In the eighth year of Yuan Sui's reign, the four southeastern kingdoms of Yu, Dun, Huaiyou and Nanhua finally stopped fighting for every inch of land and made an alliance in Baitan, the capital of Yu State, to join forces to resist a common powerful enemy. This is known in history as
Tanbang Alliance. After two years of tug-of-war, the four countries were able to stop the powerful enemy Weiliang in the north and the newly rising Chengguo in the east from continuing to move south.
Until the early spring of the tenth year of Yuansui, this melee that lasted for more than ten years finally came to an end with a mediation edict from Yujing. The heads of the six kingdoms gathered in Jingshu City, the capital of Weiliang Kingdom, to cease fighting and repair. However, the time came
Today, the strength of the princely states, which were originally on par with each other, has undergone earth-shaking changes.
Among them, Nanhua was able to preserve most of its territory by holding on to the Miazhong Plateau. In addition, it annexed a large amount of mineral deposits in the north of Yu State, and was finally able to divide the Xun River with Cheng State to rule it. However, the three kingdoms of Huaiyou, Yu, and Dun lost large areas of fertility.
The fertile farmland has been in ruins ever since.
The Wei-Liang Tongcheng Kingdom benefited greatly from this war, especially the latter - after carving up the thousands of miles of fertile land in the Hejian Corridor, its territory has nearly doubled. With the painstaking management of the country's leader Yin Qujian
With the Green Harrier Cavalry, this originally unknown small border country suddenly transformed into the fourth largest princely country after Yubei, Weiliang and Ye.
However, the world, which has been suffering from war, understands that this hard-won peace is actually extremely fragile.
The most important reason is that it comes from Wei Liang, whose lord, the Luqiu family, originally had the same clan as the Dasheng royal family. However, because it is located inland, if you want to enter the sea through the only waterway in the territory, you still have to
You must ask Cheng Guo for help in a low voice.
What's more, Cheng Guo was originally close to Yu State in terms of strength, but now it suddenly changed and was able to compete with the second highest ranking among the princes of the Great Sheng Dynasty. Even when accepting mediation in Jingshu City, Yin Qujian tried his best to please Lu Qiu Borong, the leader of Wei Liang State.
, saying that the two countries are willing to have everlasting friendship. However, anyone with a discerning eye can see the burning fire of desire hidden in his eyes.
However, this period of history written by blood and fire seems to have little to do with Ye State on the west coast of the mainland. Time is like water, and there are sudden cold and heat waves. Mulu City, which has not heard of border wars for a long time, has become increasingly...
He became gentle and quiet. In the blink of an eye, winter came again, and Jiang Yan, Qi Ziyin and Ning Yue all reached the age of cardamom shooting.
That year, Jiang Yan was promoted to Zuo Xiaowei in the Mo Ling Guards by virtue of his extraordinary martial arts and courage. He didn't like to study the art of war, but he increasingly liked to hold a bunch of books in his spare time and talk about the troubled times when he was promoted.
The books on heroes are so addictive that I can’t put them down.
At first, Jiang Yan was not illiterate and was only busy with official duties in Baili. Therefore, once the young man encountered a word he didn't recognize in the book or a part he couldn't understand, he would go to the nearby Mozhu Hall to ask Qi Ziyin for advice. However,
In recent days, it happened to be the winter season when he took a rest and was out of the palace waiting for help at home, so he had no choice but to turn to Ning Yue for help.
Ning Yue was either helping in Jia Yun Zhai or teasing Xue Ling for fun all day long. She was extremely bored. When she heard that Jiang Yan wanted something from her, she was naturally very happy. However, she was impatient and taught
After a few times, he became impatient and yelled at the other person for being stupid.
Today, she saw that her companion had not come to look for her again until noon. She couldn't help but worry that the stubborn black-eyed boy was angry with her, so she tiptoed outside Jiang Yan's house and wanted to apologize. However, after calling a few times, nothing happened.
