048

Song Jin looked at the graceful dancer on the stage.

Is Magistrate Lu planning to give a beautiful woman to him?

Everyone knows that Marquis Quling is not interested in women. Sheng'an has countless beautiful young ladies. If the beauty trap really works, why would it be his turn to use it?

Song Jin sneered barely perceptibly.

[The Marquis is a gentleman, not greedy for beauty.]

[Oh, I wonder what Lord Hou looks like when he is in love? ]

[Will it be like that dream within a dream, losing control and sinking? ]

Losing control and sinking?

Cui Huaiji's lips curled slightly, and he quite disagreed with what she said.

How could he lose control when he is so well behaved and self-controlled?

This is sheer nonsense.

Seeing that he was indifferent, Magistrate Lu above him winked at both sides secretly.

The maid bowed her head and came forward to pour the wine.

Prefect Lu: "It is a rare opportunity for you to come to Suizhou. I hope you will forgive me for any inadequacies in our hospitality."

Cui Huaiji supported his chin with one hand and raised the wine glass from a distance.

The welcoming banquet is no different from any other banquet.

Song Jin was not interested in the dancers on the stage with their fairy-like figures and beautiful waists.

People in Suizhou are not good at drinking. The wine here is not like the one in Sheng'an. It looks sweet and makes people want to drink it, but in fact, the wine goes through the heart and makes people drunk without knowing it.

Song Jin had inquired before coming here, and found out that Suizhou's wine was not intoxicating at all, at least not with her alcohol tolerance.

She stuck out her tongue tentatively.

Just taste it lightly and stop.

[Eh, it seems like it really has no taste! ]

Cui Huaiji looked at her with a muffled smile.

Perhaps because he had suffered many inconveniences from being drunk, Song Jin was quite cautious about drinking.

The wine from Suizhou is indeed not very intoxicating.

[How cute.]

Song Jin licked the wine on his lips and muttered unhappily: "…Why are you calling me cute again?"

After more than thirty rounds of drinking, the welcoming banquet was drawing to a close.

Prefect Lu endured for a long time, not daring to disturb his interest. Seeing that it was getting dark, he smiled and said, "My Lord, you have drunk a lot of wine today. It is getting late. Why don't you stay here for a night to save yourself the trouble of traveling all the way."

Song Jin pricked up his ears sharply.

【The fox's tail is finally coming out! 】

Cui Huaiji looked at her calmly, without showing any emotion, and responded with a smile.

He wanted to see what kind of tricks Magistrate Lu was selling.

Prefect Lu immediately clapped his hands and called the maids, ordering them to take the guests to stay.

Song Jin did not move, but turned to look at Cui Huaiji.

Cui Huaiji just smiled faintly: "County Lord, have a good rest today."

Song Jin said nothing, stared at him for a while, then stood up and left with the maid.

[Is the Marquis so sure that nothing will happen if I stay? Or does he have other plans?]

Cui Huaiji certainly knew that Prefect Lu had ulterior motives.

He could handle it alone, but he was worried about leaving Song Jin alone.

Before leaving, he specifically asked Shi An to follow him.

*

Song Jin followed behind the maid.

The path was dark, with no lanterns to illuminate the sides.

The maid walked in front silently, the lantern in her hand flickering constantly. Occasionally, a gust of wind blew, making the place feel eerie.

Song Jin rubbed his shoulders subconsciously, "The prefect is so powerful, why doesn't he hold the lights?"

The maid remained unmoved and said calmly, "My Lord said that Suizhou is not as good as other prefectures and counties, and the people cannot save money. As the prefect, he should set an example."

Song Jin whispered: "...You sound very righteous."

Who knows if the dim appearance of this mansion is to cover up something.

The fact that the Suizhou prefect was colluding with the rebels was already a foregone conclusion, and all that was left was evidence.

Could it be that the Marquis stayed tonight just to get evidence?

"arrive."

Song Jin came back to his senses.

When I looked up, I found that the place was empty and there was no yard at all.

She turned around and asked the maid: "Wait, are you bringing..."

The maid stood behind her with an expressionless face.

Song Jin suddenly felt dizzy.

Did she take Chinese medicine?

When did it happen?

After a dizzying moment, Song Jin fell to the ground and passed out.

The maid blew out the lantern, lowered her eyes and looked at him indifferently for a few breaths, then turned and left.

After she left, several men in black emerged from the darkness and carried Song Jin away.

*

In the side courtyard.

Night breeze.

Cui Huaiji stood by the window. After listening to Shi An's report, his expression changed slightly, as if everything was as expected.

"Leave here now, she will find a way to contact you in a few days."

"yes."

At that time, the sound of eucalyptus floating lightly spread in the air.

Cui Huaiji closed the window and was about to undress and go to bed when a dark shadow flashed quickly across the door.

He put on his coat and smiled in an ambiguous way: "Finally I'm here."

In the woods outside the city, birds were startled and flew away by the unusual movement. The shadows of the trees moved, and an unknown rustling sound leaked out in the darkness.

The man in black who was responsible for leading the group away hadn't heard anything behind him for a long time, so he stopped where he was, puzzled: "Hey, didn't the person follow me?"

"Are you looking for me?"

The voice that suddenly appeared behind me was as scary as a ghost.

The man in black hurriedly retreated dozens of steps, "Qu Ling Hou, I have long heard of your great name!"

Cui Huaiji looked at his face and found it did not match anyone he knew.

He guessed: "Are you the one who belongs to King Suli?"

The man in black laughed and confessed his identity: "That's right! You killed the Marquis back then, forcing us to hide our identities. Today we are settling old scores together!"

