Yu Shu's group of four had a good time at the Shuangyang Meeting. When it was almost sunset, they reluctantly returned home.
They had dinner at Wangji Tower. Yu Shu thought that she did not plan to go out tomorrow, so she asked Lin Fu to bring the accounts of the past few days. She looked through them and put them back after making sure that there were no discrepancies.
Feng Zhaomiao had left earlier. Xue Rui had to send Yu Shu back first, so Xue Jinxun was naturally in the car. On the way, Yu Shu and Xue Rui talked about what happened during the day. Xue Jinxun listened quietly and smiled without interrupting.
When they arrived at Zhao Hui's house, Yu Shu got out of the car. Xue Rui opened the window and said goodbye to her. He told her that she did not have to go to Taicheng Department to look at the results on the fourth day of the New Year. He would send someone to look at the results first and then inform her.
Yu Shu agreed. The Dayan Examination results were released during the Shuangyang Meeting. Starting from the fourth day of the New Year, there would be a subject every seven days. The first subject was Yi Li. She felt that she had no hope of passing this subject, so she did not have the enthusiasm to look at the results in person. Hence, she had to trouble Xue Rui.
Yu Shu waved at Xue Jinxun in the car and said goodbye with a smile. She turned around and entered the house.
Xue Rui closed the window and sat down again. When he looked back, he saw Xue Jinxun looking at the window with a disappointed face. He thought for a moment and asked her with a smile, "Is your Sister Yu a good person?"
Xue Jinxun twisted her fingers. Because she was not good at expressing herself, she just nodded slightly. Then she lowered her head and said no more.
Seeing her like this, Xue Rui sighed and said in a gentler voice, "If you like to be with her, we can ask her out to play another day. How about that?"
"… Okay."
*
*
*
Deep into the night, Yu Shu was lying on the bed with her hands as a pillow. Her brows were slightly furrowed as she thought about how she had been watching the commotion from below the arena during the day. Unintentionally, she looked up at the glazed rooftop and vaguely saw the silhouette of Ji Xingxuan.
Needless to say, if that really was Ji Xingxuan, she must have accompanied Ning Wang to attend the Double Sun Gathering.
This gave Yu Shu a headache. Liu Hao didn't look like someone who would be blinded by lust. However, he still kept Ji Xingxuan by his side even though the Ji family had gone through such a huge incident. It had to be said that he was sincere.
And Ji Xingxuan was a smart person. With such a backer to rely on, how could he not make use of it?
This is not good news. Yu Shu thinks it over and over again. She always feels that she has a "family" now. Being stared at from behind by such a deadly enemy, her life is very unreliable. She has to be on guard against thieves and thieves.
"It seems that I have to make a trip to Zhenren Yuan. I'll spend some money to hire a skilled fighter. In the future, when I go out alone, I'll have to bring a guard with me. "
Yu Shu muttered to herself. She quickly made up her mind to go shopping the next day. She turned over, wrapped herself in the blanket, and fell asleep.
*
*
*
Yu Shu had seen the accounts yesterday. Lin Fu originally thought that she wouldn't come today. Who knew that early in the morning, when he had just changed his clothes and came downstairs, he saw Yu Shu open the back door and walk in.
"Miss?"
"Old Lin, good morning." Yu Shu greeted the fat steward. Seeing the confusion in his eyes, she pointed upstairs and explained, "I'm here to get something."
Lin Fu asked, "Have you eaten breakfast?"
"I ate on the way. There's no need to prepare anything for me. I'll leave in a while. You can go do what you need to do."
Yu Shu waved her hand at him and went up to the second floor. She used the key to open the door and entered the room she used. Turning into the side rest room, she pulled out a medium-sized box from under the bed. She took it to the table and opened it.
Inside the box was her private money. There was a stack of banknotes that she 'extorted' from the Ji family. There were also some bits and pieces that she earned from doing fortune-telling. Although she had used some of it, there was still a lot left.
She made an inventory. There was about a thousand taels left.
Yu Shu took the money bag and put the bits and pieces of silver in it. She folded the banknotes and put them in her pocket. She only left two ingots to look at in the box.
With enough money, Yu Shu left from the back door. She went to the street and hired a gray leather sedan chair. She directed people to carry it to the west of the city.
*
*
*
The north and south of the city were clearly demarcated. The Qianyuan Road that ran through the capital divided the rich and the poor. The east and west of the city were also different.
They were also in the west of the city. A little further north was a street of calligraphy, painting, and silk shops, while a little further south was a bustling market. The streets were noisy, and there were many beggars. There were always two or three beggars on each street.
Yu Shu liked to recognize the way, so she didn't just sit in the sedan chair. Instead, she hung up the curtain and looked all the way. She was looking at the street to see if there were any new snacks that she could buy and bring back for Yu Xiaoxiu to try. Suddenly, she saw a few unkempt beggars chasing a limping clay figurine out of an alley. In a moment, they rushed to the middle of the street, and her sedan chair happened to block their way. The clay figurine that was being chased lost its balance and fell to the ground. The people chasing it caught up and grabbed its hair and began to wrestle with it.
The sedan chair bearers were shocked and stopped. They were blocked by the people in front of them and couldn't pass.
