Love Lock

Chapter 350 Sisters in Misfortune
At that moment, Princess Chang Le gasped, as if the blood in her body had instantly frozen.

That face... that cold and handsome face had a hideous scar, which added to his menacing aura, but she would never mistake him!
That was the scarred-faced "bandit" she saw in the bandits' den when she was kidnapped to the mountains! He seemed to be a minor leader at the time, with fierce eyes and a violent tone...

Only at this moment did Princess Chang Le realize, as if doused with a bucket of cold water, that she had been instantly awakened—

It turns out that her encounter with the bandits wasn't an accident at all! That scarred bandit was actually one of Zhao Zun's men!

Could it be... could it be that Zhao Zun had been plotting this from so long ago? Or is it that because she kidnapped Han Lei, Zhao Zun is using this method to avenge that bitch Han Lei?!

Doesn't this prove the saying, "It's not that retribution won't come, it's just that the time hasn't arrived yet"?
Now that the time has come, Zhao Zun has ascended the throne, so all the previous revenge has come.
What chilled her to the bone even more was that the scarred man was not only a "bandit" on the mountain, but he should also be one of Zhao Zun's most trusted confidants!

Now, times have changed.

The scarred man, acting on his master's orders, arrived here with cold weapons. He intended to utterly and cleanly extinguish Princess Chang Le, and the last glimmer of hope for the Su family.

Having figured all this out, Princess Chang Le felt as if her soul had been ripped out, and she no longer held any hope for this world. She muttered to herself, "Let's go! Let's all go! Let's go far away."

……

On the other side, Zhao Qiao'er and her daughter Qin Yanran were also in dire straits, no better off than Princess Chang Le.

They were ruthlessly expelled from the once luxurious and powerful Prince Xiaoyao Palace.

The mother and daughter clutched their meager belongings tightly. As soon as they stepped across the high threshold where the vermilion paint was peeling, they heard the impatient shouts and shoves from behind.

"Hurry up, hurry up! What are you dawdling for! This mansion is about to be sealed off!"

Zhao Qiao'er felt a strong force coming from her back; it was Ma Zi's rough hand that pushed her hard.

The push was so strong that Zhao Qiao'er cried out in surprise, fell forward while clutching the blue cloth bundle, and crashed heavily onto the cold bluestone slab.

As she fell, she instinctively braced herself with her arm, which landed squarely on her still-healing hand. A sharp, piercing pain shot through her, causing her to scream in agony. Cold sweat poured down her forehead, and her features contorted in agony.

"Qiao'er!" Qin Yanran was terrified when she saw this. She cried out and rushed forward, trying to help her up in a flurry. Tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down onto her dusty clothes.

Zhao Qiao'er felt both pain and grievance, and overwhelmed with sorrow, she disregarded her dignity and, in the position of falling, raised her head and cried out to the tightly closed mansion gate and the indifferent soldiers.

"This...this is our house! What right do you have to drive us out? Is there no law anymore!" She became more and more agitated as she spoke, trying to bolster her confidence with her ethereal identity. "My brother...my brother is now His Majesty! I am the princess! You dog slaves, how dare you treat a princess of the court like this, what is your punishment!"

Qin Yanran chimed in, sobbing, "That's right! My daughter is a princess, you can't do this to her!"

Seeing that they still couldn't see reality, Ma Zi curled his lip, crossed his arms, and stood arrogantly on the steps, letting out a cold snort from his nose, his face full of contempt and disdain.

He glanced sideways at the disheveled mother and daughter below and sneered, "Princess? Ha! You should be grateful for your good fortune! If His Majesty didn't have some lingering affection for you two, and a shred of mercy in his heart, would he have allowed you to stay in the mansion for another night, and even let you pack these valuables? He should have kicked you out the moment the incident happened yesterday! Don't you know what you've done?"

At this point, Ma Zi's voice suddenly turned stern, "To murder the Princess Consort—no, now she should be called the Empress! This is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your family! His Majesty has shown mercy, sparing your lives and only banishing you, which is already an immense grace! Yet you dare to spout nonsense here, calling yourselves princesses? This is utterly ridiculous! Get out of here! If you dawdle any longer, don't blame us for being impolite! Officials from the Ministry of Revenue will be here immediately to inventory and inspect your property. If you continue to show no remorse and commit further evil deeds, His Majesty has ordered that you be executed without mercy!"

Zhao Qiao'er turned pale from the barrage of words, but she still cried out defiantly, "I want to see His Majesty! I want to ask him face to face why he treats his own sister like this..."

