Blackening starts from the golden years

After sending Song Yinzhang and Yinping back to Leying, Zhao Paner returned to the teahouse, returned the borrowed carriage, and went to the river to wash clothes. Sun Sanniang happened to be there, so she talked to her about Song Yinzhang and the fact that her fiancé Ouyang Xu had not returned yet.

After listening to her, Sun Sanniang sighed:
"You have protected Yin Zhang so well over the years. She is not stupid, she is just unworldly."

Hearing this, Zhao Pan'er sighed softly and said:

"What can I do? I owe her sister this."

Looking at Zhao Pan'er, Sun Sanniang asked worriedly:

"That evil star from the Imperial City Department, will he be responsible for Yin Zhang?"

"I hope so."

Zhao Pan'er sighed softly and said:

"Yin Zhang is young, beautiful, and proficient in music. I believe she can please him and become his concubine."

"Be his concubine?"

Sun Sanniang was slightly surprised. A concubine has a low status and can even be used to entertain the master's relatives and friends, or be given to others as a gift for fun. The status and position of a concubine is only slightly better than that of ordinary slaves and servants in the family. Therefore, unless there is really no other choice, basically no woman would be willing to be a concubine.

Of course, nothing is absolute in this world, and there will always be people in this world who like to humiliate themselves.

It has been a tradition since ancient times that people would rather be a concubine of a rich man than a wife of a poor man.

Let's get back to the topic. Looking at Sun Sanniang, Zhao Pan'er said:
"There's nothing we can do. Yin Zhang is a lowly person. According to Song Dynasty law, lowly people cannot redeem themselves or marry good people. This is passed down from generation to generation. With her background, which rich family would really marry her as their first wife, except to be a concubine?"

"You're right."

Sun Sanniang nodded and said, let alone wealthy families, even ordinary small families would not be willing to marry a woman of humble origin. In this era of feudal ethics, a woman's reputation is too important.

Of course, for those men who cannot marry because their family is poor, the matter is another matter. I will not elaborate on it here. In short, if a man has no money, it will be very miserable, because even the girls in the brothel will look down on you. People laugh at the poor but not at prostitutes. That's probably the case.

As for those stories about courtesans falling in love with poor scholars, either the poor scholar was very talented and could pass the imperial examination and be appointed as an official, or they were just some weird stories written by some poor scholars who failed the imperial examination.

Just like online novels, reality is not as satisfactory as expected, but in these stories, whether it is the famous courtesan or the nine-day fairy in the sky who comes to the mortal world, they can all fall in love with the poor scholar and give birth to his children. This is the daydream of the ancient people.

Let’s get back to the topic. Let’s get back to the topic.

After talking about Song Yinzhang, Sun Sanniang looked at Zhao Paner and said:

"Let's not talk about Sister Yin Zhang for now, let's talk about you and Ouyang Xu."

"say what?"

Zhao Pan'er asked softly. Looking at her, Sun Sanniang said:

"You said that evil star from the Imperial City Division, is what he said true? Could it be that Ouyang Xu has really changed his mind?"

"I do not know either."

Zhao Paner shook her head gently and said:
"Maybe it's true, or maybe he lied to me, Sanniang, do you think he wanted to harm Ouyang Xu on purpose?"

"Oh no?"

Looking at Zhao Pan'er, Sun Sanniang said in surprise:
"That evil star, why did he harm Ouyang Xu?"

"Maybe it's a struggle in the officialdom. Didn't Ouyang pass the exam and get the third place?"

Zhao Pan'er's eyes lit up and she said:

"Ouyang passed the imperial examination and was awarded the title of Third Place, so the next step is to be granted an official position. At this time, someone wanted to deliberately frame him, so they lied to me that he regretted his engagement. This must be the case. The officialdom is treacherous. I can't be fooled and hold Ouyang back."

Sun Sanniang was stunned when she heard this. After Zhao Pan'er finished speaking, she suddenly realized what was going on and blurted out:
"So that's how it is. I was wondering, not only did you save Ouyang Xu's life, you also funded his three years of study. Even the money he used to go to Tokyo for the exam was given by you. If he really changes his mind and wants to break off the engagement, then wouldn't you be worse than pigs and dogs?"

