Jinghong Tower

Chapter 328 Dark Night (two chapters in one)

During the day, someone in the court hall proposed to send troops north to recapture the imperial capital. There was a response, and a dozen young officials came out to make impassioned speeches.

Of course, this is only temporary.

The enthusiasm and enthusiasm of the young officials were quickly extinguished by the cold water poured down from their heads. Some were unconvinced, gritting their teeth and eager to give it a try, but were stopped by their superiors or division commanders with angry eyes.

The new emperor sneered in his heart, didn't he want to cross the river?

Of course he does.

Ever since the news of King Jin's defeat reached Jinling, the new emperor wanted to march north.

From the beginning to the end, the only thing he feared the most was King Jin.

The wealth and armaments of the Prince of Jin were far beyond his reach.

Even for the final failure of King Jin, the new emperor blamed Fu Yansheng and Feng Jieying.

In the eyes of the new emperor, King Jin made the mistake of trusting Fu and Feng. It was the defection of these two people that led to King Jin's failure.

And He Ran was just a witch who brought disaster to the country and the people, and the new emperor was not afraid of her.

But the thought of crossing the river only passed by for a moment.

The new emperor is not the stupid young man who is in power today. He clearly understands the current situation.

The current enemies are not only He Ran, but also Zhou Cangyue who is very close at hand, and Wang Hao, who is in league with the barbarians.

He didn't want to be like the King of Jin who used all his troops to fight against the imperial court. He was fighting in the front, but He Ran confiscated his hometown in the back.

The new emperor can be sure that once he decides to attack He Ran, the imperial army will cross the river with the front foot, and Zhou Cangyue's Huwei army will attack the south of the Yangtze River with the rear foot.

By then, the imperial court would be under attack from both sides.

But life is also difficult now. He Ran occupies a large area of ​​​​Jiangbei, Wu Dongming occupies the northwest, Zhou Cangyue occupies two lakes, and Wang Hao is in Guidi.

After going to court, the new emperor's heart was still heavy. He took out a book from the pile of memorials, opened it and saw that he wanted money.

The new emperor was displeased and threw the memorial aside. He still asked for money to get another one.

He said to the eunuch beside him: "What happened? Shouldn't these be sent to the Ministry of Household Affairs?"

The eunuch hurriedly laughed and said, "This servant was negligent. I will send him to the Ministry of Household Affairs right now."

Although he said this, the eunuch knew very well in his heart that these documents had been screened and submitted by the elders. It was not that the Minister of Household Affairs did not see it, but that he had no choice but to send it to the emperor for the emperor to think of a solution.

How could the new emperor not understand?

He stood up bitterly and said to another eunuch: "Let's go to the imperial garden for a walk."

The Imperial Garden was only half the size of the former Garden of Prince Qi. Although it was still full of flowers in this cold autumn, in the eyes of the new emperor, it looked gaudy.

Flowers are most thought-provoking when they are still in bud.

"Where's Wu San? I haven't seen him for two or three days."

The new emperor's voice was light and his smile was graceful and calm, just like the white chrysanthemum in the blue and white porcelain basin on the desk in the study.

Beauty Qiao in the rockery pavilion in the distance looked crazy.

She has been in the palace for half a year, but she can only watch from a distance. The new emperor has never turned over her sign.

Not only her, but also the dozen or so people they entered the palace with.

Everyone in the palace said that it was because the new emperor was busy with government affairs and did not want to indulge in beauty. He occasionally went to the residence of the empress, noble concubines, and concubines, but only to sit and sit there, and never stayed overnight.

You know, those few people were serving the new emperor when he was in the dormitory.

Therefore, everyone in the palace knew that the new emperor missed the old love. Although he had a young beauty, he still did not forget the old one and was a true gentleman.

Beauty Qiao sighed, everyone said that the new emperor is a gentleman, but she didn't want to. She wanted to be favored by the new emperor, she wanted to fly on a branch and become a phoenix, and she wanted to be a king from now on.

Qiao Meiren looked at the new emperor in the distance and wished she could glue her eyes to it.

Her father had more than a dozen concubines and more than twenty daughters. They were recorded in the name of the principal wife since they were young, and they were all nominally legitimate daughters.

From childhood to adulthood, they not only learn music, chess, calligraphy and painting, but also learn to serve men. Although she is a virgin, she has unique skills. She knows how to please men.

Just once, she can make the new emperor unable to live without her, just once!
But for half a year, she didn't even have a chance.

She also thought about seeking a chance encounter, but instead of trying it herself, she encouraged Liu Meiren. Liu Meiren actually went, but the new emperor just smiled gently and let Liu Meiren go to the queen's side.

