Chapter 022 It's not that the secret was discovered
Looking at the juicy lettuce in his hand, Liu Yong actually felt an appetite.
He hasn't had any proper meal for nearly half a year.
I take medicine every day and drink some millet porridge cooked by Zhao Xiangxiang to nourish my body.
But even so, my health is getting worse and worse.
I am eating less and less, and the smell of meat and oil makes me feel nauseous.
But now, looking at the green vegetables in my hand, I actually want to eat them.
"My dear, don't eat this raw vegetable." Zhao Xiangxiang still wanted to persuade Liu Yong: "The doctor said that your body can no longer eat greasy food or raw vegetables, which will aggravate your condition."
"I want to eat." Liu Yong grabbed a handful of lettuce in his right hand, and a gleam of light appeared in his eyes, which had already become lifeless due to illness. "Seeing this dish, I suddenly have an appetite."
Zhao Xiangxiang wiped her tears: "But my dear...your body!"
Liu Yong picked up a leaf of lettuce with his left hand, put it in his mouth, and started to chew it with a crunching sound.
After chewing a few times, his eyes lit up: "It tastes really good, sweet and delicious."
The bitter taste of weakness that had previously filled his mouth was gone, leaving only the fresh, sweet taste of the lettuce.
This made him feel much better, and he grabbed a lettuce leaf and put it in his mouth.
After chewing a few bites, he eats another one. After a few breaths, he eats another one.
This went on and on until the only sound in the room was the sound of Liu Yong chewing lettuce. Zhao Xiangxiang stopped crying and quietly watched Liu Yong eating with a somewhat surprised expression.
Recently, Liu Yong's appetite has been getting worse and worse, and he doesn't even want to drink millet porridge.
But now, I enjoy eating lettuce so much.
It almost feels like I'm wolfing it down.
Soon, Liu Yong had eaten all the lettuce in his hand, and then looked at Lu Sen eagerly.
With a slight smile, Lu Sheng handed over another handful of lettuce leaves. He had already expected that Liu Yong would still want to eat some.
Liu Yong was not polite. He took the lettuce leaves and continued to chew them in big mouthfuls.
Zhao Xiangxiang looked at Liu Yong eating so happily, then sighed and let him go.
After finishing another handful of lettuce leaves, Liu Yong patted his stomach and said with a smile, "It feels so good. I haven't enjoyed eating so much in a long time."
"As long as my husband is happy." Zhao Xiangxiang said resentfully.
In her opinion, Liu Yong's eating indiscriminately would only make his already poor health worse.
But Lu Sen smiled and said, "Do you feel better now?"
When these words came out, the two people on the opposite side were stunned.
Especially Liu Yong, after being stunned, he took two deep breaths and said, "It seems that my chest doesn't feel that uncomfortable anymore."
Then he tried to sit up. This time he didn't need Zhao Xiangxiang's support. He sat up straight by himself.
He clenched his fist again, a little stronger than before.
"What is this?" Liu Yong suddenly turned his head and asked anxiously.
The expression is quite excited.
You know your own body best.
I felt weak all over before and couldn’t breathe because of coughing.
But now, there has been a slight turnaround.
Although I still feel very uncomfortable, I feel much better now.
It’s no wonder that Liu Yong was anxious. Only those who have lost their health know how precious health is.
He didn't want to lie in bed sickly, unable to move, waiting for others to serve him.
"Lettuce." Lu Sen smiled faintly, "Don't say Liu Duntian has never eaten lettuce."
Liu Dunkou coughed lightly and said, "But this is the first time I've seen raw vegetables that can cure diseases. Even a hundred-year-old ginseng doesn't have this effect."
Lu Sen smiled and said nothing.
Liu Yong looked at Lu Sen expectantly, but he did not ask any further questions. After all, he was a proud and arrogant person and could not bring himself to do so.
