But those two hugged for an overly long time. Didn’t they want to go home anymore?
Moreover, Chu Lian had important matters to attend to, so he coughed twice, "Cough, cough!"
He made the sound to remind the hugging pair.
Alerted by him, Yang Ming and Xiaoxiao released each other. Xiaoxiao dried her tears and said to the thugs, "I’m going out tonight and will come back during the day tomorrow. Keep an eye on the courtyard."
With that, the four of them stepped outside, found Acheng, withdrew their forces, got on a carriage, and hurried toward Chu Mansion. On the way, Chu Lian asked, "Yang Ming, weren’t you supposed to go out of town? How did you discover your sister-in-law was in Yixiang Courtyard?"
"Actually, it was because of Ai La Fu oil."
Yang Ming began to recall:
After leaving those traffickers, Yang Ming and his brothers hurriedly galloped towards Beijing. When they passed through the first small town, they dismounted to buy some dry food at a restaurant.
Yang Ming entered the restaurant with two escorts. The restaurant was quiet, with hardly any diners.
After ordering Xiao’er to prepare some dry food, Yang Ming took out his wife’s portrait and approached the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, have you seen this person?"
The shopkeeper looked carefully at the portrait and then shook his head, "Never seen her."
Hearing this, Yang Ming felt a bit dejected and returned to his seat to wait.
Just then, he heard a customer chatting with the shopkeeper.
"Shopkeeper, why are there so few people today?"
"Ah, they’ve all gone to see someone. Who’s going to eat?"
"A new girl arrived at Yixiang Courtyard in Lin County. They say she’s extremely talented, and tonight, she will be auctioned off for the first night. Quite a few young masters have gone there."
"I heard about that too. It’s all very mysterious. The girl wears a veil, and only the highest bidder tonight will see her face."
By then, Xiao’er had finished preparing the dry food. Yang Ming stood up to leave, not interested in listening to the gossip anymore. However, the next words stopped him in his tracks.
"The girl, whose stage name is Xiaofeng, always says after performing each night that her name is ’love something oil.’ Isn’t that odd?"
Hearing the phrase ’love something oil,’ Yang Ming’s heart skipped a beat. He excitedly approached the speaker and asked, "Esteemed sir, did you mean ’Ai La Fu oil’?"
"Oh, right, Ai La Fu oil. It sounds awful."
Hearing the other’s reply, Yang Ming’s emotions were indescribable. Those were words his wife would say. The person must be his wife. He immediately led his brothers back through the night.
When they reached Yixiang Courtyard’s entrance, they were stopped by the guards who said that Ai La Fu oil’s first night had been auctioned off for nine hundred taels.
How could Yang Ming not be anxious? He quickly led his brothers in, ready to fight to the death, but he hadn’t anticipated the situation turning out .
After recalling the incident, Yang Ming still earnestly asked, "Wife, you really took a big risk, even selling yourself!"
Xiaoxiao pouted, "It wasn’t worth it just to make a grand show of it, hoping you’d come to my rescue. But you only just arrived; it’s too late now."
Continuing in a mocking tone, Xiaoxiao said, "Nine hundred taels, I’ve already been bought."
Given the situation, Yang Ming knew his wife was alright, yet she still frightened him . Playing along, he said, "Who? Have you been mistreated, huh?"
"..." Meanwhile, Chu Lian’s mouth twitched, wondering if the two of them could flirt without involving him.