"This humble servant, Hongyu, greets Your Excellency." Hongyu lowered her head, revealing the fair skin of the back of her neck, her eyes exuding a seductive charm.
It wasn't that the woman genuinely wanted to seduce her; it was just that life had made her subconsciously do it.
Qingyin had a general idea of the woman's identity.
"Hello, please sit down."
A huanghuali wood chair appeared behind the woman.
Hongyu was both surprised and delighted.
She sat down gracefully, gently covering her red lips with a handkerchief, and smiled, "This time, I believe you, my lord, can accomplish my task?"
The way Hongyu looked at Qingyin was somewhat familiar, as if she were looking through Qingyin at someone she once admired and missed.
"Then I won't say any more. I'll just tell you my wish, sir."
"Um."
“I was once just a poor girl. My family loved me, but we couldn’t escape the disaster. A flood left only me, the one who had to flee.”
“I was too young then, so I could only follow the crowd of people from Taonan and walk until I reached Huaihe County, which was much better than my hometown. The people on the road were much richer. I picked up the bones that the children didn’t want and gnawed on them, and ate the rotten oranges that people threw away. I ate whatever I could find and survived.”
"Finally, they got even bolder and dared to snatch things from people's hands, which caused them a lot of trouble."
Hongyu smiled foolishly, her eyes showing no pain, but rather a sense of nostalgia.
"That skinny man touched my body and realized I was a girl, so he carried me into the Red Chamber, where I met the matchmaker."
When the words "matchmaker" were mentioned, Qingyin noticed that the woman deliberately slowed down her speech, her words lingering and full of complex emotions.
Hongyu was oblivious to Qingyin's observation; she continued speaking slowly:
"Hongniang, she was a pitiful woman, but also the most determined woman in the world. She taught me to dance, to sing, to read, to play the zither, and to bewitch people. Under her guidance, my body became soft and charming, and I matured, replacing her as the top courtesan in the Red Mansion."
"But I wasn't happy. Even though my wishes of not going hungry and having nice clothes to wear were fulfilled, I was still not satisfied. There was always a burning fire in the matchmaker's eyes that I couldn't understand. That fire burned me painfully. I refused to continue, but the matchmaker didn't say anything."
"Later, Hongniang died. She was still so beautiful. I could no longer see or touch the fire in her eyes. Later, I often thought of the path Hongniang asked me about in the first place. I regretted it. So, sir, I would like to ask you to walk a path that I did not walk in my previous life, so that Hongniang will be happy."
Hongyu gazed intently at Qingyin, who answered without hesitation, "Okay."
Hongyu smiled, and the sorrow in her eyes seemed to lessen somewhat.
"Then, my lord, I must be on my way." With that, Hongyu swayed her slender waist and stepped into the River of Time.
It swayed gently, like a beautiful rose swaying in a blazing fire.
Qingyin followed and entered the river.
— — — — — — — — — —
The moment Qingyin regained consciousness, she felt a burning pain all over her body. It felt as if someone was stepping on her back, and waves of pain came over her. Then, as soon as she was released, before she could even catch her breath, whips lashed out at her.
Qingyin felt a trembling pain in her body before she heard a rough, hoarse voice above her say, "Don't kill him. Hongniang doesn't need this brat. Just teach him a lesson."
When Qingyin woke up again, she vomited two mouthfuls of blood and felt excruciating pain all over her body.
Then, the original owner's memories of this life and the previous life flooded into her mind, triggering waves of dull pain.
The original owner of this body was an orphan girl who fled from war and made a living by begging. At this moment, she was sold into the Red Chamber because she dared to steal.
But no matter how young the original owner was, she was still a seven-year-old girl. She knew that the Red Chamber was no good, so she wanted to escape. When she was escaping, she happened to slip into Hongniang's room. Seeing all the good things in the room, she was overcome by greed and stole a bracelet. Then she was discovered. Hongniang rushed over and ordered several pimps to beat her half to death. She then ordered someone to pour a basin of cold water on her and drag her to another place to continue being beaten.
It was winter, and Qingyin was soaked to the bone, shivering, and her lips were frozen purple.
With her last bit of strength, Qingyin fed herself a health-boosting pill to recover some of her energy.
After an unknown amount of time, just when Qingyin thought she would freeze to death inside even after being given medicine, a sound finally came from outside—it was a woman's voice:
"Here? Open the door, let me see, are you dead or not?"
The door was pushed open, making a creaking sound.
The light was a bit too bright, but Qingyin didn't have the strength to open her eyes.
I only felt something hard pressing against my cheek, like a shoe.
"So skinny, like a skeleton, and you dare to steal my things? Ha, you're ugly. Give her some clean clothes, and once she wakes up and has washed herself, she should come see me directly."
Qingyin felt herself being taken to another brightly lit place, where a pair of rough woman's hands quickly removed her clothes and changed her into new ones.
When Qingyin woke up, she opened the door and saw a mean-looking woman carrying a basin of water walking over. Upon seeing her, the woman called her "little bitch".
"You little slut, come with me to take a bath."
Qingyin lowered her sharp eyes and obediently carried the basin, following the woman out.
The woman seemed somewhat disappointed by her submissive appearance, gave a soft "tsk," and swayed away.
She was currently weak and powerless, and was merely a maidservant favored by a courtesan; it was not advisable for her to seek revenge now, she would deal with it later.
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