Anyone who has gone through military training knows that standing for long periods of time is not an easy task.
Fortunately, Xiao Yunying could move her body freely, which was more comfortable than standing still.
Standing here is really boring; with nothing to do, time seems to drag on endlessly.
This stop lasted for several hours.
The jailer chief came to see her twice, made some sarcastic remarks, and left when he saw that Xiao Yunying had her eyes closed and ignored him.
By midnight, Xiao Yunying was indeed tired of standing. She irritably tugged at the iron chain around her neck, wondering whether she should go into the supermarket to rest for a while, but she was afraid of being seen.
“Miss Xiao, stop pulling. You can’t open the lock on the chain.”
Xiao Yunying looked up: "Brother Liu, what brings you here?"
Liu Dalei brought over a wooden chair and a stool: "I shouldn't be on night duty tonight, but I was worried about you, so I came to check on you. Move over there a bit."
Xiao Yunying moved aside, and when she saw Liu Dalei stacking the stools on the chair, she understood what he meant.
"Thank you for remembering me, Brother Liu."
Liu Dalei rocked the stool, finding it fairly stable: "Don't be so polite. I've taken your money, so I have to take care of you. Come on up and sit for a while. Our boss took the key, so this is the only place I can let you rest."
Xiao Yunying didn't make a fuss and let him help her sit on the stool.
Liu Dalei took out an oil paper package from his pocket, opened it, and inside were two sesame seed cakes: "Have something to eat to tide you over. Tomorrow I'll go and plead for you again and see if we can let you go."
Xiao Yunying took the sesame seed cake: "Then thank you very much, Brother Liu."
Anyway, she felt she could handle things now and wouldn't beg that bastard for help.
But if Liu Dalei pleaded for her, she wouldn't refuse his kindness; after all, who would rather be hung here than sit or lie down?
Liu Dalei glanced at her neck: "Your neck is all red from being rubbed. Girls have delicate skin. If you keep pulling on the chain, it will chafe your skin. When our boss comes tomorrow, you'd better soften your stance and not make things harder for yourself."
Xiao Yunying really wanted to say it was impossible, but since the other party meant well, she could only vaguely say, "I understand."
Liu Dalei dragged a stool over and sat down next to her to watch her eat: "You can't go against your body. Here, our boss is the boss, and no one dares to disobey him."
Xiao Yunying swallowed the sesame seed cake in her mouth: "You got kicked several times by that bastard today because of me, are you alright?"
Liu Dalei rubbed the spot where he had been kicked: "It's nothing. I owe him a favor. He knows I won't fight back when he hits me, so he's probably used to my submissive attitude."
Xiao Yunying asked, "What favor do you owe him?"
Liu Dalei explained, "My mother was seriously ill before, and I borrowed ten taels of silver from him to pay for her medical treatment. I have now paid back the silver, but I still owe him a favor."
Xiao Yunying understood; the money borrowed for medical treatment and saving her life was truly an immense favor.
Seeing that she had returned to her calm demeanor, Liu Dalei couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked, "Miss, when will General Luo come to pick you up?"
Xiao Yunying knew the other party was testing her, but she didn't hide her true thoughts: "It should be soon."
Luo Sheng's purpose in returning is to deal with the Ninth Prince. Once the charge of treason is established, even the Empress Dowager will not have a good ending. At that time, he himself will naturally be safe.
However, all of this is just my own speculation. I'll have to see how things unfold.
Liu Dalei slapped his thigh: "I knew the girl couldn't have done such a thing. Only that idiot Hu Feng couldn't see that the girl hadn't done anything wrong."
Hu Feng is probably the name of the head jailer.
Xiao Yunying smiled slightly: "You helped me because you thought I would be fine, so you can thank me more properly after we get out?"
Liu Dalei's eyes widened: "How could that be? Didn't the young lady give me a silver note?"
Seeing that Xiao Yunying was chewing on a sesame seed cake without speaking, he continued, "Miss, you don't know, my mother is in poor health. I have accumulated a huge debt to pay for her treatment. The silver notes you gave me are enough to pay off all my debts and also to buy medicine for my mother to help her recover."
"I'm only treating you this way because I received your silver notes, but at the same time, I don't think you'd do such a thing. I don't take just anyone's silver notes. If those vicious people were hanging here, I wouldn't care even if they hanged themselves."
Xiao Yunying patted her chest: "I didn't mean anything by it, I just choked a little. Brother Liu, could you please bring me the bamboo tube for holding water?"
"Oh? Wait a minute, young lady."
Liu Dalei then hurriedly went to her cell to retrieve the bamboo tube.
Xiao Yunying took a couple of sips of water, swallowed the sesame seed cake in her mouth, and wrapped up the other one: "Brother Liu, I can't eat anymore, please take it out for me."
Liu Dalei advised, "Girl, eat up. Otherwise, who knows when we'll be able to eat again tomorrow."
Xiao Yunying wiped the crumbs from the corner of her mouth: "I'm not eating anymore. It's not convenient to use the restroom here. I'll just eat a little, enough to keep me from starving."
Liu Dalei thought about it and agreed, so he took the sesame seed cake and said, "Then I'll bring the girl some food again tomorrow night."
Unable to sleep while sitting on the bench, Xiao Yunying could only chat with him to pass the time.
"How did Hu Feng become your leader?"
"That Hu Feng was originally just an ordinary prison guard like us. He had no other skills, but he was good at flattering and pleasing our previous leader. After the previous leader left, he was appointed as our leader."
Xiao Yunying asked suggestively, "Didn't you ever think about becoming the leader of this group of prison guards?"
Liu Dalei didn't understand the meaning behind those words: "I don't have that ability. Here, you either need to pull strings or make contributions to get promoted. I'm just an ordinary person with no connections to pull. There's no chance to make contributions while watching over prisoners here, so I'm not thinking about those unrealistic things."
Besides, if it weren't for making a living, I wouldn't want to be a jailer. I'd much rather be a government official in the county government, doing practical things for the people, instead of wasting my days in this small area.
After saying that, he said regretfully, "Unfortunately, I have no way to get in through the back door, nor do I have the money to pull strings, so I can only stay here."
After hearing these words, Xiao Yunying had a new perspective on this person: "It's good to have ambition. Your concern for these prisoners and preventing them from going out to harm people is also doing something practical for the people."
Liu Dalei thought about it for a moment and felt that what she said made sense: "What the girl said is right."
Just then, footsteps sounded outside. Liu Dalei quickly made a shushing gesture, and Xiao Yunying nodded to indicate that she understood.
A figure walked over from a distance; it was an elderly jailer.
He glanced at the stool and chairs Xiao Yunying was sitting on and said to Liu Dalei, "Keep an eye on the time, don't let the boss find out."
Liu Dalei stood up and said, "I know, Brother Wang. If you're done with your stroll, go and rest. I'll keep an eye on things."
The jailer grunted and left.
Xiao Yunying thought that the other party probably wouldn't tell Hu Feng about this, and whispered as she watched his back, "There are still more good people in this world."
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