"Qinhuai people? Why is he here? And he brings the people with him?"
Eunuch Jin's face darkened, and he looked at Xu Meng, the Minister of War beside him, "Master Xu, this..."
"I'll go over and take a look!
Xu Shangshu's face was livid, and just as he was about to leave, a group of figures outside Kunci Palace had already come to kill him. The leader was a native of Qinhuai, the right minister of the Ministry of War.
The father-in-laws of the Ministry of Internal Affairs blocked him all the way, and they kept using tricks and tricks. However, due to the official power of Qin Shilang, they did not dare to use all their strength. They could only block and retreat, shouting twice, and soon arrived at the entrance of Kunci Palace.
"Qin, are you seeking death? Is this where you go wild?"
Xu Shangshu pointed one hand behind his back and pointed the other finger at the Qinhuai people, and angrily said, "And I didn't ask you to resign and apologize and get out of the Ministry of War office? Why do you still dare to stay in the capital?"
"Master Shangshu! Entrusted by the people, I came here to petition for the justice of Mr. Xu Xingmu! If I don't see Mr. Xu safe and sound for a moment, I will not leave for a day!"
The Qinhuai people had actually seen Xu Xingmu's figure, and couldn't help but secretly breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that he was fine.
fine! Things aren't as bad as they could be.
Let’s straighten our stance first!
"petition?"
Xu Shangshu narrowed his eyes and looked at the dark crowd at the entrance of Kunci Palace, "Who is taking the lead?"
A girl with tears in her eyes came out.
Although his expression was full of fear and uneasiness, there was determination in his eyes.
She said, "The slave's name is Su Rao, and she is the maid in Rouge House on Dongling Street. Because she offended Liang Xiao, the only son of Wu Linghou in the dynasty, he chased her all the way with the intention of violating her in the street. Fortunately, Xu Engong rescued her. I have just kept my reputation clean. I came here today just to petition for Xu Engong's grievance. He fought and fought with Liang Xiao and his soldiers in the street. Although he was suspected of hurting others, he was forced to fight back. And there was a reason for everything. Save the slave family, I hope Lord Shangshu will learn from it!
"So you are the girl from Rouge House."
Xu Shangshu sighed and asked in confusion, "Since someone has taken care of the cause and effect for you, why do you still have to step forward? Are you not afraid that the young prince will cause trouble for you again?"
"If something happens to our benefactor, my family will feel uneasy and may live with guilt for the rest of their lives."
Su Rao said, "Although I am a man in the world, I still have affection in my heart. Whoever treats me well will be treated sincerely."
Xu Shangshu was stunned.
Is this what a brothel woman should say?
He looked at Jiang Boyang, the official minister.
Jiang Boyang was also stunned.
It doesn’t make sense!
He glanced at Wang Zhihuan, a Hanlin scholar.
Mr. Wang was a little dazed, and it took him a long time to hold back six words, "I am being shallow."
Xu Xingmu's scattered energy seemed to have returned at this moment. He looked back at the surroundings, his firm eyes revealing high spirits, "Master Wang, if it were not forced by life, who would be willing to go to the land of fireworks and be looked down upon by the world? A brothel girl?"
"Even the top ten most famous courtesans in the capital have entered the Jiaofang Division in the name of official family members. They seem to have broken away from the category of ordinary brothel girls. Young men who spend a lot of money every day to make them smile, or There are countless high-ranking officials and powerful people. They may enjoy the material or spiritual satisfaction brought by this process, but I am more willing to believe that if they are given another chance to choose, they will definitely be willing to go back to that night many years ago, where they were The fathers in high positions still sit firmly in the court, and they themselves have not been implicated and have never fallen into the romance."
When he said these words, there was not much emotion on his face.
What is on my mind is not that complicated.
The debate with Mr. Wang is not to distinguish the merits of a certain idea.
He just wanted to use this to remind himself that the three correct views implemented in the original world and all the good thoughts he adhered to must not be deviated too much because of the indulgences of this new world.
Naturally, he could not completely deny Master Wang's thoughts. After all, in the minds of everyone in the Great Xia Dynasty, the identity of a brothel woman could not be put on the table.