In the end, it was Zhao Xiangxiang who spoke. She was a famous lady and had come and gone with many dignitaries, so she naturally knew how to handle such situations.
"My dear young master, I am sorry for neglecting you." She stood up and walked over to Lu Sen, smiling warmly: "I am sorry for not treating you well. Let me make a pot of tea and we can drink and chat."
"That's not necessary." Lu Sen waved his hand and said, "As I said before, I came here to ask Madam Xiangxiang for help."
Seeing that Lu Sen was straightforward in his words and deeds, Zhao Xiangxiang did not hide anything: "Young Master, let me ask you, how many of those lettuces do you have?"
“Not much.”
"Can you cure my husband's health?" Zhao Xiangxiang asked expectantly.
Liu Yong also stared at Lu Sen closely.
"Even if there are more, it can't cure Liu Tuntian's illness." Lu Sen said lightly.
"Why is this?" Liu Yong said anxiously, "I feel that my body has improved a little. If there is more..."
"How much can you still eat?" Lu Sen asked with a smile: "Your health will continue to deteriorate. When you can eat again, your body will be seriously ill again."
To put it bluntly, the health points increased by lettuce leaves are too small. Eating a large handful only increases a few points. Unlike golden apples, half a handful costs at least 200 and has the added effect of increasing the upper limit of health points.
However, simply increasing a few points of health points is not enough to eliminate Liu Yong's diseased state, and his body will continue to slowly deteriorate.
Liu Yong was stunned for a moment. Indeed, he had just eaten two handfuls of lettuce, and now his stomach was bloated.
"The effect of lettuce is slight, but I have something better, and I am very confident that I can cure Liu Tuntian's body." Lu Sen put his hands behind his back and smiled calmly.
The two of them looked at the handsome young man in front of them , and they both believed what he said.
"If I invite the leader of Wuyou Cave to come here, can you cure my husband's health?" Zhao Xiangxiang bowed and asked.
Lu Sen nodded: "This is why I came here."
"Then could you please wait here for about two hours, young master?" Zhao Xiangxiang asked.
"Yes." Lu Sen nodded.
"My dear, please take a rest. I will be back in a moment."
As Zhao Xiangxiang spoke, she placed a blanket behind Liu Yong's back so that he could lean on it more comfortably. Then she left the room, closing the door behind her.
There were only two people left in the room.
Lu Sen looked at the old man in front of him with interest.
Liu Yong...a legendary playboy. Although not as famous as Bao Zheng, Fan Zhongyan, Su Shi and others, anyone who likes poetry or knows a little about history will know him.
A great poet who spent most of his life in brothels and finally died in a brothel.
"Lu Xiaolang, the people of Wuyou Cave are vicious and cruel. Why do you want to meet the leader in person?" Liu Yong felt that the atmosphere was weird with two grown men looking at each other without saying anything, so he took the initiative to find a topic: "Why don't you seek help from the government?"
Lu Sen shook his head: "Kaifeng Prefecture has swept Wuyou Cave three times in the past six months, but has made no progress. There is little point in asking Kaifeng Prefecture for help. Besides, if the government launches another large-scale operation, the other party will be angry and kill us. Wouldn't it be too late to regret it?"
Liu Yong nodded: "That does make sense."
In fact, Lu Sen also considered asking Tianbo Yang Mansion for help. As long as he asked, they would definitely be willing to help.
But the problem is, if even the Southern Hero Zhan Zhao and his several constables couldn't do it, it is estimated that the Tianbo Yang Mansion may not be able to do it... No, the Yang family is a military family and is good at deploying troops. If they can mobilize hundreds of soldiers, the effect achieved will definitely be much better than Kaifeng Mansion.
It’s just... in the city of Bianjing, under the feet of the emperor, hundreds of soldiers were mobilized to parade through the streets and fight!
The Tianbo Yang family would definitely be accused of "rebellion" the next day.
They will be attacked madly by the political enemies who already dislike the Yang family, and will eventually be eaten up.