When someone answered the door, the girl realized that the other person had already gone out. She quickly ran downstairs, grabbed the busy Leng Jiayun and asked:
"Sister Jia, Sister Jia, do you know where Jiang Yan has gone?"
"That boy went out in a hurry before dawn. When I asked him what he was doing, he refused to answer. Why, don't you even know?"
Sister Jia looked at the angry girl in front of her strangely, with confusion on her face.
"It seems like this guy is really angry. He doesn't even call me when we go out to play!"
The red-haired girl pouted and stamped her feet so hard that the floor made a thud.
"Hey, what happened today? Even if there are no customers in the store, the house won't be demolished, right? Could it be that - you two quarreled again?"
The Dongli woman joked with half-squinted eyes. But her question made Ning Yue even more angry. She picked up the little white fox at her feet, muttered to herself, turned around and ran out of the store. :
"What a stubborn, idiot, and petty person! Just ignore him, I'll go play with Ziyin!"
"Wait a minute! If you are looking for Zi Yin, please send a message for me and ask him to come to the restaurant for dinner tomorrow night. Tomorrow is the winter season, let's make some dumplings!"
Sister Jia hurriedly chased after her, but the girl had already run away without even a shadow.
Qi Ziyin suddenly received the invitation sent by Ning Yue through Brother Miao, and hurriedly left the palace and rushed to the market on Zitong Street. At this time, he was standing in front of a noodle maker's stall to watch, but suddenly he felt someone pushing hard behind him. He hit himself, almost losing his balance, and fell into the crowd of all kinds of exquisite faces in front of him.
The young man hurriedly turned around and suddenly saw a figure wearing a green coat and skirt emerging from the crowd behind him. The other person's red hair was casually scattered on his shoulders, but it did not look messy. In the street with green bricks and white snow, Inside, the girl in front of her seemed to be a charming summer flower that was still blooming, particularly conspicuous.
Ning Yue looked at the frightened boy in white slyly with a pair of blue eyes, and laughed mischievously: "Did it scare you?"
"Why are you alone, where is Jiang Yan?"
Qi Ziyin looked at the girl in front of him and realized that this was the first time among the three people who had been going out together for no reason since they met.
"That piece of wood refused to accompany me out. It sneaked away somewhere early in the morning! Today, the Japanese girl only invites you to play alone. Why, aren't you willing?"
"me--"
Qi Ziyin's heart suddenly jumped, and his face instantly turned red.
"Humph, hesitating, does that mean you don't want to do it anymore? You should be punished! This girl wants you to buy some delicious things. Do you agree or not?"
Ning Yue continued to joke. She had also been shopping on Zitong Street for a long time. At this time, she could faintly smell the fresh fragrance of various foods floating in the air, and couldn't help but lick her pink lips.
"Ning Yue, tell me, what do you want to eat? I haven't had lunch either."
The children were used to playing and fighting like this. The boy in white just nodded and looked at the girl in front of him with a smile. There was no hint of displeasure in his expression. However, after waiting for a long time, he didn't see the other person mentioning what he wanted to eat again, and then he realized that Ning Yue's attention was no longer on herself, but on her feet and stretched out her neck, she kept looking towards the other end of the long street, as if she had seen something strange.
"Ning Yue, Ning Yue, what are you looking at?"
"Please help me take a look. Is that person in the distance Jiang Yan?" Ning Yue finally came back to her senses and responded, reaching out to point into the bustling crowd.
"It seems--it's true!"
Qi Ziyin looked in the direction of the girl's finger and saw a figure wearing a brocade robe of Mo Lingwei, walking quickly through the crowd. The figure was no different from Jiang Yan in terms of height and body shape. However, As a result, the boy in white couldn't help but have doubts in his heart:
"The image is quite similar, but why would he rather come shopping alone instead of asking us to go with him?"
