Chapter 65 Chapter 65

Chen Tingjing went down the canal by boat, and along the way, he saw people busy dredging the river, building roads and bridges.Every time the mansion crosses the state, there are piles of yellow sand on the roadside outside the city, ready to pave the road.It turned out that the common people knew that the emperor was going on a southern tour.It was also found that the government along the way was sending corvee service for the emperor's southern tour, but they didn't hear that they would pay taxes.Chen Tingjing detailed what he saw on the way, and sent it in secret. When I arrived in Hangzhou today, I hired a car to enter the city.Since entering Zhejiang, Chen Tingjing has become more careful.He and Ah Shan, Governor of Zhejiang Province, both worked in the Ministry of Rites at that time, and they knew each other well.Chen Tingjing knew a lot about Ah Shan, let alone make people think that he came here deliberately to find fault.When I entered the city, I met several married families along the way, beating gongs and drums, and there was an endless stream.Zhen'er said, "What day is it today? So many people in sedan chairs?"

Dashun smiled and said, "It's because we came to Hangzhou to catch up with the good times." Liu Jing also wondered: "What auspicious day is it today? Along the road, there are seven or eight families getting married." There is an inn called Yanyulou in the south of the city, with small bridges and flowing water, lush flowers and trees, Chen Tingjing liked it very much, so he stayed here. After tidying up, Dashun approached the shopkeeper and said, "Shopkeeper, why are there so many marriages in Hangzhou? What a good day today?" The shopkeeper said with a smile: "Recently, every day in Hangzhou is a good day! Take a look tomorrow, maybe eight or ten families will get married!"

Seeing that Dashun was puzzled, the shopkeeper said, "You are a foreigner, don't mind your own business." After dinner, it was still early, Chen Tingjing wanted to go out for a walk, Zhen'er, Liu Jing, Ma Ming, and Dashun followed.The streets were very lively with people coming and going, but the people from Hangzhou were chattering like birdsong, and couldn't understand a word.It was getting dark slowly, and the doors of shops on the street were still open. If they were in the capital, they would have closed earlier.Zhen'er saw a silk and satin shop in front of her, and the materials in it were bright and dazzling.After all, she is a daughter at heart, and wants to go in and have a look.Chen Tingjing nodded, and several people entered the silk shop.

Five or six men entered the silk and satin shop at the same time, which was very eye-catching.The guy rushed over to say hello, but he didn't understand what he said.Seeing that they were from the north, the man spoke to them in Mandarin, "How many of you are from the north? It's really rare for so many men to go shopping together in a silk shop." Dashun said, "Why can't men shop in silk shops?" The man laughed and said, "All the men from other places go to Qingbo Gate." Chen Tingjing understood immediately.He had long heard that there was a place near Qingbo Gate in Hangzhou, called Qinghefang, which was originally a place of fireworks through the ages, and it was known all over the world.The last time the emperor visited the south, some ministers and guards bought women in Qinghefang, which made people in Hangzhou panic.The emperor later found out and pursued the case severely.In order to recover from a vacancy, a governor who had a vacancy entrusted the imperial guards to buy a few brothel women here and send them to Beijing, but he was investigated and prosecuted.

I heard the guy say again: "But if you go tonight, it will be in vain. There is no one else." Da Shun was confused when he heard that, and asked, "Dude, what are you talking about?" At this time, a man came out of a room in the shop and cursed a few words in Hangzhou dialect, but the guy didn't speak any more.Chen Tingjing couldn't understand half a sentence, but he guessed that the person who cursed must be the store owner, and he probably didn't let the clerk talk too much.Zhen'er wanted to look at the silk and satin again, but the assistant ignored her.Zhen'er lost interest, and a few people came out.

After leaving the silk and satin shop, I walked along the street, and before I knew it, I arrived at the intersection of Qinghefang Street.There are only a few red lanterns in front of us, most of the gatehouses are dark, and there are few pedestrians on the street.Chen Tingjing remembered what the clerk in the silk shop said just now, and thought to himself that he should go to Qinghefang Street to see what articles were there. Chen Tingjing entered Qinghefang, stopped to look around, and said, "It's not the Qinghefang as imagined." Zhen'er asked: "What Qinghefang? What should the master imagine?"