Taking this into consideration, Old Lady She probably wouldn't be willing to send too many people to sweep Wuyou Cave.
There is no meaning if there are not enough people.
So Lu Sen could only use underworld methods to solve this problem.
Besides, if Wuyou Cave was so easy to deal with, it would have been razed long ago. How could they have the chance to appear out of nowhere and kidnap people everywhere?
"Is Lu Xiaolang married?" Liu Yong asked with a smile.
"No." Lu Sen paused and said, "Liu Duntian had better take a rest. The lettuce is just to make you feel more comfortable temporarily. If you waste your energy, it will increase the burden on your body. It's better to take a nap and wait for Madam Zhao Xiangxiang to come back."
"Okay." Liu Yong smiled, lay down on the bed, closed his eyes and rested.
Fell asleep quickly.
Lu Sen went to the low table in the middle, sat down cross-legged, and picked up a pornographic booklet on the table to start looking through it.
This is a collection of poems. The handwriting is elegant and beautiful. I think it was written by a woman.
The booklet contains poems by Liu Yong, as well as many poems that Lu Sen had never read before. It is quite interesting to read.
When I was halfway through the booklet, the door opened and Zhao Xiangxiang came back.
Not much time had passed. Generally speaking, most people in brothels would have unclear ties with the underworld.
Oftentimes, if you want to know the news about the underworld, you can go ask those ladies and you will easily get the information you want.
Zhao Xiangxiang sat opposite Lu Sen and said with a smile: "Young Master, I have asked someone to pass the message out. If it works, the person should come within half an hour. If not..."
At this point, Zhao Xiangxiang's mood became depressed: "If it doesn't work, I am willing to use my body to exchange for my husband's recovery, okay?"
"No need." Lu Sen waved his hand: "As long as you spread the word, Liu Tuantian's matter will not be difficult."
Zhao Xiangxiang breathed a sigh of relief and bowed, "Thank you, young master."
Although Liu Yong was not the only man she had ever been with, and Liu Yong didn't mind her spending the night with other men, after all, due to her status, she had no choice, but... the fewer such things happened, the better.
After discovering that Lu Sen was a very easy person to talk to, Zhao Xiangxiang relaxed a lot. She had been a little reserved before.
She made tea and told some funny stories to liven up the atmosphere between them.
About half an hour later, heavy footsteps were heard outside the door .
After a while, the door was pushed open and a man appeared at the door.
He has a dark face and small eyes narrowed into a triangle. At first glance, he looks very vulgar.
Although this person was wearing new clothes and seemed to have washed and groomed himself, he still gave people the feeling of a monkey wearing a human costume.
"Oh, Xiangjie, you are actually entertaining guests, and you are a gigolo." The man had a happy face, but when he saw Lu Sen, his face turned unhappy. Then he saw that there was an old man on the bed, and he laughed again: "Oh, two of them. Xiangjie, you are playing wild, then I am fine, and there is no problem for the four of us to come together, but I am afraid that you can't stand it, Xiangjie."
Zhao Xiangxiang smiled and didn't take it seriously.
She had been in the brothel for eight years. She had seen all kinds of scenes and heard all kinds of dirty words. This was nothing. "Boss Luo, it's not me who wants to see you, but this Lu Xiaolang who wants to see you."
"Are you kidding me?" The man looked around and didn't find any ambush. His expression became a little ferocious. "A pale-faced boy wants to see me, and you dare to ask someone to send a message to summon me? Do you know that traveling in broad daylight is very dangerous for me?"
Zhao Xiangxiang shook her head slightly: "Don't worry, Boss Luo. I invited you here, and I will naturally fulfill my promise. As long as you talk to Lu Xiaolang, I will fulfill my promise and stay with you for one night without asking for a penny."
Alas... a slight sigh came from the bed.
