Ning Que didn't know that the boss of the House of Red Sleeves was looking at him coldly from the top floor, and he didn't know that the boss was angry at him for teasing the girls instead of doing his job. He was still sitting beside Dewdrop as usual, chatting with her while discreetly asking if Zhang Yiqi's death had aroused any suspicion.
"I like the way you smile. Look at your cute little dimples." Dewdrop rolled her eyes and said, "But then again, since you want to enter the Academy, you have to study seriously. Otherwise, if you can't get in, people will definitely say that we girls have harmed you. How will you compensate us then?"
"Don't talk about us. Ning Que comes here every day just to chat with you. It has nothing to do with us." A girl joked.
Dewdrop's words seemed to be joking, but in fact, she was really concerned about him. Ning Que felt a little warm in his heart. He smiled and replied with some nonsense like "I've prepared my homework and don't worry". Sangsang lowered her head to eat melon seeds and chatted with the maidservant Xiaocao. She thought that her young master's words were not nonsense but lies. There were six courses in the Academy Entrance Examination, and she urged him every day. How many courses had he read?
Although she didn't need to disguise herself as a manservant, the girls in the brothel had sharp eyes and could tell that she was an ugly girl the moment she entered the brothel. Xiaocao chatted with her and thought that Ning Que must think that Sangsang was ugly, so he shamelessly went to the brothel every day.
In the room on the top floor, the middle-aged man in a turquoise robe walked slowly to the boss of the House of Red Sleeves. He stood side by side and looked downstairs. He looked at the lad who was sitting in a chair and talking with the girls around him gently. He couldn't help smiling, and his handsome and steady eyes suddenly brightened.
"If this lad is the last tenant of Lin 47th Street, then I have no reason to tolerate him." The man smiled and said, "If you drive him away, all the lease contracts will be in my hands, and then I will transfer them to the yamen. Do you have any reason to refuse the requisition of that street by the Chang 'an Local Government?"
"All the shop owners on Lin 47th Street have been driven away by you, but have you ever seen me lower my head?" The middle-aged man in a turquoise robe smiled and said, "Moreover … you can't drive this lad away."
"You can't chase him away?" The man quietly stared at his eyes and suddenly laughed, saying, "Yeah, who would dare to do anything to you, Old Chao of the Spring Breeze Pavilion?"
The green-robed middle-aged man smiled and didn't answer. He turned around and sat back in his chair.
He had already received a message from Old Four and knew what had happened on Lin 47th Street today. A little scholar who came to Chang 'an to prepare for the exams was fearless in front of the two gangs who were about to have a bloody fight. He even took advantage of the situation to raise the price and snatched a year's rent from his hands. What was more puzzling to him was that the lad didn't raise the price sky-high. Instead, he seemed to be very experienced and had a sense of propriety. In other words, he was very magnanimous.
On the first day of the opening of the Old Brush Pen Shop, he went to Lin 47th Street not to take shelter from the rain, but to see which fool dared to rent his shop. Who knew that the lad might not know what had happened in the Jianghu of Chang 'an City, but he was definitely not a fool.
In this world, no fool could write such good calligraphy, and no fool could leave such a thick knife callus between his thumb and index finger. Thinking of the strength and even the vague killing intent in the ink on the wall of the Old Brush Pen Shop and Qi IV's description of the scene today, the middle-aged man even suspected that the lad had killed people … No, it should be suspected that the lad had killed a lot of people.
It was hard to believe that he had killed a lot of people at the age of 15 or 16, for someone who had been walking in the darkness and blood all year round. For such a lad, as long as he didn't want to move, who could force him to move?
"Old Chao, I'm asking you a question on behalf of the Prince's Mansion. Can you show some respect?"
The middle-aged man raised his head and found that he was lost in thought because he was thinking about the lad. He couldn't help but smile apologetically. The words "Prince's Mansion" seemed to have no effect on his carefree mind.
The man who talked to him today was named Cui Delu. Although it was a tacky name, he was definitely not a layman. A man who could manage the number one brothel in Chang 'an City couldn't be too tacky. Most people in Chang 'an thought that the brothel was owned by a high-ranking official of the Chang' an Local Government. However, only people like the middle-aged man knew that Cui Delu relied on the steward of the Prince's Mansion. Some even suspected that the brothel itself was the property of the Prince.
"The House of Red Sleeves has been in some trouble recently. I really didn't expect that Brother Cui would still have the time to chat about those things."
Cui Delu's face turned slightly cold. He said, "You should know that the Lin 47th Street is not what the Prince's Mansion wants. It's just that it's inconvenient for the Military Ministry and the Ministry of Revenue to take care of it, so it was handed over to us who ran errands. Who knew that you've been stubbornly refusing to let it go, which made the officials in the Ministry unhappy. That's why the matter has become so serious. A few days ago, the Chang 'an Local Government tried to clean up your place, but you took the blame. In the end, even the Yulin Royal Guards were dispatched …"
Hearing the words "Yulin Royal Guards", the middle-aged man frowned slightly, as if he was feeling a dull pain.
