A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 470 Liu Jiangxi Saves Hong Qing with Wisdom 1

As night falls, Fengqifang is brightly lit inside and outside, and is bustling with the sounds of chirping and laughter. Since Hong Qing's accident, Fengqifang is no longer as lively as it used to be. Also, because a young and beautiful courtesan with graceful dancing moves has appeared in the Hongyue Tower across the street, many customers are attracted there.

Mother Yun stood in the attic, looking at the hustle and bustle outside Hongyue Building. She then noticed that it was obviously much quieter outside her own house. She was so angry that she went downstairs and ran to Hongqing's room to curse her a few words. She also scolded Dafeng, who was applying medicine to Hongqing.

Hong Qing sat on the bed without any sadness or annoyance and allowed Yun's mother to scold her. She had never expected that Yun's mother would really love her like a daughter, so she did not feel lost or sad in her heart.

"Oh, weren't you very eloquent before? How come you have become mute now? I forgot that the wound on your face really doesn't suit you to chatter anymore." Mother Yun was tired of scolding, and when she saw Hong Qing acting as if nothing had happened and keeping silent, she couldn't help but ridiculing her.

However, Hong Qing still kept her head down and remained silent.

"Don't think I will pity you if you pretend to be miserable here. You are an old man in Fengqifang after all, and you should know that we never keep idle people here. Now you are no different from a waste. You can neither dance nor sing, and even your face is not good to look at. I don't know how much you can earn just by relying on your body. If it weren't for the friendship we have had for so many years, I would have thrown you out to fend for yourself that night!"

Mother Yun vented her anger with a frown and then left. The girls and maids who were watching outside ran away hurriedly, fearing that they would be scolded too.

“Girl…” After Mother Yun left, Dafeng walked up to Hongqing and called out sadly.

"I'm sorry that I got you scolded too." Hong Qing still raised her beautiful eyes calmly and smiled.

"Why are you being so polite to me, young lady? I don't know whether Miss Liu really cares about you or not. It's been three days and there's still no news." Dafeng looked at her with a frown and muttered softly.

Hong Qing turned over and lay back on the bed without saying a word. She had offended the prince this time. No matter who helped her now, it would definitely cause the prince's dissatisfaction. So she didn't want Liu Jiangxi to take risks at this time.

A carriage stopped far outside the gate of Hongyue Tower. Liu Jiangxi, dressed as a man, got off the carriage and handed a silver ingot to the driver, saying in a rough voice:

"Wait for me outside Fengqifang at 11:00 am tomorrow morning."

"Don't worry, sir. I'll be there on time tomorrow morning." Seeing the customer pay ten taels of silver at once, the driver's eyes lit up immediately. He took the silver with both hands and grinned repeatedly in response.

In Fengqifang, Mama Yun was entertaining guests in the private room on the second floor. Suddenly, a maid pulled her out and whispered, "Mama, is there an unfamiliar guest who wants to see Miss Hongqing?"

"Are there not many guests who want to see Hong Qing these days? But if she doesn't recover well enough, it will only be embarrassing and might even scare away the guests!" Mother Yun glanced at the maid beside her and sighed.

"I also declined, but this guest threatened that he would not leave if he did not see Miss Hongqing tonight." The maid also replied aggrievedly, and then whispered in Mama Yun's ear: "He is very generous. As soon as he arrived, he gave Xiaoyun, who entertained him, ten taels of money as a reward."

When she heard that he was a generous rich man, Mother Yun was naturally itching to meet him. Hong Qing was now disfigured and had a broken leg, and she had offended the prince, so all the important people in the capital avoided her. Tonight, finally a rich man came for Hong Qing, and it would be a pity if she missed him.

Thinking of this, Mother Yun followed the maid downstairs. The spacious hall on the first floor was not crowded as usual as there was no performance. There were only about ten tables of guests drinking and having fun with the girls.

When Mother Yun came downstairs, she saw the young rich man sitting alone next to the stage. She stopped to look at him. He had a thick waist and a bearded face, but his eyebrows and eyes were quite handsome. She thought he should be young. After a while, Mother Yun walked up to him with a smile:

"Hey, I don't see you, sir. Is this your first time visiting Fengqifang?"

"I came here once several years ago, but I was not very rich at that time, and Mama Yun was too busy to remember me. My name is Zhang Shengshui, and I've been doing business in the west for many years. This time I returned to the capital and thought of meeting Miss Hongqing again." Seeing that the person who came was Mama Yun, the madam of Fengqifang, Liu Jiangxi felt a little disgusted, but he still stood up, bowed to her, and laughed roughly.

