Visiting a brothel in broad daylight is so relaxing, but the girl is not free yet.
Wang Yuan once rode horses through the streets twice, once when he won the first prize, and once when he returned to the court victoriously. Moreover, he had also been to Juxian Tower before, so the Turtle Gong here obviously knew him. The Turtle Gong apologized and said with a smile: "Master Wang, it's really not a coincidence.
Miss Gu Pan has a guest at this time, how about another girl?"
"There are also guests in broad daylight?" Wang Yuan asked in surprise.
Mr. Gui smiled and said, "You don't know that Miss Gu Pan's business has been very good since the Lantern Festival."
Wang Yuan asked: "Those guests, do you know that Miss Gu Pan has injuries on her face?"
Turtle Gong replied: "I didn't know that after visiting the lake on the 16th day of the first lunar month, it spread completely in the capital. Don't tell me, everyone didn't dislike it. Instead, they invited friends and companions to come. Only Miss Gu Pan sang a song.
Sword dance. The few guests upstairs now are all distinguished scholars, and they came here specifically to meet me."
Wang Yuan was speechless. A disfigured famous prostitute had become a popular figure.
Zhu Houzhao asked: "Why is this woman so beautiful that she is so popular?"
"Brother Zhu, don't ask. You will know when the time comes." Wang Yuan said mysteriously.
Zhu Houzhao smiled and said: "I think there is a secret, otherwise Erlang would not take the initiative to bring me here."
Wang Yuan said to Turtle Gong: "Take us up."
Gui Gong wondered: "Xueshi Wang, this... I'm afraid it's a little inconvenient."
Wang Yuan said arrogantly: "I'm not chasing the customers away, I'm just going to join in the fun. Quickly lead the way, or I will destroy the store for you!"
"Yes." Mr. Turtle said bravely.
A song was being sung in the room, and it seemed that it had just started.
Mr. Turtle opened the door, but before he could say anything, a noble man shouted: "Get out!"
Zhu Houzhao smiled and said nothing, and Li Sanlang naturally didn't say much either.
Wang Yuan smiled and pushed the door open: "I'm visiting Mr. Gu today. If we don't want to chat, we have an honored guest. Can we listen to some music together?"
"Who do you think you are!" The noble man didn't look good on him.
When others recognized Wang Yuan, they immediately reminded him in a low voice: "That's Bachelor Wang from the Hanlin Academy."
The noble young master's face turned red, and he quickly changed his attitude. He stood up and said, "It turns out that it's Bachelor Wang who is in front of me. I'm Liu Zhao, and my father is the left minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Please come in quickly!"
Wang Yuan cupped his fists and said, "It turns out he is Liu Gong's son!"
The current left minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs is Liu Chun, a native of Baxian County, Sichuan, who was ranked second in the last years of Chenghua. Although Liu Chun and Yang Tinghe are fellow Sichuan fellows, they are not from the same group. They are Li Dongyang's thorn in the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Now that Li Dongyang has retired from office, Liu Chun may not be able to hold his seat securely, and will have to give up his position to Yang Dang within a year at most.
Of course, Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Personnel was only a half-step official. Even if Yang Tinghe wanted to be transferred, he would have to get a ministerial position in exchange. It might be the minister of the Ministry of Industry or the minister of the Ministry of Rites. Anyway, Liu Chun had to be promoted.
The scholars around Liu Zhao immediately gave up their seats, and Wang Yuan led Zhu Houzhao over to sit down.
"Girl, please continue singing!" Wang Yuan said with a smile.
Gu Guren glanced at Wang Yuan, held his pipa and sang, and ignored everyone.
Zhu Houzhao didn't take it seriously at first, and even felt that Gu Guren's singing skills were not as good as those of Qing Guoren that Jiang Bin brought him to see.
When the sword dance started, Zhu Houzhao stood up in shock, his eyes seemed to be shining.
Zhu Houzhao waved secretly, and Li Ying immediately came over, only to hear the emperor say: "Take this girl back to the leopard room and perform a sword dance specifically for me!"
"Yes!" Li Ying accepted the order.
At this moment, Zhu Houzhao had no other thoughts, he just liked Gu Guren's sword dance. He himself liked to dance with swords, and he also liked to watch others dance with swords, and the sword dance in front of him was so amazing that she was actually a woman.
