So many years had passed.
The Retired Emperor was getting older. The older he got, the less he liked to move.
In the past, the Retired Emperor would go to the Imperial Residence every year. Now, he was not willing to go.
Now, he just stayed in the palace.
In the past, he liked to invite the old officials over to play chess. However, he heard too many old officials complain about the Emperor.
He did not like to summon the old officials. The Emperor was afraid that the Retired Emperor would be lonely, so he told the young princes.
He told them to pay their respects every day after class.
They all came to pay their respects to the Retired Emperor. Since he had time, he would also come over to play chess with the Retired Emperor.
The Retired Emperor knew Tu Chen's filial piety. Although he scolded Tu Chen,
In his heart, he also enjoyed it.
Tu Chen had been the Emperor for so many years.
The Retired Emperor also knew that Prince Zhongshun was still looking for trouble for Tu Chen.
After all, Tu Chen was the youngest son. The Retired Emperor still loved him dearly and could not bear to punish him. He could only compensate Tu Chen, which made the Retired Emperor and Tu Chen closer.
After two rounds of chess, the Retired Emperor let Tu Chen go back to the Imperial Study. He knew that because the Yangzhou Salt Patrol Imperial Censor had an accident, the Emperor was also busy. It was fine to find anyone to play chess. There was no need to drag the Emperor down and let the Emperor delay state affairs.
Tu Chen wanted to play a few more rounds with the Retired Emperor, but the state affairs at hand were really important. He could only get up and say, "Father, I will leave first. I will play chess with you another day."
"Go." The Retired Emperor waved his hand, indicating that Tu Chen could leave. Then, he turned his gaze to the chessboard. After the Emperor left, he got up and personally opened the window to look at the scene in the courtyard.
"Of course, it is cold outside. Let's sit on the bed." Zhu Lin put a cloak on the Retired Emperor.
"Another year is about to pass away. The people from back then have passed away one by one. Dai Shan, who grew up with me, has also passed away for two years. In less than two years, I will also pass away. Everything remains the same, but people have changed." The Retired Emperor let out a long sigh. His turbid eyes were filled with sorrow.
"Perhaps His Majesty is feeling lonely. Next year, we can ask His Majesty to arrange a trip to Jiangnan. That place is lively, and we can have the princes accompany us," Zhu Lin suggested.
"What's the point of spending so much effort? It's a waste of manpower and money. Jiangnan has just been reorganized, and the Emperor's situation has just improved. The national treasury is also abundant. It's not necessary to ask the Emperor to open his private treasury just because there's a natural or man-made disaster in a place. Moreover, his private treasury isn't very rich." The Retired Emperor refused without thinking.
"Then why don't we go to the imperial plantation and have a few of the princes accompany us? The princes are very good at farming. When autumn came, they even sent you some of the vegetables they personally planted. During those few days, your appetite has increased by quite a bit," said Zhu Lin.
The Retired Emperor felt that this suggestion was quite good. He was instantly moved and said, "Let's talk about it after spring next year. At that time, we can bring the four children, Jia Zhen, and the four children from their family. At that time, we can go to Zhuangzi and live there for two months before coming back."
"Ah." Zhu Lin saw that the Retired Emperor's expression had relaxed and was relieved.
After Tu Chen got the answer, she naturally started to deal with it. Although the current Patrolling Salt Censor had made a mistake, the person behind the scenes who had plotted against him had to be found out.
The Jia Zhen did not tell Xia Lu about what had happened in the imperial court. First, Xia Lu had to take care of Jia Liushi and was quite busy. Second, this matter had nothing to do with the Jia Family. The Jia Family had no power to participate in it. If they had to count, they could only count the Xue Family. However, the Xue Family's power base was still in Jinling. Although they also had a foot in Yangzhou, that was nothing. After all, the Xue Family was only an imperial merchant. Even if they wanted to borrow power, their power was in the capital. They were not their own family. Naturally, they could not compete with others, such as the Zhen Family in Jinling.
As for the third reason, the Jia Zhen was also very busy. The shop had to be completed in a hurry. There were problems in the middle of the process. In the end, it was completed at the end of the year. However, the Spring Festival was coming soon. Therefore, the Jia Zhen and the Emperor chose to open after the Spring Festival. Anyway, they had waited for so long. It was better to get a good omen. They would open on the eighth day of the Spring Festival after the Spring Festival. The invitations had been sent to each family. After all, the Jia Zhen was now so favored by the Emperor that no one dared to disrespect him. Moreover, he only called the Childes of each family.
Because the shop would open on the eighth day of the Spring Festival, the time was quite tight. The Jia Zhen was even busier. Fortunately, because it was the end of the year, the Jia Zhen was about to close. There was no big deal here, so the Jia Zhen could focus on the shop.
