Tianxian Pavilion
Helan Zhu stroked the purse in her hand, on which was embroidered a magnolia flower and the three words "Ye Feichun".
I think it’s the girl’s name.
He watched Miss Ye walk into the Tianxiang Inn, a notorious shady inn that colluded with the government. He had thought himself to be conscienceless, but tonight he seemed unable to sleep.
"You did a good job today, little brat. I don't want the purse, but you have to give me the money inside!"
The person who was speaking was a gangster who lived at the entrance of the alley during the day.
It turns out that all this is a trap.
Hanxiang County was perpetually on the brink of war, with numerous passes making it easy to enter but difficult to leave. While this maintained a modicum of peace, it also severed the people's economic lifeline. Residents could only resort to deception and fraud, ultimately seeking a way out.
If I don't harm others, others will harm me. In short, everyone is like this. Conscience will gradually be smoothed and become round from a sharp object spinning in the heart. No matter how it spins, it will not hurt people's hearts.
Perhaps Helan Zhu's conscience hadn't been completely erased, or perhaps it had grown a little bit of a sharp edge, irritating his internal organs. In any case, he lay on the haystack, gazing at the moon, unable to fall asleep, his mind full of Miss Ye from the daytime.
He thought to himself: That tall girl over there might be Miss Ye's sister, and the one coming behind might be Miss Ye's husband. If that were the case, he'd save only the girl; the man would die inside. Thinking this way, he wasn't too bad, nor too good. His conscience seemed to have suddenly calmed down, no longer tormenting him.
He did it right away, picked up his weapon and walked towards Tianxiang Inn.
"That brat from the Helan family! Going to a brothel so late at night?"
He Lanzhu ignored those street thugs, treating them as if they were talking nonsense. Now, he suddenly felt superior, a little nobler than those hooligans. Because of that little bit of newly emerged conscience, he felt more like a human being and walked forward with his head held high.
"Be careful your mother is coming to catch you!"
"Mind your own business, old rascal!" After cursing, he ran away.
That night, the Tianxiang Inn caught fire and all the "two-legged sheep" inside ran away.
The owner of the Tianxiang Inn was a middle-aged man with a face longer than a donkey's, known as Zhang Luzi. He specialized in the trade of "two-legged sheep." He cooked the old rams, sold the young ones to incense shops for fragrant herbs, and sold the lesser-quality females to brothels, while the better ones were sent to the government. As for how they were handled, no one knew.
Helan Zhu originally wanted to just rescue Miss Ye, but his conscience would only grow more if it grew a spike. Miss Ye looked at all the people who were imprisoned with her and was unwilling to leave.
"Today I will live and die with all of you brothers and sisters."
In desperation, Helan Zhu had to offend Zhang Luzi and the government, and overnight became a wanted arsonist fugitive in the entire county.
"What should we do now?" He looked at the men, women, young and old in the room and couldn't think of a solution.
"escape!"
"Escape? Where to escape? There are enemies outside and government officials chasing us inside."
"Sneak out of town in disguise."
"It's easy to say, but how can thirty or fifty people disguise themselves?"
"Brother Helan, I have a plan."
Helan Zhu looked around and found that it was Liu Qingbai who was talking. He asked reluctantly, "What's that? Tell me about it!"
"We're here to look for a shipment of goods from the Tianxian Pavilion. This shipment has been delayed for over a few months, and there's quite a bit of cargo accumulated. I'm sure there are at least 10 to 20 of us who can sneak into the caravan."
As soon as the words fell, a veiled woman in purple stood up. Although she looked a little downcast, she had an elegant demeanor. She chuckled and said, "This young man may not know that the Tianxian Pavilion has a new owner. How can they have any goods now?"
"In that case, what else can the girl do?"
The woman turned around and looked at Liu Qingbai, saying bluntly, "Go north around Yuxiang Mountain and you'll be out of the city."
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar.
Yuxiang Mountain is covered with snow all year round and is extremely steep. I heard that there are ferocious beasts in the mountain and picking Yuxiang grass is a life-threatening job. This is simply nonsense.
"If you are unwilling to bypass Yuxiang Mountain, I have another plan." The purple-robed woman looked around and saw that everyone was looking up, waiting for her to speak. Then she slowly spoke, "I am humble, but I am Yin Ziyan, the former head of Tianxian Pavilion. Unfortunately, my ruthless uncle set a trap and I fell into the hands of Zhang Luzi. If you are willing to join me in retaking Tianxian Pavilion, I have a way to protect you."
As she spoke she took off her veil.
Helan Zhu was the only one present who was from Hanxiang County. He looked closely and saw that it was indeed the proprietress of Tianxian Pavilion, Yin Ziyan, the head of the Yin family.
According to the rules of Tianxian Pavilion, property has always been passed down to daughters rather than sons, and to daughters-in-law rather than sons-in-law.
The first head of the family, Yin Si Niang, had a troubled relationship with her husband, and after much difficulty, they finally divorced. After the divorce, she was assassinated by her husband's family. As she fell off a cliff, she grabbed hold of a fragrant grass with her bare hands. It was this seemingly fragile blade of grass that saved Yin Si Niang's life. She dangled from the cliff for a day and a night before a kind hunter brought her down.