However, Ma Zi ignored her cries and directed his soldiers to cross-stamp the seals bearing the bright red imperial seal onto the two once magnificent gates.

Then Ma Zi and his men left, leaving the mother and daughter alone facing the cold seal and the empty gate.

In the end, Zhao Qiao'er's long-cherished dream of becoming a princess not only turned out to be a pipe dream, but the mother and daughter were also left homeless because the new emperor Zhao Zun wanted to set an example by confiscating the Xiaoyao Prince's Mansion.

The mother and daughter were completely driven out of this bustling place. They supported each other, carrying meager bundles that looked like those of refugees, and moved forward with great difficulty.

Their faces were filled with confusion and helplessness as they looked at the bustling streets before them, unsure of where to go.

After pondering for a long time, Qin Yanran timidly suggested, "Qiao'er, where can we go now? How about... we go and seek refuge with Master Lin? Or, could we ask him for help? He wouldn't just stand by and watch us die..."

The "Master Lin" that Qin Yanran mentioned naturally refers to Lin Yuanshan of Lin's Cloth Shop.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Qiao'er's face immediately showed strong resistance and embarrassment.

She shook her head violently: "No! He has already abandoned me, what face do I have to beg him? Besides, he certainly won't help us now..."

Thinking of her current destitution and the humiliation of being divorced, Zhao Qiao'er simply couldn't bring herself to take that step.

Qin Yanran refused to give up and continued to persuade him, "Qiao'er, you can't say that. Even a day as husband and wife is worth a hundred days of kindness. Although you are no longer husband and wife, my daughter and I are in such dire straits. Even if he doesn't want to take us in, surely he can give us some travel expenses? He is now the manager of Jinxiufang. A little travel expenses is nothing to him..."

Zhao Qiao'er couldn't bring herself to say no, and struggled internally for a long time. But looking at her mother's eager yet fearful eyes, and thinking about the uncertain future ahead, she finally sighed.

She guessed that Lin Yuanshan was probably not at home at this hour, but was managing his business at Jinxiufang in the East Market. So she gritted her teeth and, with a thick skin, led Qin Yanran toward Jinxiufang.

Today, Jinxiufang is thriving.

After becoming the shopkeeper, Lin Yuanshan looked radiant and full of energy.

He was looking down at his abacus, checking accounts, when suddenly a shop assistant came to report that two women were outside the door requesting an audience.

Lin Yuanshan was puzzled. He put down the account book and walked out to take a look. It turned out to be Zhao Qiao'er and Qin Yanran.

Zhao Qiao'er's clothes were slightly dirty and disheveled, her hair was a little loose, and the injured arm she was holding was particularly glaring. As soon as Zhao Qiao'er saw Lin Yuanshan, tears streamed down her face before she could speak. She was about to kneel down with a thud, but Lin Yuanshan grabbed her and held her back tightly.

Zhao Qiao'er sobbed, "Yuanshan... I was wrong. I was blinded by greed and poisoned Han... I know I was wrong, please forgive me..."

She tried to move him with repentance. However, she knew in her heart that it was too late to say such things now.

If Han Lei is the mastermind behind Jinxiufang, then even Lin Yuanshan, who was once her closest friend, has become Han Lei's business partner. What use is it for her to ask Lin Yuanshan for help?

“Yes, Yuanshan. Look, Qiao’er knows she was wrong. Please, for the sake of our marriage, don’t hold it against him!” Qin Yanran also shed tears, pleading softly in support, looking very kind.

But Qin Yanran made the right bet.

Looking at the haggard and disheveled mother and daughter before him, especially Zhao Qiao'er's severed arm and pale, regretful face, Lin Yuanshan finally felt compassion for them, remembering their past relationship.

He was silent for a moment, then turned around and took out a full one hundred taels of silver from the counter. He wrapped it in cloth and handed it to Zhao Qiao'er, saying in a complicated tone, "Take it. Find a place to settle down and take care of yourselves. From now on... take care of yourselves."

Zhao Qiao'er accepted the heavy silver with trembling hands. She knew in her heart that this was the maximum amount of pity and help Lin Yuanshan could give.

She dared not say anything more, only expressed her gratitude, then clutched the silver tightly, pulled Qin Yanran who still wanted to say something, and hurriedly left Jinxiufang, a place that made her feel extremely embarrassed and humiliated.

The mother and daughter found a secluded corner, carefully divided the silver into several portions, and meticulously hid them in the deepest part of their bundle and their undergarments. Only then did they pick up their bags again and, like two frightened rabbits, wander aimlessly down the street.

