Heaven's Formula

"Yes?" Liu Ruyan repeated subconsciously.

"Well, yes." The girl's affirmative expression made her confirm that this was not an auditory hallucination. "You can sign up now, the fee is one tael of silver. After the review, there will be special training, and if you finally pass, you will have to pay another five taels of silver. But don't worry, the latter money can be waived without training, If qualified, it will be deducted from the salary after taking office."

"I...have money." Liu Ruyan quickly took out her purse, for fear that she would change her story again.

Although six taels of silver was quite a lot, it was still too far behind the ransom fee. The money she had saved over the years could afford the expense.

After registering her information, the little girl handed her something.

It was a brand made of ground wood, only two or three inches in size, and could be held in one hand.There is neither a mark nor any words on the sign, it is just a piece of ordinary fragrant wood.

"This is……"

"Master Xia asked me to give it to you." The other party said, "Change is not an easy thing, especially when you are faced with many difficulties. If you think this way now, you may not think so at the time. So until the review For a while, you can go back on your word at any time."

"What if I insist on this?"

"Then put the sign on the windowsill, it will help you."

Liu Ruyan bit her lips, "I saw that the banners you hang beside the stage read... Becoming a reserve official of the Bureau is an opportunity for ordinary people to change their own destiny."

"That's the advertisement that Mrs. Xia thought of." The little girl covered her mouth and chuckled.Before she had time to think about the meaning of the advertisement, the other party continued, "But even if it is an exaggerated statement, as long as it is written in the announcement of the secretariat, it will definitely become a reality."

……

Liu Ruyan ran again.

She slipped through the crowd, crossed the street, ran around the corner, and rushed into the fabric shop.

"What's wrong with you?" Yan'er looked at her in surprise, "Why are you sweating after walking around for a while?"

Only then did Liu Ruyan realize that her back was already wet, and her forehead must not be much better. "Ah...haha," she wanted to cover it up with a smile, but she couldn't stop laughing, "ha, hahaha...haha..."

"I know, you already have Young Master Zhou." Yan'er gave her an annoyed look, "I see that makes you happy."

Liu Ruyan didn't explain.

What kept coming to her mind now was the street scene that was quickly receding, and the little girl's "Yes".

Just less than a quarter of an hour.

But the feeling of walking against the wind has been imprinted deep in her heart.

Mammy didn't notice that Liu Ruyan left without saying goodbye.

Back in the Zui brothel, everything returned to normal, as if the episode of the secretariat was just a dream.

But Ruyan Liu knew that that scene really happened.

The wooden sign brought back is proof.

She carefully put it on with a rope and hung it around her neck.The silver chains and jade pendants kept in the brothel have lost their luster in front of this bare wooden sign.

Five days.

The first round of registration will only last for five days.

The Bureau will then announce the results of the review.

She probably won't be able to go to the scene, but she can ask others to go - there are errands for them in the Qingguan building. After all, no one can guarantee that one purchase will meet the needs without any loss.She also knows one, who surrounds her Sister Liu and Sister Liu's name all day long, and looks very lovable.

Although the boy can't read, it's no problem to draw a gourd.

After finally waiting for the announcement day, Liu Ruyan closed her eyes and asked her thoughts again.

——"If you think this way now, you may not think so at the time. So until the time before the review, you can go back on your word at any time."

The little girl's voice is especially in my ears.

Liu Ruyan opened her eyes, and replied calmly, "My thoughts have not changed."

Everything that follows is in order.

Calling the boy into the room, Liu Ruyan wrote down his name stroke by stroke in front of him.

"Take this piece of paper and go to Dongcheng for me. It is the street where the Privy Council is located. It is now called the General Affairs Bureau."

"Ok Sister Liu, but what are you going to do there?"

"secret."

"It can't be... besides Mr. Zhou, you have other lovers, right?" the young man put away the note and said.

"Guess whatever you want." Liu Ruyan smiled nonchalantly, "Listen, you must do me a favor. There should be a list at the door, you just face this piece of paper, Find my name on the list. Whether you find it or not, tell me the truth."

