Qin Shisanlang nodded with a smile and looked at the lady standing in the corridor to see her off.
In any case, they treat him with sincerity and courtesy, instead of being perfunctory and indifferent like before, which can be considered a reward.
"I'm leaving first." He smiled slightly and waved to Cheng Jiaoniang who was inside the door.
Cheng Jiaoniang bowed her head and returned the courtesy.
Qin Shisanlang turned around and mounted his horse. The horse spun around a few times and galloped away.
……………
"Your Highness."
A high-pitched shout came from behind, and Prince Jin'an, who was walking, stopped, a trace of annoyance flashed in his eyes, and he turned around with a bit of amusement on his face.
This is a high-quality chamberlain who is surrounded by seven or eight chamberlains, and everyone knows Zhang Wancheng. [Note 1]
"Your Highness, where are you going?" Zhang Douzhi asked with a frown.
"I'm just walking around casually." Prince Jin'an smiled and changed his steps.
Zhang Douzhi said yes. Unlike other chamberlains, as the favorite of the emperor and the queen mother, he acted a little aloof when facing the prince of Jin'an.
"Your Highness, you can just take a walk." He nodded and said calmly, "Don't go outside. The children of the Tian family must be careful. Your Highness is not young anymore, so he can't act like a child."
sensible."
Prince Jin'an was a little embarrassed to be taught such a lesson by a chamberlain.
"Yes, yes, I know." He said.
"It's good that Your Highness knows." Zhang Douzhi nodded and said, "The Emperor is so kind to Your Highness. His Highness always runs out of the palace. At most, His Highness will be out of the palace next year. Then he can go wherever he wants. Entering the palace will not
You can’t do that much, let’s take advantage of this moment to spend more time with your concubine.”
The prince of Jin'an County responded with a smile.
Seeing Zhang Douzhi and others walking away, the smile on Prince Jin'an's face disappeared.
"This bastard." The chamberlain cursed in a low voice.
The prince of Jin'an County smiled and turned around to see that the palace gate seemed far away in the thick autumn mist.
"Your Highness, you came back so late last time to see Madam Cheng. Madam and Your Majesty may have become suspicious..." The chamberlain whispered again, "It's better to disappear. I would also like to give you a gift."
Prince Jin'an nodded and smiled.
"It's the same if I don't see you." He said, "As long as you want to see me, it won't be at this time."
After he said that, he looked back, then raised his feet and strode inwards.
………………
"Miss Zhu, Miss Zhu!"
A loud noise suddenly arose in Desheng Building, causing people in the private room to open the door and look over.
The cause of this commotion was naturally Miss Zhu passing by on the covered bridge. The girl on the covered bridge was not as gorgeous and heavily made up as at night, but simple and elegant without makeup, which was just right for the bright day, making her look even more elegant and beautiful.
.
"Miss Zhu, Miss Zhu, I am Wang Shiqi, I am Wang Shiqi."
Wang Qishilang stretched out his hand and shouted loudly.
The girl on the covered bridge didn't look away even a little bit, she just took a few steps and disappeared like a deer.
"Shout, shout. Shout as if Miss Zhu recognizes you!"
The crowded crowd cooled down, and one of them stared and shouted, pulling back the corner of his clothes that had been stepped on.
"Miss Zhu just recognizes me." Wang Shiqilang shouted, with a bit of pride, "I heard Miss Zhu play the piano for me some time ago, and Miss Zhu even praised me as a man..."
The people around him immediately started cheering.
"If it's true, go and ask Miss Zhu to see you now and see if she doesn't recognize you."
Wang Qishilang couldn't bear the excess, so he grabbed a Zhike and asked him to pass on the news.
Zhike asked for a large amount of money, and sure enough, he went and came back with a smile not long after.
"What did Miss Zhu say?" Wang Qilang asked hurriedly.
"Miss Zhu said..." Zhike said in a long tone with a smile, looking at the eager gazes around him, "I don't recognize you."
There was an uproar all around.
"This kid is bragging to the sky!"
"Those who think of good things and themselves are confused!"
"Get out of here, Nanmanzi!"
