Youshi. (The bell rings.)
Countless exquisite lanterns were lit early in Zuixiang Tower, known as the building that never sleeps in Chang'an City.
In the space of the three-story main structure.
The lobby on the first floor is already full of new and old patrons from all over Chang'an City.
On a raised circular platform in the center.
The faces of seven or eight dancers from the Western Regions were covered with a hazy white veil, revealing only a pair of deep eyes that were obviously different from those of the Central Plains people.
Wearing a strange gauze dress.
On that round platform, he displayed his tall figure unscrupulously.
From time to time, there will be waves of howling wolves.
suddenly.
The sound of musical instruments in the lobby on the first floor of Zuixiang Building gradually weakened.
The new and inexperienced patrons looked puzzled.
The long-time patrons put down the exquisite pastries in their hands and stared at the seven or eight Western Region dancers on the stage, as if they were afraid of missing any wonderful moments.
Even that lazy waist couldn't help but straighten up at this time.
suddenly.
There was music again in the lobby on the first floor of Zuixiang Building.
It's the sound of drums.
Incredibly intense drumming.
Different from the Central Plains drum, although the sound of this kind of drum is equally dense, it does not have the heaviness and murderous meaning of the Central Plains drum. Instead, it reveals a cheerful feeling everywhere.
As the drum beats became more intense.
The seven or eight Western Region dancers on the round stage suddenly tore off the white gauze covering their faces.
Revealing a face similar to that of Baisha.
Exquisitely matched on a very three-dimensional and white face.
It was truly like a beauty in the world, deeply touching the hearts of every benefactor present.
Seven or eight dancing girls from the Western Regions, after tearing off the gauze on their faces, took enchanting steps, accompanied by cheerful drumbeats.
He walked to the edge of the round platform and gently threw the white gauze in his hand towards the patrons below.
Throwing away the gauze, he turned around immediately, not caring about the appearance of the benefactor behind him crying and howling in order to snatch the gauze.
The long-time and weathered old patrons stared intently at the white back of the dancing girl from the Western Regions on the round stage.
Let the new patrons snatch the gauze with howling ghosts and wolves.
Compared with the next highlight, what is that gauze?
It's nothing.
suddenly.
The cheerful drumbeats became more intense.
The sound of the drums seemed to be mixed with several other musical instruments.
For a time, the atmosphere in the lobby on the first floor of Zuixiang Building became even more impatient.
On the round stage, seven or eight Western Region dancers suddenly turned around!
When they turned around, the gauze that originally covered their abdomens had disappeared.
Instead, there is a flat, white, tender and delicate lower abdomen.
Each of these Western Region dancers was carefully selected by the big food merchant, who spent a lot of energy and material resources to cultivate them according to the preferences of the Central Plains men.
While full of exotic charm, it also takes into account the preferences of men from the Central Plains.
How can it be described as a beauty in the world?
Seven or eight dancers from the Western Regions twisted their beautiful figures to the cheerful and impetuous music.
Different from the graceful dances of women from the Central Plains, the dances of these Western dancers are more or less filled with a kind of wild beauty.
However, this wild beauty also carries with it countless unknown Western customs.
It really makes countless new and old patrons under the circular platform want to stop.
After a while.
The dense drum beat turns soft.
The dancing postures of the seven or eight Western Region dancers on the round stage became graceful and graceful in response to the music.
It was as if in an instant, he lost all his bones and turned into boneless white snakes.
On that round platform, he showed his softness to the fullest.
What's more
, directly pulled off the silk shawl on the upper body, revealing the white and tender collarbone.
Under the collarbone, there is only a piece of fabric similar to a bellyband, wrapping the treasure that cannot be easily shown to others.
Almost instantly, both new and old patrons covered their noses.
What's more, while pointing at the Western Region dancer lying on the floor on the round platform and shouting that it was immoral and degrading to elegance, he opened his eyes wide, as if he was afraid of missing the beautiful scenery that flashed by inadvertently.
When the Western beast appeared vaguely, the atmosphere of Zuixiang Tower was rushed to the top in an instant, and it did not recede for a long time.
After a while.
The dancers from the Western Regions slowly stopped their boneless dance and retreated backstage.
For a time, countless new and old patrons became worried about gains and losses.
