Although the city of Suzhou is not big, since the fifth watch, when the sedan chair walked from the side of the city where the Zangchun Pavilion was located to the other side of the Zhao Mansion, the sun had already risen high.

After getting off the sedan chair, Yuan Chen got off the sedan chair with the support of the maid, and Zhao Qiuping said: "Miss Chen, this is the mansion below." ”

"Oh." Yuan Chen responded, and looked up at this imposing pomp and circumstance, which was no less than the mansion of the Guo Mansion in Changzhou.

"Miss Chen, for the time being, the maid will take you to familiarize yourself, there are still some things in my post house, so I won't accompany you." Zhao Qiuping said.

"Lord Zhao, you are busy." Yuan Chen bowed slightly.

Zhao Qiuping turned around and left, and the maid walked into the mansion with Yuan Chen.

Although the mansion is large, the layout is not chaotic, but very regular, and it is roughly divided into three courtyards. The first courtyard is the reception area, the magnificent vestibule, solemn and solemn furnishings, all revealing the majestic atmosphere of the owner; The second courtyard is where Zhao Qiuping stays, with a warm layout and a vivid structure, but it also reflects the meticulousness of this man; The third courtyard is the back garden that most of the wealthy families of those days repaired beautifully. The room where Yuan Chen temporarily settled was also convenient.

It was winter, although it was said to be three poles, but it was also very cold, Yuan Chen was not in much of the mood to wander, so he instructed the maid to guide him and went straight to the room.

This room is slightly different from the rooms she has lived in before, the rooms she has lived in the past are all dressed in ancient women's standards, not to mention the room with a very strong rouge atmosphere in the Tibetan Spring Pavilion, even if the room of Yuan Moqing of Yuan Mansion in Xiangyang also reveals the atmosphere of beautiful jasper, but this room is full of men's dress, the color is quite elegant, not to mention, there are decorative weapons on the wall. But after all, it was a temporary stay, and Yuan Chen didn't force it. Now she is full of hope that she can reunite with Yuan Moqing and Liu Ming.

The maid presented a cup of tea, Yuan Chen took it, took a sip, and looked the other party up and down. This maid's dress is about the same as the people she has seen before, and her appearance is also a symbol, but her age is slightly older, and she seems to be older than herself, and she should be in her early twenties.

"What's your name?" Yuan Chen put down the teacup and asked casually. Since beating her and experiencing the service of several maids, she can't help but speak with a little master's tone.

"Back to the master, the slave maid is called Zixuan." The maid gave a light salute and said respectfully.

"Zixuan, the name is very good, did you choose it yourself?"

"No, after I arrived at the house, the master took it."

It seems that this Zhao Qiuping is not just a martial artist, judging from the name given to the maid, it is still a bit cultural. Yuan Chen thought about it, couldn't help but smile, and asked again, "How old are you this year?" ”

"Back to the master, the slave and maid are twenty-five this year." Zixuan said.

"Oh? Are you still a maid when you're so old? Yuan Chen was stunned for a moment and asked.

After hearing this, Zixuan did not reply, but stood in place, lowered her head, rubbed the placket of her clothes, and after a moment of hesitation, tears flowed down.

"What's wrong? Zixuan? Yuan Chen's heart softened, and he hurriedly got up and asked, "Did I ask something wrong?" ”

"No, master, it's not your fault," Zixuan shook her head and said, "It's the slave who deserves to die, and she shouldn't cry when the master first arrives in the mansion." ”

Yuan Chen looked at her face, and her experience in the police interrogation made her doubt that there must be something unspeakable about this woman. She hurriedly helped Zixuan sit down and wiped her tears.

Zixuan was flattered, and hurriedly got up and knelt down, not daring to speak.

"Don't be afraid, I'm younger than you, let me call you Sister Zixuan." Yuan Chen picked up Zixuan and said, "Sister, if you have anything, just tell me, if I can help you, I will try my best to help, if I can't help you, I can also tell Shopkeeper Zhao and let her get an idea for you." ”

"Miss! Don't you dare to tell the master! Zixuan shouted as if frightened.

"What's wrong? What's going on? Yuan Chen hurriedly took her hand and comforted.

