The blood he coughed up as he slipped stained the withered grass on the ground.
She was in so much pain that her whole body was convulsing, but she dared not utter a single complaint and could only grit her teeth and endure it.
The mysterious man slowly walked up to her and stepped on her wrist with his toes.
His tone was icy: "Killing you now would be too easy. I'm giving you one last chance: find a way to get close to Shen, gain his trust, and report his whereabouts and weaknesses to me. If you mess this up again, you'll be utterly destroyed!"
A flicker of fear flashed in Wang Xiulian's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by hatred. She nodded hastily, "Your subordinate... Your subordinate obeys! I will certainly not disappoint you again, sir!"
The mysterious man withdrew his foot and tossed her a bottle of black ointment: "This is medicine for healing wounds, but also medicine to control you. Come here on the first day of each month to get the antidote. Don't even think about betraying me."
Having said that, she vanished into the shadows outside the temple in a flash. Wang Xiulian clutched the medicine bottle, her eyes filled with venomous resentment. "Shen Qingtang, I will make you pay for this in blood!"
at the same time.
The trade routes pioneered by Shen Qingtang had long since extended to important border towns, with caravans laden with goods traveling back and forth daily. On this particular day, the caravan had just arrived at the border post station when they encountered a group of blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners.
The leader was a man with a high nose and blue eyes named Karen, followed by his followers Joey and Lina, among other foreigners.
They wore strange robes, spoke in an obscure language, and gestured wildly as they tried to trade with the caravan, but were stuck in a stalemate due to the language barrier.
Just when the caravan manager was at his wit's end, Lu Jiaojiao suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
She walked up to Karen and began to speak fluently in their language.
Her face still bore the marks of tears of grievance.
Karen and the others immediately surrounded Lu Jiaojiao upon hearing the familiar language. As they listened to her sobbing, their expressions gradually turned angry.
It turned out that Lu Jiaojiao had secretly altered the meaning of her words, fabricating lies to Karen and the others: "I am Shen Qingtang's distant sister, but she forced me to stay in the manor as a servant. I am beaten and abused by her every day, and I don't even get enough to eat! She also robbed my property and seized my assets. She is simply a ruthless and vicious woman!"
As she spoke, she deliberately showed off the fake scars on her arm that she had prepared beforehand, and cried with tears streaming down her face: "You are distinguished guests who have come from afar, you must stand up for me! Shen Qingtang's goods were all stolen by despicable means, she is not worthy to trade with you at all!"
Karen was already frustrated by the language barrier.
Incited by Lu Jiaojiao's exaggerated and tearful account, he was instantly enraged.
He grabbed the caravan manager by the collar and roared in broken Central Plains dialect, "Bring Shen Qingtang out! We want to settle accounts with her! Abusing family members and robbing property, such a person does not deserve to be our business partner!"
Joey and Lina joined in the teasing.
They pointed at the caravan's goods and even tried to smash the boxes.
Chaos erupted instantly in the post station. The caravan crew rushed forward to stop them, and the two sides were on the verge of fighting.
Hiding behind the crowd, Lu Jiaojiao looked at the chaos before her and a sinister smile curled at the corner of her lips. "Shen Qingtang, let's see how you get out of this mess."
While the post station was in chaos, Pei Nian'an, who had come to the border with the caravan, was squatting in the corner, clutching a small wooden rabbit in his hand.
He gazed curiously at the group of blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners.
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