Prince Consort

Chapter 11 The Well Rope Is Like a Snake (2)
The coachman couldn't bear to hear the screams coming from afar, frowned, and shrank aside, not daring to listen.

Qing He was so frightened that she lay on the carriage and burst into tears: "Miss, let's go home."

Bai Zhi was calm on the side: "Those people won't walk towards us, don't you hear the voice getting farther and farther away?"

"It's so scary, if we were in Suzhou City, how could such a thing happen!" Qing He continued to cry, as if she could only live if she cried.

Bai Zhi didn't answer, she was preoccupied.She really doesn't know what Tongcheng looks like now, but the walls are ruined, and there are many mourners?She dare not imagine.They waited for a long time, even though there was no more fighting or screaming, they still remained motionless until the next day, when Bai Zhi ordered the driver to move on.

When they came to the place where the corpses were strewn everywhere, the speed of the horse slowed down significantly.Bai Zhi knew that the driver was afraid that the car would run over those corpses.They can't save each other, at least they can leave a whole body.

"Help..." Suddenly, a faint voice sounded, making the carriage stop.

The coachman lifted the curtain again: "Miss, there is someone alive."

Qing He was frightened and shrank in the car, not daring to move.Bai Zhi pursed her lips and quickly got out of the carriage, only to find the man covered in blood lying there.Bai Zhi walked over and couldn't help marveling at the strength of this man's vitality. It's been a night and he's still alive!
Bai Zhi ordered Qing He to bring a teapot, and moistened the man's throat, she only brought a small amount of Jinchuang medicine, which was not enough for him.If the bleeding did not stop, he would really die.Bai Zhi held her skirt and looked around to see if there were herbs to stop bleeding.

Fortunately, she was with Qiu Chan all the year round, and Qiu Chan married a mountain medicine man, so she knew some basic medicinal materials by ear.The hemostatic herb was not difficult to find, and she rushed back before the man fainted.

Saving people first, she stuffed the grass directly into her mouth and began to chew.I have to mention that she was so sick that she was about to throw up.When she applied those medicinal herbs to the man's wound, the man opened his eyes slightly, and saw a woman in white with a spotless face, and her soft black hair brushed his face.He thought it was a fairy descending to earth, and said with difficulty: "Thank you." Then he passed out quietly.

Bai Zhi was thinking, how should I deal with this man?Take the carriage and lead it to your uncle's house?Or just throw it here and let him fend for himself?After a fierce self-struggle, she still put the man on the carriage.

Seeing her young lady carrying a man on her back like a strong man, Qinghe stared at her teary eyes and murmured: "Miss..."

Bai Zhi panted desperately: "Hurry up and clean him up, this bloody look is scary."

"Yes." Trembling, Qing He poured the stored water into the basin to wash him.After she washed the man's face, she was stunned: "This young man is really handsome."

Bai Zhi swept the man's face around and sighed secretly, he really looks good.

The carriage finally approached Tongcheng, and Bai Zhi made many plans in her heart.For this man, how should she explain to that mean cousin?Helping each other along the way, pity in the heart, if you can save your life, it is a good thing, if you can't, it is a good deed.Judging by his attire, this man is considered a wealthy man, and the benefits will naturally come after he is saved. It is best to extort ten taels of gold from her and let her go to the slave trading market.

The gate of Tongcheng City is not incomplete, but it has been repaired extremely spectacularly and thickly.Entering and exiting the city is extremely strict and heavily guarded.But Bai Zhi couldn't figure it out a little bit, the soldier didn't seem to prevent foreigners from entering, but to prevent people from entering with weapons.After thinking about it later, she realized that it was no wonder that the huge slave trading market, including foreign races, made it impossible to do business.

Bai Zhi entered the city smoothly and came to her uncle's house, which she hadn't been to for many years. She climbed up the steps, and the magnificent Zhumen stood majestically in front of her eyes. Two mighty big stone lions beside her showed their domineering fangs.

Bai Zhi thought, it turns out that being a farmer can also make a fortune!

Qing He stepped forward to knock on the door, and a middle-aged man with a slightly stooped back opened the door after a while.Qing He handed Bai Yuan's letter to him, and he closed the door to deliver the letter.After a while, the middle-aged man laughed and let her in.Bai Zhifang was about to step into the threshold, as if thinking of something, he said to the middle-aged man: "Oh, there is one person in the carriage, please carry it on your back."