Chen Tingjing smiled and said: "Riding on a leaning bridge, the building is full of red-sleeved tricks." Dashun smiled and said: "Master, I understand these two sentences, it means that the young master is riding a horse to stand by the bridge, and the girls all over the street are waving to solicit customers!" When Zhen'er heard this, she became angry and called out to Master.Chen Tingjing turned his head and smiled at Zhen'er, but Zhen'er pouted her mouth high.Seeing a brothel in front of him, called Mantangchun, Chen Tingjing hesitated and said, "Go, go in and have a look."

Dashun looked up at the signboard, and he knew something about it, and asked, "Master, does this look like that kind of place?" Chen Tingjing nodded and smiled, and walked straight in.Just arrived at the gate of Mantangchun, the bustard twisted her waist and greeted her. She also spoke Hangzhou dialect, so she couldn't understand it. Chen Tingjing smiled and said, "Can I borrow a place for tea?" The bustard heard that she was a stranger, so she hurriedly changed the official dialect, and said, "Successful! Drink tea, listen to music, and spend the night, it's all done!" Then she went upstairs and called the girls to come and greet the guests.While talking, four women came downstairs, all with heavy makeup, but ordinary appearance.

Chen Tingjing panicked immediately, and looked back at Zhen'er, but she was nowhere to be seen. Chen Tingjing asked, "Hey, where's Zhen'er?" Dashun also turned around and looked around: "It was still there just now!" Ma Ming hurriedly said to go out to look for it, she must be staying outside. Not long after, Ma Ming hurried in and said, "Master, Mrs. Zhen San is gone." Hearing what Ma Ming said, the bustard and the girls were very happy, and said that these masters are really rare, how could anyone bring their wives to such a place. Chen Tingjing was full of regrets, and said, "Why didn't I think of this?"

Dashun said: "Master, don't worry, Mrs. Zhen must have gone back to the inn first, I will look for it." Dashun said and hurried out. The bustard said: "It's Li Sanniang who called my slave's family. I don't know if the masters are drinking tea? Listening to music? Or staying overnight?" Chen Tingjing said, "Let's have some tea." Chen Tingjing was at a loss what to do when a few girls came and pestered him, he kept shouting: "Girls, sit down and stop messing around." At this time, I suddenly heard the sound of pipa from upstairs, like the wind passing through the autumn river, and the cold suddenly came.Chen Tingjing couldn't help being taken aback, and said: "This pipa is really good, can you show us?"

