"I have come for Miss Li!"
Chen Zhibai inclined his body slightly and looked at Li Lanqing gently. "Younger brother Zhi'an, I apologize for the trouble Miss Li had to endure today."
Li Lanqing was stunned, staring at this unexpected guest.
Initially, Li Lanqing entertained the fleeting notion that this man might be here for her, but she promptly dismissed it even more swiftly than she would reject Jiang Baihu's advances.
She didn't deserve it!
But now, could it be that he really came for her?
Jiang Baihu then lamented, "Sir, Xiaoqing is a courtesan from the Qingle Pavilion. Chen Zhi'an not only injured my men but also brazenly spirited her away in full view of everyone. If I don't take any action, my reputation in Chang'an, built over a decade, will be irreparably damaged. Would you readily release her if you were in my position?"
Previously, Jiang Baihu didn't dare to act recklessly without knowing Chen Zhibai's background. But now that he knew he came for Li Lanqing, he instantly had a strategy in mind.
Gentlemen can deceive with righteousness.
If it were Chen Zhi'an here, he would probably lament that women truly have no logic to speak of, and then engage in a fierce battle to snatch her away and run.
Unfortunately, Chen Zhibai was not Chen Zhi'an.
He thought carefully for a moment before saying gently, "As far as I know, Zhi'an... has paid forty taels of silver to redeem Miss Li. According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, Miss Li is currently a free person. Therefore, Miss Jiang has no reason to forcibly keep her at the Drunken Guest House..."
"This is clearly coercion and trafficking!"
Jiang Baihu, like a wronged wife, said, "Xiaoqing is a courtesan from the Qingle Pavilion. Her daily income is more than forty taels. How could we sell her?
If sir insists that forty taels can buy Xiaoqing, so be it.
I am just a mere woman, a widow living alone. What can I do?"
"In the end, this matter depends on Miss Li's wishes. If Miss Li doesn't want to redeem herself, even if Zhi'an is not willing, he will not forcibly take her away.
So..."
Chen Zhibai looked at Li Lanqing and asked, "Miss Li, do you want to leave with me, or do you want to continue staying at the Drunken Guest House?"
Li Lanqing looked at Jiang Baihu, then at Chen Zhibai.
Feeling both scared and somewhat triumphant in her heart.
The two prominent figures were eagerly awaiting her decision, making her feel like she held an unprecedented position in the world of courtesans.
"Miss Li, don't worry about safety. Whether it's Zhi'an or Miss Jiang... They will not be angered by your choice."
Chen Zhibai's words were gentle.
To Li Lanqing, they felt like a warm breeze in spring, but to Jiang Baihu, they sounded like an imperial decree.
She couldn't muster any resistance and dared not speak for a moment.
This was a grandmaster's promise.
With this promise, Li Lanqing could even break free from the world of courtesans and become truly free.
"Sir, I'll go with you!"
Li Lanqing hesitated for a moment, then walked to Chen Zhibai's side.
Though she was just a courtesan, uneducated and ignorant of profound principles, she understood one thing:
If it weren't for the young lord bringing her out of the Qingle Pavilion, she would never have encountered figures like Jiang Baihu and Chen Zhibai.
Moreover, the young lord promised three hundred taels of silver a month and seven days of vacation!
"Miss Jiang, I'm taking Miss Li with me. I apologize for any offense tonight!"
Chen Zhibai nodded slightly at Jiang Baihu, gently placing the scroll he brought as a gift at the door before leaving.
Jiang Baihu snorted coldly, turning away without looking at him.
Until the two of them left, Jiang Baihu walked to the door, picked up the book on the ground, and his pupils suddenly shrank: "The White Tiger Scripture!"
The White Tiger Scripture was a secret of the Jiang family.
Millennia ago, the ancestor of the Jiang family comprehended the Dao by observing the divine beast White Tiger, achieving enlightenment in one stroke and reigning supreme in his era.
Thus, the prestigious Jiang family of Langya was established.
Over five thousand years ago, after the Sage passed away, the White Tiger Scripture disappeared.
In recent years, although the Jiang family had also practiced the White Tiger Scripture, without the most important main principles, they couldn't form a systematic practice.
Not to mention reaching the realm of the Sage, even reaching the Return to Truth realm had been unreachable for many years...
But now.
The White Tiger Scripture, which the Jiang family had been searching for over five thousand years, was casually thrown at their doorstep.
And it was all because of a courtesan?
Even Jiang Baihu, who had a clever and agile mind, felt absurd.
Watching the two figures gradually leave, she sighed softly, "If you had brought out this book earlier, not to mention Xiaoqing following you, even if I wanted to follow you, it wouldn't be impossible!"
After staring blankly for a long time, Jiang Baihu put away the scroll and lightly pressed his finger. Immediately, a white-clad swordsman flew in.
It was the two who had intruded into the Anyang Mansion today.
There was anger hidden in their eyes, and the long swords on their backs trembled incessantly.
If Jiang Baihu hadn't secretly stopped them just now, they would have drawn their swords long ago.
Master insults, servants die.
As swordsmen serving the young lady, allowing people to swagger into the young lady's boudoir was undoubtedly a naked insult to them.
"Tonight's events must not be disclosed to anyone."
Jiang Baihu didn't care about their anger, licked her lips lightly, and said, "In addition, in the future, when you encounter people from the Chenliu Marquis Mansion... stay away!"
"Yes!"
The two swordsmen left angrily.
Then, a stooped old man appeared, his face heavy with concern. "Chen Zhibai's realm, this old servant can't fathom. I never anticipated that the Chen clan, searching for over five millennia, would yield such a formidable individual... The prowess of the younger generation is truly remarkable!"
"Fubao, don't say such things in the future!"
Jiang Baihu said coldly, "A practitioner who has reached the realm of at least a grandmaster at the age of over thirty. How many families in the Great Tang have such heritage? Chen Aman, who can produce a figure like Chen Zhibai, is he really the fool rumored outside?"
Fubao's expression changed slightly. "It's possible that Chen Aman is pretending to be foolish? If Chen Aman is pretending to be foolish, then when Jiang Huayu took Zhu Wan'er to the door to break off the engagement, or even when the Fifth Young Master appeared to threaten... No, I must immediately send a message to the Sword Sect and Langya, let them prepare early!"
Fubao picked up a small jade sword with his fingers, ready to send the news about Chen Zhibai back.
But a slender palm grasped the small sword: "Fubao, what does the Fifth Young Master and the Sword Sect's matter have to do with me, Jiang Baihu?
Since when did you become the Fifth Young Master's swordsman?"
Fubao's face changed abruptly, and he knelt down on the ground: "This old servant will always be your father's swordsman. It's just that we are both of the Jiang family..."
"Those Who Seek Their Own Demise, no one can save!
This was the remark the Jiang family head gave to my father back then, and today, I return it to him!"
Jiang Baihu looked coldly at Fubao, her lips pressed into a straight line.
"Those Who Seek Their Own Demise, no one can save..."
Fubao murmured.
Thinking of the young master nailed to the Jiang family gate, tears streamed down his face, and he let go of the jade sword in his hand hoarsely: "This old servant understands..."