Chapter 10: The Salt Route (IV)

“Knock, knock, knock! Knock, knock, knock!”
The crisp knocking startled Huangfu Yun and her maid Chi Su.
“Oh no, miss! Could it be that my excessive force earlier attracted those scoundrels from the county prince? If they find out we treated that guy like that, they definitely won’t let it go. Miss, if they come to ask questions later, I’ll take all the blame—just say you know nothing!”
Chi Su spread her arms and stood in front of Huangfu Yun, posing as if she was loyal to her master, causing Huangfu Yun to shake her head repeatedly.
“How can that work? It was my idea. Now that something’s gone wrong, how can I ask you to bear the blame?”
For self-protection, Huangfu Yun had ordered Chi Su to hide behind a screen, waiting for Li Yi to lower his guard before having her knock him out with a pillow. Chi Su had only followed her instructions—how could she shift the blame to her?
“Ah, why are you so stubborn, miss? I’m just a maid; they can’t do much to me. But if you admit it, the consequences will be terrible. We should save one person if we can—why worry so much about loyalty?”
Anxiously sweating, Chi Su tried to persuade her. Her master was great in every way except for being too loyal. To be honest, she had never treated her as a servant but always as a sister. But since her master valued her, she had to know when to back down.
Now that her master was in danger, if she stepped aside, how would her sisters view her?
No, no—she must take responsibility for this!
“Knock, knock, knock!”
Seeing no response, the person outside knocked again.
Huangfu Yun frowned, puzzled. Logically, Li Yi’s servants should be tyrannical and cruel, so why were they behaving so politely now?
“Is Miss Yun here? I have some free time tonight and thought I’d come by to chat.”
It was then that Huangfu Yun recognized the voice outside, and her worries dissipated.
“Chi Su, go open the door and welcome Young Master Li in.”
How could she have been so foolish? She hadn’t expected it to be him!
Huangfu Yun twisted her hands, bit her lip tightly, and lowered her head.
If he saw her like this, he would surely think she was vulgar and shallow!
Chi Su opened the door angrily. Sure enough, it was Li Kuo. She crossed her arms, raised her eyebrows, and snapped, “Oh, isn’t this General Li Kuo, the commander of the Jianghuai troops? What brings you to my master’s house?”

Li Kuo didn’t understand why this maid was so angry. He shrugged and said, “Miss Chisu, what’s wrong with you today that you’re so upset? I just had nothing to do tonight, and thinking that Miss Yun might be lonely, I came to Zimo Pavilion to talk to her.”
“Hypocrites! Hypocrites!”
Chisu punched Li Kuo in the chest with her fist, tears welling up in her eyes.
“You all officials are hypocrites! You claim to value my sister’s talents, but who doesn’t know you just want to possess her someday?”
Li Kuo was baffled. Waving his hand, he said with a wry smile, “Miss Chisu, I think there must be some misunderstanding between us. You and my sister are kindred spirits, like Boya and Ziqi—how could there be talk of possession?”
After a pause, Chisu said, “You’re different from ordinary men, but why don’t you come to Zimo Pavilion more often? Do you know my sister…”
“Chisu!”
Huangfu Yun sharply interrupted the maid’s complaints.
“General Li, don’t listen to her nonsense. You should focus on your duties. The door to Yun’s place is always open for you.”
For some reason, Huangfu Yun felt an inexplicable fondness for Li Kuo—a feeling beyond words.
“Miss!”
Seeing Huangfu Yun still caring about others, Chisu stamped her foot in frustration. “With everything going on, aren’t you going to tell him? Fine, if you won’t, I’ll do it!”
Without hesitation, the maid pulled Li Kuo’s robe sleeve and led him toward the bed. Reluctantly, Li Kuo followed her. When he glanced at the bed in Huangfu Yun’s private room, he was shocked.
“See? It’s this damned prince! He brought his servants to Zimo Pavilion tonight, trying to take advantage of my sister. Where were you then? If you really like her, why ignore her?”
Feeling deeply wronged, the maid kept pressing him, forcing him to beg for mercy.
“Miss Chisu, you’re really wronging me. I have an imperial order to train the troops in Huainan. Since I’m paid by the court, I can’t just sit idle. Though I’m not very capable, I still want to do something useful for the Tang Dynasty.”
After a pause, Li Kuo frowned at Li Yi, who was lying on the ground. “I gave that guy a lesson last time, thinking he wouldn’t do anything wrong again. But he hasn’t changed his nature and is using his royal status to try to harm Miss Yun. I was negligent here. I hope Miss Chisu can forgive me.”

“You, you!”
Seeing herself say such things, he wasn’t even angry, leaving Chi Su speechless. How could her young master fall in love with someone like him?
“By the way, Miss Yun, how did you subdue him?”
After sending the maid away, Li Kuo could finally talk to Huangfu Yun in peace. What puzzled him most was how the two of them managed to protect themselves and defeat Li Yi.
Although the Prince of Gaoyou spent his days among beauties and was weakened by wine and lust, he was still a man—how could he be matched by two frail women?
“Pfft!”
Hearing this, the maid Chi Su stopped crying and smiled. “My master thought you were very wise, but it seems you’re just an idiot.”
She pointed at the pillow still stained with blood by the bed. “That guy was stunned by my master and lost his senses. I took the chance to attack from behind and won in one strike!”
She held her head high proudly, giving Li Kuo a smug look.
“I see.”
Li Kuo nodded slightly and said to Huangfu Yun, “But Miss Yun, since the Prince of Gaoyou has evil intentions toward you, it’s better if you make plans ahead.”
He was right. After all, Li Yi was a legitimate prince appointed by the Tang Dynasty—nothing a mere brothel girl could handle. If Li Yi really decided to get Huangfu Yun at any cost, even Sun Fangfang wouldn’t be able to resist.
As the saying goes, you might avoid the first disaster, but not the fifteenth. How could a woman from a lowly background truly control her own fate?
Ah, yet another pitiful woman.
“I hope General Li will come to my rescue!”
Huangfu Yun gritted her teeth and knelt before Li Kuo, determined to take action.