However, when they arrived at another place, they were stopped by the big men. Li Xiaoxiao had no choice but to take Xiaomei to the manager's office.
"Boss, how much is the deposit if I take a girl home for two days?"
The manager was somewhat surprised, but seeing Xiaomei, he didn't say much. This woman didn't earn much money to begin with, and she wasn't good-looking either; no matter how he taught her, she wouldn't amount to anything.
"A deposit of three taels of silver will allow you to take him back for two days to play, and we'll register your name."
Li Xiaoxiao then wrote Zhao Guang's name in her notebook and left with Xiao Mei.
Xiao Mei was dressed provocatively and acted timidly, following Li Xiaoxiao to a nearby inn where they found a room.
Upon entering the room, Xiaomei immediately knelt down, pleading, "My lord, please spare me! I am ill, and my benefactor seems like a good person. Please let me go."
He was just kowtowing and begging, but Li Xiaoxiao waved her hand and said, "Forget it, who asked you to do that kind of thing? I wanted to ask you what the honored guest is? What are the fresh dishes?"
Upon hearing Li Xiaoxiao's words, Xiaomei was momentarily dazed, kneeling on the ground speechless. But when Li Xiaoxiao removed the mask from her face, she instantly understood.
"It's Lady Li, Lady Li, please save us! That madam is secretly colluding with Magistrate Zhao of the neighboring county to send children here for centralized training. At night, they are transferred to another place through a secret passage. That place is underground in the Poetry Pavilion, which connects to Wushi Village. My brother is also there. They say they are raising some kind of blood slaves."
Li Xiaoxiao hadn't expected to get this information so easily. "You didn't lie to me."
Xiao Mei kowtowed repeatedly, "This servant truly dares not lie to Madam. Your name is the subject of much discussion among the brothel sisters. They all want to follow you. Women in brothels are given a drug that makes them unable to bear leaving and forced to return. Ah Liu was the only one who left Yi Hong Courtyard and has not yet returned. The sisters all yearn for you to come to the brothel again, but unfortunately, we cannot contact you. We had no choice but to ask someone to spread the word at the storytelling hall. After waiting and waiting, we have finally waited for you to come."
"Please, please save us sisters. My brother is still among those children. We siblings were originally just homeless beggars. We were tricked into going to the brothel. Now that place is a den of iniquity."
"So there are such horrifying things. Alright, after tonight, go back to the brothel and gather more information. Also, try to get in touch with the other women there. Since we're going to do this, I need to come up with a detailed plan. Do you understand what I mean?"
Xiao Mei nodded repeatedly, "I understand. I will definitely find out more detailed information. I will draw you a rough map right now."
Li Xiaoxiao took out paper and pen from her bosom, and Xiaomei immediately drew them down, even drawing suspicious figures. Li Xiaoxiao was a little puzzled when she saw these drawings. Xiaomei's drawing skills were very good; she could clearly see a person's appearance just from these drawings.
"Your drawing skills are quite good."
Xiao Mei blushed and said, "Thank you for your appreciation, Madam Li. I have loved painting figures and landscapes since I was a child, hoping to make a living from it. Unfortunately, I couldn't even afford paper back then. When I finally bought some paper, no one wanted to look at my paintings. Who would pay attention to a little beggar?"
"It is Li Niangzi who has developed a new papermaking method. Paper is now very cheap. However, I cannot escape the Yihong Courtyard. My dream has been shattered. Unfortunately, my younger brother is still in the clutches of evil. I still have to protect him."
"Alright, you should get some rest first. Sleep here tonight."
That afternoon, Li Xiaoxiao cultivated in her room while Xiaomei watched her. It wasn't until evening, when Li Xiaoxiao finished cultivating, that Xiaomei eagerly approached her and said, "This humble servant begs Lady Li to take me in as a servant and let me serve you for the rest of my life."
Li Xiaoxiao smiled and finally agreed. After a night, in the morning, Li Xiaoxiao took Xiaomei to change her clothes, went to the pharmacy to buy some medicine, gave it to Xiaomei to take, ate breakfast with her, and then went to the inn to explain the plan in detail. Xiaomei nodded with tears in her eyes, "Okay, thank goodness you still remember us."
Later, they returned to the brothel. Xiao Mei was well-dressed and in good spirits, which attracted the envy of the other women in the brothel. As soon as Li Xiaoxiao entered, she spoke up...
“I am from the Zhao family in the capital. One plum is not enough for me. I want even better, fresher and more unique dishes.”
The madam, who had just come out of the room, immediately understood upon hearing her words, "Young master, these are fine dishes, so naturally they are not cheap. I wonder if you know what they are?"
Li Xiaoxiao took out two hundred taels of silver. "How about that? Is that enough? I let it go when I came last time, but will it be the same this time?"
The madam's eyes lit up. That was two hundred taels of silver. Anyway, those children were going to be sent away soon. Once she got the money, she took Li Xiaoxiao to the dark room.
Opening the special mechanism leads to a deeper inner chamber, where you can see more than a dozen children, aged five to ten, tied to pillars. There are boys and girls, and their eyes are all numb.
"My lord, look, I need that. We need to get this done as soon as possible. We only have two hours. There's a small tent over there. I'll wait outside."
Li Xiaoxiao then took the child into the tent. After a while, strange noises began to emanate from the tent. Li Xiaoxiao used her spiritual power to tap the floor, imitating the strange noises. Meanwhile, the boy, whose acupoints had been sealed to silence him, stood quietly to the side, staring at her strangely.
The madam grew irritated and left. Li Xiaoxiao continued for a while, then stopped, took out pills, and fed them one by one. None of the children resisted.
Just after she finished feeding him, the madam came in to urge him, "My lord, you have to go now, the people above are here to supervise." Li Xiaoxiao had no choice but to leave.
At noon, Li Xiaoxiao, accompanied by a group of guards, barged into the brothel. The madam was furious when she saw Li Xiaoxiao. "Madam Li, what have I done to offend you today?"
"Go search; there are children who have been arrested in the brothel."
The madam brought a group of guards to watch over the place. Li Xiaoxiao led a group of people and forced their way into the secret room. The madam was soon subdued. Li Xiaoxiao and her group circled around several times before finally opening the door to the secret room. A short while later, Li Xiaoxiao led the group of children outside. In front of everyone, the villagers were shocked. Ma Xueyang sent a group of guards to watch over the place.
"Such an absurd thing has happened in the whole world, what a sin!"
"The Yihong Courtyard is so filthy. If it weren't for Lady Li's crimes, how could they have been exposed to the public?"
When the children saw people, they all lowered their heads and remained silent. Several agitated middle-aged men and women in the crowd were stopped outside, desperately calling out to their children.
"My child, I am your father."
"Mother is here."
The parents with children held their children tightly, their faces filled with fear. Amidst the discussions, the incident quickly spread among the crowd.
"It's Lady Li again. Only she is so brave. She truly deserves to be the general's daughter, upright and iron-willed."
"Women are just as capable as men."
A cheer like a tidal wave erupted from the crowd. As Li Xiaoxiao was leaving, she explained, "To ensure the children's safety, they will be temporarily cared for near the Li family's home, and their parents can visit them at any time."
Before everyone's eyes, the madam and the brothel manager were arrested, and all the girls in the brothel were dismissed. The matter was considered to have come to an end, and Li Xiaoxiao was once again pushed to the forefront of public opinion. At the same time, this incident also stirred up a huge wave, and a new storm was about to arrive.
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