The red-haired girl replied angrily, but her eyes were always fixed on Jiang Yan in the crowd: "If you ask me, who should I ask! This guy sneaked into Zitong Street alone, he must have something on his mind. Let us know!"
"Jiang Yan—how could he want to hide something from you?"
"Zi Yin, you are really naive. Who doesn't have a little secret? But the more you don't want people to know something, the more curious it will be. Let's not alert this guy first and follow quietly to see what he wants to do. Where to go!”
After Ning Yue finished speaking, she held up the hem of her skirt that was in the way, and hurriedly wormed her way into the crowd. The boy in white couldn't resist his companions, so he had to follow behind obediently.
The two followed their companions around in the market. After a while, they saw Jiang Yan walking to a noodle shop at the entrance of Tianshui Lane. He raised the curtain and walked in without hesitation.
In fact, the noodles in this restaurant are not delicious. The three of them tried it once two or three years ago, but have never been there again. As a foodie, Ning Yue judged others by herself, and increasingly felt that something was fishy. He turned around and winked at his companion, then hurriedly came closer, stood outside the door and eavesdropped.
As expected, Jiang Yan who entered the store did not order anything, but stood at the door and chatted with the waiter. Vaguely, Ning Yue heard that he seemed to be asking for news about a woman, but before she could understand, , the black-eyed boy has hurriedly walked out of the door again.
The next place Jiang Yan ran straight to was a bank room. After staying in the bank room for a long time, he reappeared, but there was obviously a full money bag in his arms. This made the girl even more surprised. Unfortunately, the other party, who was carrying money in his arms, actually walked towards a small building that was not too far away from the bank, but was decorated in a unique way.
Tianshui Lane is a famous place for fireworks and romance in the city. As soon as she saw the appearance of the small building, Ning Yue felt unhappy in her heart. When she got closer, she clearly saw the hanging hanging in front of the small building. There are three big gilded characters on the signboard - Shihua Pavilion. Under the signboard are several young women posing and posing. It really is a fake brothel!
The red-haired girl was so angry that she stamped her foot, tears welling up in her eyes:
"The little Stutterer just went to get the money. Could it be the salary he had saved over the years? Sure enough, all men in the world are the same. They started to feel happy as soon as they were promoted to Zuo Lieutenant!"
"Ning Yue, don't be too quick to get angry. I think Jiang Yan might have gone to that place for some special reason."
Seeing that his companion was really angry, Qi Ziyin felt a little embarrassed and helpless, so he could only persuade him softly. Who knew that his advice only made Ning Yue even more angry:
"Other than that, is there any other special reason for going to a place like this? Ziyin, follow me in and get this pervert back!"
"Ning Yue, I think it's better to wait outside for him to come out on his own. Don't be impulsive, lest you cause any trouble..."
The young man in white wanted to persuade him again, but the angry girl refused to listen at all, and rushed straight into the brothel with rapid strides.
The Shihua Pavilion can be regarded as one of the most famous brothels in Mulu City. The name is elegant, not as direct as other brothels, but it is like the fragrance of orchid, which is deeply loved by the noble boys in the city. The four top brands in the pavilion are also famous. Extraordinary, they are called stone cherry, crane pansy, purple kite, and lily of the valley, which are four famous flowers that are abundant in the four states of Miao, Wan, Chang, and Si.
However, no matter how elegant a brothel is, it is still a brothel. Although it is arty, the style of the madam at the door is no different from that of other brothels. As soon as he welcomed Jiang Yan into the door, he turned around and saw Ning Yue and Qi Ziyin running towards them, and immediately greeted him. Several slim young women with beautiful faces at the door gathered the young man in white and pushed them towards the door:
"Hey, this young man is new. It's his first time here, isn't it? It's really new today. I've seen a lot of young men visiting the hotel, but it's really my first time to bring a girl here. But we only have Men are welcome, girls, just sit outside and wait. When your sweetheart is done, he will come out to find you."