Within a few days, news came out that Liu Meiren had contracted an illness and died.

Qiao Meiren secretly rejoiced that it was not her who ran into the emperor's arms that day, otherwise she would have died like Liu Meiren.

Thinking of this, Qiao Meiren reluctantly looked away. She had better wait. If the emperor was still not close to women, she would think of other ways.

She knew there was a kind of fragrance that would make her emotional when she smelled it.
It's a pity that the new emperor's side is like a monolith. It took a lot of effort for Qiao Meiren to bribe a young chamberlain named A Bao.

Abao is only twelve years old. Although he is the godson of the emperor's eunuch, Eunuch Xia, he is too young to be in front of the emperor for the time being and can only do some chores.

But having such a person is better than not having one at all. This little Abao is the straw that Beauty Qiao can grasp now.

Said Cao Cao, Cao Cao.

Qiao Meiren was about to walk down the rockery when she saw A Bao coming this way.

Beauty Qiao winked, and the maid Qing Xing hurried down the mountain, hid behind a Taihu stone, and shouted softly: "A Bao, A Bao."

When Abao heard someone calling him, he looked up and saw a face exposed behind the Taihu Stone.

"Miss Qingxing, why are you here?" Abao is a polite child.

Qingxing said with concern: "It's cold. You are wearing so thin. Is your cotton coat not enough?"

The new emperor advocated frugality, and the ladies in the palace no longer sewed new clothes, and of course the maids in the palace had to do the same.

Others can still wear old cotton-padded clothes from the past two years, but little waiters like A Bao cannot. They are still growing and the old clothes can no longer be worn.

Abao felt warm in his heart and said quickly: "No, no, I have strong firepower and am not afraid of the cold. Cotton clothes are not needed at the moment."

He had cotton-padded clothes, and his godfather spent money to make new cotton-padded clothes for a dozen of his godsons. The clothes were half-used, but the inside was made of new cotton. They looked old and would not attract attention.

Qingxing smiled and said, "Where are you going in such a hurry?" Abao, not doubting that he was there, said casually: "My godfather asked me to go out of the palace to do some business."

Qingxing looked at the sky: "You're leaving the palace so late? I'm afraid the palace door will be closed when you come back."

Abao: "It's okay. I'll catch up in time."

He has gone there several times for his godfather, and every time he comes back before the palace door closes. Besides, today is earlier than usual, giving him plenty of time to talk to Qingxing.

"Are you going shopping? Eunuch Xia, don't worry about letting you go out alone?" Qing Xing asked.

In the past, there was a little chamberlain named Zeng Fu in the palace who could go out of the palace to buy things every day. At that time, it was said that all the ladies in the palace asked him to help with shopping. Zeng Fu often carried a lot of money with him, but he was targeted by thieves. Zeng Fu was murdered for money. It was more than ten days before his body was fished out of the river. It had been soaked beyond recognition. Even his cousin, Eunuch Tang, could only identify him by his clothes. .

Eunuch Tang fell ill and later asked to leave the palace. Now he lives in a monastery outside the city.

Eunuch Tang came from Qingzhou with the new emperor. People in the palace said privately that if Eunuch Tang had not invited himself out of the palace, Eunuch Xia would not be the celebrity around the new emperor.

But since the death of the young eunuch Zeng Fu, the palace no longer allows eunuchs to go out alone.

Qingxing didn't know that A Bao had gone out before. She just heard A Bao say that he wanted to go out and felt strange, so she asked.

Abao said hurriedly: "If I'm not shopping, I'm going to the alley opposite. It's not far away. I'll come back as soon as I go. Nothing will happen."

Qingxing watched A Bao leave, returned to the pavilion, lowered her voice, and told Beauty Qiao what A Bao had just said.

Beauty Qiao's eyes were filled with excitement. She knew that the alley opposite, which was said to be opposite, was actually not that close to each other, and there was a distance in between. However, compared to other places in Jinling City, this place was the closest to the temporary palace.

What was Po doing there?
And you still go back as soon as you go?

It was already evening and dinner was about to be served.

Returning to her palace, Qiao Meiren took out a calf carved from jade and said to Qingxing: "When you see A Bao again, give this to him. He is born in the year of the cow. By the way, you can make some jokes from him. What was he doing in that alley?"

Just as he said, Abao would come back as soon as he left.

It was like this every time, and he only knew that a man named Wu San lived there.

Every time he knocked on the door, an old woman would open the door. He told the old woman to see Wu San if he had anything to do.

Just these five words, and then leave.

It was the same today. After Abao said those five words, he walked out of the alley.

For some reason, he felt someone was looking at him. When he looked back, there was nothing.

