Liu Ming'an seemed quite well-known in this town. Within less than an hour of Jiang Ning accompanying him at his stall, three people had already come to ask him to write letters, and one person had bought a landscape painting.
One letter cost ten copper coins, and a painting cost eighty. In this dynasty, one tael of gold was equivalent to ten taels of silver, and one tael of silver was worth a thousand copper coins. In other words, Liu Ming'an would have to write a hundred letters or sell twelve paintings to earn enough money to buy three wild rabbits.
Jiang Ning fingered the silver tael hidden in her sleeve and suddenly felt quite wealthy. At the same time, she remembered that Liu Ming'an had spent three taels of silver to buy her, which was undoubtedly an enormous sum. She wondered how long it had taken him to save up that much.
She thought to herself that she should catch a few more rabbits when they returned home.
At the moment, Liu Ming'an was writing his fourth letter of the day. Jiang Ning rested her chin on her hand, idly observing the passersby on the street.
This time, the person who had come to have a letter written was an elderly man who spoke in a confused manner, often forgetting what he had just said. Liu Ming'an patiently communicated with the old man, and after considerable effort, he finally managed to complete the letter.
Just as he put down his brush, Jiang Ning, who had been sitting quietly beside him, suddenly stood up, her eyes fixed on a spot in the distance, poised to leave.
"Jiang Ning, what's wrong? Did you see something?" Liu Ming'an asked, puzzled.
Jiang Ning turned back, speaking quickly, "It's nothing. I'm just a bit bored, so I'm going to take a walk around the street. You carry on with your work."
Liu Ming'an felt uneasy and was about to offer some words of caution, but Jiang Ning had already left without looking back.
Aunt Hui, who had observed everything, turned to Liu Ming'an and said, "Your sister really is impatient, isn't she?"
Liu Ming'an could only smile in response.
After leaving the bridge, Jiang Ning walked into the crowd, her gaze firmly locked on a man in gray clothes ahead of her, following him at a distance.
This man had just walked past Jiang Ning, and she recognized him immediately - he was Zhao Instructor, the one who had sold her to Liu Ming'an on the street that day.
Jiang Ning was quite curious about her true identity. It wasn't just idle curiosity; she wanted to know about her broken hands and feet when she first woke up, the whip marks all over her body, and the two branding iron scars on her face.
The original owner of this body must have had enemies in this world, but Jiang Ning had no memories of her past. What worried her was that those who had caused her to end up in this state might appear again and disrupt her current peaceful life.
Therefore, Jiang Ning wanted to know who she was and who the original owner had made enemies with. If she could find those enemies, she could settle old scores and eliminate future troubles.
In this world, Jiang Ning's only lead was Zhao Instructor, who was now walking in front of her.
Zhao Instructor meandered through the bustling street, stopping now and then to look at pretty girls, unable to resist touching items at various stalls, and frequently being greeted by passersby, making it difficult for Jiang Ning to approach him.
Jiang Ning followed Zhao Instructor for half the length of the street. When they passed by Fusheng Restaurant, Zhao Instructor stood still, stroking his chin as he stared at something for quite a while. Following his gaze, Jiang Ning noticed a wooden board outside the restaurant with prominent characters that read: "Wild rabbit available today, welcome!"
"He's not planning to go in for a meal, is he?" Jiang Ning thought irritably.
She just wanted to find a secluded spot quickly to subdue Zhao Instructor and use some methods to extract information about her background. If too much time passed, Liu Ming'an would surely start asking questions again, which would be troublesome!
Fortunately, Zhao Instructor only lingered at Fusheng Restaurant for a moment before turning away. Jiang Ning continued to follow him, watching as he turned a corner and walked straight through a curtained doorway, disappearing from her sight.
This place was off the main street, somewhat secluded, yet it was bustling with noise. Even before Jiang Ning got close, she could hear waves of shouting from inside.
"Big!" "Big!" "Big!"
"Small!" "Small!" "Small!"
