A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 466 Hong Qing is in trouble

On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the moon is full in the sky and its bright shadow is moving around. The capital of Song Guoliang is bustling and prosperous as always.

"Miss, are you going out today during the Mid-Autumn Festival?"

In the Liu Mansion, Liu Jiangxi put the freshly made mooncakes and a can of chrysanthemum wine into the food box. The maid Shiwen beside him frowned and asked worriedly.

"I'll be back soon. If the master asks you, just tell him that I went to see the lanterns." After saying this, Liu Jiangxi walked out of the house with the lunch box.

"Which young lady goes to the lantern festival without bringing her maid?" Shiwen didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and hurriedly followed out and muttered.

"That's right. Then you come with me and let Yier stay to answer." Liu Jiangxi reacted after hearing this and said to her.

"Miss, it's sunny tonight..."

"Shh!"

Before Shiwen could finish her words, Liu Jiangxi hurriedly turned around and hushed her, and then whispered, "Didn't we agree not to mention Hongqing at home? If father knew, I would not be able to leave the house in the future."

Shi Wen also knew that she was too quick to speak, so she stuck out her tongue and whispered, "It's Mid-Autumn Festival tonight, will the girl come out?"

Liu Jiangxi didn't say anything else, just nodded, turned around and continued to walk out of the mansion. They had agreed to meet in the courtyard to watch the moon three days ago.

Walking along the long corridor of the mansion, Liu Jiangxi caught a glimpse of his father sitting by the window in the study with a book in his hands. He suddenly turned around and asked Shiwen, "Have you sent the mooncakes and osmanthus tea to the master?"

"Miss, have you forgotten? Yi'er sent mooncakes to the master just now! Even the old lady Zhuo next door and Master Zhuo also sent mooncakes. Old lady Zhuo praised you for your cleverness and kindness. How could such a good woman in the world like you not want to find a husband?"

Hearing Shiwen's reply with sighs and laughter, Liu Jiangxi had no choice but to not respond to her and just walked out of the house.

The carriage left Liu Mansion and slowly drove out of the inner city, and soon stopped in front of the courtyard gate. The alley was quiet and dark on the Mid-Autumn night.

"Look, young lady, Miss Hongqing hasn't arrived yet!" Liu Jiangxi opened the gate, and Shiwen, who followed in, couldn't help but mutter when she saw the cold and lonely look in front of her.

Liu Jiangxi ignored the maid's complaints and went into the house to hang up the lanterns he had prepared in advance. Although Shiwen was nagging, she also started to clean the yard.

The master and servant waited in the courtyard for nearly an hour but Hong Qing still didn't show up. Shiwen dozed off inadvertently while sitting under a tree. Liu Jiangxi silently looked at the flickering lanterns in the courtyard and couldn't help but worry. It was almost past the hour of Xu and she still hadn't come. If she really couldn't leave, she should at least ask Dafeng to deliver a message. Could something have happened?

Thinking of this, she suddenly felt a panic in her heart and stood up from the chair immediately. Shiwen, who was half asleep and half awake, saw the young lady stand up and also stood up in a daze.

"Miss Liu! It's bad, the girl...the girl is in trouble!"

At this moment, the courtyard door was suddenly pushed open, and Dafeng rushed in wiping her tears and crying to Liu Jiangxi while gasping for breath.

"What happened?" Just as he was starting to worry, something really happened. Liu Jiangxi hurried forward and asked.

"The prince is holding a banquet in his mansion tonight and he has asked the girl to perform the Flying Dance to liven up the atmosphere. The prince invited the girl and she dared not refuse. We arrived at the prince's mansion at twilight hour..."

"Let's talk about the important things. What happened to Hongqing?" Liu Jiangxi was anxious and impatient to listen to Dafeng's story, so he interrupted her.

"When the girl was flying and dancing, the silk cloth suddenly broke for some reason, and the girl was caught off guard and fell from mid-air..." Seeing that Miss Liu was anxious, Dafeng just cried and told her what happened.

"Oh my God! This is not the first time that Miss Hongqing has performed the Flying Dance, how could a piece of silk cloth break for no reason?" Liu Jiangxi and the maid were both horrified when they heard this, and they all trembled all over. Shiwen even covered her mouth and screamed in surprise.

"The girl fell off the stage and couldn't get up. Her face was scratched by the sharp weapon on the ground. The prince not only didn't care, but also scolded the girl for being embarrassing and ruining the guests' interest. As a result, she was beaten with ten boards and thrown out of the prince's mansion!" Dafeng added the rest of the words and couldn't help crying with sadness.

When Liu Jiangxi heard what happened again, she dared not say anything to the prince. Although she already knew that even though Hong Qing had been favored before, it was just a passing cloud. However, what made her angry was that the prince of Jingsong Kingdom, the future king, actually treated people like grass.

