Fumeng Tancha came in.
The brown-haired barbarian is rather impatient:
"Why do you have to let me come to see you? Do you know how much effort it took me to get rid of the people sent by Chen County Gong to watch me?"
Xia Xun asked puzzledly:
"It's fine for me to go to the tea room alone, why do I need to bring Qi Yan?"
Fumeng Tancha said he was stupid.
"Are you using your brain? I can take you away now. The question is, can you go? When we go out of the city, Qi Yan may find out and will come to chase you at any time. Do you hope that there will always be pursuers on the road?"
"And have you ever thought about it, even if Qi Yan doesn't chase you, how do you know that there are no people from Chen County in Qingzhou City? They find you out of the city, can they keep you alive? Of course I want to cause some noise and let Qi Yan Yan and Chen Xiangong are too busy to take care of themselves, so you have a chance to escape!"
Xia Xun thought for a while, then nodded:
"… Right."
Fumeng Tancha said disdainfully:
"Aren't you very smart? This doesn't make sense? Do you want me to explain it to you in person?"
Xia Xun hesitated and said: "I thought you still wanted to do something to Qi Yan... Forget it, just treat me as a fool."
Before leaving, Fumeng Tancha told him:
"Tomorrow night, at Tongchang teahouse, you must bring Qi Yan with you, don't forget."
He had just left, before Xia Xun sat down, there was a knock on the door.
This time it was Qi Yan who came.
As soon as Xia Xun opened the door, Qi Yan asked worriedly:
"I vaguely saw someone outside your window just now, are you okay?"
Xia Xun said with a cold face:
"Even if Mr. Chen's people really come to Qingzhou, they will kill you first if they want to kill someone. What do you worry about me? You should think about your situation first. You have pushed Mr. Chen into a hurry. You may not be able to pinpoint him. what will happen."
Qi Yan was startled for a moment, then slowly revealed a relaxed smile:
"You're right. If they want to kill me, they must kill me first. Would you like to have dinner with me, a precarious person?"
At the dinner table, Xia Xun was full of worries and couldn't taste the food.
Qi Yan brought him some food from time to time.
If it was normal, he would have avoided it in disgust.
Today he was absent-minded, he would eat whatever Qi Yan put for him.
…until he ate a piece of eggplant.
This was his least favorite food. Even when Douzhou was the poorest, he would rather be hungry than eat the eggplant Xia Wen bought.
"Bah - how come there are eggplants??"
He frowned again and again, disregarding his image, he spat out all the purple vegetables he had eaten.
Qi Yan chuckled lightly:
"I thought that when you grow up, you won't be as picky eaters as before, but I didn't expect that you haven't changed at all."
Xia Xun glared angrily: "You put it in my bowl on purpose?!"
After thinking about it, I felt something was wrong.
"Is Master Zhongshu so free? I have my own hands, so I can pick up my own food!"
Qi Yan succeeds, the more he laughs, the happier he is:
"I saw you looking like you were wandering away, but I just wanted to bring you back to your soul. Eggplant itself has no strange smell. I really don't know why you hate eating it so much?"
Xia Xun didn't bother to pay attention to him, and was about to pick out all the eggplants in the bowl.
Qi Yan put her own bowl in front of him:
"Don't waste it, give it to me if you don't eat it."
Then Xia Xun's eggplants were all his responsibility.
After the meal, the two drank clear tea, Xia Xun pretended to say casually:
"I heard that there is a cloud mountain on the outskirts of Gyeongju. At the foot of the mountain, there is a tea house named Tongchang. I want to go there tomorrow, and there is nothing wrong with me."
Qi Yan said: "Of course it's a good thing if you're willing to go out for a walk. I'll ask Qi Hui to send you off tomorrow—"
Xia Xun interrupted him: "Will you go with me?"
Qi Yan was startled, the tea in the cup almost spilled on his lap.
He couldn't believe it, and asked in a daze:
"You, you want me to go with you? Really? You really want... me to go with you?"
Half delighted and half surprised, he repeated the question several times.
After getting Xia Xun's affirmative answer, he was so happy for a moment that he didn't know what to say:
"You...why suddenly...?"
Xia Xun closed her eyes and hid her sweaty hands in her sleeves:
"Don't get me wrong, I just think it's boring to drink tea alone, so bring Qi Hui and Zhi Gui with you when the time comes."
He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
In order to convince Qi Yan, he prepared a big speech, but he didn't expect Qi Yan to agree so quickly, and he didn't have any doubts about him.
Qi Yan only cared about the joy in his heart, and didn't notice anything unusual about him.
"Of course! You can do whatever you want!"
Xia Xun got up immediately: "Then I'll go back to my room first."
He didn't stop all the way, and hurried back to the room.
Zhigui was preparing a bedding for him to rest when Xia Xun hurried in and closed the door forcefully.
He took a deep breath and slowly sat down on the chair, his rapid heartbeat could not be calmed down for a long time.
Zhi Gui saw that he was unusual, stepped forward and asked with concern:
"What's the matter, son?"
Xia Xun paused and said to her:
"I'm going to Yunshan tomorrow. You take the jade belt hook I gave you. After nightfall, you have a chance to escape."
Zhi Gui was stunned: "... Slaves, servants—"
Xia Xun waved at her: "Go down, I'm tired."
Zhi Gui didn't dare to say much, and left in surprise.
Xia Xun blows out the candles in the room.
In the darkness, he whispered to himself: "It's all right... From tomorrow onwards, I won't have to see Qi Yan again..."