Li Sanniang said: "This is Mei Kejun, our top Huakui in Hangzhou. He has been losing his temper these few days, and no one has seen him!" While talking, he suddenly heard shouts from outside, and three yamen servants came in.A fat man shouted: "Li Sanniang, have you made up your mind, Mr. Mei Ke? Come with us!" Li Sanniang hurriedly put on a smiling face and said, "Masters, I tried to persuade her to refuse! She said that she only sold herself as a performer, and even if the emperor came, she would not serve her!" The sound of the pipa upstairs stopped abruptly, and no one spoke downstairs for a moment, and everyone listened to the movement upstairs.After half a day, the fat yamen servant said again: "We have been waiting for her for several days, do you want us to tie her away?" Li Sanniang hurriedly waved her hands and said: "Masters, please don't be rough, or you will die!" The upstairs door opened with a creak, and sure enough a beautiful and elegant woman came downstairs.Li Sanniang was overjoyed immediately: "Kejun, do you understand now? Mom can feel at ease now." Mei Kejun's face was frosty, and he just walked downstairs without saying a word.The fat yamen servant said: "If you figure it out, come with us!" Unexpectedly, when Mei Kejun walked downstairs, he suddenly took out a pair of scissors, widened his eyes, and said, "If you continue to push each other like this, I will die in front of you." The fat yamen servant was stunned for a moment, and said: "Want to die? I can't let you die! Come on, brothers!" Several yamen servants rolled up their sleeves and were about to step forward to grab someone.Chen Tingjing winked, Liu Jing and Ma Ming stepped forward and stopped a few yamen servants.The bustard hurriedly grabbed Mei Kejun's scissors. The fat yamen servant stared and shouted: "Where did you get the bastard? You have eaten the guts of a leopard!" Chen Tingjing did not speak loudly, and said: "Why do you take people at will?" The fat yamen servant took a sip and said, "Hey, what a big tone! Who are you?" Liu Jing smiled and said, "We are nosy people." The fat yamen servant said: "What I hate is nosy people. Brothers, beat them first!" The two yamen servants stepped forward to beat him, but they couldn't get close.The fat yamen servant knew that he had met his opponent, and while leading the two yamen servants out, he turned his head and said, "Okay, you guys are kind, just wait!" Li Sanniang cried now: "Ah, you guys have caused me trouble! The Yamen must ruin my business!" Mei Kejun said with a cold face: "Mom, you are so merciless, a few good guys obviously helped us, and you still go to blame them!" Li Sanniang patted her thigh and shouted: "Help us? They are passers-by. The yamen can't find them, they will only settle accounts with me." Chen Tingjing said: "Li Sanniang, don't be afraid, the sky will fall, and I will support it." Li Sanniang looked Chen Tingjing up and down, and said, "Oh, you speak so loudly! Who do you think you are?" Chen Tingjing naturally did not want to reveal his identity, but only said that there were relatives in the governor's yamen, and there was nothing he couldn't do in Hangzhou.Ma Ming also chimed in, saying that if our master didn't know what to do, how could he dare to beat the people in the yamen?Anyway, Li Sanniang believed it to be true, so she told the truth: "Someone suddenly came to the yamen that day, and they wanted to collect the flower tax. After calculating the bill, they would ask for 20,000 taels of silver. No. I usually pay money, but this time I asked for money again for no reason. How can there be such a reason? If we can’t pay the money, the yamen will pick a good-looking girl from our building to work. They repeatedly If I want to come to Miss Suokejun, I will think about it, whether the money in the yamen is fake this time, or the person is real." Chen Tingjing asked suspiciously: "What do you want a girl in the yamen? What kind of job do you do? Is the person here really from the yamen?" Li Sanniang said: "I know all the people from the Yuhang County Yamen. A few days ago, they came and took away the better-looking ones, saying that they would come back after finishing their errands, and it would take ten days and a half months. Only you can look for death and life Those who refused to leave, the yamen gave me a few days' grace, saying that if they refused to go after tonight, they smashed my building. Not only me, Qinghefang, Baojianying and other brothel girls, all Those who looked better were taken away by the yamen." Chen Tingjing understood a little bit in his heart, but he only said lightly, "No wonder it's so deserted." After chatting for a while, Chen Tingjing got up to leave, and told Li Sanniang that he lived in Yanyu Building, and he would stay there for ten days and a half. If there was an emergency here, he would send someone to find him.Li Sanniang is skeptical, thank you very much. Just as Chen Tingjing was about to go out, Mei Kejun suddenly called the guest officer to stop and said, "Master Meng rescued me. The little girl has nothing to repay. I would like to play and sing a few songs for the master." Chen Tingjing hesitated for a moment, turned around and sat down.Mei Kejun poured tea and served it, then went upstairs to fetch the pipa and came down, singing a ditty: "West wind rises, yellow leaves fall. Cold dew falls, north geese fly south. Beside the east fence, enjoy chrysanthemums and drink wine and tourists get drunk. Fry quickly The sound of the anvil reminds me everywhere, and the sound of the iron horse in front of the eaves is even more sad. The sun is fading and the grass is fascinated. The singing is sad and the piano is sad, which is very touching.Suddenly he heard shouts from outside