1 Escape from marriage

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The night was like thick ink, and the dim moonlight shone through the gaps between the leaves onto the ground. The old women guarding the yard yawned and complained about being bored.

Someone brought two plates of snacks and four pots of good wine from the small kitchen.

"The people here have been making a lot of noise lately. Just eat some food and forget about the wine, okay? What if something goes wrong..."

"Nothing will happen! Didn't you see that it's been quiet these past two nights?"

Mrs. Wang picked up a handful of peanuts and continued, "The tranquilizers I gave her these past two days were all spiked with something to ensure she sleeps soundly through the night. Feel free to have fun!"

Someone echoed, "Guarding such a restless master, with no rewards and no fun, how can we survive?"

"It's rare for the master to go out on business, and there's a lot of free time in the mansion, so let us take a break as well."

The four of them found a spacious place by the flower garden, gathered together to drink and play, and occasionally gossiped about the host family.

"This little girl in this room is really ungrateful. She's pretty, but she's dull, has no talent, and isn't very likable. Madam has taken great pains to find her such a good match.

In the end, she got so angry that she started crying, making a scene, and even threatened to hang herself. It would have been better if she had drowned to save us this trouble."

…

Behind them, the chained door secretly opened a crack, revealing a round almond-shaped eye, the deep brown pupil blending into the darkness, unnoticed by anyone.

Song Jinyi blinked her eyes and observed the movements of the group of old women through the crack of the door. She sneered in her heart as she listened to their ungrateful comments about her.

If this was truly a good marriage, why would the original owner of this body commit suicide by drowning herself? And if she truly cared, why would she force her to marry after she had committed suicide?

Outsiders cannot see the twists and turns in this matter, but as someone involved, she can see it clearly.

When she first came through, she learned that "she" suddenly had such a "marriage engagement", and she resisted from the bottom of her heart.

She would never accept a husband she had never met and a marriage full of conspiracy. She absolutely did not want to become a victim of the struggle in this house.

But the struggle was futile.

But she won't sit idly by.

She possessed some of the original owner's remaining memories and knew that the original owner's stepmother was not as kind as she seemed, so she kept some of the tranquilizers sent to her and gave them all to Luluo in the house.

Two hours later, the maids outside the door had flushed faces, their movements became increasingly wild, and their voices unconsciously became louder. It was estimated that they must have been drunk after drinking this time.

After pretending to be calm for several days, Song Jinyi finally waited for the day when they relaxed.

The room was pitch black without any candles. Although it was inconvenient for Song Jinyi to move in the dark, she had already thought about running away and felt the whole place clearly.

She first packed three or four pieces of clothes from the closet, then bent down and took out a small rosewood box from under the bed.

The box contained the original owner's monthly allowance, which consisted of only a few scattered coins. Fortunately, there were also a few gold ornaments left by the original owner's mother, so it didn't look too shabby.

She gently gathered the things together and put them into the package with gentle movements.

Living away from home, accommodation and food all cost money, and I don’t know how long these small amounts of money can last.

She had never known a worse situation than this in her previous life. She was an orphan in her previous life. The dean sponsored her to go to high school, and all her expenses afterwards were saved up bit by bit by her.

In order to survive, she would do anything.

Doesn't she believe that she can't support herself in this place?

Wait until the fifth watch is sounded.

Song Jinyi calculated that it was almost time. The courtyard was filled with the smell of alcohol. Several old women were leaning drunk by the flower bed, mumbling in their sleep.

She lit a candle in the room and stared at the orange flame. She took a deep breath and brought the candlestick closer to the bed curtain.

When the fire came into contact with the flammable fabric, it suddenly jumped up and climbed onto the bed curtains like a fire dragon.

She slammed the candlestick to the ground, banged on the door, and shouted, "There's a fire! There's a fire!"

When the drunken women heard the noise, they didn't react immediately. They just shook their heads and squinted their eyes to look around. In the inky environment, the fiery red light in the room seemed too abrupt.

They stared at the rising flames with their eyes wide open until one of them reacted and shouted, "Hurry up and put out the fire!"

Two old women ran out and called for help, and the other two hurried over to untie the chains and bring the person out.

They entered the house, but did not dare to go into the inner room. They just stood in front and looked. The thick gray-black fog was rising out in clusters. They could not see clearly, so they could only stretch their necks and push each other to look.

It was not until the flames rose a little higher, allowing people to briefly see the situation in the inner room, that they realized that there was no one in the inner room. They looked at each other.

Where are the people?

When Song Jinyi heard the two of them open the door, she immediately hid against the wall on the other side of the door. As soon as they came in and went to the inner room, she hugged the package and ran out on tiptoe in the chaos.

After leaving the yard, she turned east and right like a headless fly, and soon ran into a servant who came over. The servant was carrying a bucket of water, not knowing whether to catch her or go to put out the fire first.

Song Jinyi didn't hesitate and pushed people aside, running towards a deserted direction. She heard shouting from behind, and she ran forward without looking back.

Until I saw an elm tree by the wall, with a thick and tall trunk and branches that extended over the edge of the wall.

She looked up at the tall tree and felt dizzy. Her body was not yet mature enough, so it was not easy for her to climb the tree.

But she knew she had to escape, so she gritted her teeth, jogged for support, and quickly reached the middle of the tree trunk.