"It turns out that Boss Zhang is the one who is busy with many things. He has only been back for several years, and I, an old woman, have already grown white hair!" Mother Yun laughed and poured more tea for the other party and sat down with him.

"I just arrived in the capital today and I heard about Miss Hongqing. Is she okay?" Liu Jiangxi didn't want to be too polite, so he asked directly with concern.

"Oh, what's good or bad about it now? It's hard to believe that Boss Zhang would come and see this poor woman after knowing about this." Seeing that this man cared so much about Hong Qing, Mother Yun also sighed and even wiped away her tears at the end.

"When I was down and out, I was fortunate enough to be encouraged by Miss Hong Qing. It was also with her words that I got to where I am today. So, I beg Mama Yun to be flexible and let me meet her." Looking at the hypocritical face of the old brothel owner in front of him, Liu Jiangxi sneered in his heart, then put three silver bills of one hundred taels in front of her and pleaded.

Mother Yun was surprised to see that Boss Zhang offered three hundred taels at once. Although if it was the Hong Qing in the past, it would be worth more than three hundred taels, but now is different. Hong Qing's current condition might make even a few taels of silver too expensive. It was rare that someone would offer three hundred taels for her tonight, so she thought every penny earned was a penny earned.

"Boss Zhang is a distinguished guest of Fengqifang. I, Mother Yun, cannot stop you from seeing Hongqing. But Hongqing is no longer as beautiful as she was in previous years. Just as the outside world says she..." Mother Yun couldn't wait to put away the three hundred taels of silver, and then coughed twice before sighing with difficulty. However, she was interrupted by the other party before she finished her words:

"Zhang has already found out everything about Hong Qing. Mama Yun can rest assured. I will not regret giving away the three hundred taels."

After hearing what Boss Zhang said, Mother Yun finally put her mind at ease and immediately told the maid to ask Hong Qing to prepare.

When Hong Qing learned that someone offered 300 taels of silver to see her tonight, she had already guessed that it was Liu Jiangxi who came. Her miserable appearance had already spread throughout the capital. Who else but Liu Jiangxi would be so stupid as to come to a brothel and spend 300 taels of silver to see an ugly and lame woman? And her caring brother Liang was far away in Jiangnan, and it was impossible for him to rush to Liangdu in just three days.

When Liu Jiangxi was invited into the room, he saw Hong Qing sitting in front of the bed in a red veil as usual. The wound on her face was covered by the veil. She still looked as beautiful and lively as ever.

When the door was closed by Dafeng, Liu Jiangxi hurried to Hong Qing. Seeing her with tears in her eyes and crying and laughing, he was stunned for a moment. Then he realized that she probably recognized him, so he started laughing too.

"Where did you, a young lady, get these?" Hong Qing asked, raising her hand and touching the beard on half of her face.

"I remembered that the actors at the temple fairs used to wear beards, so I secretly asked them for it." Liu Jiangxi's eyes were filled with tears. Seeing the fatigue and haggardness in Hong Qing's eyes, he couldn't help but ask, "Are you feeling better? How is your injury?"

"It's much better now. The wound has healed. Don't worry." Hong Qing slowly took off the veil on her face and smiled. There was a shocking scar running from the left cheek to the corner of her mouth. Her face was still pale and weak.

"She's injured like this..." Shocked to see Hong Qing's beautiful face injured like this, Liu Jiangxi felt so distressed that he pulled her hand and started crying.

"Don't cry, it's all in the past. It's good that the scar has fallen off. I'm tired of living in the attic. If I fall down, I won't have to live on such a precarious footing." Hong Qing wiped away Liu Jiangxi's tears and comforted him softly.

"Please wait a moment. I will find a way to help you with my current identity." Liu Jiangxi stopped crying, grabbed Hong Qing's hand again and said solemnly.

"Okay, but you have to be careful too." Hong Qing was moved by what she heard, and couldn't help but shed tears. She raised her hands to hug Liu Jiangxi, but when she felt the bulge on her back, she couldn't help but asked with a smile, "No wonder you look so strong and muscular, what are you hiding on your body?"

"The catkins were also obtained from the opera troupe."

"You are so smart, I don't have to worry about getting you into trouble."

"I will be careful."