Zixuan breathed a sigh of relief and pondered for a long time before she said: "The slave maid was originally a Suzhou song, but she was redeemed after being favored by the master, and the slave maid was allowed to be a concubine. Who knew that the war had spread to the south of the Yangtze River recently, and the lord's business had been hit, and a batch of goods had been intercepted by the rebels in Jiangyin. Not only that, but the rebels also claimed that the old man colluded with the Ming army and wanted to kill the general. In order to show goodwill, the lord took the initiative to dedicate the slave maid and a few women to the righteous army as a military record, who knew that after a few days, the Ming army was killed to Jiangyin, and the garrison of the righteous army was killed without leaving a piece of armor. Those women fell into the hands of the Ming army again, and only the slaves and maids escaped by taking advantage of the chaos. But after the slave and maid escaped, there was nowhere to go, so they returned to this place, hoping that the master could continue to take them in, but the master was very angry, not only no longer allowed the slave and maid to be concubines, but also severely beat the slave and maid, demoted to a maid, and kept ...... for the time being" As she spoke, Zixuan rolled up her sleeves, revealing the bruises on her arms.

Yuan Chen looked at those scars and thought to himself, this girl is also cheap enough, since she has escaped, why do you want to return here? Don't you want to live the kind of life where you can stretch out your hands and eat to open your mouth? But then again, looking at it this way, that Zhao Qiuping is also ruthless enough, and he doesn't take women seriously at all. If that's the case, isn't the situation you're in now? Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a nervous heart. Did he just get out of the tiger's den and enter the wolf's den? Thinking of this, she forcibly resisted the fluctuations in her heart, pretended to be calm, and asked, "How many women are there in the garden now?" ”

"Back to the master, you're the only one." Zixuan said.

"Doesn't the lord have a wife?" Yuan Chen asked again.

"No, the lord has never accepted the main house, many women walk here and call them concubines, but in fact, they are all sacrificed by the lord as a bargaining chip in the end."

"Huh?" Yuan Chen was taken aback when he heard this. Do you want to follow in the footsteps of these women? Is it possible? I have entrusted Zhao Qiuping, and Zhao Qiuping and Liu Ming are good friends. With his relationship with Liu Ming, can he treat himself like this? Her mind suddenly became agitated, and her heart beat a drum.

In this way, I spent a morning in the room in a state of flux, and at ten o'clock at noon, there were footsteps outside, and the footsteps came from far and near, and Zhao Qiuping's voice also came: "Miss Chen, how is the morning?" ”

Zixuan hurriedly opened the door and curtsied, "Back to the master, Miss is okay in the morning." ”

"Hmm." Zhao Qiuping was overjoyed, waved his hand, and Zixuan exited the room and closed the door.

Yuan Chen's heart tightened, and he looked at the other party vigilantly, not knowing what he was going to do.

"Miss Chen," Zhao Qiuping didn't seem to notice her nervous look, and said with a smile, "I have already found Liu Ming and Yuan Moqing who you want me to find." ”

"Oh? Is it? Great, where? When Yuan Chen heard what the other party said, his guard suddenly relaxed, and he asked in surprise. It seems that he blames the other party, no matter what he does to those women for the time being, but he treats his friends, he shouldn't be confused.

"I'm going to take you to her now?" Zhao Qiuping said with a smile.

"Okay!" Yuan Chen was pleasantly surprised, she was about to meet Yuan Moqing and them again, which she had dreamed of for months.

"Then, pack up, let's set off, the sedan chair should be slower, it is estimated that it will arrive in Changzhou tomorrow morning." Zhao Qiuping said.

Half an hour later, everything was in order. After sitting in the sedan chair with thickened door curtains and a charcoal brazier in the sedan chair, Yuan Chen was pleasantly surprised. How could she not be excited about the imminent resumption of meeting her friends and returning to her familiar life? The sedan chair man had strong feet and galloped all the way, and Zhao Qiuping and a team of people accompanied him like escorting important people. All the way, people walked in the direction of Changzhou.

After only a short break on the way, and a few more sedan chair drivers, a team of people finally arrived at Changzhou Mansion when it was slightly bright the next day.

The excitement of the night made Yuan Chen not close her eyes, but when it was dawn, she couldn't support it anymore. Zhao Qiuping handed her a cup of tea and asked her to relieve her spirits, but after drinking this cup of water, not only did she lose her energy, but fell asleep all of a sudden.

When Yuan Chen woke up, he found that he was already lying on the bed, and the thick quilt was still pressed on his body. She felt a little stuffy and wanted to move, but she couldn't move. Only then did she realize that her hands, feet, neck, and waist were bound to the bed board with ropes, and to her surprise, she was naked.

Yuan Chen shouted in fright, and after a while, Zhao Qiuping walked in from outside the door.

