Chapter 764 Man Ting Fang
"Have you heard that Uncle Zhao is arguing with Rongguo Mansion again?"
"Last time, the Jia family gave in, but this time it may not be the case."
"In my opinion, Uncle Zhao is short-sighted. He jumped out in a hurry and didn't even think about what would happen if she gave birth to a son..."
"Shut up, everyone!"
Huang Bin turned around and shouted, and the dark alley suddenly fell silent, replaced by the hawking sounds coming from across the street.
He silently straightened his half-new robe, took out dozens of copper coins from his sleeve pouch, thought for a while, then gritted his teeth and changed them into half a penny of silver. Then he walked out of the alley, stepped on the half-foot deep snow, and ran straight to the opposite side.
It was actually still some distance away from dark, but the lights inside and outside Mantingfang were already bright.
"Master, you are here!"
As soon as I approached, a skinny old man came up to me with a big smile on his face, and stretched out his hand to make way for me: "Come on, come on, come in - you are here today, we have a few new songs in the building, I guarantee you will enjoy listening to them!"
"If I just want to listen to you, what am I doing here?"
Huang Bin walked through the door with a grin, and saw a wide staircase opposite the door. After going up about a dozen steps, it spread out to the left and right like goose wings.
Surrounding the T-shaped staircase, there are seven or eight wine tables and two small stages for singing and dancing performances on the first floor; the second floor has more than twenty rooms, some large and some small.
Huang Bin stamped off the snow on his feet and glanced around. He saw that although there were not many people in the hall, they were sparsely scattered, making it extremely difficult to avoid being seen.
So after a moment's hesitation, he walked towards the central staircase.
"Sir, please come up."
Seeing this, the old man in charge of greeting guests hurriedly stepped forward, led the way with a flattering look on his face, and introduced: "Our upstairs is divided into guest rooms and private rooms. The guest rooms are not to be mentioned. In addition to being convenient for tea, the private rooms also have various equipment available. I guarantee you..."
"How much is the private room?"
"Tea starts at four coins, and inviting girls to set up banquets is another price." The old man said this, and seeing Huang Bin stopped walking, he hurriedly added: "The guest room is much cheaper, half an hour is 150 coins, and overnight stay is 300 coins."
This damn place is really not cheap!
Huang Bin was so distressed that his heart was trembling. He was just a low-level yamen runner before, and in a low-paying yamen like the Dali Temple. His monthly income was only two taels and six cents of silver, and his superiors often deducted some of it from him.
Now it came to me that even if I spent a month's salary, it might not be enough to hire two prostitutes in a private room.
"Then the guest..."
After all, he didn't come here to sleep with any famous prostitute. Huang Bin was just about to settle for the second best and choose a quiet guest room to get the job done.
"Hey, is that Brother Huang Bin downstairs?"
At this moment, a voice came into my ears from above.
When Huang Bin looked up, he was dazzled by the aura of wealth.
The man who greeted him was wearing a large cosmos brocade with black stripes and a red background. He had a palm-wide silver belt around his waist, which was locked with three rows of engraved mother-and-child chain buckles. The buckles were all made of bright gold, and they shone brightly under the light.
Looking at her hands again, the jade ring and cat's eye ring were so thick and big that she couldn't even hold her five fingers together.
What a rich and powerful group of people!
but……
Who is this person?
I don't seem to know him?
Huang Bin was stunned when the man came up to him with big strides. He stretched out his big hand with a ring on it, patted his shoulder and said in a casual tone, "What's the matter? Brother Huang, don't you remember me? Last time at Master Sun's house, we drank together and had a great time talking."
At Sun Erye’s house?
This was the only Mr. Sun that Huang Bin knew.
But he was very sure that he had never sat at the same table with the person in front of him.
And this person just told such a lie to my face...
Yes!
Perhaps the name 'Sun Erye' was what he really wanted to say.
Huang Bin's mind raced, and to outsiders it seemed as if he was stunned for a moment, and then he suddenly said, "So it's you! This... I really can't recognize you."
Amidst the exclamations of admiration, there was also a hint of timidity, as if he had really met an old acquaintance who had become rich.
The man opposite had some admiration in his eyes, and then he waved his hand at the old man: "Go, go, go, this gentleman doesn't need your greeting - come on, brother, let's go upstairs and have a couple of drinks!"
Having said that, he and Huang Bin went to the second elegant hall at the east end.
This is actually a long room, divided into two rooms by a green gauze cupboard. In the outer hall there are tables, piano stands and other items; inside there are dim shadows, and in addition to a large bed, there seem to be some other equipment.
Under normal circumstances, Huang Bin would definitely want to go and take a look, but right now, all his attention was focused on the person in front of him.
