Ye Xiaotian ran over and asked anxiously, "What's wrong, Yingying, what happened?"
Xia Yingying, who was holding up her skirt like an angry leopard, immediately turned into a gentle kitten and snuggled up to Ye Xiaotian. She said aggrievedly, "That bad guy took advantage of me."
"What?"
Ye Xiaotian was furious when he heard this and shouted, "Get out of the way, the two of you get out of the way, let me do it! Old thief, how dare you take advantage of my woman. I'm doing a charity performance, not selling my body. You're courting death! "
Ye Xiaotian kicked the fat official's buttocks with his thick boots. The fat official immediately screamed in pain like a pig being slaughtered.
Zhang Hongyi and the others were not serious actors at all. They were a group of fans of the opera. Seeing that there was a fight going on, they didn't care about the charity performance anymore. The gongs and drums immediately changed their tune and started playing the "fight show". The onlookers all cheered, "Good!" There was a thunderous applause.
This side was even more chaotic. A few constables who were patrolling the streets rushed over. Recently, there were more and more refugees in the city. The government was afraid that public order would be broken, so they sent a large number of constables to patrol the streets every day to deal with all kinds of accidents. The constables raised their swords and shouted, "Get out of the way, get out of the way, who's making a scene on the streets!"
They rushed into the crowd and saw Ye Xiaotian. They were stunned. This person in front of them was wearing … was that an official's robe? They didn't know which dynasty or generation he was from. They didn't recognize him at all. It looked a bit like an opera costume.
Looking at the three ladies beside him, the constables were stunned again. These three ladies were more beautiful than the other. Looking at their temperament and mannerisms, they didn't seem to be from a small family. They didn't know why they were showing up in public. Two of the ladies even rolled up their sleeves, revealing their white arms. They were really rough.
The fat official got up from the ground with a swollen face. When he saw the constables, he acted like he saw his family. He immediately shouted, "Constable Xing, quick! Quickly arrest them. This isn't a donation, it's daylight robbery. I don't want to donate, so they're fighting! "
When Constable Xing, the leader, heard this, his face immediately turned fierce and he shouted, "Men, arrest them!"
"Who, who, who wants to arrest people?"
'Dou' E's' neck had a token with the word 'Behead' stuck crookedly into it. She rushed over and groped around her waist. With a whoosh, she pulled out a waist token with the words' Kuai Peng, Baihu of the Right Qianhu Office of the Southern Provost Discipline Division of the Brocade Guards'. She put it under Constable Xing's nose and said, "You want to arrest someone? Let me borrow your dog's courage!"
Most of these second generations of nobles served in the Embroidered Uniform Guards after they came of age. Kuai Peng was a baihu of the South Discipline Commission of the Embroidered Uniform Guards. He did not need to be on duty at the yamen and only received a stipend. However, he was a genuine Embroidered Uniform Guard. How would those bailiffs dare to provoke this group of rich and powerful young masters? They would be thankful if they did not take the initiative to cause trouble.
In the end, the official could only admit that he was unlucky and left with the constables.
At this time, Sister Sun suddenly screamed, "Aiya, all the money is gone!"
Everyone followed the sound and saw that in the chaos, two money boxes had been trampled and broken. The small amount of money inside had been picked up by the commoners who were watching.
…
When it was almost dusk, Tang Xianzu and his group were exhausted. They didn't change out of their costumes and rushed back to the porridge stall with their gongs and cymbals. Xu Qiyun had already heard from the servants and waiters that they went to the charity performance today. Seeing their dejected appearance, he couldn't help but ridicule them.
Xu Qiyun wasn't here. This was the little duke. He had personally come out for the bet and stood there for a day. The next day, he didn't come again. Only Guan Xiaokun and Rui Qinghang were here. These two were the children of high-ranking officials, but in order to flatter the little duke, they were willing to be his lackeys. But these two were not here at this time. There were servants and cooks from their manors cooking and giving out porridge.
Zhang Hongyi and the others respected their status, so they couldn't argue with other people's servants. They sat down under the canopy and asked, "How much did we raise today?"
Qiao Jinhua counted and replied, "Less than a hundred wen, hey! Even if the collection box hadn't been stolen before, it would be less than three hundred wen in total. "
Tang Xianzu said embarrassedly, "In the past, there were quite a lot of people watching the show, but I didn't expect that when it was time for them to donate, they would all disappear without a trace."
Kuai Peng complained, "This method doesn't seem to work! Old Tang, in any case, I'm still a Baihu of the Brocade Guards. If my colleagues saw this, they would ridicule me. If I really raised the money, then it's fine. If I can't raise the money, then I'll be ridiculed. Why did I come? "
At this time, Guan Xiaokun and Rui Qinghang led a few servants and walked over proudly. The servants behind them were carrying a box that looked very heavy. When they arrived under the canopy, they placed the box on a table. Guan Xiaokun looked over as if he was showing off, then raised his hand and opened the box.
"Wow! So much silver! "
The people under the canopy immediately went into an uproar. The refugees standing nearby also went into an uproar. Zhang Hongyi stood up to take a look and saw that the box was glistening. Sure enough, it was filled with silver ingots. His expression changed and he said, "Where did they get so much silver? Pocket money from their families? I won't believe it even if you beat me to death! "
Guan Xiaokun said loudly, "Fellow villagers, do you see this? This is all the silver that we and Xu Xiao Gongye raised to save you. A flood, a city full of starving people, we saw it with our own eyes. How can we remain indifferent? Don't worry, we will keep this porridge stall open. We won't let anyone starve to death! "
"What a kind person, what a great kind person!"
