Gan Xiuming hurriedly coaxed, "This is baseless. We'll find a clean hotel and set off tomorrow afternoon."
Tu Longjian seemed to be deep in thought, muttering names of people and places to himself before turning and leaving.
——————————
As night fell, the madam, seemingly distracted, led the troublemaking patron upstairs.
Even after escorting the troublesome patron to the VIP room, the madam was still in shock, feeling as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
She slumped down in the doorway, her body trembling slightly with fear.
The glance Tu Longjian made behind the cloud-veil still lingers in her mind, gripping her heart tightly.
The young woman's obsidian-like eyes radiated a chilling killing intent.
That terrifying look in her eyes was not something an ordinary girl could have.
It must be the result of countless battles and clashes, open and covert attacks, that forged the cold-blooded ruthlessness of those in power.
She believed it, completely believed it!
The girl who was sold was the legendary heroine who fought on the battlefield and made countless military achievements!
How could such a cold-hearted master forgive these wicked people? They should be ground to dust!
The madam scrambled to her feet and frantically ran back to her room to gather her valuables.
Just as he was about to leave, Li Ping stopped him at the door.
"Your Highness noticed something was wrong with your expression, and she was right. She still needs you, so why are you running away?" he said impatiently.
The madam tugged at Li Ping's sleeve, letting out a terrified cry:
"That kind of mistress, do you think she would let us go?! I caused her to fall into prostitution, and you almost assaulted her, how could she let us go!"
Li Ping paused upon hearing this, feeling somewhat uneasy. "It shouldn't be, Your Highness made a promise."
"She has fallen into a shallow abyss; she was harmed by a villain. As long as I help her overcome this hurdle, I can rise to prominence in the future by virtue of my merit in helping her become a phoenix!"
The madam didn't have such grand ambitions; the fear of death gripped her very soul.
She cried out in alarm, "We are like ants, how can we live after witnessing her ugliness?!"
"She's all alone now. Why don't we kill her and throw her into the wild? No one will know, and the world will think it was done by her enemies."
Li Ping's iron-like hands gripped the madam's wrist tightly, squeezing it painfully.
His eyes were already stained red with ambition and greed. Before Tu Longjian sent him here, he deliberately used the boss's skill of painting a pie in the sky to depict a wonderful future for him, which fueled his ambition.
"You actually have rebellious intentions? Very well, I'll take all the credit myself. You, a filthy person from this brothel, don't deserve it."
"Don't forget, she's no ordinary princess; she wields real power! Whether she's human or demon, I'll give it a try!"
“My family looks down on me, so I can only come to brothels to relax.”
"Once I've climbed onto the princess's high branch, I'll make them, the main branch, watch helplessly as I, a collateral branch, trample them underfoot! Hahahaha!"
As the madam muttered to herself, "She's gone mad...she's gone mad," Li Ping locked her in a room.
Meanwhile, on Tu Longjian's side, she dared to act recklessly, going alone to confront the customer who had just caused trouble.
The patron pounced on him as soon as he entered the private room.
The room was pitch black and unbearably hot. He couldn't stand having the light on and planned to turn it on and examine the perfect man more closely later.
The beauty on the bed let out a strange, muffled groan, which sounded somewhat like a man's, but the patron paid no heed.
Soon, the patron collapsed onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep like a dead pig, too exhausted to even admire the beauty under the lamplight.
The person on the bed, their face streaked with tears, stared in terror at Tu Longjian approaching from the darkness.
She slowly lit the candle, leaned closer to admire the other person's expression, and her exquisite smile bloomed like a poppy.
Tu Longjian, his face covered by a veil, said softly:
"Is this the scene you wanted to see? I see it. Are you satisfied, little brother?"
The man on the bed looked at her with resentment, trying to struggle, but fell back helplessly.
He cried out through gritted teeth, each word dripping with blood, "Elder sister, how cruel you are! I'm going to kill you!"
It turned out that when the madam was feeding him the antidote, Tu Longjian had quickly stolen the muscle-relaxing powder and antidote that had previously drugged him from her sleeve.
After instructing the madam to accept the patron's gold ingots, she went into the private room the madam had reserved, poured her tendons into the tea, and then waited quietly.
Soon, a sinister-looking, thin man pushed open the door and entered.
"You've arrived." Tu Longjian calmly raised his glass and took a light sip.
The man smiled wickedly, gloating, "You can still laugh? Eldest sister was stunning today. I didn't expect that even a withered flower can still retain its charm."
Eldest sister... Very good, keyword obtained.
Tu Longjian spotted the man as soon as he entered the hall. His gaze was filled with admiration, but his eyes were filled with an extremely venomous look.
She immediately felt that this person was related to the original owner of the body, like a murderer returning to the scene to admire his own work, and that this person might be the one who sold her out.
As expected, after lingering at the door for so long before going in, the fish took the bait.
Seeing Tu Longjian's calm demeanor, the man became somewhat wary and suspicious.
Seeing this, Tu Longjian finally adopted the expression the other party wanted to see, his eyes red and filled with sorrow as he said in a resentful voice, "Do you hate me that much? Brother. What on earth made you do this?"
Then, she burst into tears, looking utterly miserable.
The suspicion in the man's eyes disappeared. He smugly savored Tu Longjian's pain and couldn't contain his joy as he continued to speak.
A man's voice, filled with jealousy and malice, rang out. Tu Longjian, while acting as a fallen woman, calmly pieced together the truth of the matter from the other party's rambling description.
Her original name was Liu Yao, the eldest daughter of the merchant Liu family. Her father had a mistress who gave birth to the family's only precious son, Liu Hao.
Therefore, the youngest son, Liu Hao, was extremely favored, but he was dissatisfied with his status as an illegitimate child and secretly envied his elder sister.
Merchants' homes don't have so many rules. The Liu family started as small vendors and built their fortune over many years.
The original owner's mother died from overwork, never enjoying any wealth, leaving her mistress and son to reap the benefits.
The original owner of this body had followed her father since childhood and had honed her business skills, often visiting the shop to take care of it.
Liu Hao's academic performance was a mess, and he had absolutely no business acumen; all he did was indulge in drinking, gambling, and womanizing.
The neighbors often compared the two, lamenting that it was a pity the original owner was a woman, otherwise Liu Hao would not have been a part of it.
Liu's father wanted his son to pass the imperial examinations, so he temporarily handed over the family business to the original owner of the body, asking her to manage it well and support her half-brother. He planned to hire someone to manage it after she got married.
Ultimately, Mr. Liu didn't really admire his daughter that much; he just feared his son was a hopeless case and would squander the family fortune.
The original owner of this body was always sensible and treated Liu Hao like a younger brother, so he was at ease.
Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—merchants were the lowest class.
Liu's father had always harbored a dream of turning his life around, hoping that Liu Hao could lead the family to prosperity.
Unexpectedly, Liu Hao was completely ungrateful. He was envious of his elder sister's wealth and was extremely jealous.
Liu Yao also strictly controls household expenses.
Although he was generous with the money, he had heard about his younger brother's disgraceful behavior, so he had to ask carefully about the purpose of every single penny.
As time went on, Liu Hao ran out of gambling funds.
He already owed the casino a sum of money, but his sister was adamant about keeping it, and he dared not let his father know.
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