latelenovela Chapter 644 The mystery of life experience
Chapter 644 The mystery of life experience
Faced with Liu Ye's questioning, Wen Tiren stammered, "I only know that she has a noble status, but I don't know anything about her background..."
Liu Ye frowned: "Your Excellency, we're in the same boat now. If the boat capsizes, neither of us can escape. With a relationship like that, can't you tell me the truth?"
Wen Tiren replied with difficulty, "It's not that I'm unwilling to say, it's that I genuinely don't know. Rumors say she has connections with the palace, but no one can be sure what those connections are. Since it involves the royal family, no one dares to gossip..."
Seeing that he couldn't get any information out of her, Liu Ye stopped wasting his breath and looked outside the door: "She said that the Embroidered Uniform Guard is watching us. Judging from this waist tag, it's probably true. Exchanging Chiyo is impossible. The only way is to run away."
Wen Tiren asked, "Run? How do you plan to run?"
"Qin Tian, you take Mr. Yan through the front door, and Qian Dai and I will go through the back door." Liu Ye arranged the route. "As for the Grand Secretary, you also have people protecting you, right? After I rush out and attract the Ninth Prince's attention, you can leave through the front door."
Wen Tiren nodded: "Let's leave before she releases the Embroidered Uniform Guards."
The door to the private room "Red Cliff" was flung open, and several people rushed out. Two men loitering and on guard at the door were knocked unconscious by Shimazu Chiyo with her scabbard. Yan Guang, under Qin Tian's cover, ran downstairs with his head down towards the main entrance. Liu Ye, with Shimazu Chiyo, ran in the opposite direction, attracting the attention of several men downstairs. These men hesitated for a moment, then split up and gave chase. After everyone had left, Wen Tiren also came out and hurriedly left, escorted by men in tight-fitting clothes.
Liu Ye and Chiyo Shimazu arrived at the backyard. Compared to the bustling scene in front, it was very quiet here, with nothing to provide light except for the moonlight.
"Hehe, looks like that little brat lacks experience in the ways of the world!" Liu Ye chuckled in a low voice. "She stirred up trouble right from the start, tried to act tough, and made me walk right into her trap, only to let her get away so easily, didn't she?"
"Haha, isn't it too early to say that?" The Ninth Prince suddenly appeared with a group of men, looking at him leisurely. "You want to lure the tiger away from the mountain, but I'm only watching you, or rather, the girl next to you. Whether that old man leaves or not is none of my business."
"Hey, I underestimated you after all!" Liu Ye grabbed Shimazu Chiyo's hand. "I'm not afraid of you guys, but I don't want to make a scene today. Farewell, see you again if fate allows! Let's go!" The last word was directed at Shimazu Chiyo.
The two of them took off running towards the back door. Although Shimazu Chiyo's skills were more than enough to handle the group of thugs, they were on someone else's turf and had no other help, so Liu Ye didn't want to risk his safety.
The Ninth Prince stood still, seemingly unconcerned about their escape. Liu Ye ran while glancing around out of the corner of his eye, sensing something strange. Just as he couldn't figure out what was wrong, something tripped him, and a strong force pulled his ankle, lifting him into the air and leaving him hanging upside down. Shimazu Chiyo, standing nearby, suffered the same fate.
The Ninth Young Master walked over with a smile and teased, "Running away? Why aren't you running anymore?"
Liu Ye cursed his bad luck under his breath and looked at the thing on his foot. It was a thick hemp rope with a slipknot, one end tied to his ankle and the other end tied to a tree, similar to a trap set when hunting.
He replied helplessly, "Damn, is this a brothel or a shady business? Why are you putting this thing up in the backyard?"
"Hehe, don't worry about that. Anyway, you and this girl are already in my hands, so I have to give them to you whether you want to or not," said the Ninth Prince with a smile.
"I just don't understand. You two are both women. Even if you catch her, what good will it do?" Liu Ye was speechless at the Ninth Prince's hobby.
The Ninth Prince stared at Shimazu Chiyo with shining eyes, ignoring his words: "Tsk tsk, I didn't notice before, but judging from her attire and that Japanese sword, could she be from Japan? I've never seen this type before. I've struck gold today..."
Chiyo Shimazu glared at her coldly: "Please stay away from Chiyo, or I won't be polite."
"Tsk tsk, quite the fiery temper, interesting..."
Liu Ye couldn't help but interrupt her, "Um, Ninth Young Master, right? I'm already in your hands. You can kill me or do whatever you want with me. How about satisfying my curiosity and telling me your identity so I can die knowing why?"
The Ninth Prince looked at him in surprise: "I didn't say I wanted you to die, did I? If you die, this young lady will be very sad. But why should I tell you my identity?"
Liu Ye hadn't expected her to be so tight-lipped. His eyes darted around, and he came up with a plan. He then gave Shimazu Chiyo a wink.
Chiyo Shimazu understood, and said somewhat stiffly, "Chiyo also wants to know your true colors..."
The Ninth Prince asked happily, "He wants to know, but I won't tell him. You want to know? Then I'll tell you. Where would you like to start?"
Chiyo Shimazu hesitated for a moment before replying, "If that's alright, please start from the past?"
The Ninth Prince nodded, then waved his hand, signaling his men to move further away. He waited until the men were about twenty paces away with their backs to him before speaking.
"I grew up in a large courtyard. My birth mother was a maid who came with the first wife as part of her dowry. She later married the master and gave birth to me. But I was raised by the first wife from a young age and could not call my own mother 'Mother.' Later, when my father moved to an even larger courtyard, I had more people to serve me and a more prestigious status. The rules were also very complicated. However, when I was ten years old, the Imperial Observatory... a group of crazy old men, told my father that I was destined to face a hurdle in my life. If I were kept at home and pampered, I would surely die young. So my father let me go and let me roam freely, without caring about me..."
Liu Ye seemed to understand something, and casually said, "No wonder someone of your status could run a brothel without anyone interfering, and not even take the Embroidered Uniform Guard seriously. So that's how it is..."
The Ninth Prince said with dissatisfaction, "What 'brothel'? That sounds awful. The girls in my establishment were all bought from other brothels. They are all unfortunate people who grew up in brothels. They have no skills other than selling their bodies, and they are not like the top courtesans who are proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. It will be difficult for them to survive after they grow old and lose their beauty. I have people teach them to ride horses and shoot arrows, to drink and play drinking games, to dress as men, and to befriend the sons of nobles. Some of them have even become concubines in the families of nobles. I have given them a completely different path. Isn't that good?"
After saying that, the Ninth Prince felt something was off and realized what was going on: "Huh? Did you guess something?"