"Ahem, I... don't want to be redeemed by you..." Liu Ruyan coughed twice, suppressing the burning pain and whispered, "I don't want to be raised like a caged bird by you..."
"Silly girl, you really don't know the blessings in the midst of blessings." Mammy said sarcastically, "Do you know that this is something that many people can't envy? What's more, the other party is a great talent in Zhou Dynasty. It's your luck to be able to like you. !”
"So you have been lying to me before?" Zhou Sheng's voice became even more angry, "You don't have to worry about food, drink, and clothing. What's wrong with this? To please me and give birth to my children, what else do you do besides these? What can be done?”
In anger, he slammed her back to the floor again, tearing her collar apart with each pull and throwing, and also let the wooden sign hanging around her neck fly out.
That's... what the little girl gave her!
Liu Ruyan ignored the severe pain in half of her body and moved to take the wooden sign back into her hand.
But the other party took the lead, stepped on the back of her hand with one foot, and then bent down to pick up the wooden sign.
"What is this?" Zhou Dacai looked over it over and over again, "A bare piece of wood?"
"Give it back... to me!" Liu Ruyan struggled to get up.
"It seems that you are quite rare about this thing. Tell me, what's the difference about it?" Zhou Sheng looked at her for a while, shook his head and sighed, "Forget it, if you don't want to tell me, I won't ask anymore. However, I have to decide what you can take with you from now on, do you understand?"
He threw the wooden sign on the ground and stepped on it hard -
The wooden sign shattered in response!
"No..." When Liu Ruyan put it back, there were only a few sticks and a piece of debris left in his hand.
———
Tears welled up in her eyes instantly.
"Mrs. Boss, what I said before should still be valid, right?" Zhou Sheng didn't bother to look at her and said directly to the madam, "Don't let her come out to greet guests during this period."
"But... you have not returned from Gyeonggi until the next spring. If you keep Miss Ruyan in the room all the time, we will also lose a lot." The other party rubbed his hands and said, "You also know that there are still many adults who will name you. Like Miss Yan, who sings poems while drinking wine."
"Hmph, I'll pay for it." Zhou Sheng took out a bag of coins and threw it on the table, saying rudely, "Isn't that what you want?"
"Master Zhou is really generous!" The old bustard smiled happily and put the money bag into his arms.
"I also have the conditions to lock her up and send someone to deliver her three meals a day. I don't want this to happen again!"
"Of course, of course." The madam agreed, "With grandma watching, I guarantee she won't be able to leave this room."
"Then let's do it." Zhou Sheng glanced at Liu Ruyan lying on the ground and sneered, "It won't do you any good to annoy me. You should reflect on it these days! As for the Secretariat, , I advise you to give up this idea. They are eager to expand their influence, so how can they let a brothel girl ruin their reputation and only cause criticism? Don’t forget who you are!"
After saying this he strode out of the house.
After the madam left, only grandma was left in the house.
"Before I lock you up again, I still have something to do." She pulled out a short whip with a gloomy expression, "Escape secretly, I didn't expect you to have this ability. It seems that the punishment I gave you before was too easy. Well, you haven’t been trained for half a year, I’m afraid you’ve forgotten everything, right? Are you going to embarrass me in front of everyone? I’ll let you know the consequences of being smart today!”
After saying that, she swung the whip hard at Liu Ruyan.
…
What day is this
It seems to be the fourth day after the announcement, which is also the day when the Secretariat’s training was originally scheduled to begin.
Liu Ruyan sat in a daze under the window, looking at the chains on her feet in a daze.
Ever since the landlady discovered her escaping, her range of movement has been limited to six feet by an iron rope, which is almost enough to move from the window to the door.
These days, grandma's punishments can be described as various, but whether it is humiliation or pain, it doesn't matter to her.
After the wooden sign was trampled to pieces, her hopes were also shattered - although that might have been a psychological comfort, after all, what role could a sign with nothing engraved on it play
Liu Ruyan tried every means, but could not restore the wooden sign, so she could only pile the cracked wood chips and debris on the windowsill.
In fact, she didn't even know why she did it.
Just because that little girl mentioned something
No matter how naive Liu Ruyan was, she knew that this thing would not be able to take her out of Zui Qinglou.
She didn't even dare to think about it - did that girl really understand the meaning of handing the "token" to her? What if... she was just acting on a whim or as a joke, wouldn't her decision become a joke
This was more uncomfortable than her dying with hope.
Gradually, the sun sets, and the day passes quickly. The light coming in from the window gradually dims, and night is about to cover the sky.
If the Secretariat's training really started today, it would have ended by now.
Liu Ruyan raised her head slightly and looked at the corner of the table beside the bed.
It's not sharp, but it's very thick. If it's strong enough, it might work -
I'm afraid it will be very painful.
But this may be her only way to break free from the iron rope.
At this moment, Liu Ruyan heard a cat meow.
By the way, at this time, if she had nothing to do, she would feed the wild cats some food. Is this the cat in the yard calling her
It's a pity that she can't get out of the room, so she can't go to the yard.
"Meow--"
The cat meowed again, as if coming from above.
Liu Ruyan couldn't help but was stunned for a moment. She lived on the third floor and could only see the roof of the podium on the second floor. How did the wild cat get here
She forced herself to stand up and looked outside the house. She saw a tabby cat standing by the window sill, which seemed to be one she had fed before.
"I have nothing to eat here, please leave." Liu Ruyan whispered.
"Meow—!" The wild cat jumped up and headed towards the second floor.
Then came the second and third one.
Liu Ruyan was surprised to find that cats were everywhere! They crawl out from the roof ridges, house edges, etc., and merge into a tide like a spring, condensing towards the same place. Black ones, white ones, flowers, in and out of the brothel’s courtyard, she couldn’t even count them!
What the hell happened
Liu Ruyan stared blankly at the place where the cats gathered.
At the line between the sky and the earth where the afterglow was about to dissipate, a dark figure silently walked onto the roof. The purple sunset covered the other person's upper body, and she could only see the other person's walking legs with the help of the orange afterglow.
Wherever this person went, the wild cats consciously parted ways to make way.
It was as if they were welcoming an uncrowned king.
When she reached the edge of the podium roof, the black shadow suddenly jumped, crossed nearly ten feet, and stepped onto her window sill!
Liu Ruyan was so frightened that she took a few steps back and accidentally fell to the ground.
At such a close distance, she realized that the other person was a woman, but something seemed different.
In the dim light, the visitor's eyes became the most conspicuous thing - they were actually a pair of golden pupils, and their slender and upright outlines were like the stars at night.
"I found you," she said.
In an instant, the little girl's warm words and laughter rang in Liu Ruyan's ears.
"Put the sign on the windowsill and it will help you."
"No matter how exaggerated the statement is, as long as it is written in the Secretariat's announcement, it will definitely become a reality."