Happy Little Scholar

The carriage drove out of the city gate and went east along the official road. The stable carriage gradually became bumpy.

The so-called official road is actually a slightly flatter dirt road, which is far from being comparable to the asphalt road or even concrete road in later generations. The carriage has no shock absorption performance at all. It is okay for a short distance. Sitting in the carriage for several hours in a row is no different from the black motorcycles on the rural roads in later generations. Li Yi has not felt this kind of torture for a long time.

He sighed deeply. If it weren't for this incident, he should have been living with Ruyi and flying together, taking a sweet honeymoon trip, watching the mountains, water, flowers, stars and moon, instead of lying drowsily in the carriage alone, or two people...

The curtain was lifted, and fresh air with a faint fragrance rushed in. Li Yi made some room for Miss Liu Er, and boredly looked through the gap in the curtain, throwing broad beans into his mouth while watching the road that was constantly retreating.

Although riding for several hours was a piece of cake for Miss Liu Er, she had lost her initial excitement and was in a stalemate with Li Yi for the last few broad beans in the bag.

It was not until Li Yi threw a broad bean with his own saliva in it that Miss Liu Er rolled her eyes fiercely and won the final victory.

"After several hours of traveling, everyone must be tired. How about taking a rest in front?" Li Yi moved to the front of the carriage, lifted the curtain and said to the outside.

The old man surnamed Li poked his head out of a smaller carriage at the back and said, "Master, it's getting late. In half an hour, we will reach the next county town. After we get there, we will find an inn to stay and leave early tomorrow morning."

Li Yi nodded and got into the carriage again, secretly rejoicing in his heart that the distance between Qing'an Prefecture and the capital was not too far. Six or seven days was already very short compared to the journey that could take several months.

However, thinking that such bumps will continue for a week, it is still inevitable to have a headache...

...

...

In the courtyard, the sun is about to set, and the little maid is lying on the rocking chair where Li Yi often lies, counting something with her fingers.

"Half a month is fifteen days, the son-in-law and the second young lady have been gone for half a day, and there are still fourteen and a half days before we can see them again..."

"Xiao Huan..." Ruyi's voice came from the house.

Hearing the young lady's voice, the little maid responded with a "hey".

"Wash your hands and come back for dinner."

"I'll be back."

Getting up from the rocking chair, looking outside the door, seeing Uncle Fang passing by the door, then turning back and walking listlessly into the room.

At the same time, Lao Fang and several men just walked out of the house gate.

"Lao Fang, are you sure they won't come back before midnight?" A man asked uncertainly.

"Don't worry." Lao Fang patted his chest and said, "The women have gone to the temple to pray. They will not come back until the second half of the night. As long as we go home before midnight, there will be no problem."

"That's good. I heard that the competition for the courtesan these days is very exciting. I finally waited until the women are not at home. I have to take a good look this time."

The men laughed tacitly and dispersed as soon as they got on the street.

"Hey, I'll go to Yingchun Tower to see it. Lao Fang, are you going to Qun Yuyuan to see Xiao Hong girl?" When only Lao Fang and another man were left, the other man patted Lao Fang on the shoulder and left with a big laugh.

Lao Fang cursed secretly and walked in the opposite direction.

At this time, in Qun Yuyuan, the madam was hiding in the room, smiling and obviously in a good mood.

It was a wise decision to invest all resources in Chen Miaomiao. She was already famous, and she has attracted a lot of attention in the past few days. In addition, she has worked hard to win the support of many young men. Her popularity is comparable to those of the old-fashioned courtesans. I am afraid that she can definitely get one of the top ten courtesans this year.

The only regret is that Zui Mo didn't know what kind of evil was possessed by her. No matter how she persuaded, she was unwilling to compete for the position of courtesan. If she had such a mind, she would definitely be ranked ahead of Chen Miaomiao.

She has been working in this industry for a lifetime and has seen all kinds of tempers. Like Zui Mo, she will suffer sooner or later. If she doesn't take advantage of her youth to fight hard and plan for the future, she may be able to end up with a good family. Most of those who act recklessly will end up in a miserable way.

There was a knock on the door, and the madam pulled back her thoughts, opened the door, saw the person coming, and asked, "Zuimo, what's the matter?"

If it were in the past, the madam would not be so cold to the top prostitute of Qun Yuyuan, her cash cow, but now that the cash cow has changed, she naturally does not need to show such enthusiasm.

"Mom, don't you invite me in to sit down?" Zeng Zuimo seemed to be completely unaware of this and still said with a smile.

"I say Zuimo, just listen to your mother's advice. This will only ruin yourself in the end. Even if you don't think about your mother, you have to think about yourself. If you continue like this, your mother really can't help you." After all, it's been many years of relationship, and the madam still didn't give up and tried to persuade her a few times.

Zeng Zuimo smiled and said, "I came here for this matter this time."

"Have you figured it out?" The madam's eyes lit up.

"I figured it out." Zeng Zuimo nodded and said, "I'm here to redeem myself."

……

……

"Where did you get so much money?" The madam asked in shock after checking the authenticity of the stack of silver bills in her hand.

The silver bills were real, and they could be exchanged for the equivalent silver at the corresponding merchant's bank. The question was, how could she have so much money?

"This money should be enough." Zeng Zuimo looked at her and asked.

"Enough..." The madam nodded mechanically.

According to reputation, the silver required for redemption of everyone in Qun Yuyuan was clearly marked. No matter who wanted to leave, as long as they raised enough silver, she would let them go.

Of course, like Zuimo in the past, she would not let them go easily, but now, her reputation is not as good as before. After the Oiran Competition, it is likely to be reduced a lot, and the silver required for redemption will naturally be reduced, at least it will be far less than what she has in her hand.

She was a little hesitant at this moment, what if Zui Mo...

This thought just came up, but she denied it. Chen Miaomiao's replacement as the new signboard of Qun Yu Yuan was a foregone conclusion, and there would be no more changes. Zui Mo's role in her was actually dispensable, so it was better to accept the money and do her a favor.

"Have you really thought about it?" The madam looked at her and asked seriously. Obviously, she had made a choice at this time.

After Zeng Zuimo nodded in confirmation, the madam sighed, took out her indenture from the box in the room, and said: "For the sake of our past relationship, if you want to leave, wait until after the Oiran Contest."

Although her fame is not as good as before, it is still better than most people. At this critical moment, it is not bad for Qun Yu Yuan to gain more popularity.

"Okay." It's just a matter of leaving a few days later. After waiting for so many years, it doesn't matter if she waits a few more days. What's more, the indenture is in her hand. The moment she got the indenture, she was free.

When she walked out of the madam's room, Zeng Zuimo felt unprecedented relief, finally unloading the mountain that had been weighing on her shoulders for a long time. She breathed a long sigh of relief and walked back to her room, as if she had not seen the complicated looks from her sisters in the past. She ignored the gloating look from Chen Miaomiao, pushed open the door and walked in, and saw Xiao Cui sitting by the bed with a sad face.

"This silly girl."

She murmured softly. She originally wanted to give her a surprise, but since she promised her mother to keep the secret, she had to wait until the Oiran Competition was over before telling her the news.