Wang Qishilang was embarrassed amidst the ridicule.
"You guys, help me find Chun Ling next to Madam Zhu. Chun Ling, she knows." He grabbed Zhi Ke and said hurriedly.
While they were making a fuss, two attendants squeezed in and held Wang Shiqilang on his left and right.
"Sir, we are leaving tomorrow, why are you here!" they whispered, "Didn't you say you want to say goodbye to someone?"
"I'm just saying goodbye." Wang Qilang said.
"Hurry up, everyone from the Zhou family is here..." the entourage whispered, and they couldn't help but lead Wang Shiliang out.
Seeing Wang Shiqilang being carried out, the people in the hall burst into laughter.
"Some idiot ran in!"
The laughter dissipated quickly.
"Chun Ling, is that person looking for you?"
A few handymen looked back from the hall and asked with a smile.
Chun Ling shook her head.
"I don't know." She said with a puzzled look on her face, then looked back at the few handymen, "Brothers, please tell me, those rogues went to Taiping Residence to cause trouble, and what happened next?"
Although it happened in April, for the capital city where there are endless new things every day, this incident is already considered old history. However, because it was a public killing, it was very exciting after all, so a few young guys talked about it.
Still very excited.
"Then, there was a buzz, and the Taipingju people shot people to death one by one..."
The little handyman spoke so vividly that Chun Ling couldn't help but cover her mouth with a hand in fear, a look of horror on her face.
It's always fun to scare little girls, and the little handymen all burst out laughing.
"The shot was accurate, the arrow hit the head...the brains came out..."
Chun Ling couldn't help but take a step back, even more frightened.
"It's so scary," she said.
"Yes, yes." The handymen nodded, "That's how powerful the Zhou family is..."
Chun Ling shook her head, but she still didn't put down her hand covering her mouth.
It’s not that the Zhou family is great...
It’s not that the Zhou family is so powerful…
It's that woman...
It's that woman...
There seemed to be thunder rolling past her ears, two lightning flashes flashed before her eyes, and the two figures in the fire turned into ashes...
The seventeenth member of the Wang family is nothing. It’s useless to hold on to this trash. This trash is nothing in the eyes of that woman!
"Chun Ling!"
Someone shouted, Chun Ling came back to her senses and saw a little maid standing in front of her.
"Chun Ling, what are you doing? You can't hear me even if you shout a few times." The little maid asked in confusion.
"Chun Ling was scared." The servants laughed, "I heard about murder."
"Hey, what have you been doing lately? You're always hearing these weird things." The little maid asked with a frown.
Chun Ling was a little embarrassed.
"Okay, okay, let's go quickly, my wife is going out tonight." The little maid said without paying attention.
Chun Ling hurriedly answered yes.
"Is there anyone who can invite Mrs. Zhu? Which family is it?" the servants asked curiously.
"The Qin family of the princess's residence." said the little maid.
"The Qin family." The servants complimented one after another, "Only Madam Zhu will be invited to their family. It is a very important banquet."
The glory of the master is the glory of the maids. Chun Ling and the little maid both walked away hurriedly with a bit of pride.
As night falls, there are more and more cars and horses in front of the Qin Mansion.
Chun Ling was sitting in the car and saw the excitement in front of Qin's house from a distance.
Although the princess was gone, the imperial court did not take back the mansion, but gave it to the Qin family to continue living there. Although there was an impeachment by the imperial censor, the late emperor was very close to the princess at the time, so he just pretended not to see or hear.
Although she had followed Mrs. Zhu to two banquets held by various families, Chun Ling couldn't help but be surprised by the momentum she showed in front of the Qin family's door, her eyes brightening.
"There are so many fine carriages." She could not help but whisper to the maid beside her, "These banquets look very big."
The main door of Qin Mansion was closed tightly, while the side doors were opened, and a line of servants stood in and out.
Their carriage was not qualified to enter through the side door, and had to enter and exit through the corner door on the side. When the carriage passed the side door, two carriages stopped, and their carriage was immediately stopped by the servants.
