"Come on, warm yourself by the fire. But wait, go change into something else, you're all wet." Li Xiaoxiao made arrangements on her own, and the man obediently went to get a clean set of clothes to change into in the next room.
When Qi Yu returned, he was dressed in clean clothes and then began to eat.
The night passed peacefully in the drizzling rain. The next day, Li Xiaoxiao woke up to find no one beside her. When she got up, she saw Bai Yi standing by the bed.
"Master, what is today's task?" Only then did she notice that Bai Yi was dressed in tattered clothes. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Hmm, first, I'll take you to buy some clothes."
Bai Yi's eyes flickered, and she moved her lips before coming to her senses. "No need, Master. I have clothes on me."
"Wait for me to get up." Li Xiaoxiao put on her robe from under the covers and then got up. She still had more than fifty taels of silver on her.
This time, I'll inevitably have to sell ginseng again. I don't know what Qi Yu's headmaster likes. After the paper is made, I need to get the production rights, otherwise it would be a loss if the court revokes the license.
This time they have to go to a neighboring county that's a bit further away to sell another ginseng root and buy some household items.
We also need to look for medical books. In this era, if you don't study medicine, you might be ambushed and die without even knowing how. However, previous medical books were not very detailed.
The three of them traveled by oxcart three times before finally arriving in Yunli County, where there was a large pharmacy.
Li Xiaoxiao went into the pharmacy and successfully sold a ginseng root for nine hundred taels of silver. The shopkeeper secretly kept the ginseng, as it was a top-grade ginseng and might be able to sell it for a high price.
She went out and bought two sets of clothes for her siblings, two sets of robes for her husband, and three sets for herself. Suddenly, she remembered that there was a well-known brothel within a hundred steps.
"Bai Yi, I heard your mother works in a brothel. Is it in this Yunli County? Is it the Yihong Courtyard?"
Upon hearing this, Bai Yi immediately looked up, staring at her with reddened eyes, and said tremblingly, "Master, it's here."
Li Xiaoxiao pulled her along to the Yihong Courtyard. Standing by the door, two women wearing white fur robes with exposed shoulders and half-draped over their shoulders, revealing strapless dresses underneath, their breasts partially exposed, with their hair in a droopy bun and peach blossom hairpins, entered. A man wearing a tall hat greeted them with a smile, "Sir, which girl are you looking for today?"
"Miss Ruyan".
Two women were striking seductive poses in front of the door. Li Xiaoxiao went to the one wearing a pink underskirt and asked, "I need to redeem someone. May I see the madam?"
Seeing that she was dressed differently from an ordinary woman, Yan Chun agreed, "Come with me."
Li Xiaoxiao followed them into the brothel and into the inner room. The madam's eyes lit up when she saw Li Xiaoxiao.
This woman is beautifully made up, with bright eyes and white teeth, surpassing all the top courtesans in the brothel. If she were to become the top courtesan, wouldn't the fame of the Yihong Courtyard rise even higher?
Li Xiaoxiao sensed something was wrong, took Bai Han from Bai Yi's arms, and said with a sinister look, "Bai Yi, tell me who your mother is."
Bai Yi said firmly, "On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in Yunli County, a man from the Bai family owed a gambling den two taels of silver, so he used his wife as collateral to pay four taels of silver, including interest and principal. He has a knife scar on his neck."
The madam smiled. "So it's Ah Liu. Someone, bring her up here."
A group of burly men led a woman in. The woman's hands and face were covered in sores, and she walked unsteadily, looking quite pitiful. Ah Liu was in a daze, but when she saw Bai Yi, she regained some composure.
"Yi'er, what are you doing here? Get out of here quickly."
Li Xiaoxiao's mood worsened. "How much silver?"
The madam looked at Li Xiaoxiao with greed, "It was four taels back then. I've taken care of her for so long, it should be at least eight taels of silver."
Bai Yi suppressed the anger on her face and tried her best to calm herself down. Bai Han stared intently at Hu Shi, but wisely kept silent.
"Then let's make it eight taels. Bring the person over, and I'll give you the money." Li Xiaoxiao prepared to take out the money from her bosom.
The madam laughed out loud, "Eight taels? That's not enough. If you're willing to join my Yihong Courtyard, I guarantee you won't have to pay a single penny, and you'll even earn a hundred taels of silver a month."
"No need." Li Xiaoxiao looked at them calmly. Bah, they still want to lock her up? There are always treacherous people trying to harm me.
She hadn't done it in a long time and was itching to get her hands dirty.
“Once you’re in my brothel, you have no choice but to go.” The madam laughed loudly, and more than twenty burly men surrounded her. Hu Shi collapsed to the ground.
Li Xiaoxiao remained unmoved. "Today, anyone who dares to lay a finger on me will be made to pay double."
The madam's eyes narrowed. She was no longer in charge of Yunli County. "This is not up to you, young lady. Guards, seize this little slut and force-feed her the drug."
A dozen burly men instantly surrounded her, trying to grab Li Xiaoxiao, but Li Xiaoxiao, who was holding the child, vanished in an instant. Several men pounced on each other, and Li Xiaoxiao suddenly appeared behind them. She leaped up and kicked them in the buttocks with speed, ferocity, and accuracy. The dozen men were kicked and fell to the ground in a chaotic mess.
Li Xiaoxiao's figure seemed to disappear in the air, and every time she reappeared, she could kick people hard to the ground.
Bai Yi stared in disbelief at everything. She had never imagined that her initial impression that Li Xiaoxiao was full of murderous aura was actually true. If she had made a move back then, what would have happened? The dozen or so people lying on the ground in front of her clearly showed everything.
Before Bai Yi could react, Bai Han was suddenly in her arms. Li Xiaoxiao swept by like a gust of wind and quickly seized the madam, cutting the madam's throat with a sharp knife, and drops of blood fell.
"If any of you dare to lay a finger on me, I will send your good mother to hell."
The group of burly men were getting up to punish Li Xiaoxiao, but they dared not move. The madam was the county magistrate's aunt, and if anything happened to her, they would all be in deep trouble.
"Bai Yi, take Bai Han in your arms and lead your mother out of the brothel."
As soon as they went out, these people dared not do evil in broad daylight.
Bai Yi, carrying Bai Han, pulled Hu Shi directly outside.
Li Xiaoxiao followed behind, and they left the brothel together. The girls playing inside the brothel were all surprised to see this.
The young masters who had been playing around stopped and watched as Li Xiaoxiao held a knife to the madam and left.
After entering the brothel, Li Xiaoxiao put down her sword, pushed the madam to the ground, threw down four taels of silver, and shouted, "This madam brought my servant's mother in, and she's now sick and on the verge of death. Now I've redeemed Hu Shi, so everyone can take a look."
A crowd instantly gathered on the street to watch, and the madam angrily argued, "No, it's her own illness."
Li Xiaoxiao shouted in an amplified voice, "I paid money to redeem myself, but this madam actually wants Hu to pay double, and even wants me to sell myself, forcing me to submit. Everyone can see what she's doing. If something happens to me later, it will be related to this vicious madam."
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