again, Chen Tingjing guessed who it must be.Sure enough, it was the fat yamen servant who called a dozen yamen servants and broke into the door.Mr. Mei Ke didn't panic, he just let Qin go and sighed slightly.Liu Jing and Ma Ming stepped aside and stood beside Chen Tingjing to protect them.The yamen servants didn't fight back because of the large number of people, they just yelled at the bustard: "Li Sanniang, this time Mr. Mei Ke has to go, or if he doesn't go, he has to go!" Li Sanniang said: "I can't make the decision anymore, this master is listening to music." The fat yamen servant looked at Chen Tingjing, and said with a dry smile, "Hey, what a big face! If you want to listen to Qu'er, you can listen to Qu'er! At this moment, I will only take away the beauties, and I will settle accounts with you later." Seeing so many people, Chen Tingjing was no match for Liu Jing and Ma Ming even though they had three heads and six arms, so he could only say: "Miss Jun, you go with them, the sky won't fall down." Mei Kejun sighed and followed the yamen servant.However, Chen Tingjing's doubts increased: Fatty only led two yamen servants who wanted to beat people aggressively, but now they came with more than a dozen people, but they only left with Mei Kejun. Just as Chen Tingjing was about to go back to the inn, Dashun ran in and said, "Master, when I went back to the inn, I didn't see Mrs. Zhensan. I went all over the street outside to look for it. Where can I find it? I'm so anxious. I wonder if she has gone back now? I want to go back to the inn to have a look again, but on the way, I met a few gangsters chasing a girl. I rescued the girl, and when I asked, I knew that the girl was from the city of Hangzhou. Yes, I just escaped from the yamen, and the one chasing her was the yamen servant. I asked again, it’s strange, the girl refused to go home. I was in a hurry to go back to the inn to find Mrs. Zhensan, so I took the girl back. Guess what? What's the matter? Mrs. Zhen San has gone back to the inn and is sitting in her room crying!" Chen Tingjing was anxious while listening, finally heard the end, and then smiled and said: "Dashun, you really can talk, first tell me that it's great to find someone? Hey, why doesn't that girl want to go home?" Dashun said: "Who knows?" Going back to Yanyu Building, I saw Zhen'er talking to the girl.The girl wept secretly without saying a word.When Zhen'er saw that Chen Tingjing was back, she ignored him.Seeing so many people coming, the girl refused to say anything, just wept. The eldest brother said by the way: "Girl, don't be afraid, this is our master. Why don't you go home? You tell me, our master will make decisions for you." After asking for a long time, the girl finally explained the whole story.The little girl's name is Ziyu, and she is fifteen years old.Her family runs several silk and satin shops, and she is fairly well off.Although her father's business is doing well, he is honest and cowardly. He is often bullied by bullies on the street, and always hates that no one in the family is an official.This time I heard that the emperor went to Jiangnan to choose a concubine in Hangzhou, so the father was moved and vowed to let his daughter be the empress.The old couple sent their daughter to the county government by themselves.Ziyu went to the county government office and saw that there were many women imprisoned there, most of them were from Qingbo Gate.Ziyu was originally unwilling to live or die, but now seeing herself locked up with a brothel girl, she was so ashamed that she wished she could bump her head to death.Tonight, she watched Kong'er escape. Zhen'er said: "You are a girl who always has to go home. How can you be outside?" Ziyu said: "My parents want me to go to the palace anyway, and if I go back, I will fall into the tiger's mouth again? The Yamen also want to go to the house to find someone." Chen Tingjing comforted: "Girl, the emperor's draft is pure nonsense. How can there be a draft from a Han family? Just go back at ease, I'll send someone to your house to clarify." Ziyu asked: "There are many women locked up in the county government office, and they say they are going to be sent to the palace. Why?" Chen Tingjing said: "This matter is really strange, those women are absolutely impossible to be sent to the palace. Girl, just go home." Ziyu still didn't believe it, and asked again: "Dare to ask where the master came from, and where is the god?" Chen Tingjing smiled and said: "I'm just a businessman. I've seen many people who have traveled far and wide, so I just know some outside things. You can't be wrong if you believe me." After all, Ziyu agreed to go home. Liu Jing and Ma Ming sent Ziyu away, and Chen Tingjing patiently told Zhen'er that there was a reason for him to visit Qinghefang.It turned out that when he entered the city of Hangzhou and saw so many bridal sedan chairs for marriage, he felt guilty in his heart.Hearing what the silk shop clerk said, he remembered that the last time the emperor was on his southern tour, someone bought a brothel girl in Hangzhou, which made the court very embarrassed.He was afraid that if someone wanted to buy a girl again this time, if rumors spread, there would be an uproar among the people. When Zhen'er heard what Chen Tingjing said, she lost her temper. She only blamed him for not telling her first.Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and Liu Jing and Ma Ming came back.The two men didn't fight at each other, and without saying anything else, they scolded Ziyu's parents first.It turned out that the two of them sent Ziyu back home properly, but her parents didn't care about the indiscriminate, and yelled at them.I can't understand what I'm scolding, it's not a good word anyway.