"that's it?"

"Yes, that's it." Liu Ruyan took out another tael of silver and put it in his palm, "This is your reward for helping me."

"Sister Liu, this is too much!"

"It's worth it. Even if it's... my respect for fate."

"Fate?" The servant showed a puzzled look, but seeing that she refused to take it back, he also took the money into his arms, "Sister Liu, don't worry, I will definitely take care of this matter for you."

Liu Ruyan nodded, "Go and come back quickly."

……

In this way, most of the morning passed by in a flash.

She once again felt the anxiety and suffering of waiting.

It wasn't until noon that there was a sound of footsteps outside the door.

"What's the result?" Liu Ruyan couldn't hold back and opened the door, only to find that the people standing outside the door were not the servants, but the proprietress, the nanny, and Zhou Sheng.

She froze in place, "Why do you..."

Before she could finish speaking, Zhou Dacai had already thrown a note in her face.

It was the one she wrote to the boy herself.

"You—what do you mean?" Zhou Sheng's voice was extremely cold, completely devoid of his usual modesty, "I'm not mistaken, am I? A prostitute who also wants to go to the bureau A reserve official? Just because we happened to discuss it a few days ago——what do you think of yourself, huh?"

The moment she saw the note, she already understood many things.

But Liu Ruyan's first thought was no longer to give in.

"I... don't want to..." She clenched her palms tightly, and when she was about to express her wish, she suddenly felt a crisp sound coming from her ears!

In an instant, the world was spinning.

When she regained consciousness, she found that she had fallen to the floor.One cheek felt as if it had been burned by fire, and it was extremely painful, and there was a salty taste from the corner of the mouth.

Liu Ruyan reached out to wipe it, her fingertips were bright red.

"Oh, please don't slap your face, Mr. Zhou, she still has to come out to see guests these days." The proprietress said, "If you want to vent your anger, I have many ways here to make her feel miserable without letting her die. Too many traces will be left."

"Shut up!" Zhou Sheng roared behind him, then walked to Liu Ruyan's side, knelt down and grabbed her by the collar, and lifted her abruptly, "Why did you do such a thing? Could it be that I didn't make my statement clear enough? Do I not like the absurd actions of that Lord Xia at all? You know this, but you did it on purpose, is it because you want to embarrass me!?"

Chapter 229 From Dusk

"Ahem, I... don't want to be redeemed by you..." Liu Ruyan coughed twice, resisting the burning pain and said in a low voice, "I don't want to be kept like a caged bird by you..."

"Silly girl, I really don't know how to be blessed when I am blessed." The mother sneered, "Do you know that this is something that many people can't envy? What's more, the other party is a talented person from Zhou. It's your luck to have a crush on you." !"

"So you lied to me before?" Zhou Sheng's voice became even angrier. "You don't have to worry about food, drink, and clothes. What's wrong with you? To please me, to have a child for me, besides these, you still have to do something. What can be done?"

In a fit of rage, he slammed her back to the floor again, tearing off her collar and causing the wooden plaque hanging around her neck to fly out.

That's... what the little girl gave her!

Liu Ruyan didn't care about the severe pain in half of her body, and moved to take the wooden sign back into her hand.

But the other party took the first step, stepped on the back of her hand with one foot, and then bent down to pick up the wooden sign.

"What is this?" Zhou Dacai looked at it over and over again, "A bare piece of wood?"

"Give it back to me!" Liu Ruyan struggled to get up.

"It seems that you are quite rare about this thing. Tell me, what's the difference?" Zhou Sheng looked at her for a while, shook his head and sighed, "Well, if you don't want to say it, I won't ask any more. However, what you can bring with you will have to be decided by me in the future, understand?"

He threw the wooden sign on the ground, and at the same time raised his foot and stepped on it——

The wooden sign shattered!

"No..." When Liu Ruyan gathered it back, only a few sticks and a piece of debris were left in his hand.