Seeing his expression, Cui Delu changed the topic and said with a smile, "Of course, you should know that the Prince's Mansion has to receive some benefits for helping those two departments. However, the steward said that the Prince likes you more. He once mentioned your name after drinking, saying that you are well-behaved and know your limits in Chang 'an City."
The middle-aged man remained silent, but the dark color between his eyebrows became more and more conspicuous.
Cui Delu continued to say seriously, "You also know that a censor died in my brothel two days ago. It's very troublesome. That unlucky censor died a violent death, but his family made a fuss to the Chang 'an Local Government. The Prince and the censor were old friends, so he couldn't talk to them at this moment. Therefore, I have to deal with it myself. If you have a way to settle this matter for me, then I won't meddle in the affairs of the Lin 47th Street anymore."
Although the other party was just a brothel owner, and although he kept saying "I am I", the middle-aged man was very clear that the other party represented the Prince's attitude, and the voice came from the Prince's Mansion. After pondering for a while, he smiled and said, "Even if Your Highness and the censor were old friends, it's too easy to settle this matter. Why do you need us, who are in Jianghu, to do it?"
Cui Delu said with a gloomy face, "Do you really not understand or are you pretending not to understand? If it's the former, then from now on, you, Old Chao from the Spring Breeze Pavilion, will not exist in my eyes because you're too stupid. If it's the latter, then from now on, you, Old Chao from the Spring Breeze Pavilion, will not exist in my eyes, because you're too smart and don't know how to appreciate favors. "
The middle-aged man calmly replied, "The matter of the Lin 47th Street is not a big deal to the Prince, and it's also not a big deal to me, Old Chao from the Spring Breeze Pavilion. If the Imperial Court really needs it, I'm willing to offer it with both hands, but … you shouldn't use this matter to pressure me."
"The rule of the Spring Breeze Pavilion is not to participate in the struggle of the Imperial Court, whether it's Your Highness, the Military Ministry or the Ministry of Revenue. As long as it's related to these things, I'll go as far as I can. The more you pressure me, the farther I'll go."
"You, Old Cao from the Spring Breeze Pavilion, are the leader of the biggest gang in Chang 'an City, with thousands of subordinates following you to make a living. The Imperial Court has given you the work of transportation and escort, but you say you want to leave? Do you think you can leave by yourself? Where do you want to go? Where can your 3,000 subordinates go? The prison of the Ministry of Justice or the prison of the Frontier Fortress? "
Cui Delu stared at him with gloomy eyes and said, "In the past few years, the Imperial Court was peaceful, and it might be possible to be wise to protect oneself. But now the Fourth Princess has come back, and she is determined to protect her own brother to be the Crown Prince, but she has forgotten that the Empress is still on the throne, and the Empress also has a son! Of course, these family affairs have nothing to do with you, but at this time, if you still don't show your attitude and become a dog of any family, then … no family will tolerate you! "
"As a dog, it turns out that I have to find a master?" The middle-aged man let out a long sigh, looked at him and asked, "So you want to subdue me for His Highness?"
"Yes, now all the people in Chang 'an City who are qualified to speak are suppressing you, why? Because you're a dog without a master. In this case, if you're willing to rely on any family, whether it's the Military Ministry or anyone else, as long as you have a master, others will have to consider the person holding your leash if they want to beat you. "
"Can I ask a question?" The middle-aged man suddenly said with a smile.
"Please."
"Between the Empress and the Fourth Princess, who will His Highness support?"
Cui Delu said decisively, "Of course not. His Highness will always be loyal to His Majesty. As long as His Majesty says yes, His Highness will support that person."
After hearing this answer, the middle-aged man was silent for a long time, and then he slowly raised his head and replied with a smile, "Sorry, as a man of the Tang Empire, I'm really not used to being a dog."
Cui Delu was stunned, forcibly suppressed his anger, and bitterly persuaded, "In this life, people will always be dogs, and some people want to be dogs but can't."
The middle-aged man stood up, tied his sword to his waist, and elegantly cupped his hands and said, "Mr. Cui, you're really not a competent lobbyist, because you don't know the character of Old Chao of the Spring Breeze Pavilion."
Cui Delu's face was a little ugly, and he stood up and said in a low voice, "Are you worried that this decision won't convince the public? Don't worry, His Highness has said that as long as you're willing to bow down, even if it's symbolic, he will let the Military Ministry give you an explanation and give you two heads. You're a grand Gang Leader, can't you control those lowly people? "
At this point, he no longer cared about using the steward of the Prince's Mansion as a filter, and directly mentioned His Highness. However, it seemed that the middle-aged man didn't hear it at all, and directly walked out of the door. No one noticed that when Cui Delu said the four words "grand Gang Leader", there was a trace of an incomprehensible smile between his eyebrows.
"Old Chao, stop right there." Cui Delu gloomily stared at the back of his head, "It seems that you and your brothers have been doing well in Chang 'an these years, and have long forgotten how to write the word" awe ". But I have to remind you that these nobles are the real nobles, and it's not a world that a cockroach crawling in the gutter like you can understand."
The middle-aged man slowly stopped, but he didn't look back.
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