"Okay, that's what you said." Boss Luo turned his head and glanced at Liu Yong on the bed. Seeing his old, weak and disabled appearance, he didn't care much. Then he walked to the table and sat cross-legged. He looked around, stretched out his black hand and patted the table, saying, "Where's my tea?"
Zhao Xiangxiang took out a small purple sand cup from the side, poured tea into it and placed it in front of Boss Luo, frowning slightly, looking somewhat reluctant.
Boss Luo drank the tea in one gulp and put it heavily on the table. There was a crisp sound. Then he stared at Lu Sen and asked wildly, "White-faced boy, what do you want from me? Tell me quickly so that I can enjoy the beauty with you."
Boss Luo is not afraid of any trouble happening in Nuan Yu Pavilion.
Before he came, he asked his men to scout the area nearby, but they found no officials or experts.
If he had not been cautious enough, he would not be alive today.
Besides, this pale-faced boy has an excellent temperament, but he has no fat on his body, and no divine light in his eyes. He is just an ordinary rich kid.
It's just that short hair that looks a bit weird.
Lu Sen turned to the other party and asked, "Today, my servant Hei Zhu was selling green vegetables on the street of Bianshui River, and he disappeared. I want to ask, does Boss Luo know about this?"
"Oh, you come to ask me when someone is missing. Doesn't your servant have legs? Maybe he ran away. It's not a rare thing." Boss Luo said impatiently. He was lustful and wanted to be intimate with the beautiful Zhao Xiangxiang across the street. He didn't care about the missing person... Then he frowned, opened his eyes slightly, looked at Lu Sen for a while, and asked: "Wait, the vegetable seller beside the Bianshui River Street... Oh, I remember, there was indeed such a thing."
Lu Sen breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Hei Zhu was still alive. He asked calmly, "You can take the money from selling the green vegetables, but just return the person to me."
"Those greens are delicious." Boss Luo showed a savoring expression: "Although there were only a few leaves left, I tasted them and they were really delicious. But do you know why we took the servant away?"
"Green vegetables are delicious?" Lu Sen asked with a raised eyebrow.
Zhao Xiangxiang also looked over here, with a hint of movement in her eyes.
"It's indeed delicious, but that's bullshit!" Boss Luo slammed the table and said angrily: "No matter how delicious the greens are, can they be as delicious as the meat? We arrested that guy because he didn't follow the rules."
Lu Sen was stunned... He thought the other party knew the secret of those vegetables.
Because the health points added by vegetables are very, very small... you have to eat a large handful to see some effect, like Liu Yong did just now.
In addition, green vegetables are very expensive, so most people don't buy too much. The whole family shares them and each person can only eat a few leaves. Under normal circumstances, people will just think that the green vegetables are delicious and that's it. They won't think too much, which is why Lu Sen is relieved to let Hei Zhu go to sell vegetables.
But now it seems that there are other reasons.
"What rules?" Lu Sen asked.
"We are in charge of Bianshui Street. We will collect 30% of the money from everyone who sets up a stall there. Do you understand?" Boss Luo looked at Lu Sen with his triangular eyes. "Your servant has been selling vegetables there for eight days, and he has earned at least one string of coins every day. In other words, he must pay us at least two strings of coins and four hundred coins. He doesn't have that much money, so we can only detain him and wait for someone to redeem him. If no one comes to redeem him, he will be our Wuyou Cave's person."
"Is it that simple?" Lu Sen let out a long sigh.
"Two strings of cash, four hundred coins, are you willing to pay?" Boss Luo looked at Lu Sen, his eyes full of malice: "Three hundred coins can buy a beautiful maid, but that girl is dark and thin, you definitely won't want to pay for it."
Zhao Xiangxiang looked at Lu Sen intently.
That year, her father sold her to Nuan Yu Pavilion for one hundred and fifty cents.
Lu Sen smiled and said, "Of course I have to go, but I want to see the person first. Otherwise, if I give you money but you don't hand over the person, then won't I lose both the person and the money?"