Many commoners knelt down and kowtowed gratefully.
Rui Qinghang looked at Zhang Hongyi arrogantly and said loudly, "Some people overestimate themselves and want to learn from us to do good deeds. Doing good deeds is a good thing, but you have to act within your means. If you don't have the ability, don't do porcelain work. How much rice can you buy with that bit of money? Relief porridge? You can use it to raise chickens. "
Guan Xiaokun laughed loudly and said, "Sigh, it's good that you know. You can't say it out loud. They are fishing for fame, so of course they have to put on an act. However, even if it's just an act, it's still considered doing good. We don't have to be too demanding. "
Kuai Peng was furious. He glared at them and was about to rush over to beat them up. Ye Xiaotian and Tang Xianzu hurriedly stopped him. Xia Yingying looked angrily at the group of people in front of them and said, "How can these people be like this. Really, you guys have really tried your best to save people. I know you guys have done your best. Don't mind what they say."
The beauty's consolation made them feel very comfortable. However, when he thought about how they were going to lose the bet, Zhang Hongyi was still very depressed. He said unhappily, "I'm afraid we're going to lose this time. Strange, where did they get so much silver from? Asking their elders for help? It shouldn't be. "
Kuai Peng thought about it and said, "That's right! There must be something fishy about them being able to get so much silver. I'll go check it out. "
Ye Xiaotian said, "How are you going to check it out?"
Kuai Peng said, "Do you think my Imperial Guard is fake? Humph, humph, do you think I can't figure this out? Do I still need to stay in Nanjing? "
In the Light Smoke Tower, a black figure stood tall and slender. He leaned on the railing and looked over. An invisible wind swept the ribbon behind his head, making him look like an immortal. In the tower, a beautiful woman carrying a pipa lightly played her fingers. She couldn't help but reveal a trace of admiration in her eyes when she looked at him.
However, although this beautiful woman was beautiful, she also knew that her status was lowly. In front of such a noble young master with a noble status and refined manners, she felt somewhat ashamed of her inferiority. Not to mention asking for a long time, even if it was just a night of pleasure, she didn't dare to have any wishful thinking.
That refined and refined young master who was like a celestial immortal was naturally Li Guojiu. Although he couldn't hear what the two sides were talking about at the porridge stall from afar, he could clearly see the situation of the battle between the two sides. Seeing that Ye Xiaotian's group had fallen into a disadvantageous position, Li Guojiu raised the jade cup in his hand and took a light sip. The corners of his mouth revealed a faint and charming smile.
The musician who was playing the pipa was disturbed by his charming smile and the music under her fingers became somewhat disorderly. She hurriedly calmed her mind and blushed as she stole a glance at that young master who was as clear and bright as white jade. However, she was disappointed to discover that he didn't even turn around to look at her.
Li Guojiu slowly savored the taste of the fine wine and felt slightly proud in his heart. He was the one who taught Guan Xiaokun and Rui Qingxing how to raise funds. He wanted to let the peerlessly beautiful Miss Xia personally witness Ye Xiaotian's embarrassment and incompetence. He wanted Miss Xia to know that he was the man who deserved to rely on her. He was the towering tree that could shelter this strange flower from the wind and rain. As for Ye Xiaotian …
The corners of Li Guojiu's lips curled up arrogantly, "He's just a useless piece of trash!"
…
"Sigh, if someone else's jewellery was worn …" Xia Yingying looked at Ye Xiaotian awkwardly and said, "At that time, I pretended to take a bath and dived to leave Huxin Island. I secretly boarded Second Sister's boat. I don't have any valuable jewellery …"
Zhan Ning 'er spread out her hands and said, "At least you have jewellery. I never dress up."
Ye Xiaotian laughed, "Even if you wear jewellery, I can't take it. We're doing good deeds. It's fine as long as we tried our best. I can't ask you to donate your beloved jewellery. "
Zhang Hong said, "That's right! If you win, you have to win openly. If you lose, you have to lose confidently. A girl's beloved jewellery will be used as dowry in the future. If I rely on you to donate your beloved jewellery to win against them, wouldn't it be even more embarrassing? I, Zhang, won't do that! "
While they were talking, Kuai Peng dashed back like a wisp of smoke and said repeatedly, "I know, I finally figured it out. I finally know where they got the money from."
The few of them quickly surrounded him and said, "Quickly tell us, what did they think of?"
Kuai Peng said, "Guess where they got the money from? Hey! Guan Xiaokun and Rui Qingxing actually went to 'beg for alms'! "
Everyone said in unison, "Beg for alms?"
Kuai Peng said, "That's right! Guan Xiaokun's father is the minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Rui Qingxing's father is the minister of the Ministry of Justice. Both of them have high positions and power. Not to mention the Young Duke, his father is basically the local emperor of Nanjing City. Guan Xiaokun and Rui Qingxing used the names of their fathers to swindle and swindle people. They went to those rich and powerful families to extort donations one by one. Only then did they get the money. "