"Where is she?" Liu Jiangxi calmed down her anger, but her whole body was still shaking uncontrollably. With red eyes, she continued to ask Dafeng, who was crying and gasping for breath.

"The girl has been carried back to Fengqi Pavilion. Mother Yun called a doctor, but the doctor said that the girl's broken left leg would never heal in this lifetime, and the wound on her face was so deep that it would leave a scar...so the girl could never perform on stage again. Mother Yun's face changed immediately after hearing the doctor's words. She ordered people to drive the girl down from the attic to receive guests in three days, saying...that the girl couldn't dance and her face was bruised, but she still had her body to use and couldn't be idle...Luckily the girl didn't wake up and didn't hear those words, otherwise she would have been heartbroken!"

Dafeng continued to cry sadly. Although she was arranged by Mother Yun to serve the girl from the beginning, she naturally developed feelings for the girl over the years. Although she was stupid, she could tell good from bad. Tonight, she saw clearly how the prince and Mother Yun treated the girl with indifference, and she was filled with resentment in her heart. It was a pity that she was just an ant in Mother Yun's palm and could not save the girl. The only person she could think of in Liangdu City right now was Miss Liu.

"This Mama Yun is such a bad person! How much has Miss Hongqing earned for Mama Yun in Fengqi Pavilion for so many years? Now that she is in trouble, she is so heartless and ungrateful, and adds insult to injury!" After hearing what Dafeng said, the maid Shiwen was so angry that she couldn't help but scolding.

"I know you are truly kind to Hong Qing. I'd like to ask you to go back and take good care of her in the next two days. When she wakes up, tell her to just rest and recover. I will find a way to redeem her." Liu Jiangxi couldn't help but shed tears when he heard about Hong Qing's experience, but he also knew that now was not the time to be sad for her, so he wiped away his tears and comforted Dafeng.

"Miss Liu, don't worry. I will do my best to take care of the girl. She was seriously injured tonight and I'm afraid she won't be able to wake up. When she wakes up tomorrow, she will definitely tell you what you said." Dafeng said hurriedly and turned to leave the courtyard and go back to Fengqi Pavilion.

Liu Jiangxi also hurriedly took Shiwen to Li's cloth shop, but today was Mid-Autumn Festival and all four shops of the Li family were closed and no one answered, so she had to return home.

What happened to Hong Qing in the Prince's Mansion will spread throughout the entire Liangdu City tomorrow. By then, she will have lost her protection for offending the Prince, and she will no longer be able to go on stage due to her broken leg. Her status and reputation will plummet. There are always many people in the world of romance who will take advantage of others' misfortunes. Liu Jiangxi cannot let Hong Qing be tortured again, but she cannot redeem her in the name of Miss Liu, so she has to ask her father for help first.

"What? You, as an innocent young lady from an official family, actually mixed up with a prostitute. And tonight you want your father to go to Fengqi Pavilion to redeem that prostitute? And she was once favored by the prince? You...you are really my good daughter!" In the study room of the Liu Mansion, Liu Jingxing was so angry that he pointed at his daughter who was kneeling in front of him with tears in her eyes and shouted angrily.

"I know I'm putting you in a difficult position, but Hong Qing is my best friend in Liangdu City. How can I just sit there and watch her indifferently? If I were really that kind of person, wouldn't you be disappointed?"

Her father was an upright man who had always kept himself clean. After her mother passed away, he had neither remarried nor taken concubines, let alone had affairs outside. Tonight, as a daughter, she wanted him to tarnish her reputation and risk offending the prince to redeem Hongqing for her. This was indeed a great act of treason, but she had no other choice. Jiangnan's Mu shopkeeper was too far away to help. In her desperation, she really couldn't think of anyone to ask for help, so she could only ask her father for help.

"You've always been a smart girl, but why do you just ignore everything when you're in a hurry?" Liu Jingxing stared at his daughter for a long time before he sighed helplessly. Then he helped her up and shook his head.

"What do you mean, father?" Liu Jiangxi was like an ant on a hot pan at this moment. He naturally did not understand what his father said.

"That Miss Hongqing is a famous prostitute in the capital. Now she is injured and has offended the prince. She is in the spotlight. If someone comes forward to redeem her at this time, it will surely cause dissatisfaction from the prince. Even though your father is a university scholar, I am afraid I can't protect her in front of the prince! It is better to let her continue to stay in Fengqi Pavilion. Maybe the prince will completely forget about her soon. When she is redeemed after the storm has calmed down, no one will care about her. Then she can live a stable life again."

Her father's words made Liu Jiangxi's heart tremble again. Yes, why didn't she think that saving Hong Qing at this critical juncture would undoubtedly be a blatant opposition to the prince and would anger him. The prince would certainly not blatantly make things difficult for the Liu family because of a brothel girl, but he would definitely take Hong Qing out on her, and by then, even her father would not be able to save her.