Chapter 35: It’s Not Easy for Women Someone seems to have taken the bait...
Min Shian rolled his eyes, looked around, and after confirming that no one was around, he strode over and said through gritted teeth, "Your Excellency, you're asking questions even though you already know the answer. It's such a trivial matter, so please don't worry about it."
Then she curled her lips into a smile, her eyes gleaming with undisguised menace. She trailed off, pretending to be nonchalant as she said, "But I've noticed there seem to be a few unfamiliar faces around Sima Xiao."
Song Sheng's smile deepened. He did not deny it and replied softly, "Your Highness has good eyesight."
"It's cold and dewy, Your Highness, please return home quickly."
Min Shian returned to his house and pondered for a long time. He looked at Chuntao and asked, "Xiaotao, what do you mean by Song Yanxuan?"
Chuntao was stunned for a moment before she realized that the "Xiao Tao" her master was referring to was herself. She hurriedly bowed and replied, "Master, I thought..."
She had been raised by the Xie family as Xie Zhuangwan's personal maid since she was a child, and she didn't know much about love between men and women. So after a moment's hesitation, she continued, "Master Song might have a backup plan."
Min Shian nodded, then shook his head again. He hissed softly and said, "But why do I feel like something's not right?"
Chun Tao knelt down before her and said solemnly, "This humble servant is dull and dull. All she has learned since elementary school is wielding swords and spears. She doesn't understand the intricacies of this. Master, why don't you go to Tianxian Tower and talk to Mr. Huaben?"
"Okay, let's go now." Min Shian immediately stood up and strode out. Chuntao stood up quickly and followed him.
Min Shian was humming a tune in the sedan chair and was in a very good mood.
How could Chuntao be stupid? She was clearly very clever.
When the servant of Tianxianlou saw the princess's carriage from afar, he immediately went to inform the shopkeeper. When Min Shian got off the carriage, he saw the shopkeeper's face wrinkled like a chrysanthemum with laughter.
She paused, and the shopkeeper immediately asked, "Your Highness, are you feeling unwell?"
Min Shian waved his hand, turned his eyes away, coughed lightly, and said, "Pick five of these excellent books and send them to my private room."
"Alright, alright, Princess, please come in."
It was still the private room that Song Sheng had specially arranged for her last time. The room was completely new and arranged according to her preferences. Even the incense had been replaced with a longevity and calming incense.
Min Shian raised his eyebrows, looked at Chun Tao beside him, and asked, "Did you see anything?"
Hearing this, Chun Tao looked around and made a conclusion, saying, "Master Song knows your details very well. We must be on guard."
Min Shian first curled his lips and his brows were full of smiles, and then he couldn't help laughing out loud. Chuntao curled up her fingertips, pulled the corners of her mouth for no apparent reason, and smiled a few times.
She took a sip of tea, suppressed her laughter, and said mysteriously, "Xiao Tao, this is what you don't understand."
Someone seems to have taken the bait.
The five storytellers stood in front of Min Shian and saluted in unison, saying, "We greet Her Royal Highness the Princess.
Min Shian suppressed his smile, raised his chin slightly, and was about to ask them to stand up when he noticed something strange about the bones of the person on the far right.
She has practiced bone shrinking, so she is extremely sensitive to people's bone structure.
Min Shian turned to look at Chuntao, who immediately understood. She pulled the man to her and kicked him in the knee.
With a muffled groan, beads of sweat appeared on the man's forehead and his face turned pale in an instant. He was obviously in great pain, but under the pressure of the princess's majesty, he managed to endure it.
Chuntao was stunned, as if she didn't expect the man to react so strongly, but she still held his arm tightly and didn't let go.
"Chun Tao, let her go and come forward."
The man stood in front of Min Shian trembling, with his head lowered and not daring to look at her.
Min Shian pinched her chin and looked at her carefully, and finally wiped the sweat off her face with a handkerchief, but her legs went weak and she fell to her knees again.
"Chun Tao, take the person away and apply medicine. Then we'll take him to the Princess's residence."
"Yes." Chuntao moved a little more gently this time, but she could still hear the man's slight groan.
The remaining storytellers thought that the man had suddenly run into bad luck and was being punished by the princess. They became even more timid and spoke even more softly for fear of displeasing the princess.
After a moment of silence, the older storyteller took a half step forward, bent deeply, and asked in a trembling voice, "Princess, what kind of book would you like to hear?"
Min Shian thought for a moment and said, "I won't listen to your speeches today. How about you listen to me tell one?"
Several people looked at each other, not sure what Min Shian meant for a moment, but they didn't dare to disobey her, so they nodded repeatedly and replied, "It is truly an honor for us to hear your words. We are all ears."
Min Shian nodded with satisfaction, thought for a moment and began to tell the story.
"The exiled immortal descended to the mortal world out of love, willingly abandoning his position as a supreme god?"
Song Sheng chuckled, the smile in his eyes almost overflowing. He looked at the shopkeeper and asked with interest, "Is Your Highness really saying this?"
The shopkeeper cried out in pain and hurriedly replied, "Master, even if I had eight hundred guts, I wouldn't dare to make up stories about Her Royal Highness. This is absolutely true!"
"And took away a storyteller?"
"Did you offend His Highness?
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper bowed and replied cryptically, "This old servant is also very puzzled. That person clearly did nothing wrong. Perhaps he just doesn't suit Her Royal Highness's taste?"
