After rebirth, she became the favorite of the powerful minister.

Hong Lan's treatment is naturally better than that of others.

The separate courtyard was simply furnished but spacious and bright. Guards were guarding the door. Although she was a prisoner, she could move freely in the courtyard, and her three meals a day were ordinary yet exquisite.

When Yuan Gexun went over, she was weeding in the yard. She looked up and saw Yuan Ge, smiled slightly, stood up and said, "You're here... I've been feeling bored being alone, and I couldn't help but worry too much, so I found something to do. Madam, please sit for a while. I'll go wash my hands and be back." After that, she raised her muddy hands and chuckled calmly.

He doesn't look like a prisoner, but more like the owner of this place.

"It's okay, you go first." Yuan Ge nodded with a smile, watching Hong Lan enter the house, then retracted his gaze and looked around. The guest house here is not very big. There is only one evergreen tree in the yard, and under the tree is an ordinary stone table. Now is the season of change, the evergreen tree is falling leaves, but there are not many leaves under this tree, which looks quite clean. On the clothesline next to it, clothes are still dripping. Hong Lan's dress here is not as elegant and gorgeous as in Zuihuan Tower, but more like an ordinary village woman's dress. Even so, she has an elegance that ordinary people can't match.

Even if you are stuck in the mud, you can still be calm and elegant.

A Hong Lan like her shouldn't have been caught up in emotional turmoil and become indecisive and anxious.

Hong Lan came out very quickly. She placed her writing brush and ink on the stone table, and asked Yuan Ge to sit down. Then she sat opposite Yuan Ge, looked directly at him and called softly, "Young Madam... After coming down from that place, I thought about it for a long time and wanted to discuss a deal with the Young Madam. I know that I am a criminal now and have no right to negotiate with the Young Madam, but I still want to give it a try... I don't trust others, I only trust the Young Madam."

"It's strange. You're just a little girl, but you always make people forget your age. Just like now... I always feel like I'm facing someone of my own age." Hong Lan lowered her eyebrows and shook her head, chuckling, "Young Madam, why don't you listen to my business deal?"

With the ground ink, blank paper, and a brand new pen, it was obvious that he had come prepared. Yuan Ge understood, "Since we are sitting here, it's okay to listen. Tell me."

"Then I'll be frank." Hong Lan subconsciously sat up straight, looked at Yuan Ge with a serious look, and said solemnly, "I know what Sanlang and the Third Elder did, so I naturally know the situation that Zhixuan Mountain is about to face. The plague is not the most terrible thing. The terrible thing is that there are not enough medicinal materials. The nearby towns are not large in scale. Even if we really help them with all our strength, I'm afraid it won't be enough. What's more, the plague is highly contagious. The neighboring towns are also critical places. If something happens, they will have no time to take care of themselves."

These words do make sense, and are indeed the biggest dilemma at present.

Yuan Ge nodded, "So what are you going to do?"

Hong Lan lowered her eyebrows and smiled again, her smile was slightly bitter. She said, "At this point, there are some things that we all know, so I don't need to hide it from you. I was able to escape from the prison at that time because of the few guards I spent a lot of money to train over the years. There were not many of them, but they were all good at fighting and loyal. They escorted me all the way to escape... Now that I think about it, it was my own wishful thinking that led me to this situation. If I had left Shengjing at that time, I could have fled all the way to the ends of the earth, found an unknown village, and lived my life in anonymity, and I wouldn't have ended up as a prisoner now."

That's true. The world is so big, there is no place where you can't find a place to stay. How many names have been on the imperial court's wanted list for many years, and no one even knows whether they are still alive? Yuan Ge supported his chin and nodded, "But you still came. Counting the time, you should not have delayed for a moment."

"Yeah... at that time, my mind was full of things happening in Shengjing. I was afraid that it would implicate him, so how could I take care of myself?" Hong Lan shook her head and changed the subject. "Forget it, forget it. I have been doing stupid things for half my life. It's better not to mention it. The current matter is more important. Madam, I also know that I can't escape this prison disaster, and I don't plan to escape again. It's just that the people who broke into the prison at the beginning were, after all, hired by that person to get rid of disasters. I never asked them to do those jobs that would harm people's lives and steal their money..."

At this point, Yuan Ge already understood the other party's intention of looking for her this time. She did not express her opinion, but just said "hmm" lightly, "Go on."

There was no sign of joy or anger on her face.

For a moment, even Hong Lan was a little confused about the attitude of this woman who was really young but often made people forget her age. After thinking it over again and again, she felt that she had no room for bargaining, so she said frankly, "There is a plague on the mountain, and a large amount of medicinal materials are urgently needed. It is not easy for the people in the mountain to go down the mountain in a big way. Finding a few reliable and fast people outside the mountain is naturally the best way. If the young lady promises not to embarrass these guards afterwards, I will leave these years to the young lady to deploy and dispatch, how about it?"

Yuan Ge looked at the other party and stated calmly, "But they broke into the prison."

"Yes." Hong Lan also nodded calmly, "That's exactly what happened, so are you willing to accept this deal, Madam? It's true that they broke into the prison first, but now as long as I don't tell you, Madam, I'm afraid you won't be able to find these guards. Even if they stand in front of you, you can't tell them apart... You can't do anything to them anyway, so it's better to accept this deal. Maybe at a critical moment, the lives of hundreds of people in Zhixuan Mountain will still depend on these guards. In this way, this meritorious service... is still more meritorious than demerit, isn't it?"

Dark clouds gathered together, the sound of muffled thunder became increasingly distant, but raindrops suddenly fell. The raindrops, as big as beans, quickly spread out after hitting the ground and disappeared. The second drop, and the third drop, fell gradually. The raindrops were big, but the rain was not heavy. They sat under a leafy evergreen tree and were not wet for a while.

After Hong Lan said all this, she just sat there patiently waiting for Yuan Ge's answer without rushing him.

She knew that the other party would agree. At this point, weighing the pros and cons, whether from the perspective of gains and losses or emotions, this is a deal that is sure to make a profit.

As expected, not long after, probably just a few breaths, Hong Lan saw Yuan Ge retract his hand that was supporting his chin, looked serious, nodded and said, "Deal. You don't have to hand these people over to me. It's more appropriate for you to command the guards you paid for. I will write to you when I need any medicinal materials, and you can pass them on... If it works, I will naturally keep my promise. If it doesn't... let alone them, even you will be punished more severely. How do you think?"