Chapter 70 banquet trap

After a meal, Dong Xiaowan, who was dressed neatly, was led by Tian Po with a lantern, and happily left the courtyard gate, walking along a path shaded by flowers and trees. "Well, I don't know whether Master Liu is here, or Maolang is also here? Tian Po said that there are several guests, maybe Maolang is really included. However, if it is Master Liu who went back to Rugao to invite Maolang , and it must not be so fast; it must be that Mao Lang was worried after Mr. Liu left, and then came here in person. In this way, Mao Lang is really sincere to me. It seems that there is indeed something embarrassing about him in the past I have no choice but to blame him! " Thinking of this, Dong Xiaowan felt both fond and ashamed, feeling that she had been infatuated with Mao Xiang in vain in the past, but in fact she didn't really understand him, especially didn't know how to understand him.On the contrary, because of his stubbornness and willfulness, he caused a lot of troubles to the other party. "Oh, from now on, I will never be like this again. I must be more considerate and obedient to him. For him, let me do anything, even die!" She secretly wiped the tears welling up in the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief , secretly swore gratefully.

At this moment, they had already walked through the winding corridors and stone paths, and came to a small courtyard with a single family.Dong Xiaowan didn't know the way, and just followed Granny Tian in a daze.Now she felt that this place, like the place where she was imprisoned, was quite remote and secretive, and it seemed to be far away from the main courtyard.The difference is that it is not desolate, and the flowers, trees, pools and stones in the yard are all arranged in a patchwork manner.A small one-story house with three bays is hidden in the dense shadows of trees; light shines through the lowered curtains, and the sound of tinkling music comes from a pipa playing...

"It turns out that Mao Lang is not in the lobby, but he is waiting for me here." Dong Xiaowan thought, followed Tian Po up the steps and walked into the main room. This hall is not big, with a curved screen in the middle and a round table in front of it. There are a variety of food and wine on the table. Three richly dressed people are sitting around the table drinking. At the bottom sits a blind man with heavy make-up, holding a pipa in his arms. , playing and singing there.Seeing Dong Xiaowan and Tian Po stepping over the threshold, one person at the banquet said "ah" and stood up, and the other two also raised their heads together.

Maybe it was because I was too excited, and I suddenly came from the dark courtyard to the brightly lit room.For a while, although Dong Xiaowan felt that Mao Xiang was on the seat, she couldn't tell which one it was.She tried her best to open her eyes wide, and looked at the three people at the table again and again, but she was still not sure.She was very anxious and was about to call out.Suddenly, she woke up, and among the three people at the table, there was no Mao Xiang.Except for the fat old man with a big beard who was the owner of the house and she met once when she was locked in, she didn't know the other two.

"Ah, where is Maolang? Where is he? Where has he gone?" Dong Xiaowan thought, turning her eyes anxiously to look for it, but she couldn't see it. At this time, the owner named Zhang Yuanwai spoke: "Hehe, it's rare for a young lady to come to the grass banquet, how fortunate! Please come to the table!" "But what about Mr. Madam?" Dong Xiaowan asked impatiently. Zhang Yuanwai was startled: "Young Master? Which Young Master?" "That's right, it's Rugao's impostor who entrusted Mr. Liu to pay off the debts of the slave family. Isn't he here? The slave family wants to see him." Perhaps because he suddenly realized that his behavior was too impulsive and out of manners, Dong Xiaowan blushed.She bowed her head and said softly.

Zhang Yuanwai was even more puzzled: "What, is Mr. Mao here? Why didn't I know?" At this moment, Granny Tian interrupted: "Hey, there is no such thing as an impostor! This girl came up with it all by herself. The little woman was ordered by a member earlier to ask her to drink for fun. She just pretended to be Passionate, why did you pretend to be a son, isn't this ridiculous!" Only then did Zhang Yuanwai suddenly realize.He nodded: "Grandma Tian is right. Mr. Mao hasn't heard from him yet, let alone visited the humble house. I invite the young lady to come tonight because of these two close friends—" He pointed to a white-faced person sitting at the top A middle-aged gentleman with a long beard introduced: "This is Mr. Feng Jiang from Haiyan." Then he pointed to another young man with high cheekbones and a pointed chin, "This is Brother Yang of Piling—Jiu Mufang's name, I am eager to meet. I hope the young lady will appreciate the honor and drink three cups together at the table, and make an offer, please!" Zhang Yuanwai said, making a bow.He is so polite, apparently because Dong Xiaowan is a famous prostitute in the south of the Yangtze River even though she is imprisoned, and she is likely to become the concubine of Fushe leader Maoxiang soon, so it is inconvenient to offend too much.

At this time, Feng Jiang also stood up, arched his hands and said: "I have heard the name of the little lady for a long time, and it is like thunder in my ears. I only hate the secluded sea salt, and I have not seen the beauty. See you tonight, and you will know the fame. , there is absolutely no false reputation. How about just taking a seat?" But despite their gentle words, flattering and coaxing, Dong Xiaowan seemed to neither see nor hear.She stood bewildered, her face growing paler and her mouth shut more and more tightly. The three men in the seat exchanged glances.Zhang Yuanwai stroked his beard, and suddenly laughed: "I know what you mean, little lady. Are you afraid that if you drink with us tonight, it will be inconvenient if it reaches Mr. Mao's ears? Just don't worry! These two He is my trusted friend, this blind gentleman—" he pointed to the blind girl playing the pipa, "he lives in my house forever. The rest are my confidantes, I promise not to spread the word! Besides, The little lady has been in the mansion for a long time, and I haven't been able to entertain you yet. Now please feel at ease and sit at the table, and enjoy the joy of the night!"

