Chapter 62 Poor Woman

"It's obviously his son's fault, but Cao Qin actually put all the blame on you, a woman. It's really abominable."

Facing Xiaoqing, whose appearance was completely destroyed, Liu Xunyi felt mixed emotions. Although he could not be said to be upright after serving the court for many years, he could still distinguish right from wrong. What he could not tolerate the most was that the evildoers lived happily while the innocent suffered in vain.

This was the case with Mo Cen's family of three in the past, and it is also the case with Xiao Qing today.

"The fact that you can say this shows that you have a kind-hearted heart, sir. It's been less than ten hours since my face... became like this, but I have experienced the fickleness of human nature and the vicissitudes of the world..." Xiaoqing didn't want Liu Xunyi to be afraid of her appearance, so she timidly covered her face with the scarf again, and cried in a low voice with grief, "Those guests who usually say sweet words to me all avoided me after seeing my appearance, and some even spoke ill of me. Even the sisters in Tianxiang Tower looked at me with disgust, and gossiped about me behind my back... Now that Xiaoqing can hear a fair word from you, it's worth it even if she dies..." Xiaoqing's voice began to tremble slightly, and her tears kept falling and stained the wound that had not yet healed, making her even more painful.

"Alas!" Although Liu Xunyi felt sympathy for Xiaoqing's experience, he could do nothing about it. After all, the mistake had been made. He and Xiaoqing had never met before, so what more could he say?

"Tomorrow Xiaoqing will leave Tianxiang Tower and return to her hometown." Xiaoqing said with tears in her eyes, "I heard that the young master came here especially for Xiaoqing. It's a pity that Xiaoqing is useless and has disappointed the young master tonight."

"This is not your fault, young lady. You don't have to blame yourself." Liu Xunyi sighed, "This is the sin committed by Cao Qin and his son. They owe you this."

"No, no, no!" Xiaoqing couldn't stop shaking when she talked about the father and son of the Cao family. She shook her head repeatedly and said, "This matter has nothing to do with anyone. It's all Xiaoqing's own fault. If anyone is to blame, you can only blame Xiaoqing's bad luck. It would have happened to Master Cao sooner or later, but it happened to me..."

Looking at Xiaoqing's thin body trembling, Liu Xunyi could feel her inner fear of Yuhutang and the father and son of the Cao family even from several feet away. She had no intention of seeking revenge even though she was wronged, and she didn't even dare to hate.

"Sir, I'll go find other sisters to serve you..."

"No need!" Liu Xunyi waved his hand and said, "Just sit down and talk to me!"

Xiaoqing hesitated again and again, but finally couldn't resist Liu Xunyi's insistence and had to sit far away opposite Liu Xunyi, because she was afraid that the smell of medicinal herbs and blood on her face would make Liu Xunyi nauseous.

"Good fortune and misfortune go hand in hand. Although you have experienced such a misfortune, you were able to escape from a place like Tianxiang Tower. It is a blessing in disguise." Liu Xunyi comforted with a wry smile.

Xiao Qing smiled sadly and said, "I wanted to save more money here so that I could go back to my hometown to take care of my elderly parents, but I never thought something like this would happen. I'm afraid the little money I saved won't even be enough to heal my face."

"Didn't the madam and your sisters raise money for you to settle down?" Liu Xunyi asked doubtfully, "After all, you were once the top performer at Tianxianglou and earned a lot of money for this place."

Liu Xunyi's question seemed to bring up Xiaoqing's sad memories again, and he said with a sad smile: "Sir, do you know why you had to wait so long to see me just now?"

Hearing Xiaoqing's incoherent words, Liu Xunyi shook his head suspiciously and did not respond.

"Because my clothes and jewelry had already been taken away by Mother Yang a long time ago. She said that these were things from Tianxiang Tower and I couldn't take anything away. She had already done her best for me by letting me stay here for one more day to see the doctor." Xiaoqing explained, "So when the young master specifically wanted to see me, Mother Yang had no choice but to piece together this outfit from other sisters for me to wear again." As she spoke, Xiaoqing looked at herself with a self-deprecating look.

It was not until this moment that Liu Xunyi suddenly realized that Xiaoqing's dress and jewelry did not seem to fit well. The combination of the jewelry was even a bit strange, as if it was put on temporarily.

"What a heartless Tianxianglou." Liu Xunyi sneered, "When you were prosperous, they treated you like a cash cow. Now that you are in trouble, not only do they not help you, but they are also trying to add insult to injury."

"It's not their fault. After all, no one in Huodu wants to offend Yuhu Hall." Xiao Qing said, "Tang Lord Cao wants to punish me, so who would dare to help me without permission? In fact, I am already very satisfied if I can save my life."

"Alas!" Liu Xunyi sighed again. He took out his purse from his sleeve and threw it in front of Xiaoqing, saying, "Take this back to support your parents. Stay away from these troubled places and live a peaceful life with your parents!"

"Sir, this money..."

"Take it!" Without waiting for Xiaoqing to refuse, Liu Xunyi said with a smile, "Even if I don't give you this money, I'm afraid it will be given to others."

Xiaoqing hesitated for a moment, then knelt down on the ground with a "thump", kowtowed to Liu Xunyi and said: "Young Master, your kindness is great, Xiaoqing will never forget it."

Liu Xunyi looked at Xiaoqing, who was in tears of gratitude, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "Why is there such a big gap between people? How can someone be bullied but have no hatred, and instead be grateful to the enemy who didn't kill him. Can people really be so humble?"

