I want to be innocent, but they don't allow me

Li Mu's courtyard.

Xiao Zhao sat with her knees bent under the eaves where Li Mu usually sat, hugging her knees with her hands and burying her head between her legs. Her shoulders trembled, but she dared not make a sound.

Suddenly, it started to drizzle in the sky, and a drop of rain dripped from the eaves onto Xiao Zhao's neck.

"Son!"

Xiao Zhao was brought back to her senses by the sudden coldness and exclaimed in surprise.

Seeing that Li Mu was not around, his face fell again. He looked up at the night sky blankly, letting the rain hit his face.

Soon, it was hard to tell whether there was more rain or tears on the wet little face.

However, his originally red eyes suddenly became more lively, and as the raindrops became more intense, the look in his eyes became more determined.

As a loud thunder exploded in the night sky, Xiao Zhao suddenly stood up, then knelt down towards the inner courtyard of the palace, kowtowed three times, and when he looked up again, there was already a hint of blood on his forehead.

In an instant, the rain suddenly became heavier.

Xu Youzhi left Li Linger, supporting her head with her hands, and ran to the outside of Li Mu's courtyard in a panic.

But I saw a thin figure with a bag in hand and a huge axe on his shoulder, sneaking out of the yard, looking around from time to time.

When his eyes fell on Xu Youzhi, his body paused noticeably, then he turned around and leaped out of the mansion.

Seeing this, Xu Youzhi hurriedly jogged to catch up, but after running only two steps, she found that he had disappeared.

"Someone, stop her!"

As soon as Xu Youzhi shouted, she found that her voice was completely covered by the sound of heavy rain. She stomped her feet in anger, turned around and walked back.

At this moment, he found a silk umbrella propped up above his head. He turned around and burst out laughing.

Zhang Hanrui, who was behind her, held an umbrella in one hand and held Xiao Zhao in the other hand like a chicken, and blinked her seductive eyes at Xu Youzhi.

So, the three of them walked into Li Mu's courtyard in this strange way.

In the main hall of the courtyard, Zhang Hanrui threw the pale-faced Xiaozhao to the ground. Without waiting for anything to say, Xiaozhao knelt down in front of the two of them with a plop.

"Xiao Zhao wants to leave the palace. I'll do anything for you. Please help me, Master. Please help me, Master."

As he spoke, Xiao Zhao kowtowed with a clang, and then another one, each one heavier and louder than the last.

Xu Youzhi, who was standing by, hurried forward to hold Xiao Zhao, stroked her forehead with some heartache, and advised:

"What are you doing? I have already returned your indentures to you. If you want to leave, you can leave. There is no need to do this."

Xiao Zhao's face lit up with joy when he heard that, but then froze, and he looked at Zhang Hanrui cautiously.

Zhang Hanrui saw Xiao Zhao looking at her, waved her hand, and said lightly:

"I'll go check on the guy inside. You guys are free to handle the child's business."

Xiao Zhao didn't know what Zhang Hanrui meant. He lowered his head in fear and didn't dare to say anything.

"It's not that I don't want you to go, it's dark and raining, it's very dangerous for a little girl like you to run out like this."

Xu Youzhi reached out to help Xiao Zhao straighten up, and continued to ask with a concerned tone:

"Besides, you didn't even say hello. Which young man are you planning to elope with?"

As he said this, he pinched Xiao Zhao's face and stared at her with a smile.

Xiao Zhao's cat-like face suddenly turned red. After hesitating for a long time, he said firmly:

"Xiao Zhao, Xiao Zhao wants to go find the Master."

Outside Yanshan City, about twenty miles east.

Li Mu stood in front of the dilapidated Taoist temple, looking speechlessly at the two wet rats, one big and one small, and spoke helplessly:

"My two aunts, I just ate some of your dry food, and I saved your lives. You shouldn't be so resentful of me, right?"

As he spoke, Li Mu took out the only two pieces of silver from his waist and handed them to the girl in the bamboo hat with some pain.

"That's all I have. If it doesn't work, tell me what else you like and I'll give it to you. Please let me go."

