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Qin Sang felt as if she had unintentionally unearthed a root, but it was hard to imagine how deep this root was buried.
Who knows, I might have unintentionally entered the main questline. It's just a pity that I'm still just an ordinary person.
After struggling for a while, the boy opposite finally picked up the package on the ground and started eating the sesame seed cake.
The boy quickly finished a piece of bread, then, as if he had suddenly realized something, said, "Actually, it wouldn't hurt to tell you. If what you said is true, it'll be a reminder so you can be prepared."
Qin Sang listened attentively, and heard the boy calmly say while eating a pancake, "My name is Liu Sanchuan. My family, no, my whole village, all died because of the fields."
Qin Sang narrowed her eyes slightly; the young man in front of her was actually a fish that had slipped through the net!
Liu Sanchuan recounted in detail how the man surnamed Wu sent people to reclaim the land, how the village chief refused and negotiated, and how everyone fought against the hooligans who came to cause trouble. Finally, one night, he went out to catch fish and fell asleep on the hillside. He was awakened in the middle of the night by the noisy sounds of pigs and dogs in the village, and then heard heart-wrenching screams coming from the direction of the village.
That night, there were no stars or moon. The intruders came without torches, committing murders in the dark, leaving no one alive, from octogenarians to infants in swaddling clothes.
Although he ran towards the village as soon as he heard the commotion, he knew that going back would be suicide when he saw the dark shadows and a group of tall horses. There was only one large village within a radius of twenty miles. He originally wanted to go outside to ask for help, but he turned back halfway. If the people in his village could not defeat them, what could those scattered farmers outside do?
He could only lie in the ditch, gritting his teeth and waiting, hoping that these were just a group of robbers who would take the valuables and leave, sparing the lives of the villagers who did not resist...
However, it wasn't until late at night, when a huge fire illuminated half the sky and the wind howled in his ears, that he realized everyone was gone. The fire burned for half the night until the entire village returned to peace and silence.
As dawn broke, he crawled out of the ditch and under the bridge, limped back to the village, found his house which had been burned to ashes, and his family members who had been burned to the skeletons.
At that moment, I couldn't even shed a tear. I felt like a walking corpse, a wronged ghost, just like those charred skeletons in the field.
He collected all the ashes of the villagers, buried them, and then went to the city alone.
His first instinct was to go to the yamen (government office), but at the entrance he saw a familiar figure—a figure that looked exactly like one of the people who had massacred the village that night. Although he couldn't be completely sure, he dared not take the risk.
From then on, he wandered the city like a madman one day and a beggar the next, hoping to find someone to whom he could plead his grievances.
After the boy calmly finished explaining everything, Qin Sang was stunned for a long time before finally saying, "Why do you believe me?"
The boy hadn't finished his pancake, and without even raising his eyebrows, he said, "You're the first person willing to save me, and you have a good appearance." Before Qin Sang could reply, the boy continued, "Actually, I feel like living like this is meaningless. If you're a bad person, I'll accept my fate and die a full-bodied ghost so I can go find my parents. If you're a good person, and your family is being targeted by Master Wu, if you don't fight to the death for a way out, you'll just die anyway. Only those on the verge of death can think of solutions, right?" The boy calmly looked up, chewing, his eyes calm and unwavering.
Looking at the boy's scarred face, Qin Sang understood that he genuinely felt life was meaningless, but if he died, the only information about that village would be lost. She took a deep breath and said, "Since you trust me, then take good care of yourself. Don't die, and don't go looking for trouble with them again." She took out a few pieces of silver from her pouch and placed them on the ground. "Take this money and find a place to hide it. By the way, do you know which is the biggest inn in Quzhou Prefecture?"
The boy looked up, slightly puzzled, but still answered Qin Sang's question: "Zhaixing Tower".
Qin Sang nodded: "Okay, then I'll stay at the Star-Picking Tower. If I need you to come out, just tie a red ribbon in a bow at the entrance of the inn. Once you see it, wait for me near the inn, okay?"
She initially intended to settle the boy directly, but she knew he wouldn't easily trust her, and if she were too proactive, it would seem as if she were setting a trap for him. But she couldn't let him go; once he was gone, she wouldn't know where to find him again.
He is currently the only person who can locate the mine.
The young man was skeptical that Qin Sang, a mere young woman, would dare to fight against the Wu family. He said worriedly, "Are you really capable? Don't get yourself into trouble."
Qin Sang smiled slightly, and without saying a word, she turned and walked gracefully out of the alley.
As Qin Sang and Ying'er passed by the group of people squatting opposite Cuiyun Tower gossiping again, Qin Sang suddenly stopped and sighed deeply.
The group was chatting about how pampered and domineering the young master of the Wu family was, and how he would do anything to get his hands on any woman he liked, when they suddenly noticed a beautiful young woman standing to the side sighing deeply. They all looked over, puzzled.
One person asked, "What's wrong, little girl? Why are you sighing all of a sudden?"
Seeing that although these people loved to gossip, they all seemed to have a righteous air about them, so Qin Sang wasn't afraid. She said with a worried expression, "I just heard you talking about the young master of the Wu family, and I..." Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, her eyes reddened, and she looked pitiful as she trembled as she said, "If he takes a liking to me, will I have no way to survive?"
Upon hearing this and looking at Qin Sang's appearance, the group suddenly realized that this beautiful young woman was most likely being pursued by Wu Jia's youngest son.
This was not a good thing, and everyone looked saddened.
After a moment, one of them said, "In these times, a young lady as beautiful as her naturally carries a certain degree of danger. However, there are ways to remedy this, though..."
The others were at a loss and pricked up their ears to hear his "but". However, he seemed quite hesitant. Only when all eyes were on him did he finally make up his mind and reluctantly say, "If the young lady can get the protection of the prefect, then the young master of the Wu family will naturally not dare to force his way in."
Qin Sang: "Prefect?"
The man nodded in affirmation: "Prefect Wang." After speaking, he cautiously glanced left and right, then picked up his teacup, pretended to take a sip, and added, "Gentlemen, I didn't say anything, and you didn't hear anything, did you? Come, have some tea..."
Qin Sang felt relieved, gave a slight bow in thanks, and returned to Cuiyun Tower with Ying'er.
Xie Sui'an had been standing at the door with a dark face for quite a while. If the person didn't return soon, he would have to send Jinyun to search for him by scaling the walls and scouting the streets.
"Why did you take so long? I thought you'd been kidnapped." He suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice, "Do you know where you are? There are restrooms inside the building, why did you go wandering around outside? Don't you know... where's your veil? Why did you take it off?"
Qin Sang was in a great mood because of her huge harvest and didn't care about Xie Suian's nagging. She smiled and said, "Oh, I felt it was inconvenient to take it off just now. I'll go get it and wear it now."
He walked past Xie Sui'an and went straight into the room. He found his hat next to a bonsai tree, put it on again, and sat down as usual.
The courtesan competition is still ongoing. Although I missed some, thankfully, the grand finale contestant that everyone was talking about hasn't appeared yet.
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