"Well, I believe Ouyang. He must have been delayed by something, so he hasn't come back yet."

Zhao Paner smiled.

"Well, that's for sure."

Sun Sanniang also laughed. She knew that Zhao Pan'er had paid a lot and was just waiting for Ouyang Xu to pass the imperial examination and come back to take her to Tokyo to marry her as his first wife. From then on, she would live in Ouyang Xu's mansion, never go out of the front door or the back door, and be a virtuous Madam Ouyang who would take care of her husband and children. This was what Zhao Pan'er had planned all along.

To put it in modern terms, she is a housewife. The man is the breadwinner outside and the woman is the homemaker. The woman gives birth to children for the man and takes care of his family. This is Zhao Paner's wish.

After chatting with Sun Sanniang for a while, Zhao Paner put the washed clothes into the wooden basin, stood up holding the basin and said with a smile:

"Sanniang, I'm going back. I want to ask Yang Yunpan about Ouyang's matter."

"Go ahead and come back early."

Looking up at the sky, Sun Sanniang reminded:
"The Yang residence is outside the city. It's getting dark soon. Please be careful."

"it is good."

Zhao Pan'er smiled, and she carried the wooden basin back to the small courtyard of the teahouse and hung the freshly washed clothes under the eaves.

After hanging up the clothes, she returned to her bedroom, closed the door tightly, and changed into a beautiful pink palace dress.

When Zhao Pan'er walked out of the bedroom again, Yuan Xudong couldn't help but feel his eyes brightened. He had been staying in Zhao Pan'er's teahouse and refused to leave.

She was wearing a pink palace gown, with waist-length hair and a silver hairpin with pink peach blossom tassels on her head. She had a pretty face, a graceful look, bright eyes, white teeth, and skin as white as ice. She was definitely a beauty from the north, peerless and independent.

After giving Yuan Xudong a fierce glare who refused to leave, Zhao Paner was about to turn around and leave.

"Madam Zhao, where are you going?"

Yuan Xudong asked with a smile.

"What's it to you where I go?"

Zhao Pan'er rolled her eyes at Yuan Xudong again. She walked into the teahouse next door and packed a box of snacks to bring to Yang Yunpan's wife as a gift for his visit.

At this time, Yuan Xudong leaned against the door frame of the teahouse. He looked at Zhao Paner and smiled:

"You are Yin Zhang's sister, so you are my family. It's getting dark soon, and I'm worried about letting you go out alone. What if you meet a bad guy?"

"Haha, where did this bad guy come from? You?"

Zhao Pan'er made a sarcastic remark to Yuan Xudong. She packed the snacks, closed the lid of the lunch box, and was about to go out carrying the lunch box.

Looking at Yuan Xudong who was deliberately blocking the entrance of the teahouse, Zhao Paner couldn't help but frowned and said in a coquettish voice:

"Get out of the way. A good dog doesn't block the road."

"Now you dare to call me a dog?"

Yuan Xudong smiled slightly. Looking at him, Zhao Paner said sarcastically:

"Humph, aren't you the running dogs and minions of the eunuch party? You murder loyal people, gang up on dissidents, take human lives lightly, and have no regard for the law. Is there anything bad in the world that you dare not do?"

Looking at Zhao Pan'er, Yuan Xudong snorted coldly and threatened:

"Humph, you are quite courageous. Aren't you afraid that I will kill you?"

"Afraid, not afraid either."

Looking at Yuan Xudong, Zhao Paner mustered up her courage and said:

"If you want to kill me, just go ahead and kill me. I'm not afraid."

"Oh, you don't regret it?"

“I never regret it!”

Looking at Zhao Pan'er who was staring at him, Yuan Xudong suddenly reached out and grabbed her neck, lifting her up with a little force.

"Cough, cough~~"

Zhao Pan'er couldn't help coughing twice, then closed her eyes and waited for death.

"Sometimes, death is not scary. What is scary is living a life worse than death."

Yuan Xudong leaned close to Zhao Paner's ear and whispered.

