The Jiaofangsi is a small organization under the Ministry of Rites. It is a ritual and music institution in name, but in fact it is a government-run brothel that takes in the wives and daughters of guilty officials as prostitutes, and the men as musicians, and the prostitutes in the Jiaofangsi
They are also different from ordinary brothel prostitutes in terms of status. Girls in ordinary folk brothels can work as a prostitute after saving enough money, or they can meet a rich benefactor to redeem themselves. However, the prostitutes in the church can't. Not only will they remain prostitutes for life,
The children born will also be engaged in this trade, the women will continue to be prostitutes, and the men will be turtle slaves.
The chief of the Jiaofang Division is called Fengluan, and he is only in the ninth rank. However, this position is very lucrative, so the people who serve as Fengluan are all people with some connections. Liu Ziguang and his party arrived at the gate of the Jiaofang Division, and two followers went in to look for them.
When he was presented with the throne, he showed off his arrogance, but the military commander of the Red Shirt Regiment didn't do that. After a few words, he naturally became honest and went out to see Uncle Zhenwu.
"Li Xiangjun, the young lady from the former Chang Xinhou residence, I want to take her away." Liu Ziguang stated the purpose directly, and there was no need to beat around the bush with a ninth-grade official.
"Uncle, this is a bit difficult." Feng Luan said with a sad face.
"Why are you talking to Uncle Zhenwu? How dare you refuse to hand over someone to me?" Liu Ziguang's entourage raised his hand again.
"That's not what I mean, it's like this. Today, Miss Xiangjun is putting up a house. All nobles from all walks of life in the capital are here. Whoever pays the highest price will get the right to have the first night. Think about it, the charming young lady from the Marquis's family in the past,
Who doesn't want to try something new? There are so many people around. If no one is seen by then, Xiaguan's Jiafang Si Fengluan will be in trouble. If you want to try this, uncle, you might as well go to the building and shout
Just shout out the price, whatever the price is, it will be considered as your subordinate’s price..."
Feng Luan misunderstood what Liu Ziguang meant and thought he wanted to be the first to sleep with Li Xiangjun, so he acted like this in a self-righteous way.
Liu Ziguang was furious. Li Xiangjun was just a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl who suffered such a catastrophe just because she was born into the Li family. This evil system of implicated people was really infuriating. At present, his ability was not strong enough to modify it.
The system is deeply entrenched, so we can only save one person at a time.
In the flower house of Jiaofangsi, the voices of bidding were heard one after another. Liu Ziguang ignored Feng Luan and walked straight into the flower house. He saw that the building was full of prostitutes. Most of these prostitutes with green eyes were middle-aged and elderly people.
, it seems that he is well-off, either a high-ranking official or a wealthy businessman. He may have often visited Changxinhou's house in the past, and he was also called Shishu and Shibo by Xiaoxiangjun. Now the young lady of the Houye family has put up the first night right for auction. These former
The elders hurried over to support him, it was such a hot and cold world.
Li Xiangjun sat on the stage with a hijab on his head, his face invisible, his thin body in colorful clothes trembling constantly, like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, pitiful and helpless.
The bidding has come to an end, and the highest bid has reached an incredible five hundred taels. Even the first-class Qingju people on the Qinhuai River only pay this price. Most of the clients have stopped bidding, except for a few.
The fat guy still keeps increasing his bets, but the amount is very small.
Just as Liu Ziguang was about to speak, suddenly another person came in from outside and shouted loudly: "My master is offering ten thousand taels of silver!"
The huge price of 10,000 taels immediately frightened everyone. 10,000 taels can buy several Yangzhou thin horses. Suddenly no one dared to bid. The Jiaofang Si Zuo Shaowu who was in charge of the auction made the final decision: "One.
Ten thousand taels! The one with the highest price will get it."
Liu Ziguang didn't care where the enemy came from and how many taels of silver he offered. He went straight up and pulled Li Xiangjun away. There was an uproar in the flower building. When the servants of the Jiaofang Division saw Liu Ziguang's entourage in flying fish uniforms behind him, they naturally stopped him.
, those middle-aged and elderly prostitutes didn't have the courage, so they only dared to follow and make noises. But then the man who shouted out a high price of ten thousand taels shouted, and seven or eight well-dressed men came out from behind, all holding steel knives, blocking the way.
Liu Ziguang's way forward.
The two sides immediately engaged in hand-to-hand combat, with their swords drawn out of their scabbards pointing at each other. The ten followers Liu Ziguang led were all wearing Feiyu uniforms and holding embroidered spring knives. At first glance, they were from the government. Although the other party was in ordinary clothes, he showed no fear and held steel in his hands.
