In the west of Fushun City, a sedan chair was parked outside the intersection of East Fourth Street.
The curtain of the sedan chair was slightly lifted, revealing the side profile of a woman wrapped in a headscarf with white powder on her face. Outside the sedan chair stood a lewd middle-aged man. No one knew what the man said, but the woman in the sedan chair was so angry that she slammed the curtain down and scolded, "I don't know where this unruly thief came from, but he actually dares to provoke me."
The man outside the sedan chair looked troubled and said in a low voice, "It seems that the territory in the west of the city has changed hands. I don't know which master Han Gui Constable has joined, but he's even more ruthless and overbearing than before. We went to ask for him, but we didn't even know who the master was. We didn't even see anyone in charge before we were thrown out. "
"Didn't you give him some money to ask for information?"
"Of course I did. I even gave five taels of silver to the patrolling yamen runner. That yamen runner accepted the money, but he still threw me out. "
"What about those acquaintances from the past?"
"Speaking of which, this matter is even more serious. I only found out after asking around. A few days ago, more than ten families died in the west of the city. All the ruffians who lived here were swept away. I wanted to go in and ask for directions, but I couldn't do it. Hua Niang, I'm afraid we won't be able to solve this matter by ourselves. We'll have to ask Old Master Wang for help. "
Thinking of the ruthless methods of the mastermind, the man outside the sedan chair was quite afraid of the situation he described. However, the woman in the sedan chair scolded coldly, "This matter was originally ordered by Old Master Wang. It's obvious that the Old Master doesn't know the details, so he wants us to test it out. However, I didn't expect that this group of unknown people would really bully me, Hua Niang. "
The 'Hua Niang' in the sedan chair could be considered to have some background. This woman used to be the top prostitute in Fushun City more than ten years ago. After she passed the age of 20, she started to open a brothel called Xiuchun House and became a brothel keeper. In the Ming Dynasty, the customers of the brothel preferred the young. A leading prostitute was the most popular at the age of 13 to 15. By the age of 20, she was basically destroyed to the point of being unsightly.
This Hua Niang had hooked up with Wang Kai Wong Yuanwai, a well-known wealthy merchant in Fushun. The Elegant Spring House was considered one of Wong Yuanwai's properties. Every month, Hua Niang would give a gift or two. A few days ago, Wong Yuanwai sent his men to spy on the situation in the west of the city. At first, Hua Niang was indifferent, but yesterday, she suddenly found out that the 'daughters' she bought had secretly escaped to the west of the city.
It was not uncommon for a 'daughter' to run away, so he could just catch her and beat her up. Hua Niang ordered her slave servants to take sticks and chains to the streets in the west of the city to search for the people. As a result, not long after they went in, they were chased out by a group of yamen runners. Those yamen runners were fierce and ruthless. They would draw their swords and cut people if they didn't agree with them. Several of Hua Niang's slave servants were slashed, and two of them died when they were carried back.
What would happen if someone died?!
Hua Niang cried and ran to the yamen to make a scene. However, when the master of the yamen heard that it was a matter of the west of the city, he directly asked her to go to Constable Han Gui. But this matter was caused by Constable Han. She didn't dare to go to him, so she could only go to Wong Yuanwai and complain. As a result, Wong Yuanwai asked her to make trouble. He specifically told her not to be afraid of death, and the bigger the trouble, the better.
The west of the city was not big, but it was not small either. There were thousands of people living there, so it was not difficult to make some trouble. But Hua Niang also knew what was good for her. She just wanted to get the people back. Because this was clearly a 'fight between immortals'. As a madam, she would be courting death if she got involved.
But Zhou Qingfeng stayed in the west of the city and quietly ran his business. Why would he care about such a madam? Moreover, young and healthy girls were high-quality resources. He would never hand them over.
After several fruitless negotiations, Hua Niang really couldn't swallow this anger. At this moment, she sat in the warm sedan chair and scolded, "The person behind this is not willing to show up. If he is heartless, then don't blame me for being unjust. I have been in Fu Shun for so many years, and I have never been afraid of anyone. If he annoys me, I will make him die without knowing how he died. "
As for how to make Zhou Qingfeng die without knowing the reason, this madam, Hua Niang, naturally had her vicious methods. She asked people to carry the sedan chair back to her 'Elegant Spring House'. When she entered the house, she smelled a strong smell of sandalwood. A Taoist priest walked towards Hua Niang. He waved his horsetail whisk and said, "Immeasurable Deity, I have already used a spell to expel the miasma. I can guarantee the safety of your house."
Hua Niang asked with a cold face, "Are those sick girls still alive?"
"Those girls are either old or weak. I have already ordered people to send them to live alone in the side courtyard. But looking at the current situation, I am afraid they will not be able to survive this disaster. "The Taoist priest said regretfully," This disease is fierce. In just a few days, it has already tortured them to the point of death. I can only ensure the safety of the others. "
"Those bitches can't earn money for a long time. I was kind enough to take them in to do some chores here. If I knew they would get sick, I would have kicked them out. But today, they will be of use. " Hua Niang said viciously. She turned around and ordered her Master Gui, "Go get a few sedan chairs and send those bitches to the west of the city. If the bailiffs ask, say they are looking for relatives."
The brothels of ancient times were not the luxurious places that modern people imagined. These crowded places were rather filthy. The prostitutes living here not only had to suffer from the oppression of the madam and Master Gui, but they also had to face the threat of various diseases. Once they got sick, they would almost certainly die.
The Elegant Spring Brothel had been plagued by an epidemic in the past few days, and several old prostitutes fell ill in one go. This disease broke out very quickly. From the time the disease appeared to the time they were on their last legs, it only took a day or two.