Abao didn't pay attention and skipped back to the palace.

A Bao came back before dinner. He didn't have to be on duty and had no work to do so he could go to eat. Therefore, when he was eating, his godfather, Eunuch Xia, was still hungry and serving the new emperor.

After dinner, the sky became dark.

Wu San was sitting in the yard, still waiting. When it got dark, he was going to go out.

The cry of the little girl came from the room. Wu San got annoyed and shouted into the room: "Auntie, what did you do? Why did you make her cry? What should I do if her eyes are swollen from crying?"

There was one last time whose eyes were red and swollen, which made the person very dissatisfied.

The one who likes clear, bright, dust-free eyes.

The old woman's scolding voice soon came from the room: "Don't cry. If you cry again, I will strangle you to death, including your parents."

The crying gradually disappeared, Wu San breathed a sigh of relief, and shouted into the room: "Auntie, don't forget to give her eye drops."

This eye drop is a good thing. It was rewarded by Eunuch Xia. It was prepared by the Imperial Hospital. Put a few drops into your eyes and you will feel hydrated.

Of course, the little girl is more charming as she becomes more charming.

The sky finally turned dark. Wu San stood up, stretched, turned and entered the house. After a while, he walked out of the house with a bag on his back.

The old woman chased her out, slapped her pocket, pricked her twice with a bamboo stick, and said viciously: "Don't cry on the road, do you hear me?"

Wu San was dissatisfied: "Mom, how long has it been and you still stabbed her with a bamboo stick? That person is very careful. The child's skin is so tender that he can see it at a glance."

The old woman hurriedly hid the bamboo stick behind her back. She was used to it and forgot that the one in front of her was about to be given away.

"Then, what should I do? All the pricks have been pricked." The old woman was a little panicked.

Wu San glared at her angrily, turned around and walked into the house: "What should I do? We can only change one. I tell you, you are not allowed to prick them again in the next few days. If they are not recovered by then, our errand It’s gone.”

The old woman was regretful and scared at the same time. She couldn't lose this job.

Their mother and son were kidnappers. They were sentenced to beheaded for harvesting and harvesting. They were redeemed from the death row with money. They first wandered around in remote places, picked out some beautiful little girls and sent them to Jinling. This business was okay at the beginning, but it became more and more difficult. Twice, they encountered bandits on the road. Although they saved their lives, the little girl died of serious injuries. Twice, when they were interrogated by checkpoints, Convinced that they were part of the flower-shooting gang, they were imprisoned for a whole month, and of course the children they had with them were gone.

Things happened one after another, and the benefactor decided to let them live in Jinling forever.

In the past few months, they had two or three children every month, mostly in the villages around Jinling. Many families did not pay attention to their daughters at all, and would just throw them away without reporting them to the official.

But the person above didn't like it, saying that these girls were rough-handed and had an earthy smell.

The benefactor was also unhappy and thought they were lazy.

The little girl above who likes tender skin, soft flesh, is the kind of child who looks like she has been raised in a pampered way, with a squeamishness in her bones.

How could there be anything like this in the countryside?
They went to Suzhou and Hangzhou. The women in Suzhou and Hangzhou were all as green as green onions, and the little girls were also as cute as snow.

It was midsummer at that time. On the way back from Suzhou and Hangzhou, the two little girls suffered from heat stroke. Later, they started to have diarrhea. When they arrived in Jinling, they lost a lot of weight and were skin and bones. Not to mention the one above, even they felt that they couldn't do anything about it.

They had no choice but to do it in Jinling. In the past two months, they got ten in total and sent six in. The man was generally satisfied and generous, and the mother and son finally tasted the benefits.

The old woman can't even think about it now. Without this job and the benefactor above her head, mother and son might have been sent back to death row before they even left Jinling City. The last time was Qiu Hou Wen Zhan, and this time I'm afraid... It's time to make a decision.

The old woman went into the house and checked one by one. Finally, she had to carry out the little girl who was brought back today and said to Wu San: "Just her, she is the only one who has not been pierced today."

Wu San was very angry. As an old woman, she would cause trouble all day long.

"Hurry up and wash her. Hurry up. It's no time. Don't forget to wake her up."

The little girl was brought back today. She was drugged and is still asleep.

The old woman felt guilty, but she was submissive and did not dare to neglect. She quickly washed the little girl, made her smell fragrant, and applied a cloth soaked in cold water to the little girl's forehead. The little girl woke up and opened her mouth to cry. The old woman stuffed the cloth with the towel. When he got into her mouth, he scolded: "Be obedient and don't cry. If you are obedient, I will send you home."

Wu San couldn't wait anymore and urged: "Okay, okay, it's time to go."