From then on, Jade Grass became a precious incense material after being processed by Tianxian Pavilion, and the rule was established that it should be passed down to daughters but not to sons.
Ziyan was an orphan, abandoned on Yuxiang Mountain by some cruel parent. Perhaps they didn't want her to live, hoping the wolves and tigers of the mountains would devour her, only then would those heartless parents rest in peace.
But before the Black and White Impermanence arrived, the previous head of the Yin family appeared in the wind and snow.
She had no daughter, so she made this adopted daughter she picked up from the mountain the head of the family.
"How did they harm you? We must seek justice for you!"
Ye Feichun drew her dagger and shouted, "Ever since leaving the Liu family, I've become bolder and bolder." It was as if the occasional feign of weakness she'd displayed in the North Courtyard had completely vanished. Liu Qingbai tugged at her sleeve, but Feichun ignored him.
Yin Ziyan slowly said:
"I have an older brother and an uncle who have long coveted the position of head of the family. A few months ago, they poisoned my food, and one of my maids died after accidentally drinking my tea."
She continued:
"Later, they sent assassins to try to kill me several times, but I managed to hide every time."
"How do you know it was them?" Liu Qingbai asked.
"Young master is from another place, so you don't know anything." Yin Ziyan glanced at Helan Zhu and continued to talk about the death of the previous head of the family.
Most people in Hanxiang County know about this.
"When my mother passed away, my uncle and brother took me to court over an unequal division of the family property. But it's a rule established by our ancestors that women shouldn't wear men's clothing. I was simply following the rules.
But my uncle and brother said that I have no blood relationship with my mother and was just picked up in the mountains. How can an outsider inherit the family property? I must have done something wrong.
At this point, Yin Ziyan suddenly laughed and continued:
"It's ridiculous. I see those big families out there entrusting their properties to adopted sons, nephews, adopted sons, illegitimate children, sons-in-law, and brothers. Why can't I, an adopted daughter, do the same? My last name is Yin, isn't it?"
The surroundings suddenly became quiet, and only Liu Qingbai stood up and said, "There's nothing wrong."
Yin Ziyan bowed to Liu Qingbai, and then went on to talk about how her uncle had harmed her.
She said, "That day, someone asked me to discuss a business deal at the Tianxiang Inn. I knew it was a shady place, but since they only ripped off outsiders, I let my guard down. It was Magistrate Lu who came that day, and I didn't expect they could actually collude with him, so I fell for their scheme. When I woke up, I was already in the cellar."
Liu Qingbai felt something was wrong. Tianxian Pavilion and the Liu family had lost contact for several months. If Miss Zi Yan had been locked in the cellar several months ago, it would not make sense that she was still unharmed.
Liu Qingbai interrupted Zi Yan and asked the question in his mind.
Miss Ziyan smiled sweetly and praised Master Liu for his intelligence. However, she had only been imprisoned in the cellar a few days ago, and Zhang Luzi intended to sell her to the Marquis of Tongyi for a high price, so he hadn't harmed her. As for the Liu family's letters, she had never received any. Perhaps her cruel uncle had already gradually cut off her contact with the outside world and undermined her position as head of the family.
It’s a pity that after all their calculations, they found that they neither had the recipe of Tianxian Pavilion nor the processing method of Yuxiangcao, so Tianxian Pavilion had to close temporarily.
Liu Qingbai was skeptical. He just felt that Miss Zi Yan was eloquent and might not be in real trouble. However, his suspicion was groundless and it was just a suspicion in his heart.
As he was speaking, Zhang Luzi arrived with the yamen runners.
This was an abandoned granary, usually uninhabited. It was where Helan Zhu would hide as a child to avoid the bullies who bullied him, and he didn't know how he'd been discovered so quickly. He remembered there was a cellar there, quite secluded, so he led everyone into it. But fearing it might be discovered, he turned around and planned to lure the yamen runners away on his own.
"Let's hide together!" Ye Feichun grabbed Helan Zhu's sleeve and looked at him firmly.
He Lanzhu had never seen such a determined look in her eyes before. Perhaps at that moment he had thought about hiding together, but he didn't dare to take any chances. What if they were discovered? He appreciated Miss Ye's kindness.
"Let's go! Together!" Miss Ye still refused to let go.
She is truly a Bodhisattva who came to save me.
Perhaps Helan Zhu really thought he was a coward. Even if someone chose him thousands of times, he didn't think anyone really wanted him to live. It would be more valuable to die.
However, since he couldn't find those outsiders, I'm sure the yamen runners wouldn't do anything to him.
He touched the other pouch hidden in his purse, thinking that this was enough to keep him company. He reached out and pushed Miss Ye towards Liu Qingbai, shouting, "Mr. Liu, you must take good care of Miss Ye!"
You want me to tell you? Liu Qingbai muttered to himself.
Helan Zhu heard someone calling his name. Could it be Miss Ye? But he still locked the cellar door and covered it with a thick layer of hay.
If he survives, he will definitely see Miss Ye again.
"Zhang Luzi! Your grandpa is here!" He stood on the roof, facing the yamen runners who were hidden in the darkness of the night.
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