The little turtle was hit, but he was not angry at all. His face was full of smiles, and his attitude was respectful and even flattering.
"Please wait a moment, I'll go now. Young Master Yang's arrival, the lady will be very happy to know."
Xu Qi'an visited Floating Fragrance every few days, and the courtyard had long determined that he was the lover of the top courtesan lady. The little gatekeeper was arrogant and cold to other guests, but he did not dare to neglect Xu Qi'an.
He wanted to kneel down and lick his boots.
Xu Qi'an led the night watchman into the courtyard. The plum forest in the corner was fragrant, and the white walls and black tiles were quite elegant.
When the top courtesan lady heard that Xu Qi'an had booked the whole place, she immediately asked her maid to put on exquisite makeup and a white floor-length dress, revealing her delicate collarbones and fair neck.
The white chest wrap was faintly discernible under the chiffon.
Floating Fragrance personally accompanied Xu Qi'an, pouring tea and wine, and occasionally whispering in his ear, smiling like a flower.
The gongs watched with envy.
Floating Fragrance herself was a famous courtesan, and after the song "Hidden Fragrance at Dusk under the Moon" was published, her value rose.
It was said that she no longer accompanied guests, at least not for ordinary people.
Even so, there were still many guests who came to the Shadow Plum Pavilion to drink, listen to music, and play tea. This was because Floating Fragrance would occasionally come out to play the drinking game.
After three rounds of drinking, Xu Qi'an winked at Song Tingfeng, got up, and said, "My colleagues, I can't hold my liquor, so I'll rest first. You guys enjoy yourselves."
Of course, the gongs had no objections. They looked at each other and laughed.
Floating Fragrance's eyes flickered, and she looked at Xu Qi'an strangely, then let him put his arm around her shoulder and leave.
…
After bathing, Xu Qi'an sat lazily in a white unlined shirt, holding a glass of wine in his hand.
"Xu Lang rarely brings colleagues over to drink." Fu Chu, who had also just finished bathing, sat on a bed a little further away, her head tilted as she dried her hair.
Her skin was warm, and her face was flawless. In the flickering candlelight, she looked a little more enchanting and mysterious.
"It's a long story." Xu Qi'an took a sip of wine and sighed, "A few days ago, two Jinluo officials took a fancy to me and wanted to recruit me, so we had a fight at the night watchman's office."
Floating Incense got off the bed. Her skirt fell down, covering her long, snow-white legs. She hugged Xu Qi 'an from behind and chuckled. "Are you jealous of me?"
"Jealousy has existed since ancient times." Xu Qi'an didn't deny it.
"Xu lang, you should have told me earlier so that I could entertain your colleagues in your stead," Fu Xiang said regretfully.
She did not pay much attention to the other gongs during the feast.
She did not pay much attention to the other gongs.
He wasn't lacking in interpersonal skills. He held Floating Fragrance in his arms and tipped the glass, the cold wine flowing down Floating Fragrance's snow-white neck.
"This is how we drink." Xu Qi 'an laughed and lowered his head.
Floating Fragrance, who reeked of alcohol, was soaking in the water again. Xu Qi 'an excused himself to go out for some fresh air. He left the master bedroom and went to the wine room to take a look. His colleagues were happily playing games to the sound of music, as if the door to a new world had been opened.
In fact, as long as he gave enough money, the maids in the courtyard of the Musical House would not refuse. It had been like this since ancient times.
Xu Qi'an jumped onto the wall, took out a piece of paper from his arms, and lit it.
He raised his head, and two streams of clear air shot through the night, flashing away.
In his sight, all kinds of fate appeared, and the world became colorful.
Xu Qi'an learned from Chu Caiwei that green represented demon aura. That night, when he was patrolling, he clearly saw the green light flashing over the Musical House.
This meant that there was a demon hidden in the Musical House. It was a bold guess, because the Musical House was a place where high-ranking officials and dignitaries usually drank and had fun. Such a place unexpectedly hid a demon.
But it was the truth.
This time, Xu Qi'an kept in mind the principle of not seeking death and did not spy on the Celestial Commissioner, so as not to be blinded by the Supervisor again.
He glanced over the Musical House. As far as he could see, all kinds of colors were flashing, but there was no demon aura.
"Did the demon leave … or hide in a special way?" Xu Qi'an jumped off the wall and returned to the boudoir of Floating Fragrance.
…
The young white-robed general fought bravely in the encirclement of Floating Fragrance. After going in and out seven times, he was finally exhausted and spat out blood.
The battlefield was in a mess. Both armies suffered heavy losses and were in urgent need of recuperation.
Floating Fragrance, whose black hair was messy and cheeks blushed, curled up in Xu Qi'an's arms and blinked her bright eyes. "Xu, please redeem me."
