In Bianliang City in late October, the weather is cold and cold, and the city air is filled with excitement and excitement. Most of this tension comes from the weather, although the winter in Bianliang City is not difficult compared to other small places.
, but most people are still too lazy to go out in winter, and it is already the time to stock up on winter supplies.
Fireworks industries such as Alum Tower and Xiaozhufang are still popular. It snows in winter, so at most you have to go out less. The famous brothel in Bianliang will still burn strong charcoal fires every day, making people feel the cold.
It feels like home in the sky. When it snows, some wealthy patrons will even stay in brothels and never go out. In this way, until the next spring, the money on their bodies will naturally be spent like water.
Li Shishi is taking advantage of the day before the snow to make friends. For this well-known courtesan in the capital, she will reduce the time she spends with guests in winter. If she wants to meet, she will usually be familiar with them.
friends.
In a warm room in winter, the atmosphere will become too ambiguous. Some people can't control it and really want to do something or say something. Although she has ways to deal with it, it is more troublesome than usual to deal with it, so even if
When she meets people, she usually meets with a group of people. Secondly, she has a lazy nature, so she doesn’t want to go out in winter, and sometimes she doesn’t even bother to get out of bed. In winter, if there is a gathering of powerful people that cannot be avoided, she should take more rest.
good.
In recent times, what really bothered her was that someone would tell her plainly that she was about to pass her prime. For a courtesan, the real love life is between the ages of ten and twenty. After that, some people
Eyes, it is inevitable to become a woman. She is already twenty-one years old at this time. From becoming an oiran to reaching the peak now, it has always been smooth and stable. Although she has also experienced many things, but next, the peak
Will pass.
Although for many people who already know her, her charm is still improving with the passage of time. Anyone who has met her will inevitably be attracted to her, but once she reaches the age of twenty-one or twenty-two, she
At this age, the possibility of attracting new customers to spend a lot of money will continue to decrease. In a sense, she has to consider quitting and getting married.
It was a difficult decision for her to make, but she had to think about it. Of course, there were many people willing to marry her, and she could choose to be a concubine in many wealthy families, or a high-ranking official or a powerful official.
Something like that is also possible. Not everyone can decide whether to marry the number one oiran in the capital, and her background must not be low. If she is a close friend like Yu He or Chen Sifeng, even if she likes her and is willing to marry, she will not be able to marry him.
Yes, that would simply harm them.
People with insufficient background cannot keep a woman like her, and her life will often be bumpy after that, and she will have to suffer along with it. Of course, in addition to marrying those wealthy people with extremely high status, she can also choose to be someone's official wife if she is willing to do so.
There are some people with good status, but they must have to marry out of the capital without a word and go somewhere far away.
During the recent period, she had secretly screened several potential candidates for marriage, including those with high status, good character, good conversational skills, good looks...etc., etc., but in the end she still couldn't make a decision.
idea.
Over the past few years, she has received a lot of preferential treatment from Fanlou because of her status as an oiran. For about one or two months every year, she can freely visit other places and visit various famous people - Mother Li also understands that this can cultivate her
Unique - she has seen many things because of this. After gaining knowledge, she vaguely felt that there are still many things that can be done, just like what happened with Tong Shuer. With the help of her and other female scholars, the last one
The official of the Ministry of Personnel was found guilty, resigned from his official position, and traveled three thousand miles, which made people applaud, but after this incident, he became bored.
Recently, the popular topic in the capital is the battle between Zhang Jue and Wanyan Yanmu in the north. This is the first confrontation between the Wu Dynasty and the Jin people. Everyone is waiting with bated breath, but after the battle, news came, Zhang Jue
Jue lost the first battle after joining the Wu Dynasty, but it was only a small defeat. After the defeat, the two sides were still confronting each other, and there would be a second battle next. Shishi had heard these things recently, and he had no interest in them.
In a year or two, this is no longer her world. She will marry someone and live a simple but leisurely life. She does not need to sweep or weave, nor wash her hands to make soup. She only needs to greet her husband and greet her husband when appropriate.
It is enough to please him and capture his heart when you are young. After a few years of this, you will give birth to that person's child. After many years, when you are old and yellow, you will live with the child.
Sometimes when I think about it like this, I can't help but smile lonely, always sad, and even give rise to a rare emotion in her past: How wonderful it would be if she were not a brothel girl, not this oiran named Li Shishi...
In addition to receiving experienced dignitaries, Fan Tower's more guests are also big businessmen and gentry from other places. For these people with money and status in other places, when they come to the capital and see the style of the first floor of the capital, they will spend a lot of time.
Meeting an oiran with a lot of money is the best way to talk after returning home. Teachers have many choices for dignitaries who are well-informed in the capital. For guests from other places, except for some well-known talents, they usually measure the value of the other party by money.
