"What are you thinking about?" Jiang Wenbing had already paced back and forth in the hall several times, his tone a little angry. "You said that you would sacrifice Jiang Chen's life in exchange for He Nan's surrender, so I reluctantly agreed... But now Jiang Chen is dead, and He Nan is gone!"
"This crazy dog raised by Li Mastiffchun!" Jiang Wenbing cursed.
Sitting in the center of the lobby, Qi Dan crossed his legs, resting his chin on one hand with a lazy look on his face. "You mean to blame me?" Qi Dan's usual expression was like this, with "no problem" written all over his face. Although Jiang Wenbing knew his good friend very well, he couldn't help but feel a little sullen in his heart at this time.
Jiang Wenbing turned his head, looked at Qi Dan, and replied: "Don't you think... you were tricked by He Nan?"
The lazy fifth prince picked up the tea cup on the table, blew a few breaths, and took a slow sip before saying: "From this matter... I admit that I made a miscalculation. I originally thought that he He is the kind of person who would do whatever it takes to climb up the ladder and would take the initiative to deal with Li Zhanchun and me... But I didn't expect that he would be so ruthless and give up the glory and wealth that was at his fingertips..."
"What on earth does he want to do?! I heard people say that he has the nickname He Madman... Is he really a madman? Whether it is you or Li Zhanchun, you can give him countless glory and wealth. If he is smart enough If so, he could even find a gap between the two mountains, but he simply killed Jiang Chen, played a trick on you, and then disappeared without a trace?" Jiang Wenbing is now beyond the reach of Monk Zhang Er. In terms of brains, he is good at marching and fighting, but he is worse at conspiracy and conspiracy, but He Nan is always outside the scope of his thinking - this little Fu Cheng seems to want nothing, just to cause trouble.
Qi Dan smiled at Jiang Wenbing, and that smile made Jiang Wenbing's whole body stand on end. Jiang Wenbing had almost never seen Qi Dan smile like this. When was the last time he smiled like this?
Jiang Wenbing remembered it - a figure with blood all over his body and a sword and halberd on his back flashed in his mind. Cold sweat flowed down his forehead, neck, and back. Is it possible that in Qi Dan's mind, He Nan is similar to that person?
"You are wrong. It's not that He Nan has no purpose, but that his purpose is too strong. I still underestimated him before. He is the kind of person who will not be willing to be a pawn for others... Whether it is me or Li Zhanchun, Anyone he chooses can only be a pawn, and no matter how famous he is, he can only be a pawn. So he didn't choose anyone, he chose himself." After laughing, Qi Dan explained Jiang Wenbing's doubts.
Perhaps he was not only trying to clear up Jiang Wenbing's doubts, but also admonishing himself.
His friend was still thinking hard in the hall, but Qi Dan had already finished the tea and stood up and said: "I'm going out to find some people to discuss some things now. You can prepare some gifts for me and send them to the House of the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue. You can talk to him again in the evening Let me go together to visit Lord Shangshu of the Ministry of Finance."
Looking at Jiang Wenbing's somewhat complicated eyes, Qi Dan added: "Aren't you worried about He Nan's whereabouts? We will find out soon."
Qi Dan left the Hussar General's Mansion and headed straight for the Goulan House and Yanliu Lane in Nanshi.
There is a famous brothel in the White Jade Capital called "Acacia Pavilion". The girls in Xiangsi Pavilion are all as beautiful as flowers. They are good at playing, playing, playing and singing. And the rules here are also quite interesting. If you want to be a guest of Xiangsi Pavilion, you must pass at least one of the four tests of "wealth, appearance, civility and martial arts". Wealth, of course, refers to financial resources. If you don't have money, why would you go to a brothel? You'd better stay where you can to cool off. Appearance, of course, refers to appearance and bearing. The more good-looking a person is, the more likeable he or she is. Wen refers to the literary talent of being able to recite poems and write poems, and Wu is naturally referring to martial arts. As for whether the girls are prostitutes or prostitutes - it all depends on their own wishes. If the guests who come here refuse to accept and cause trouble - the owner of Xiangsi Pavilion is certainly not a vegetarian.
The legendary owner of Xiangsi Pavilion is nicknamed "Xiangsi Empress". It is said that this lovesick empress is over forty, but she looks as young and beautiful as a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl. There are rumors that she was originally the daughter of a wealthy businessman. She fell in love with a scholar more than 20 years ago. However, after the scholar went to Beijing and achieved fame, there was no news and never came back. People in her hometown said that that scholar The scholar abandoned her, so she left her hometown and came to Bai Yujing to build this Acacia Pavilion, looking forward to your return day and night. Some people say that she is looking for her husband, some say that she built a brothel to avenge her lover, some say that she is just a maiko who has fallen into prostitution, some say that this little girl is not the woman in the story at all, but the scholar and her The child... There are different opinions. Only the Empress Xiangsi herself knows the truth, and the Empress Xiangsi rarely mentions this matter to others.
Although Xiangsi Empress is the owner of Xiangsi Pavilion, she rarely appears in front of everyone. Most of the time, her stewards come forward to deal with problems. However, these stewards are a little green among thousands of flowers - among them there is a man in his forties. , this man is known as the "Second Master Ghost", and he can be said to be a subordinate existence in Xiangsi Pavilion. He usually resolves troubles caused by guests.
The purpose of Qi Dan coming here today is this second master ghost.
