Chapter 138: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 138: Fate's Play (1)
On the other side, the shopkeeper quickly relayed Mo Yan's request to Yan Junyu. For Yan Junyu, it was merely a matter of raising his hand. He promptly dispatched people to secretly investigate the brothel overnight.
The scouts acted swiftly. Early the next morning, they laid out all the intricacies of the brothel before Yan Junyu.
As Yan Junyu looked at the familiar names on the stack of papers, a particularly charming smile appeared on his handsome face. Seeing this, the observer's heart trembled. This ancestor, who was he going to trouble now?
"Take these to the Wucheng Military camp and tell the one surnamed Xiao that I've been swindled out of twenty thousand taels by the people there. Tell him to retrieve it quickly." Yan Junyu tossed the stack of papers to the observer and continued feeding bread to the fish in the pond.
Shopkeeper Xing rolled his eyes secretly but put on a flattering demeanor. "Master, if it's just about money, it should be handled by the Prefect of Justice. Involving Master Xiao might cause trouble."
Yan Junyu kicked him. "Can't you come up with a better excuse after following me for so many years? You're still this foolish!"
Shopkeeper Xing dodged agilely and chuckled, "Then I'll say someone tried to assassinate you, and the assassin fled into the brothel, surely colluding with the people there."
Yan Junyu twitched his eye corner, utterly speechless. How much hate had he accumulated to be stabbed twice in just three months?
Xiao Ruiyuan had just finished the morning court session and was about to handle official business when he received news that Yan Junyu had been attacked and instructed to seal off a brothel. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
However, when he finished reading the information passed to him by Shopkeeper Xing, Xiao Ruiyuan's expression turned serious, and he immediately dispatched two hundred soldiers to the brothel...
All the people in the brothel were apprehended. Xiao Ruiyuan recognized Li Zhong, took his testimony, and then released him. When Li Zhong returned home in the afternoon, Mo Yan, who had been anxiously waiting all day, finally relaxed. However, Li Xiu didn't return with him. Although she was surprised, she refrained from asking.
Li Zhong, on the other hand, sent the three children away and took the initiative to tell Mo Yan everything that had happened to Li Xiu after she was abandoned.
Mo Yan felt that something was off, but she patiently listened.
It turned out that after Li Xiu was abandoned by the Zhang family, fearing to shame her parents and siblings and having no money for travel expenses, she decided to stay in the capital.
Li Xiu was skilled in embroidery, so she found a reputable embroidery workshop to work as an embroiderer, enough to support herself.
However, her embroidery skills were too good. Not only did she gain the favor of the shopkeeper, but some clients also specifically requested her work. Coupled with her focus on her work and lack of communication with other embroiderers, over time, the other embroiderers naturally became resentful.
Once, a wealthy client asked Li Xiu to embroider a large piece as a birthday gift. However, on the day before completion, it was destroyed by someone, but the culprit was not caught.
The shopkeeper didn't dare to offend the wealthy client and pushed all the blame onto Li Xiu. Not only did Li Xiu lose her job, but she also lost all her money. At her wit's end, she was deceived into the brothel.
"It's all my fault. I raised Xiu too meek and introverted. If she were more assertive, even if nothing else happened, the Zhang family wouldn't dare treat her so harshly, and none of this would have happened. It's all my fault!"
Li Zhong blamed himself, his aging face filled with regret. He overlooked the treacherousness of human nature and blamed himself for everything.
Mo Yan didn't know how to comfort this sorrowful old man. At this point, any words of comfort would be too pale.
Li Zhong wiped away his tears and choked out the rest of the story.
Tricked into the brothel, Li Xiu was renamed Xiang Xing'er. She had tried to escape and resist, but she was beaten half to death each time. However, she couldn't bear to leave her family back home. She couldn't bear to die.
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