"No wonder Suibi arrived in Luoyang safely. After listening to Boss Song's few words, I felt that he was not an ordinary person."
Cai Mao said: "I will send someone to count tomorrow. If the number is correct, it will be shipped to Duzhi immediately. The coins will be put into the warehouse within three days. At that time, Boss Song can bring the deed signed with Mr. Cao. Go to the memorial hall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Household Affairs to collect the flying money note, and the transaction will be completed."
Song Che thanked him politely and saw the guest off.
The princess wanted to let Song Che stay, but Song Che considered that the master of the palace was not at home and he was a man, which would be inconvenient in terms of etiquette, so he politely refused.
The flying money will not be exchanged until three days later, so I would like to take advantage of this free time to make some preparations for what I have to do——
Cao Tian died because of his fortune, and died in Suzhou. The summer weather was hot and it was difficult to preserve the body. So Song Che took it upon himself to have Cao Tian's body cremated into ashes the day before the business trip. Song Che packed up all the jewelry and some relics purchased by his daughter.
When you die in a foreign country, you always have to return to your roots. Returning the ashes to the Cao family is also a sign of good deeds.
After some inquiring, Song Che found the Cao family's residence, but to his surprise, there was a seal on the door.
Have you moved?
But moving will not close the door.
The seal can only be affixed by the government office, and it is mostly used for searching homes.
Looking at the white silk hanging on the lintel and eaves, it was less than a month since Cao Tian was assassinated, so it is reasonable to say that it was still in the mourning period.
The more Song Che thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong, so he found the mansion next door, knocked on the door, and planned to ask what happened.
After a moment, the door of the mansion opened, and a servant in blue stuck his head out, looked at Song Che, and asked, "Who are you? Is something wrong?"
Song Che pointed in the direction of the Cao family and said, "I am a distant relative of this family. I just arrived in Luoyang City today. I wanted to come and visit, but I don't know why there is a seal on the door?"
"Are you a relative of theirs?" the servant advised, "Oh, then you'd better leave quickly! Your relative's house was ransacked three days ago! The crime is not a small one, so don't let yourself be implicated!"
Search your home?
Cao Tian died serving the court loyally, so he should be compensated, so how could his house be confiscated?
"Brother, do you know the reason why their house was confiscated?" Song Che asked again.
The servant shook his head: "Who knows...but there are rumors that they have offended the emperor!"
That was probably because he had offended the sycophants, and it was most likely related to the Sui coins.
Song Che couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt in his heart. It was a business that was obviously glamorous, but it had unknowingly killed so many good people.
"What about the Cao family members?"
"The Cao family is already depopulated. Usually only the father and daughter live here. Since the house was confiscated, the family property was naturally confiscated. As for the young lady of the Cao family, she was probably used as a prostitute. Alas..."
The servants were also excited and sighed.
Song Che couldn't help but touch the urn in his sleeve. If Cao Tian knew about the family tragedy, he might even refuse to close his eyes in hell.
The deceased was a big one, so no matter what, the ashes had to be returned to Cao Tian's daughter.
afternoon.
Song Che traveled almost all over Luoyang City, trying to find out the whereabouts of Cao Tian's daughter, but he was new to the country and was unfamiliar with the place. Even if he wanted to spend money to do things, he couldn't find a way.
Unknowingly, the sun is sinking to the west.
In desperation, Song Che could only come to the palace again. Looking at the entire capital, he only knew this family.
But when he arrived at the gate of the palace, he had no choice but to hesitate. If Cao Lin was really accused of being an official prostitute, she would be linked to the officialdom. Han Xiang is a noble princess, but she is facing a criminal family whose home was confiscated. Wouldn't it be too much trouble for them? Moreover, with Han Xiang's enthusiasm, he would definitely be embarrassed not to help after he has found her.
"well……"
After much thought, Song Che decided to give up. Just when he was about to turn around and leave, a voice stopped him from behind:
"Pawn, you've been hanging around the door for a long time. Did something happen to you?"
Lin Yue sat on the top of the royal palace gate archway, looking at Song Che with interest.
The top of the archway was at least seven or eight feet high. She was sitting leisurely among the rubble, looking very cool and domineering.
Song Che glanced at the female knight who was not taking the usual path, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he greeted her: "Warrior Lin, can you come down and talk about it? Song has a few things to ask me."
Lin Yue said, "I am a caretaker of the house, so naturally I can't leave the palace for even half a step. Why don't Mr. Song come up and talk to me?"
Isn’t this so difficult for me?
"In that case, let Song take his leave."
But before he could turn around again, Lin Yue flew down the archway in a single stride and arrived in front of Song Che in the blink of an eye. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, revealing a sinister smile.
"What do you want to do--"
"Let's go!"
Lin Yue grabbed Song Che's shoulders, turned around and jumped back to the top of the square.
"If you have any questions, ask them here." Lin Yue let go of Song Che and sat down on the rubble.
Song Che glanced at the height of seven or eight feet above the ground, which was at least as high as five or six stories. He was so panicked that he used his hands and feet at the same time and spent a lot of effort to make himself sit still.
"Those of you who are good at martial arts don't like to take the ordinary path?" He said with a wry smile.
Lin Yue looked straight into the distance and said softly: "The higher you climb, the more beautiful the scenery will be."
Song Che followed her gaze and saw that the setting sun had turned the clouds red, and dusk had drawn down the night. Luoyang City, immersed in the afterglow, was beautiful and vicissitudes of life.
