Chapter 555

It was early February, and Jinling City was already brimming with the scent of spring.

In the kitchen of the Jinling Posthouse, Sister Sun was carefully looking at the stove. A rotund chef walked over and opened the casserole to take a look. He smiled and gave her some pointers. Sister Sun humbly accepted the advice and nodded repeatedly.

Sister Sun had lived in the Jinling Posthouse for a long time, so she was already familiar with the place. Thus, she asked the chef to lend her kitchen to Ye Xiaotian to make soup. The chef of the posthouse had his own rules. The kitchen was his territory, and others were not allowed to enter easily. Not to mention, cooking in his territory without his permission was a challenge to his authority.

Who wouldn't like such a charming and lovely little girl like Kedoni? Her sweet voice and her sweet appearance were not something that this chef could resist. Not only did he gladly lend out the kitchen, he would also give Little Sister Sun pointers from time to time. Little Sister Sun's skill in making soup could be said to have improved by leaps and bounds.

"Thank you, Uncle Wei!"

Younger Sister Taiyang smiled sweetly at Chef Wei Nai. Chef Wei teased, "What's there to thank? It's my honor to be able to take in such a beautiful disciple like you. Haha, Duo Ni, your master is really lucky to have such a cute and obedient girl like you to serve him. "

Chef Wei rubbed his greasy chin and looked at Sister Sun with a smile. Duo Ni's hair was tied up with a green handkerchief. She was wearing a black and green embroidered blouse and a lake-green skirt. She wore a pair of gold-plated trousers and an apron embroidered with white flowers. She looked indescribably sweet and lovely.

Chef Wei knew that Ye Xiaotian had come to Jinling to wait for the ginseng, so he only brought one woman with him. She was probably a maid who served tea and water during the day and a concubine who made the bed at night. Naturally, he couldn't have any ideas about her, but it was also pleasing to the eye to look at her.

"I don't know anything. It's just that Master often drinks with his friends. I'm afraid that Master will get sick." In front of outsiders, Sister Sun didn't call Ye Xiaotian brother. She only appeared as a maid and called Ye Xiaotian Master.

Chef Wei laughed and said, "That's true. Today, Lord Ye and my master went to Restaurant Ruyi. Not only is the wine delicious, but the girls are even more beautiful. This time, not only will we get drunk, but we will also have endless luck with women. We should take some nourishment."

"What?"

Sister Sun was stunned and asked tentatively, "Restaurant Ruyi? Are there many girls there? "

Chef Wei immediately beamed with joy, "That's natural. This Restaurant Ruyi specially selects beauties from the North, South, West, and East to serve the nobles. I heard that the girls there are all as beautiful as flowers and have great skills. They can serve men until they want to die …"

While Chef Wei was speaking enviously, he suddenly saw that Sister Sun's expression wasn't right. He hurriedly coughed and said, "Uncle, go over there and take a look. This is the first time these two disciples are cooking on their own. Don't burn the dishes."

Chef Wei slipped away, but Sister Sun was extremely depressed. I'm here to nourish him every day, but he's going to indulge in debauchery. Isn't this just making a wedding dress for someone else?

In Ning Er's room.

Ning Er sewed the last stitch and said happily, "It's finally done."

Although the knot in Ning Er's heart had been untied with Yingying's promise, she had spent a lot of effort on this robe. Of course, she had to finish it. Now that it was finally done, Ning Er was elated. She couldn't wait to let Ye Xiaotian wear it and test her skills so that he could understand her feelings.

The robe was filled with bloody handprints. Those were all Tang Xianzu's masterpiece. After washing it and using bleaching methods, it would naturally be washed away. However, it was still better for it to have bloodstains. That way, it would appear that he was deeply in love. As Ning Er thought about it, she covered her mouth and giggled.

"Creak." The door opened. When Ning Er heard the sound, she hurriedly hid the robe. Just as she stood up, she saw Sister Sun pouting as she went around the screen. Ning Er laughed, "Yo! What's going on? Who made our Sister Sun unhappy? "

Sister Sun said sadly, "Sister Ning Er, do you know where Brother Tian went?"

Ning Er said, "I know. Didn't he invite Yang Yicheng to Restaurant Ruyi for a drink?"

Sister Sun said, "Then, does Sister Ning Er know what kind of place Restaurant Ruyi is?"

Ning Er said, "Isn't it a restaurant?"

Sister Sun said, "Of course not, it's a brothel!"

"What?"

Zhan Ning Er raised her eyebrows like an unsheathed sword, "You said … a brothel?"

…

Ye Xiaotian, Yang Yicheng, and Tang Xianzu chatted and laughed along the way to Restaurant Ruyi. Looking from afar, they could see the shadows of the trees. Among the flowers and trees, an exquisite courtyard could be vaguely seen. Even before they got close, they could hear the sound of flute music drifting over. It was very elegant.

Tang Xianzu said with a smile, "This is the place. Both of you, please!"

Ever since Ye Xiaotian sent off Yingying's family, he started to work hard for his official career. He had already ordered people to transfer a sum of money from Gourd County and started to make friends with people in Jinling.

With Ye Xiaotian's current status, it was impossible for him to make friends with high-ranking officials. For example, Zhang Hongliang's father was the Minister of War. Even if he gave him a mountain of gold, he still wouldn't be qualified to be Minister Zhang's guest of honor. However, he and Zhang Hongliang were close friends. If he gave him a generous gift and met him as a junior, Zhang Hongliang could ask Minister Zhang about his affairs. There was no need to forcefully make friends with the Minister of War.