Both in terms of status and their emotional needs, they are at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Even the Jiaofangsi, where officials and their families gather, seem high-end and elegant, but in fact they are just high-end playthings for the powerful. In essence, they are no different from ordinary brothel girls.
But he can't just follow the crowd and get confused with it just because everyone in the world thinks so.
It is precisely because of perseverance that it is different.
Only in the eyes of the woman in the Zhulunan sedan parked not far away would there be a glint of appreciation.
…
Su Rao in the crowd was stunned.
She quietly looked at Xu Xingmu, who seemed to be out of trouble, and asked softly, "My dear friend, are you okay?"
"Thank you for your concern, girl."
Xu Xingmu smiled and said, "Liang Xiao, what can you do to me?"
As soon as these words came out, bursts of refreshing smiles suddenly appeared in the crowd... Mr. Xu, even though he is both civilized and military, he can be so friendly and humorous, which is rare and rare.
Su Rao finally smiled, charmingly, "As long as everything is okay, if my benefactor really died in Kunci Palace because of the slave family, then the slave family would definitely not survive..."
She stared at Xu Xingmu like this, somewhat affectionately.
Xu Xingmu panicked and said with a smile, "Even if you really die, you have to live well, otherwise wouldn't my death have been in vain?"
Su Rao said, "The Nu family is already the benefactor's family, so naturally they will follow him life and death."
"What? My people?"
Xu Xingmu looked shocked, "Don't dare to joke!"
"Since my benefactor saved the lives of the slave family, the slave family will naturally pledge themselves to him."
Su Rao lowered his head, his face flushed, "Does my benefactor dislike the fact that I'm a brothel girl?"
"Absolutely not!"
Xu Xingmu's mentality exploded.
Na! What a bad atmosphere in feudal society! Who can resist the temptation to commit suicide at every turn, and even be suspected of moral kidnapping?
He glanced at Wang Zhihuan subconsciously, with the intention of asking for help in his eyes.
Lord Wang would have made a mistake and said, "I am already old and I am afraid I will not be able to do it for you. Feng Lin, you have to solve this matter yourself."
"Brother Xu is here in the capital for the first time. It's good to have so many people beside him who know both cold and hot."
Lin Qing, who had been invisible all this time, couldn't help but speak out when he saw this gossip.
The people accompanying him started cheering, "Mr. Xu, Miss Su has been saying all the way that she is determined to follow you for the rest of her life, whether human or ghost! Just take her in and just be a bed warmer." also!"
There was a soft light in Su Rao's beautiful eyes. She bit her lips and said, "My dear friend, although I come from Rouge House, I have always been a performer but not a prostitute. I only take some singing jobs on weekdays, so She is still in perfect condition. Liang Xiao had taken a fancy to the Nu family before, so he..."
Having said that, let’s stop here.
Suddenly there were howls of wolves in the crowd, "What a white lotus that emerged from the mud and remained unstained! Mr. Xu, you are so lucky!"
Xu Xingmu did not expect that when things developed to this point, it turned into a vulgar drama of physical commitment.
Su Rao has a sweet appearance and a pure and lovely girlish temperament at heart, but because she is a girl in the romantic field, she naturally has a mature and charming attitude.
This kind of woman can be both cute and sweet, the most deadly, and the most loved by men.
Especially since she is still in perfect condition, this is even more rare.
If anyone can get her, they will be extremely happy in the future.
Xu Xingmu was lying when he said he wasn't moved.
Such a beauty can be regarded as a blessing given to him by the new world.
Well deserved.
If you don't accept it, it seems a bit worse than a beast.
But in the moment of the battle between heaven and man, the innocent men of the two generations still want to stick to the bottom line in their hearts when it comes to feelings.
The prerequisite for physical pleasure is the compatibility of souls... He admitted that Su Rao was beautiful, with excellent charm and figure. In particular, she was very good at serving men. In everyone's eyes, he didn't seem to reject her. reasons.
But he just refused.
There was no way, thousands of miles away in Taoyuan County, the girl he fell in love with at first sight was looking at him.
"Your body should be given to your future husband-in-law, not me."