What's more, he got up directly and wanted to rush into the backstage of Zuixiang Tower and have that sweet kiss.
However, as soon as he stood up, he was stopped by the old patrons beside him.
Otherwise, in order to show the style of the Celestial Kingdom, the Zhou Dynasty always treated these Western Region merchants with great courtesy.
These merchants from the Western Regions not only enjoyed half the taxes and fees when doing business in the Celestial Kingdom.
It even strictly prohibited the people of the Zhou Dynasty from making trouble in the shops of merchants in the Western Regions without any reason.
Violators will naturally be severely punished.
The new benefactor who had been held down came to his senses and sighed feebly.
Then he said weakly: "I can only watch but not eat. What are you doing here? I've ruined my interest in vain."
The old patron smiled and explained: "You can eat whatever you want. As long as you have money, not to mention the dancers from the Western Regions just now, you can even kiss the new four major dancers and courtesans."
The new benefactor's eyes instantly glowed green and he hurriedly said: "Seriously?"
"Of course I take it seriously." The old patron smiled and said, "The prerequisite is that you have money."
The new benefactor suddenly became energetic and hurriedly took out a large number of banknotes from his arms and threw them on the table.
He said with great confidence: "Two hundred taels, is that enough?"
Unexpectedly.
The old benefactor shook his head and said, "You only have enough money to go to the second floor to find some ordinary dancers who look cool and unrestrained."
"Although those dancing girls from the Western Regions just now are the ones who failed to run for courtesan this time, if you want to have a romantic relationship with them, you will need at least two thousand taels of silver."
"Ah?" The new benefactor opened his mouth in shock and said in disbelief: "Two thousand taels of silver? Inlaid with gold!"
"Hahaha." The old benefactor laughed and said, "You don't care whether it is inlaid with gold or not. You can't see it anyway."
"Hey." The new benefactor said with a dissatisfied look on his face: "I can't see it, but I don't believe that someone would spend two thousand taels of silver just for a kiss!"
The old patron was not angry and pointed to the four most magnificent private rooms on the third floor.
He opened his mouth and said, "Have you seen those four private rooms? This time, the four major dancers and oirans are now catering to each other in those four private rooms."
"Do you know how much money the four courtesans need to welcome guests for the first time?"
When he saw his new benefactor looking towards the private room on the third floor, his eyes were filled with the same envy, jealousy and hatred as he had been a few years ago.
The old benefactor nodded with satisfaction, and then whispered: "At least twenty thousand taels!"
"What?!!!" The new benefactor screamed, then shook his head and denied himself: "Impossible, absolutely impossible."
"You spend twenty thousand taels for a brothel girl. No matter how dandy a family member is, it's impossible for him to be so wasteful."
The old benefactor said disdainfully: "It seems that you know nothing about the family. Twenty thousand taels is nothing. In the past few years, there was a big fight in the Zuixiang Building to compete for the Zhuoyue Courtesan family!"
"In the end, the Zhuoyue Courtesan was bought by Mr. Li for a sky-high price of one hundred thousand taels of silver."
"This has caused His Majesty to be very angry. If the general had not interceded with Concubine Li, it would not have been as simple as just dispatching the border troops."
"It was precisely because of this incident that Zuixianglou changed its rules and kept the deposit price in a dark place.
After knowing the master behind the scenes, no one knows who will bring the beauty home. "
The new benefactor was dumbfounded and speechless after what he said.
After a long time, he came back to his senses and murmured: "The eldest son Li you just mentioned is the eldest son Li Yu?"
The old benefactor glanced at the new benefactor and asked: "How many generals are there in the world today? How many concubines are there? How many young masters are there?"
"You kid, you are really boring." The old benefactor stood up slowly and shook his head and said, "That's all, I won't waste time with you, I also want to go to the second floor to defeat the fire."
After finishing his words, the old benefactor raised his head and glanced at the private room on the third floor, his eyes full of yearning.
Sighing slightly, he immediately walked towards the second floor.
...
...
Seven or eight Western Region dancers who failed to win the title of Oiran successfully aroused countless evil fires.
They escaped unscathed.
But the ordinary dancers on the second floor suffered.
Just when Zuixianglou was completely in a state of dissipation and dissipation.
