Chapter 96: Redeeming Her Freedom, He Was Misunderstood

The sun gradually slanted to the west.

Inside the shop.

Luo Zijun stood before the counter for a long time before putting away the letter, walking behind the counter, and slowly opening those drawers.

The medicinal herbs that had originally been placed in the drawers were already gone.

Replacing them were all the herbs he needed for his Medicine Bath, and every drawer was filled to the brim.

He stood there for a while longer, then exited the counter and went upstairs.

The three rooms upstairs were all completely empty.

In the Senior Sister's room, there was not even a bed or a cabinet left, and one could not even see a speck of dust inside.

However, on the windowsill, there sat a small cloth bag.

Luo Zijun walked over and opened the bag; inside was filled with silver and some copper coins.

In total, there were five hundred and fifty taels, nine mace, and forty wen.

He was stunned for a moment, his gaze suddenly passing through the window to look at the backyard downstairs, his heart jolting abruptly.

He immediately put away the silver and went downstairs.

When he arrived at the backyard, he froze in place.

The beautiful flowers, plants, and trees that had originally been in the backyard had all been dug up or sawn off.

Replacing them were Plum Blossom Stakes, Wooden Dummies, a Millstone, stones, thick wooden posts wrapped in iron-skinned ropes, and other martial arts training tools.

Even the ground had been covered with a thick layer of sand and gravel.

He stood there blankly, the expression on his face constantly shifting.

These things could never have appeared in a single night; in other words, before he arrived last night, the Senior Sister and Master had already been silently helping him renovate this place.

All because he wanted to practice martial arts.

Suddenly, he looked at the bathing barrel outside the woodshed.

That was not his bathing barrel.

If it was not his, then naturally it belonged to the Senior Sister.

He immediately walked over.

Upon reaching it, he suddenly discovered that the bathing barrel was actually filled with medicine packets.

Poison One, Poison Two, Poison Three...

The medicine packets were densely packed, stacked up, and occupied almost the entire space of the bathing barrel.

His head suddenly began to buzz.

How long would it take to refine so much medicine? One day, two days, or even more...

A scene suddenly emerged in his mind.

In the dead of night, with cold winds sweeping outside, inside the room under dim yellow light, a young girl wearing a plain white dress sat quietly alone at the table, silently pounding medicine.

In the medicine furnace nearby, mist curled upward, and the fragrance of medicine overflowed...

"Master was right..."

He stood there dazed, slowly closing his eyes, watching the scenes emerging in his mind and that cold yet beautiful face, and could not help but mutter: "I am indeed a..."

At this time, the sun was setting.

Tianxian Pavilion.

This time was the busiest and most lively moment here.

And today, there were especially many guests.

Liu Mama stood at the entrance, her face already aching from smiling, yet her heart was blossoming with joy.

At this moment, a Young Maid came over and whispered to her: "Mama, Sister Chujian wants to see you."

At the same time.

On the third floor, in a room at the very end of the corridor.

Liu Chujian and Bi'er had already packed their things.

Bi'er picked up the bundle, urging with an excited face: "Miss, we should go; the Master and Mistress might have already returned."

Today was a general amnesty, which naturally included the Liu family.

Their official positions were temporarily gone, but the people should have all been released.

Those relatives who had once avoided them like the plague had actually taken the initiative to find them and lend them money so they could buy their freedom.

Liu Chujian seemed not to have heard the Young Maid's urging.

She stood blankly before the window, gently stroking the pale green jade bracelet in her hand, her expression dazed.

At the edge of the sky, the sunset glow filled the heavens.

The golden sunset fell upon her delicate, flower-like cheeks, dyeing her in a moving radiance, beautiful as a painting.

"Miss, don't wait anymore; that person hasn't come for several days. Hmph, even if he comes, he might just be looking for Shui Shui and Ziwei..."

Bi'er looked at her lonely expression, her heart full of pain and grievance.

"These past few days, the poems that person wrote for Shui Shui and Ziwei have spread throughout the entire Outer City; at the Brothel Literary Gathering, Ziwei won first place relying on his poems... Now the guests coming to Tianxian Pavilion are all looking for Ziwei and Shui Shui..."

"Also, those girls and maids in the pavilion have been bad-mouthing you behind your back these past few days, saying that person doesn't like you anymore, saying he has already grown tired of playing with you, which is why he went to help Shui Shui and Ziwei write poems..."

Speaking of this, the Young Maid's eyes were instantly filled with aggrieved tears. "What have they done for him? Isn't it just flaunting their charms and using their bodies to seduce him? And you, Miss... woo..."

The Young Maid could not continue, crying with heartache and grievance.

She felt it was not worth it for her Miss.

All her efforts were for him, but what was the result?

Liu Chujian stood silently before the window, her gaze looking out beyond it.

The street was bustling, but that figure was nowhere to be seen.

"Thump, thump, thump!"

At this moment, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

Liu Chujian's eyes brightened, and she immediately went to open the door, but Liu Mama's voice came from outside: "Chujian, are you looking for me?"

The radiance in her eyes dimmed once again.

