Eavesdropping on Fu Bao's inner thoughts, emptying the stored grain and fleeing the famine

All the girls in Yuanyang Tower had gathered in less than half an incense stick's time.

"My lords, everyone is here!" the head housekeeper said obsequiously to Li Yuanqi and Lian Rongrong.

Li Yuanqi gave the stewardess a satisfied look before slowly rising and asking:

"Who is Liuli? Step forward!"

Lian Rongrong remained seated in her chair, looking languid, seemingly unconcerned about what was happening before her.

But when Li Yuanqi asked this question, the girls in Yuanyang Tower all looked nervous.

Several slightly older women in the line all looked toward the corner of the last row.

Lian Rongrong followed those gazes and saw that the girl who had visited Mingyue Hall earlier that day was standing in the corner.

Two breaths later, Liuli took small steps from the back row to the front, knelt down on both knees, clasped her hands together, and bowed to Li Yuanqi and Lian Rongrong.

"You are Liuli?" Li Yuanqi looked down at the slender woman in front of him, his brows furrowing slightly.

“Yes,” Liuli replied.

"Get up and speak." Li Yuanqi's voice was cold, but still polite.

Even so, Liuli remained kneeling on the spot and refused to get up.

"The prince asked you to stand up and answer, why are you still kneeling?" Lian Rongrong's voice was very soft and gentle, which was in stark contrast to Li Yuanqi's.

"Your subordinate dares not! Your subordinate knows that he has made a grave mistake and is willing to accept punishment."

Today's trip to Mingyue Hall was my own idea, and had nothing to do with the other sisters in Yuanyang Tower.

Please, Master, do not take your anger out on others.

Upon hearing this, Lian Rongrong's lips curled up slightly. It seemed that Liuli had misunderstood their meaning.

But it's no wonder, considering Li Yuanqi always wears an icy, unyielding expression. Even if he were to do something good, that expression would scare people half to death.

"Get up when I tell you to, don't be afraid, no one is going to punish you!" Lian Rongrong got up and walked to Liuli, reaching out to help her up.

Liuli looked up and met Lian Rongrong's gaze. At that moment, Liuli felt much more at ease.

This was the second time she had seen Lian Rongrong. The last time was only an hour ago, but she was too flustered then to even see Lian Rongrong's face clearly.

Looking at it now, Liuli realized just how extraordinary this famous Princess Qi was.

"Why did you run today?" Lian Rongrong asked softly, "Is it because of this?"

The jade pendant dangled in front of Liuli's eyes, and Liuli instinctively tensed up.

"Are you afraid of me? No! That's not right! Are you afraid of the pattern on this jade pendant?" Although Lian Rongrong asked the question, she already had the answer.

"Your Highness, please forgive me. I truly did not know that His Highness was the master of Yuanyang Tower. But Your Highness, I had no other intentions in going to Mingyue Hall."

"I just want..." Liuli stopped abruptly.

"What do you want?" Lian Rongrong prompted her to continue. Seeing that Liuli remained silent, Lian Rongrong guessed again:

"Do you want to learn a skill to buy your freedom?"

"Redemption?" Upon hearing these two words, Liuli's expression suddenly changed, her expression unlike that of an ordinary woman of the night who would be excited and expectant upon hearing of redemption.

Instead, it was somewhat helpless and ironic. And it wasn't just Liuli; all the women present showed the same expression when they heard the words "redemption."

Lian Rongrong, with her keen eye, immediately noticed the problem. She turned to the head housekeeper and asked in a cold voice:

"what happened?"

The head maid glanced at the incompetent Prince Qi and knew that this henpecked master was unreliable, so she simply told Lian Rongrong everything.

"Reporting to Master, the women of the Mandarin Duck Pavilion cannot be redeemed. Once they enter the Mandarin Duck Pavilion, there is no turning back!"

