[February 19, 71st year of the Great Qiankang Dynasty, Youshi, Chang'an City Huaizhen Fang, Autumn Leaf Grass Hall]

Qiu Mingli went home from duty, and as soon as he stepped into the door of his thatched cottage, he saw a handsome and familiar figure coming towards him, and he bowed his hand and said, "The teacher has always been good?"

Qiu Mingli strode forward, held Xu Ke's hands, and let out a hearty laugh: "Hehehe! No disease, you went out to find the princess this time, can you be counted back!...... Did the seventeenth princess find it?"

"Finally, I found it, and the princess was trapped in a cave by a black tiger spirit. But it's strange to say that the giant monster trapped the princess for three days, not only did it eat the princess, but also gave the princess some food and drink from time to time......" Xu Ke briefly told Qiu Mingli about their experience of rescuing the princess last night.

According to what you said, that black tiger monster should have understood human nature, and maybe he doesn't know if he has a love for the princess!" Qiu Mingli then sighed.

The two of them talked casually, and then walked to the antechamber and sat down. Zhao Yu and Ping'an went in and out, busily serving dishes and dishes, and after a while, the large square table of beech wood in the front hall was already full of dishes, and there were two pots of Xu Ke's favorite drink of 30-year-old "Fenyang drunk" next to it.

"Xiaoyu, how did you make so many dishes in the blink of an eye!

"Ahem! With Brother Ping'an and Master Xile in the kitchen to help, it's naturally fast! Besides, are these all home-cooked food...... Mr. Qiu, Mr. Xu, then you use it slowly! Xiaoyu will go over there and clean up ......" Zhao Yu said politely with a smile on his face.

"Xiao Yu, don't clean up, just accompany me and Wuxian to have a drink or two......" Qiu Mingli said with a smile. After speaking, he waved his hand again and motioned for Zhao Yu to find a place to sit down.

"Mr. Qiu, I'm ...... Just ate too much, uh...... I really can't eat it now!" Zhao Yu burped, saw Xu Ke looking at himself with a smile, remembered the "gluttonous food" in the Dongshi Restaurant before, couldn't help but blush, and hurriedly lowered his head and ran away......

Seeing his personal maid's situation today, Qiu Mingli couldn't help but feel a little surprised, so he asked, "How much did she eat just now?"

Xu Ke hurriedly said: "Teacher, I took Xiaoyu just now and ate it first in Dongshi." ”

"Oh......" Qiu Mingli picked up the wine jug and filled Xu Ke and his own wine glasses with wine, and sat down.

Xu Ke picked up the wine glass, drank a full glass with his teacher, and then said: "Teacher, do you know that today, Pei Caibao, a thousand households of the Nan'an Ping Division, arrested Miss Zhao into Tsing Yiwei early in the morning?"

Qiu Mingli had just finished drinking the wine in the cup, and after hearing it, his face couldn't help but change, and he asked, "Is there such a thing?"

Xu Ke told Qiu Mingli what he heard from Zhao Yu's mouth, Pei Caibao arrested Zhao Yu and tortured him to extract a confession, and then Zhao Yu took advantage of the gap to escape.

Of course, what exactly did Pei Caibao torture Zhao Yu to extract a confession from? How did Zhao Yu escape from the secret room? Because Zhao Yu did not elaborate on this, Xu Ke could only rely on speculation.

After hearing this, Qiu Mingli pondered for a long time, and said: "This matter is not simple, they are scheming, they must be coming for the old man!"

Xu Ke asked, "Did the teacher have any holidays with that Pei Caibao?"

Qiu Mingli sneered: "I have no relationship with that Pei Bald, let alone any grievances, the one who wants to deal with the old man must be the person behind Pei Bald!"

Xu Ke asked again: "Pei Caibao's body...... Is there anyone else?"

Qiu Mingli said: "No disease, my Daqian is now headed by many princes, and there are many factions in the court, entangled and complicated...... The crown prince fell in front, and the party of the king of Chu appeared, and now, the king of Chu has also fallen, but there is a king of Han again......"

Xu Ke asked, "...... King Han?"

Qiu Mingli said: "Don't you know, recently, this Pei Caibao has been very close to Li Zuo, the king of Han?"

