Chapter 002: Scholarly Family
Places like the Qinhuai River have given birth to countless romantic stories of talented men and beautiful women, but also behind these stories, there are countless tragic stories like the "Yangzhou Skinny Horse".
The woman in white appeared on the brothel's houseboat early in the morning. Shen Yichen knew her identity without having to guess. However, there were too many stories about the prostitutes in Qinhuai. His ability to help was already at its limit at the moment, and he was unable to do anything more.
But looking at the other person's appearance, Shen Yichen couldn't bear it and asked, "Then how can I help you?"
Hearing Shen Yichen's words, the woman in white stared at him for a few seconds, and finally a self-deprecating smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, and then she bowed slightly and said: "You can't help me, I thank you for what happened today."
As soon as the woman in white finished speaking, a door of the pleasure boat was suddenly pushed open, and a woman in gorgeous clothes walked out, followed by several burly men in short shirts, who looked like thugs.
"Oh my dear aunt, the dew is heavy this early in the morning. You are weak and you should not catch a cold standing on the bow. You should go back to the house and rest."
After saying this, the beautiful woman winked at the people behind her, and soon several strong men in short shirts surrounded the woman in white and made a gesture of invitation.
"knew."
The woman in white responded expressionlessly, then walked towards the cabin door. When she passed by Shen Yichen, she turned her head slightly to glance at him, but this time she didn't say anything.
After watching the woman in white walk into the cabin, the gorgeous woman turned her gaze to Shen Yichen and said with a professional smile, "My dear young master, our Qiuyue Boat only opens for business after noon. If you like any of my girls, please come to see Mother He later. I guarantee that everything will be arranged clearly and you will be satisfied."
"How about that girl just now?"
Shen Yichen asked back casually. He was not interested in brothels or anything like that at the moment. The reason he asked this was purely because he was curious about the woman in white.
"Sir, you have a good eye. Our Wan'er is a daughter of an official from a scholarly family. She is good at poetry, calligraphy and painting, and is as good as scholars in singing about the wind and moon. She is both beautiful and talented, and she is also a pure courtesan."
After praising her for a while, Mother He changed the subject and said, "However, Wan'er has just arrived at our Qiuyue Boat and has not yet adapted to the climate and soil of Jiangnan. If you want to be accompanied by a beautiful woman, you may have to wait for some time."
Shen Yichen was a little surprised to hear the words of the brothel madam, because according to the behavior and expression of the woman in white before, he guessed that the hidden story behind it was most likely forcing a good woman into prostitution. He didn't expect that the identity of the official's daughter would be involved.
You have to know that no matter what era, officials represent the ruling class. No matter how powerful the brothel is, they dare not openly attack the women of officials. However, this is the words of the madam after all. Those who know a little bit about health care in later generations know that most of the fallen women have a "heart-wrenching" identity and story, which makes people feel pity after hearing it...
As for whether it is true or not, anyone who believes it is an idiot!
"Mother He, you are exaggerating a bit."
Shen Yichen naturally showed an expression of disbelief. The brothel madam was an old hand at saying different things to different people, and she was probably trying to fool him.
Seeing that Shen Yichen didn't believe it, Mother He's face showed a hint of arrogance.
"Young Master, it seems that you rarely participate in social activities involving poetry and wine, otherwise you would definitely know the reputation of the Ten Mile Qinhuai Autumn Moon Boat. How could you do such an exaggerated and false thing?"
"To be honest, Wan'er is the daughter of Liu Qiu, the former Imperial Academy lecturer. She is a genuine girl from a scholarly family. Do you still have any questions, sir?"
After she finished speaking, Mother He snorted softly. On the one hand, she was showing off the strength of her Qiuyue Fang, and on the other hand, she was disdainful of Shen Yichen, the country bumpkin.
Liu Qiu’s daughter?
When he heard this name, Shen Yichen was a little surprised. Before traveling through time, he was engaged in cultural relics restoration work, and specialized in calligraphy and paintings and ancient books, so he was familiar with many major historical events.
In the eighth year of the Zhengtong reign of the Ming Dynasty, a famous incident of killing loyal and good people happened. Liu Qiu, a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy, spoke out in response to the imperial edict. He proposed ten suggestions regarding government affairs, including appointing virtuous officials, abolishing military construction, clearing up the bureaucracy, and stopping the Luchuan campaign . These suggestions are called "Ten Things Spoken in the Memorial" in history books.
Originally, speaking frankly in a memorial was something that could easily get you into trouble. However, Liu Qiu went so far as to accuse Wang Zhen, the first authoritarian eunuch of the Ming Dynasty, of misbehavior in his memorial, which was tantamount to seeking his own death.
As expected, after the memorial was submitted, not only did Liu Qiu fail to overthrow Wang Zhen, but he was falsely accused of abusing his power for personal gain, thrown into the imperial prison, and brutally dismembered to death.
But if Shen Yichen remembered correctly, although Liu Qiu died tragically, his entire family was not implicated. His two sons retired safely to the countryside, and even after Liu Qiu was rehabilitated, they successively passed the imperial examinations and became the councilor of Guangdong and the provincial judge of Yunnan.
As for Liu Qiu's daughter, there is no mention in history books, and whether he had a daughter or not is a mystery. However, according to logic, it is basically impossible for her to become a prostitute, so what went wrong?
Thinking of this, Shen Yichen was somewhat bewildered. He felt that the identity of Cheng Guogong's illegitimate son was simply nonsense. Now that the Liu Qiu incident was somewhat inconsistent with the historical records, Shen Yichen was even more confused. He didn't know whether he was in the real history or the whole history had changed.
well……
Shen Yichen sighed. Since he couldn't figure it out, he simply stopped thinking about it. As the ancients said: Make the best of things as they come, and take it one step at a time.
"Mother He's Qiuyue Fang is truly extraordinary. I have no doubts about it, so I will take my leave now."
After saying that, Shen Yichen bowed and walked down the gangway. The Liu Qiu incident involved too many issues, and even the cabinet ministers might not be able to handle it, let alone a small shrimp like him. It really proved what Liu Wan'er said: You can't help me.
"A poor scholar."
Looking at Shen Yichen's back as he got off the boat, Mother He spat. She had thought that this boy was handsome and dressed in a proper scholar's gown, so he must be a young master from some family. But after this conversation, she realized that she had misjudged him. How could a poor country bumpkin dream of eating swan meat from Qiuyue Fang?
Fortunately, Shen Yichen didn't hear the madam's complaints, otherwise he would have blushed. The term "poor scholar" was an overestimation of himself. After all, his brother had taken the exam for three terms and couldn't even pass the exam for a student. He was so smart...