They dared not linger, nor did they know where to go; they simply instinctively headed towards the relatively sparsely populated South Gate.

As they staggered to the entrance of a narrow, dark alley near the South Gate, fate seemed to play another cruel joke on them.

In front of an inconspicuous little inn in the alley, a magnificent sedan chair was parked. A woman, supported by her maid Mingyue, was struggling to hop out of the inn's threshold on one leg, preparing to get into the sedan chair.

And that person was none other than Princess Chang Le, who was also in dire straits.

Mingyue, with her sharp eyes, spotted Zhao Qiao'er and her daughter at the alley entrance first. After hesitating for a moment, she called out softly, "Miss Zhao?"

If it were just two days ago, Zhao Qiao'er, who was still dreaming of being a princess, would definitely have looked down on Chang Le, who had already lost power and her title of princess.

But things are different now. Her princess dream has vanished, and she has fallen into destitution with nowhere to go. Now, seeing Princess Chang Le, who still has a sedan chair and servants by her side, Zhao Qiao'er felt as if she had grasped a lifeline in the darkness.

"Oh! It's the princess! What a coincidence, I didn't expect to run into you here."

A glimmer of hope immediately ignited in Zhao Qiao'er's eyes. She hurriedly pulled Qin Yanran along and eagerly went to greet her, her face plastered with an almost fawning smile as she exchanged pleasantries with Princess Chang Le.

Princess Chang Le, who had also lost everything and felt lost and helpless, was suddenly struck by the feeling of "meeting an old friend in a foreign land" when she saw Zhao Qiao'er, as if she had seen a relative.

When these two women, who had shared many hardships, met, they held hands and looked at each other, and couldn't help but tell each other about their tragic experiences.

Chang Le held Zhao Qiao'er's hand tightly, her voice choked with suppressed sobs: "Qiao'er, the Su family... the Su family is completely finished. All those properties were seized overnight, and now I have nothing but my few belongings, not even a place to stay..."

Clutching a handkerchief in her other hand, she said, "I have no choice but to sell my last few pieces of jewelry and hire a carriage to go to Jingzhou to stay with distant relatives."

Zhao Qiao'er grasped her cold fingers in return, her eyes instantly reddening: "Sister's plight reminds me of that heartless and ungrateful brother!"

She bit her lip. "Zhao Zun has now risen to prominence and sat on the dragon throne, but instead of inviting us, mother and daughter, into the palace to enjoy our newfound wealth, he has thrown us out—how heartless! Where is his sense of kinship?"

The two women's hands trembled slightly as they gripped each other tighter. Princess Chang Le's tears rolled down her cheeks: "Now, we are both in this situation, we are truly..."

"What a pair of sisters who have been through thick and thin together!" Zhao Qiao'er interrupted, her voice choked with resentment. "Men in this world are all heartless and ungrateful!"

They looked at each other, tears streaming down their faces, their knuckles white from clenching their fists.

Two women, both down on their luck and living in the same boat, sat at the entrance of this dilapidated alley, sighing and talking, feeling more and more sorry for each other as they talked.

"Princess, what are your plans?" Zhao Qiao'er sniffed.

Princess Chang Le shook her head slightly. "I don't know. I can only leave the capital and seek refuge with relatives. What about you?"

Zhao Qiao'er lowered her eyes. "I don't want to leave the capital, so I can only take it one step at a time. Fortunately, my mother does laundry for a family, which is enough to keep us afloat for now."

Zhao Qiao'er paused, then looked up at Princess Chang Le: "Princess, we don't know when we'll meet again after this parting. Why don't we find a quiet place to talk in detail?"

Princess Chang Le pointed to the simple inn behind her and said, "I will stay here for the time being. Let's go inside and talk."

So Zhao Qiao'er, Qin Yanran, and Princess Chang Le, supported by Mingyue, returned to the dimly lit inn with a musty smell in the air.

Princess Chang Le asked the innkeeper to open a slightly cleaner superior room. She hopped into the room on one foot, then waved her hand, dismissing Mingyue and the other servants who followed her, leaving only Zhao Qiao'er and Qin Yanran inside.

The door creaked shut, isolating the inside from the outside. The waiter brought tea and then left.

"Come, sit down and let's talk." Zhao Qiao'er helped Princess Chang Le to sit down. Then, the mother and daughter also sat down at the octagonal table.

The three sat around the chipped octagonal table. Zhao Qiao'er held her right arm and whispered something. Suddenly, Princess Chang Le's eyes lit up.

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