"well……"

Seeing the middle-aged man go to the carriage, she curled her lips reassuringly, and was about to step over the threshold, but she heard the middle-aged man screaming.Bai Zhi thought, this housekeeper has never seen the world, isn't he just a dying person?
I only heard the middle-aged man screaming: "Master! What's wrong with you?"

This time Bai Zhi was quite frightened, she... the person she saved was actually that cousin who always pointed at her nose with a disgusted expression and scolded her that no one wanted her when she grew up?
What a coincidence...

The curved corridors turn around, the red fences and green walls, the peach blossoms are colorful in March in Yangchun, and there are occasional springs ding-dong. If you look closely, it turns out that it is a water pavilion near the spring.This fairy-like residence is actually her uncle's house?Bai Zhi tried hard to recall her childhood, but she couldn't compare the large yard where rice was piled up all over the place and the warehouse was her home with the elegant and grand courtyard in front of her.

Bai Zhi heard from her uncle that in the early years, there was a drought in Tongcheng, and most farmers could not eat, let alone earn money.The Liu family was no exception. They dismissed their servants and sold their houses.Bai Zhi's mother, Liu Shi, sympathized with her natal family and asked Bai Yuan for some silver to help them, but nothing came of it.Unexpectedly, Liu Ji, who had been studying abroad, came back and used the money from Liu’s sponsorship to buy the land of those farmers who were dying of starvation at a super low price. What he planted was not rice but grain and grass, and sold it to the armies of various countries.The Liu family made their fortune secretly, and later their business grew, relying on the source of customers, they began to open their doors to do business blatantly.

Bai Zhi had to admit that her cousin was bold and would take advantage of opportunities.He understands the advantages of Tongcheng's geographical location, which is located on the border.He also understands the situation in various countries in these years, with constant wars and continuous battles.He even knows how to "take advantage of the fire" to buy land at a low price when others can't figure it out!

It is impossible for such a deep and mercenary person to have few enemies!No wonder he was hunted down!

But it's his fault to hurt others.The uncle said that Liu Ji's trip was to pick up his sister Liu Ru, and he didn't want to encounter any accidents on the way back.In other words, Liu Ru was also in it at the time, but his whereabouts are unknown now.

Didn't Liu Ru be snatched by the robbers to be Mrs. Yazhai?It is very possible that since childhood Liu Ru was a beauty, even better than Bai Zhi.She, Bai Zhi, can already be regarded as a top beauty, let alone Liu Ru.

Bai Zhi told her uncle her conjecture, and the uncle wept bitterly: "My poor daughter!"

Bai Zhi also sighed.

When Liu Ji woke up, it was already three days later.That day, Bai Zhi was sleeping soundly in the wing room, Qing He rushed over as if reincarnated, and woke Bai Zhi: "Miss, Young Master Liu is awake."

Bai Zhi was still in a daze at the time: "Who is Mr. Liu?"

"Miss, your cousin!" Qing He was still excited.

Bai Zhi frowned, and looked at the extremely excited Qing He with a strange expression: "He's awake, what's the matter with me?"

Qing He was taken aback for a moment: "Shouldn't you go and have a look?"

"It's time to see it."

Qing He's eyes brightened.

Bai Zhi lay back on the bed: "I didn't hear anything just now, let's talk about it when I wake up." Cousin and sleep, she thinks sleep is more important.Cousin woke up, she should go and see, but if she fell asleep, she didn't know he had woken up, so it wouldn't be too late to go.

Tongcheng is only a day or so away from Sioux City, but Bai Zhi still feels that she is not acclimatized and lethargic.She didn't open her eyes until it was three poles high in the sun.She called Qinghe several times, but no one answered.She called out several times at the top of her voice, but still no one answered.Bai Zhi had no choice but to get up and freshen up by herself before going out.She randomly grabbed a maid and asked Liu Ji's address, and finally the well-behaved maid led her there.

Liu Ji's residence is very special, on the water pavilion built in the middle of the lake.Although Bai Zhi could swim, she would not dare to sleep there. If it was windy and rainy, she fell into the lake halfway through her sleep, it would be a tragedy on earth.

