"Perhaps they know the person in charge isn't the boss, which is why they're being so cautious?" Hongye didn't think it was a big deal.
Although Li Tiao felt that seeing him seemed like an option, she still felt a little uneasy.
As for why she felt uneasy, she couldn't explain it.
After all, Li Tiao had clearly explained to the manager how much silver the shop had been sold.
There is absolutely no need for the other party to meet me.
I'm afraid...
Li Tiao thought for a moment and said, "I'm afraid it's the Eighth Prince or the Ninth Prince, or even the Crown Prince, who heard some news. If it's the Eighth Prince or the Ninth Prince, it's not so bad. What I'm afraid of is that the buyer is someone from the Crown Prince's faction..."
Hongye understood Li Tiao's concerns, but she also had a different opinion: "Master, I don't think it's the Crown Prince. After all, the Crown Prince shouldn't have time to look for you right now. The news we heard that day shouldn't be false, and the Thirteenth Prince hasn't appeared since he left in a hurry last time."
"I wonder if things are really... a bit chaotic in the court, just like we heard in the restaurant..."
Hongye had worked in the palace before, and although she was just a palace maid, she was still quite perceptive about certain things.
"That's right, let's go see them! It would be even better if they could raise the price a bit."
Li Tiao was determined to sell the shop. She figured she would only meet the buyer once today, so she wasn't afraid of anything.
Although Li Tiao wasn't very familiar with where people in ancient times would conduct business, she figured it would be something like teahouses or restaurants, similar to what people do today.
However, little did anyone know that Li Tiao was about to leave the city gate with the steward.
Li Tiao realized something was wrong, and she asked the foreman driving the carriage, "Where are you going?"
"Reporting to the boss, go see the buyer."
“The buyer isn’t from Beijing? Didn’t you say you could come and go quickly? It’s getting late, if we go too far we won’t be able to get back to the shop before dark.” Li Tiao asked while holding Hongye’s hand tightly, communicating silently with the tacit understanding they had cultivated over the years.
She quietly told Hongye that if things really got too bad, the two of them would jump out of the car.
Hongye nodded silently, indicating that she understood Li Tiao's meaning.
"It's in the capital, and we'll be there soon."
They said they were almost there, but they kept walking forward. Li Tiao asked Hongye to lift the curtain of the carriage and look out. When she came out of the shop, she knew that the Fourth Prince's men, those two guards, had been following her.
She thought that with guards around, even if she and Hongye really jumped off the carriage, they would have someone to look after them.
"Master!" Hongye lowered the carriage curtain and anxiously called out to Li Tiao.
Li Tiao quickly winked at Hongye, signaling her to keep her voice down, as the person in charge was still driving the carriage ahead, and there was something strange about the person in charge.
Hongye realized something and whispered in Li Tiao's ear, "The guard is gone."
"Gone?" Li Tiao mouthed to Hongye, as if trying to say what she meant by "gone."
Hongye leaned closer to Li Tiao's ear again: "Anyway, I looked several times just now but couldn't find any guards following behind the carriage."
The moment Hongye finished speaking, Li Tiao turned her head and lifted the curtain of the small window next to the carriage to look carefully outside. She really didn't see any guards.
She refused to believe it and lifted the curtain on the other side of the carriage to look outside, but still couldn't see any guards.
Sitting upright, Li Tiao placed her hands on her knees, her hands trembling slightly.
Hongye tightly gripped Li Tiao's trembling hand: "Master, what should we do?"
Originally, Li Tiao thought that the manager of Qunxing Tower was trustworthy, but now that things were like this... she was a little unsure.
Jumping off a horse-drawn carriage is simple, but it can easily result in missing limbs.
Therefore, jumping off the carriage is naturally the worst possible strategy.
She muttered to herself, "I can't be that unlucky, can I? Getting schemed against repeatedly?"
“But Master, Consort Song of Qunxing Tower knows this. Although Consort Song is only a concubine of low status, people outside the palace can't distinguish between a concubine and a prince's wife. In their eyes, they're all the prince's people anyway... What if the person in charge gets involved with Consort Song…”
Li Tiao agreed with this statement: "Don't scare yourself unnecessarily."
She decided to ask the person in charge again.
But before she could speak, the carriage jolted, and with the wind blowing, the curtains fluttered. Li Tiao realized they had arrived at the city gate.
Soon they heard the conversation between the soldiers guarding the city gate and the steward, asking what they were going to do outside the city.
He swallowed hard. Was he about to leave the city?
This is going to be bad.
"master……"
Ideally, a decision should be made before the carriage leaves the city gate.
However, Li Tiao's own status was also awkward. If she caused a scene at the city gate, it was hard to say whether Kangxi had returned to the capital. Now that Kangxi was not around, it was practically the Crown Prince's domain.
If the gatekeeper reports this to Li Tiao, she'll probably die even faster.
So Li Tiao thought that since they were already going to leave the city gate, they should wait until they were out of the city gate before making any decisions.
She held Hongye's hand tightly and whispered to her what to do.
The carriage, with its branches tumbling, left the city gate and went far away. Li Tiao and Hongye exchanged a glance, ready to go all out!
Jump off the carriage!
But at that moment, the carriage suddenly stopped. Before she could think, Li Tiao felt that even the heavens had taken pity on her and were trying to help her. If she didn't run now, when would she?
However, before she could get out of the carriage, the curtain at the back of the carriage was lifted, and it was the manager of Qunxinglou: "Boss Li."
Li Tiao preemptively asked, "Where are you planning to take me?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than the steward raised his hand and struck Hongye on the back of the neck, causing her to faint.
"Hongye, Hongye..." Li Tiao called Hongye's name twice while holding her, but Hongye didn't respond. She glared angrily at the steward: "What exactly do you want to do? You should know I have guards, and those guards are..."
"The guards were the Fourth Prince's men, but they were killed as soon as they left the Star Tower. They are in the Star Tower now."
“You…” Li Tiao tried to hide.
But the carriage was only so big, and even if Li Tiao tried to hide, she couldn't hide anywhere. Besides, Hongye was still unconscious, and she couldn't just ignore her.
"Boss Li, this servant will not harm you, as long as you don't even think about running away."
Li Tiao was thinking to herself, "I'd be a fool to believe you."
"Since you say you won't hurt me, go back to Qunxing Tower now. Go talk to the buyer you found and tell him that I'm not selling Qunxing Tower anymore."
"Boss Li, please forgive me for being unable to obey. I am only following orders, please do not make things difficult for me."
"Whose orders do you take?" Li Tiao asked warily. She felt her death was imminent and knew to avoid the Fourth Prince's guards, which clearly indicated that she was someone who opposed the Fourth Prince.
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