Xu Ke thought for a while, and then said: "I have never heard of any dealings between the teacher and King Han, and there must be no grudges, so what does this King Han really have to deal with...... I'm afraid it's His Royal Highness King Wei, right?"

Qiu Mingli twisted his beard and smiled: "Hmm...... Other than that, there is no one else!" After that, he picked up a piece of braised pork that was neither fat nor thin, not big or small, put it in his mouth and chewed for a while, and then asked Xu Ke: "No disease, do you know what is the most headache for the monarchs of all dynasties?"

Xu Ke took a sip of wine and chuckled: "It's this party fight!"

Qiu Mingli also took a sip of wine, ate some vegetables, and sighed: "Since ancient times, above this temple, where there are people, there are factions. If you are an official in the court and do not belong to a particular faction, then everyone will regard you as an enemy. You have merit, no one will promote you, and once you make a slight mistake, you will immediately be suppressed by all sides. Therefore, once you enter the court, everyone will rush to join a certain faction. Once a faction is formed, it is bound to attack and fight each other endlessly because of the grabbing of greater power and resources...... This is party strife!"

Xu Ke said casually while eating: "Didn't the teacher once say that since ancient times, this emperor's technique is the way to balance the emperor? As the king of a country, why do you need to have a headache about this party dispute?"

Qiu Mingli smiled and said: "There is no disease, you only know one but not the other." The way of balance between the emperor and the emperor lies in balance! The way of heaven is that the lonely yin does not grow long, and the solitary yang is difficult to be born! The cycle of heaven and earth, and the way of endless life, all lie in the word 'balance'. If the factions in the DPRK and China can be in a relatively balanced situation, and none of the forces of all sides can shake the other, they will all be at peace with each other, and this kind of secret struggle will not damage the court, and there will be no harm to the people and ministers, and this is what the Son of Heaven needs! If the power of the DPRK and China is unbalanced, and one side is dominant, all sides will attack it in groups, and they will fight each other in a clump of battles, and this sincere monarch will also be worried! If the party struggle will become more and more intense, it will cause chaos to the dynasty at the least, and destroy the country and the state at the worst; since the three emperors and the five emperors, those who have been destroyed by the scourge of party strife have not known how many dynasties and generations!

Xu Ke and Qiu Mingli drank a glass of wine and said with a smile: "What the teacher means, the factions in the court are balanced, and the forces of all parties are in a balanced situation, so the court situation is stable and the emperor is comfortable." If the factions are unbalanced and the groups are fighting, it will be the scourge of party strife, and once the fight is too fierce, the court situation will be chaotic, and the emperor will not be able to sleep well......"

Qiu Ming bowed his head and said: "Ranye!"

Xu Ke took another sip of wine and asked, "However, the world is so big, and there are so many officials, what should the emperor do to maintain the balance all the time, so that the forces of all parties are balanced, so that the court situation is stable and the temple is worry-free?"

Qiu Mingli couldn't help but shake his head and sigh

He said: "It's difficult! This way of balancing the emperor is easy to say, but it is really too difficult to do it! When today's Ziwen is talented and martial, he can almost be proud of Huanyu, and his old man has been in the world for 70 years, creating a prosperous era of my great Qiankang Yuan. Even now, it is inevitable that party disputes will break out everywhere, and the situation will be turbulent......

Xu Ke took a big sip of wine, thought about it for a while, and said: "What Mr. means, when the crown prince Li Ren was here in the past, with him in his control, all factions in the court and China were able to maintain a balance, and they were all right. Now that the prince has been deposed, everyone wants to be the prince, and everyone wants to squeeze into the big position. Is it because as long as the position of the crown prince is vacant, there will be constant party disputes between the DPRK and China?"

Qiu Mingli took a few bites of food, and sighed again: "It's probably your reason...... It is precisely because of this that since the first day of this year, there has been no good life in the capital! First, the king of Chu sent people to assassinate his brother, and then he supported troops with the intention of rebelling! Now, the king of Chu has been deposed by the emperor as a concubine after the incident occurred in the east window. Unexpectedly, the king of Chu had just fallen, but another king of Han came...... I really don't know how many kings will jump out after King Han!"