When she climbed up the bamboo ladder with her skirt in hand, she saw Qing He chatting with a little drug boy.She said why Qinghe didn't see anyone, because she ran here.Bai Zhi was not annoyed either, she just ignored Qing He and entered the house.

The room was filled with the smell of traditional Chinese medicine, and Bai Zhi could only distinguish a few herbs after smelling it.

Liu Ji was sitting by the desk, wearing a shirt, writing something with a pen in his hand.He must have heard footsteps, he raised his head, and when he saw Bai Zhi, he was stunned.

Bai Zhi greeted first: "Cousin, are you feeling better?"

Liu Ji put down his pen, walked over, and motioned for Bai Zhi to sit down.Bai Zhi sat comfortably, waiting for Liu Ji to speak.Liu Ji was sitting next to her, his face was pale, his lips were chapped, the only thing that could tell he was alive was his eyes, which could move and blink.

He still got up like this, obviously, he was writing something extremely important.

"Are you Bai Zhi's cousin?"

Unexpectedly, his first sentence was this?

"Could it be that you miss Shao'er?" Bai Zhi teased.

Liu Jiqian smiled twice: "I haven't seen you for many years, so I don't recognize you. You have changed a lot."

"The same goes for my cousin. I remember he used to drive me away. On the day I left, my cousin was so excited that he almost set off firecrackers to celebrate."

Liu Jidao: "Young and ignorant."

Bai Zhi said: "You are young and promising now, but you have many enemies. Don't blame your cousin for being troublesome, this time..."

Liu Ji's face was originally pale, but now it is completely pale: "I think it must be related to this war. My cousin should know that I sell military food and grass, regardless of national boundaries. The king of Nanzhao was warlike and attacked the surrounding small countries to expand himself. Land. So he became my big employer. In this battle, he ordered all the food and grass from me, but it was a pity that my food and grass had already been ordered by General Pei. First."

"So you became angry and sent someone to kill you?"

"My cousin saved me, why don't you know where I was hurt?" He narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at her seriously.

Bai Zhi blushed a little when he saw it: "Although there are many wounds, none of them hurt the vitals."

"Leave me alive and take my sister away."

"Coercion hostages, forcing you to submit?" Bai Zhi asked.

Liu Ji saw Bai Zhi's serious appearance, her fair and fat face, her pupils cut water, and her black silk like ink... In the past three days, such a face has been in his dreams, making him unwilling to wake up.

He has seen a beauty more beautiful than Bai Zhi, but why her face is so clear!
"Cousin." Seeing that Liu Ji was silent, Bai Zhi hastily called him once.

Liu Ji came back to his senses: "I think it should be."

Bai Zhi bowed her head in thought, Liu Ji looked at Bai Zhi again, in a daze for a long time.Qing He, who was hiding outside the door, peeked at the scene inside, her eyes dimmed, and her eyes also stayed on Liu Ji for a long time.

The little drug boy patted her, and she came back to her senses.

The little Yaotong said: "The master actually intends to take a concubine for the young master, you ask your master to help."

Qing He blushed, knowingly asked: "What are you helping me for?"

"It's fake to visit me every day, but it's true to see the young master! I like the young master... woo." Qing He hurriedly covered the little drug boy's mouth, and whispered pleadingly: "Keep your voice down."

The little drug boy pushed Qing He's hand away, and said loudly: "You only saw the young master a few times, and you fell in love with him? It's incredible."

Qing He pouted unconvinced: "Have you never heard of love at first sight?"

"But I think the young master fell in love with your young lady at first sight."

"..." Qing He remained silent, turned around and glanced at the room, only to see Bai Zhi and Liu Ji talking about something.

Bai Zhi was about to leave, she stood up and said to Liu Ji, "Cousin, please rest, I'll go first."

Liu Ji wanted to see her off, but Bai Zhi hurriedly excused her: "No need, I know the way."

"This..." Just as he was hesitating, his uncle walked in with a letter in his hand, worried: "Step-son, I have your letter."

Liu Ji took it in a hurry, looked at it carefully for a while, and suddenly said: "Father, quickly prepare gold, as much as you have." Bai Zhi was stunned, could it be that the other party threatened Liu Ru for money?
Uncle nodded hurriedly and went to the vault to get the gold.

Bai Zhi took the letter from Liu Ji, and there was only one sentence on it - I want people to come to Tongcheng slave trading market.