!

Bi'er hurriedly wiped away her tears and went over to open the room door.

Liu Mama was wearing a bright red outfit, swaying her waist as she entered with a face full of spring breeze, saying with a smile: "Chujian, is something the matter?"

Liu Chujian was silent for a moment, and before she could speak, Bi'er at her side said: "Liu Mama, we want to redeem ourselves."

Liu Mama was stunned for a moment upon hearing this.

Bi'er hurriedly added: "We have already prepared the silver. There is a general amnesty today, and my master and mistress are both fine, so we must return quickly."

The subtext of her words was that her master was already safe, so it would be useless for her to forcibly keep them.

Furthermore, there was a faint hint of a threat, fearing that she would not let them go.

Liu Mama, however, smiled and did not say much, her attitude remaining as amiable as ever: "Chujian, wait for me a moment."

Having said that, she immediately turned and left.

Bi'er was suddenly a bit uneasy: "Young Lady, will she refuse to let us leave?"

She then hummed: "It shouldn't be. Now that Ziwei and Shui Shui can earn money for her, and they often go out to perform, we aren't of much use anymore."

Liu Chujian did not speak, her gaze fixed on the bag of silver and the stack of banknotes on the table.

The banknotes were for the redemption.

The silver, however, was left for him.

Bi'er couldn't help but say: "Young Lady, he doesn't even come anymore, why must you still leave the silver for him? Wouldn't it be better if we used it to pay off debts or redeem others? When the master and mistress come out, they will also need money."

Liu Chujian remained silent, not saying a word.

At this time, Liu Mama walked in, bustling with energy, carrying a brocade box.

She then placed the brocade box on the table, opened it, took out a neatly folded piece of paper from inside, and said with a face full of smiles: "Chujian, this is the contract you signed back then. Take a good look at it and take it back."

She then took her small hand, saying with lingering reluctance: "Although Mama is reluctant to part with you, Mama also knows that you are a Young Lady of an official's family and it is indeed not suitable for you to stay here. Now that our King has granted a general amnesty to the world, since your family members have come out, you naturally must return to fulfill your filial duties, and Mama has no reason to hold you back anymore."

Once these words were spoken, both mistress and servant felt moved in their hearts.

Bi'er hurriedly went over to take the banknotes, handed them to her, and said gratefully: "Mama, this is the silver for our redemption. Thank you for your care during this time."

"Redemption silver?"

Liu Mama was slightly taken aback, glanced at the thick stack of banknotes in her hand, and suddenly smiled, saying: "No need, keep it for yourselves to use. This is money you borrowed, right? Hurry and pay it back; Mama won't take a single coin from you."

Once these words were spoken, both mistress and servant were stunned, their faces full of surprise.

Liu Chujian said: "Mama, you..."

Liu Mama hesitated for a moment, couldn't help but sigh, and said: "Chujian, originally Mama promised that person not to tell you, but this matter cannot be kept from you forever; you would eventually find out."

Liu Chujian's heart trembled inexplicably.

Liu Mama stroked her smooth little hand and said with deep emotion: "Young Master Luo is truly a great person. I originally thought he had other intentions toward you, but I never expected that even when helping you redeem yourself, he wouldn't be willing to tell you."

Once these words were spoken, Liu Chujian's heart was suddenly shaken.

Bi'er, standing to the side, had her mouth wide open.

Liu Mama continued: "A few days ago, Young Master Luo came to find Mama, saying he wanted to help you redeem yourself. However, he likely couldn't come up with that much silver, so he said he would use poetry to help you redeem yourself, and then he went to write a few poems for Ziwei and Shui Shui. I never expected..."

Speaking of this, a smile she couldn't suppress appeared on her face: "I never expected that those poems would be so incredible. Not only did they help Ziwei win first place at the Literary Gathering, but they also made the names of Ziwei and Shui Shui spread throughout the entire Outer City in an instant, haha... Chujian, Young Master Luo is a Literary Star descended to earth; he is a noble person for our Tianxian Pavilion. From now on, whenever he comes here, no matter who he requests, it's all free! As long as he comes, Mama will even give him red envelopes."

After finishing, she couldn't help but grin and laugh again.

The explosive popularity of Tianxian Pavilion these past few days had made her a fortune; how could she not be happy?

"Alright, alright, Mama still has to go down to welcome guests. Keep the contract, and keep the banknotes too. Those who want to leave can leave now, and those who don't want to leave now can leave whenever they want; Mama will always welcome you here."

Having said that, she swayed her waist and left happily.

The room suddenly fell into silence.

After a long silence.

Bi'er finally said in a daze: "So... so he went to Ziwei and Shui Shui's rooms to..."

"So... he wrote poems for them to help us... redeem ourselves..."

"Young Lady..."

The Young Maid wiped her tears and choked with sobs: "This servant is such a fool, such a bad person. These past few days, I even spoke ill of him, and the day he came, I even treated him with that kind of attitude..."

Liu Chujian stood stiffly before the table for a long time before whispering: "I... I also misunderstood him..."

(End of this chapter)