After saying that, he pulled with his big hands and directly ripped open the collar of Zhao Paner's shirt, revealing the lavender bellyband embroidered with a few lotus flowers. The fullness of her breasts made Yuan Xudong slightly stunned.

"Ah~~"

Zhao Pan'er was so frightened that her face turned pale. She only felt a slight chill on her chest. She had exposed her bellyband to Yuan Xudong. How could she feel so embarrassed. "Don't look, please."

Zhao Pan'er pleaded weakly, with her hands on her chest, looking pitiful.

Looking at her, Yuan Xudong said softly:
"I remember I warned you once before that things are easy to break after they are broken. You forgot it so quickly, didn't you?"

"I won't dare to do it next time. Please, can you let me go?"

Zhao Paner pleaded pitifully.

"Okay, I'll let you go this time, and it won't happen again."

Yuan Xudong said with some difficulty that it was very hard for him to endure, but he did not want to force Zhao Pan'er, he wanted her to lie under him willingly and accept his grace and favor, just like her good sister Song Yinzhang.

Looking at the weak and vulnerable Zhao Pan'er, Yuan Xudong hugged her in his arms and smiled softly in her ear:
"As expected of you, Yin Zhang's good sister. You are older than hers."

After saying that, he let go of Zhao Pan'er, took the opportunity to touch the lotus flowers embroidered on her bellyband with his right hand, and left with a laugh.

"Ha ha……"

Zhao Pan'er's pretty face flushed with shame, her beautiful eyes were filled with a layer of mist, and she glared at Yuan Xudong's back hatefully.

She tidied her clothes and mood, took the food box and left the teahouse, rushing to Yang's house. Yuan Xudong arranged for people to follow her secretly to protect her, just in case.

……

The Yang Mansion was located outside Qiantang City, quite a distance away from Zhao's Tea Shop. Zhao Pan'er hurriedly arrived at the Yang Mansion before curfew.

The maids in the mansion all knew Zhao Pan'er, so they let her in. The Yang Mansion was quite large, and after Zhao Pan'er explained her purpose, the little maid who opened the door for her led the way and said with a smile:

"Madam Zhao, please don't worry. My master has been busy with river engineering recently and hasn't left his study much in the past two days. How about you go to the inner room and sit down first while I go to the study to take a look?"

"Okay, I'm done."

Zhao Pan'er smiled as she followed the maidservant of Yang's mansion to the inner room. Along the way, there were carved beams and painted buildings, pavilions and terraces, bright candlelight, and servants and maids in groups. Zhao Pan'er secretly sighed in her heart that the government and the literati shared the world, and the officials were not subject to punishment, etc. No wonder people say that everything is inferior, only reading is superior.

Not to mention the ordinary people, those who are of low status have such low status and position in front of these officials that they are reduced to dust.

As for the maids and servants in the Yang Mansion, strictly speaking, they are just domestic slaves of the Yang Mansion. They were bought by the Yang Mansion with money, just like objects. If they were beaten to death by their master one day, the government would not intervene. They would be dead and thrown into a mass grave, and there would be one more homeless ghost in this world. This world is so unfair.

After entering the inner room, the maid closed the door. Zhao Pan'er handed her the food box and said with a smile:
"This is a snack for Madam Yang. Please bring it to her."

"Okay, thank you, Madam Zhao. Please take a seat. I will go and inform the master first."

"Okay, go ahead, thank you."

"You're welcome, ma'am."

After watching the maid from the Yang Mansion leave, Zhao Pan'er sat down on a chair in the inner room. She had some friendship with Yang Zhiyuan, the owner of the Yang Mansion.

Yang Zhiyuan loved tea, calligraphy and painting. It just so happened that the Zhao’s Tea Shop run by Zhao Pan’er was the best in Qiantang, and she also liked to collect calligraphy and paintings by famous artists.