Xu Ke heard these things about the party disputes in the court, and couldn't help but feel quite irritable in his heart. Immediately, the topic changed and said, "Teacher, the student has one more question...... Since King Han was dealing with the teacher and the King of Wei, why did he arrest Miss Zhao and go in? Miss Zhao was just a maid in the grass hall, what secret could she know?"

Qiu Mingli shook his head and said, "This ...... The old man is also puzzled! It seems that Xiao Yu can't stay in the grass hall. If you are not sick, why don't you bring Xiao Yu to your house tonight? There are many people in your house, so I can protect her!"

Seeing Xu Kewu groaning to himself, noncommittal, Qiu Mingli couldn't help asking:

"What's the matter, isn't it convenient for you to take Xiao Yu there?"

Xu Ke replied: "Miss Xiaoyu is Mr.'s personal girl. With her there, Mr.'s Autumn Leaf Cottage has a new look, and Mr.'s living room is also taken care of. If there is no Xiao Yu, where would the gentleman go to eat such a delicious meal! Moreover, the students are not just thinking about Xiao Yu. King Han's subordinates, since they dare to kidnap Xiao Yu today, it will be unfavorable to Mr. tomorrow! Mr.'s thatched cottage is actually a little too manpowered. Tomorrow, the students will pick a few guards with good kung fu and come over to guard the door for Mr."

Qiu Mingli waved his hand and said, "What you said is not unreasonable. However, don't come to your Tsing Yi Guard. This matter of sending additional manpower, the old man will discuss with King Wei. ”

Xu Ke said: "That's fine! However, the meaning of the student, we can't just defend and not attack! Since he has already made a move, we should also use the means!"

Qiu Mingli smiled and asked, "According to your meaning that you are not sick, what should you do?"

Xu Ke smiled and said, "This Pei bald man, just give it to the student." He was so bold that he dared to trespass into Mr. Han's cottage, kidnap Xiaoyu at will, and torture him to extract a confession without permission! I will let him taste my awesomeness! As for that Han Wang, it is better to let his own brother clean it up!"

Qiu Mingli laughed and said: "The old man also has this intention! No disease, I can't imagine that you have grown so much in less than three months as an official! However, I heard that Pei Caibao is cunning and cunning, and has been entrenched in Tsing Yi Wei for more than 20 years, you must not act recklessly!"

Xu Ke smiled: "Don't worry, sir, I have my own measure!"

......

The master and apprentice were eating, drinking, talking, laughing and laughing in the autumn leaf grass hall, and it was time in a blink of an eye. Xu Ke saw that it was getting late and dinner was over, so he got up and said goodbye and went home.

After Xu Ke left, Qiu Mingli immediately summoned the scholar Ping'an and instructed:

"Prepare the car, the old man is going to King Wei's mansion!"

......

And almost at the same time, in the northwest of Chang'an City, Anningfang. Although it was the dead of night, it was still full of traffic, and there was an endless stream of people coming in and out. The whistling north wind on the winter night still couldn't stop the enthusiasm of these people......

That Anningfang is located in the northernmost part of Chang'an, why is it so lively at night?

Just because there is one of the largest brothel in Chang'an City, "Agarwood Courtyard", is opened here.

In terms of the wide area and the number of women, there is no one else in the brothel in the entire Chang'an City. But the business of the Agarwood Courtyard is far inferior to the Cuiyun Building in Pingkang Fang. So much so that in the minds of Chang'an people, the reputation of "the best brothel" was taken away by Cuiyunlou.

On the one hand, it is naturally the location, the Pingkangfang where Cuiyunlou is located is located in the middle of the north and south of Chang'an City, east of the imperial city, west of the East City entrance, located in the bustling artery, the flow of people, the door is like a city, in contrast, the Agarwood Courtyard is much more remote, has been built in the north of the city, and then more than 100 steps past, is the Guanghua Gate in the north of Chang'an City. On the other hand, the Agarwood Courtyard is a government-run brothel, and the daily income and expenditure are supervised by the household department, and the ordinary management is the person who is the supervisor of the palace. When there are many people in charge, things often don't work well. In addition, this government-run organization will inevitably have a rigid mechanism, bloated personnel, and inadequate service, so it is not so diligent to greet guests. And the most important point is that most of the women in the Agarwood Courtyard are official eunuchs who have not come from their families. They were used to living a life of fine clothes and food before, and once they sank to the bottom, they were inevitably depressed and restrained......