"Ahh Yuan Chen was shocked, she had a premonition that something was going to happen next. Sure enough, Zhao Qiuping sneered and lifted the corner of the quilt and looked at her smooth calves with a squint.

"What are you going to do!" Yuan Chen shook her body and shouted, but because of the restraint of the rope, her shaking was useless.

"Don't you know what I'm going to do?" Zhao Qiuping asked rhetorically, at this time, he was no longer like the polite businessman that Yuan Chen had just met, but had become a guy with a bad smile, a shameless face, and an obscene face.

"You, stop! I...... What the hell is going on here? Yuan Chen didn't know what he was going to say, and shouted incoherently.

"Okay, I can let you understand first." Zhao Qiuping said, sat on the edge of the bed, looked at Yuan Chen with a cruel smile, and said, "Don't hide it, now the war has already affected Jiangnan." I thought that if I sent some women over, the reckless men would no longer be embarrassed by me, but who knew that a group of Ming troops went south and killed this group of rebels without much effort. Now the Ming army is saying in turn that I colluded with the rebels, so I not only have to send silver tickets, but also have to send a few more beauties up and down. Moreover, the Ming army is different from that group of peasants, they have a high vision and many demands, so I am also looking for beauty. You," he said, and he kept saying to Yuan Chen, "I'm going to dedicate you as the first card to the head general, and this is worthy of you." As for the other dozen or so women who were brought together by me, they can only be used as military records. ”

"You...... Vile! Yuan Chen scolded.

"Am I despicable? Ha! Zhao Qiuping couldn't help laughing, and said, "You know, I spent a lot of money to ransom you." In order to get in touch with the generals of the Ming army, I spent a lot of money. When I went to inquire, Tian Wan's kid was black enough, and the asking price was too high. Especially you are the highest, but I still gritted my teeth and asked for you, because among these women, you are the most beautiful. As he spoke, he raised his hand and pinched Yuan Chen's chin.

Yuan Chen was suddenly panicked, but his eyes rolled and he shouted, "You! If you're going to give me away, don't touch me! ”

Zhao Qiuping laughed again, "I have to give it up, and the general also knows what you women do, and he won't be afraid of another person touching you." Besides, I really haven't tasted what it's like to be the head of 'Qin Huai Bayan', so let's try it today. As he spoke, he grabbed the quilt and was about to lift it.

"Ahh Yuan Chen screamed and closed his eyes in despair. But at this moment, someone outside the door suddenly shouted: "There are assassins!" Then there was the sound of "ping-pong" weapons colliding.

Zhao Qiuping was stunned for a moment, did not continue to move, but turned around and ran out of the door.

Yuan Chen was still lying on the bed, unable to move, and the cold wind blew in through the door that was not closed, freezing her bare calves so cold that she shivered. She struggled to look out, it was already dark, and she must have been stunned by the cup of tea, and fell asleep all day. However, although it was dark, the courtyard was brightly lit, and it seemed that many people were fighting with torches, and the shadows of weapons were reflected in the windows.

After a while, I saw a man forced to the window, his back against the lattice and the fight continued, and blood continued to splash on the window paper. After a moment's fighting, the man couldn't hold on, turned around and smashed the window lattice, and jumped into the house—a masked man in black.

Everyone was just about to enter the house, but Zhao Qiuping seemed to be worried about Yuan Chen's safety, and hurriedly shouted: "Slow! Don't go in! Back off! Everyone retreated into the courtyard and surrounded the room. Calm has temporarily returned to the outside.

Only then did Yuan Chen realize that it was only this one person who was fighting with everyone outside. Taking advantage of the fact that everyone was not approaching, the visitor hurriedly closed the door, squatted on the ground and gasped for a while before slowly standing up. The knife in her hand glowed red under the reflection of the torch outside the window, revealing murderous intent, and a lot of blood flowed down the blade.

Yuan Chen was a little nervous, she didn't know what this person's purpose was, especially since she was still naked, she didn't know what this person would do to her.

The visitor looked out the window, turned around again, as if he had just discovered Yuan Chen's existence, and was slightly stunned, but immediately, a pair of clear eyes showed a look of surprise.

Yuan Chen stared at the other party, holding his breath, biting his lips, extremely nervous.

I saw someone walk quickly to the side of the bed and lift the quilt. Yuan Chen shouted in shame: "Ah! But the visitor ignored it, raised his knife and cut the ropes that bound her, and then took up the quilt and put it over her again. Then he stepped forward and ripped off his veil.

Yuan Chen exclaimed as if he had seen a ghost. The person in front of him was Duan Xuehong!

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