Xu Xingmu suddenly spoke, and his words were astonishing, "There are so many good and bad people in the Rouge Tower. It must be very difficult for you to keep your chastity. Things like being bullied by others today should also happen often. In this case, you should cherish yourself even more. Why?" Can you promise me your life so easily?"
As soon as these words came out, there was silence outside Kunci Palace.
Su Rao trembled all over, "My benefactor..."
Xu Xingmu looked at her and sighed softly, "It's not that I love Feng Chen, it seems that I was misled by the past... Miss Su, women in brothels also have dignity. If you don't want to be looked down upon by others, you have to love yourself all the time."
"It's not that I'm in love with Fengchen, it seems that I was misled by my destiny..."
Su Rao murmured softly, as if she was remembering the helpless experience she had when she was alone in the world, and she couldn't help but burst into tears.
Over the years, the world has only belittled her, humiliated her, and despised her. How can they talk about dignity with her?
Who else respects, loves and advises her like Xu Engong? Are you willing to understand her from her perspective?
Su Rao burst into tears. Once the sad past and her own situation over the years were revealed, the sadness was like a flood, and it was difficult to stop it.
The slight sobs turned into tears in an instant.
Those who hear it for the first time have no idea what it means and can only sigh.
But there were other girls in the crowd who had come from Rouge Tower. They heard Xu Xingmu's words and saw Su Rao's face struggling with emotion and sadness. They felt the same for a moment and couldn't help but shed tears.
Who says brothel women are heartless?
It's just that when visitors come and go, they only want their bodies and don't care about their feelings.
"Thank you so much, my benefactor..."
Su Rao wiped her tears and bowed to Xu Xingmu, "Since my benefactor cares about my family and doesn't want my body, can I let my family follow me and be a maid serving tea and water? That way I can let my family repay this job." Kindness.”
Xu Xingmu smiled and shook his head, "If you really want to repay your kindness, then sing a song for me..."
"Sing a song?"
Su Rao glanced at him and was silent for a long time. Finally, a smile appeared in his downcast eyes, "Then I will show my shame."
In front of Kunci Palace, with the gentle wind coming slowly, she opened her thin lips slightly, closed her jade teeth lightly, and sang a touching and sad ancient ballad in a low voice.
This is the song "The Bird in the Cage" that comes from the South. It sings about the half-life of a brothel girl who was locked up in a high palace without freedom or true love.
When she got up to singing, Su Rao looked miserable, and tears blurred her eyes again.
The brothel girls in the crowd felt the same way and spontaneously started singing along.
In an instant, the crowd fell into silence. The people watching in silence seemed to realize for the first time that in addition to being full of charm, the brothel woman also seemed to have an unspeakable tenderness hidden inside.
Wang Zhihuan was a little confused. He watched the audience quietly, and suddenly glanced at Jiang Boyang and Xu Meng, who also had stunned expressions, and sighed, "The appearance of Feng Lin really only brought changes to the way of poetry in our Daxia Dynasty. ?"
"It cannot be guessed."
Jiang Boyang said, "This is a genius of this generation, and I am lucky to be able to serve as an official in the same court as him."
"Same goes for me, too."
Xu Meng took a step forward and said solemnly.
"The same goes for lower officials!"
The Qinhuai man who was kneeling on the ground suddenly crawled over and said, "Master Shangshu, this official..."
"snort!"
Xu Meng's long sleeves trembled and he was too lazy to pay attention to him.
He just said coldly, "Get out of here as soon as possible!"
The Qinhuai man's face froze and he looked desperate.
Jiang Bowang smiled and said, "Although the Qinhuai people vassalized the powerful and almost made a big mistake, fortunately, they still took the right position in the end. Especially when he brought the people into the palace this time, many people must have accepted his affection. If he is allowed to resign and retire, I'm afraid some people will think that our Sixth Department is unfair."
The Qinhuai people looked at Jiang Bowang gratefully, "Master Shangshu has learned from this!"
Jiang Boyang thought for a while and said, "Let's do this. For the time being, I will demote you three levels and demote you to the position of head of the Ministry of War. If your performance is acceptable in the future, I will discuss with Xu Shangshu and reinstate you to your post. How about that?"
Xu Meng snorted coldly and said nothing, his attitude was ambiguous.