The knife was as bright as autumn water, and it looked like it was made from the finest Liguo Iron Works.
"Wait a minute!" A shout came from behind, and a man who looked like a steward hurriedly walked in and said to Liu Ziguang: "Sir, my master invites you to come out and talk."
There is a round and square emblem on this person's clothes, which is the symbol of Rishengchang. It seems that the mysterious owner is Miss Hu. Rishengchang became prosperous through the care of Empress Dowager Li, but it was not
Providing financial support to the Donglin Group that opposed the Queen Mother Party, Hu Yimin, as the Empress Dowager's niece and doted Princess Qian, was also the right protector of the Donglin Party and played a vital role in the anti-Queen Mother Party. She and
As a cousin, Li Xiangjun allowed her cousin to fall into the Jiaofang Division. When you think about it carefully, it is all a mystery.
The two sides sheathed their swords, but still looked at each other warily. Liu Ziguang handed Li Xiangjun, who was stunned and speechless, to his subordinates and ordered: "Send him back to the house." Then he left the flower building alone.
Hu Yimin's carriage stopped on the road. Liu Ziguang got on the carriage. Miss Hu, who was wearing a plain dress, was sitting in the carriage waiting for him. When she saw someone coming, she said to the carriage driver: "Let's go..."
"Where to go?" Liu Ziguang asked.
"Find a place to have a drink. I guess you must have a lot of things you want to know."
"Hu Fa Hu, there is nothing I want to know. Even if I am curious, I will look it up myself."
Liu Ziguang subconsciously felt that Hu Yimin was a dangerous person, so he spoke a bit rudely.
Hu Yimin remained calm: "Actually, even if Uncle Zhenwu doesn't show up today, I will rescue Xiangjun and send him to your house."
"Why are you sending it to my house?" Liu Ziguang was even more surprised.
Hu Yimin smiled softly: "I asked you to get in the car just to tell you all this..."
The carriage arrived at a luxurious restaurant by the Qinhuai River. The waiters here seemed to be very familiar with Rishengchang's carriage. As soon as the carriage entered the door, they greeted the two guests and invited them to the upstairs seating area. Hu Yimin could not just order the dishes and serve them the wine and delicacies.
Up.
It's dinner time now, the peak business period, but there are only two of them customers on the huge floor, which makes it feel very unusual to be quiet.
"This restaurant is Rishengchang's property." Hu Yimin's calm words dispelled Liu Ziguang's doubts.
"These are my usual dishes. I hope they are to your liking." Miss Hu asked Liu Ziguang to eat, but she didn't move her chopsticks. She just picked up a glass of blood-red wine and took a sip.
Liu Ziguang also picked up the glass in front of him and held the bottom of the glass with his palm. The temperature of his palm made the aroma of the wine come out. While smelling the aroma of the wine, he said: "Miss Hu, if you have anything to say to me, please tell me."
."
Hu Yimin was silent for a while and then said, "Do you know why my name is Yimin?"
Naturally, this kind of question does not require an answer, so Liu Ziguang did not speak, but quietly waited for the next sentence. He came today to be a quiet listener.
"That means Yi Min. My mother's maiden name was Li Min. She died when she gave birth to me. My father gave me such a name in order to commemorate her."
"My mother died in the family ancestral hall. Because she corrupted the family tradition and had a private life with her father, she was beaten to death by the old man of the Li family and several brothers. Unfortunately, she was already pregnant with Liujia at that time and was severely beaten.
I died of blood loss not long after I was born. I was breathless when I was born. They thought it was stillborn, so they swept it up with grass and threw it into the wilderness with my mother. Fortunately, I was rescued by my family members who came to collect the body.
That’s how I became today.”
When Hu Yimin told this true story, her tone was calm and calm, but it shocked the audience. It turned out that Miss Hu had such a miserable past, and Liu Ziguang forgot to drink the wine in his hand for a while.
"My father is just a poor scholar in Huizhou. Of course he is not a suitable son-in-law for my grandfather and uncles. Besides, my mother has already decided to marry into the palace, so they are so cruel. My aunt is also among them.
, that is, a relationship with the Queen Mother Li Na who now lives in the cold palace. If she hadn't reported it, my mother and father might have gone away long ago."
This was as exciting as a novel. Liu Ziguang entered Hong Kong after hearing this. When Hu Yimin stopped to drink, he hurriedly urged: "What happened next?"