Qi Dangui is the fifth prince and has a body of ten thousand gold. How can he reveal his identity at will? He likes to wear white clothes and likes the color white, and his commonly used pseudonym outside the country is "Bai Wugeng". It was mid-afternoon, and many girls were taking a nap. However, as soon as the stewards and girls of Xiangsi Pavilion heard that Mr. Bai was coming, they quickly ran downstairs to watch, as if they had seen something strange.
Why can "Mr. Bai" cause such a big shock in Xiangsi Pavilion? Of course it's because he was an extraordinary man and did extraordinary things. First of all, Mr. Bai has excellent financial resources, appearance, and literary talents. He has passed three tests in a row and is still in the top three in terms of wealth, appearance, and literature. Secondly, Mr. Bai is as gentle as jade, charming and talented, which makes many girls fall in love with him and truly admire him. Thirdly, he also left behind a good story about "a drunken young prince", just like the legendary unparalleled young master and the immortal who rides on the clouds.
All in all, Mr. Bai is simply the biggest benefactor and celebrity of the entire Xiangsi Pavilion. He is loved by everyone here. When the girls see Mr. Bai, they want to throw themselves into his arms.
When Mr. Bai arrives, he is of course greeted by Mr. Gui personally. This Second Ghost Master was born thin and withered, with green face and eyes, which fit the nickname of "Second Ghost Master". Mr. Bai ignored the secret glances from the Yingying Yanyans, but cupped his hands towards the Second Master Gui and said: "Second Master Gui, please tell me." After hearing this, the Second Master Gui changed his expression slightly, and said The girls and the stewards drove away and led Mr. Bai up to the top attic of Xiangsi Pavilion.
The two of them entered the pavilion. Second Master Gui carefully closed the door, turned around and bowed respectfully to Qi Dan several times, kowtowed a few more times, and said humbly: "I kowtow to His Highness the Fifth Prince."
Qi Dan waved his hand to him, indicating that he didn't need to go through all the red tape, "Get up."
This ghost second master is the one who set up an spy to follow He Nan a few days ago. His true identity is Chi Zebao, one of the four general managers of the Tianbian Guards' "Tiger, Leopard and Bear".
Many people only know that Chi Zebao is lustful and hangs out in the alleys of fireworks every day, but they don't know that he doesn't like women at all. In this place of fireworks and alleys, he pretends to be the second master of ghosts, which is all he uses to hide himself. It's just a means of identity.
The land of fireworks is the easiest place to cause trouble and rumors. This is why Chi Zebao chose to become the butler Gui Erye in Xiangsi Pavilion, one of the most famous brothels in the capital. In this world, everyone knows that Gui Erye and Chi Zebao are the same person, but they only know it with two hands.
Qi Dan sat on the main seat, looked at Chi Zebao who was standing aside timidly, and asked: "I asked you to keep an eye on He Nan a few days ago, how was it? As far as I know, he didn't show up for several days. It’s over.”
As soon as he heard this, Chi Zebao knew that His Highness the Fifth Prince was here to ask him to accuse him. There were some beads of sweat on his forehead, and he said awkwardly: "Those I sent out to keep an eye on... I also have I haven’t been contacted for several days.”
Qi Dan narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Chi Zebao's face, "Where are the people? Don't tell me that you don't even know whether these people are dead or alive."
Chi Zebao was over forty years old, but he was frightened in front of this young man who was only half his age. He felt that the eyes of the fifth prince were like two mountains, pressing down on him with thunderous force.
"Humph..." Qi Dan stood up and walked to the window with his back to Chi Zebao. "Fortunately, I'm not the only one using you... You should pay more attention to my words in the future and use less charlatans, Mr. Chi."
Chi Zebao knew that he was not doing things well and did not dare to refute. He could only lower his head in fear.
"My people said that He Nan had left the city within the past two days... Where do you think he will go?" Qi Dan asked.
Chi Zebao immediately understood that the fifth prince was giving him a chance to make up for his past mistakes, and quickly replied: "As far as I know, He Nan's accent and behavior are the habits of northerners, and Li Zhanchun also has some confidants stationed at the northern border... …The biggest possibility for this congratulation is that he went north.”
"It's true that He Nan is from the north. I've heard people mention this -" Qi Dan nodded, "But can we judge from this point alone that he is exiled to the north?"
Chi Zebao replied confidently: "I will remember the teachings of the fifth prince and personally lead the elite Tianbian Guards to encircle in three directions: east, west and north, and then send a group of people south to inquire about He Nan's whereabouts - I will not kill He Nan. , then behead someone’s head.”
"Yes. Then I will give you a chance to atone for your sins...but it is best to bring him back alive."
After Qi Dan finished speaking, he suddenly seemed to remember something. He twisted a piece of white paper, picked up the pen and wrote something on it, and then handed it to Chi Zebao. "He may be surrounded by experts sent by Li Mastiff Chun to protect him secretly. If you cannot win by force, tell He Nan what is written on this piece of paper - after hearing this, he will obediently throw himself into the trap."
Chi Zebao slandered: Who can have such martial arts that he cannot win? But he didn't dare to refute this. His eyes quickly scanned what was written on the paper, and he looked at Qi Dan with a somewhat shocked look. However, he still smiled at Qi Dan flatteringly, cupped his hands and said: "I congratulate His Highness the Fifth Prince..."
"But I still hope that you can capture him alive on your own, because I want to tell him these things in person." Qi Dan interrupted Chi Zebao. He stood by the window, overlooking all the things in the capital, with a controlling smile on his face, "I'm looking forward to his expression after hearing what I said."