Song Sheng waved him away, then turned to Song Chen and instructed, "Send those four to the princess's residence as well."
"yes."
Min Shi'an twitched the corner of his mouth, and sternly sent Song Chen and the four gray-haired storytellers out. He turned to look at the beautiful storyteller who was so frail that she would fall down with a single push.
"How many women like you are there in Tianxian Tower?"
Seeing that the woman was about to kneel down again, Chuntao quickly supported her and never let go.
Min Shian touched her face and almost laughed out of anger. She thought she was quite gentle and lovely when she didn't act pretentiously, so why did this girl kneel down whenever she saw her?
"Your Highness..."
The faint sound of mosquitoes and flies was heard, and every word fell into Min Shian's ears.
"I don't know, but I think it should be quite a few."
Min Shian curled his lips and chuckled softly, saying softly, "Don't worry, I'm not a cannibal. Just tell me everything you know."
It took her half an hour to finally explain everything. Min Shian asked Chuntao to arrange a room for her, and the room fell into silence.
The woman's name was Mozhu. She was from Huailin. Her family fell into poverty and her father sold her to a brothel. Fortunately, Song Sheng helped her and she was then sent to Tianxian Tower.
Song Sheng sent someone to change her appearance, and from then on she became the storyteller of Tianxian Tower.
"It's not easy for a woman to survive. My master can't bear to see you become a prostitute. Since you come from a family of scholars, you can rest assured here. You can leave anytime you want."
Min Shian recalled what Mo Zhu said. These words must have been told to her by Song Chen, but Song Sheng's face automatically appeared in Min Shian's mind.
She immediately withdrew her thoughts, closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
It is indeed not easy for women to survive. Today, the aristocratic families are rampant with monopolies, the common people are suffering, and the children of poor families are suppressed everywhere. All the people at the bottom have no say and even no human rights.
Not to mention weak women.
According to Mo Zhu, all signs indicate that there must be many other women in Tianxian Tower who are making a living in hiding.
This greatly changed Min Shian's opinion of Song Sheng.
Xie Zhuangyi was waiting in the main hall early the next morning.
"How do you think of people? How could you let them fall into the water?" Min Shian sat upright in the main seat, frowned and asked in a deep voice.
Xie Zhuangyi knelt on the ground and replied, "Your Highness, it is my fault for not taking good care of you. I beg Your Highness to punish me."
He apologized, paused for a moment, and then explained, "Her Royal Highness Princess Hejing often went to the lotus pond a few days ago."
"The secret guards I arranged for the princess were hiding all around, but Sima Xiao was only a few inches away from the princess at the time, so Sima Xiao got there first."
"It is my fault for not thinking carefully. Please punish me, Your Highness."
After hearing this, Min Shian sighed softly. This accident was too coincidental, but He Jing didn't go to the lotus pond on a whim.
"I heard from He Jing that it was the fish's fault. Have you found out?"
Even if a school of fish swam by quickly, at most it would just cause the small boat to deviate slightly. How could it cause such serious consequences as a collision between the two boats?
Xie Zhuangyi shook his head and said, "After this matter was over, I checked, but the fish had been disposed of."
"I asked the person in charge of the lotus pond, and he said it was ordered by Lord Song."
"I understand. You can get up first. When you have time in two days, come back to the villa and see Xiao Ba." Min Shi'an rubbed his temples and said softly.
After Xie Zhuangyi left, Min Shi'an had a headache for a long time. What was Song Yanxuan thinking? He knew something was wrong, but he still wanted to destroy the evidence.
She took a sip of cold tea, and the irritability in her heart was slightly soothed. She picked up a pen and wrote a letter to Song Tinglan, explaining the process of Xiao Sima's marriage to He Jing, and asked her to take good care of herself and take care of He Jing more.
Min Shian handed the letter to Chuntao, and then went to the Song Mansion alone.
Not only was it because of He Jing falling into the water, she also took people away from Tianxian Tower for no reason without telling Song Sheng.
"Mozhu is at my house, and Chuntao is taking care of him, so he won't have to go through the pain of changing his appearance."
In Tianxian Tower, she not only had to change her appearance, but also had to bind her breasts. If she did this for a long time, it would be extremely harmful to her body.
Song Sheng understood Min Shi'an's implication and said with a smile, "I know about the ink bead. If Your Highness wants it, you can take it away. There's no need to come all the way to tell me."
Min Shian shook his head and replied, "Of course there are other things."
"Are there any other women disguised as men in Tianxian Tower?"
Now that she knows about this, she will never sit idly by as long as she can.
Song Sheng chuckled upon hearing this, and, imitating her earlier behavior, he supported his chin with one hand, tilted his head to look at her, and said softly, "Your Highness is so magnanimous, I admire you."
"I will send someone to deliver it to the Princess's residence later. Is Your Highness satisfied?"
Min Shian curled the corners of her mouth. Even though she could see Song Yanxuan's feelings for her, she still felt a little sad about Song Sheng's obedience.
If it were usual, she probably wouldn't even be able to take the ink bead away.
“I’m not particularly satisfied yet.”
Min Shian smiled slyly and suddenly moved close to his face, their warm breaths meeting. She then asked softly, "What's so strange about the fish in the lotus pond, huh?"
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