Therefore, in the Fengyue Field in Chang'an City, there is such a sentence from mouth to mouth: the four major brothels in Chang'an City, the top brand, Cuiyun Building, the refined, leaning on the Red Mansion, the affordable, the flower full of buildings, and those who can't go, Agarwood Courtyard!

At this time, in this "unbeatable" agarwood courtyard, a special guest came. I saw that he was about seventeen or eighteen years old, and his appearance was quite delicate, his face was white and handsome, and his eyes flashed from time to time, showing a bit of intelligence and cunning.

The old bustard of the brothel almost all had the same smiling face when he saw the guests coming to the door. When the old bustard of the Agarwood Academy saw this young man, the smile on his face was extremely courteous.

"Hey, Young Master Murong, what kind of wind blew you? You haven't been here for a while, you miss me......" The old bustard greeted with a smile.

That handsome-looking young man was naturally Murong Ji, the fourth young master of Tianbao Pavilion. When the little young master Murong heard the old bustard shouting his name, he hurriedly coughed twice, lowered the hood of his coat slightly, and said softly: "You be quiet, don't call me Murong!"

The old bustard understood, and hurriedly changed his words: "Yes, yes, yes, little master...... Today, the little master is really a coincidence! In our Agarwood Courtyard, a large number of good goods have come!"

Murong Ji still whispered, "I want the best!"

The old bustard asked with a smile: "There are two bearded girls, who were just delivered at noon today, and I heard that they are the concubines of a third-grade master, and they have not been touched by others until now...... Little master, do you want it?"

"Yes, yes!" Murong Ji replied busily.

The old bustard had a knowing smile on his face. She personally led Murong Ji here

The private room upstairs was seated, and before long, the two "Hu Girls" were brought to Murong Ji's side.

"You call him 'Little Master', he is a big customer in our Agarwood Academy, and he is generous!" the old bustard instructed the two "Hu Girls".

"Hello little master!" the two "Hu Girls" greeted obediently.

"Okay! You guys...... What's your name?" Murong Ji saw these two "Hu Girls", and his heart suddenly felt good, and he was still a little shy in his words.

"The slave's name is Xiaohua" and "The slave's name is Xiaocui", the two "Hu Nu" replied respectfully.

"Little Master...... Are you satisfied?" asked the bustard with a smile again.

Seeing that Murong Ji nodded, the old bustard instructed "Xiaohua" and "Xiaocui": "You met the little young master today, but you are a great blessing!

"Got it, Mom!" "Little Flower" and "Little Cui" replied respectfully.

Until this time, the old bustard still hadn't seen Murong Ji take out a silver ticket to reward her. She couldn't help but feel a little lost in her heart, but when she thought that as long as he Murong Ji was done, there would be a generous income, and her heart rejoiced again. At that moment, the old bustard smiled all over his face, and closed the door and went out.

After the old bustard left, Murong Ji eagerly beckoned the two women to sit down and let them drink and eat with him.

Murong Ji took a sip of wine first, and asked "Xiao Cui" casually:

"Your 'Xiaocui' name was given to you by your mother in the Agarwood Courtyard today, right?

"Xiao Cui" replied: "Back to the little young master, Lord Xiao gave the slave family a name before, called 'Qingxiang'......"

Murong Ji turned his head again and asked "Xiaohua", "What about you?"

"Xiaohua" also replied with a meek expression: "Back to the little young master, Lord Xiao gave the slave family a name, called 'Falling Jade'!"

Murong Ji took another sip of wine, ate a few bites of side dishes, and asked, "Which one is that Lord Xiao you are talking about?

"Qingxiang" sighed: "It's Xiao Yihong, the secretary of the Criminal Department, Lord Xiao, who ransomed the two of us from Cuiyun Tower." ”

"Falling Jade" also sighed: "Yesterday, Lord Xiao's house was raided, and we were arrested here by the people of the government......"

Murong Ji couldn't help but stop throwing his glass, and said in surprise: "You are the concubine of Xiao Yihong, the Shangshu of the Criminal Department, and you were still from Cuiyun Tower before?"

