Since Gu Qiang came round last time, she seemed to be different completely. She often went out. Her life was quite different, too. It seemed that she was scheming something important. It was her privacy, but Ting Feng was worried about her.
“Stay here. Ye and Gu Zhihua may come here to find faults with us anytime. If you are here, I will be not worried.” Gu Qiang said slowly.
Ting Feng was much more mature than Chui Xue, so Gu Qiang trusted more in her.
Gu Qiang went out and walked on the street. There were many pedestrians. But different from before, they looked listless, walked in a hurry, and looked around with cold eyes.
Because disaster victims had flooded into the capital, many people here were refugees. Perhaps some of them even suffered from the plague.
Empress Dowager wasn’t spared in the heavily guarded palace. Civilians in the capital were not protected at all. How could they not be jittery?
Gu Qiang walked forward. Liu Family was at the edge of the capital and made a fortune by doing business. It was unknown why official families in the capital looked down upon businessmen. Perhaps that was because businessmen were too shrewd.
Gu Qiang walked quickly on the road, and Empress’s warning sprang to her mind. If she was attacked by refugees here, she might lose her memory. However, she hadn’t told it to Shen Qianshan.
The thought made Gu Qiang nervous. She looked around.
A carriage rushed over from the end of the road. People all moved away to avoid it. But Gu Qiang had little time to dodge it. The carriage was about to hit her. She was dead scared. Her body became stiffer and couldn’t move at all.
Before being hit by the carriage, she was lifted with force and thrown away. The carriage ran past her. She fell heavily on the ground and rubbed her knees. Turning around, she saw a woman in red looking at her from a height.
The woman was of ordinary appearance, but her red clothes were eye-catching. Gu Qiang thought she was rescued by a man because the woman’s strength was surprisingly great.
Anyway, Gu Qiang was rescued. She said to that woman, “I’m really grateful for your help. May I have your name, please? I will visit you another day.”
The woman stood before Gu Qiang originally. But after Gu Qiang said that, she fell to the ground with a bump.
Gu Qiang rushed over and helped her up. She closed her eyes. Then she opened her eyes and said helplessly, “Could you take me to eat something?”
Did she faint from hunger?
Gu Qiang took her to the nearby Zuixian Restaurant. Many restaurants in the capital were shut down. There were many refugees, and lots of food was needed, but people had no money.
Few people were generous. Only big restaurants could afford it. Zuixian Restaurant was the biggest one in the capital.
Gu Qiang helped the woman enter the restaurant and took her to a private room on the second floor. Gu Qiang didn’t come here a lot.
Gu Qiang ordered plenty of dishes for the woman. She gorged on them while looking around cautiously.
Gu Qiang looked at her. Though she knew it was impolite to ask the question, she couldn’t help asking, “Are you all right?”
Gu Qiang found the woman was skilled at Kung Fu. She was probably awesome. If the woman could work for her, it would be amazing.
The woman kept eating. Then she looked up and told Gu Qiang, “My name is Gusu Liang. I come from a small county near the capital. I lived a happy life there with my family. But the disaster killed my parents. I have no choice but to come to the capital to make a living.”
Gu Qiang looked at the girl coldly. She didn’t believe that the girl was only an ordinary person because she was skilled in Kung Fu and didn’t look like a girl from an ordinary family.
Gusu Liang drank tea leisurely and finished the big meal.
Then she looked up at Gu Qiang and met her doubtful eyes. She smiled embarrassedly and said, “I know what you want to ask, but I don’t want to answer now. You are the only one that have helped me in the capital, and I will remember it forever.”
Gu Qiang waved and said, “You helped me, too. We’re even.”
Then Gu Qiang took out some money from her pouch, put it on the table, and said, “Pay the bill with the money. The remaining money is the reward for your help. I have something to do. See you.”
Looking at the money on the table, Gusu Liang calmed down suddenly and told Gu Qiang, “You don’t have to. I was willing to help you. Not for your money. I can tell that your family is wealthy, but I hope you don’t return the favor with money.”
