Jiuxi

Chapter 367 Chapter 365 [Mystery]

The residence arranged by the manager of Mo Yuan for Lu Chen was the courtyard called "Green" in the northeast corner. The soldiers he brought lived in the surrounding buildings, and there were also sentries arranged by Mo Yuan's own masters and the royal guards. .

As the second prince's most important sphere of influence, this place has always been heavily guarded internally and externally, and ordinary thieves dare not approach it.

At this moment, in the dead of night, people are quiet, and the beauty is standing tall and graceful.

Xue Susu bowed down and said gracefully, "My maid, by the order of His Highness the Prime Minister, has come to serve the Marquis to his bed."

After the brief chat before, Lu Chen became more and more certain that the second prince was the emperor's favorite candidate for crown prince, so he sent Xue Susu over openly.

Perhaps it was for this reason that the second prince deliberately wanted to keep the three powerful warriors tonight. It was just because he was not interested in drinking, so as not to leave Lu Chen alone to prove the truth.

As for why the second prince insisted on giving Xue Susu to Lu Chen, this move was completely different from when Li Yunyi asked Gu Waner, the courtesan of Fanlou, to redeem her body.

The second prince knew that the emperor loved him, but because he was not born to the queen, and because the situation inside and outside the court was too complicated, the emperor had not confirmed the heir apparent for a long time.

Now Lu Chen gradually became the emperor's loyal minister, and entrusted him with the important task of splitting up the Beijing army. In the eyes of the second prince, he was the most important minister who needed to be won over.

Xue Susu was slightly surprised. She was actually ready to be rejected, but she didn't show it on her face. She lowered her eyes and said, "My servant will serve the Marquis to take a bath."

As the distance between the two suddenly narrowed, Xue Susu couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva - purely because of nervousness.

Jing Pianpian's temperament is too out-of-the-box, compared to Xue Susu's gentle and elegant temperament, which is more in line with this requirement.

Moyuan is a gentle village ranked among the best in Beijing and Fanlou. The various facilities inside are naturally full of enjoyment. There is a warm soup with hot water in the green courtyard.

Xue Susu then stepped forward to Lu Chen's side and undressed the young prince.

Not to mention using hands or feet, she was very respectful even in her words. After all, the second prince himself had never laid a finger on her.

In other words, even though she was mentally prepared, Xue Susu's shyness still surged up uncontrollably, and she whispered softly: "Please let me serve the Marquis and take a bath."

Lu Chen could see the panic in her heart at a glance. Without saying anything, he just nodded and said, "Okay."

Within a few breaths, fine beads of sweat began to form on the tip of Xue Susu's fair nose, and her cheeks turned slightly red.

Lu Chen nodded in agreement.

After much thought, he could only focus on the two courtesans owned by Mo Yuan.

Taking the perspective even further, considering Lu Chen's age, he is most likely the minister left by the emperor to the second prince.

Lu Chen was wearing regular clothes tonight, and because it was early summer weather, he wore a middle coat under his outer robe. It was not troublesome to take off his clothes, but the process seemed extremely long to Xue Susu.

In this case, it was natural for the second prince to take the initiative to express his kindness to Lu Chen.

Lu Chen was not a pedantic Taoist. After thinking about these joints, he did not drive Xue Susu out. He just said calmly: "Then I will help Miss Xue."

The problem is that apart from that, there is really not much the second prince can do.

In the east wing, Lu Chen stood by the ten-foot-square soup pool. He turned to look at Xue Susu, who had his hands folded in front of him, with an inquiring look in his eyes.

Xue Susu was more majestic and calm than Jing Pianpian, but after all, she was a noble lady whom the second prince valued very much. Even though she usually had to accompany some dignitaries to drink and write poems, no one dared to be presumptuous in front of her.

Lu Chen is a standard military commander. He doesn't like poetry and articles, and he has no interest in being arty. The Lu family was extremely wealthy, and Lu Chen had no regard for gold and silver, and the second prince couldn't be too vulgar.

In a sense, she and Jing Pianpian were indeed goods cultivated by the second prince, but they were fragile items that could only be dealt with once.

It was out of this consideration that he invited Lu Chen to participate in the Mo Yuan Literary Conference, and warned the literati in advance not to provoke Lu Chen on Mo Criticisms, but to find ways to make Lu Chen famous.

At this time, Lu Chen's calm voice came to her ears: "Miss Xue, I drank a lot of wine tonight, and the smell of alcohol on my body is difficult for you."

Xue Susu suddenly woke up and said quickly: "My servant dare not."

Taking off his middle coat, Lu Chen stepped into the soup pool and sat on the edge of the pool.

Only then did Xue Susu notice that under the young prince's seemingly handsome appearance, he actually had strong muscles and bones, as well as several old and new scars on his chest and shoulders.

She got the sweet-scented osmanthus soap and a handkerchief, knelt down behind Lu Chen, and carefully scrubbed his back.

To be fair, Xue Susu, who is the leading courtesan in Moyuan, has never done anything like this. Fortunately, she is meticulous enough and her movements are neither light nor heavy.

The atmosphere in the wing was peaceful, with only the gurgling sound of water coming from time to time.

"Can Miss Xue know how to sing?"

"Yes, I wonder which part the Marquis would like to hear?"

"Actually, I don't understand. You can just sing a piece of music as you like. You don't have to sing something too lively and festive."

"Yes, Lord Marquis."

Xue Susu stopped her movements, cleared her throat, and then began to sing softly.