Chun Ling lifted a corner of the car curtain and looked out. She saw a gorgeously dressed woman getting out of the car, surrounded by four or five servant women. She also picked up a little girl from behind. She was six or seven years old and well-dressed. They got off the car.
When the car arrived, many servants, women and girls came to greet him from the Qin family.
This woman is only sixteen or seventeen years old, but she has lived a life that she has never been able to live in her entire life...
And that little girl, she is the kind of person who is born with a silver spoon in her mouth.
"Go quickly, go quickly."
Someone urged from outside the car.
The carriage swayed forward, passed the door and headed towards the corner door.
"Don't look at it." The little maid on the side said in a low voice, "Take your wife's things with you, don't lose anything, it will cause trouble."
Chun Ling looked away, hurriedly responded, and began to sort out the large and small boxes beside her.
When an official prostitute walks around in other people's homes, she brings everything she brings with her. If you say it nicely, it means she is considerate, if you say it badly, she will be disliked by others.
When approaching the corner gate, Chun Ling looked back and saw another carriage stopping in front of the gate, and the women who came down were still holding the moon in their arms.
"Ladies from the Tong family, why are you here too?" Chen Shiba Niang turned around and said with a smile.
"Eighteenth Mother, come here quickly and let me see what you are wearing today?"
Several women of similar age smiled at her, holding their arms and looking at her in a familiar and intimate manner.
"You are only allowed to come, but we are not allowed to come?"
It was even more lively after entering the inner courtyard.
The Qin family's banquet was placed in the garden, with exquisite pavilions, water pavilions, and palace lanterns at night, making it look like a fairyland on earth.
Chun Ling couldn't help but look around while holding various boxes.
She had been amazed by the bustling and bustling Desheng Building, and she had been shocked by the luxury of the two homes she walked to, but at this moment she still couldn't take her eyes away.
Their arrival also caused a burst of excitement in the venue.
"Look, look, that's Miss Zhu..."
Countless eyes were fixed on Miss Zhu under the swaying lampshade.
Under the night light, a walking woman has red lips, some plum makeup, her hair is pulled high, her eyes are moving but she doesn't look sideways, she walks in small steps, her long skirt tumbling like a colorful butterfly.
"Sure enough, it is as beautiful as a peony and as colorful as a winter plum. She is worthy of being an oiran."
There were young men nearby who praised him repeatedly.
These words made the ladies next to me unhappy.
"Even an oiran is still an official prostitute."
"Is there anything worthy of praise?"
"Israel is just a servant."
The young gentlemen did not like to hear what the young ladies said. They were all sisters of their own family and there was nothing to avoid, so there were a few who were dissatisfied and argued.
"Little Madam Zhu is of pure origin."
"She is both excellent in sex and art, so she is naturally worthy of praise."
Qin Shisanlang, who was on the side, smiled and shook his head when he heard this.
"So young people are young, how can they argue with ladies at this time?" He held a tea bowl in his hand, turned to the young man next to him and laughed softly, "At this time, you should just smile and pretend you didn't listen.
arrive."
The young man next to him laughed and looked at the young man who was surrounded by several young ladies.
"...Innocent? How innocent? Which one from the Jiaofang Division is innocent?"
"...Miss Zhu, her father is an official...but she was framed and ended up in the Jiaofang Division..."
"Oh, now that her father has been rehabilitated, why is she still in the Jiaofang Division?"
"That's what makes her noble..."
"That's because she's used to this kind of life, and it's just that she can no longer live in poverty."
"Bitches are heartless and actors are meaningless."
"What little lady? Little lady, there are only young ladies in the Jiaofang Department!"
The disputes between young men and women are getting louder and louder. There is no evasion at all, and there is no need to avoid it.
Chun Ling's face turned ugly as he said words one after another.
This was the first time she saw a lady in such a scene.
In the past, banquets were held by men, and there were no such female relatives present. What they encountered were all the pursuit of women. This unabashed disgust and contempt simply frightened her.
The swaying lamps and bright jewelry flashed in front of her eyes, which made Chun Ling a little panicked. She couldn't help but look up at Miss Zhu in front of her.
