A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 382 I believe you

The spring afternoon breeze is very pleasant. The red and pink flowers dotted in the grass at the corners of the courtyard attract bees and butterflies.

Under the green-leaf tree, Liu Jiangxi noticed that Hong Qing seemed to be hesitant to speak, so he asked with concern:

"What's up with you today?"

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I won't be able to sing your lyrics in the future." Hong Qing looked at Liu Jiangxi in front of her, and then continued to sigh with a guilty look on her face: "Mother Yun didn't let me sing your lyrics today. She said that a brothel is a place to sell laughter after all, and it's inappropriate for your lyrics to be in Fengqifang."

"I thought it was a big deal, why would it embarrass you like this?" Liu Jiangxi smiled calmly after hearing this, then took a sip of tea and said, "I don't rely on writing these poems to support myself, I just want to help you. Now that you can't sing, I have some free time."

At the beginning, Liu Jiangxi saw Hong Qing struggling to find suitable lyrics, so he wrote a piece for her as a last resort. It was a great honor for a talented woman in Beijing to write lyrics for him, but Hong Qing also took into account her reputation as Miss Liu and immediately refused. However, Liu Jiangxi didn't think so. As long as Hong Qing didn't tell anyone, who would have thought that these lyrics were written by her?

"She asked me to sing more love songs in the future, but I told her straight out that I didn't want to sing anymore and told her to find someone else. I'll just continue dancing my own dance." Seeing her friend's face still as usual and hearing her say that, Hong Qing finally felt relieved. She picked up another piece of cake on the plate and started complaining.

"If you don't sing anymore, will Mother Yun make things difficult for you?" Liu Jiangxi asked worriedly.

"Don't worry. I'm still the most popular courtesan in Fengqifang and a famous prostitute in the capital. She still relies on me to make a fortune for her. Naturally, she won't make things difficult for me." Hong Qing sneered and comforted Liu Jiangxi.

Liu Jiangxi looked at Hong Qing as if nothing had happened, but he couldn't help but frowned slightly.

Although she was a young lady, she had heard of many tragic experiences of women in brothels since she was a child. She deeply realized that those places of brothels were cruel and ruthless. The women who lived there had no choice but to do what they wanted. Once they lost their usefulness, they would die quietly.

Although Hong Qing still has a status in Fengqifang and is popular in public for her wonderful dancing skills, and is often visited by the prince of the current dynasty in private, but flowers do not stay in bloom forever, and who will cherish them when spring is over?

"Have you saved enough money to redeem yourself now?" After hesitating for a moment, Liu Jiangxi asked.

Hong Qing was caught off guard by this question. She then reacted and looked towards the closed courtyard door. Seeing that the maid Dafeng was still guarding outside, she immediately stood up and pulled Liu Jiangxi into the house.

"What's wrong?" Liu Jiangxi asked curiously again until they entered a side room.

"In a brothel, girls cannot easily save private money. If they are discovered by their mothers, they will be severely punished. Except for those of us who can earn a lot of money for the brothel every day, we can save some money every month with the permission of our mothers. However, the private money we are allowed to save is far from enough to redeem ourselves, so everyone will hide it in the dark."

As Hong Qing was speaking, she had already moved out a small dark red wooden box from under the bed, then took out a key from under the desk by the window, and then opened the locked small wooden box. Inside was all gold, silver, jewelry, banknotes, and the property that Mu Liang left to her.

"Even for the house that Brother Liang left me, I could only lie to mom and say that I was temporarily looking after it for him." Hong Qing added before Liu Jiangxi could speak.

"These should be enough for you to redeem yourself, right?" Liu Jiangxi couldn't help but widen his eyes when he saw the box of private property that Hong Qing had saved, but at the same time he was relieved at her cleverness.

"I'm Fengqifang's cash cow now. Do you think Mother Yun will let me go easily? Unless someone helps us, I'm afraid we can only redeem ourselves when we are old and ugly." Liu Jiangxi's words made Hong Qing burst out laughing. Then she sighed and walked slowly to the window, saying helplessly.

"Help? How to help?" Liu Jiangxi also walked quickly to Hong Qing and asked urgently.

When the two of them first met, Liu Jiangxi wanted to persuade Hong Qing to make plans to leave Fengqifang as soon as possible, but he didn't want to spoil her mood because he always saw that Hong Qing was in a happy mood. It was only today when Hong Qing took the initiative to complain that Liu Jiangxi mentioned it.

"What? You want to help me? Will your father agree that you, an unmarried lady, can redeem a prostitute like me? What's more, I am a famous courtesan in Liangdu." Hong Qing turned her head and looked at Liu Jiangxi deeply and gratefully. Suddenly, her eyebrows curved and she smiled pretending to be hearty.

"If you were really imprisoned, I would not stand idly by." Liu Jiangxi said seriously.

"It must be Hong Qing's blessing to have met a good friend like you in this life." Hong Qing couldn't help but well up her tears, but she soon lowered her eyes and turned back to the small wooden box and continued to say to Liu Jiangxi: "These are my hopes for the rest of my life. Hiding them in this deserted house always makes me nervous, afraid that they will be stolen by thieves one day. Today, since you care about my redemption, I won't hide it from you, and I also want you to keep this wooden box for me."

"We have only known each other for less than half a year. Are you confident in handing over all your belongings to me for safekeeping?" Liu Jiangxi's eyes flickered and she looked a little moved. She looked at Hong Qing solemnly and asked.

"Yes, I believe you." Hong Qing nodded without hesitation and smiled.

It was not until dusk that Hong Qing returned to Fengqifang with a happy face. At this time, Mother Yun was anxiously looking for her. When she saw her return, she hurried forward and pulled her to the side, saying angrily: "My ancestor is finally back. Look how anxious you are!"

"What's wrong? What happened?" Hong Qing was in a good mood at the moment, so she asked with a smile on her face.

"The prince just sent someone to tell you that he will be here later. Go and get ready!" Mother Yun whispered in Hong Qing's ear while helping her up to the attic.

"It's not the prince's first time coming back. Should Mom be so nervous?" Hong Qing smiled at Yun's mother as if she was used to it.

"Oh, you are really getting bolder. Even if the prince comes every night, Fengqifang has to be respectful. What's more, the prince hasn't been here for a while!" Mother Yun glared at Hongqing again and continued, "Don't sing the lyrics of the past few days in front of the prince tonight, so as not to ruin his mood."

"I see." Hong Qing guessed that Yun's mother would say that, so she just replied lazily and went up to the attic.

"Where did she go today?" When Mother Yun saw Hongqing going upstairs, she pulled Dafeng to a corner and asked secretly.

"Where else can the girl go? Of course, she will go to that small courtyard to relax and have some free time." Dafeng replied truthfully.

"Why do you always like to go there? Are you going to meet your lover secretly?" Mother Yun stared at Dafeng suspiciously and asked.

"Oh, mom, please don't talk nonsense. Even if the girl had a lover, it should be Shopkeeper Mu. It's a pity that one of them fell in love and the other one left..."

"Alright, alright, it's best if there's nothing else. You have to keep a close eye on her!" Mother Yun said impatiently after Dafeng finished speaking, then she shook the handkerchief in her hand and continued giving instructions.

Dafeng shut up and just nodded in silence.