A piece of Japanese incense

“It’s quite sophisticated~”

I plucked the strings, and the sound of the piano vibrated slightly, producing a melodious sound.

"Do you still remember the song Mr. Lin taught you before?" Yu Nian smiled.

"Which Mr. Lin?"

"Of course it's the Qin Immortal Lin Yizhi, Mr. Lin!"

"Is it the one with the unshaven beard who always smacks his lips when eating?"

Yu Nian smiled helplessly: "The one with the beard is Mr. Shi Zhiyin, he taught you to play the flute; and the one who smacked his lips while eating is Mr. Zhao Liye, also a zither player, but he only taught you for a few days before you gave him a laxative and he left in anger."

"Oh~ Hahaha! Now I remember, he didn't teach me well at all! He just coveted our family's food!"

"Miss Zhi! When will my sister come?" Xiaohan was anxious.

"Miss Xiaohan, don't be anxious. Things like going out to entertain guests are charged by the hour. I think he will be back soon. You can try some fruit first." Yu Nian poured me a cup of tea slowly.

"I!" Xiaohan paced back and forth, clasping his hands tightly. "Shouldn't we go back as soon as possible? I'm afraid we'll have to separate before I can even say a few words to my sister."

I comforted her, "Now think about what you want to tell your sister, so that you won't be flustered when you meet, and regret missing something later."

Xiaohan nodded, and after sitting down, his legs still trembled.

"Mr. Yu, I've been waiting for a long time. My boss said that a benefactor fell in love with Yan Gen and has redeemed her and brought her back home as a concubine. Mr. Yu, please take a look..."

"What! Who? Do you have an address?" Xiaohan was so anxious that tears were about to fall from his eyes and his voice was trembling.

"Um, is this a... girl?" The servant's eyes became subtle as he looked at Xiaohan and me.

Yu Nian stood opposite the servant, protecting me behind him, and said arrogantly, "What's wrong with that?"

The servant then smiled maliciously and said, "No! No! Sir, you are in a good mood!"

"Do you know where Miss Alumroot is?"

"This...we don't know."

I stuffed the silver into Yu Nian's hand and he threw it to the servant.

"Please wait a moment! I will find out for you~"

The servant closed the door and left. Xiaohan muttered in disbelief: "Borrowed? How could he be redeemed?"

"Xiao Han, even though you are marrying someone else as a concubine, at least you don't have to be trampled on here, which is a good thing."

Xiaohan exhaled and murmured to himself: "Yes, yes, yes! It's a good thing."

After just a cup of tea, the servant came back.

"Sir! I found out for you! It's in Liu'an Hutong, Nanwan Lane."

"Yeah, okay. Thank you very much."

"You are too polite! Do you want to go see Fangen?"

"You don't need to ask about this matter, please leave."

"My lord, you may not know that this man who married Yangen is an old customer of ours. He usually doesn't see strangers."

"Oh?"

"However, I can introduce you, but... you have to give me some hard work fee, hehe!" The servant rubbed his hands and smiled cunningly.

Xiaohan looked at me nervously, and I tapped Yu Nian's finger.

Yu Nian looked back and smiled, "Can you introduce me today?"

"Well..."

Yu Nian threw a bag of change in his arms to him.

"Sir, please follow me!"

We followed the servant's footsteps, turning around in the alley until we came to a remote and quiet residence. The servant knocked on the shabby wooden door.

A dilapidated scene came into view. The abandoned yard was overgrown with weeds, the roof was covered with moss, the ground was littered with broken tiles and rotten wood, and the air was filled with the smell of blood and mildew.

"Oh no! Run!" Yu Nian hugged me and ran out of the yard.

Before he could finish his words, the door was tightly closed.

A group of strong men rushed out from all directions. They were dressed differently, some had fat faces, some were sneaky, and some were tall and strong. They stood there like a small mountain, making people afraid to approach easily.

"What are you doing?"

"Hmph! Let me ask you what you want to do!" One of them suddenly raised his leg and kicked Yu Nian hard in the chest.

Yu Nian's feet left the ground and he fell heavily to the ground with a dull sound.

"Brother Nian!" I stepped forward quickly and protected his head. His mind seemed to become blurred in an instant.

The others also took a few steps forward, and I called out to them.

"Brothers! Good heroes! Let's sit down and talk about what we have to say!"

"You little girl! You have no right to speak here!" A burly man with a deep and rich voice walked over. His steps were steady and powerful, and every step seemed to leave a deep mark on the ground.

"Stop! Big brother! Big brother, can you listen to me for a few words? Big brother!" I held a silver bill above my head, trying to get his attention.

I saw him happily take the banknote, so I said tremblingly: "No offense to you, this is my brother. I have long admired the rumored Miss Tian Xin. I heard that after her family was raided, she was sold to Qianyanfang. For the sake of this unforgettable love, I want to meet Miss Tian Xin no matter what."

"Bah! Don't listen to this little girl's nonsense! The boss said that whoever dares to take over our workshop will be taught a lesson!"

Everyone moved forward.

"Brothers!" I shouted at the top of my voice, "Brothers! Listen to me! I have money! We really don't have any plans! No! Don't come over!"

"Beat them!"

"Brother!" I took out all the money I had and threw it into the air with all my strength.

"One hundred taels!" I covered my face and stretched out a finger.

"You little bitch!" I saw the leader slap me.

"One hundred taels per person!" I shouted.

"Oh! You are so generous! May I ask which family you are from? How can you be so generous?"

I saw him stop and stare at me with interest. I took out a thumb-sized seal from my purse with a fake smile and handed it to him: "Brother! Keep it! Use this seal to withdraw money from Longchang Bank."

He played with the seal and sneered, "Do you really think I'm stupid? Taking out such a large sum of money at once will definitely attract attention! I'm afraid that as soon as I take out the money, the government will come to arrest me!"

"Hey, big brother is really smart! Why didn't I think of that? Well, if you are worried, why don't you take me with you? I will get it for you personally!"

He grabbed my wrist unexpectedly and demanded, "Who the hell are you?"

"Brother! Brother! Be gentle! We are here to accompany my brother to Beijing for the exam! Our family sells medicine and we made a little money! Really, really!"

Suddenly, I had a flashback to the time when I was changing clothes. I caught a glimpse of the pattern of the silver belt hook on Xiaohan's waist. Inspiration struck me, and I shouted loudly: "Miss Xiaohan! It's already this time, why don't you say a few good words for us?"

Xiaohan was surprised when he heard the voice and looked at me in astonishment.