After the Spring Festival, the Jia Zhen's shop finally opened. The Jia Zhen specially took a day off to keep an eye on the shop. The guests who came were all Childes. On the first day, the rules of the shop would be announced. Therefore, he needed to be there.
The Childes who were invited by the Jia Zhen were amazed when they saw the appearance of the shop. At this time, two rows of girls came down from the stairs. Halcyon walked in the middle of the girls and stood on the second floor. He said, "Thank you all for coming to our shop. I am the shopkeeper of this shop and am responsible for all the affairs of this shop. Now, I will introduce the shop to you. There are many things that can be done in this shop, such as watching performances, riding horses, and so on. If you want to know more, you can wait until I am finished and invite the girls beside me to explain in detail. Now, I will talk about the rules of this shop."
"Everyone can see that there are many girls in this shop. If you want a girl to accompany you, you have to invite her. Moreover, each person can only invite two girls at most. If two young masters take a fancy to the same girl, we don't compare prices here. It's not good for the girl to choose one to follow. Therefore, let's compare our luck. The girl will take out a plate like this, with different patterns on both sides. You can each choose one pattern, then throw it up. The girl will follow whichever pattern falls down."
"Secondly, all of you gentlemen are refined people. Women are all made of water and must be treated with gentleness. In our store, there are some methods that cannot be used, so I hope that all of you can take pity on these poor ladies. Thirdly, our store has many performances, such as juggling, opera, and storytelling. Speaking of which, the performers cannot accompany you, so I hope that all of you can understand." Lastly, our store is not the Southwind Restaurant. The store's servants are all delicate and pretty, so I hope that all of you won't have any improper thoughts about them. Alright, now that the rules have been explained, you may begin to choose the ladies you like. The ladies will show you around the store, "said Halcyon with a beaming smile.
The Childes who came over looked at each other. One of the Childes who had been arranged by Halcyon took the initiative to stand in front of a beautiful girl and said, "May I ask for your name?"
The girl smiled gently and said, "My name is Lian Yi." Lian Yi took the initiative to reach out and grab the Childe's arm. She said gently, "Childe, please come with me. I will show you around the shop."
Seeing that the Childe was taken away by the beautiful girl, the rest of the Childes couldn't hold themselves back any longer. They all walked up to the girl they liked. With this, there really was a scene of two Childes choosing a girl. At this time, the girl calmly took out the round plate in her hand and asked gently, "Which side do the two Childes choose?"
After the two Childes chose, the girl threw it up and caught it, revealing the patterns on it. She then followed the Childe who had chosen her. She thanked the Childes who had not been chosen and apologized. She indicated that the Childes who had not been chosen could choose other girls, as the other girls were also very good.
After chatting with the girls, the group of Childes finally realized how high the quality of the girls were. They were proficient in poetry and song, and no matter what they said, they were able to pick up on the topic. The girls brought the Childes to experience the most important part of the shop, massage. In each room, there were specialized technicians. Of course, these technicians were all men. The technicians served the Childes while the girls chatted with the Childes.
After the first day, the Jia Zhen dragged his tired body back to the residence. Everything had gone smoothly, and there hadn't been any problems. Although there had been some conflicts, Halcyon had resolved them. In fact, there had been some small conflicts that hadn't even started before they were nipped in the bud by the people accompanying them. Today was a perfect day.
"How was it?" After the Jia Zhen returned, Xia Lu asked.
"It was alright. There weren't any problems," the Jia Zhen said.
"I'm asking about those girls." Xia Lu felt that in this world, she had let down those girls the most. "Don't feel guilty.
They were originally government prostitutes, and were destined to accompany customers until their deaths. We've discussed it. These girls can rest for one day every two days. Moreover, with Halcyon watching, those tricks won't be used on these girls. You know, when these girls were in the government brothel, it was inevitable that they would encounter some officials with various tricks. These girls' fates were also predetermined. Even if you wanted to redeem them, you couldn't. Many of them were played until they died. At least, in our shop, those girls will have a much better life, "the Jia Zhen said.
"Yes." Xia Lu nodded. She was too weak to change the fates of those girls.
Because the Jia Zhen's shop had opened, there was a new topic of conversation in the capital. Very quickly, the affair of the Salt Patrol Imperial Censor was suppressed. However, there were still smart people in the capital. They knew that although the Salt Patrol Imperial Censor's affair had been suppressed, the position had not been removed. There were many people eyeing this position. Although the Emperor might still use his own confidant, they had to fight for it. What if they got it? Moreover, the Salt Patrol Imperial Censor was the Emperor's own confidant. In the end, he was slapped in the face.
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