As the noise and footsteps approached from behind, she gritted her teeth, dug her nails into the bark, and climbed up the tree using her hands and feet.

But the servant finally arrived, and when he saw her trying to run, he also climbed up the tree. When he saw that he was about to be caught, she was so anxious that she kicked him down.

Another advantage of being young is that you are light. You can jump down, use your hands to support your upper body, and turn over.

She stood on the road outside the Song Mansion, looking at the unfamiliar streets outside.

People have started setting up stalls on the long street in front of us, preparing to sell breakfast for the day. Light blue smoke is rising from behind the tents, and the air is still a little damp and chilly.

The street scene in front of me was rendered into a hazy ink painting by the morning mist.

She clutched the bag in her hand and walked forward step by step, blending into the picturesque scenery.

******

The sky was about to clear up, but after a gust of cool breeze, dark clouds rolled in, lightning flashed and thunder roared, as loud as the opening ceremony of a stage play, announcing the coming thunderstorm.

Before people could react, the rain suddenly fell, and the raindrops as big as stones hit the tents of the street stalls with a "bang bang" sound.

Passersby who found no shelter were instantly soaked.

A light blue figure fled in the rainstorm, weaving through the gaps in the crowd and came to the door of a teahouse to take shelter from the rain.

Song Jinyi smoothed the hair that was wet by the sudden rain from her forehead. The coldness brought by the rain made her shiver.

She started looking for a job shop early in the morning and asked seven or eight shops in a row, but either they were short of staff or they looked down on her and didn't even give her a chance to demonstrate her skills.

Perhaps because her disheveled appearance disturbed the teahouse's appearance, the waiter came to the door and asked unceremoniously, "Young lady, are you coming in for some tea?"

What I mean is, you are blocking our business, if you don't want to make any purchases, get out of here quickly.

Song Jinyi hasn't had a sip of hot water since morning. She pinched her purse. Although it is a special period now, drinking tea in a place like this is an extra expense.

But... she looked at the heavy rain outside. If she caught a cold in the rain, the money she would spend would double.

She immediately said, "Have some tea."

The waiter immediately displayed his unique cultural art - changing his face, bowing slightly, and walked into the store to greet Song Jinyi.

Song Jinyi ordered the cheapest Biluochun tea.

The waiter called out to the southeast corner of the store.

Song Jinyi followed the voice.

This teahouse was not very big. Apart from the counter, there were only six square tables in the middle. In the southeast corner was a long beech tea table with all the utensils for making tea on it. A woman was sitting behind the table.

The woman was slightly older than her, with a single spiral bun and a plain peony in her hairpin. She wore a yellow leaf coat, had a pretty face and elegant manners.

She first took a small white porcelain jar, pinched some loose tea from it, and then put it into the stone mill, grinding it back and forth with the millstone. Then she put the tea powder into the iron pot, placed it on the stove, and gently shook it with a cattail fan to control the heat.

A quarter of an hour later, the tea was served to Song Jinyi.

The light green tea leaves floated evenly on the tea, like a layer of tea powder. She was extremely thirsty and didn't bother to taste it carefully. She picked up the tea and gulped it down. The fragrance of the tea filled her nostrils first, and the elegant and fragrant tea flavor dominated her sense of smell.

It's just... I can't tell what's wrong with the taste.

With this sip, the bowl-sized teacup was reduced to half its size. Her thirst was relieved, but now there was only one problem left. She smelled the rich aroma of snacks, and her head moved towards it little by little following the fragrance.

His eyes fell on the table next to him. There were two plates of tea cakes on the table. One plate was Xijing dried pears, and the other was peony cakes. They were colorful, fragrant and delicious, and looked very delicious.

Tea cakes are pastries eaten with tea at tea banquets. In order to prevent tea drinkers from just drinking a cup of tea - which is too shabby - it is better to prepare a few more tea cakes and pair them with different types of tea to enhance the flavor.

Tea fruit snacks include not only fresh fruits, dried fruits, and cold fruits, but also candied fruits, cakes, and a series of other snacks - there are many varieties.

She called the waiter over and asked, "What kind of tea and snacks do you have?"

"We don't serve snacks here. These are brought by guests from elsewhere."

Song Jinyi's eyes revealed a look of surprise. How could it be? She turned her head to look at the snack and saw the words "Zui Liuxia" burned on the porcelain plate holding the fruit.

She had applied for a job at several teahouses before, one of which was "Zui Liu Xia". Although she was not successful, she took a rough look and gained some experience.

There are many kinds of tea drinks in the teahouse, but the varieties of tea fruits are even more countless. On every table, a cup of tea is always paired with three or four kinds of fruits.

This shop at least has a storefront, so how come it doesn’t even have a chef to make the pastries?

"Young lady, are you from another place?" The woman who was making tea just now came to Song Jinyi at some point.

He explained softly, "Actually, there was a chef making tea cakes here. But a few days ago, the two largest teahouses in Yunzhou posted notices recruiting many tea cake chefs to go there. Small shops like ours naturally can't keep anyone here."

I see.

Song Jinyi felt a little regretful and was about to pay and leave when she suddenly thought of something and asked, "Are you still hiring tea and fruit chefs now?"

The woman said she had been recruiting people, but she just hadn't found the right one yet.

Song Jinyi thought about her past life when she was a pastry chef. She was very confident in her skills and asked, "Can I give it a try?"