, anyway, it is usually a one-time consumption, that is, the one with the higher price gets it.
After attending a poetry meeting that day and returning to Fanlou, Li's mother said that there was a Mr. Sun from the south whom she could meet. It was said that the other party's family was from a wealthy family in the Jinghu South Road area. He was young, rich and well-spoken. When he got here, he made a move.
It was five hundred taels of silver, and he specified that he wanted to see her. Anyway, it was to make money, so Shishi smiled and went.
Then we saw that the other party was just as Li Yun said. He had an extraordinary conversation. He was obviously a well-educated man from a large family. He was twenty-seven years old and looked good. The teacher played and sang two songs and chatted for a while.
When everything felt good, the other party casually asked about Zhuji.
"I heard that Jingcheng Bamboo Records was opened by the great talent Ning Liheng, and Miss Shishi is familiar with him. Every time a building opens, Shishi will go there to perform." Sun Gong ate half a piece of snacks and said with a casual smile.
, "I have always admired talents, but I wonder what kind of person Mr. Ning is. He can actually have such means. Not only is he good at poetry, but he can also do such a prosperous business."
"It's not that... we're not very familiar..." Shishi replied, but her brows wrinkled slightly. She didn't want to talk about Ning Yi recently. During this period of time, merchants in the capital came and went, and she also
Knowing that there was a shortage of food in the north and south, Zhuji was running the matter, and she also knew that she wanted to make a lot of money. This knowledge made her not want to associate with the other party anymore. Ning Yi once said that he had something to do with her. Later,
He came to Fanlou to see her twice more, but Shishi pretended to have something to do and asked the maid to refuse. During this period, Zhuji was busy buying and selling grain to make extravagant money. The planned opening of several new branches was also temporarily put on hold. She
Therefore, there is no need to fulfill the promises of past performances.
"Oh? I'm not very familiar with him... but I always have normal interactions. According to Miss Shishi's eyesight, is this person a talent or a businessman?"
The other party is a very smart person. His words are clear and precise. Shishi glanced at the other party unintentionally, but his heart moved. This Sun Gong seemed to speak casually, but his eyes were extremely clear. He was familiar with the road before.
She was enjoying her leisure time with the oiran, but it didn't look like her anymore. Then she remembered a wealthy foreigner from Huainan whom she had met two days earlier. The other party also asked about Zhu Ji and Ning Yi. At that time, she answered them casually.
Now that I think about it, after two consecutive groups of people asked him in a targeted manner, the situation was a little different.
These two groups of people are both wealthy in the local area, but they are thousands of miles apart from each other. It is really impossible to say that they made a special trip to Beijing to find Ning Yi... With doubts in her heart, she carefully responded to each other's inquiries and explored the Sun.
Sure enough, not long after, the grandson asked about Ning Yi's character, then asked about his family, popularity, and even his residence, and expressed his intention to visit him.
What she discovered that day made her feel quite weird. She knew that Ning Yi was good at business, and she also knew that after relying on the Right Prime Minister's Office, he could also be very powerful in business. However, two big families thousands of miles apart sent people here specially to do business.
Did Jingli seek cooperation with him? It seemed unlikely. That night, she asked Mother Li about the background of the two families. Sure enough, both parties had official connections and would not deliberately come to rely on the Youxiang Mansion. As for
The damage status of these places...
"...I don't know, Master, you also know that all the business people are rushing to deal with the disaster recently, and Jingli is talking about it hotly. This kind of thing doesn't happen once or twice. There was a quarrel in the court some time ago.
I went and laid off many officials just for disaster relief. There was a war in the north recently, and I heard that the Holy One was in a bad mood, so things have eased up a bit. Daughter, why do you ask about this?"
"Nothing, just ask..."
The next day after arriving in this way, when she went to attend a poetry meeting, she met Zuo Hou and his nephew Zuo Jilan, and also met Zhizhen, a relatively famous talented king in Hedong. As for Zuo Hou, Shishi knew him as Zuo Hou.
The family is in charge of the commercial affairs in the capital, and they are also famous for their talents. In the Zuo family, they are second only to the great scholar Zuo Duanyou. Because of this relationship, the two parties have met many times before, but they are not familiar with each other.
I have heard rumors about him secretly. It is said that he prefers women with strong and lusty personalities. It is said that the two concubines in his family were from poor families and supported the family business, and were later married by him. It is said that he
He also secretly coerced several women with strong temperaments, but this incident was not widely spread, which shows that the other party was not an unruly person.
At the end of the poetry meeting, Zuo Hou, Zuo Jilan, and Wang Zhizhen came to see her. Zuo Jilan was in her thirties. At first glance, she looked like a proud but capable person. He just looked her up and down.