Several riders suddenly appeared on the avenue outside Zuixiang Tower.
The horsemen were all wearing long robes unique to the Ministry of Justice, and they were constantly clearing the way for pedestrians while riding forward.
It doesn't take a while.
Dozens of riders appeared on the streets again.
The leader was dressed in black, and his body kept rising and falling with the tall horse beneath him.
Vaguely, the frequency of the man's ups and downs seemed to be consistent with the frequency of the tall horse running.
It's really a joy to watch.
That person was clearly Xu Yi.
It doesn't take a while.
Xu Yi slowly stopped his horse and waved his hand slightly. Seeing this, more than ten riders quickly ran towards both sides.
Its target is clearly the other doors of Zuixian Tower.
The rest of them all turned over and dismounted, following Xu Yi's pace.
Consciously lined up behind Xu Yi, waiting for Xu Yi's orders at any time.
"This...this lord...I don't know...I don't know..." Yigui Gong bent over and looked at Xu Yi and others with horror on his face.
He never paid attention to the turtle man.
Xu Yi strode towards Zuixiang Tower.
Xu Yi couldn't help but cover his nose as soon as he entered Zuixianglou.
Without him, the fragrance inside this Zuixiang Building is so fragrant.
The fragrant ones are a bit off-putting to the nose.
God knows how much spices this Zuixianglou consumes in a day.
"Calm down everyone." Xu Yi covered his nose and ordered slowly.
"Follow the order!" Huo Chenghu responded loudly.
Then he pulled out his waist knife with a bang and led more than ten government officials straight to the lobby on the first floor.
He yelled loudly: "Jingzhao Mansion is working with the Criminal Department to handle the case. Everyone should stay where they are and no movement is allowed! No sound is allowed! Otherwise, they will be treated as accessories!"
In an instant, the sound of musical instruments on the first floor of Zuixiang Tower stopped abruptly.
Countless pairs of eyes looked at Huo Chenghu who was holding a sharp knife on the high platform.
After seeing clearly the criminal gown that Huo Chenghu was wearing, some of the patrons were so frightened that they hid under the table.
Without him, these people more or less have official positions.
The Zhou Dynasty did not prohibit common people from escorting prostitutes, but it had almost strict requirements for officials to escort prostitutes.
Once caught, he will inevitably end up with a lower grade during the evaluation at the end of the year.
Huo Chenghu glanced at the people hiding under the table and said nothing.
Those people looked at least a few years old, so they definitely couldn't be Feng Youfang.
Since it's not the case, there's no need to do anything that offends people.
After Huo Chenghu took control of the lobby on the first floor of Zuixiang Building, he quickly put away his knife and walked towards Xu Yi.
This movement directly focused everyone's attention on Xu Yi.
Xu Yi forced down the discomfort on the tip of his nose and looked at a middle-aged man dressed as a turtle.
son.
He said in a deep voice: "Ask your boss to come see me quickly!"
Don't wait for Mr. Turtle to react.
A person suddenly walked down from the third floor of Zuixian Building.
The man had a white scarf on his head and was wearing a large white robe.
Half of his face was covered by a beard, leaving only a pair of deep eyes and an aquiline nose.
The man walked down the stairs quickly and had not yet reached the first floor.
Then a piece of Zhou Mandarin with an unusually awkward accent came out of his mouth: "May I ask this sir, why do you want to stop us from making a normal living?"
There was a sense of arrogance in his words that he didn't know where he was accustomed to.
Xu Yi frowned and asked in a deep voice, "Are you the owner of this place?"
"No, no, no." The big food merchant waved his hands repeatedly: "I am from this place, the showcase."
"I haven't asked you yet! Why bother us doing business?"
Xu Yi frowned and said in a deep voice, "Let your boss come out to see me."
"Why?!" The food merchant said angrily, "You haven't answered my question yet!"
"Why are you bothering us. Doing business."
Seeing that the food merchant became more and more angry as he spoke.
The beard was already stained with a lot of spit.
God knows who gave him the courage.
Xu Yi pulled out the Yuan Zhan knife from his waist without saying a word.
Quickly raising his right hand, the Zhanyuan knife was directly pressed against the beard's throat.
