When Xia Miaomiao arrived in the city, she went with Zhang Auntie and Lv Luo to buy everything they needed first.
She made an excuse that she wanted to go buy some rouge and powder, and Zhang Auntie didn't stop her, telling her to go quickly and come back quickly.
But Lv Luo insisted on going with her, so Xia Miaomiao had no choice but to give up going to the Moon Pavilion Inn.
Luckily, she had prepared in advance. While buying rouge and powder, when Lv Luo was not paying attention, she secretly gave the shop owner some silver and asked her to help deliver a letter to the Moon Pavilion Inn.
It was an effortless task, so the shop owner readily agreed.
After the two came out of buying rouge and powder, they were about to go back and meet up with Zhang Auntie.
When passing by an alley, they suddenly saw a girl fighting with two men in the alley.
But that girl was clearly no match for those two men. After just a couple of rounds, she was kicked to the ground and spit out blood.
The man went forward, grabbed the girl by the shoulders, and yelled viciously, "Being sold to the brothel, you still want to run away? I see you're looking to die!"
As the man spoke, he slapped the girl hard and said, "If I don't teach you a lesson, you'll really think you can turn the world upside down just because you know a little martial arts?"
Xia Miaomiao and Lv Luo looked at each other.
"I don't know martial arts... so I don't have the ability to meddle in other people's business..." Xia Miaomiao said very tactfully.
"Forget it, I don't want to cause trouble either. This kind of thing is too common to see!"
"Or... should we go report this to the officials?"
"Miaomiao, you're too naive. Reporting this to the officials is useless!"
"..."
Alright, in her society with a sound legal system, she really didn't understand the ways of survival here.
Lv Luo pulled Xia Miaomiao away, pretending not to see anything, and was about to leave.
But the girl seemed to have seen Lv Luo's figure. Her face lit up with joy, "Lv Luo! Lv Luo, save me!"
Hearing the girl's voice, Lv Luo was clearly stunned. She turned to look over there, but the girl was blocked by the man and did not see her face.
The two men also followed her gaze and looked towards the alley entrance.
"If you don't want to die, get out of here quickly!" The man shouted.
"Lv Luo, it's me, save me, please!"
Lv Luo immediately walked into the alley and saw the girl's face in surprise, "Qing Ying, is it really you?"
Xia Miaomiao did not hold Lv Luo back, but she did not dare to go in either, peeking in from the alley entrance.
The other man came forward, blocking Lv Luo, "Can't you understand human words? I told you to get lost!"
Lv Luo knitted her brows, looked at Qing Ying, and asked, "Why were you sold to the brothel?"
She knew about Qing Ying. Qing Ying was instigated by someone, betrayed the Palace Master, and was expelled from the Palace of No Worries.
Although they used to be sisters, and they had a good relationship, seeing her like this now, Lv Luo still felt a little reluctant.
Qing Ying's mouth was stained with blood, and she gave a bitter laugh, "It's all my fault... I was foolish to believe that man's words."
Lv Luo paused, looked at the two men, and said, "Let her go. I can give you however much silver you want!"
The man sneered, "Say one more word, and I'll catch you too!"
As the man spoke, he attacked Lv Luo. Lv Luo knew some martial arts and fought the man for a few moves.
Xia Miaomiao watched from the alley entrance anxiously. It was obvious that Lv Luo was gradually no match for that man.
Xia Miaomiao took out a packet of medicinal powder from her waist, clenched it tightly in nervousness, and mustered up tremendous courage before running in.
As soon as she ran in, Lv Luo had just been beaten to the ground by that man.
Seeing Xia Miaomiao run in, the two men looked at her contemptuously, "You're here to die too?"
Just as the man was about to make a move, Xia Miaomiao was so scared that she waved her hand in panic to shield her face. The white medicinal powder in her hand was inadvertently sprinkled onto the faces of the two men.
"Ah!"
The powder immediately took effect, sizzling on the men's faces. The two men immediately covered their faces and fell to the ground rolling around.
Seeing their appearance, Xia Miaomiao was frightened pale. Lv Luo was also shocked.
She immediately got up from the ground, pulled Xia Miaomiao, "Miaomiao, Qing Ying, run quickly!"
The three reacted and immediately ran out of the alley together.
They didn't know how far they ran. Xia Miaomiao was still terrified. She had never dared to do anything like this before!
Luckily she carried the medicine prepared for her by Xiao Han with her at all times.
"Miaomiao..." Lv Luo panted and asked, "You're so amazing, what was that stuff just now?"
Xia Miaomiao hesitated, and did not explain specifically either, "I don't know martial arts, so I use it for self-defense."
"Thank you for saving me, young lady." Qing Ying said weakly.
She looked at the injured Qing Ying, "Who is this young lady?"
She hadn't seen this girl during her time at the Palace of No Worries, but Lv Luo seemed to know her.
Lv Luo looked at Qing Ying and frowned, "How did you end up like this? Didn't you say that man truly loved you? How did you fall so low?"
"I..." Qing Ying lowered her eyes, with red rims around them, "From beginning to end, he was only using me to find the Palace Master's Soul-summoning Music Score. I didn't complete the task, so I became expendable to him. He sent me to the brothel and let those men trample on me."
"I said you deserved it!" Lv Luo scolded, "I told you not to trust men, but you insisted he loved you truly!"
"Lv Luo, let's hurry back. Zhang Auntie is still waiting for us." Xia Miaomiao reminded.
Lv Luo looked at Qing Ying and said resentfully, "Qing Ying, take care of yourself!"
After the two left, Qing Ying watched their backs and her eyes were filled with gloom.
She could now only live a life of hiding and homelessness. If that man didn't let her go, she would eventually be found.
...
On the way back, Xia Miaomiao learned about Qing Ying from Lv Luo.
She was also abandoned by her parents because she was a daughter. She never received a father's love since she was little.
Later she met a man who was very caring towards her, and she fell into it, even willing to betray the Palace of No Worries for him.
"Who was that man? Do you know?" Xia Miaomiao couldn't help but ask.
"I don't know. She kept everything about that man a secret. All I know is that she fell in love with a man. I was very surprised later when Sister Zi found her out. I thought she had just fallen in love, I didn't expect she would betray the Palace Master and betray us for love."
"Then why did you save her just now?"
"We used to be sisters after all. As a woman, I couldn't bear to see her caught and sent to the brothel."
Xia Miaomiao thought, if it was her, Xuemo, Lin Jie, and Xiao Han in such a relationship, even if there were grievances, they would certainly save each other if they encountered this kind of thing.
Although they would hate that the other was blinded by love, they would not stand by and watch her being bullied by others.
"Ga...!"
The carriage suddenly shook violently, and Xia Miaomiao and Lv Luo fell right into the carriage.
"Ahhhhh......" Before they could react, the carriage rolled over to the side.
Zhang Auntie who was driving the carriage outside was also thrown to the ground, instantly falling unconscious!
The horse's neck was shot with several arrows and collapsed to the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust!
