Lingyan Pavilion

Half a day later, Ning Chen bid the innkeeper farewell as well. Before he left, the innkeeper specially gave him a small silver ingot as travel money.

Looking at the silver in his hand, Ning Chen was so delighted he could not close his mouth, tossing the morning's sadness clean out of his mind.

After thanking the innkeeper, Ning Chen set off with a smile. He did not say where he was going, because even he did not know where he could go.

To avoid being dragged back by Changsun, leaving the imperial city was the best choice. After weighing his options, Ning Chen finally made up his mind. Before that, however, he needed to visit Lingyan Pavilion once more and pay back the money for two cups of tea.

The bustling streets were filled with cries of vendors hawking their wares. This was the first time Ning Chen had been in the mood to stroll around properly; he was curious about this and fascinated by that.

Come to think of it, transmigrating was not so bad. Once he left the city, he could start a little business, marry a gentle girl, and have a few children. So long as Changsun did not catch him, life could still be beautiful.

Just as Ning Chen was fantasizing about his wonderful future, gongs and bells suddenly rang out at the end of the street. Amid the clatter of hooves, a gorgeously dressed yet somewhat strange procession approached from afar.

Pedestrians and street stalls hurriedly moved aside, afraid of blocking their path.

"The envoys from Zhenji Kingdom sure put on quite the display."

The crowd buzzed with discussion, most of them sounding indignant. Clearly, they had no fondness for these envoys from Zhenji Kingdom.

Ning Chen knew a little about Zhenji Kingdom. It lay northeast of Great Xia. Its territory was small, but it had no end of troubles, shouting all day that it was number one under heaven and constantly provoking disputes.

After Great Xia was founded, the third wise ruler had finally grown sick of enduring it and directly sent troops northeast, beating Zhenji Kingdom so badly that for several hundred years, it did not dare so much as fart.

In recent years, however, Great Xia had loosened its policies toward Zhenji Kingdom out of a desire for peace. Instead, Zhenji Kingdom took this as proof that Great Xia was weak and easy to bully, provoking them time and again.

Marquis Buyi, stationed in the northeast, had requested imperial permission to send troops more than once, only to have the current Xia Emperor forcibly suppress the matter each time.

Standing amid the crowd and watching the envoy in the carriage, Ning Chen raised his right hand and viciously gave him the middle finger, incidentally extending his regards to the man's entire family.

After that brief disturbance, Ning Chen collected himself and continued toward Lingyan Pavilion. As for the envoys, he would leave Changsun and the others to worry over them.

Lingyan Pavilion was as deserted as it had been yesterday. Still, that was only natural. Whenever he came, it was close to noon. Who would linger in a place of song and pleasure at such an hour?

When Ning Chen arrived and looked into the lavish hall, he saw Yue Hanyi sitting quietly, as though she had been waiting for him to come.

"You have come, Young Master." After Ning Chen entered, Yue Hanyi rose to her feet and said with a charming smile.

"I came to repay the money." Though one did not strike a smiling face, and she was a delicate, alluring woman at that, the disgust in Ning Chen's heart kept him from smiling.

He slapped the exchanged tael of loose silver onto the table and arrogantly tossed out, "Keep the change," before turning to leave.

"Please wait, Young Master." Yue Hanyi stretched out a hand to block Ning Chen's way, still smiling.

"Hm?" Ning Chen frowned. "One tael for two cups of tea. That is enough."

Yue Hanyi smiled faintly. "Young Master truly has the memory of an honored man burdened by many affairs. One tael is indeed enough for two cups of tea, but the table, chairs, and tea set you broke are far beyond what one tael can repay."

"..."

Ning Chen froze, immediately feeling guilty. He had truly overlooked that matter.

Seeing Ning Chen's expression, Yue Hanyi felt thoroughly vindicated. She continued, "Young Master may not know this, but the tables and chairs in Lingyan Pavilion are all made from the finest nanmu wood, while the tea sets were crafted by famous masters within the imperial city."