, making an expression of indifference, but Shishi could see the emotion in his eyes - the thoughts of someone who wanted to take advantage of her innocence and considered herself capable - after saying a few words to each other,
Zuo Hou actually asked about Zhuji and Ning Yi.
"I heard that Miss Li knows Mr. Ning, so she must be very familiar with him."
"Uh... I'm not familiar with it, it's just business dealings..."
"Haha, it doesn't matter if you don't know him well. My nephew wants to meet him and discuss some things. There is someone who is easier to meet, and my nephew has a bit of a fierce temperament. Miss Li is with me, maybe he will be more restrained.
." Zuo Hou smiled and said, "Let's do this. Tomorrow... no, in two days, Jilan will go to Fanlou to find Miss Li, and then the two of you will go to find Ning Gong together. How about that?"
Although Zuo Hou is not an official, his influence in the officialdom is inherited from Zuo Duanyou. He can be said to be Zuo Duanyou's spokesperson in the capital. He is used to giving orders. Although he added a sentence at the end, Shishi could only nod in agreement at this time.
Next. Now, Tian Nan Di Bei Guang wants to start looking for Ning Yi from her. There are already three families, and they don't seem to be well-intentioned.
No matter how powerful Ning Yi is, no matter how fast Zhu Ji develops, when will he be able to offend such a wealthy family again? Or will he offend three families at once? However, there are only three families who are looking for him, and the rest are probably even more...
She couldn't understand this for a while. Another day passed, and that night, the Alum Tower was as lively and noisy as usual. Two groups of people who were willing to spend money came into Mrs. Li's eyes. They came to ask Shishi.
Meaning. Of these two groups of people, one is also an out-of-town father-in-law, there is only one, and the other group invited a big man from the capital to come over. They should be discussing business. Shishi didn't want to be alone with others, so he chose the latter. After making the selection
Soon, someone started making a noise in the fan building. When Shishi passed by, he vaguely heard the noise there.
"...You bunch of black-hearted scum will die in the eighteenth level of hell..."
"Hey, aren't you? What's the difference between twenty-five taels and thirty taels... When you've made enough money, come to Fanlou to find the top card, and you dare to say that you have a good heart..."
"Better than you, this time we..."
"Looking for a fight, right?"
"Whoever dares, I can't beat you to death..."
"If you dare, go there..."
The noise was heard intermittently. Soon after, the people from Fanlou came out to mediate and calmed down the commotion. Later, Shishi went to Nuange's banquet to accompany him, only to find that the voice on the side of the quarrel came from the party he was entertaining.
.
The guests were a group of out-of-town traders. The leader was in his forties, but it seemed he was a Han surnamed Yu who had traveled far and wide. Following him were several nephews in their twenties. Since they might be from the countryside,
In this place, the language is relatively vulgar, and the young princes are a little shy, and some pretend not to care in front of themselves. The invited Master Fang knows him, this surname is Wei, and he is a grain clerk in Beijing.
Shang, who usually has a good reputation, is said to love his wife and concubines very much, but he doesn't come to Fanlou very much.
The two parties did not discuss business matters at the wine table. It seems that both parties have already made an intention to come here. Shishi tried his best to liven up the atmosphere. When the third round was over, Boss Wei smiled and patted him.
Yu surnamed Han's hand: "Okay, I understand, this is it. Yu Yuanwai, I understand your sincerity. I have to go back now, I have things to do at home. You... sit here for a long time, I guess it will take a long time."
They spent a lot of money. Master, please make arrangements for them. I’m not telling you that it’s too much money to come to your place..."
Shishi smiled with a little grievance: "Mr. Wei, the rules of the building are like this, Shishi has nothing to do, Shishi can only do his best to serve you well..."
Boss Wei waved his hand: "Okay, I'm leaving, I'm leaving..."
Since he was leaving, Yu had to see him off outside. The two settled the matter and were in a good mood, so they went out together. The master and the rest of the family were left. The maids continued to add wine and serve food.
Shishi just smiled and talked with them, asking about their family conditions. After playing and singing a few songs, he also casually asked about their business. Only then did he know that they were planning to buy grain from Boss Wei to sell in the disaster area, but then they
A young man also spoke openly: "I heard that Miss Shishi is very familiar with Boss Ning from Zhuji, right?"
"I'm not very familiar with him. We have business dealings." Shishi was tired of hearing this sentence these days and answered casually. However, this gentleman was different from others.
It was time to say something. I vaguely heard the two of them whispering to each other. It seemed that because she was very familiar with Ning Yi, the other party chose to stay in Fanlou and spent a lot of money to entertain Boss Wei.
Several young men wanted to show off in front of Shishi, so they kept talking during the dinner. After a while, they heard that they were going north this time to "do good deeds."