Cui Huaiji stood calmly and said, "It's been so many years, it's hard for you to still be so active. You want to fight back but you don't open your eyes. You are the only one who think highly of these people in Suizhou."

The man in black was greatly stimulated: "Cui Huaiji! Things are different now. We have been planning for several years. This is not what you can see now!"

Cui Huaiji raised his eyes to stare at him and said lightly: "Oh."

He really didn't take the remnants of Prince Suli seriously. The reason he didn't kill them all was because Your Majesty spared them out of consideration for their brotherhood.

His purpose in coming to Suizhou was not to target the rebels.

"Come out."

Cui Huaiji looked somewhere.

Ever since he left Suizhou City, he realized that he was being targeted.

He Yin, who was hiding in the dark, came out and took off his hood.

"I have heard of the great name of Qu Ling Hou for a long time. Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times."

Cui Huaiji frowned, "You are not from Yuchao."

He Yin performed a respectful Beidi salute to him.

"You are from Beidi."

Cui Huaiji's eyes darkened slightly.

Sure enough, King Suli's party had already begun to collude with the Northern Di people.

The man in black thought he was scared and said arrogantly: "Not bad! Are you scared?!"

He Yin turned his head away speechlessly.

The same is true for Cui Huaiji.

It's only been a few years, how come the people of King Suli have become like this?

He Yin narrowed his eyes and reminded him: "There is no time to waste, take action now."

The man in black reacted belatedly and pretended to cough a few times to cover it up.

When he opened his eyes again, murderous intent burst out.

The wind blew through the forest, creating countless waves.

*

Tick. Tick.

A drop of water fell on the tip of Song Jin's nose.

The cool feeling woke her up.

All you see is yellow earth, and the air is filled with the smell of dust.

Song Jin instinctively reached out to touch it, but his hands were covered in dust.

She sat up and found herself lying in a mud house. The space was very small and could only accommodate a bed and a table.

Song Jin looked up and estimated the height. She was just right when she stood up. If she was a little taller, she would have to hunch her back.

Such a cramped and small space is actually used for people to live in.

Song Jin was shocked.

“Squeak—”

At this time, a woman in pink came in with a pile of clothes. Seeing that she woke up, she smiled and put the clothes on the table.

"My dear, you are awake now. You will live in this room from now on. You should change into these clothes later. Don't let Madam Wu rush you, or you will suffer."

Song Jin sensed something was wrong.

Where did Magistrate Lu take her?

Song Jin smiled shyly and took the woman's wrist: "I, I don't know how I got here, dear sister, where is this? Who is Mother Wu?"

The woman looked her up and down, and was surprised that she didn't cry or make a fuss.

Every time a new young lady came here, she would always be troubled. When she cried too much, Mother Wu would go in and give her a scolding, and then she would behave herself.

Seeing her sweet talk, the woman was happy to remind her: "You don't need to know this. Just remember that if you want to live, you have to listen to Mother Wu. How good are you at needlework? You rely on needlework to survive here. If you don't have the skills, you will have to do hard labor in the back."

Song Jin nodded: "Thank you for reminding me, I am good at needlework."

Someone outside called out, and the woman's face changed slightly. She said no more and was told to change her clothes quickly and come out.

Song Jin looked around the small mud house and suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

She had to go out and see where this place was.

After changing his clothes, Song Jin discovered that it was a gray-blue work suit. The fabric was very rough and he was afraid that it would be damaged after being washed a few times.

Song Jin pushed open the door, and the dazzling white light forced her to close her eyes briefly.

After adjusting to the situation, she saw a plump woman standing in front of her. She was wearing a dark blue dress and had her hair tied up with ramie cloth. She looked at her with a sharp and sarcastic look.

"You're awake." Mother Wu raised her eyes and turned to call her, regardless of her mood, "Come with me."

Song Jin followed her obediently.

There were several embroidery machines placed here, and the embroiderers were sitting in front of the machines, embroidering non-stop. Some of them wanted to secretly massage their backs because they felt tired, but they were discovered by the sharp eyes of Mother Wu, who immediately scolded them.

The embroiderers were so frightened that they shrank their heads.

Song Jin raised his head slightly again.

The dazzling white light came from above.

A large light, like a lantern.

It was only then that she realized that the space they were in should be a cave.

The space is closed and there is no sunlight.

And there is the aggressive Mother Wu.

Song Jin felt endless depression and despair here.

"Come, try your needlework."

Mother Wu handed over the needle and thread, raised her chin, and looked superior.

Song Jin looked at the thing in his hand and pursed his lips resistingly.

She dropped her eyes.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the woman in pink who had just given her a warning passing by.

The woman stood still for a few moments, and was threatened by Mother Wu's glare.

She was silent for a moment: "Just embroider."

After saying this, he left without looking back.

Song Jin looked at her, then at the needle and thread in his hands, and sighed silently.

Now that you are here, make the best of it.

She wanted to see what kind of dangerous place this was.

After a cup of tea, Song Jin simply embroidered a few birds and passed them over.

Mother Wu narrowed her eyes and pondered the needlework techniques on it. Shao Jun narrowed his eyes and praised her: "It's a rare needlework technique. It seems that they have come across something good this time."

Song Jin frowned, feeling disgusted by the word "east" she said.

Mother Wu put away her smile and pursed her lips: "From now on, you will follow Madam Sun in embroidering. You will definitely benefit from the success of the embroidery."

Song Jin looked in the direction she pointed.

It was the woman in pink just now.

There were two embroiderers accompanying Sun Niang.

The embroiderers sitting on the embroidery looms below all showed envious expressions.

Mother Wu clapped her hands a few times and said, "This time, my grandson's mother will be there. I will pick one of you out in three days."

Song Jin stared at her back suddenly.

go out?