"Qingxiang" said: "That's right, my name in Cuiyun Building before was 'Frost'"

Seeing Murong Ji looking at him, "Falling Jade" said: "My name in Cuiyun Tower is 'Bai Xue'"

"It turns out that you still have so many names!" Murong Ji laughed, and then asked, "So, what about you before Cuiyun Tower?"

Unexpectedly, "Frost" and "White Snow" each shook their heads, looking dazed.

"Could it be that you have entered Cuiyun Tower since you were a child, and you have never had another name?" Murong Ji couldn't help but ask again.

"Hanshuang" still replied with an ignorant face: "Little master, I only remember what happened after I entered Cuiyun Tower, you asked me how I was before and where I was when I was a child...... I don't remember any of that!"

"Bai Xue" also said: "Me too, little master, strange to say, I remember that I entered Cuiyun Tower, it seems that it has only been less than two months, but we can't remember the previous events anyway......"

"Oh...... There is such a thing? It's funny and interesting! It's really interesting!" Murong Ji felt a strange excitement in his heart after listening to the descriptions of "Frost" and "White Snow", and he couldn't help but raise his wine glass and take a few large sips of wine.

Looking at the beautiful postures and pretty faces of "Frost" and "White Snow", and smelling the faint fragrance emanating from their bodies, Murong Ji suddenly had a bold idea in his heart. Although he knew that this idea would inevitably be opposed by his father and second brother, his eldest brother would definitely protect him. "With the support of the big brother...... That's enough!I'll hide them in the courtyard, and who will know!" Thinking of this, Murong Ji had made up his mind, so he walked out of the private room, stretched out his hand and summoned a handyman, and commanded:

"Go and call your old mother!"

"Does this boy have anything to order?" the handyman didn't forget to ask more.

Murong Ji's eyes widened, and he said, "I want to redeem people!"

......

The two "Hu Girls" who were once called "Frost" and "White Snow" are naturally Kang Youren's personal maids Ah Zhu and Ah Ju. Speaking of the experiences of these two people, it can be regarded as a bad fate. They were sold into Cuiyun Building by Mo Qiuyu for five hundred taels of silver on the twenty-seventh day of the first month, and were redeemed by Xiao Yihong for one thousand taels of silver on the thirtieth day of the first month. After entering the courtyard of the Xiao Mansion, Xiao Yihong also loved them in every way, and gave them whatever they wanted. No, Ah Zhu and Ah Ju had just enjoyed the treatment of "aunt and grandmother" for less than a month, and Xiao Yihong was arrested in Tsing Yi Wei and faced the end of "showing the head to the public". And with the arrival of the holy decree, the entire Xiao family was confiscated, and as Xiao Yihong's two concubines, it was naturally impossible to escape the fate of being used as an official prostitute.

These two hard-working girls, because they had been used by the "Iron Mask Beauty" Mo Qiuyu before, used drugs that confused their minds, so until this moment, they still don't know who they are......

"Oh, hey, little master, you have just seen this, and you are about to redeem people! These two bearded girls are rare...... I'm really reluctant to do this!" When the old bustard heard that Murong Ji was going to buy those two women, he was naturally overjoyed in his heart. She knew that Murong Ji had always been generous and spending, and more importantly, in the past two days, the people in the palace had sent a large number of official eunuchs and dependents one after another, all of whom had not come from their families. In her agarwood courtyard, she can't fit it anymore.

"Less! Murong Ji said.

"One thousand two hundred taels of silver!Little young master, these two bearded girls, but it's hard to find them for a hundred years!" the old bustard smiled and said flatteringly.

"Two hundred taels! Not even a penny more!" Murong Ji said coldly.

"Deal!" said the bustard, cheerfully.

"What?!" Murong Ji didn't expect that the old bustard didn't add a penny, so he readily agreed.

He took out the silver ticket, made the delivery, asked for the note, took Ah Zhu and Ah Ju out of the Agarwood Courtyard, helped him into his carriage, and immediately ordered the coachman to drive home.

The carriage was moving along, and Murong Ji sat on the car, although he was accompanied by two beautiful women, he still muttered secretly: "If I knew this, I should have paid her back a hundred taels of silver!"