"Sir, you have been laughing to yourself since you entered the house just now. What is so interesting?" Rui Ji asked curiously while adding rice to Murong Xue's bowl.
Murong Xue took over the job with a smile: "I finally figured out one thing. During the court meeting today, Old Thief Xie and Lao Jianhua had a conspiracy. They originally intended to mess up the whole situation and mess up the affairs of the Long Sword Legion. The goal is to fool His Highness the Crown Prince so that they can get away with it. But who would have expected that our Highness is wise and powerful and has completely grasped the initiative. Instead, Xie Guang is mute and eats Coptis chinensis, and cannot tell the story of his suffering, hahaha."
Ruiji put vegetables in Murong Xue's bowl and asked inexplicably: "What are you talking about, Master? I don't understand at all."
Murong Xue was in a good mood, so she patiently told Rui Ji what happened at the court meeting just now, and then added her own judgment and comments, making Rui Ji giggle: "Young Master, you officials It’s really interesting. National affairs are so important, but why are they just like the Yihong Courtyard where I was originally, where the sisters are noisy and full of tricks? "
Murong Xue was slightly stunned when she heard this, and then she laughed dumbly: "Don't tell me, the two are actually not very different. Whether it is the royal court or the land of fireworks, as long as the positions are different, you will inevitably fight for it. Intrigue and intrigue. The only difference is, I’m afraid, that court fighting can cost people’s lives.”
"No, no, no, sometimes people get killed over there too." Rui Ji shook her head and sighed: "Fights between women may be more vicious."
When Murong Xue heard what Rui Ji said, she couldn't help but become curious, and quickly asked her why she said this. Ruiji hesitated for a moment and then told Murong Xue about her past.
When Rui Ji was eight years old, her father was involved in an official struggle and her home was ransacked for no reason. She and her sister were taken in by the official brothel and were soon resold to Yihongyuan, a famous fireworks brothel in the imperial capital.
The madam of Yihongyuan saw that they were still young and had excellent appearance and qualifications, so as usual, they were not allowed to serve the guests for the time being. Instead, they were assigned to Hua Niang, one of the top prostitutes in the yard, to be responsible for raising them. Training two girls.
Hua Niang was kind-hearted and named the two little girls "Rui Ji" and "Lian Ji". She took good care of them and treated them as her own. Sister Ruiji gradually regarded Hua Niang as her other mother, and temporarily enjoyed a rare warmth in the dangerous world.
In this land of fireworks and willow alleys, jealousy often happens. Especially among the top names, it is inevitable that they will fight for the favor of some big benefactors and benefactors. Flower girls are the most popular among the princes and nobles because of their outstanding beauty and ability to sing and dance, so they can easily arouse the jealousy and hatred of others.
Once, a minister in the court was praised by the emperor, so he brought his friends to Yihongyuan for a banquet to celebrate. Because of the noble status of the other party, several famous oirans from Yihongyuan showed up to accompany him. While the wine was in full swing, one of the girls took advantage of the banquet host's unpreparedness and secretly stole a jade pendant from his waist and hid it secretly.
On the second day of the banquet, the minister returned home and suddenly found that his jade pendant was missing. He was shocked. It turns out that the jade pendant is not an ordinary thing, but a gift from the emperor. Losing it easily can be regarded as a crime of deceiving the emperor. The minister thought about it and concluded that he might have ended up in Yihongyuan after being drunk, so he immediately took his guards to Yihongyuan to search.
Yihongyuan couldn't afford to offend such a big shot, so she couldn't help but become nervous. She quickly accompanied her and rummaged through the rooms, and finally found the jade pendant under the pillow in Hua Niang's boudoir.
According to the rules, such matters should be reported to the officials and the whole matter should be investigated to the bottom of the matter. However, the minister was worried that he would be punished by the court if he leaked the news, so he did not dare to alert the Jingzhao Yin Mansion, but ordered the brothel owner to deal with the flower girl on his own.
In order to vent his anger on the distinguished guest and to exonerate himself, the boss ignored Hua Niang's pleas and pleas, and immediately ordered the slaves to hit Hua Niang hard and beat Hua Niang severely.
However, no one expected that after several rounds of beating down the board, the frail flower girl was tortured to death and killed on the spot!
"What happened next?" Murong Xue was a little fascinated by what she heard. She didn't even bother to eat the food in her hands, and asked quickly: "Were you sisters also implicated in this?"
There were tears in Ruiji's eyes, and she said softly: "As for the involvement, the people in Yihongyuan didn't make things difficult for us two little girls. But if we say there is no involvement, our sisters are no longer in this world. Relatives, Hua Niang is just like our biological mother. Watching her being beaten to death on the spot, the feeling in our hearts..."
Before she finished speaking, Ruiji couldn't help but sob softly.
Murong Xue put down the bowl and chopsticks and sighed: "Oh, there are always many injustices in this world, and the only thing to blame is God's blindness!"