"Later... Later, my father took me around, wore hundreds of clothes, and ate thousands of meals, and finally raised me. My father was full of talent and learning, but because of his grandfather's relationship, he was unable to take the scientific examination, so he had to join the business world, remain anonymous, and earn a living with just a penny.
The capital of copper coins developed into Rishengchang, a famous business house in Huizhou."
"Later, my hard-hearted grandfather finally passed away. My father felt that his business had become very big and he had some talking points, so he took me to the door to ask for an explanation, but I was beaten with sticks by two uncles.
At that time, no matter how rich the merchants were, they could not compete with the officials... We could only hide our hatred in our hearts."
"Then the palace seizure happened ten years ago. My aunt, the queen, inherited my grandfather's ruthless bloodline. She joined forces with the Nine Thousand-year-old Dou to defeat the Prince of the East Palace and took control of the government. I don't know what route she took to find her father.
, she wanted to borrow a large sum of money to pay for the army. The court at that time was not as good as it is now, and there were not even a few taels of silver in the treasury. After careful consideration, her father agreed to her, and mobilized Huizhou merchants to raise a huge sum of money to solve the urgent need of the court.
After that, the status of Huizhou merchants was also recognized by the imperial court, and his father's Rishengchang also started the bank business. With the support of the Queen Mother of the dynasty, of course he was prospering and making money every day. I think maybe it was my aunt who was there.
Use this method to make up for the guilt she feels towards her mother."
"My aunt recruited me into the palace, loved me in every possible way, and said I looked like her dead sister, but none of these could resolve the hatred in my heart, so I secretly joined an organization called Donglin. Who are they actually?
I don’t know, but it’s enough for me to know that their purpose is to overthrow the Party. In the past few years, Rishengchang has provided no less than one million taels of silver to Donglin, and I have also sat on the so-called right protector’s seat. Thanks to my mother
With the blessing of the spirit of heaven and the efforts of all my colleagues, your Excellency finally overthrew the Hou Party and the Eunuch Party. My two hateful uncles also died in Fengtian Hall, and their wives and daughters were sent to the Jiaofang Division."
"Your revenge has been avenged, but this child Xiangjun is innocent." Liu Ziguang said. He had already understood this story, but why did he bring Li Xiangjun to the Jiaofang Department, and why did he rescue him and send him to the prison?
What about my own home? These two questions have not been answered yet.
"Xiang Jun has been pampered since she was a child. It's okay to let her suffer some hardships. As for why she was sent to your uncle Zhenwu's house, it's simpler, because my cousin likes you." After saying this, Hu Yimin raised her neck and drank the cup.
The remaining wine was drained.
Liu Ziguang was shocked. He didn't expect that Li Xiangjun actually liked him. It seemed that he was right to save her today. But why did Hu Yimin do this good thing? She was neither a matchmaker nor Lei Feng. There must be other reasons for her actions today.
Purpose.
"Businesskeeper Hu is doing this not only for the sake of adult beauty, right? If you have anything to say, don't say it directly. If you can help, don't be vague." Liu Ziguang said straight to the point.
"Cooperation, what I want is cooperation. Uncle Zhenwu is from an iron factory, and we, Rishengchang, are from Huizhou merchants. Although we all have a certain position in the court now, our foundation is unstable and there is a danger of being eliminated at any time. Feiniao
A good bow will be hidden, a cunning rabbit will die, and a lackey will be cooked. Those bureaucrats with upright academic backgrounds cannot tolerate people like you and me. As the saying goes, a big tree attracts wind, you can't understand this simple Zhenwu Bo Bo."
Liu Ziguang was really worried when he said this. Emperors of the Ming Dynasty usually had a hobby of killing heroes. Now that he has the military power of the Forbidden City and controls the military department of the five cities, what if someone secretly says something to the emperor?
Unfortunately, he is not afraid of falling out with the court, but now that his brothers are married and settling down, it is unrealistic to start a war and retreat from the capital.
"Okay, let's talk about your cooperation terms." Liu Ziguang agreed to Hu Yimin's proposal after thinking for a while.
After some discussion, Liu Ziguang returned to the mansion with a heavy heart. As soon as he entered the courtyard, two of his men came over and reported: "Sir, according to your instructions, we sent Mrs. Xu to a place where she has no worries about food and clothing."
Liu Ziguang nodded: "Yes, let this old guy spend his remaining years in prison."
The two men looked at each other, and then said together: "Sir, the place where you talk about having no worries about food and clothing is the prison. We...we sent Mrs. Xu directly back to her hometown."