He had just seen Zhao Sheng's eyes light up, his gaze fixed on Su Ruanruan and never leaving her.
Huo Yan didn't say anything, turned around and went into the teahouse across the street.
After a long while, Niu Mang finally came over, having eaten and drunk his fill. He happily showed the cut-out pieces of paper to the others, saying, "They give out these while we're eating! The shopkeeper said if we collect ten, we can come back and exchange them for another meal."
Wei Zheng picked up the piece of paper and examined it closely. "This paper... is very ordinary; there isn't even a mark on it."
Jin Yu said, "Why does this braised meat shop give out a piece of paper? Aren't they afraid that some customers will copy this and cut the paper to the same size to impersonate them?"
Wei Zheng shrugged and joked, "The owner of this braised meat shop must be a bit dim-witted. I'll cut ten sheets of paper and exchange them for meat later."
Huo Yan glanced at him, then clutched the paper in his hand again.
What secrets does this tiny piece of paper hold?
By the time Su Ruanruan finished settling the bill at the braised meat shop, it was already completely dark.
Ziwu was worried about leaving her alone, and since her full appearance had now been revealed, she sent two servants to escort Su Ruanruan home.
After safely delivering her home, the two men left.
Su Ruanruan told them to be careful on the way, but as soon as she closed the courtyard gate, a hand reached out from behind her, covered her mouth, and dragged her into the house.
Su Ruanruan, "..."
She had long known that her beauty was a curse, but she never expected this misfortune to come so quickly.
What she didn't expect was that the news of a great beauty in Qingshan County had already spread far and wide, and some scholars had even witnessed her stunning beauty and painted a portrait of her.
She gripped the door latch tightly, and the man pressed himself against her, blowing a breath onto the back of her neck, like a cold snake against her skin.
Su Ruanruan saw a glimmer of light through the crack in the door and thought that the two men must not have gone far. She was about to use all her strength to open the door bolt.
But the next moment, the scene outside the crack in the door came through her black pupils, and she dared not move again, even her fingertips gradually grew cold.
Then, the person behind her knocked her unconscious with a palm strike, and she knew nothing more.
The man carried Su Ruanruan into the house and lit an oil lamp.
Looking down from her fair, jade-like face, one notices a clear distinction between the skin on his neck and the skin on his face.
He found a damp cloth and wiped it off little by little, but it remained the same.
He thought of that bowl of wine from earlier that day. Was it only that that could strip away his disguise?
He smacked his lips, thinking, "What a pity, I should have brought some liquor with me."
Faced with such a beauty, he didn't want to waste a single moment.
...
The firelight flickered indistinctly, occasionally accompanied by low, labored gasps.
Someone knocked on the bedroom door. "Brother, are you done yet?"
The commotion inside grew even louder. "What's the rush?"
"Brother, Master Zhao from the neighboring county is willing to pay three thousand taels to buy her... His men are already on their way to pick her up."
The person inside paused for a moment before saying, "It's quite valuable."
"But I can't bear to sell this tender and delicate meat."
The person outside exclaimed, "Brother, have you forgotten? We can't refuse. They specifically asked for Su Ruanruan, and if we don't send her... it'll be troublesome."
They didn't know Master Zhao's true identity, only that he was very generous and would occasionally send carrier pigeons to inquire about Huo Yan's whereabouts.
Although it was strange that he asked Huo Yan what he wanted, his elder brother would still tell him for the sake of the money.
He would simply stroll around the streets, have some tea, and meet up with that friend who seemed to have some money.
“I’m tired too. Let her rest here for a while. In a quarter of an hour, you can take her to the carriage and leave the city to meet Master Zhao’s men.”
"Remember, take good care of her on the road; she's our lucky charm."
After saying this, Su Ruanruan sat on the man's lap and began to manipulate the silver needles on his body.
A tingling pain shot through him, but he couldn't make a sound.
Zhao Sheng tried to move his body, but it felt as if he were frozen in place.
Su Ruanruan traced her fingers on his chest and whispered, "I never expected that Officer Zhao would be so infatuated with me, barging into a young woman's room so late at night."
"It's a pity that Officer Zhao made a wasted trip."
Su Ruanruan took out an exquisite dagger from the bedside table, licked the blade with the tip of her tongue, and her eyes revealed a bloodthirsty madness.
"What should I do? It seems I'm destined to have to meet this Master Zhao. Sigh, there are so many people outside, I can't escape."
"Since you already know I can perform ventriloquism, and I also know you are illiterate, then... let's discard this tongue and render you speechless."
Zhao Sheng looked at Su Ruanruan in horror; in her eyes, he saw madness.
Su Ruanruan put her finger in his mouth, pulled out half of his tongue, and skillfully sliced it with the dagger in her hand.
The intense pain caused the veins on Zhao Sheng's forehead to bulge, and his body to tremble violently.
Su Ruanruan disgustedly tossed the severed tongue into the spittoon under the bed. Luckily, she'd left Bai Ruan at the tofu shop tonight; otherwise, the poor little thing would have been terrified.
She used Zhao Sheng's sleeve to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, then put the cleaned dagger back in its place.
He took the medicine that Ziwu had bought for him from his sleeve and poured it into his mouth. In just a moment, he calmed down completely and fell into a deep sleep.
His subordinate knocked on the door a few times, but there was no response. He assumed that Zhao Sheng was already asleep, so he pushed the door open himself.
They noticed that Su Ruanruan's eyes were wet, and she was squatting under the bed, pulling her clothes around her waist.
The bed curtains were drawn, and the figure of the eldest brother could be vaguely seen. He was motionless, as if he were asleep.
The man almost lost his mind when he saw Su Ruanruan's tearful appearance.
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