As he spoke, Dong Xiaowan seemed to have finally recovered from the initial shock.She slowly raised her head and looked at Zhang Yuanwai desperately.Finally, as if she had made up her mind, after the other party finished speaking, she bowed and said calmly: "Thank you for your kindness. Although my family is a poor family, I also know that people must be loyal. I have promised to be a man, so I will give you a gift." You must stick to each other, even if you are in a dark room, you don’t dare to deceive. Please forgive me for being difficult to follow today’s matter!" Zhang Yuanwai looked at the serious Dong Xiaowan in astonishment, and couldn't help but blush. "Hmph, if Mr. Mao goes through this setback, he will abandon you and never come again!" He asked angrily.

Dong Xiaowan was stunned for a moment, and said sadly: "If Maolang really sees and abandons me, I will just die!" Before he could finish speaking, tears welled up.She covered her face with her sleeve and hurried to the door. "Wait!" Zhang Yuanwai shouted.After Dong Xiaowan stopped, he didn't speak immediately, and walked two steps in the room in deep thought, then turned around and said proudly: "You——Listen! You have always owed me debts, including principal and interest. A total of one hundred and twenty-eight taels of silver. As long as you are willing to stay tonight and drink with us all night, this account will be written off, how about it? Huh?"

As soon as Yuanwai Zhang said this, Granny Tian shouted from the side: "Oh! Where did this really start! A night of drinking is worth a hundred taels of silver! How can there be such a cheap deal in the world? I said sister, you are really lucky to have cultivated in countless lifetimes. A great benevolent person like Yuanwai, a living Bodhisattva! It hurts me to see him canceling this big debt for you so easily! Hey, why are you delaying? Promise! You still have to kowtow to thank you. Sigh Ah, alas, one hundred and twenty-eight taels! My heart aches just looking at it!" Granny Tian yelled and danced with her arms and legs, as if she was in a hurry, and she couldn't tell whether she was worried about Dong Xiaowan, or Zhang Yuanwai, or was she aggrieved because she didn't have such good luck?

This time, Dong Xiaowan did not answer immediately.In the past, it was a mere one hundred taels of silver, so she might not have taken it to heart, but now she has become very poor, and more importantly, the reason why Liu Luding failed to get things done this time was not because of the money in hand Not enough, can't cope with the blackmail of creditors?Now as long as I promise to accompany him for a night, I can save a lot of money, and things may be much easier, and I can get out of the sea of ​​suffering as soon as possible, and I will stay with Mao Xiang forever.On the contrary, if I give up this opportunity, if Maoxiang really can't raise money and has to stop marrying, then her only hope of living will be completely ruined, and she will end up with a grudge... But, she thought again, she had already He clearly promised Maoxiang that he would never accept guests again and keep his body clean. How could he break his promise and do something that would be sorry for Maoxiang and damage his reputation?It was these two thoughts that were fighting fiercely in Dong Xiaowan's heart, making her unable to make a choice for a while.She wanted to rush out the door several times, but she couldn't find the courage... "Well, how is it?" Zhang Yuanwai urged impatiently. "Forget it, let's make an exception this time, just once! You know, how important this money is!" Dong Xiaowan thought distractedly, and turned around. However, at this moment, she suddenly heard a sigh.The sigh was so light and soft, like a breeze, it was almost imperceptible.But Dong Xiaowan was aware of it, not only aware of it, but also clearly felt the regret and disappointment contained in it.She couldn't help being startled, and turned around, only to find that the blind man holding a lute in his arms was facing her.This blind singing girl had a kind and melancholy round face, and if she hadn't been blind, she might have been quite a pretty girl.Now her eyes were lifeless and lifeless.However, despite this, she seemed to know what was happening around her with her keen senses, and she had insight into Dong Xiaowan's inner activities.Just when Dong Xiaowan was about to take a possibly wrong step, she sent a message of dissuasion. Dong Xiaowan stopped, she stared intently at Mr. Blind's kind and melancholy face.Mr. Blind seemed to sense it immediately.The corner of her mouth moved slightly, and she gave Dong Xiaowan a comforting smile, as if to say: "Why are you in a hurry? I'm sure, your Maolang will not abandon you, he will definitely come to pick you up !" Dong Xiaowan's heart suddenly calmed down.She collected herself, turned her head and glanced at Zhang Yuanwai and the two guests. "Ah, no, they're lying to me, they must have figured it out: I don't dare to let Maolang know about this, then they will be able to renege on their debts then!" she thought, beginning to become sober. She no longer hesitated, bowed silently, and nodded gratefully and lightly to Mr. Blind, then turned around and walked out the door.Even though Tian Po angrily came from behind with a lantern, she didn't slow down.