After receiving her share of the profits from King Hu, Tao Yao left the hall.
As usual, a servant led her to a guest room to rest.
She will also be attending the banquet three days later.
After the servant led her to the guest room, he left on his own. Tao Yao looked around the room, found the copper basin, and intended to fetch water to wash up, but she did not expect that as soon as she picked up the copper basin, she heard the sound of pebbles hitting the window frame.
She glanced back outside, suspecting it was Zhu Jiayu, so she put down the copper basin, pretended not to have heard anything, and quietly lay down on the bed.
She really didn't want to get involved in this mess. Tao Yao felt she had already done more than enough by not reporting Zhu Jiayu to King Hu.
She did not respond, and the sound of pebbles tapping on the windowpane continued unabated.
Tao Yao pondered that if she attracted people here, she would probably suffer the consequences. So she simply got out of bed, went to the window, and opened it.
The next instant, a somewhat familiar face appeared from under the window.
This is the face of a teenager, looking only eleven or twelve years old. Although his face is covered in dirt, you can still tell that he is handsome and clever.
Unfortunately, his right sleeve was empty, indicating he was disabled.
He looked at her anxiously. "I thought I was seeing things, but it really is you. Didn't you escape? Why are you back?"
Tao Yao was greatly shocked: "Chu Yun?"
She pursed her lips, staring intently at his empty sleeve.
Noticing her gaze, Chu Yun smiled awkwardly: "I thought you didn't remember me."
Tao Yao blinked. She wanted to laugh, but for some reason, tears streamed down her face.
Another boy was sent to King Hu's place along with her, but wasn't chosen by the buyer. They already knew then what kind of torture they would suffer there.
In order to survive and save himself, the boy offered to stay and punish the unwanted goods.
In the words of Yama, the King of Hell, "harvesting and mutilating" is a form of torture.
The young children and girls who could be sold by him were perfect goods, while those who were not chosen by buyers and could only remain with him were defective goods.
King Yama believed this was because they were impure in body and mind, so he would punish them, using external force to turn them into perfect goods. And as it turned out, even these useless goods, after being punished, could garner sympathy from ordinary people on the street, becoming a means for him to amass wealth.
They had been there for several days by then, so it's not surprising that the boy knew the concept of torture.
After saying this, fearing that King Hu would not give him a chance, he chose Tao Yao, intending to use her to prove to King Hu that he indeed had such an ability.
Many children were sent to King Hu's place at the same time, and Chu Yun was one of them.
He was brought here because his servants were lured away, drugged, and brought here. Among the children, he was the most outstanding in appearance and temperament, but because he was already eight years old, he was not chosen by any buyer.
However, in the eyes of children like Tao Yao, this age represents maturity and reliability.
He had promised Tao Yao that he would take her out once his servants came looking for her. But unexpectedly, the little boy caused a commotion and disrupted Chu Yun's plans.
Having no other choice, Chu Yun could only offer advice to Tao Yao based on the information she had heard.
It was he who made Tao Yao step forward, saying that she could help Li Sanba lower the girls' guard, making it easier for Li Sanba to make his move.
But he also said that this was just a temporary measure, and he didn't really want Tao Yao to cooperate with Li Sanba. He would go to find her once he got out.
But Tao Yao waited for many days, and he still didn't come.
She thought she had been abandoned again.
"How could you..." She covered her lips with her hand, afraid that she would cry out and attract the attention of others, but she couldn't bring herself to ask the rest of the question.
Chu Yun knew what she wanted to ask, smiled, and said, "After you left, my servants came looking for me, but they were all killed by Hu Yanwang's men. I couldn't escape, but fortunately, I only lost one hand."
Compared to those who have their tongues pulled out, their eyes gouged out, or their legs broken, he is already lucky enough.
“But you…” he frowned, “I never thought I’d see you here again…”
For the past two years, he has often thought of the little girl named Tao Yao. Although he was unable to leave this place, and none of the children left here in the past two years have been able to leave either, he would always talk about her to his younger siblings and tell them that as long as they persevere, there will definitely be hope.
But now...
Looking into his clear eyes, Tao Yao said somewhat flusteredly, "I'm fine. I came here to help you."
"That's good." Chu Yun smiled. "It's good that you're alright, but you should leave here as soon as possible."
Suddenly, a cat meowed outside. Chu Yun's expression changed, and she hurriedly said, "I have to go. Remember my words, this place is not safe to stay."
"But how can I see you again?" Tao Yao didn't dare to waste his time, but this question was very important to her.
Chu Yun said, "If you want to see me next time, just put a stone on the windowsill. I will come to find you when I see it, but it can only be at night."
After he finished speaking, he gave her one last, deep look: "Take care of yourself."
After standing blankly by the window for a long time, Tao Yao suddenly turned around, opened the door, and hurriedly ran out to find the guard at the gate: "Do you know where the distinguished guests who stayed overnight are resting?"
"Why are you asking this?" The guard recognized Tao Yao, so he didn't suspect her much, but was just a little curious.
Tao Yao took out a hairpin from her hand: "The woman I brought with me left a hairpin here. You know, the buyers here are all rich and powerful. What if that woman gains the favor of a buyer and then tries to take revenge on me? Master Hu won't offend the buyer for me. I can only try to be careful and not do anything wrong that would give her a reason to cause trouble, right?"
The guard's eyes changed instantly: "You're so young, it's remarkable that you have such thoughts. That's not easy."
He pointed her in the right direction, "Look, that's the way. But you'd better come back quickly, you know, Master Hu is most averse to buyers getting too close to their downstream customers."
"I understand, thank you, Second Brother." Tao Yao smiled sweetly and quickly ran in the direction he pointed.
Her courtyard was on the west side, and Zhu Jiayu's courtyard was on the east side. The two were too far apart, and Tao Yao ran there in a hurry, almost unable to breathe.
Fortunately, she found it. She raised her hand and knocked on the door, only to find that a man opened it.
Judging from his clothes and appearance, he is the same person who chose Zhu Jiayu today.
"Who are you?"
"I'm fine. I just went the wrong way," Tao Yao said softly.
"Come in," Zhu Jiayu said softly when she heard Tao Yao's voice outside the door.
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