Even ants greedily cling to life, so why should humans not cherish their lives?
Under Xu Xing's few words, Zhao Yunniang understood.
Even if she remained loyal to Han Sui now, it would be difficult for her to save her life. On the contrary, if she joined Xu Xing, she could use the child in her belly... Even though Xu Xing might be a harsh and ungrateful official, a mother's status could rise with her child. As long as Xu Xing prospered in the future, she would not be left out of the feast.
"Husband."
"It's not difficult to betray Han Sui, but... how to explain today's incident?" Zhao Yunniang twisted her skirt, bit her lip, and asked. "If you don't die in the next few days, Han Sui will become suspicious, and then I..."
She stared at Xu Xing, her weakness mixed with a touch of firmness.
If Xu Xing also wanted her to die... Even if she were to die, before dying, she would bite off a piece of Xu Xing's flesh.
"I have a foolproof plan for this." Xu Xing glanced at the prison cell on his left and then withdrew his gaze.
Scholar Su had already repaid his 'debt for a meal.' Asking Scholar Su for help again now would be ungrateful. Although he was not a gentleman, he did not want to be a villain either.
"No one saw whether I ate the food you brought..."
"Alright then... I have a method to produce glazed glass. Present this method to Han Sui. Say I gave it to him, hoping to live a bit longer. Han Sui will surely see the value of producing this kind of glazed glass... The three hundred warhorses that Taipu Temple lacks are worth nothing compared to this method. With this, we can both buy ourselves some time."
Xu Xing took a piece of paper from the desk and handed it to Zhao Yunniang. "This method is not complicated, and there is no need to carry the paper out. There is still one and a half hours before dawn, which is enough time for you to memorize all the information on this paper."
The Instance World is a treasure. Even though its extraordinary powers might be inferior to those in reality, some knowledge within the Instance World, when brought to reality, is invaluable. In addition, the time difference between reality and the Instance World is also a good thing. For example, just now when he forced Zhao Yunniang to choose his side, it was difficult to plan everything thoroughly in a short period. But thanks to the time difference between the two realms, he had five times more time to think things over, thereby breaking the stalemate.
"Glazed glass?" Upon taking the paper, Zhao Yunniang frowned. She knew that glazed glass was worth more than gold, but Xu Xing had a method to produce glazed glass?
"Using ordinary gravel can refine glazed glass?" She stared at the steps to make glazed glass, her heart pounding more and more as she read.
If this method were genuine, those who possessed it could become wealthy beyond compare over time; it wouldn't be a mere daydream.
"Thank you, Husband." Zhao Yunniang bowed to Xu Xing and continued in a soft voice, "You saved Yunniang's life..."
Although it was Xu Xing who had nearly cost her life, women like her—courtesans—already led precarious lives, as fragile as paper. Despite her dissatisfaction with Xu Xing, after careful consideration, he was, after all, her husband and would be her only support in the future... Thus, these words were meant to alleviate the awkwardness and conflict between them.
"You don't need to thank me."
"We are husband and wife, sharing a bed and pillow, and we will rely on each other in the future.... Zhang'er, this name is indeed good." Xu Xing gently embraced Zhao Yunniang's slender waist, his tone gentle.
Old Ma was right: At a hundred percent profit, capitalists will take risks. At two hundred percent profit, capitalists will defy the law. At three hundred percent profit, capitalists will trample upon everything in the world. The profit from turning gravel into glazed glass was more than threefold. Gravel didn't cost anything. In other words, Xu Xing was giving Han Sui a method of turning stones into gold. Before Han Sui could produce qualified glazed glass or construct high-temperature furnaces and other equipment, the first person who wouldn't want Xu Xing dead would probably be Han Sui. During this period, Xu Xing was confident he could hold out long enough to turn the tables on Han Sui. After all... compared to the extraordinary, the power of the mundane world is insignificant. Furthermore, as his Destiny kept improving, even Han Sui would probably suffer misfortune and die an unnatural death if he targeted him.
Before long, an hour had passed.
"Xu Wife Zhao, it's dawn," Old Li, the jailer, shouted from outside the prison cell. "Visiting time is up."
Zhao Yunniang immediately tore down the curtain and walked out of the prison cell with a food box. She took out a silver ingot from her sleeve and stuffed it into Old Li's hand. "My husband has been under your care these past few days. I am eternally grateful."
"Thank you, Lady Xu." Old Li instantly smiled and accepted the silver.
This time, the silver Zhao Yunniang gave him was not for improving Xu Xing's food expenses, but simply "gratitude silver" to show respect to him. The former needed to be shared with his colleagues, while the latter was purely his extra income.
"Lady Xu, I'd like to remind you," Old Li said. "There are Tiqi from the Night Patrol Department outside Sky Prison. Commander Liu has ordered that not a single piece of paper is to leave Sky Prison. Being a woman, there's no guarantee they won't be rough with you..."
The Tiqi were usually lax and would let ordinary people pass with cursory inspections. But Zhao Yunniang was a woman; how could these Tiqi not take the opportunity to cop a feel and indulge themselves? Lord Han's prestige was great, but not greater than Commander Liu's.
"Please show me the way, Sir." Zhao Yunniang raised her eyebrows and handed Old Li another silver ingot. She was unwilling to be taken advantage of.
"Please follow me, Lady Xu." Old Li led the way, chuckling. "There's a secret passage in Sky Prison that's normally used for transporting Night Fragrance. No one's there now..."
Soon, Sky Prison returned to silence.
"You told Zhao Yunniang the truth?" Chang Ji asked. "No more pretending? Since ancient times, it has been said that prostitutes are heartless and performers are faithless. If you trust her so easily, you'll eventually meet disaster."
He saw that Xu Xing's breath was stable and, after giving it some thought, understood the trick. He then mocked him. He also knew a bit about the effects of the Musk Dragon Powder. He originally thought Xu Xing was so deep and cunning that he could easily deceive him, but unexpectedly, Xu Xing had readily believed Zhao Yunniang. It was true; many heroes would yield to a honey trap.
"No." Xu Xing shook his head and spoke concisely. "It's just that she has no choice but to believe me."
"What did you do?" Chang Ji's eyes flashed as he whispered. "When you leave... can you take me with you?"
Xu Xing's words didn't sound like those of someone ensnared by a honey trap.
"Wait!" Xu Xing looked at Chang Ji meaningfully. "One word: wait!"
Some people may not necessarily accomplish things, but they can definitely ruin them. Although Xu Xing hadn't mentioned escaping from Sky Prison, Chang Ji's cunning mind would surely have guessed his intentions. It was better to be frank than to partially conceal things. What he lacked now was time. Therefore, during this period, he absolutely could not let Chang Ji ruin things.
"I trust you." Looking surprised, Chang Ji stared at Xu Xing for a few moments before nodding seriously.