Ye Xiaotian only did his best to make friends with low-ranking officials from various departments through these friends in Jinling. Through them, he could further expand his social circle. Although their positions were not high, they had a lot of power in the various departments. If Ye Xiaotian could maintain a good relationship with them, it would be of great help to him.

Yesterday, Ye Xiaotian had just invited the Imperial College's Yue Ling, Yue Siye, to a banquet. Ye Xiaotian had uncovered the case of Guan Xiaokun's embezzlement. Due to various considerations, he did not pursue the matter further and preserved the face of the Minister of Rites and the Imperial College. Yue Siye was very grateful. In addition, Ye Xiaotian had given him a generous gift, so the two naturally became friends.

At the moment, Ye Xiaotian's situation was still very delicate. Through Yue Siye, he had made a name for himself in the scholar's forest. In particular, he had successfully organized the disaster relief bazaar and saved a large number of victims. After being praised and praised by the people of the scholar's forest, Ye Xiaotian had made a name for himself in the Jiangnan scholar's forest. Although this kind of good reputation did not bring immediate benefits, in the long run, it was very beneficial to him and would become his political capital.

Today, Ye Xiaotian had invited Deputy Yang to a banquet. Although the position of a deputy was not very high and he was not a civil official, he was the most well-informed, especially when it came to news in the capital. Unless there was someone permanently stationed in the capital to pay attention to news, there was no one more well-informed than the deputy.

Furthermore, even if some local officials sent people to the capital to gather information, perhaps they would know more about the depth of information than a local deputy, but in terms of the breadth of information, they would not be able to compare to the unique and convenient conditions of a deputy.

Ye Xiaotian's base was in Hulu County, where transportation was difficult and information was blocked. Currently, he was an official in Jinling waiting to be consulted and similarly did not have the opportunity to learn too much information. Whether it was now or in the future, there were many advantages and no disadvantages to befriending a deputy in a large city.

However, to interact with different people, one had to use different methods. Le Ling was a scholar and a Treasurer of the Imperial College. Moreover, the two of them had just met. To invite him to go on a boat at Mochou Lake, prepare good wine and music, and give him an expensive set of the Four Treasures of the Study. It was expensive and elegant, and it was enough. For someone like Yang Yicheng, these kinds of elegant things might not be to his liking.

But Ye Xiaotian was not familiar with Jinling, and Ye Xiaotian had never been to that kind of brothel. As a result, he asked his good friend Tang Xianzu to help introduce him to Ruyi Lou.

Yang Yicheng had heard of this Ruyi Lou for a long time, but this was a gentle place where one could spend a thousand taels of gold in one go. He had never been here before. This time, he arrived with the mood of a pilgrimage. Turning around a clump of flowers and trees, he saw a few fine houses with bamboo fences and a small path. It was like a place of seclusion for an expert to cultivate in seclusion. He couldn't help but become a bit more reserved. He couldn't help but have a higher opinion of Ye Xiaotian, this little backwater Warden.

Below the bamboo bushes stood a few manservants. As soon as they saw them arrive, they immediately came forward and greeted them with a smile. "Master Tang."

Tang Xianzu's family was well-off, and most of his acquaintances were the sons and daughters of government officials, so this was a place he frequented. He introduced them with a smile. "This is Master Yang, Master Ye!"

The manservants hurriedly and attentively greeted them, saying, "Master Tang, Master Yang, Master Ye, please come in."

The manservants led the three into the garden. Passing through the bamboo path, they arrived at a pavilion with flowers and a fountain. They saw several maids busily arranging bowls and chopsticks. In front of an embroidered screen, there were several women either standing or sitting. They all wore bright makeup and carried red sandalwood flutes, pipes and pipa in their hands. Each one of them was dressed in fresh clothes and had beautiful facial features.

Yang Yicheng pretended to be calm so that others wouldn't see that he had never been to such a high-class place before. He quietly looked at the women and felt that their figures, appearances, and looks were all top-notch. He couldn't help but be secretly delighted. "Just the maids and dancers are already this beautiful, how can those beauties who serve wine and entertain us be inferior?"

This was the first time Ye Xiaotian had set foot in this kind of place, so his knowledge was even less than Yang Yicheng's. He had thought that as soon as he entered this kind of place, there would be a crowd of women throwing themselves at him. But now that he saw this kind of scenery, it didn't have the vulgar air of a brothel at all. Instead, it was a different kind of elegance. His nervous mood immediately relaxed. Looking at these women again, each and every one of them had picturesque facial features and sweet smiles, he couldn't help but feel a little restless.

At this time, Zhan Ning 'er and Sister Sun were wandering around the streets of Jinling. They had already asked several passersby, but none of them knew where Ruyi Lou was. Sister Sun put her hands on her waist and gloomily said, "How could they not know? Why don't we go back and ask Uncle Wei? "

Zhan Ning 'er rolled her eyes at her and said, "The people you asked are all ordinary people, where would they have the spare money to go to that kind of place? He had to look for those debauchees. I know, I think this person looks like a wine lover! "

Zhan Ning 'er's eyes lit up and went to greet Yue Xiaoguan who had just come out of the bookshop.