The period from the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival was the busiest time of the year for the brothel.
Li Yi sat in front of the window of the small building, writing the latest plays. The reason why the brothel could be so popular was because of the endless wonderful stories and the essence of the culture of the Huaxia people for thousands of years in his mind. Obviously, the old-fashioned scripts from the brothel could not meet the needs of the people.
Wan Ruoqing pushed the door open and came in with a food box in her hand. She said softly, "I've been busy all morning. I cooked some porridge. Have some."
"It's okay. Put it there. I'll eat it after I finish writing this part." Li Yi raised his head and said, but his stomach was growling.
He hadn't eaten anything since morning, so he was really hungry.
However, there was not much left to write. He didn't want to be interrupted in the middle, which would be troublesome.
Wan Ruoqing came over with the food box, took out the bowl of porridge, and sat beside him. She said, "Eat some first. The script is not urgent."
Li Yi didn't say anything this time. He picked up the spoon with one hand, and the other hand was not idle. He drank a mouthful of porridge, wrote a line of words, and then drank another mouthful …
He was thinking about whether it was suitable to use a certain plot here. The spoon in his left hand gradually stopped in the air.
Then, a soft hand took the spoon from his hand and brought the spoonful of porridge to his mouth.
Wan Ruoqing smiled and said, "You can't do two things at once. Let me do it."
Li Yi smiled awkwardly and said, "I … I'm sorry."
Only a hedonistic young master from a wealthy family could enjoy such treatment. It was too extravagant and depraved. In order to express his uneasiness and apology, Li Yi decided to write another 20% discount. Only then would he be able to gain some peace of mind.
Li Yi swallowed the porridge she fed him and asked casually, "How are the children recently?"
"These days, they are learning something from the old people in the brothel." Wan Ruoqing nodded and said, "It's not a good idea to keep doing cleaning work. Learn more, and you can support yourself in the future. It's up to them whether to stay in the brothel or choose other jobs."
Li Yi felt that this was a good idea. Although they were all children, there were still some very talented ones among them. They grew up in the brothel, so their feelings for this place were naturally extraordinary. If they were trained well, they might be entrusted with important tasks in the future.
Then, they talked about the brothel. Although the script couldn't be finished, the porridge would eventually be finished. When Ruoqing put down the bowl, there was no point in continuing.
He stood up, stretched his body, and said, "Let's go for a walk."
Wan Ruoqing nodded slightly. Even though there were many things to do in the brothel before the Lantern Festival, what could be better than two people walking together?
Of course, Li Yi knew that even if it was just the two of them walking together, she would be happy for the whole day. But he didn't know that as soon as he walked downstairs, he met someone he didn't want to meet now, especially at this time.
The new capital governor, Lord Zeng, was dressed in casual clothes and didn't have any attendants around him. In the brothel where people came and went, it was easy to be lost in the crowd.
Ceng Shichun stood opposite, looked at him and said, "Drunk Ink said you were here."
Of course, Drunk Ink knew that he was here. He came from Willow Lane. Li Yi looked at him and asked tentatively, "What's the matter?"
"What's the matter?" meant that if you have something to say, say it quickly or leave quickly. Didn't you see that I have important things to do here? Don't you know that it's not appropriate for you to appear now? Can't you change the time?
Obviously, Lord Zeng didn't understand what he meant. He said, "This is not the place to talk."
Wan Ruoqing showed a slight smile on her face and said, "Lord, come in and talk."
Li Yi shook his head and walked into the small building again.
Ceng Shichun picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip before saying, "I've already ordered people to renovate that house. Too much time has passed, and it can't be exactly the same as it was ten years ago, but it should be seventy to eighty percent similar. Drunk Ink's birthday is in April, so time is tight."
Li Yi nodded and said, "A few days ago, Liu Yiyi found some suspicious points in the files of the Ministry of Justice. However, it was a case from thirteen years ago after all. It has been a long time, and the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue died on the way to exile. There are many clues that are hard to verify … However, this is not a difficult matter for him. He should be able to make it in time."
Ceng Shichun looked up at him and asked, "A few days ago, there were rumors about the Eldest Princess among the people. You should know who did it, right?"
Li Yi shook his head and said, "Summoning the King of Shu back to the capital to replace the Eldest Princess in governing the country. Naturally, it will be whoever benefits the most."
"Cui Qingze, the head of the Cui family, has fallen ill." Ceng Shichun put down the teacup and said, "Now the head of the Cui family is the second son of the Cui family, Cui Qingming. This person is more difficult to deal with than Cui Qingze. He has always been ruthless and will do anything, even disregarding the consequences. You should be careful."
He looked at Li Yi and said, "Don't think that the Cui family only has this little ability. This time, the Crown Prince has disbanded the Imperial Astronomer, and the Cui family's rumor campaign has also been stalled among the people. Although I don't know what you are thinking, I think you don't want the King of Shu to return to the capital and replace the Eldest Princess in governing the country … Not to mention other things, if Grand Tutor Chu takes the lead this time, it will not be so easy to solve this matter."
"Grand Tutor Chu will stand up for the Cui family?"
Li Yi actually had a good impression of this Grand Tutor Chu. The old man did not seem to be as pedantic as he imagined, and this time he did not stand with the Cui family to make things difficult. If it was really as Ceng Shichun said, then the matter would really become troublesome.
Ceng Shichun shook his head and said, "According to the Grand Tutor's temperament, he won't."
His tone changed and he said, "I'm afraid …"
"Afraid of what?"
Ceng Shichun shook his head again and said, "I think I'm overthinking … In short, the Cui family will not let this matter go easily. You must be careful."
Li Yi nodded and said, "I know."
In his heart, he had never underestimated the Cui family. Some extreme measures were not to be used until the last moment. It was better to take things step by step.
After that, Ceng Shichun only cared about drinking tea and did not say anything else. Li Yi suppressed some of his thoughts and thought about the walk with Ruoqing. Seeing that Lord Ceng did not seem to have any intention of leaving, he asked tentatively, "Lord Ceng, would you like to stay and have a meal?"
Generally speaking, when visiting someone's house at the last minute and hearing the host's invitation to stay, one should decline and stand up to say goodbye. This was an invisible tacit understanding between people.
However, as soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it, because historical experience showed that he and Lord Ceng did not have this kind of tacit understanding.
As expected, Ceng Shichun put down his teacup and raised his head. "Okay."
…
After the family banquet, when Chu Ping was helping Grand Tutor Chu back to their room, he suddenly asked, "Grandfather, when will the next time we go out?"
"I'm old and can't walk anymore," Grand Tutor Chu said, then raised his eyes to look at him and asked, "What, you don't like the capital and want to go out?"
"No …" Chu Ping repeatedly shook his head. "Although the outside world is more knowledgeable, the capital also has its advantages …"
Grand Tutor Chu nodded and said, "These years outside, you've already seen many things. What you need now is to calm your heart and settle down. Don't follow those people outside and fool around …"
"I know." Chu Ping repeatedly nodded and said, "I'm not fooling around. It's just that my zither skills have improved recently and I often go to the music hall to listen to music …"
"Alright …" After returning to their room, Grand Tutor Chu waved his hand and said, "The Lantern Festival is approaching, you can relax a little. You can go …"
Chu Ping helped Grand Tutor Chu to his bed and said, "Grandfather, rest well. I'll take my leave …"
"Miaoyin Pavilion, Lady Shuangshuang …"
In the Cui family, Cui Qingming stood in front of the door and looked into the distance.
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