"Could someone have come looking for us?" Hongye was extremely nervous after closing the door.
Li Tiao was even more anxious, and she refused to eat the piping hot roasted sweet potato she had specially gone out to buy.
"Come on, let's go and rest!" Li Tiao said, pulling Hongye towards the house. "Master, there's no need for this, Master..."
"Shut up, Hongye. How many times have I told you? You need to change how you address me. If someone hears us, all our efforts will be wasted."
“I know, but I…”
When Li Tiao heard Hongye still calling her "servant" repeatedly, she closed her eyes, stopped correcting Hongye, and quickly told her to rest.
It was the middle of the night, and the house was usually empty, so the owner probably wouldn't come here so late. Li Tiao figured the voice she heard just now must have come from a passerby.
However, although Li Tiao thought it was just a stranger, she still had nightmares that night.
The next day, Hongye looked at the listless Li Tiao and asked, "Master, what's wrong? Did you not sleep well last night?"
"Yes, I had a nightmare. I dreamt that the Fourth Prince blocked me at the door."
Hongye's lips twitched: "Master, the Fourth Prince blocked you at the door. It shouldn't be a nightmare, right?"
"Of course it's a nightmare. Before, in the palace, he didn't kill me, only a palace maid died. Now... if he really finds me, he'll probably settle all the old and new scores at once."
Li Tiao was extremely melancholy. After looking around the courtyard, she said, "Now I just hope that the Emperor will go on a personal expedition soon, and then I will try to do something to make a living, earn money, and buy a big house again."
Just as I finished speaking, there was a sudden noise in the yard.
Li Tiao instinctively prepared to run to the backyard, but Hongye stopped her: "Master, there's no one here, but it looks like something fell into the yard?"
"It fell into the yard?" Li Tiao didn't rush to run away. She walked to the gate and looked around. This was ancient times, so there weren't many tall buildings or courtyards around. How could something have fallen into the yard?
Just as she was wondering, something seemed to be shimmering in the courtyard under the sunlight, a light that Li Tiao particularly liked.
"Is it really like silver falling from the sky?" Li Tiao ran into the yard, picked up the silver ingots, and was extremely excited.
She was about to thank God with her hands clasped together when she noticed out of the corner of her eye that there seemed to be writing on the silver ingot.
With curiosity, Li Tiao took a closer look and saw that it was indeed the number "four". She remembered what the Fourth Prince had said earlier, asking how he could recognize Li Tiao as a fortune teller.
It's a silver ingot, and the ingot has its markings.
Li Tiao felt the silver ingot in her hand burning hot; her dream from last night had come true.
“Master…” Hongye noticed that Li Tiao was acting strangely and was about to ask her what was wrong when she heard someone knocking on the door.
"Master, what should we do?" Hongye looked at Li Tiao nervously.
Li Tiao was also extremely uneasy, but looking at the silver in her hand, she cleared her throat and tried to make her voice sound lower: "Who?"
"Rent collectors."
“Rent? What rent?” Hongye muttered.
However, Li Tiao seemed to have been acupunctured, swallowing her saliva frantically. She winked at Hongye, signaling her to go to the backyard.
But before the two women could turn around, the person outside spoke again: "The hole you dug in the backyard has been blocked up."
Li Tiao felt that the people outside were fooling her, but she didn't stop walking.
But Hongye belatedly realized who the person outside was: "Master, the voice sounds like the Fourth Prince."
Upon hearing the concise words "collecting rent," Li Tiao knew it referred to the Fourth Prince.
She never expected that every time she left the palace, this man would catch her. How could she be blocked at the door by him even after leaving the palace?
"master……"
Li Tiao was still hesitating, wondering whether or not to admit it.
However, the person outside seemed very patient: "Or you can go and report to the authorities now. The hole in the backyard has been blocked. When the soldiers come, you won't be able to escape."
Clutching the silver ingot tightly in her hand, Li Tiao finally understood what had caused her nightmare the night before. It turned out that the cold laughter came from the man outside.
A prince, of all people, was eavesdropping on other people's conversations.
Really...
But Li Tiao still didn't want to surrender so easily. She whispered in Hongye's ear, "Go to the backyard and see if the hole we dug is still there."
Hongye jogged to the backyard and quickly jogged back.
"Master, that hole... it's really blocked from the outside."
Li Tiao cursed the Fourth Prince hundreds of times in her heart. Feeling utterly helpless, she took a deep breath and winked at Hongye, signaling her to open the door.
Li Tiao, clutching the silver tightly, went to the main room.
After entering, the Fourth Prince went into the main room as if no one else was there and sat in the seat of honor, silently sizing up Li Tiao and Hongye.
Hongye felt very uncomfortable and tried her best to stand next to Li Tiao so that the Fourth Prince wouldn't see her.
Although Li Tiao felt a little uncomfortable, she thought that she shouldn't lose face, so she tried her best to act naturally.
"No wonder His Majesty has been sending people to look for you, but they couldn't find you." The Fourth Prince finally spoke, but when his gaze fell on Li Tiao, his brows furrowed so deeply they could have trapped a fly.
Li Tiao remained silent, choosing to remain unchanged in the face of all changes.
The Fourth Prince also noticed Li Tiao's attitude and knew that she didn't intend to speak, so he simply stopped arguing with her and turned to Hongye: "Hongye, what is your crime?"
Upon hearing this, Hongye immediately knelt down: "Master, this servant only..."
Li Tiao immediately reached out and pulled Hongye up: "Get up."
After that, Li Tiao broke her silence: "Fourth Prince, you are an upright person. If anyone is going to run away, it is this servant. Hongye is this servant's maid, so naturally she will listen to this servant. This servant did not allow her to talk to you, so why make things difficult for Hongye?"
"A servant girl?" The Fourth Prince sneered. "You?"
Li Tiao was about to nod, but as she lowered her eyes, she noticed the hem of her robe and the shoes on her feet, so she closed her eyes again.
She felt there couldn't be a worse moment than this.
Subconsciously, she raised her hand and touched her head; her hairline was no longer visible beyond her forehead.
To avoid being found, Li Tiao shaved her head, into the crescent-shaped hairstyle common among men at the time, and she and Hongye disappeared into the bustling city of the capital as husband and wife.
Li Tiao hardly ever looks in the mirror anymore because her hair is just too ugly. She always wears a melon-shaped hat when she goes out, and now that she's not out, the top of her head is completely visible.
It's been a while since I shaved my head, and the hair on top has grown out a bit; it still feels a little prickly to the touch.
When the Fourth Prince saw her with such an "unique" appearance... Li Tiao wanted to bang her head against the wall.
Although he disliked Li Tiao's appearance, the Fourth Prince was amazed by her intelligence; he knew that this woman would not disappoint him.
He said, "As I just said, I'm here to collect rent. How do you plan to pay it?"
Li Tiao was unwilling, but in order to get rid of the Fourth Prince as soon as possible, she handed the silver ingot she was holding to him.
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