Gu Qiang was going to leave. Hearing what Gusu Liang said, she turned around to look at her. The girl had a strong sense of self-respect.
“What’s your plan?” Gu Qiang resumed her seat and looked at Gusu Liang. The latter pushed the money back to Gu Qiang and said, “It is your treat. I will repay it by being your servant girl, OK?”
Gu Qiang’s eyes lit up. She just wanted to employ Gusu Liang. Unexpectedly, the girl offered to work for her. Then Gu Qiang walked over and told Gusu Liang, “It’s your choice. Don’t regret it. Besides, I need to tell you seriously that you are only a servant girl. Do you know what a servant girl should do?”
Gusu Liang stood up, patted her chest with a smile, and said, “I know. Don’t worry. I will work hard.”
Out of Zuixian Restaurant, Gu Qiang took a hair clasp from her hair and told Gusu Liang, “You are good at flying. Enter the Mansion of Prime Minister by flying over the wall. There is an unimpressive little yard in the northwestern corner of the mansion. You’ll see a tall pear tree inside. That is my yard. There are two servant girls. You just need to show it to them and tell them that their lady sends you there.”
Gusu Liang took the hair clasp, repeated the words, nodded, and then headed towards the place designated by Gu Qiang.
Gu Qiang never thought she would meet such a girl on the way. But the girl appeared too suddenly. Gu Qiang felt nervous, but she would like to believe the girl.
When she moved on, she saw an alley. Looking inside carefully, she found it stinky. Some people lay on the ground, whining and groaning. They seemed painful. Some people even couldn’t be judged to be dead or alive.
They were all refugees from other places and were not locals. They came here with the hope that Emperor and capital officials could see them and save their lives.
Gu Qiang looked at them and entered the alley uncontrollably.
When Gu Qiang just walked two steps, a group of people appeared aside. The leader was a man wearing clean clothes and a hat. Apparently, he was an official.
The official happened to walk here. He looked at her and asked, “Who are you? Why are you here?”
Gu Qiang was surprised and didn’t know how to answer. She responded, “I walked past here and just wanted to have a look.”
“Have a look? Is there anything good? Which family are you from? How ignorant you are! What if you approach those refugees and are infected?” The official said.
Then he ordered someone to pull Gu Qiang over. She felt terrible but she didn’t say anything because Empress Gu Qiang had told her to be cautious and not to be attacked by refugees.
Therefore, Gu Qiang nodded and said, “I got it. I’ll go immediately.”
The official knew the girl didn’t do anything wrong and couldn’t be confined, so he had to free her.
While Gu Qiang was walking towards the Liu Family along a path, she passed several alleys. In each alley, there were many refugees, and a disgusting stink could be smelt.
When Gu Qiang was close to the Liu Family, some people rushed out of the alley ahead. They were ragged, dirty, stinky, and fierce.
One of them told another one, “Cousin, the woman seemed wealthy. Shall we…”
“Sure!” The other guy said. Then he took out a knife from his back, pointed it at Gu Qiang, and shouted, “Give me all your money. Quickly!”
Did they intend to rob her of money? Gu Qiang became regretful instantly. If she kept Gusu Liang with her instead of sending her away, the situation would be different.
Gu Qiang stepped back and told them, “I have no money. Please let me go.”
“You have no money? Is there a person with no money in the capital? These people live an extravagant life with our hard-earned money. But when we need help, everyone pretends to be poor. Don’t foo us!” One man pointed to Gu Qiang and said.
Refugees were indeed pitiful, but these guys were too aggressive and made her uncomfortable.
No one wanted to see what was going on. It was a natural disaster. People in the capital were trying their best to do something, but refugees shouldn’t blame anything on others.
Looking at these people, Gu Qiang was scared. They overwhelmed her with numeral strength. They approached her. Gu Qiang couldn’t help saying, “I really have no money. Please don’t. I am going to look for the way to help you.”
“Liar! Come on, guys! Take off her clothes. Let me see if she has money!” One man shouted.