On the Difficulties of Escape in Ancient Times

Chapter 469: Xiao Dalang

The imperial city is bustling with people and vehicles coming and going every day.

Even though it was already September and a thin layer of frost could be seen on the roadside early in the morning, Widow Wu was still wearing a thin, faded red dress that had a low collar and a tight waist.

However, the clothes were washed so many times that the red color faded into a grayish dark purple.

With a smile on her face, she called out to passers-by in a pinched voice: "Uncle, please buy some snacks to go with your wine. Braised pig head, pig ears, pig tongue and dried tofu are all delicious and tender and go well with wine."

The current situation is different from that of the previous dynasty. There is a rule that women cannot show their faces in public.

There were also many women walking on the streets.

Even those who do business have women as their family members, for example, they sell eggs laid by their own chickens and ducks, or they sell vegetables.

But there were very few people who hawked their wares like Widow Wu, so many people stayed away from her, thinking that she did not look like a decent woman.

In fact, Widow Wu didn't want this to happen, but thinking of the fists of the men in her family, she could only disregard her face and avoid physical pain.

Furthermore, the braised food she sold was seldom bought by ordinary people. Only men with a little money and a good bottle of wine liked it.

Wine and sex are linked together, and many men who love wine, of course, also love sex more.

Even though she is no longer young, she still looks pretty as long as she draws her eyebrows and paints her eyes.

A short, fat man in his fifties came over. He stopped when he heard her shouting, stared at her collar, and swallowed his saliva: "How much is the braised pig's face?"

"Not expensive, only 45 coins per pound." Widow Wu smiled at him flatteringly: "You look like a wealthy man, but these few coins are not enough for you to sit in a teahouse."

The old man felt a little distressed after hearing this, thinking that she sold it too expensively. The last time he bought pork cheek meat, it was only 38 cents.

Unfortunately, the shop owner is a big and strong man, and he is not the type of woman who is so talkative.

Men want to save face, not only do they not want to be treated as paupers, but they also don't want to be treated as paupers. Just because of her flattery, even if his family doesn't have a hundred taels of silver, he is not willing to bargain: "Give me a pound, if it tastes good, I'll buy it next time."

Widow Wu smiled and flattered him, but she cut nearly a pound and a half of it for him: "Sir, I cut a little more. I charge you 72 cents for a pound and a half. I'll give you 30 cents, okay?"

The old man was so distressed that he could buy four kilograms of pork with this money, enough for his family to have several meals.

But when he saw that Widow Wu had neatly wrapped the meat in dry lotus leaves and was holding it in front of him, he had no choice but to pay. When he went to take it, he touched her hand, and when he saw her lower her head in shame, he left reluctantly.

Widow Wu waited until he left and then continued to solicit customers.

Seeing that it was almost noon and there were fewer people on the streets, she plucked up her courage and prepared to rush home to cook.

But at this moment, she accidentally saw two men walking by.

The man in front of him was wearing a dark blue robe with arrow sleeves and a round collar, a black belt embroidered with a gourd, auspicious clouds embroidered on the sleeves and hem, and his hair was neatly tied with a silver hair crown. One could tell at a glance that he was a wealthy man.

Behind him followed a young servant, leading a tall horse.

But over the years, Widow Wu had seen many nobles on the streets who ordered servants around, and rode in sedan chairs and on horses. What made her open her eyes wide in disbelief was not the horse or the wealth, but the man.

Even though they haven't seen each other for seven or eight years, they had slept in the same bed together before, and he was the man she wanted to marry. How could she not recognize him?
"Brother Xiao!" She called out to him several times, but the man didn't turn around. She made up her mind and shouted, "Xiao Youfu!" Boss Xiao had vaguely heard someone calling him 'Brother Xiao' before, but he didn't take it seriously. It was mainly because in recent years, people either called him "Master Xiao" or "Uncle Xiao" and so on. He hadn't heard anyone call him like that for a long time.

I subconsciously thought it was "Xiao" and it couldn't be someone calling me.

Besides, I am a decent man, how could there be a woman calling me like that?

But when he heard the name Xiao Youfu, he could no longer deceive himself.

Turning back, he saw a familiar middle-aged woman running towards him, and couldn't help but frown: "Who are you?"

"Brother Xiao, I'm He Lan'er?" Widow Wu's real name is He Lan'er.

Xiao Dalang did not have amnesia, nor did he lose his memory. He thought of the young widow in the town who had a good relationship with him.

Even though he was resentful that Liu didn't seem to care about him, he deliberately found someone to make her jealous.

Furthermore, he could not deny that Widow Wu was young and beautiful, and she came to him on her own initiative. He was too lazy to clean up his room, so he naturally would not refuse the favor of a beauty.

But now he and Liu are in love, and if he were to have any affair again, he would be unfair to his wife who gave birth to his children.

Especially now, his three daughters can be said to have married into good families. Except for the Jiang family, the other two in-laws have several concubines, which makes him particularly worried that his sons-in-law will also have unfaithful thoughts.

Therefore, when his sons-in-law came home, he was very diligent. He would not only accompany his sons to study, but also help Liu with some work.

I hope that by my words and deeds, all my sons-in-law can remain chaste.

Although he also knew that even if he took a concubine, his sons-in-law would not dare to favor the concubine over his wife, he was afraid that his daughters would feel uncomfortable.

He couldn't even imagine that, thousands of miles away from home, in this huge imperial city, he would meet his former lover again.

"It's you!" He took out his purse, took out a twenty-liang silver note and handed it to her, his expression cold: "You are married now, right? This is a gift for you."

When Liu brought her daughter back to her hometown, Widow Wu wanted to move in with him, but he didn't want to, and would rather he go there every now and then.

At most, he would ask her to help clean the house and give her a penny and a half of silver each time.

In his opinion, this was a settlement of money and goods, and he didn't feel that he had let her down at all.

Giving her some money now is because he can see that she is not doing well, so he wants to send her away.

He was also cautious, as he had a fifty-liang silver note in his purse, but he didn't give it to the man.

I was afraid that I would give her too much and she would think of me as a sucker and keep pestering me.

Besides, her hometown was in such a mess back then, but she was able to escape. She must have relied on another man, which is why we can conclude that she got married.

Saying that he was making up for the gift was also a reminder to her that since she was already married, she should keep her distance from him.

Widow Wu saw that he wanted to cut off ties with her, and she felt sad and choked up, "Brother Xiao, I gave birth to a son for you. Even if you don't want me, you can't give up your flesh and blood!"

When Boss Xiao heard this, he was like a frightened cat, his pupils dilated, and the hairs all over his body stood up in alertness: "Impossible! Don't talk nonsense!"