Once, Yang Zhiyuan went to Zhao's Tea House to drink tea and took a fancy to the authentic painting "Night Banquet" by Master Wang Ai collected by Zhao Pan'er. He sent someone to ask her for it, saying that he wanted to appreciate it. Zhao Pan'er did not dare to disobey Yang Zhiyuan's request, but she was reluctant to part with the authentic painting "Night Banquet" by Master Wang Ai. So, she got a fake and gave it to Yang Zhiyuan, and hid the original at home. Later, it was taken to Tokyo by Ouyang Xu.

Yang Zhiyuan mistook the fake for the authentic work of Master Wang Ai. He was very happy and owed Zhao Paner a favor.

I have to say that Zhao Pan'er was very courageous. Not only did she dare to use a fake to fool Yang Zhiyuan, she also dared to ask him to owe her a favor for giving her a painting.

It was also because of this that Zhao Pan'er, a tea shop owner of low status, came into contact with Yang Zhiyuan, the magistrate of Liangzhe Road.

Of course, favors are different from each other. Since Zhao Pan'er was of low status, the favor owed to her was not worth much. She naturally knew this, so she did not ask Yang Zhiyuan to help Song Yinzhang get rid of his status and be released as a good man. Otherwise, if she could really help Song Yinzhang get rid of his status and be released as a good man, how could she be reluctant to give up an authentic painting of "Night Banquet" by Master Wang Ai?

After all, it's a question of status. She's just the owner of a teahouse. She's not worthy of negotiating terms with Yang Zhiyuan, the magistrate of Liangzhe Road. It's all about personal connections. The so-called personal connections depend on the mood of the big shot. You get whatever he rewards you. You have to be sensible and know when to advance and retreat. You can't ask for it. If you ask for it, it means you don't know the difference between respect and inferiority.

Therefore, the same painting may have very different values ​​in the hands of different people. It may be worthless, or it may be exchanged for a hundred Jiangnan's top courtesans like Song Yinzhang.

Back to the topic, Zhao Pan'er had only been sitting for a while when she heard a noisy sound like chickens and dogs flying around outside the house. It seemed that a gangster had broken into the Yang Mansion on horseback, scaring all the maids and servants to scream.

Feeling a little uneasy, Zhao Pan'er quickly got up and walked to the door, looking into the yard outside the house through the crack.

She saw the tea drinker from the daytime, Gu Qianfan. He rode a tall horse and led a group of people into the Yang Mansion, rushing around recklessly, causing chaos. The maids and servants were frightened and dodged. It was obvious that these uninvited guests were all from the Imperial City Bureau. No wonder they were so arrogant and domineering, with no regard for the law, and did not take the Yang Mansion seriously at all.

Zhao Pan'er couldn't help but feel a little scared. Fourteen years ago, her family was destroyed just like that. A team of men from the Imperial City Bureau rode their horses into her house, holding tiger-head pendants in their hands, and arrested everyone they saw, showing off their might. Her family members wailed miserably, including the maids and servants, all of whom were arrested, including herself, a nine-year-old legitimate daughter of the Zhao family. All of them were arrested and demoted to the status of a slave, which would be passed down from generation to generation, with no chance of turning over.

Not knowing what misfortune had occurred in the Yang Mansion, Zhao Pan'er was afraid of being implicated, so she was arrested by the people from the Imperial City Bureau as a maid in the Yang Mansion and demoted to a lowly status again.

Thinking of this, Zhao Pan'er quickly found a place to hide in the house. In fact, if she really encountered the Imperial City Bureau's house search, it would be useless for her to hide anywhere in Yang's house. She was just seeking psychological comfort.

In the house, Zhao Paner hid.

Outside the house, Gu Qianfan was riding a horse in fine clothes, looking very majestic.

Yang Zhiyuan had just walked out of the study, followed by a group of maids and servants. When they saw him, Gu Qianfan rode his horse straight towards him. When he got close, he pulled the reins hard, and the warhorse neighed, stood up, and raised its front hooves high, which scared Yang Zhiyuan and the maids and servants who followed him so much that they pissed themselves to death. The scene was extremely chaotic for a while.

Yang Zhiyuan, who had fallen to the ground, was quickly helped up by his servants. Looking at Gu Qianfan, who was standing on his horse, he could not help but shout in anger:

"How dare you! I am Yang Zhiyuan, the judge of Liangzhe Road. Who are you, the thief, to dare to trespass?"