"Bastard, how dare you steal food and drink in our territory. Beat him to death!"
"Who asked you to steal? Who asked you to steal? I'll beat you to death!"
Yu Shu's palanquin couldn't move, so she could only watch the scene unfold. The clay figurine that was being beaten was a man. His hair was messy, and his clothes were ragged, barely hanging on his body. One of his hands was strangely holding his head, and he didn't fight back. Instead, he lowered his head and wolfed down the fried chicken in his other hand while the others were beating him.
However, the chicken was quickly snatched from his hand by a few beggars. They kicked him to the ground and stomped on him a few times. Then, they swore and ran into the alley.
The clay figurine didn't make a sound. He struggled to get up from the ground. When he raised his head, he saw Yu Shu in the sedan chair.
The first to be stunned was the clay figurine. Yu Shu reacted quickly. She recognized the man as soon as she saw the ugly centipede-like scar on the man's unshaven face. She was so shocked that her mouth dropped open.
Wasn't this the deputy leader of Autumn Osmanthus Lane's Evergreen Gang? The "Brother Hai" that Qiu Biao and the others hired to kill her?
Why was Qiu Biao and Bi Qing beheaded in public? Shouldn't they be locked up in prison?
Just as Yu Shu was bewildered, the clay figurine panicked and retreated a few steps. He dragged his half-crippled leg and ran into the alley behind him.
When Yu Shu came back to her senses, the clay figurine had already run far away.
Yu Shu anxiously clung to the window and wanted to get out of the sedan chair. She didn't know whether to chase or not.
A series of question marks appeared in her mind.
A few months ago, that pair of bandits, Qiu Biao and Bi Qing, bumped into her in the Capital. When they found out that she was still alive, they were afraid that she would expose the fact that they were colluding with the water bandits from both inside and outside to murder for money, so they tried to kill her. Later on, she asked Xue Rui for help to bring this group of people to justice.
The murderer they hired was "Brother Hai". Because he injured Jing Chen's hand, Yu Shu broke two of his fingers and sent him to prison.
Qiu Biao and Bi Qing were beheaded. She clearly remembered that Brother Hai was also sentenced to ten years in prison for murder. It had only been a few months. How did he escape?
Could he be escaping from prison?
However, it seemed that he had been out for a long time. Why didn't she hear anything? Why didn't Xue Rui tell her that he had escaped?
The more Yu Shu thought about it, the more confused she became. She didn't dare to chase after him by herself. She could only remember the route and let the sedan chair bearers carry her away.
*
*
*
Yu Shu went to the Supply House alone and carefully selected two servants who could fight and carry. She spent a high price of four hundred taels of silver to take them away. However, she didn't look for the steward who received Xue Rui last time.
She took the contract of selling herself and two guards who were said to be the private soldiers of a criminal general. Yu Shu came out of the Supply House. She didn't even sit in the sedan chair. She directly brought the two guards and walked back to the street where she saw "Brother Hai".
"Miss, where are we going?"
"Go to the front. I want to catch someone. Help me." Yu Shu said with a heavy expression. Since she knew that the person had escaped from prison, she couldn't just let him go. She must catch him to prevent any accidents from happening.
The two newly appointed thugs looked at each other. Because they had been transferred and taught in the Supply House, they remembered to obey orders in order to have a better life in the future. They didn't say anything else and followed behind Yu Shu into an alley.
Yu Shu was sure that "Brother Hai" couldn't have run far with a limp. Plus, he had obvious features. In less than an hour, they found his whereabouts in the neighborhood.
When Yu Shu led them through many turns and found a smelly ditch, Qu Hai was curled up and coughing under a broken bridge.
As soon as he heard footsteps approaching, Qu Hai raised his head in alarm. When he saw the figure of the person approaching, he rolled and crawled to run. But the two thugs brought by Yu Shu obeyed her orders and went forward to capture him.
Different from the cowardly Yu Shu saw on the street before, Qu Hai dragged a limp and fought with two thugs alone. After more than ten moves, he was defeated. His arms were twisted and he was pushed to the front of Yu Shu.
"Miss, I've caught him. What should I do with him?"
Yu Shu stared at Qu Hai, who was neither human nor ghost, with an ugly expression, and asked directly, "How did you escape from the prison?"
"Ahem …" Qu Hai knew that he couldn't break free, so he lowered his head and didn't say a word or answer Yu Shu's question.
Yu Shu sneered, "It doesn't matter if you don't say it. You are a fugitive anyway. I'll send you to the yamen now."
Qu Hai's body stiffened. He slowly raised his head and stared at Yu Shu. His bloodshot eyes revealed a pleading expression. "I was just paid by someone to eliminate a disaster for them. There is no hatred between us. Cough, cough, cough … I attacked you, but you also cut off two of my fingers. So, we are even. If you let me go, I swear to God that I will never seek revenge on you in the future. Otherwise, I will die a horrible death, otherwise … "
Speaking of this, he gasped a few times, gritted his teeth, and suddenly became ruthless, "Otherwise, as long as I'm alive, I won't let you live a good life!"
Qu Hai was a man in the past. He had some guts. He was under the control of others, but he still dared to threaten. If Yu Shu was timid, she might be scared by him. But this woman had experienced death, so she wouldn't be scared by his bluff.
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