Interspersed with cheers and wails, the noise swelled in waves, one louder than the next. Some people had already shouted themselves hoarse but continued to yell at the top of their lungs.
Jiang Ning looked up and saw a huge red rosewood sign above the door with three large characters written in a flamboyant style: Gold Jade Hall. The characters were in gold, set against the dark red signboard. Though gaudy, it was quite eye-catching, exuding an air of nouveau riche.
Jiang Ning hesitated briefly outside the door but decided to go in and investigate.
However, as soon as she lifted the curtain to enter the Gold Jade Hall, two men emerged from either side of the door, blocking her way.
"Miss, I think you've come to the wrong place. This is a gambling house, not somewhere you should be," one of the men said to Jiang Ning with a grin.
The man who spoke was thin and wiry, with a large scar running diagonally across his forehead, cutting through his left eyebrow and stopping just above his eyelid. He had a pair of triangular eyes and flashed a mouthful of white teeth at Jiang Ning when he smiled, resembling some kind of animal.
Jiang Ning only glanced at him once to know that this man was no good.
"Houzi, why are you wasting so much time talking to her? This woman is obviously here to find her gambling husband. Just throw her out," the other man said.
This man was completely different from Houzi. He had thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a burly build, exuding an air of simple-mindedness. After contradicting Houzi, he turned to look at Jiang Ning and barked, "Woman, get out!"
"Ah, Huzi, you really don't know how to treat a lady," Houzi shook his head, feigning disappointment.
Huzi snorted and continued, "Her face is all covered up, she must be an ugly duckling. An ugly duckling wanting me to be gentle—"
"Have you finished talking?" Jiang Ning interrupted coldly, her eyes fixed on the two men who had been rambling on.
Huzi choked on his words, feeling that Jiang Ning had made him lose face. He was about to lose his temper when Houzi made a gesture to stop him.
Jiang Ning watched as Houzi circled her slowly, his narrowed triangular eyes scrutinizing her, as if trying to see through her entirely.
"Miss, do you know what kind of place this is?" Houzi asked, dropping some of his earlier flippancy as he sensed that Jiang Ning was different from ordinary women.
"A gambling house," Jiang Ning answered, meeting his gaze.
"Then you're here to..."
Before Houzi could finish, a slender, fair hand appeared before him, palm up, with a silver ingot resting on it.
"Now, may I enter?" Jiang Ning asked, her eyes sweeping over the two men.
Houzi and Huzi exchanged a glance. Huzi stepped aside, clearing the path he had been blocking. Houzi made a "please" gesture with a sly grin, saying, "Please, do come in!"
Jiang Ning withdrew her hand and had just taken a step forward when she suddenly noticed a shadow in her peripheral vision, approaching her face at an extremely fast speed.
In the next instant, Jiang Ning raised her hand and firmly grasped the wrist of that hand. With a slight exertion of force, she twisted the wrist, causing blue veins to bulge on the bony back of the hand. The owner of the hand let out a hiss of pain.
"What were you trying to do?" Jiang Ning asked coldly, her eyes frosty as she looked at Houzi.
"It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding..." Houzi said with a forced smile, wincing in pain. He hurriedly explained, "I was just... just... trying to swat a mosquito! There was a big mosquito just now, and I was afraid it might bite you, miss. That's why I raised my hand. It's all a misunderstanding, haha..."
Jiang Ning watched his performance silently, finding his dry laughter at the end particularly uninteresting. She released his hand and walked towards the noisy gambling tables.
After Jiang Ning had walked some distance away, Huzi looked at Houzi, who was still rubbing his wrist, and asked in surprise, "Houzi, you couldn't break free when that woman grabbed you?"
"Hah!" Houzi let out a cold laugh as he stared at Jiang Ning's retreating figure. "That woman is no simple character!"
Huzi wanted to ask what he meant by "no simple character," but before he could open his mouth, Houzi had already turned and walked into the gambling hall.