Danced out.
"Good swordsmanship!"
After the dance, there was a wave of cheers, and Zhu Houzhao also clapped his hands.
Liu Zhao looked at Gu Guren's tall figure and her eyes that seemed to be able to speak, and suddenly felt unbearably itchy. He originally came here to admire her reputation as a virtuous woman, but now he was so disturbed that he couldn't give up until he saw the scars with his own eyes.
, immediately asked: "I heard that the girl has injuries on her face, can you take off your veil and see her?"
Gu Guren said angrily: "Since the young master knew this, he asked the young lady to take off her veil. Did he deliberately embarrass the young lady?"
"How dare you, it's just hard to believe." Liu Zhao said.
Another scholar also said: "Please, please take off your veil, so that we can see your true face."
These guys are all fascinated by Gu Guanren and take chances with the rumors. What if the scars are not serious? With such a figure, skills and seductive eyes, even if there are minor flaws on the face, they are still worth taking home.
Be a concubine.
"You really want to see it?" Gu Guren was extremely annoyed.
She had received a lot of customers these days, most of whom were princes from the capital. She knew clearly that she had scars on her face, but she had to see them with her own eyes before she gave up.
Taking off the veil once is equivalent to opening her wound once. How can others understand the pain in her heart?
Liu Zhao cupped his fists and said, "Girl, please open it."
Gu Guren smiled bitterly and took off the veil. Suddenly there was another exclamation, and two people were frightened and backed away.
Zhu Houzhao was also shocked because the scar was so ugly and the flesh was so severe that it was unbearable to look at it.
All the scholars stood up and saluted one after another to express their respect for the loyal woman, and then took the opportunity to leave and run away, because Gu Guren took off the veil and did not want to put it back on.
In the blink of an eye, there were only three guests left in the room: Wang Yuan, Zhu Houzhao and Li Ying.
Gu Guren asked with a smile: "Isn't Bachelor Wang leaving yet?"
Wang Yuan said: "I came here to have a drink with the girl. I haven't drunk the wine yet, why should I leave?"
Gu Guren raised his glass and said, "I'd like to toast you three."
Zhu Houzhao drank it all and asked, "Girl, can you put on your veil?"
Gu Guren asked back: "Since you have taken it off, why do you need to wear it?"
Zhu Houzhao said: "I didn't ask you to take it. If you are unhappy, there is no reason to vent your anger on us."
"That's right, it's none of your business." Gu Guren was quite happy and put on the veil again.
Zhu Houzhao clapped his hands and praised: "This looks much better. Let's dance the sword again quickly!"
Gu Guren didn't give any face at all: "Sorry, I'm tired."
Zhu Houzhao was not angry, and walked over and said, "Since you are tired, let me dance for you. I am very good at dancing with swords."
Gu Guren was stunned and subconsciously handed the sword to Zhu Houzhao. She was an outlier among famous prostitutes and never looked down upon her guests; Zhu Houzhao was an outlier among the guests and actually competed with her on the sword dance skills on the spot.
Zhu Houzhao held the sword in his hand and disliked the lack of momentum of the musicians in playing the drums, so he said to Wang Yuan: "Erlang, come and play the drums!"
Wang Yuan sipped the wine and said, "No."
Zhu Houzhao was quite depressed and said to Li Ying: "Sanlang comes to play the drum!"
Li Ying immediately walked over and took the drumstick from the musician's hand.
"Dong dong, dong dong dong dong!"
The drums were blaring loudly, and Zhu Houzhao danced with his sword. The performance was really beautiful, but it was far inferior to Gu Guren.
Gu Guren pursed his lips and smiled. He felt that although this person had a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, and his face was not very good-looking, he rarely had a true temperament, so he was a guest worthy of receiving.
Zhu Houzhao danced more and more energetically, and said to Gu Guren: "Come here and dance together, let's compete!"
Gu Guren raised his sword and stood up, but he did not come to Zhu Houzhao's side. Instead, he jumped onto the low table like a kite and danced the sword into a ball of light and shadow to the beat of the drum.