"I have calculated it for you. Excluding the tea money you just repaid, you still owe one hundred and ten taels of silver. But since you came so readily to repay your debt, I shall round it down for you. One hundred taels will do."

"One hundred... taels?" Ning Chen stretched out one finger and stammered.

Yue Hanyi nodded, her smile growing ever more enchanting. Now you know not to be so arrogant, so rampant.

Trembling, Ning Chen took out every last bit of money on him and stuttered, "B-but... I only have less than four taels of silver left."

The innkeeper had given him a five-tael silver ingot. He had spent two coins on a flatbread, and all the rest was here. He had thought it would last him a long time. Who could have imagined he would suddenly owe such a massive debt of one hundred taels?

"You may go home and fetch it. I shall await you here," Yue Hanyi said with a smile, offering her "kindhearted" reminder.

"I can't go home." Ning Chen was utterly dejected. If he could go home, that would have been wonderful.

"You truly have no money left?" Yue Hanyi cocked a brow and asked.

"I truly have no money left." Ning Chen nodded with a sigh.

The smile on Yue Hanyi's face vanished at once. "Then stay here and do odd jobs to repay your debt."

"Li'er, take him to the rear hall and have him wash the girls' clothes."

"Yes." As soon as the words fell, a pretty little girl of around twelve or thirteen emerged. Tugging at Ning Chen, who had yet to recover his senses, she dragged him toward the rear hall.

"I... I..."

Pulled along by the little girl gripping his sleeve, Ning Chen kept looking back as he walked. He did not want to go in. What kind of situation was this? He was in a hurry to run away.

"What do you mean, 'I'? You owe Sister Hanyi money and still dare act so arrogant? Sister Hanyi has been waiting for you for ages." Li'er gave Ning Chen no chance to struggle, grabbing both his sleeves and hauling him toward the rear hall.

"Aunt Liu, Aunt Zhao, take a rest first. Let him wash all these clothes."

As soon as they entered the rear courtyard, they saw two women working busily beside a huge pile of clothes. Li'er stepped forward and gave them a few instructions, then turned to the wooden-faced Ning Chen and shouted in her sweet voice.

"So many!"

Seeing clothes piled up like a small mountain, Ning Chen nearly jumped up. He pointed at them with a trembling finger.

When was he supposed to finish washing all that? And besides... besides, there was no washing machine...

"Hurry up, or you will have no dinner tonight." Li'er planted her hands on her hips and said fiercely.

"I'll wash them if I'm washing them. Why are you being so fierce?"

Ning Chen muttered as he slowly shuffled over to the clothes, comforting himself inwardly all the while: a good man did not fight with a wicked woman.

After sitting down, Ning Chen was about to begin work. Yet after looking left and right and rummaging around, he always felt as though something was missing.

"Li'er, is there no soap?"

After searching for a long while, Ning Chen finally realized what was missing and raised his head to ask.

Li'er's delicate brows shot up. "Soap? What soap? Do you mean soapberry? That is for wealthy families to wash their hands with. Who would be willing to use it for laundry?"

"Then how am I supposed to wash these?" Ning Chen's head was about to split as he looked at the little girl in confusion. What kind of era was this? How had soap not appeared yet?

"You are so stupid." Li'er muttered, walked over, and picked up the stick beside the clothes. She forcefully beat the garments against the wooden board. "See? This is how you wash them!"

"I... so brute force solves everything?" Ning Chen felt utterly stunned. If he finished washing clothes like that, he would practically be crippled.

"Wash them properly. I will come inspect them before nightfall." Li'er left those words behind, then hummed a little tune as she departed.

Looking at the mountain-like pile of clothes, Ning Chen let out a soft sigh. "Had I known, I would have kept being a eunuch. Out of the wolf's mouth and into the tiger's den. Looks like I still need to find a chance to run away. What a headache!"

The blazing sun moved westward, and the little mountain beside Ning Chen gradually shrank. Finally, before the last rays of sunset vanished, he finished washing and hanging up the final garment.

The moment he stood, pain shot through his entire body. His vision swam, and he nearly plunged headfirst to the ground.

"You finished already? You are quite fast."