"Xiao Qing, I want to ask you..." Liu Xunyi calmed down and said seriously, "Who kidnapped Master Cao this morning?"

Xiao Qing was startled, and asked fearfully, "Why are you asking these questions, sir? Are you from Yuhu Hall?"

"Xiaoqing, you will be leaving here tomorrow, so there are some things you'd better not know." Liu Xunyi said frankly, "But I can tell you that I'm not from Yuhu Hall."

Xiao Qing stood up doubtfully, and after a moment's hesitation, she slowly said, "I don't know who they are. The room was dark at the time, and they suddenly rushed in aggressively and directly dragged the sleeping Master Cao away from the bed. Everything happened so fast that I didn't have time to react." "Then... is there anything else that impressed you?" Liu Xunyi used the interrogation techniques he learned from Tianji Pavilion on Xiao Qing one by one, tentatively guiding her questions, "Like any strange noises? Like the figures and backs of those people? Like what weapons they carried?"

"Oh, that's right. They are a group of Khitan people." Xiao Qing suddenly had an idea and said hastily, "Because they speak Khitan."

"Khitan people?" Liu Xunyi asked, "How do you know they speak Khitan?"

"Because I am also a Khitan." Xiaoqing explained.

Liu Xunyi was stunned, then asked: "Then do you understand what they are saying?"

Xiao Qing smiled bitterly and said, "They only said threatening words like 'Hurry up, hurry up', 'You Song dog, don't move', 'You're looking for death', and nothing else." As he spoke, Xiao Qing imitated the tone of those people at the time and repeated these swear words in Khitan.

Although Liu Xunyi could not understand Khitan language, he suddenly heard a familiar rhythm in Xiaoqing's voice and hurriedly stopped her, saying, "Xiaoqing, repeat what those people said..."

Xiaoqing repeated the swear words several times as instructed. Liu Xunyi's eyes suddenly lit up and he said to himself, "I remember now. This is what the Westerner I bumped into on the street when I first arrived in Huodu said. The words 'Song dog' and 'seeking death' are exactly the same." At this point, Liu Xunyi suddenly changed the subject and asked Xiaoqing, "Do you Khitan people... all like to call Song people Song dogs?"

"Sir, please don't misunderstand me. Of course not." Xiao Qing hurriedly clarified, "This is the first time I've heard of such a name."

"What do they look like?" Liu Xunyi tried carefully, but unfortunately Xiaoqing could only shake her head silently.

"That figure..." Liu Xunyi was halfway through his words when a very bold guess suddenly popped up in his mind. He stood up and imitated the demeanor and tone of the Western Regions man he had seen, shouting "Song dog" and "looking for death" in Khitan to Xiaoqing. Then he compared his own figure with the burly figure of the Western Regions man, and then looked at Xiaoqing expectantly and asked: "Is the tone of that man's speech like this? And his figure..."

Xiao Qing stared at Liu Xunyi blankly for a long while before asking in surprise, "How come you can learn so well?"

Hearing this, Liu Xunyi suddenly realized and thought to himself, "That's because I accidentally bumped into them on the street today." However, he did not explain to Xiaoqing, but continued to ask, "Are they four people?" Then he described the four Westerners he saw on the street, their figures and appearances.

This is also the skill Liu Xunyi learned in Tianji Pavilion. No matter whether it is a person or an object, as long as he takes a look at it, he will be able to remember it.

"It seems..." Xiao Qing thought about the situation again and again, and nodded vaguely, "It seems to be just as you said... Could it be that you know who kidnapped Master Cao?"

Liu Xunyi naturally wouldn't tell Xiaoqing the truth. He walked over to Xiaoqing and whispered in her ear, "Don't mention these things to anyone else, or your life might be in danger."

"Son..."

"No need to ask more questions. Leave Huodu as soon as possible tomorrow morning. Cao Qin is a fickle villain, so be careful lest something unexpected happens." Liu Xunyi gave some kind instructions, and without waiting for Xiaoqing to reply, he turned and walked out of the room. Accompanied by the sound of "thump thump thump" coming down the stairs and the old brothel owner's insincere greetings, Liu Xunyi quickly left Tianxiang Tower.

Xiaoqing held the purse left by Liu Xunyi and sat quietly at the table in a daze, thinking about everything she had experienced, and her heart could not calm down for a long time.

On the way back to Long'an Inn, Liu Xunyi had already made plans for the next step. Tomorrow morning, he would go to Fuhe Granary in Huodu to find Lao Xu, the steward of the caravan that accompanied him. Because when he had a conflict with the group of Western Regions people today, it was Lao Xu who stepped in to mediate.

Liu Xunyi clearly remembered that Old Xu gave the man some silver as an apology, and then the man's accomplices came up and said a few words, and then they left in a hurry.

Now that I think about it, they must have spoken Khitan language. And the content of those few sentences may be an extremely important clue for Liu Xunyi at this moment.

More importantly, on the way to Huodu, Lao Xu boasted in casual conversation that he knew the languages ​​of many ethnic groups, including Khitan.

Following the clues and finding out the clues, Liu Xunyi's mood suddenly became cheerful. He tiptoed back to the silent Long'an Inn, and walked from the lobby to his room on the second floor without making any sound along the way.

"call!"

When Liu Xunyi tiptoed and gently closed the door, he let out a long breath. Just as he was about to go to bed to rest, his originally peaceful eyes suddenly flashed with a frightening gleam, and he drew his sword in an instant. As he turned around, the cold sword tip was already pointing directly at the dark corner in the southeast of the room.

"who?"

……

(End of this chapter)