Zhu Houzhao stopped, stared at it for a while, and said: "The sword dance on the table is very interesting, I haven't tried it yet. Come down quickly and let me come up and play!"
"No." Gu Guren refused.
Zhu Houzhao urged: "Come down quickly!"
Gu Guoren was too lazy to pay attention to him, and he danced with his sword and had fun by himself. Only by immersing himself in it could he forget his worries.
There are many tables in the room, which are all seats for guests.
Zhu Houzhao jumped on a table, kicked all the food and wine away, and danced with a sword to the beat of the drums. Unfortunately, he had never played like this before. The tabletop was too narrow, and he almost stepped on the air several times, and it was impossible to dance smoothly.
.
Li Sanlang was so frightened that the emperor fell to his death or was stabbed to death by his own sword. But he did not dare to leave his post without permission, so he could only continue to beat the drum in fear.
"Ouch!"
Zhu Houzhao finally couldn't dance anymore. He stepped on the ground with one foot and almost fell on his back.
Gu Guren took a moment to take a look, a smile appeared on his lips, and he continued to dance the sword with a cold face. Anyway, he was not afraid of being seen by the veil.
Zhu Houzhao walked up to Gu Guren, looked up at her, like a child encountering a new toy, and said impatiently: "Teach me how you dance the sword on the table!"
"I won't teach you!" Gu Guren put away his sword and got down from the table.
Zhu Houzhao said: "Teach me, I can pay for the tuition, or you can be my teacher."
Gu Guren was finally surprised and said: "I am a brothel girl. If you worship me as your teacher, you will be despised by others if word spreads."
Zhu Houzhao said nonchalantly: "They despise it, it's none of my business!"
Gu Guren said: "Master, if you like to watch me dance the sword, you can come to Juxian Tower from now on. There is no need to learn swordsmanship or anything like that."
"No, you have to teach me!"
Zhu Houzhao suddenly bowed and said: "Master, please bow to me, my disciple."
Wang Yuan couldn't laugh or cry. He turned his head and held his forehead, unable to look straight.
If word spread that the emperor worshiped a prostitute as his disciple, it would be even more nonsense than the emperor visiting a brothel, and the civil servants would collectively go crazy.
Gu Guren thought that Zhu Houzhao was Wang Yuan's friend. Seeing that he looked confused and didn't look like an official, he reminded him: "Young master, please don't do this. Scholars worship prostitutes as their teachers. If the trouble gets bigger, they may be deprived of their honors."
!”
Zhu Houzhao was a little impatient: "What do I want fame for? I've already become a disciple. Please teach me the art of sword dancing on the table!"
"You... are simply incomprehensible!" Gu Guren was also very annoyed.
Zhu Houzhao took off the jade pendant from his waist and said, "Here, this is the apprenticeship ceremony."
"No," Gu Guo didn't even see clearly that it was a cloud-dragon embroidered pendant, so he turned around and walked towards the back room, "Qing'er, see the guest off!"
A maid smiled and said: "You three gentlemen, please."
Zhu Houzhao couldn't understand that he came to visit a brothel and was kicked out.
After leaving Juxian Tower, Wang Yuan said with a smile: "Brother Zhu, how is this girl's sword dancing skills?"
Zhu Houzhao clapped his hands and praised: "It's breathtaking. It's a unique skill. Unfortunately, the scars on his face are too scary. They are a hundred times more terrifying than the arrow wounds on Jiang Bin's face. How could someone be so cruel and cruel?"
Wang Yuan explained: "This woman has a strong temperament and is unyielding. She was originally an official's daughter. Her father was convicted, and she was also assigned to the Jiaofangsi. When the head of the Jiaofangsi wanted to violate her, she broke the cup and used broken porcelain.
She disfigured her to protect her innocence. The Jiaofang Secretary was afraid that she would frighten the officials, so he sold her to Juxian Tower."
"So she is such a fierce woman!" Zhu Houzhao was greatly moved and said, "If this woman were a man, she would be a loyal and brave person, and I would definitely make her a general."
Wang Yuan was just pulling the strings, he didn't bother to take care of the rest and let everything happen as it happened.