The man also knew that Huang Bin was on guard, so he bowed and greeted him as soon as he entered the door, and introduced himself, "My name is Hong Jiu, nice to meet Captain Huang."
Huang Bin was moved when he heard the name, and blurted out, "Hong Jiu? But Hong Jiu from Shanxi Lane?"
"That's me."
It turned out to be a beggar leader!
After getting Hong Jiu's affirmative response, Huang Bin felt a little dazed - in this world, beggars look like human beings, but they are a hundred times richer than the officials!
Although he knew it was inappropriate, Huang Bin couldn't help but feel jealous and unwilling.
However, Hong Jiu's next words immediately made him suppress all his strange thoughts.
"Captain Huang, please take a seat."
Hong Jiu raised his hand to signal Huang Bin to sit in the first seat, and lowered his voice and said, "In fact, Hong is here to assist in the investigation of the case on the orders of Sun Shaoqing."
No wonder I mentioned 'Uncle Sun' just now!
Since he knew that he was one of his own, and that he was specially sent by Sun Shaozong, Huang Bin naturally did not dare to have any other thoughts. After the host and the guest sat down, he hurriedly asked, "Captain Hong came first, did you find out anything?"
Hong Jiu shook his head and smiled: "I am just a foil, how dare I make decisions on my own? Besides, if this place is involved with the thieves and accidentally alerts them, how can I face Captain Huang?"
He is a cautious person, no wonder he can work under Lord Sun.
Huang Bin inadvertently praised himself and then asked Hong Jiu where he was going to start his investigation.
However, Hong Jiu refused to make any decision and just followed orders.
Huang Bin was naturally quite satisfied with his attitude, and he immediately decided to pretend to be seeking revenge and called the local madam to inquire about Duan Qing's background.
The plan was decided, and the two of them immediately went their separate ways.
Hong Jiu pushed the door open and shouted at the pimp to go find the madam. Huang Bin rolled up his sleeves and put on an unconvinced and scoundrel look.
Soon, the local madam came over, twisting and turning, holding a handkerchief.
The old madam was in her early thirties, and one could tell she had been good-looking when she was young, but now she had become plump and white, like a steamed bun.
"Two gentlemen..."
Pah~
Before she could finish her words, Hong Jiu slammed a ten-liang gold ingot on the table.
The madam originally had her eyes narrowed and smiled, but when she saw the silver, her eyes suddenly widened. She entangled her ten fingers on her belly, as if she wanted to reach out to take it, but was holding back. She subconsciously asked, "Master, what are you doing..."
Hong Jiu said with a stern face: "Today, I originally came here to be a money-spending boy, but I, your brother, have something to ask you - if you speak kindly, I will naturally be willing to spend money."
Pah~
Before he finished speaking, Huang Bin slapped the table. Your madam hurriedly looked over, only to see that the table was empty, not a single thing more or less.
Just when he was feeling disappointed, he saw Huang Bin put one foot on the stool, shaking his arms and making a fuss: "But if you are blind and insist on blocking for others, then don't blame me for being ruthless!"
Although the words sounded menacing, the madam was able to support such a large business and was not easily intimidated.
She immediately covered her mouth and laughed a series of sweet laughs: "Hey, what are you saying, gentlemen? We in Mantingfang have always been harmonious and profitable. If you are not deliberately looking for trouble, let alone the two eyes above, even the two 'eyes' below will open at will!"
This guy who is joking and smiling with a dagger hidden behind his face is obviously relying on something.
Fortunately, Huang Bin and Hong Jiu did not come here to cause trouble, so they pretended not to understand the meaning and continued to talk to each other.
"Don't worry. Although I'm here to seek revenge, I'm not coming after you. I heard that the tough guy Duan Qing has been gone for a while?"
"Duan Qing? So you two gentlemen are looking for him - this kid is a piece of shit. He's been gone for so long and is still causing trouble for our store! If I had known, I shouldn't have taken that ungrateful guy in..."
When the madam heard the word "Duan Qing", she became evasive. She looked around and talked about other things, glanced at the silver ingot, and then rubbed her hands and hesitated.
Hong Jiu calmly pushed the silver forward, then took out an identical ingot from his sleeve and put it back in its original place .
"Oh, this gentleman is really generous! Why did he let you spend money before I even said anything? This is really... really..."
The old procuress cried out with joy. She grabbed the first silver ingot in her arms and rubbed it lovingly, while her eyes were fixed on the second silver ingot.
Hong Jiu grinned slightly and said calmly: "We brothers are not short of money, but we don't know if we can spend it."
"Don't worry, this money can definitely be spent!"
The madam took a half step back and said with a smile, "Wait a moment, I'll go get Duan Qing's lover. If you have any questions, just ask her!"