Mrs. Zhu's body was upright, her steps were the same, her eyes were not squinting, and she seemed unable to hear the discussions around her.
But when someone calls her by that name, she can't pretend not to hear.
"Miss Zhu."
Miss Zhu stopped and turned around.
"What are your orders, ma'am?" she said with a salute.
"Come here."
A little lady waved and said.
Mrs. Zhu responded, walked over, stood in front of the little lady and saluted again.
Chun Ling followed and looked at the four or five young women in front of her. Their clothes were far inferior to Miss Zhu's. But for the first time, Chun Ling felt that the dress of Mrs. Zhu that she had once envied made her unwilling to look any further.
It turns out that sometimes being so dazzling among the crowd can make people feel humiliated.
"Mrs. Zhu, your father has been vindicated, but you don't want to leave your country. Is it because you are ashamed of yourself?" the little lady asked.
Miss Zhu smiled slightly.
"It's not that I'm ashamed of myself, it's just that the slave family accepted their fate." She lowered her head and said, "Even if you renounce your citizenship, it won't change your family's fate of joining the Jiaofang Division, so why bother to renounce your citizenship?"
These words made the young men around him look a little more pitiful, and some even sighed softly.
"It sounds so nice, but you still feel embarrassed." A young lady snorted, "Then if you are afraid of being humiliated, why don't you just be more stable and why do you want to be an oiran and show your face?"
Chun Ling lowered her head severely.
Miss Zhu still smiled slightly.
"Well, I don't think too much about it." She said, "I just want to do my best no matter what I do."
These words made the ladies laugh even more. When they were about to speak, someone spoke first.
"Well said."
The young man's clear voice attracted everyone to look over.
Under the corner corridor, a young man wearing a green robe and a jade belt was smiling.
Chun Ling couldn't help but widen her eyes after seeing the description clearly.
He is the son of the Zhou family!
"In this way, you will have no regrets in your life." The young man said, looking at Madam Zhu, he raised the tea bowl in his hand and said, "To Madam Zhu."
Then drink it all in one gulp.
Madam Zhu smiled slightly, bowed her head and saluted, turned around and took a step forward.
It turned out that he was the one who helped the lady speak...
And after he spoke, everyone around him stopped talking...
The Zhou family is indeed powerful...
Chun Ling endured the violent heartbeat and couldn't help but look back again.
Compared with him, Wang Shiqi is nothing!
It seems that he is very happy to protect Miss Zhu...
Chun Ling bit her lower lip and breathed quickly.
After walking a few steps, I heard a commotion behind me.
"Oh, people are coming..."
Who is coming?
Chun Ling turned around and saw that the young master of the Zhou family had already taken one step to the side, while the young ladies and young gentlemen who had just been surrounding and mocking her wife were also rushing towards that side.
A lot of people came over there, crowding around a woman laughing and chatting under the night lamp.
There were so many people, but no matter who's eyes fell on that woman first.
She was wearing a dark dress that was not old, with wide sleeves, a floor-length skirt, a slender waist and a wide width. She had no accessories on her body, but she became the most dazzling presence in the city.
Maybe it's because of the concentration of everyone's gaze, or maybe it's her deep eyes and her neck that looks like gelatin against the dark robe.
It's her...
Or is it her...
If she hadn't driven her away, would the two maids who were with her at this moment be their sisters?
A trace of pain brought Chun Ling back to her senses, and her lips felt salty.
It turned out that he had bitten his lip.
"This little lady is today's host and guest."
Miss Zhu's voice rang in my ears.
Chun Ling turned around and saw that Madam Zhu had stopped at some point and looked over there.
Under the lights, the little lady surrounded by everyone was as bright as glass.
"What a beauty." She said with a slight smile.
She glanced again and looked away.
"Let's go, the host and guest are here, we need to get ready quickly." She said, turned around and continued to sway.
Chun Ling also looked over there again, withdrew her gaze, lowered her head and followed quickly, disappearing with Mrs. Zhu in the flickering light and darkness.
******************************
Note 1: The eunuch organization of the Tang Dynasty was the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with levels, such as governor, deputy governor, escort, etc. (To be continued)