"Thank you, Lord Shangshu!"
The Qinhuai people let out a long sigh of relief, and their hearts finally dropped.
As long as he is not dismissed from office, there is still a chance.
Once this trend has passed, and with a little effort, I should be able to regain my glory.
Thinking of this, he suddenly glanced towards Xu Xingmu, a strange light flashed in his eyes... This is a real thigh, he must find a way to hold it tightly, the future of Daxia Chaotang may lie with him.
…
The song ends.
Xu Xingmu took the lead in applauding.
The applause from the crowd gradually rose and lasted for a long time.
"You guys are laughing."
Su Rao then looked at Xu Xingmu and said, "In the future, if my benefactor comes to Rouge Tower when he is free, I will sing to you again."
"Easy to say, easy to say!"
Xu Xingmu smiled and said, "With this opera skill alone, Miss Su can still make a living even if she doesn't enter Rouge Tower."
Hearing this, Su Rao glanced at Xu Xingmu with great resentment, "If you don't enter Rouge Tower, where else can the slave family go? My dear, you don't want the slave family..."
The words were ambiguous enough, and Wang Zhihuan and others immediately cast meaningful glances. There were also chuckles in the crowd, especially the enthusiastic and unrestrained teasing of the brothel girls.
Xu Xingmu was suddenly embarrassed, as if he couldn't bear such teasing, so he could only look around, pretending to be stupid.
Su Rao found it interesting, and the gloom in her heart finally disappeared at this moment.
The next moment, several girls who were having fun in Rouge House walked out of the crowd and took Su Rao to one side to whisper.
Occasionally, he would point at Xu Xingmu, and occasionally laugh and scold him. It was obvious that someone's little secret had been revealed, triggering deeper gossip.
Most of the time, the girls' eyes would avoid their little sisters and secretly fall on Xu Xingmu at some point in time.
It can be seen that not only Su Rao, but also the girls present have an infinite fondness for this warm-hearted man from the Hanlin Academy, Mr. Xu.
Under the sun, other people saw this leisure and began to chat enthusiastically. Everyone seemed to have forgotten that this was the eerie Kunci Palace, a forbidden place of punishment, not the lively market in Tai'an City.
It wasn't until a groom with an honest face suddenly appeared in front of Kunci Palace that the noise in the venue suddenly stopped.
No one knows how this groom came to be.
Before this, people did not remember that there was a groom in the accompanying team.
He was holding a rein in his hand, wearing a pair of worn-out straw sandals under his feet. He was wearing a coarse linen garment, and a white square scarf on his head, covering his three-quarter bald head. In addition, he had an ordinary appearance, and his skin was glowing with redness. With his rough luster, no matter how you look at it, he is indeed just an ordinary groom.
But for such an ordinary groom, when he stands here, his whole person seems to have become the center of a whirlpool, and people will be involuntarily attracted to him.
Just like when he first appeared, he obviously didn't make any noise and didn't deliberately attract attention, but people could detect his presence immediately.
This is very unreasonable.
But if there are unreasonable factors that cannot be explained in an ordinary groom, then this groom will naturally not be ordinary.
Eunuch Jin was the first to notice something was wrong.
The chief manager of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who has practiced the Vajra Boy Kung Fu for many years, is a powerful martial arts expert. He just broke through the fourth level some time ago. Even among the experts in Daxia Imperial City, he can still be ranked among them.
But he couldn't see through the groom's true identity.
Within three feet in front of the other party, there seemed to be a thick layer of golden light. Of course, this kind of golden light could not be seen by ordinary people, and could only be perceived with spiritual consciousness.
That golden light blocked Eunuch Jin's spiritual exploration, and at a certain moment of breathing, he gave Eunuch Jin a modest warning, "If you don't retreat, I will fight back."
Eunuch Jin's expression changed, and he waved one hand instantly. The red official robe on his body automatically moved without wind, and a white light curtain immediately surrounded his body. This was the body-protecting shield of the Vajra Boy Skill.
The physique of a fourth-level martial artist, coupled with the absolute defense of the Vajra Boy Kung Fu, gave him the confidence to withstand the offensive of a third-level warrior.