Ten taels and one stone, they want to sell it for twenty-five taels. Shishi smiled and nodded, but his heart suddenly felt disgusted with these people. You went over to give food and distribute it. That is called doing good deeds and accumulating virtue. Usually, two taels and one stone are more.
Drag it over and sell it for ten times the price, what kind of good and virtue does this business have?
After the young man finished speaking, he seemed to feel that something was wrong, so he added a few words and wanted to make corrections. The teacher fiddled with the strings and smiled and matched a few sentences. Several young people started talking to each other, and then they passed.
After a while, something said by a young man who spoke relatively clearly made the strings under her finger tremble slightly.
"...Miss Shishi also knows about this matter. After all, it was Zhuji who arranged it from behind. If there were no people from them for this disaster relief, I really don’t know what we would do. Those people in the north,
It’s really hard…”
A person next to him said: "It doesn't count the Bamboo Mark. Behind the Bamboo Mark, isn't it the right prime minister of the dynasty? The top ones are all arranged by the right prime minister. If it weren't for the right prime minister, would we be able to go to Hedong?"
Speaking of this, the young man from before suddenly became excited: "Why can't I get in? If I had known that there were so many hungry people, I would have transported food in even if I died! If they had the guts to beat me to death!#￥%&*
(Starts swearing)"
Shishi frowned: "How... is the situation in the north now?"
"Hedong Road? I don't know if it's good or not. Both sides are trying their best. Let's transport grain there. This thief... the weather has dropped so much. Originally, the price of food dropped a little, but then it went up again.
Those big dog owners didn't allow us to lower the price of grain and look for trouble everywhere. Last time, my third brother was beaten by them. Fortunately, Zhuji was also prepared. Shopkeeper Yao called the doctor, and then called the government to arrest them.
Caught. Humph. This time we are going north. The third brother is still injured and is clamoring to go again."
A young man stood up with a red face: "That shopkeeper Yao is right, this is war!"
Others echoed: "I'm afraid they are cowards! Don't we have fewer people this time? Their territory? If you piss me off, I'll kill them!"
Shishi became confused. What were they talking about? She knew in the past that these young people were most easily affected by certain things, and they were often irritable and impulsive. But now it looked different. There were a group of people in Bianliang City.
Students, headed by Chen Dong, are often worried about the country and the people, and are impassioned. They even dare to scold people like Taishi Cai and Taiwei Gao. At this time, it seems that these young people who have not studied much are in a mood similar to that of Chen Dong and others.
the breath.
How could they sell grain like this? It looked like they were incited by someone.
She asked tentatively: "How many gentlemen also went to give out porridge and rice?"
"Of course I go, I go every day!" Several people said almost in unison, and then someone said, "But the Ningdong family of Zhuji is right, after all, it is impossible to boil everything into porridge, the only way is to keep the price down.
Only others have a way to survive. Miss Shishi, you know that Ning Dongjia, what kind of person do you think he is?"
Shishi looked at them, and then said softly: "As for that... I have to keep the price down so that others can survive, but I still don't quite understand it."
One of them, Mr. Yu, who wanted to show off, said loudly: "Hey, what's so difficult to understand? I'm so stupid, I understand it. Miss Shishi, think about it, if the price of grain there is thirty liang and one stone, how much grain will be sold?"
There is money, such a profitable business, those big dogs and dog officials have to work hard. Even if the two prime ministers in the court risk their lives, they can't stop the greed of so many people. But if the price of food goes down,
There is not much money left, and there are some upright officials in the government, so that the big households can stop interfering. As the Ning Dong family said, if the price of food continues to rise, the government's disaster relief food will not be able to be distributed to the people. If it is
If we defeat it, we may be able to save half or more of it. When we go to give more porridge, many people will survive! So, we made money this time and came back to transport the second batch of rice.
The food went up, and we also bought winter clothes... Well, after this time, we have to go up a third time. The Yu family belongs to men, so we all have to go!"
The man kept talking, and a person next to him said: "I'm afraid that after it snows, the road will be difficult to travel."
"Don't talk about snow blocking the road. Even if it freezes to death, I will drag the grain across. I don't believe it. I can't defeat those beasts whose consciences were eaten by dogs——"
Shishi's head was buzzing. She was a smart person, and she would know some things if others didn't. Then, as everyone talked to each other, she gradually pieced together a piece of information that had already been there.
The outline of a huge "battlefield" that had been happening around her for nearly three months, and she had felt every bit of this outline, but she didn't pay attention to it at the time. Then, at the bottom of her heart, a sense of fear came up,
She understood that the businessman and former friend whom she had almost put in the position of "breaking up the relationship" had touched so many interests and offended so many people in the past three months...
She finally understood what those wealthy families were going to do when they came to Beijing... (To be continued...)
Chapter completed!