Insufficient balance

  An Yi Fang is close to the East City, right in the midst of Chang'an's prosperity. Although it was already late at night, there was still no end to the hustle and bustle. When Xue Chongxun and his entourage passed through South Street, he really felt as if he were in a modern city. But once they entered North Street, the commotion seemed to disappear instantly. Many nobles and aristocrats lived here, and the lanterns illuminated the vermilion gates of the grand mansions, making them shine brightly. The slaves at the gate were dressed in fine clothes, speaking and walking with elegance and poise. Ordinary people generally wouldn't come to this place.

  Xue Chongxun's Youyunzhai was just across the street from the Weiguo Gongfu, a small courtyard that was probably once inhabited by some big family's guest or servant. Xue Chongxun had his steward buy it and renovated it into a villa for his own leisure activities.

  "Take off the veil and let me take a look." After entering the Yunyu Pavilion, Xue Chongxun thought of the woman he had just rescued. Since he now had some free time to relax, he could also interrogate her about her background. Otherwise, there would be more things to do tomorrow... However, earlier when he heard this woman's voice, it was rough and hoarse. If she looked too ugly, wouldn't it be depressing to go in together?

  The woman hesitated for a moment, then still obediently removed the black veil from her face, but covered it with one palm between her eyebrows. The lantern under the eaves was hung high, so that her eyes were hidden in the shadow of her palm and could not be seen clearly, only a thin lip and a pointed chin were visible.

  What was most striking about her was her skin, white, truly white, but that kind of bloodless, paper-like white, not necessarily very smooth either.

  "It's too bright, I'm a bit unaccustomed to it." The woman's voice was as low and even as ever.

  Xue Chongxun didn't say much either, nodded: "You and I will go in... Tell the slave to prepare the things inside the wooden house."

  Fang Yu Zhong gently reminded: "Lang Jun, the brothers are not convenient to enter." His meaning was to let this unknown woman and Xue Chongxun be alone together, there is a safety risk.

  Xue Chongxun smiled indifferently and waved his hand at them, then walked straight to a wooden house in the front of the small courtyard, saying without looking back: "Follow me."

  The woman looked around, the guards were all standing still, so she quickly took two steps forward and followed Xue Chongxun. The two entered the wooden house, closed the door behind them, and saw that this room was very small, without even a window, and the furnishings were extremely simple, with only two leather-covered beds and a large wooden table, next to one of the beds on the floor there was a large black stone, beside the stone was placed a bucket filled with clear water. There was nothing else in the room.

  After a while, a maidservant with two buns on her head brought up a teapot and placed it on the large table, then knelt down and bowed her head saying: "Young master please wait, we are starting a fire downstairs."

  Xue Chongxun picked up the teapot and poured two cups of tea, then lifted one cup and drank it all at once. "Not to taste the tea. Drink more water first, otherwise drinking water later will be bad for your body."

  The woman in black said: "Thank you, I'm not thirsty."

  The room slowly became a little warmer, the woman in black looked at the black stone beside her twice, apparently feeling that the heat was coming from the stone.

  "Today I saved you, but we've never met before. Now tell me, what's going on? Who is trying to kill you and why are they after you? You know not to lie, because I can verify the truth very quickly."

  The woman in black was silent for a moment, her eyelashes were very long, and her eyes were dark and profound, making people think of the endless black night.

  "I don't have a surname, others gave me the nickname 'Female Wu Chang', fellow brothers of the same clan usually call me San Niang, because I am the third orphan to enter the Yuwen family."

  "Yuwen's family?" Xue Chongxun immediately became interested, and the ladle in his hand also paused for a moment before pouring half a ladle of water onto the blackened stone, which immediately let out a "hiss" sound and emitted a large amount of white smoke.

  "It's Yuwen Xiao, who is currently serving as the Langzhong of the Ministry of Revenue. He was just talking to En Gong in the ancient temple alley. Is he an official? Maybe you know him?"

  Xue Chongxun nodded and said, "Yes, we have met once or twice." He wasn't very familiar with Yuwen Xiao, but his daughter Yuwen Ji was someone he knew. He couldn't help but ask the question that had been on his mind: "It seems like the Yuwen family has an unknown side, you tell me first, what kind of person is Yuwen Xiao?"

  Yuwen Xiao's family was originally a merchant who transported tea, and he was the second son of the Yuwen family. Because he couldn't inherit the family property, he fell into disrepute for a good while. Later on, he searched around and deceived some orphans, raising them until they were in their teens before having them do dirty work that couldn't be seen by others.

  San Niang said up to here, eyes flashing a hint of bitterness: "In the past, these things we kept confidential, till death not spoken, Second Brother was caught by people, in order to keep everyone's mouth shut, unknown how painful he died... But now Yuwen Xiao wants to silence me, he is ruthless, what righteousness do I still have to speak of?"

  Xue Chongxun quietly listened to her speak, not easily interrupting, and continued to pour water on the stone, pouring it again when it turned red. The small wooden house was already filled with white smoke like a dream, the temperature rising steadily.

  "He disguised himself as an unremarkable small tea merchant, but in reality he secretly and brutally extorted merchants along the canal. Whoever dared to resist would be assassinated! Yuwen Xiao used this method to amass wealth, eventually arousing the anger of the eight major merchant guilds of Bianqu, who jointly investigated the matter. At that time, the imperial court also appointed Liu Anshu, the Minister of Revenue and Concurrently Director of the Chancellor, to oversee the canal's affairs."