"Talking about money hurts the relationship …" Xu Qi'an, who was a sage, was not moved.
The lady twisted her body and said coquettishly, "I just want to be a concubine. I just want to serve you."
Xu Qi'an touched her head and stroked her black hair with his fingers. "Stop it. Our sincere feelings should not be mixed with the stink of money."
Floating Fragrance's eyes turned red and she said with tears, "You just want to play with me for free and kick me away when you're tired of it."
"You found that out?!" Xu Qi'an thought in surprise.
He said helplessly, "You are the Top Courtesan of the Musical House. It is impossible to redeem you without four or five thousand taels. Moreover, the Ministry of Rites may not agree. "
"I have saved some money over the years, and I have inquired about it. It only takes three years for a copper gong to buy a yard in the inner city." Floating Fragrance hugged him and begged softly, "Xu, redeem me."
The beautiful Top Courtesan not only knew how to act coquettishly, but also made full use of her capital. Her exquisite and curvy body clung to Xu Qi'an.
There were tears in her eyes, which made her look delicate and lovely.
Xu Qi'an frowned, but it was not difficult. In his previous life, he had also met this kind of girl, who knew how to act coquettishly and buy this and that (luxury), and Xu Qi'an could handle it.
He just felt a little strange. A famous Top Courtesan, whose career was booming and she was in the prime of her youth, even if she wanted to turn over a new leaf, it was still too early.
Besides, although the officials were afraid of the night watchman because of the organization, Floating Fragrance's status was more than enough to be a concubine of a fourth-level official.
"This matter is not urgent. When I save some money, I will redeem you." Xu Qi'an said perfunctorily. He hugged the smooth body of the Top Courtesan and let himself fall asleep in three seconds.
In the darkness, Floating Fragrance quietly stared at Xu Qi'an's face, her eyes clear.
…
The next day, in the early morning, a group of people left the Musical House.
When the colleagues saw Xu Qi'an, they greeted him with a smile, and their relationship became much closer. If they only regarded Xu Qi'an as a colleague before, now they regarded him as a friend.
The effect was very good.
In fact, as long as he was not too jealous or his status was too high, the gongs at the same level would not mindlessly hate him.
Most people were willing to make friends with Xu Qi'an if they were quick-witted, catered to what he liked, and showed kindness.
Because in this way, the identity of a lucky guy who was chosen by two Jinluo became: this guy who was chosen by Jinluo was my friend.
Along the way, they chatted, and a gong suddenly laughed. "Ning Yan is really a talent. He let me know how ignorant and boring I used to be."
The colleagues laughed kindly and ambiguously.
Xu Qi'an shrugged. "I will teach you some more interesting ways to play later."
More interesting … Everyone's eyes lit up.
They arrived at the office of the night watchman. After the roll call, Xu Qi'an, Song Tingfeng, and the other two came to the side hall of the Spring Breeze Hall, drank a few mouthfuls of tea, and were about to go out to patrol the street when an official hurried over.
"Milords, Milord Li wants to see you."
"There's work …" Xu Qi'an and the other two hung their swords and went to the Spring Breeze Hall side by side.
Li Yuchun, who was dressed meticulously, perfectly blended in with the neat and orderly Spring Breeze Hall, not standing out at all.
"Brother Chun, it's very tiring for you to live like this …" Xu Qi'an somewhat sympathized with his superior's obsessive-compulsive disorder.
He thought to himself, "When I sleep with a woman in the future, one position must be a flat 100, and the other position must also be a flat 100. Otherwise, I will feel uncomfortable."
Li Yuchun pointed at the three cards beside the table. "Today, we are going to search houses. You three will represent me. I have to repeat the same words, don't do unnecessary things.
"After a quarter of an hour, gather in the front yard and go with the other colleagues."
"Search houses?!"
Xu Qi'an was shocked. Searching houses was one of the jobs of the night watchman, and the target was a criminal official.
"This is the document." Li Yuchun showed the document that was sent to him to the three of them.
The target of this search was the director of the Ministry of Revenue's Department of Gold, primary sixth rank. He was exiled and searched under the charge of corruption and dereliction of duty.
The so-called search of houses was to confiscate the family property and confiscate all of the family's property. In Xu Qi'an's previous life, it was the confiscation of the personal property of a criminal.
Li Yuchun glanced at Xu Qi'an and said, "This person is a subordinate of Assistant Minister Zhou of the Ministry of Revenue."
This was telling Xu Qi'an that this matter was a follow-up to the tax and silver case.
The fall of a leader of the court would be accompanied by the dismissal and punishment of the officials who were subordinate to him. It was like pulling out the mud from a radish.
Xu Qi'an and the other two received the order and left. On the way to the front yard, Song Tingfeng said, "This is the first time you have participated in the search of houses, and there are some rules you do not understand.