Li'er came to inspect the work right on time. Looking at the clothes fluttering throughout the courtyard, she nodded in satisfaction. "Passable."

"Come on, I will take you to eat."

Li'er said this and was about to leave, only to find Ning Chen standing there without moving. She immediately put her hands on her slim waist. "Did you not hear what I said?"

At a time like this, how could Ning Chen care about the little girl's mood? He lifted a hand and called out, "Li'er, come help me over. My legs are numb."

"For real?" Half-believing, half-doubting, Li'er walked over. "You are not trying to take advantage of me, are you?"

"..."

Ning Chen nearly choked on the little girl's words. His eyes instinctively flicked toward her chest. Well, it was not entirely flat.

"Pervert!" Seeing Ning Chen's gaze, Li'er's little face flushed red. She viciously stomped on his foot, then left with her face still red.

"Hiss!"

After being stepped on, Ning Chen bared his teeth and sucked in several cold breaths. It was not that the little girl had stepped especially hard. It was just that being stepped on while his legs were numb was truly unbearable.

"Wait for me!"

Seeing that Li'er genuinely had no intention of supporting him, Ning Chen limped after her on his own.

When they entered the kitchen, there was no one left inside. He casually took two steamed buns and a plate of greens, returned to the courtyard, sat beside a small stone stool, and silently began to eat.

Unable to bear watching him, Li'er walked over, poked Ning Chen's shoulder with her little hand, and kindly said, "Hey, you should apologize to Sister Hanyi. Sister Hanyi is very easy to talk to."

Ning Chen raised his head, grinned, and spat out three words: "Not a chance."

"You!"

Li'er was furious. Pointing at the person before her, she had truly never seen anyone so incapable of appreciating kindness.

"Li'er, where are your parents?" Ning Chen did not mind the little girl's puffed-up expression and merely asked softly.

"Parents?" At his words, Li'er froze. To girls like them, that was such a distant and unfamiliar term.

Seeing Li'er's expression gradually darken, Ning Chen sighed inwardly. He stood and gently rubbed the little girl's head.

In his world, girls Li'er's age were still little princesses cherished in their parents' palms. Yet here, she had to serve as a slave for survival, and even her own purity was not something she could decide for herself.

Thinking of this, Ning Chen's disgust for Yue Hanyi deepened further. She would not even spare such a young girl. She was truly wolf-hearted and dog-lunged, venomous as a serpent and scorpion, wearing a human face over a beast's heart.

"Li'er, do you want to leave this place?" Ning Chen asked tentatively. He knew his abilities were limited and that he could not help everyone, but he believed that if he did his utmost, there was still hope of saving one little girl.

Li'er thought for a long time, then gently shook her head, her spirits low. "No."

She had grown up in Lingyan Pavilion and had already taken it as her home. Even if she could leave, what then? How would she survive? Besides, she was registered as a slave. No matter where she went, she could never escape that fact.

Ning Chen studied Li'er's expression and, after thinking it through, understood what was going on. "I am sorry. I was too rash."

"It is nothing. Hurry and finish eating. I will take you to your room in a while." Li'er gathered herself slightly and forced a cheerful smile.

Ning Chen said no more and continued eating. In his heart, he resolved that he would surely find a good future for this kind-hearted little girl.

After dinner, Ning Chen followed Li'er to his room. Thankfully, it was not as terrible as he had imagined. Apart from being a little small, there was nothing particularly inconvenient about it.

After Li'er left, Ning Chen finally took out the Golden Pages he had kept close to his body. He was also rather curious about this Cultivation Technique that supposedly could "strengthen the body."

"Scroll of Life? What an ordinary name."

Looking at the title at the beginning of the pages, Ning Chen could not make much of it. He continued reading. Fortunately, the memories of the body he inhabited included literacy, sparing him quite a bit of trouble.

After ten breaths, Ning Chen fell silent...

After a quarter of an hour, Ning Chen remained silent...

After half an hour, Ning Chen was still silent...

After an hour, a frantic shout rang out from the room: "I can't understand it!"