Hearing that Hua Niang wanted to shift the blame to someone else, Master Gui was shocked. He lowered his voice and said, "Hua Niang, the illness of the girls in the house is not light. It seems that it is a contagious disease. If this spreads, I'm afraid … it will harm the harmony of heaven. "
"What I want is for this to spread, so that the people in the west of the city know how powerful I am." Hua Niang coldly snorted and said, "In our line of work, why would we be afraid of harming the harmony of heaven? How many women have you sold all these years? How many lives have you destroyed? How many family businesses have you destroyed? Who knows how many people have been whipped to death by you. After you and I die, we will go to hell in a pot of oil and go to the path of animals. Why would we care about this? "
Master Gui was speechless and could only do as she said.
A few broken sedan chairs were quickly carried into the side courtyard of 'Elegant Spring House'. This place was originally a place for chopping firewood, cooking, and washing clothes. When Hua Niang entered, she heard faint sobbing coming from the locked firewood room. A smelly woman was leaning on the door of the firewood room and shouted, "Hua Niang, for the sake of us sisters making money for you for so many years, please find us a doctor."
The door of the firewood room opened and a few women in messy clothes fell out. The laborers carrying the sedan chairs didn't dare to come forward. Hua Niang covered her nose and shouted from afar, "Okay, okay, okay. I will carry the sedan chair and send you to find a doctor. But you guys are too smelly. Climb into the sedan chair yourselves. "
The women who fell were mostly in their twenties, but their faces were deathly pale and they were incontinent. They looked miserable and had no dignity to speak of. But when they heard that they could find a doctor, their desire to live made them struggle to get up and walk into the sedan chair themselves. The curtains of the sedan chair were lowered and the laborers hurriedly carried the seriously ill women away. Hua Niang pulled Master Gui over and gave him a few instructions. Then, she let the sedan chair head towards the west of the city.
The sedan chairs were covered tightly. The laborers carrying the sedan chairs received enough money and didn't say much. Master Gui, who was following the sedan chair, led the way and deceived the bailiffs guarding the street gates. They carried the sedan chair to a remote alley in the west of the city.
Every time they reached a place, the pimp would look left and right. When no one was paying attention, he signaled the laborers with his eyes. Two laborers tilted the sedan chair forward. The women sitting in the sedan chair immediately cried out and fell out.
The women in the sedan chair didn't know what happened when Master Gui came forward and covered the mouth and nose of the seriously ill women with a handkerchief. The women were so sick that they didn't have the strength to struggle and would suffocate in a short while.
After throwing the pitiful seriously ill women to various places in the west of the city, Master Gui and the laborers carrying the sedan chair quickly escaped. As they ran, they spread the news everywhere. They pretended to be frightened and shouted to the passersby, "There's a plague, there's a plague. Someone on this street has died of a plague. We can't live in the west of the city anymore. Let's run away. If we're late, the street gates will be locked and we'll all die. "
In ancient times, in order to ensure public security, every street had a gate. This kind of gate was not only used to prevent theft, but also to prevent the spread of a plague. Once a large-scale epidemic was discovered in a certain street, the government often didn't try their best to save the people. Instead, they mercilessly locked the street gates. Either the epidemic disappeared on its own, or the residents died and the epidemic disappeared.
Once such a thing happened, the residents of the epidemic area wouldn't just sit there and wait for death. They would think of a way to escape as fast as possible. As for whether or not the epidemic would spread to other places … they didn't care at all. So even in modern society, once a large-scale epidemic occurred, the military would be deployed to control the situation.
Hua Niang's move could be said to be vicious. She wanted the west of the city controlled by Zhou Qingfeng to become a land of death. Once the epidemic broke out, the society would panic and everything would be finished.
As Master Gui and the laborers carrying the sedan chair ran out, they saw a patrol team led by yamen runners coming towards them. Because the yamen runners in the west of the city had been fierce and ruthless these days, Master Gui had suffered a lot during his few trips. This time, he took the initiative to take revenge and shouted, "Masters, something bad has happened. There's a plague on this street. There are a few women lying on the ground. It's obvious that they died of a serious illness. "
Because of Master Gui's efforts to spread the news, many residents on the street were scared and panicked. Many people rushed out of their houses to look around. Master Gui wanted to see the yamen runner run away in panic. His actions, expressions, and words were all done very well.
The yamen runner leading the team was tall and strong. He saw Master Gui who was in front and quickly pulled him to his side. He said in a low voice, "I know, I know. You don't have to act so well, do you? Why did you attract so many people? This situation is a bit too big. I'm afraid it won't end well. "
Master Gui was a bit surprised. Why wasn't the yamen runner in front of him afraid? He continued to shout, "Master, this is absolutely true. If you don't believe me, you can go and see. The sick women are dirty and covered in feces and urine. It's definitely a plague. "
The residents on the street kept coming out of their houses. When they heard that someone had a plague, they were all terrified. But the patrolling yamen runner shouted, "Everyone, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. We don't know if it's a plague or not. Even if it is, so what? We have medicine here to treat the plague. Everyone, don't panic. I will immediately go and treat the seriously ill woman. "
After a few words of comfort, the yamen runner grabbed the still shouting Master Gui and said in a low voice, "That's enough. If you act too much, the boss won't be happy. Aren't we here now? Let's go and finish the act together. "
The yamen runner leading the team tightened his grip and dragged Master Gui forward. Even the laborers carrying the sedan chair didn't run away. They all walked in the direction of the seriously ill woman.
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