Ruiji gently wiped the corners of her eyes with her sleeves and said softly: "Master, I don't dare to blame God, I can only blame myself for my bad life. After Hua Niang left, there was no one to take care of us sisters, so the Madam They force us to accept customers, otherwise they will beat us, scold us, and even deny us food.”
Murong Xue was slightly startled: "How old were you at that time?"
"I have just turned twelve, and my sister is not yet ten."
Bang! Murong Xue punched the case and cursed angrily: "Damn it, these heartless bastards! When I return to the imperial capital, I must lead the imperial army to level the Yihong Courtyard!"
Rui Ji was startled by him and quickly held back her tears. She said softly: "Master, please don't be angry. It's all my fault. I shouldn't tell you these bad past events. It's also because these days happened to happen." As the anniversary of Hua Niang's death approaches, I feel so depressed that I can't help but bring up the past. I hope you will forgive me."
After saying that, Rui Ji bowed down to Murong Xu Yingying.
Seeing this, Murong Xue quickly helped Rui Ji up with both hands and said softly: "I don't blame you, I don't blame you. I just... just feel sorry for the pitiful experience of you two sisters. You were just children at that time, and you were so humiliated. "
"Young Master, there is no need to worry about this." Rui Ji followed Murong Xue's support, gently holding Murong Xue's warm and strong palm with her slender hand, and said softly: "Actually, our sisters did not suffer for long. Hua Niang originally There was a good friend, the father-in-law, who was also an official in the DPRK. During that period, he happened to be away on business and was not in the imperial capital, and the theft of the jade pendant happened very suddenly, so there was no time to rescue him. Otherwise, as long as he was there, Hua Niang will definitely not die unjustly in vain. Later, when the husband returned to Beijing and heard about the incident, he did not know what means he used. The boss and the madam of Yihongyuan never dared to make things difficult for our sisters again. He just asked us to become geishas, so we didn't have to wait for the guests. And the master would often come to visit us, as if he wanted to do his best for the bride, and took care of my two sisters, until the concubine was noticed by the waiter. Incorporate it into the government."
Murong Xue nodded slightly when he heard this and asked: "Then he didn't avenge Hua Niang? The person who was behind the scenes should be found out."
Ruiji was still half-leaning on Murong Xue's arm, nodded lightly, and then shook her head: "That was originally a lawsuit with no end in the willow alley, and it is unclear what is right and wrong. And prostitutes -The female servants are all private property of the brothel. If they want to be beaten to death, they will be beaten to death. Who can say anything? How can there be any redress for injustice? However, not long after the incident, the woman who framed Hua Niang suddenly hanged herself She died in an unknown manner... Sigh, maybe God is punishing her."
When Murong Xue heard her helpless words, she couldn't help but feel pity in her heart, and then asked: "Where is your sister? Is Lian Ji still in the imperial capital now?"
When she mentioned her sister, Ruiji's eyes turned red again: "After I became Liu Shilang's concubine, my sister was soon ransomed and followed a big business boss to Jiangnan. Since then, our sisters have Contact is completely cut off. I have no ability to look for my sister. The only thing I can do is to pray to God every day and hope that my sister will live a safe and happy life."
Murong Xue was cold on the outside and hot on the inside. She hated to see a weak woman suffer so much in her life, so she couldn't help but ask: "Why didn't you tell me these things before? Wouldn't it be better for me to help you find your sister?"
Ruiji smiled apologetically: "I don't want to cause trouble to the young master. What's more, there is a huge sea of people. My sister and I have not heard from each other for so long, where should I start to find her? Is it possible that the Yamen will issue a missing person document?"
"You don't need to worry about it." Murong Xue smiled and comforted: "I will write to the Imperial Capital tomorrow and ask the brothers from the Forbidden Army or the Qilin Army to visit Yihongyuan to find out who took you away in the first place. Sister. To redeem your body in a brothel, the delivery procedure must have a red ticket issued by the government. Otherwise, even if you redeem your body, you cannot change your naturalization, so it should be easy to ask clearly. As soon as I have the news, I will ask you sisters to re-register. Reunion and no longer suffer the pain of separation.”
Hearing this, Rui Ji stopped crying, with tears still hanging on her face, she hugged Murong Xue's neck and breathed against his face: "Young Master must not do this. I know your body. With such a heavy responsibility, how can you bother to worry about a brothel girl like me at this moment? If the news spreads to others, it will insult the official reputation of the young master, and then the concubine deserves to die. My sister has her own destiny. I have nothing to ask for, I just hope that the young master can... take pity on me."
Murong Xue's arms were filled with warmth and jade, and her nose was filled with the faint fragrance of the girl. Seeing the other party's affectionate eyes and listening to the tender and considerate words, he suddenly couldn't help himself. He couldn't help but lean towards Rui Ji's delicate lips and kissed her gently.