But he had no confidence that he could stop this groom.
His intuition told him that the person in front of him already had at least second-level strength.
Second grade! That is already close to the ceiling of martial arts in Daxia Dynasty.
How could such an awesome person appear in Kunci Palace?
Eunuch Jin was a little confused. He calmly took a step forward. The diamond dharma shield extended slightly and protected the three veterans in the room.
At the same time, he ordered a young eunuch beside him, "Go and call Eunuch Cao over! Let him bring more people."
The little eunuch could not sense the profound meaning of the groom at all, and looked uninterested. However, hearing Eunuch Jin's tone, he seemed to be very nervous and did not dare to neglect, so he hurried towards the backyard of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The groom didn't take it seriously and allowed the young eunuch to report the news.
He ignored Eunuch Jin at all and only turned his attention to Xu Xingmu, "Mr. Xu, my master wants to see you."
The groom suddenly spoke, his deep tone without much emotion, like the whisper of an old farmer.
"Owner?"
Xu Xingmu frowned. He looked around, and then he discovered that somewhere near a side door in the palace, there was a Zhulunan sedan, galloped by two horses.
He asked, "Old sir, who is your master? What do you want from me?"
"The owner's identity is special, so I can't tell you."
The groom smiled, revealing a rotten tooth in his mouth, "Young Master Xu, don't worry, I just have some questions that I would like to ask for advice on, so I'll come back as soon as I go. If you are worried, you can ask this father-in-law to accompany you."
Hearing this, Eunuch Jin immediately took a step forward, his Vajra Boy Kung Fu burst out with energy, and he assumed a arrogant posture, "There is really nothing to worry about on our territory!"
After saying that, he immediately glanced behind him, "Cao Xianxian, why the hell aren't you here?"
At this time, the three sword intentions in Xu Xingmu's body suddenly sounded a warning, as if he sensed a potential threat.
Combined with Eunuch Jin's sudden stress reaction, Xu Xingmu immediately guessed that the seemingly honest groom in front of him should be the source of the threat.
He frowned and looked back. Hundreds of people were still staying here. Mr. Wang and the two ministers were also staying here. If the horseman made an attack, the consequences would be disastrous.
He took a deep breath and kept in communication with the sword intention in his body.
Then he said, "Eunuch Jin, it's getting late, why don't we let everyone disperse first? Kunci Palace is no better than other places, so it's not easy for people to stay for a long time. Several adults are also very old, and they have been traveling outside for so long. It’s time to go back and rest.”
Eunuch Jin agreed and immediately sent people to disperse the people first.
Su Rao and the girls from the brothel didn't know what was going on. When they saw the eunuch from the Ministry of Internal Affairs suddenly driving them away, they refused to comply and started acting coquettishly.
However, the targets of coquettishness are all young eunuchs. They have all their stuff and Wugen is quiet. Not to mention just being coquettish, even if they are naked and stand in front of them, they are indifferent.
"Go, go, go! Our family doesn't do this!"
The little eunuch got fed up and drove all the girls away with beatings and scoldings, causing a lot of chaos.
Wang Zhihuan and the two ministers were both good people, so they knew something was wrong when they saw Eunuch Jin's abnormal behavior.
They didn't talk nonsense and just cooperated obediently.
He quickly left here under the guard of several great guardians with extremely high force values.
Lin Qing originally wanted to stay, but was persuaded to leave by Xu Xingmu.
The sword intent left behind by the Sword Master is so lethal that once the sword is drawn out, there will be almost no grass growing in a radius of hundreds of feet, and all those left behind will be buried with him.
He wanted Eunuch Jin to leave as well, but although he was a eunuch, he was very stubborn at heart. He refused to leave and insisted on staying to protect Xu Xingmu.
I had no choice but to let him go.
Soon there were only three people left at the entrance of Kunci Palace, which was originally bustling.
Ma Fujing waited until everyone was dismissed and said with a smile, "Can we leave now?"
Xu Xingmu nodded and was about to follow the groom away to see who was sitting in the sedan, but suddenly an extremely cold roar came from the backyard of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, "Who are you? How dare you act wild in Kunci Palace! Eat this general One knife!"