Tears welled up in her eyes instantly.

"Ma'am, what I said before should still be valid, right?" Zhou Sheng didn't bother to look at her, so he said directly to the madam, "Don't let her come out to greet guests during this time."

"But... you came back from Gyeonggi until the next spring, and we will lose a lot if you keep Miss Ruyan in the room." The other party rubbed his hands and said, "You also know that there are still many adults who will name you at ordinary times. Let Ruyan girl accompany wine and sing poems."

"Hmph, I'll just pay for it." Zhou Sheng took out a bag of coins and threw it on the table, and said bluntly, "Isn't that what you guys want?"

"Master Zhou is really generous!" The old bustard put the money bag into his arms with a happy smile.

"I also have the conditions. Lock her up and have three meals a day delivered to her mouth. I don't want this to happen again!"

"Of course, of course." The old bustard responded immediately, "With Mammy watching, I promise she won't be able to leave this room."

"That's how it is." Zhou Sheng glanced at Liu Ruyan who was lying on the ground, and said with a sneer, "It won't do you any good to annoy me, so you should reflect on it these days! As for the office , I advise you to get rid of this idea, they are eager to expand their influence, how can they let a brothel girl ruin their reputation and cause criticism? Don't forget who you are!"

After speaking, he strode out of the house.

After the old bustard left, only the nanny was left in the room.

"Before I lock you up again, I still have something to do." She pulled out a short whip with a gloomy expression, "I didn't expect you to have the ability to escape secretly. It seems that the admonition I gave before was still too easy. What, I haven't trained for half a year, I'm afraid you have forgotten it? Make me lose face in front of everyone? I will let you know the end of pretending to be smart today!"

After finishing speaking, she slammed the whip at Liu Ruyan fiercely.

……

What day is this?

It seems to be the fourth day after the announcement, and it is also the day when the training originally scheduled by the secretariat will start.

Liu Ruyan sat under the window in a daze, staring at the iron chain on her feet in a daze.

Ever since the proprietress discovered that she had escaped, her range of activities was limited by an iron chain to a six-foot range, which was just enough to move from the window to the door.

These days, Mammy's punishment can be described as various, but whether it's humiliation or pain, she doesn't care.

After the wooden sign was crushed, her hopes were also shattered—although that might be a psychological comfort, after all, what effect can a sign with nothing engraved on it serve?

Liu Ruyan tried every means, but she couldn't restore the wooden sign, so she could only pile up the cracked wood chips and debris on the windowsill.

In fact, she didn't even know why she did it.

Just because that little girl mentioned something?

No matter how naive Liu Ruyan is, she still knows that this thing can't take her away from the drunk brothel.

She didn't even dare to think about it - did that girl really understand the meaning of giving the "token" to herself?In case... She was just on a whim, or just making a joke, wouldn't her own choice become a joke?

It was worse than if she had hoped to die.

Gradually, the sun sets in the west, and the day passes quickly, the light coming in from the window gradually dims, and the night is about to cover the sky.

If the training of the secretariat really started today, it should have ended by now.

Liu Ruyan raised her head slightly, and looked at the corner of the table beside the bed.

It's not sharp, but it's thick. If it's strong enough, it might work——

I'm afraid it will be very painful.

But this may also be the only way for her to break free from the chain.

At this moment, Liu Ruyan heard a meow.

By the way, usually at this time, if I have nothing to do, I will feed the wild cats something to eat. Is this the cat in the yard calling her?

Unfortunately, she couldn't get out of the room, and naturally she couldn't reach the yard either.

"Meow----"

The cat meowing sounded again, as if it came from overhead.

Liu Ruyan couldn't help being stunned, he lived on the third floor, and he could only see the roof of the podium on the second floor, how did the wild cats get here?

She braced herself to stand up and looked out of the house, only to see a tabby cat standing by the window sill, which seemed to be the one she had fed.

"I have nothing to eat here, you can go." Liu Ruyan whispered.

"Meow!" The wild cat jumped up and jumped towards the second floor.