Records of the Cattle and Horses of Chang'an

"Wenlinlang?" Jiang Shangxian put down his lunch box, sat down next to her, and pricked up his ears. "Aren't all the people living in Laitingfang eunuchs?"

(Hey guys, here comes another tip! In the seventh year of Wude, the Wenlinlang was established. It was a literary official with no real job, and was ranked from the ninth rank.)

"Yeah, you know that too?"

"Although I've never been here, I've lived in Chang'an City, so I've heard a little bit about it."

The dancer leaned her head closer to her, her eyes fixed on the mirror. Seeing that no one was approaching, she whispered to her, "This Wenlinlang, his surname is Feng. I heard his ancestor was a descendant of Doctor Jianzi of Zheng. Later, for some unknown reason, perhaps because his family fell into poverty, he entered the palace and became a eunuch. I think he was quite capable, so he was given the title of Wenlinlang, but he still serves as a servant in the palace."

Even though she spoke very convincingly, she actually didn't know who this Doctor Zheng Jianzi was. Anyway, it seemed that all the powerful people in the past were called "Zi".

It sounds very impressive.

"Oh, I see."

Jiang Shangxian hadn't known that eunuchs in the early Tang Dynasty had already begun serving as foreign officials. This had increased his useless knowledge. "Thank you, madam, for telling me. I've learned a lot."

"Look at you, it's just a matter of talking. What kind of knowledge is that? Is it worth being so polite?"

The dancer smiled softly, her eyes rolling as she moved to the food box placed aside. She took her red nails, which had been dyed three or four times with Impatiens and Ming Gong, and gently waved them towards the food box. She said in a delicate voice, "If you really want to thank me, why not give me some of the food inside?"

Jiang Shangxian quickly blocked the food box with his body and begged for mercy, "My lady, please forgive me today. If Sanniang knew that her food was given to others, I don't know what kind of fuss she would make."

If this was eaten by someone else, Wu Sanniang would probably find an excuse to torment her! When would the cycle of revenge end? She just wanted to repay this debt of gratitude and put this matter to rest.

(Tang Dynasty women could refer to themselves as "I" if they were close to someone, but could refer to themselves as "concubine," "slave," "er" (in front of their parents), or "so-and-so" if they were not close friends. Also, in ancient times, there was no "you"; the word was always "you.")

"Hmph, if you don't want to eat it, then don't eat it. When she comes, I will ask her for it myself!" The dancer hummed and pushed Jiang Shangxian with her plump buttocks, almost pushing her to the ground.

"My lady, I will leave first. I have something to do at home. Please pass this food box to me." Jiang Shangxian steadied himself and took the opportunity to stand up, bow and leave.

The dancer rolled her eyes, wrinkled her nose slightly, and waved her hands slightly unhappily: "Go ahead, go ahead. Humph, you're ordering people around without even giving us food."

Jiang Shangxian smiled awkwardly and bowed repeatedly, then quickly slipped away, not daring to walk around. By this time, the sky was beginning to darken, and it was estimated that it was almost noon.

After leaving the west yard, she walked out along the same way she came. She still didn't see many people along the way. She was hesitating at the door, wondering whether to open the door and go out herself or something. She always felt something was wrong.

As he was about to reach the door, he saw two strong men standing opposite each other at the door from a distance, one on the left and one on the right, like two iron towers.

Her heart skipped a beat and she hesitated. She hadn't seen these two people when she came just now, and now even the servant who led her in was nowhere to be seen.

"Who?!" The two strong men were obviously quite skilled in martial arts. Although she slowed down her pace, they still heard her and all of them looked over here.

Jiang Shangxian, with his full beard, felt uncomfortable being stared at. He suppressed his uneasiness and bowed, "My two gentlemen, I'm here to bring food to Wu Sanniang of Jinfenmeng. I'm just about to leave."

"Delivering food?" One of them narrowed his eyes and pulled the corners of his lips into a forced smile. "No food was ordered from outside our house today. Tell me, are you here to steal something?"

"My dear, you are joking. I work for Lexianlou. Wu Sanniang personally ordered the food this afternoon, otherwise I would not have delivered it." Jiang Shangxian's whole body was tense and he took a step back unconsciously.

Damn! She was a little confused about the current situation. She had a hunch that these two people had bad intentions. Seeing them walking towards her with bad faces, her scalp tingled and she turned and ran.

To be honest, thinking back on it, she didn't understand why she ran, but her sixth sense told her that she couldn't be caught.

It was an unfamiliar place and the strength gap between the two sides was huge, so Jiang Shangxian was caught before he could run far.

The two sturdy men lived up to their appearance and were incredibly strong. They pinned her arms behind her back with one hand, like iron pliers. No matter how she struggled, she could not escape.

Soon, she was tied up and thrown into a room.

He was lying face down on the ground, with smoke-like dust stirring up and choking his nose. His throat was itchy and he wanted to cough, but a ball of cotton cloth was stuffed in his mouth. For a moment, he couldn't even open his eyes. He only heard the sound of two people closing the door and leaving.

When she struggled to sit up, it was dark in the room and she couldn't see clearly, but she could vaguely see that there were many young ladies around her who had their hands and feet tied up and their mouths gagged like her, huddled in the corner.

Hey!

Could these be the young ladies who disappeared in Chang'an City?

Jiang Shangxian subconsciously wanted to ask, but could only make vague humming sounds. However, she was not discouraged. She calmed down and moved towards an empty corner.

After sitting down, he looked at the people in the room and twisted his arm hard to drop the hidden boning knife to the ground.

This step was actually the most difficult. She worked on it for a long time before she heard a 'ding-dong' sound. Then she used her hips as a fulcrum and turned around in place.

Although his feet were tied, the ropes were tied around his ankles, so his feet could still move, though the shoes with layered soles made them a little less flexible.

He rubbed his heels against the ground and kicked off his shoes. His feet became much more flexible. He separated the scabbard and the blade little by little, turned his hips in circles again, carefully picked up the boning knife on the ground, and tentatively cut the rope on his wrist.

Lexianlou is wealthy, and the quality of their knives is very simple and genuine. If she gets injured now, it will definitely affect her escape later, so she cuts the rope very slowly.

Fortunately, she knew to bring some self-defense items when she went out, otherwise she would be in real trouble.

At this moment, she no longer had the thought of worrying about the curfew and not being able to go home. She just wanted to leave this place first, even if it was just to find a corner in the next block to stay overnight.

No matter how hidden she was, she was the one who moved the most in the room, and all eyes were fixed on her. When she cut the rope, the young ladies instantly became excited and whimpered.

Jiang Shangxian ripped the cloth ball out of his mouth, rubbed his sore cheeks, and whispered, "Shh! Don't make any noise, I'll come to rescue you right away!"