Granny LI

Yin-Shi stopped breathing forty minutes after the guards left, she bleed until she died and no matter how much Liqiu screamed for the guards to send for a physician.

No one answered, the guards did not care about them, nobody cares about what happen to the prisoners. Liqiu held her mother closely until she died.

She screamed and cried non-stop until she finally passed out. Nanny Xu rocked her as she cried, even with tears running down the older woman's cheeks.

Nanny Xu held Liqiu tightly, offering her a little comfort and warmth. Her mother's body was nowhere to be found when she woke up.

Nanny Xu held her tight until she finally stopped crying and once again passed out this was the system until the second day. The guards led a plump woman in a brown lint gown and heavy make-up into the prison. Liqiu just sat silently beside Nanny Xu, while the woman went from cell to cell.

She was barely present in the present and paid the woman no attention. She did not react even when her nanny began to protest when the woman pointed at her.

She looked at Nanny Xu who held her tighter to the woman and back. Nanny Xu understood Liqiu's temperament the best since she had watched her grow up.

She understood that Liqiu was currently lost in her own word while she tried to process her mother's death.

Tears ran down, Nanny Xu's face as she looked down at her charge's pale face. "No no no, you cannot do that to her! My young miss is an innocent, you cannot damn her for life".

The guard opened the door and rushed in, the most violent guard punched her and knocked her out before dragging Liqiu out of the prison.

Liqiu's eyes widened and she immediately began to struggle but the guard hit her with his sword and knocked her out.

She woke up in a stuffy room lying on her side in a smelly haystack, the side of her face hurt as she sat up.

She immediately brought her hand to the painful side and hissed as her fingers touched her swollen cheeks.

She moaned as she immediately remembered how she had gotten that injury. She met the worried gaze of a plump girl of about the same age as her. The girl smiled softly at her and said, "are you okay? You have been unconscious for hours".

"Hours?" Liqiu hissed as the sides of her lip from the inflamed half of her face stung.

"Sorry", the girl whispered, "Granny Li brought you in at noon."

Liqiu glanced around, she paused as she saw the dimming daylight, "It is getting dark?"

The girl nodded, "you slept through lunch, luckily dinner will be served soon".

"Where are we and why are we here?"

"I don't know where we are but I think we are going to be sold to a brothel. At least that was what my father told me when he brought me to Granny's Stall in the market".

Liqiu felt a chill at the mention of a brothel, she quickly glanced at the girls seated around the room. Each of them were beautiful, although a majority of them looked to be older than her.

Her eyes stopped at their bursts, "they are certainly more developed than I am", she thought looking down at her flat chest.

Even the girl in front of her had developed a little better than she had. Liqiu knew that she was a little late in development for a girl at 15 years.

She had initially assumed that there was something wrong with her but her mother had consoled her by informing her that it was normal because some people were late bloomers.

Liqiu knew what happens to girls at brothels and did not indent to become a brothel girl. 'I must escape from here', she looked around the room but apart from the tiny high window a few inches away from the roof and the door.

There was no other way out of the room, the plump girl must have seen the desperation in her eyes because she said,

"don't bother trying to escape, Granny Li has guards station by the door. Try to escape and you will be killed, I know because two older girls tried to escape earlier and were both killed."

Liqiu's heart dropped suddenly, "you seem to know a lot about this?"

"My father was a butcher, his shop was located a few shops away from Granny Li's store. I grew up hearing tales about Granny Li, if my brother did not fall ill that we needed money for his treatments. My father never would have sold me to her", the girl replied in a quiet voice.

"Sorry, I should have been careful with my words".

"Oh don't worry about me, I am good. I heard that the most popular madams live lavishly especially when you have a good patron. If I can get really popular, I can send money home that way my family will not have to sell my younger sister".

"It doesn't worry you that you will not be able to get married?"

"I have already been sold to the brothel, I should just accept my fate. As should you, I am Xiaolian"

"I am Yu_ I am Liqiu".

**********

The Bamboo courtyard, Duke Shenxiu's residence.

Nie Shaoqing looked up from the poetry book in his hands at the sound of hasty footsteps, he glanced at Deming, who shrugged in response.

These last few days had been the most peaceful days he had experienced in years. After years of everyday court sessions and schemed, he missed the simple life.

He enjoyed the fact that he did not have to meet people he hated but understood that this quiet life can only be short-lived.

Everything would change once the Duke returned to the capital, Nie Shaoqing tapped the table silently while watching the door.

His expression relaxed when Xiuyi ran into the room, for someone that grew up in the rigid and orderly Imperial palace.

He was surprisingly amused by her bubbly attitude, maybe it was because she lacked the calculating scheming attitude that was typical in most palace maids.

Xiuyi bent over, hands on her knees as she caught her breath, a few seconds later, she stops straight. "Young master, his grace and Eldest master are back."

"Oh, who knew it took more than 12 days to travel from Duan to Lianxi", he muttered closing the book and setting it aside on the table beside his chair.

He picked up his walking stick, held on to the wooden armrest of his seat and pulled himself up.

Deming rushed forward to help him up but he shook his head, "no, let me do it. I need to get used to doing at least this, don't worry. I will not overdo it".

Deming nodded but still shadowed him through every step until Nie Shaoqing arrived at the entrance of the residence.