The girl in the bamboo hat did not take the change from Li Mu's hand. She walked around Li Mu and entered the Taoist temple, saying:

"This road is not yours. Who said I followed you? It's dark outside and it's raining heavily. If we don't stay here, are we going to get wet outside?"

Li Mu looked at the heavy rain outside, the corners of his mouth twitched, he made up his mind, raised his foot and walked out.

Just as he took a step forward, he suddenly turned around and looked at the two people in the Taoist temple, sneering.

"Well, I won't suffer any loss anyway."

The two people in the Taoist temple saw that Li Mu was about to leave, so they picked up the packages they had just put down and prepared to chase Li Mu.

But they never thought that Li Mu would do this. The two people who were fixed by Li Mu's gaze looked at each other in surprise.

Li Mu strode towards the girl in the bamboo hat and sat down on the hay that the girl had just sorted.

"Go over there."

Seeing this, the girl was about to get angry, but was interrupted by Li Mu's words.

"We have been through thick and thin together, right?"

As he spoke, Li Mu looked at the chest of the girl in the bamboo hat, coughed twice, and subconsciously touched the palm print on his face.

"Although there was some misunderstanding before, it has been resolved."

Li Mu paused, looked at the fat girl with a sad face, then looked at the girl in the bamboo hat, and asked:

"What do you two want to do? Give me a definite answer."

Hearing this, the girl in the bamboo hat was about to speak, but Li Mu stretched out a finger and waved it in front of him, saying seriously:

"You only have one chance, think it over carefully."

The girl in the bamboo hat hesitated for a moment before she slowly spoke:

"My benefactor, what should I call you?"

Li Mu raised his eyebrows and thought,

"Are you going to ask me about my job, savings, and whether I have a car or a house?"

Li Mu did not answer the girl's question, but asked,

"Before asking others, talk about yourself first. Don't you know this little bit of courtesy?"

The girl frowned under her bamboo hat. She must have never seen someone like Li Mu. After a moment of silence, she said:

"First grade."

"What?"

Li Mu thought he had heard wrongly and opened his mouth to confirm, only to hear the girl in the bamboo hat continue,

"My benefactor called me Chuyi. My surname is taboo, so it is inconvenient to mention it."

"Song, Li, Zhao? Or some saint? What a coincidence, I am one too."

Li Mu nodded, looked down at the silver in his hand, and sneered in his heart.

"There's not a single truth to it."

"Miss Chuyi, there is no need to call me benefactor. My name is Shiwu, and it is taboo to mention my last name, so I won't mention it."

The girl in the bamboo hat heard the sarcasm in Li Mu's words, and was slightly dissatisfied. She frowned and said:

"Zhao Chuyi, the young master is very satisfied."

When Li Mu heard the word "Young Master", he was slightly stunned, then waved his hand and thought,

"Zhao Chuyi, you are not violating any taboos. You are courting death. Forget it, why are you agonizing over this?"

"Aunt Zhao, Miss Chuyi, tell me why you have been following me."

Seeing that Li Mu had no intention of telling her real name, Zhao Chuyi stopped worrying and said seriously:

"Master Fifteen, I want you to escort us to the border."

As he said this, he seemed to feel that this was a bit presumptuous, and quickly added:

"I can pay you, just name your price."

Li Mu's mouth twitched, thinking,

"I was ranked second before, but now I'm ranked fifteenth in just a little while."

"Fifteen, or Young Master, you pick one. Four-character names sound awkward to me."

"Okay, Mr. Fifteen."

Zhao Chuyi nodded in agreement, and seeing Li Mu's unfriendly look, she changed her words:

"I understand, sir."

Li Mu didn't know what to say when he heard the word "Young Master".

The fat girl Shanshan standing by opened her mouth wide and stared at her young lady in astonishment, as if she had never seen her before.

Li Mu raised his hand and tapped his brow with his middle finger, thinking secretly,

"These two girls, uh, one big and one small, are going to the border. Will I be caught in a trap if I go? Should I go or not?"

After a while, Li Mu looked up at Zhao Chuyi with a strange tone.

"Sure, but I don't know if you can afford my conditions, Miss Chuyi."

As he spoke, he looked the girl in front of him up and down.