Having said this, he looked at the silver on the table for a few more times and then left reluctantly.
"What a cunning woman!"
As soon as the madam left, Huang Bin could not help but scold her: "She obviously knows something, but she is afraid of offending Duan Qing or someone else, so she took the money and pushed the trouble onto others!"
Hong Jiu was not surprised at all. He took a sip of tea and sneered, "If she didn't have this bit of a philandering heart, how could she support such a big family? As long as we can get some clues, we don't care whether she is loyal or treacherous."
After hearing this, Huang Bin realized that he had lost his composure, so he quickly calmed down, sat back in his seat and began to reflect on himself.
Normally, he was a man who never showed his emotions, but not only had he experienced a lot of ups and downs in the past few days, but today he ran into a beggar who was a thousand times richer than himself, and he couldn't help but feel a little unbalanced psychologically.
Seeing this, Hong Jiu smiled and asked, "Captain Huang, have you ever heard of Hong Jiu's name two years ago?"
Without waiting for Huang Bin to reply, he continued to answer himself: "Back then, I was hated by people and dogs on the street. If it weren't for a lawsuit and the chance to be promoted by Lord Sun, I'm afraid I would have stink up the ditch by now."
"I am a beggar and I am like this, let alone Captain Huang who is an official?"
As he spoke, he leaned forward slightly and said, "You should know Zhao Jianxiao of Shuntian Prefecture, right? He had been a detective for more than ten years, and had no hope of advancement. Later, he submitted to Lord Sun a few days earlier, and now he has become a formal official appointed by the imperial court!"
Although Huang Bin was enlightened by the beggar leader, he still felt a little awkward.
But he was a sensible person after all, so he bowed solemnly and said, "Thank you, Captain Hong, for your advice. I don't ask to be like Prosecutor Zhao, but I will be satisfied if I can live up to Lord Sun's cultivation."
Hong Jiu smiled and was about to say a few humble words when he heard footsteps outside. He quickly closed his mouth and put on an impatient look, waiting for the madam to come in.
"Sorry to have kept you two waiting for so long!"
Not long after, the madam pushed the door open and walked in. She first glanced at the silver on the table, then turned , "Qiuyu, come in quickly and meet the two masters."
The person who came in was a petite woman with a thin figure, but she was not timid at all. When she saw the silver ingots on the table, her originally slightly stiff back suddenly swayed like a snake.
She took a few steps closer and bowed in a coquettish voice: "Qiuyu greets the two gentlemen."
Hong Jiu looked her up and down, and said with a chuckle, "You are quite pretty. Come, come, come and talk in my arms."
Qiu Yuyuan is not from Qingguan, otherwise how could she be involved with Duan Qing?
So when he heard that , he didn't act pretentiously at all. He stepped forward and sat on Hong Jiu's lap, face to face with him. He took the tea and poured it directly into Hong Jiu's mouth.
"Master, please moisten your throat first."
Hong Jiu accepted all the tea and drank it. He lifted his collar and put his hand on Qiu Yu's chest. He held it tightly and raised his chin to the madam, saying, "You go down first."
"Why!"
The madam agreed, her eyes rolling around, and she took a few steps forward, saying with a smile, "Then I'll keep the money for her first."
Having said that, he was about to reach out to grab it.
Huang Bin was the first to arrive and snatched the silver. He weighed it and said, "Since we have taken out this silver, we have never thought of taking it back. But you have to wait until we are satisfied."
"Yes, yes, you are right!"
The madam didn't feel embarrassed that she had missed the opportunity. She smiled and responded. She turned around and said, "Qiuyu, these two gentlemen are honored guests. You must be careful when you are waiting."
"Don't worry, mom. Your daughter saved it."
Qiuyu responded without turning her head, her eyes following the rise and fall of the silver.
Upon seeing this, the madam obediently retreated and closed the door.
Hearing the footsteps outside gradually fading away, Huang Bin spread the silver in his palm and held it in front of Qiuyu: "I heard that you are the lover of Sai Tieniu Duan Qing?"
Hearing the name "Duan Qing", Qiu Yu was obviously stunned for a moment, and then she spitted with a frown: "Bah! That heartless guy, only a blind man would be in love with him!"
Huang Bin asked again: "So, you have cut off contact with him?"
"Isn't it?"
Qiuyu said without thinking: "Ever since that heartless guy stopped working here, I haven't heard from him at all!"
"hehe……"
As soon as the words fell, Hong Jiu laughed: "Miss, are you serious?"
"Of course it's true!"
"Then why is your heart beating so violently?"
As Hong Jiu spoke, his hands suddenly tightened, and his face became ferocious: "Tell me, when was the last time he came to see you? What did he say at that time? Was there anyone else around?!"