"You are not qualified to question me yet." Xu Yi said coldly: "Let me ask you one last time, where is your boss?"
The moment the tip of the knife was pressed against his throat, Beard stood there motionless as if someone had cast a body-holding spell.
"good!"
There was a shout of applause coming from somewhere, and then, the entire hall on the first floor of Zuixiang Building was filled with applause.
The merchants in the Western Regions relied on the imperial court's preferential treatment and had been arrogant for a long time. When doing business, they demanded exorbitant prices.
Big forces like Zuixianglou look better. If you have money, you can play. If you don't have money, get out.
The behavior of some small businessmen is simply not too ugly, and forced buying and selling often occur.
In short, you can't ask for the price. If you ask for the price, you must buy it. If you don't have money, go to raise it. If you can't raise it, go for a loan.
They only want money, not your life or death.
The reason why Zuixianglou's business is so booming is that on the one hand, the quality of the dancers here is top-notch, and on the other hand, it all relies on the support of their peers.
But, in the final analysis, Fanshang is Fanshang.
Now, finally, some people are no longer used to them, and the new and old patrons who have been affected by Shangqi are naturally in a state of excitement.
Xu Yi ignored the cheers all over the sky and looked coldly at the shopkeeper Fanshang in front of him, as if if he dared not agree, the next moment he would let him know why the flowers are so red.
Xu Yi didn't want to shout and kill at every turn, but he had no choice. It was too difficult to search for someone in the huge Zuixiang Tower with just the people at hand.
What's more, time waits for no one.
If you want to find Feng Youfang quickly and accurately, you must use extraordinary means.
"Huh?" Seeing that Fan Shang was still sluggish, Xu Yi couldn't help but snorted, and pushed forward slightly with his palm, causing Fan Shang to scream in pain instantly.
There was already a trace of blood oozing from the throat.
"I don't know." Fanshang replied with difficulty, showing pain on his face.
Xu Yi looked solemn, and just as he was about to continue questioning, someone walked out from the backstage of Zuixian Tower.
"I wonder what your lord is doing here?"
He has the same facial features and the same dress as the Fan Shang in front of Xu Yi, but he can speak fluent Zhou Mandarin without any strange accent.
Xu Yi slowly put away the knife and confirmed: "Are you the boss of this place?"
"Exactly." The man raised his hands in a Central Plains salute, and then continued: "Shi Ke, the great food merchant, has met your lord."
Fanshangs like Shi Kezhan, who have lived in Dazhou for many years, usually give
Give yourself a Chinese name to express your respect for the heavenly kingdom.
Xu Yi was not surprised by this.
His face remained the same as before and he said, "I am here to capture a key criminal, and I hope the Shi Dong family will cooperate."
Shi Kezhan smiled heartily and said, "Sir, you are just joking. I have to clean up the dirt in this Zuixiang Building. It's too late for me to be grateful. How can I not cooperate?"
"I wonder what the name of the criminal you want to capture is, or if there is a portrait? I will mobilize all the servants to go find it for you."
Xu Yi stepped forward and said in a low voice: "Feng Youfang of the Qingzhou Feng family."
Shi Kezhan paused for a moment after hearing this, and then said: "It turns out that the key criminal that you want to arrest is Mr. Feng Youfang of the Feng family in Qingzhou. I do know this person. Mr. Feng did come to this drunken fragrance quite often some time ago. Please visit me upstairs."
"But I actually didn't see Mr. Feng coming today. Maybe I didn't pay attention."
"My lord, please stay for a moment. I will send someone to ask others in the building."
The words are over.
Shi Kezhan bowed his hands again and then walked towards the shopkeeper whose throat had been stabbed by Xu Yi.
Daesao ordered something quickly in Da Shi language.
Shi Kezhan was smart but was misled by his cleverness. Although Xu Yi couldn't understand the big talk between the two of them, Xu Yi knew how to look.
From the shopkeeper's eyes, Xu Yi could already see a lot of fishy things.
What's more, in addition to this, Shi Kezhan's eyes and words also revealed a lot of information.
Obviously Feng Youfang could make it clear with a simple statement, but Shi Kezhan wanted to be smart and wanted to reveal all of Feng Youfang's family background.
Are you really stupid, or do you mean to send a message to others?