Qi Ziyin had never seen such a sexy scene before, and he immediately blushed and explained:
"You, you misunderstood. I, we are here to find someone."
"Looking for someone? That's weird. There are usually three types of people who come to me looking for someone. Either the husband hasn't come home for several nights, and the married woman with a yellow face comes looking for life. Or it's the parents who want to find a matchmaker. , but the man refuses to obey, hiding in his confidante’s compartment and refusing to go back to submit. Or, even though he has been married for a long time, he still can’t taste the taste of a woman, so he has to find another way. Little sister, I dare you to ask this? Which one is there? What is the relationship between this handsome young man in white clothes and you?"
The madam heard that the young man in white was not here to drink wine, and seeing Ning Yue's face full of anger, she realized that the person who came was evil. To her, a man who is willing to come in and spend money is naturally an uncle, but if it is a woman who comes to look for someone, Most of them wanted to ruin their own business, so they started ridiculing and ridiculing the two of them on the spot.
"Bah, what are you talking about with such filthy words!" Ning Yue was ashamed and angry at what the other party said, and immediately became furious.
However, Qi Ziyin knew that he could not fall out with each other at this time, so he quickly blocked his companions behind him and continued to ask with a smiling face: "The two of us are not here to cause trouble today, but we just saw a friend coming to your place before, and we were heartbroken I'm just curious. In business, it's important to be friendly and make money. I wonder if you can make an exception and let us in if you're willing to spend some money?"
"As long as you are willing to spend money, I can let you in." The old bustard looked at him sideways, as if he didn't want to answer.
"Okay, then I'll give you all the money I have. Can you go in now?"
Ning Yue, who was impatient for a long time, immediately took out a dozen copper coins that she had used to buy snacks from her body when she heard what the other party said.
When the madam saw this, she didn't reach out to pick it up. Instead, she snorted disdainfully:
"It's just a few coins. Little girl, do you think I'm running a charity here and only charge some money for incense? There is a head fee of three silver cents. You can only enter after paying enough. Otherwise, please go back."
"Ziyin, lend me some quickly!"
The red-haired girl immediately turned to her companions for help.
Unexpectedly, the always generous young man in white also had times where he was short of money: "I - I came out in a real hurry this time, and I only brought five pieces of silver with me."
"Then let me go in in person, and you wait obediently outside!" Ning Yue angrily grabbed the money bag from her companion's waist, handed it to the madam, and continued to rush through the door.
Unexpectedly, the madam collected the money but still stopped her and refused to let her go:
"Hey, little girl, stop, there are rules in our industry. Even if you pay, only men are allowed in. If a woman comes in, she is selling herself, and she is not allowed to come out again. Have you thought clearly?" Then the other party glanced again. He glanced at Qi Ziyin next to him and said, "Are you afraid that the girl in my hotel will also take away the soul of this handsome young man? Tsk, but yes, look at your appearance and figure, it's really hard to tell."
"You, shameless!" Ning Yue was so angry that she was about to explode.
Seeing that the madam was deliberately making things difficult, the young man in white had no choice but to pull his companion aside and whispered in his ear: "How about I go in by myself? Don't worry, I will take care of you when I find General Yan." Take him out immediately."
But the red-haired girl just shook her head, looked sideways at the madam who seemed to be smiling but not smiling, and said viciously:
"No, no! Do you know what kind of temptations and traps there are in places like this? Look at the face of this old witch. As long as a man enters, he will fall into her trap if he is not careful! Those girls just now When we came around you, you were already a little at a loss. Once you get dizzy inside, and you're given a few glasses of wine, there's no guarantee that you won't be able to come out like a little stutter!"
"It's not that exaggerated, is it? Jiang Yan is not a person who covets beauty. Let's find a place nearby and wait and see. We hope he can come out on his own after a while."
Qi Ziyin knew in his heart that breaking in by force would not work, but for a moment he had no choice but to pull the girl up without any explanation and temporarily take her away from the current place of right and wrong.
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