Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 287 Qinhuai Romance
After meeting Zhang Pu, Lin Hai hurried to Nanjing, and finally arrived at the Ming capital in the afternoon before his date with Wang Wei.

Lin Hai's schedule for this trip to Jiangnan was too tight. There was nothing he could do. There were a lot of things waiting for him in Jinhe. According to the date, Ou Zuoji and Joseph should be on the way. He had told them to set sail as soon as the New Year was over when he was in Japan.

After arriving in Nanjing, Lin Hai asked Zheng Xiaobao to arrange a party overnight, and had a drink with Cao Huachun and Zhang Mingzhen. Zheng Xiaobao had already told these two that the captain Lin who destroyed the ancestral temple was his distant relative, and this was a real hammer.

Cao Huachun admired Lin Hai very much. After all, he was also a victim of Wei Zhongxian's power. This might be the reason why he was close to the Donglin Party during the Chongzhen period.

Zhang Mingzhen would occasionally ask about Lin Hai's experiences overseas and his battle with Zheng Zhilong. Later, he expressed his desire to serve under Lin Hai, hoping that he could be given a chance.

Lin Hai declined without hesitation. Although he admired this national hero and knew that he was quite capable, he did not want him to know his true strengths and weaknesses.

After all, even if this person followed him, there was a high possibility that he would be loyal to the Ming Dynasty in the end. Moreover, his relationship with Cao Huachun was too good, so his future power should not be underestimated.

The reason for rejecting Zhang Mingzhen was ready. Lin Hai said that the court could not accommodate his brothers, and now he could only dismiss them according to the request of the Governor of Fujian.

Lin Hai took the opportunity to talk about his ambition to make merit in Liaodong and his willingness to die on the battlefield to serve the court. Upon hearing this, Zhang Mingzhen drank several bowls of wine with him, and Cao Huachun also cheered on the side.

Both of them were in a rather poor state at the moment, and Cao Huachun had not yet received the imperial edict to recall him to the capital. Although he thought this matter had great hope, he never dared to dream that he would become a powerful official in the future.

After all, based on his understanding of Zhu Youjian, the new emperor was very disgusted with eunuchs' participation in politics, and he always had a serious face and was stern towards the attendants around him.

However, Lin Hai knew that Chongzhen was really powerful after he ascended the throne. After a few years, he began to make full use of eunuchs. Otherwise, why would he go through so much effort just to get to know Cao Huachun?
All the words that Lin Hai said during the banquet were actually spoken to Chongzhen, about his experiences overseas, about his relationship with the Jinhe Kingdom, about his enthusiasm to serve the court, and so on and so forth...

After the banquet, Lin Hai told Zheng Xiaobao about the guild hall and asked him to wait here for Xu Yilong, who would be in charge of the guild hall in the capital in the future.

The next day, Lin Hai brought the manuscript of the last forty chapters of "Dream of Red Mansions" and asked Ruan Mei to take him to see the Taoist priest Wang Wei in grass clothes.

Ruan Mei knew that this time the man was asking for marriage on her behalf, so she got up from bed before dawn and spent a long time busying herself like a woman, combing her hair and applying powder.

As a result, Lin Hai drank a little too much last night and did not wake up until noon. By then, Ruan Mei had already hired a carriage and was waiting there. Even the manuscript of "Dream of Red Mansions" and gifts prepared in advance were loaded into the carriage.

When Lin Hai saw that it was getting late, he wiped his face and got on the carriage. After all, it wasn't a marriage proposal for him, so there was no need to dress up so handsome, right?

"Where does Taoist Cao Yi live?" Lin Hai asked Ruan Mei while eating breakfast in the car.

"Hmm? What did the lord just say?" Ruan Mei was a little nervous about returning home and had been absent-minded all morning.

"I want to ask where your lover Miaozhen lives. How far is it from here?" Lin Hai found Ruan Mei's expression a little funny, but it was understandable. After all, Wang Wei only had a little nun by his side, and no one could say for sure whether she would let him go. "My Lord, it's not far from here, in the middle of the song..."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Lin Hai raised his hand and hit Ruan Mei on the back of the head.

In the song! That was the place that countless literati and poets in the late Ming Dynasty and even in later generations yearned for the most. There were ten miles of pearl curtains and beautiful women like clouds... I just wiped my face and came to visit the most upscale club in the Ming Dynasty.

"Sir, be gentle, your hair is messy." Ruan Mei quickly put on his hat and scarf. He had originally put a flower in his hair in the morning, but then he thought it was not appropriate to dress too frivolously today, so he finally put on a square flat scarf, which made him look a lot older.

"Why is Wang Wei living in Quzhong? Is he back to his old ways?"

"You are joking, my Lord. The Taoist in Grass Clothes has a noble character. Now that he has gotten out of the quagmire, how could he possibly go back to his old ways?"

"Are you trying to flatter your mother-in-law now?" Lin Hai scolded with a smile, "Then why is she living in Quzhong again?"

"She is staying at a friend's house. Taoist Cao Yi has no residence in Jinling. Several of the houses in Quzhonghe are run by her former sisters, so she stays in this area every time she comes to Jinling..." Ruan Mei explained seriously. He has never been so serious in his life. He must be so nervous because he has fallen in love.

"So that's how it is..." Lin Hai thought to himself, you are quite careless, you are not worried at all that your girlfriend lives in a brothel. Now he knows where Miao Zhen learned that unique skill of swearing.

Lin Hai then thought: This line of work is really a job for young people. Wang Wei's sisters must be around 30 years old now, but they can only give way to the next generation and become brothels. It seems that most men still like 18-year-olds, and that has been the case since ancient times.

However, Lin's taste is slightly different. He likes automatic transmission when driving, and preferably smart driving version... If someone can save enough money to open a high-end club in Quzhong in his thirties, then he must be very beautiful, experienced and skilled...

Thinking of this, Lin Hai asked again: "By the way, you were a gangster in the beginning, right? I believe you are well aware of the rules of this brothel?"

"Of course, helping prostitutes and feeding them is my main job..."

Ruan Mei's brain was a little slow today, and it took her a while to understand the meaning of these words: it seemed that her Lord Lin was planning to have a leisurely stroll in this ten-mile brothel after meeting Wang Wei, and it was not impossible that he would bring a prostitute back with him as a concubine.

"Sir, what rules do you want to ask?" Ruan Mei's cleverness returned this time. If she really brought a prostitute back, she would be half a mistress in the future. It just so happened that there was a young girl who had not yet been married in the riverside house where Wang Wei was staying. She played best with Miao Zhen on weekdays...

This is a golden opportunity! No matter what, I must persuade Lord Lin to marry Miaozhen's best friend. With this relationship, will I still worry about not being able to rise step by step in the future?
Just when Ruan Mei was thinking hard, Lin Hai asked with a slightly embarrassed look: "Well, let me ask, just a question! Um... can the madam in the song usually receive customers?"

(End of this chapter)