Ha, in the final analysis, Fanshang is Fanshang. No matter how long he lives in the Zhou Dynasty, he will never be able to learn the art of speaking from the Zhou Dynasty.
Painting a tiger cannot be compared to a dog. In terms of the art of speaking, the people of the Zhou Dynasty can unceremoniously be the ancestors of Shang.
After a while, Shi Kezhan turned back and said with a smile: "I have already ordered my men to go and investigate. Your Excellency, you are just waiting. Why don't you and I sit down and have a drink together?"
Xu Yi smiled and did not refuse, but before walking off the round platform, he quietly winked at Zhao Shou and Huo Chenghu.
Although I don't understand why Shi Kezhan wanted to obey the plan, it does not prevent Xu Yi from following his plan.
After taking his seat, Shi Kezhan ordered someone to bring a jar of fine wine, use a crystal cup as a container, and pour it slowly.
"Come, come, sir, please have a taste of this fine grape wine." Shi Kezhan handed a glass of grape wine to Xu Yi and said politely.
Xu Yi picked up the crystal cup and shook it skillfully.
The operation showed nobility and elegance, leaving Shi Kezhan and all the onlookers dumbfounded.
"It seems that your Excellency is also a person who knows wine. This technique alone makes me marvel." Shi Kezhan sighed sincerely as he looked at Xu Yi who showed nobility and elegance.
Xu Yi smiled calmly and ignored it.
Maybe in the eyes of others, Xu Yi is pretending to be sophisticated.
But in fact, Xu Yi was just stalling for time.
After a while.
Shi Kezhan said doubtfully: "Sir, this wine has been awakened and is ready to be tasted."
Xu Yi smiled and said, "No hurry, just wait."
"Wait? What are you waiting for?" Shi Kezhan suddenly had a bad feeling. ..
At this time, Zhao Shou and Huo Chenghu came to Xu Yi in no particular order.
After the two reported in low voices for a while.
Xu Yi smiled, stood up suddenly, and threw the crystal cup in his hand towards Shi Kezhan's face.
He yelled loudly: "Shi Kezhan! How brave you are! How dare you go against the rules and secretly inform!"
"Come here! Capture him!" Ignoring Shi Kezhan's stunned expression, Xu Yi directly ordered to capture him!
After hearing the order, the two officials from the Ministry of Justice directly pressed Shi Kezhan onto the table and quickly tied his hands without saying a word.
"My lord, what are you doing! I'm not doing anything against you! My lord, this is... Your lord, this is a crime you want to impose! Why bother!"
Shi Kezhan roared loudly with a ferocious face.
"Why bother to accuse me? Hehe." Xu Yi sneered: "I will make sure you die in a while!"
"Come here! Stop his mouth!" Xu Yi gave the order, and the officer behind him quickly obeyed.
After a while, Shi Kezhan could only hesitate and hesitate, his face flushed red.
Xu Yi pulled out the Zhanyuan Sword with a bang and said loudly: "Please don't move around, otherwise don't blame me for having no eyes in my sword!"
The words are over.
No matter how people react.
After leaving ten people to guard the lobby on the first floor, Xu Yi led the rest to quickly walk to the third floor.
Different from the private rooms on the second floor, every private room on the third floor is made of the best wood.
And it is not difficult to see from the appearance that the materials used are thick and thick, which is obviously due to sound insulation considerations.
Among them, the four elegant rooms are particularly conspicuous. As far as the eye can see, the wood used is extremely expensive nan.
You can smell the elegant fragrance without getting too close.
At this time, at the front door of one of the Xiangnan Ya Rooms, a man wearing a white scarf and a wide white robe was lying.
That man was clearly the shopkeeper of Zuixianglou.
Naturally, Zhao Shou knocked out the shopkeeper.
Without him, after leaving the high platform, this person seemed to be wandering around, busy informing others.
In fact, this person's goal has been very clear from the beginning. When talking to others, his eyes will look at this private room on the third floor from time to time.
After that, he took advantage of Shi Kezhan's efforts to hold Xu Yi back and sneaked into the private room. If Zhao Shou didn't hit him, who would he hit?
Xu Yi didn't even look at the food shop owner, and ordered in a deep voice: "Break down the door."