  Xue Chongxun nodded. In the past two years, there were severe droughts in Guanzhong, and the price of rice in Chang'an was high. The central government's supplies were also increasingly tight. However, last year, Empress Wei did not want to leave Chang'an, and this year Emperor Li Dan and Crown Prince Li Longji wanted to confront Princess Taiping in Chang'an, so it was impossible to go to Luoyang. As a result, the supply of Chang'an became even more dependent on the transportation of goods from the south by water, so the court attached great importance to river transportation.

  "The situation is already very dangerous for us, and Second Brother has fallen into a trap and been caught. Yuwen Xiao is also preparing to retreat. He spent a lot of money to get acquainted with Feng Yuanjun, the Lesser Minister of Taichang Temple, who happened to have taken a liking to his daughter Yuwen Ji. Through the eunuch Gao Lishi, Feng Yuanjun actually helped Yuwen Xiao obtain an official position. Now he has whitewashed himself and is unwilling to turn back, but we, those who risked our lives for him, know too much, so one by one, he designed to poison us. Fourth Brother warned me before his death, and I barely escaped, if not for the kindness of the gentleman, I would have already died without a place to bury my body..."

  The temperature in the room was already very high, and both of them were drenched in sweat. In the swirling white mist, Xue Chongxun took off all his clothes, wrapped a towel around his waist, and sat comfortably on the rattan chair, closing his eyes to think about something.

  With a "ding" sound, the teacup lightly rang out. San Niang tapped the teacup and said in a low voice, "I'm a bit thirsty, I'll have a sip of water."

  Xue Chongxun opened his eyes to find her drenched in sweat, her hair clinging wetly to her forehead and face, looking a bit disheveled. Her wet clothes were stuck tightly to her body, but she couldn't take them off, so the contours of her body were completely exposed to Xue Chongxun's gaze.

  Unlike many noblewomen of Chang'an who were plump and full-bodied, San Niang's figure was slender to the point of being somewhat weak. However, from Xue Chongxun's past life memories of aesthetic appreciation, she still had the feminine curves that were not lacking, with a flexible and delicate waist, although her chest was not large, but because of the wet clothes clinging to it, revealing an inverted bowl-shaped outline, and two inverted bowls in between The protruding two-point shape, however, had a unique charm.

  "I told you to drink some water beforehand, it's not good for your body to drink now." Xue Chongxun said lightly.

  "No harm done, we hide during the day and come out at night, just like ghosts, so naturally we can't take care of our health."

  "What plans do you have now?"

  San Niang said without hesitation: "But as long as En Gong sends someone, grievances and favors are understood."

  Xue Chongxun's mouth corner revealed a hint of a smile, and he said with a tone of pretending to be careless: "Whether it is Yuwen Xiao or Feng Yuanjun, in my eyes they are just small fish and shrimp. Saving you doesn't make me afraid of how they will react. It's just a small matter, and it's only because I'm in a good mood and it's convenient for me to do so. You don't need to worry about it. If you have other plans, I won't force you."

  The three girls' eyes suddenly showed a hint of sadness: "Since childhood, I have been serving the Yuwen family, only knowing how to kill people. Outside, there are no friends or livelihoods, and it's unknown where to settle down. If the young master doesn't mind, please keep me in the mansion as a slave... The dishes I cook, my brothers and sisters all love to eat, I don't know if they suit the young master's taste, perhaps I can be a kitchen maid?"

  It's a waste of resources to have her as a kitchen maid, thought Xue Chongxun. In the previous life, in that society, with social progress and increased productivity, it all boiled down to utilizing environmental resources, whether it was burning wood in the Tang Dynasty or mining later on, it was just a matter of how to utilize resources.

  Xue Chongxun said: "Does Yuwen Ji know about her father's affair?"

  The third daughter said with some self-mockery: "Yuwen Xiao always says that he treats us as his own daughters, but in fact there is a big difference. He won't let family members get involved in his affairs... However, Yuwen Ji knows of our existence and should also vaguely know that her father is doing something shady."

  Xue Chongxun said: "Are you resentful? Do you want to avenge your siblings?"

  At this time, San Niang showed a sense of vicissitude that was inconsistent with her age, shaking her head and sighing: "This is all fate, walking on this road of no return, hate has no use, and grievances have nowhere to start. I have an extravagant hope, wanting to live an ordinary person's life... for me, it's really an extravagant hope."

  Xue Chongxun's heart was somewhat moved at this time, feeling that he had been too indifferent. Why did he have such a benevolent thought? Perhaps it was the memory of his past life that made him realize the warmth of human relationships.

  He reminded himself: This world has no warmth, only mutual deception, and for the sake of interests, power, security, and wealth, there is no limit to what one will do! As long as you are soft-hearted, as long as you are not strong enough, you will end up like your own father, being manipulated by others, beaten all over by your mother-in-law until you are covered in scars, and starve to death!

  Xue Chongxun took a deep breath and said in a completely different tone: "Your life was saved by me, as long as you consider yourself my person, I will cherish you like my own thing... but I can also destroy you at any time."