"Why?" Lian Rongrong instinctively asked the three words, but quickly laughed at her own stupidity:

"Yes, how could the higher-ups possibly let you leave such a secretive spy organization?"

Lian Rongrong's words always sounded somewhat dangerous to Li Yuanqi. Li Yuanqi, being quite shrewd, shifted the blame to his father:

"This isn't a rule I set; it's that old geezer of your father-in-law! He's the one who always gets things done!"

“It’s definitely not a good thing!” Lian Rongrong rolled her eyes and casually replied.

The women standing opposite the two were stunned. Were they cursing His Majesty? Had they gone mad?

At this moment, in the imperial study, the old emperor sneezed twice in a row. He rubbed his nose, never imagining that it was his two unworthy descendants "missing" him.

"If you can't redeem yourself, then what are you doing at Mingyue Hall?"

Lian Rongrong looked at Liuli again. In fact, she already had the answer in her heart, but some guesses still needed to be confirmed by the person herself.

Liuli fell silent, and all the women present also fell silent.

Everyone knew what was going on, and that was also the plan of many of them.

However, Liuli was braver; she actually did it. Unfortunately, she was unlucky and ran right into the line of fire.

In fact, apart from the few highest-ranking officials in charge of the Mandarin Duck Tower, the other women were unaware that their true master had been replaced by Prince Qi.

This led to Liuli's trip to Mingyue Hall and her encounter with Lian Rongrong.

"Don't be afraid. Now that you've gone to Mingyue Hall, you're practically a disciple of Mingyue Hall. With me here, there's nothing to fear!"

Lian Rongrong gently comforted Liuli, and the evasiveness in Liuli's eyes gradually disappeared.

"Fine, I'll talk! I want to leave the Mandarin Duck Tower!"

Liuli's voice was firm, a stark contrast to her previous timidity.

"My father passed away half a month ago! He was my only family member in this world."

Because of my identity, I didn't even get to see my father one last time!

Now, I am nothing more than a discarded pawn of the Mandarin Duck Pavilion; to the outside world, I am a washed-up courtesan.

Internally, I've long since lost my usefulness. My life is like a drifting duckweed, utterly meaningless.

I came to Yuanyang Tower to raise money for my father's medical treatment. But now my father is dead, and I still have to live.

But Your Highness, although I wish to leave this place, I have never intended to betray my master.

I just want to live a different way, a way that isn't like being a walking corpse!

Liuli's words moved the other women present, and even Rongrong could feel the deep helplessness of everyone.

She turned to look at Li Yuanqi and asked softly, "What do you think?"

"I'll do whatever you say!" Li Yuanqi had no objection to the handling of the Mandarin Duck Tower.

In fact, after he fell in love with Lian Rongrong, he suddenly realized that women do not have to be appendages of men.

When a woman is truly independent and strong, her radiance and charm are even more dazzling.

Because of Lian Rongrong, Li Yuanqi was able to realize that the injustice the world inflicts on women is a mistake.

This is also one of the reasons why Li Yuanqi never used Yuanyang Tower after returning to Dasheng.

"Are you really handing this over to me?" Lian Rongrong asked again to confirm.

"really!"

"Okay!" Lian Rongrong turned to the crowd and said:

"From this day forward, the Mandarin Duck Tower will no longer force you to stay or leave. However, there is one condition: if you wish to leave, you must swallow all the secrets of this place."

I am not the kind of person who repays evil with kindness. I understand your hardships, but in my heart, no one is more important than my husband.

I am making this risky decision today out of humanitarian considerations, but if anyone leaks even the slightest bit of it, I will make you pay the price, no matter where you are!

Of course, we would also be very happy to welcome those who are still willing to stay and serve Prince Qi.

Those who do not wish to remain at the Mandarin Duck Tower may go to the Bright Moon Hall. Furthermore, I promise that all sisters who leave the Mandarin Duck Tower will have their livelihood taken care of by the Prince Qi's Mansion.