"When the property is searched, the officials will count all the valuable items in the front yard, record them, and then bring them back to the yamen. But they will not participate in the search. "
When he said this, Song Tingfeng gave him a "you figure it out yourself."
A wily old fox like Xu Qi 'an immediately understood what he meant.
"From Leader's meaning … …" Xu Qi'an probed.
"Ha, don't worry about him." Song Tingfeng twisted his mouth. "Leader is just stubborn and does not know how to adapt. We have to reasonably seek benefits for ourselves. "
This was a relatively reasonable way of seeking benefits. Xu Qi'an nodded.
Song Tingfeng was the same as him. He was not willing to extort merchants or the common people, but right now, they were going to search houses, and the houses of corrupt officials.
The silver itself was not clean. What they were plundering was the wool of Daibun, not the wool of the common people.
He had seen this kind of thing too many times in both his previous life and his current life. Xu Qi'an adopted an attitude of neither disagreement nor agreement.
The search this time was led by a silver gong, four groups of gongs, and twenty-four white servants.
Every three gongs belonged to a different silver gong. The system of many groups was to supervise and report each other.
The system was good, but after a long time, everyone had a tacit understanding that everyone would take a little, which was equivalent to no one taking anything.
Listening to Song Tingfeng's explanation, the three of them came to the front yard and saw that there were already gongs gathering.
The leader was a young silver gong in his early thirties. His lips were thin, and there was a hint of arrogance in his eyes. Just by looking at his face, one could tell that he was not an easy person to get along with.
Song Tingfeng led his two colleagues and moved closer to the silver gong. He took out the ticket from his bosom.
When the silver gong saw the three of them coming, his eyes suddenly sharpened, and he said in a low voice, "You three are late."
Xu Qi'an was stunned. "We are not late."
They came as soon as they received the news. Although they talked on the way and did not walk quickly, it was definitely not more than a quarter of an hour.
When the silver gong heard this, his eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes suddenly sharpened. He took the saber from behind his waist and whipped it at Xu Qi'an's cheek.
Amidst the sound of the air breaking, Xu Qi'an's body leaned back, and in that instant, he avoided the fierce whip.
As if he did not expect Xu Qi'an to be able to avoid it, the silver gong was startled, and laughed sinisterly. "You still dare to dodge."
"My Lord, my Lord …" Song Tingfeng hurriedly intervened between the two, and with a bashful face, he smiled apologetically. "Yes, we are late. My Lord, please don't be angry. We have delayed official business, there is still a good job waiting for you."
He could mention the confiscation of the house.
Unexpectedly, the silver gong did not give him any face. He lifted his leg and kicked Song Tingfeng's lower abdomen, sending him flying. He struggled for a while, but could not stand up.
He is targeting me … but I have not offended him … Xu Qi'an's heart surged with anger, and he subconsciously pressed on the hilt of his saber.
The silver gong narrowed his eyes, and instead of being angry, he laughed. He whipped the scabbard again, and said mockingly, "What, you want to draw your saber? Are you worthy?"
"If you draw your saber, I will be dead …" Xu Qi'an raised his hand to block a few times, and the bones in his arm burned with pain from the whipping.
With so many people watching, it was a little embarrassing.
Seeing that Xu Qi'an had admitted defeat, the silver gong whipped him a few more times, and sneered. "Get lost."
Xu Qi'an and the other two entered the queue.
Following that, more Copper Gongs rushed over, but the silver gong did not care, and allowed them to enter the queue.
Seeing this scene, Xu Qi'an was absolutely sure that the silver gong was targeting him, but he was puzzled that he had not offended him.
"You are lucky that you did not draw your saber just now, or you would be finished." Someone behind him said.
Xu Qi'an turned his head to look, and saw that it was the Copper Gong that he had drunk wine with the night before.
"I am not that stupid. Drawing my saber against the silver gong is a big crime," he said.
The bronze gong nodded, and said softly, "His surname is Zhu, and he is the youngest silver gong in the yamen."
Xu Qi'an said gloomily, "I do not know him."
The bronze gong said, "His father's surname is also Zhu."
Xu Qi'an thought that this was nonsense, and then he heard Zhu Guangxiao say in a low voice, "Zhu Jinluo?"
The Copper Gong who drank wine with the brothels hummed, and added, "He is the youngest silver gong, and also the most promising young talent in our capital yamen. Hmm, before Xu Qi'an appeared.
"The day before yesterday, I drank wine with his subordinate Copper Gong, and heard him say that Zhu Yinluo does not like you, and more than once said that you are only a copper gong …"
At this moment, Zhu Yinluo's sharp gaze swept across the crowd, and the bronze gong immediately fell silent.