Zhu Houzhao is also interesting. He sent someone to bring hundreds of taels of silver and guaranteed Gu Guren's visit every afternoon. Every time he went to visit the brothel, he didn't take Jiang Bin and Xu Tai with him, only Li Ying, who was specially interested in admiring Gu Guren.
He dances with swords and makes noises every now and then to become a disciple.
Gu Guren was a little disgusted at first, but gradually he got acquainted with him and felt that this person was a child who had not grown up. After going back and forth, they actually became good friends.
After more than a month, Zhu Houzhao saw that Gu Guren looked tired and said, "You seem very tired. Why don't you come home with me and just dance the sword for me every day."
Gu Guren refused: "Although you are true-hearted, you are also very ruthless. One day you will get tired of the sword dance and no longer like the sword dance, and you are afraid that you will abandon me like a shoe. Why bother? It's just right now. I
I am a prostitute and you are a guest; you pay and I wield the sword. We owe nothing to each other, it is clear."
Zhu Houzhao smiled with a smile on his face and said with an insincere expression: "Are you afraid that I will change my heart? Then I will marry you."
"What's the difference between a concubine and a slave?" Gu Guren said, "If you dare to tell the matchmaker that you are marrying me, I will agree to you immediately!"
Zhu Houzhao said: "My family has a legal wife, which was arranged by my mother, but I don't want to in my heart. I haven't touched her for so many years. If you come home with me, although you won't be a legal wife, it will be the same as marrying a matchmaker."
Gu Guren said angrily: "You are also a heartless person if you leave your first wife a widow. You are not allowed to come again in the future!"
"You don't understand, the situation in my family is a bit complicated." Zhu Houzhao said with a headache.
"Quia, please leave quickly. I've misjudged you!" Gu Guren was very angry.
Zhu Houzhao said: "I have found out that although your parents are dead, your two brothers are sent to the frontier. You also have a sister who is only ten years old and is also practicing in the Jiaofang Division. If you come home with me, I will
Let your brother come back and deregister your sister!"
"Unless there is a general amnesty, how can my two brothers be exempted from sin?" Gu Guren sneered, "You think you are the emperor!"
"Just watch!" Zhu Houzhao walked away with a puff of his sleeves.
The next day, Jin Yiwei came forward, and officials from the Jiaofang Division personally came to deregister Gu Gu.
He had to take off his clothes, so the Jiaofang Secretary directly threw the documents over, leaving Gu Guren confused.
Immediately afterwards, an eighth-level imperial official appeared out of nowhere and insisted on accepting Gu Gu as his adopted daughter. Gu Gu was unwilling, but the imperial official said: "If you agree, the two brothers will naturally be able to escape the crime.
Why not give it a try?”
Gu Guaren accepted it with a sense of luck, and at the same time secretly guessed Zhu Houzhao's true identity.
Until she was sent to the palace, she only served as a palace maid for a long time, and was quickly named Zhaoyi. This was because Zhu Houzhao wanted to avoid trouble, otherwise he would directly be named a concubine. After all, concubines can easily attract the attention of civil servants.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Zhu Houzhao laughed in the leopard room and asked with a mean expression: "How about it? Can I exonerate your brother?"
The moment Gu Guren entered the palace, she understood that the shock period was already over. Moreover, she was also familiar with the emperor's temper. Instead of being panicked, she said angrily: "You are using your power to bully others!"
Zhu Houzhao said: "From now on, you will dance the sword for me exclusively in the Leopard Room!"
Gu Guren said: "I treat you as a friend, but you treat me as a geisha!"
"Nonsense, I was your friend back then!" Zhu Houzhao argued.
"Only for sword dancing, what is she if she's not a geisha? You think I'm ugly!" Gu Guren said.
Zhu Houzhao said: "Your face is really not good-looking."
Gu Guoren stopped talking and looked unhappy.
Zhu Houzhao consciously made a mistake and tried to persuade him softly: "Are you angry? I'm just telling the truth. Do you want me to lie to you?"
"I'm going to have a hard life. From now on, I'll just dance the sword for you." Gu Guren said coldly.
"You are still angry!" Zhu Houzhao said.
"No!"
"You do, otherwise just laugh."
"I'm wearing a veil, so you can't even see me when I'm smiling."
"Then you lift the veil on the left side of your face, only the left side!"