Looking down at Yang Zhiyuan from above, Gu Qianfan sat high on his warhorse, holding the reins with his left hand, waving his cloak behind him with his right hand, and took out the lion head pendant of the Imperial City Bureau from his waist and shouted:

"The commander of the Imperial City Investigation Department, Gu Qianfan!"

Gu Qianfan was showing off his might, and Lao Jia and others who followed behind him were also proud of it. They drew their swords one after another, and the swords flashed brightly and the cold light was intimidating. They were supporting their commander Gu Qianfan to enhance his prestige.

Under the firelight, looking at the ferocious and terrifying Imperial City Lion Head Pendant and the dozen or so half-unsheathed sharp steel knives, Yang Zhiyuan could not help but swallow his saliva in fear and shouted in a timid tone:

"Well, if I don't sell you The Night Banquet, you dare to break in late at night. You are so bold and have no regard for the law. Is there any law in this world?"

"Hand over the Night Banquet, and I'll leave right away."

Looking down at Yang Zhiyuan, Gu Qianfan said lightly.

"I am an official appointed by the imperial court. Even if you are from the Imperial City Bureau, I will not..."

Yang Zhiyuan was so concerned about his reputation that he wanted to argue with Gu Qianfan. However, Gu Qianfan just waved his hand and shouted:

"Go in and search for me!"

"Yes!"

As soon as Lao Jia and the others received the order, they immediately put away their swords, dismounted, and rushed straight into the main hall of Yang's house, starting to search through boxes and cabinets. They searched roughly, deliberately smashing vases and porcelain, and threw all the famous calligraphy and paintings that Yang Zhiyuan specially collected in Yang's house on the ground at random, trampling on them wantonly.

Gu Qianfan dismounted from his horse, walked into the main hall of Yang's mansion, sat sideways in the main seat, and drank leisurely by himself.

Seeing the people from the Imperial City Bureau break into his house and wreak havoc, Yang Zhiyuan's face turned pale, especially when he saw that all the famous calligraphy and paintings he treasured were thrown to the ground by these reckless people from the Imperial City Bureau and trampled on them back and forth. He couldn't help but cry out in pain:

"What are you doing? Stop it now. Be careful not to break anything. Even if you are from the Imperial City Bureau, you can't be so arrogant, right?"

"Get out of the way! Search everything carefully!"

Old Jia pushed away Yang Zhiyuan who wanted to stop him and others, and ordered his brothers to search more unscrupulously, deliberately smashing antique porcelain, throwing all the famous paintings and calligraphy on the ground and stomping on them. Yang Zhiyuan was heartbroken and heartbroken. In the end, he had no choice but to surrender to Gu Qianfan and said sadly:
"Why do you insist on having Yang's painting 'Night Banquet'?"

Looking up at Yang Zhiyuan, Gu Qianfan dipped his finger in the tea and wrote the word "prophecy" on the table, then said:
"Gu went to Jiangnan this time to arrest the magistrate Wei of Renhe. He was not targeting you. However, if Yang Yun sentenced you, it would be ungrateful..."

Before he finished speaking, Yang Zhiyuan had already understood what Gu Qianfan meant. Looking at the two words "prophecy" that were gradually drying up on the table, he looked sad and said helplessly:

"I'll just give you the painting."

"Okay, then thank you Yang Yunpan. I'm sorry for the offense."

Gu Qianfan smiled and told Lao Jia and the others to stop, then looked at Yang Zhiyuan and asked:

"Where's the painting?"

"I'll get it right away."

Yang Zhiyuan took out the "Night Banquet" from the secret room, handed it to Gu Qianfan with both hands, and said reluctantly:

"Commander Gu, here is the Night Banquet Map."

"it is good."

Taking the "Night Banquet" from Yang Zhiyuan, Gu Qianfan was about to unfold the painting to examine it carefully when he heard a woman's loud rebuke from outside the main hall:
"Gu Qianfan, are you the grandson of the old Minister of Rites, Gu Shenyan?"

...(End of chapter)