"... A few songs spread out on the mountain, and the remaining eyebrows are dark and dark. Why can't the tender heart turn in the quilt? This haggardness is not caring for the late sleep of the moon, but it is to cherish the flowers and go to the courtyard? Suddenly, I dream among the flowers, my daughter The nature of the heart is not clear. A sleepless night with the lights turned on and off, and the scent of plum blossoms cannot wake me up..." The so-called oiran, of course, can't just impress people with his appearance.

They basically have to dabble in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, music, dance, and poetry, and they must be outstanding in one or two of them, otherwise they won't even be qualified to compete for the oiran.

Among the oirans in the capital, Gu Waner's dance, Su Qianyu's piano, Jing Pianpian's poems, and Xue Susu's paintings are all well-known for their superb skills.

Although Xue Susu's singing voice is not extremely beautiful, it can be said to be ethereal and graceful, with a long lingering sound.

After singing one song, Xue Susu continued to sing the next song a cappella when she saw that Lu Chen had not spoken.

In the third case, she stopped to let her throat rest for a moment. Looking at the man in front of her who was as stable as a solid rock, she couldn't help but move her body carefully with curiosity, looking at Lu Shen from the side and behind.

But Lu Chen's eyes were slightly closed, his breathing was steady, and he seemed to have fallen asleep to her singing.

Xue Susu looked at his side face quietly, with complex emotions revealed in the depths of her beautiful eyes, and then slowly stretched out her hand to reach for the handkerchief by the pool.

When her delicate hand touched the handkerchief, Lu Chen suddenly opened his eyes and turned to look at her hand.

Xue Susu's heart trembled because of his gaze, and she said softly: "My servant thought that the Marquis was asleep and wanted to help him wipe the water on his shoulders."

Lu Chen's expression became gentle, and he smiled and said: "Miss Xue, I heard from His Highness the Second Highness that you are known as a talented woman and have a chivalrous spirit, so I would like to ask you a question."

Xue Susu quickly shook her head and said: "That's just His Highness's compliment. I really don't dare to accept it. I would like to ask the Marquis to show me. I know everything I know."

Lu Chen said slowly: "I heard that there are five great oirans in Beijing, two of them belong to Moyuan, the other two belong to Fanlou, and there is one I don't know much about."

Xue Susu added: "The oiran's name is Xin Qiuyue, and he is now in Banyue Tower."

Lu Chen nodded and said: "You are both among the five great oirans, so you will inevitably be judged by others, but I think you will definitely not have a direct conflict, right?"

Xue Susu didn't know what he meant for a while, so she could only follow the conversation and reply: "Yes, Lord Marquis. My servant has a very good relationship with Miss Pianpian, and there will be no disputes with Miss Su. Even if there are comparisons in private, You have to maintain a superficial peace of mind, otherwise it will just make people laugh, and it will also be an act of self-deprecation."

"In that case..."

Lu Chen had a solemn look on his face and said thoughtfully, "Why did Hou Yu take the initiative to provoke me tonight?"

Xue Susu was startled.

It seemed that she was not aware of the conflict that had occurred at the previous banquet.

Lu Chen briefly talked about the process of the matter, and then said thoughtfully: "I gave Guo Congyi a step up, and he finally accepted it. This matter should have ended here. At this time, Hou Yu jumped out to accuse like a madman. Me, and my attitude is extremely tough, I can only retaliate with tooth. But in hindsight, Hou Yu should not be such a reckless person, otherwise he would not be able to transfer the center from Chengzhou. "

Only then did Xue Susu understand Lu Chen's purpose in asking her to sing. It turned out that he was just to think about business quietly.

When she thought about this, she felt a little complicated.

Lu Chen continued to mutter to himself: "Hou Yu seems to want to involve His Highness the Second Highness. After all, His Highness will definitely pay attention to this private banquet secretly. He first angered me, or he had to find a way to provoke me, so that His Highness the Second Highness would show up. , but what’s the point?”

Xue Susu looked at his slightly frowned brows and said cautiously: "Master Hou, does General Hou want to use the opportunity of letting His Highness resolve the conflict to show his favor to His Highness?"

"This possibility..."

Lu Chen was about to speak but stopped, his eyes suddenly turned sharp, and he said in a cold voice: "No, Hou Yu must have another purpose."

……

In another courtyard to the southwest of Moyuan, Hou Yu, the Marquis of Nan'an, who had drunk a lot tonight and was already staggering, was lying on the bed in his bedroom, snoring like thunder.

Because the host of tonight's banquet is Guo Congyi, Hou Yu, who is far inferior in terms of official position and seniority, naturally cannot put on a show, so he only brings ten soldiers, twice as few as usual.

At this moment, ten personal soldiers were placed inside and outside the courtyard. The second prince would treat them equally on the surface, and there were also experts from Moyuan on guard outside the courtyard.

The moon is high in the sky, and everything is silent.

Suddenly there was a few wisps of wind.

Immediately afterwards, a soldier in the courtyard shouted hurriedly: "Who is this!"

A muffled groan sounded.

That gust of wind rushed into the main room with lightning speed.

After the soldier fell, he raised his hand to cover the wound on his heart, turned his head desperately to look at the figure rushing into the house, and used the last strength in his body to shout: "There is... an assassin!"

On the bed in the bedroom, Hou Yu was still snoring loudly, as if he was completely unaware of the movement outside.

However, in the dim candlelight, the eyes of Nan'an Marquis, who was sleeping on the bed, suddenly opened.

A look of surprise and confusion flashed in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)