Chapter 44: It’s Hard for You to Still Remember Me

Meng Xinyun narrowed his eyes slightly and said, “I heard that Qing Shan Pavilion is run by a woman?”

“Yes. That woman is Yun Shang. She’s not from the capital. The shop had been open for a long time but never took off. Somehow, she revamped it and then managed to snatch all our business.”

Shopkeeper Lin spoke cautiously, afraid to provoke the person in front of him.

Meng Xinyun chuckled lightly, his tone disdainful. “Just a woman? You can’t handle her?”

He thought women should stay home. If she’s showing her face outside, she probably isn’t a respectable lady.

“What do you mean, sir?” Lin asked carefully.

“Find a few men, tie her up, and sell her off.” He said this casually, as if talking about an object to be sold, not a person.

Lin lowered his head. “Rest assured, sir. I know what to do.”

The next afternoon, Yun Shang closed the shop door and, carrying a basket, planned to go to the pharmacy to buy herbs for making incense powder.

She walked through the street until she reached the corner where the pharmacy was, and at that moment, a man came toward her.

As they brushed past, the man threw a handful of powder. Yun Shang thought, “Not good!” but before she could react, she fainted.

The basket in her hand fell to the ground. The man quickly grabbed her and took a shortcut away.

When Yun Shang regained consciousness, she heard a woman’s voice nearby.

“Xiao Tao, watch her. When she wakes, send someone to tell me.”

“Yes.”

After the woman’s words, the door closed and silence filled the room. Yun Shang sniffed the familiar scent and her heart sank.

She had smelled this before… Could it be that she was sold to a brothel?

But she hadn’t offended anyone since coming to the capital. Who could it be?

For a moment, Yun Shang was confused but pretended to just be waking up and slowly opened her eyes.

Before her was a delicate face. Xiao Tao saw her awake and said, “You’re awake? I’ll go get Mother.”

“Wait, where is this place?” Yun Shang quickly grabbed her and asked.

Xiao Tao thought for a moment and answered, “This is Qimeng Lou.”

Yun Shang thought, just as she feared—Qimeng Lou was the capital’s most famous brothel, and those behind it were truly shameless.

Lowering her gaze to the little maid in front of her, Yun Shang’s eyes flickered. Calmly, she pulled out the hidden dagger from her waist and instantly pressed it against Xiao Tao’s waist.

The cold blade against her made Xiao Tao too scared to move and she instinctively shouted, “Help…”

Before she could finish, Yun Shang pushed her in a few steps and said fiercely, “You can see whether they come faster or my dagger does.”

Her eyes were icy cold; her stunning face was chilling and enchanting.

Xiao Tao didn’t dare make a sound, trembling as she said, “What do you want? Even if you kill me, you still won’t escape.”

Yun Shang of course knew. A moment later, Xiao Tao was tied up, gagged, and lying on the ground wearing Yun Shang’s clothes.

Yun Shang, dressed in Xiao Tao’s clothes, carefully put away the dagger and opened the window to look outside.

Below, crowds surged and glasses clinked. No matter what, she couldn’t escape through the window.

The door was guarded, and alone she couldn’t leave easily. Thinking this, Yun Shang suddenly felt powerless.

She couldn’t understand why she was so tied to places like this, why she kept ending up here again and again.

Just as Yun Shang was worrying, a commotion erupted downstairs. She glanced out and saw someone causing a scene. For her, this was actually a good thing.

The more chaotic the disturbance, the better her chance to escape.

In the main hall, He Lan wore a red robe, the jade belt at his waist outlining his strong figure. His expression was carefree and unrestrained.

Beside him, Shen Yanli wore a cold, displeased face. If it weren’t for an important task tonight, he wouldn’t have come to a place like this.

“I’m telling you, Shen Yanli, can you stop looking so sour? Who said people like you get to have fun?”

He Lan shook his fan, holding a cup of wine in his hand, his eyes fixed on a man with a beard chatting and laughing with a woman not far away.

“I’m not here for pleasure. When are we going to arrest him?” Shen Yanli said coldly.

He Lan sneered, “Stop pretending. Who was it that ran to the brothel every day back then?”

Shen Yanli lowered his eyes, anger rising as he thought of that ruthless and ungrateful woman.

“Wait until he’s inside a room, or what if he runs off while it’s still crowded?”

No one else mattered — this guy was pretty good at running. They had been after him for days.

This man was Chen Yuan, a junior officer under Gu Cong’an, Pei Ji’s father. He had been secretly bribed by Jiang Qi to deliver battle plans to the Beirong people. He held a certain letter.

That letter was written by Jiang Qi. With it, they could expose his hypocritical face and clear the Gu family’s name.

Shen Yanli said nothing, crossing his arms as he leaned against a pillar.

Upstairs, Yun Shang knew she couldn’t just wait to be captured. She took a deep breath, gripping the dagger in her hand, then bowed her head and opened the door.

The two guards at the door immediately sensed something was wrong and hurried forward to block her. “Stop!”

The two rushed at her quickly. Yun Shang’s eyes sharpened, and she lifted her skirt to run desperately.

Upstairs, the scene unfolded: a maid-dressed woman sprinting, chased by several large men.

The madam of Qimeng Tower saw this and shouted to others, “Quick, catch her!”

Yun Shang kept running, seeing more and more pursuers closing in until she was surrounded. She glanced down at the floor below, bit her lip, and leapt onto the railing, then jumped down.

Even if she died today, she would never let them torment her.

The madam shut her eyes in fear—this stubborn girl’s spirit was really fierce.

A heavy feeling surged inside Yun Shang as she looked back on her life—it felt like a joke.

As a child, sold into the brothel by her brother, she worked hard to learn skills to survive and became the top courtesan there.

Not wanting to give up her purity lightly, she chose a man who seemed outstanding in all respects, coaxed him, tricked him, and got him to redeem her.

After being redeemed, she followed the man anonymously. Though he treated her well, she knew they would never have a future.

Not wanting to be trapped in one place wasting her life, she took advantage of his absence to secretly take money and run away.

In just over a decade, she had seen too much cruelty and fickleness, the coldness of human feelings. She had barely enjoyed freedom for a few months. Well, dying would bring relief.

She closed her eyes; tears slipped down like a fluttering butterfly.

The surrounding guests all instinctively closed their eyes. At the critical moment, Yun Shang felt herself fall into an embrace.

Before she could open her eyes, a familiar voice with a hint of annoyance sounded beside her ear: “You went through so much effort to leave me, only to come here to seek death.”

Yun Shang opened her eyes, staring blankly at him. “Second Master.”

How could he be here? Was she dreaming?

Seeing the tears at the corner of her eye, Shen Yanli’s heart clenched as if gripped by something. He raised his lips coldly and said, “Not easy, huh? You still remember me.”

The woman who always lied, always said she liked him but had no true feelings, left without warning. Despite his cleverness, he had fallen for her tricks.

He caught her as they landed, and Yun Shang finally realized she wasn’t dreaming. It really was him. He had saved her.

“Thank you, Second Master, for saving me.” She whispered her thanks, lowering her eyes and struggling to get down.