After that, Huaiyue's reputation spread far and wide, and people came to see him every day in an endless stream, almost wearing down the threshold of Zuichunlou.
But Huaiyue was too arrogant. His whole demeanor was different from everyone else in the building. When he sat down in front of the guests, he always made people feel that he was the one who needed to be served.
Such a person has no idea how to serve others and will quickly offend the guests.
That must have been the first month Huaiyue started taking customers, and the person who bought her that night was Zhang Jingshu, the son of Prefect Zhang.
That man was always arrogant and domineering, but when he saw Huaiyue, he was so amazed by her beauty that his eyes almost popped out of his head.
That night, Huaiyue's guest was originally a wealthy local businessman, but Zhang Jingshu forcibly took her away from him.
Young Master Zhang didn't care whether the woman was a virgin or a courtesan; he was only interested in Huaiyue. When Huaiyue refused, Young Master Zhang lost his temper and grabbed her hair, intending to force himself on her.
At this point, some people might give in, but unfortunately, Huaiyue is a proud person.
When she first fell into Mama Hua's hands, she resisted to the death. Now, facing Zhang Jingshu, she was even more unwilling to do anything.
During the resistance, she even smashed a vase over Zhang Gongzi's head.
Young Master Zhang grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth and was never beaten as a child. Even when he tripped and fell while learning to walk and scraped his skin, Madam Zhang would be so distressed that she would beat up the maids who took care of him.
Suddenly struck by Huaiyue's blow, everyone was stunned for a moment.
After realizing what had happened, he became enraged and shoved Huaiyue to the ground, punching and kicking her.
If Xiao An hadn't secretly gone to find Mama Hua, Huaiyue might have been beaten to death.
Madam Hua naturally dared not offend the prefect's son, but she also couldn't bear to let Huaiyue die.
Since Huaiyue started showing up, Zuichunlou's business has skyrocketed. Mama Hua is making so much money every day that her hands are sore from collecting it. Huaiyue is like her money tree.
She couldn't bear to see this money tree fall like that.
"Mama Hua is the manager of Zuichunlou, but she actually has a boss behind her, and I heard that he has a very powerful background."
"No matter what, Young Master Zhang should have given the other party some face, which is why you were able to escape with your life."
"But he hit his head and couldn't see when he woke up the next day. The doctor said there was a blood clot in his brain and he had to take medicine for a month before his eyes recovered."
Similar incidents occurred repeatedly over the five years, each one filled with blood and tears, gradually wearing down Huaiyue's personality.
The once proud and unrestrained nobleman has fallen into the dust, his spine broken and his temperament erased by those despicable ants, and he has been raised into the state he is today, appearing before Song Ting with great difficulty.
Just hearing Xiao An say that made Song Ting feel like her heart had been pierced a thousand times, and she felt no pain at all.
He wanted to kill those people.
Everyone who has insulted and humiliated Chu Huaixu deserves to die.
Even ripping Zhang Jingshu out of his heart with a single sword strike would be too lenient; such a person clearly deserves to be torn to pieces, boiled in oil, or rolled on a bed of nails.
Only by executing Song Ting can the hatred in his heart be relieved.
But amidst her heartache, Song Ting couldn't help but feel fortunate.
He knew he was equally guilty and deserved to die because he had failed to protect his son.
"I understand." Song Ting closed her eyes briefly, then stood up and looked down at Xiao An. "Someone will take you away in a little while."
"What?!" Xiao An could hardly believe his ears. He stared at Song Ting with wide eyes. "Didn't you say that you would let me stay if I told you?"
"I wanted to keep you here, but my master wants to send you away, and I will never disobey my master's wishes."
The dignified Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, second only to the emperor, bullied children without batting an eye.
Xiao An was furious: "How could you be like this! You liar! You didn't keep your word— um..."
Before he could finish cursing, Song Ting gave a signal, and Xiao Wu, who had been hiding in the shadows, immediately appeared, covered Xiao An's mouth with lightning speed, and carried him on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"I have found you a family. The couple are both very good people. You will live with them from now on."
"I will ensure that your family of three will have no worries about food and clothing, as a way of repaying you for taking good care of Mingyu over the past five years."
"As for the future, I will personally protect him, so you don't need to worry about him anymore. Just live a peaceful life as an ordinary citizen."
Xiao An: "Mmm...mmm..."
Song heard that they were supposed to set off for the capital the next day, but Huaiyue had just suffered a shock, and he couldn't bear to let her travel in such a state, so the group stayed at the inn for a few more days.
They came on horseback at full speed, but on the return journey they hired a carriage and traveled slowly.
The people in Chang'an couldn't wait any longer, and messenger hawks arrived one after another.
Just as Song Tinggang waved goodbye to a carrier hawk, a slender, pale arm gently lifted the carriage curtain, revealing a delicate face peeking out from inside.
Huaiyue's moon-like eyes looked at Song Ting with a smile: "My lord is truly busy with official duties."
Song Ting could easily tell that this was a sarcastic remark, so he smiled helplessly and remained silent. Huai Yue, however, refused to give up and continued:
"I wonder if it will make the people of Chang'an laugh their heads off that someone of your illustrious status would bring back a prostitute like me?"
"The commander of the Imperial Guard, the fearsome Ninth Prince, doesn't want princesses or princes, but instead wants a male prostitute. Now the storytellers will have another story to tell."
The mountain road was bumpy, and the horse walked slower than on flat ground. Song Ting tugged at the reins and handed them to Qi Zhou beside her before leaping onto the carriage.
Huaiyue became alert, and a clear, questioning voice came from inside the curtain: "What does my lord intend to do?"
Song Ting leaned over and lifted the curtain, saying, "I'm not comfortable on horseback, so I'd like to ride in this carriage with you, young master."
This was the first time he had referred to himself as "this seat" in front of Huaiyue, who leaned lazily against the carriage with an ambiguous smile on her face.
The carriage was spacious, and Song Ting, not wanting to make things awkward, consciously sat in a seat near the door, some distance from Huaiyue.
In the sweltering summer heat, fearing that Huaiyue might get too hot, he put ice in the carriage before setting off, replacing it with fresh ice at each rest stop.
By now, most of the ice in the bucket had melted, and the heat had lessened considerably.
"We'll be in Dingzhou soon, just bear with it."
Huaiyue ignored him and ate apricots with her eyes half-closed.
One bite and it was so sour it hurt his teeth. He hissed and threw the apricot, which still bore his teeth marks, at Song Ting. It landed right in the man's arms.
Song Ting picked it up and held it to her lips, where it met the tooth mark.
His tongue touched her twice, seemingly unintentionally, and his gaze fell undisguisedly on Huaiyue's face, clearly a provocation.
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