Bai Zhi was shocked.Liu Ji scolded angrily: "The king of Nanzhao is really despicable. I have promised to sell him grain and grass, but he still wants to take advantage of me."

The king of Nanzhao was really treacherous and cunning, and he auctioned Liu Ru to the public. Whether Liu Ji could save his sister would depend on how much money was paid.Presumably the King of Nanzhao will send someone to deliberately raise the price, earn more money, and then use the money from "selling Liu Ru" to buy Liu Ji's grain and grass...

This not only agreed to Liu Ji's request to release Liu Ru, but also took Liu Ji's food and grass for nothing. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone, killing two birds with one stone!
Of course, none of this has anything to do with Bai Zhi.This is a matter of the Liu family, she is just a guest!However, she was very interested in the slave trading bazaar.

"cousin……"

"what?"

Bai Zhi coughed twice: "Well... I saved your life, I want some reward."

Liu Ji looked at her in shock.

Bai Zhi smiled embarrassingly and embarrassedly: "Don't be nervous, I won't ask you to make a promise with your body, only ten taels of gold!"

"..."

"..."

"Come to the slave trading market with me later."

"it is good."

Is she taking advantage of the fire?

The slave trading market is not open every day, and the opening days are only from the first day to the fifth day of every month.The slave goods here are either abandoned by the owner, or abducted by human traffickers.No matter how strong your martial arts are, how strong you are as a bull, once you enter the slave trading market, you will be unable to fly. You can only wait to be auctioned. As for whether you can escape after being auctioned, it is not a matter of the slave trading market.The gold will be placed in a fixed vault, and the custodian will count the amount for the customer and issue a bill to the customer as the total asset value.In other words, when you enter the market, you can only buy as much as you bring, and no excess is allowed.

At the market, there were people from all over the world, and they were picking their favorite slaves.Because Liu Ru was auctioned publicly and would not be in the market, Liu Ji didn't want to go shopping and went straight to the auction market.

Bai Zhi touched her receipts, she took out all her belongings, the total value was 500 taels of silver.In the past, she thought it was quite a lot, but now she took a closer look and found that there were very few slaves she could buy.Although she didn't plan to buy slaves, it's better to bring them along for emergencies.

Bai Yuan only spent 50 taels of silver to buy Qinghe. She can buy ten Qinghe with the money, but here it is not even enough to buy a child.Bai Zhi really can't figure it out, are these slaves inlaid with gold?

Liu Ji saw Bai Zhi's doubts and told her: "Some of the slaves here may be princes who have been abducted and robbed. The channels are different, and the price is naturally different."

"Then if I buy a prince, do you think I should let him go and wait for him to be grateful for Dade, or treat the prince as a slave to satisfy his vanity?" Bai Zhi thought it was a fantasy to have a prince here, even if there was, buy a prince What's the point?She joked with Liu Ji in a mocking tone.

"You can force the prince to have a child with you. The mother is more expensive than the child. Wouldn't it be wonderful to exchange money for a concubine?"

"..." Well, Bai Zhi worships!

At this time, the auction market is already crowded with people.On the platform set up in the market place, Liu Ru was tied to the cross pillar by five flowers. She looked very weak, but her appearance was still neat.Liu Ji has always loved Liu Ru. Seeing Liu Ru being placed in front of everyone like a commodity, he was heartbroken and almost lost control and rushed to save others.

Fortunately, Bai Zhi stopped in time: "Cousin."

The auction has already started, and the bidding price has been higher and higher.A woman who is too beautiful, all she wants is a man...

Liu Ji didn't want Liu Ru to stay there any longer, so he didn't bother to ask the price, and directly quoted all the gold he brought.3000 taels of gold, many times more than the 500 taels at this time!
The auction market was suddenly silent.

Bai Zhi thought to herself, it's a sure thing.A woman is worth 3000 taels of gold. If there is still someone who pays a high price, then that person is either extremely lustful, or has a crush on this woman, or...

There is no place to spend money.

"Three thousand and five hundred taels of gold!" Someone stretched out his hand, and his loud voice sounded so abrupt and powerful in the silent auction market.

Bai Zhi looked curiously, a white shadow entered her eyes, her eyebrows slanted into her temples, her slender and cold phoenix eyes, her straight nose, her thin lips that always smiled but never smiled.

(End of this chapter)