Women who know how to appreciate beautiful scenery are probably not ruthless.
Song Che also sat down on the roof of the square and asked, "Nvxia Lin, do you know where to look for 'official prostitutes'?"
Lin Yue lowered her face, her longing for beauty was instantly diluted, and she said coldly: "Why do you ask this?"
Song Che said: "I have an old friend in Luoyang who unfortunately was turned into a prostitute. I want to find her and ransom her."
"Redemption?" Lin Yue seemed to have heard a joke, "Don't be too fanciful. Once a woman becomes a prostitute and becomes a lowly citizen, unless you have an extremely strong background, or the new emperor ascends the throne and grants amnesty to the world, she will Don’t even think about being a good person for the rest of your life.”
From this point of view, the person who framed the Cao family has such a vicious heart.
Song Che sighed: "You only need to tell me where to find her. As for whether I can redeem her life, it is my own business."
"Is she important to you?" Lin Yue tilted her head and asked.
Song Che smiled bitterly to himself. He had never even met Cao Lin, and he should have ignored the matter, but his conscience could not harden.
Seeing that Song Che remained silent, Lin Yue asked again, "How old was your friend when he was accused of being a prostitute?"
Cao Tian is in his forties, and his daughter should not be too old. Song Che said, "She is probably in her early twenties."
"Then she can only be sent to the Red Mansion." Lin Yue's tone was affirmative.
Song Che was confused: "I have only heard of 'brothel', but never 'red house'."
Lin Yue said: "The Red Mansion is also a brothel, but it is run by officials, but it is open to civilians. It is located in the deepest part of Goulan Courtyard in the west of the city. There are twelve Zhailou in the building, so it is also called the 'Twelve Red Mansions'. fast';
Once a woman is used as a prostitute, if she is younger than 16 years old, she will be taken to the Jiafang Division to train kabuki geisha;
If the person is older than 16 years old, it will be late for them to learn skills, and they will usually be sent to the Red Mansion to serve the guests as a waiter;
Your friend only became a prostitute in her twenties, and she is already a spent flower. If she is born with a good skin, she can still become a maid. If she is ordinary, she can sweep the floor and wash clothes, serve tea and water, and clean toilets. indefinite. "
In this way, there are advantages to being ugly, at least you don't have to serve men.
"I would like to ask one more question, will the official prostitutes who enter the Red Mansion, apart from accompanying them with drinks,...will they -"
"Will you sell yourself?" Lin Yue asked him what he asked, and answered him: "It's not allowed by law, and it's not allowed on the surface, but who knows secretly? The Red Mansion is originally a romantic place, how many flowers are there? How can a white lotus emerge from the mud without being stained and maintain its body like jade?"
"You... seem to be very understanding." Song Che looked at Lin Yue and easily caught the sadness hidden deep in her eyes.
Maybe she, like Ning Yehong, is a woman with a story.
"Have you finished asking?" Lin Yue stood up and asked.
Song Che stood up and said, "It's almost done. The sun has set on the horizon. Let's go down."
Lin Yue smiled brightly, jumped down from the archway with a slight jump.
"I haven't gotten in the car yet!" Song Che shouted.
Lin Yue walked backwards towards the palace, holding her head high and saying to Song Che, "Aren't you very smart? How can such a height stop you?"
Song Che looked around at the roof of the building. It was covered with glazed green tiles, and there was only a ridge that was no wider than a foot. If he lost his footing, he would definitely slip and fall to his death.
"Nvxia Lin, you're not joking, take me down quickly!"
"Who are you kidding me! You pawn, yesterday I kindly lent you my sword, but this morning you came to throw dirty water on me. Now the whole palace is watching my joke... Huh, just leave it alone. Count the stars up there!”
She really left without looking back.
"Little girl, sooner or later I will let you know how powerful I am!"
Song Che was in a dilemma, and he didn't dare to take risks. After thinking for a moment, he rolled his eyes and a clever plan came to his mind.
He took out a few taels of silver from his sleeve and sprinkled it towards the gate.
"Crash..."
When the broken silver fell to the ground, the doorkeeper saw it and rushed out to pick it up.
"Hey! Money is raining from the sky!"
"I spent the money on the next bird to make a nest!"
Song Che took another silver ingot, held it high and said to the servant: "If anyone can find me a binding rope, this silver ingot will belong to him. Keep your word!"
Having money can make all the difference, let alone looking for rope?
After a while, the servant came to the door with a rope.
"Sir, one end of the rope is too light and one bundle of rope is too heavy. We can't even throw it up!" the servant shouted.
Song Che suggested a trick: "Use your brain, tie a heavy object to one end of the rope, swing it...swing it up!"
The servant responded and found a stone to tie it with. After trying it two or three times, he threw it on the roof.
Song Che tied the rope tightly at the corner of the eaves, wrapped the rope body with his sleeves, and swung down from the roof of the square with ease.
"My lord, how unthinkable are you that you dare to come to Miss Lin to propose marriage? Not to mention that she is beautiful and can kill a cow with one punch!"
"Hey, you don't understand, sir, this is called 'It's cool to be a ghost under the peonies'!"
People who are generous with money are popular everywhere, and all the servants who have lost money will surround Song Che.
"Here, take it to buy some wine."
Song Che scattered a few small silver ingots to the servants, and then strode towards the west of the city.
Tonight, go to the Red Mansion and have a dream!
