The general's wife is too naughty, she starts to flirt with him

"Why are you here?" Chu Ling'er asked first.

At this time, she also understood that they had deliberately let her go in order to find her lair.

"Miss Chu, why don't you first tell me how a county magistrate's daughter could have fallen to this state?"

Shan Li went straight to the point as soon as he opened his mouth.

He had no intention of beating around the bush with the mother and daughter in front of him.

"How did you know?" Chu Ling'er was horrified. After she came to her senses, she suddenly covered her mouth with her hands.

It was as if he was afraid to say another word.

"You look dirty and messy right now, and a bit androgynous. However, if you look closely, you'll notice calluses on your palms. They're clearly fresh. And judging by their placement, they're definitely the kind of calluses someone wouldn't have if they weren't skilled at work would leave behind."

Song Qingci kindly explained to her.

"Yet the calluses on your fingertips are completely different from those on your palms. This proves that you were once a skilled musician. Only someone who has practiced the instrument for a long time would develop calluses like that on their fingertips, and they wouldn't disappear for a long time."

"Only ladies from high-ranking families, wealthy families, or daughters of officials would devote so much time to studying the art of playing the zither. Therefore, your background must be extraordinary."

Following Song Qingci's explanation, Chu Ling'er looked at her hands and found that it was just as she said.

The calluses on her palms were left because she had to avoid those who were chasing her and find food for herself and her mother during this period of time.

There are not only calluses on the palms, but also tiny wounds caused by scratches from grass and punctures from branches.

Anyone who is good at doing these things would not cause so many wounds.

The calluses on the fingertips of the ten fingers were indeed left by the ten years of daily piano practice.

"Then why can't I be a daughter of some other wealthy family? Or a specially trained musician?"

Judging from the marks on her hands, it can only be said that she was from a wealthy family, or she was a musician who specialized in practicing the piano.

It's not just in Boyang County. The closer you get to Yangzhou, the more musicians and skinny horses you see.

She didn't believe that the two people in front of her didn't know.

Song Qingci smiled, and it was a very beautiful smile.

Her smile almost distracted Chu Ling'er.

"Miss Chu, a person's appearance can change, but the temperament that is innate and cultivated over a long period of time cannot be easily changed in a short period of time."

"You don't have the charm of a musician. Instead, you have the aura of a daughter of an official."

"And most importantly, the Boyang County Magistrate's surname is also Chu, and he tragically lost his first wife and legitimate daughter a few months ago."

"I heard that he met a villain while going to the temple to burn incense, and his whereabouts are still unknown. The missing person notice from Boyang County has been widely distributed throughout Jiangnan. Not only Jiangnan, but also places further north."

"County Magistrate Chu said that anyone who provides information will be rewarded with ten taels of silver, and anyone who can directly find the person will be rewarded with two hundred taels of silver."

Song Qingci's eyes swept back and forth between Chu Ling'er and her mother.

The meaning is very obvious.

No matter how you look at it, you, mother and daughter, fit the description on the notice.

Chu Ling'er was shocked when she heard this!

She really didn't know there was a notice about her and her daughter.

Ever since she escaped from the villains that day, she fled all the way to this forest with her mother.

It was also by luck that I found the cave where I live now.

She and her mother had some loose change on them when the accident happened, and they also had some jewelry they were wearing.

These days, she has been able to survive only by relying on these silver and jewelry.

There is a water source near the cave, and there are some wild fruits in the woods.

Occasionally, she would exchange silver, money, and jewelry with nearby villagers.

But the supplies were limited, and there wasn't much she could exchange with the villagers. Her mother's health was already poor, and the torture she had endured over the past few days had only made it worse.

Now I am almost exhausted.

The day before, they had already eaten up the last bit of their food.

Until tonight, the mother and daughter had only eaten half a pot of rice porridge and one wild fruit each to fill their stomachs.

Today, she smelled a very overbearing fragrance in the cave and knew that someone was nearby.

That's why I thought of going there in the middle of the night to see if I could bring anything back.

As a result, he was caught red-handed as soon as he reached out.

Fortunately, they finally got some food, which allowed her and her mother to survive another day.

"Are you here to capture me and my mother and claim the reward?"

Chu Ling'er hid her mother behind her without making a sound.

There was no longer the wariness in his eyes.

What was replaced was the kind of determination to fight to the death.

Song Qingci waved his hand, "Don't be nervous. Do we look like the two of us who are in need of those two hundred taels of silver?"

"We're not here to capture you and your mother to claim the reward. On the contrary, as I said at the beginning, I just want to know why you and your mother have become like this."