Volume 6: Dream Record Chapter 389 Zheng Qingtian joins the Xiao family
The maid helped her up weakly, it was the beginning of the time when she received the emperor's grace. She had cloud-like hair, flowery face, and golden step-shaking ornaments, and spent the spring night in the warm hibiscus tent!
Just when Zhao Pan'er went to the Yue Lao Temple to worship the gods, her sister Song Yinzhang and Song Yinzhang's personal maid Yin Ping, with the blessing of Yue Lao, were helped by Yuan Xudong to complete their coming-of-age ceremony. From then on, they were no longer ignorant girls, but charming women, deeply loved and loved by Yuan Xudong, and began a new life, just like a free bird in the sky, able to fly freely and sing as much as they want, just to please Yuan Xudong's grace. The golden house is decorated to serve the night, and the jade tower is drunk and spring after the banquet!
Behind the hazy curtain, on the huge bed, Yuan Xudong's slightly sweaty body was in the middle with his arms open, while Song Yinzhang and Yinping were on his left and right, respectively resting their heads on his arms, snuggling in his arms with their eyes slightly closed. The two girls' slightly sweaty hair was stuck to their foreheads, their faces were flushed, their chests hidden by the bright red quilt were rising and falling, and they were breathing slightly. Yuan Xudong was in the middle, with a smile on his face, and he kissed the soft and powerless Song Yinzhang and Yinping with some affection. For a moment, he was very proud and happy, and his heart was refreshed. "The spring night is short and the sun rises high, and from now on the king will not hold court early," was probably a reflection of his current state of mind!
Lying on the bed, covered with a bright red quilt, with Song Yinzhang and Yinping girl hugged on his left and right, Yuan Xudong let out a comfortable breath and sighed in his heart, "Beauty is a feast to the eyes! The ancients were right!"
Putting aside their current identities, the feelings and life experiences that Song Yinzhang and Yinping gave to Yuan Xudong were completely different. Yinping was a maid who had learned how to take care of people and how to please her master since she was a child. She was like a beautiful girl next door, cute and lively, and she knew how to serve her master. Compared with her, although Song Yinzhang was a musician and was of low status, she was undoubtedly much luckier!
Song Yinzhang was the best pipa player in Jiangnan, playing the pipa to perfection. She had a high status in the Jiaofangsi and was sought after by dignitaries and literati. Except for the fact that she had no freedom, she was like a star in later generations. She had servants to serve her when she went in and out, and she was adored by gold and silver. Her living treatment was like that of a young lady from an official family. She had never had to do any private work and had developed the temperament of a lady from a noble family!
To put it simply, when Yuan Xudong was playing with Song Yinzhang and Yinping girl, Yinping girl knew how to flatter and please him, while Song Yinzhang knew nothing and could only let Yuan Xudong manipulate her and let Yuan Xudong serve her. The two completely different performances gave Yuan Xudong the greatest satisfaction, and he just wanted time to stop and love the two young ladies well!
The setting sun shone dark red into the room, reflecting the curtain in front of the bed crimson. Song Yinzhang and Yinping girl also recovered some strength. Looking at Yuan Xudong lying in the middle of the bed, Yinping girl shyly said:
"Mr. Xiao, get up, the sun has set!"
"Lie down a little longer and get up!"
Seeing that Yin Ping couldn't call Yuan Xudong, Song Yinzhang leaned slightly to the side, pushed Yuan Xudong with his hand and urged:
"Mr. Xiao, please get up quickly and rest at night!"
"What's the hurry?"
Looking at Song Yinzhang, whose body was slightly raised, shoulders half exposed, and whose face was as red as a peach, Yuan Xudong hugged her into his arms and said with a playful smile:
"Young lady, you still call me Master Xiao?"
Being held and played with by Yuan Xudong, Song Yinzhang felt weak all over, so he snuggled into Yuan Xudong's arms, enjoying his tenderness and caress, and whispered:
"Mr. Xiao, if I don't call you Mr. Xiao, what should I call you?"
"What do you think?"
Yuan Xudong laid the limp Song Yinzhang flat on his body, stroked her delicate face and said with a smile:
"I allow you to call me Fanlang!"
"Fan Lang~~"
The soft and tender voice softened all the bones in Yuan Xudong's body. He looked closely at the beauty lying under him. She had a beautiful face, bright eyes, white teeth, a rosy face, and skin as white as jade. Yuan Xudong naturally regarded such a beautiful woman as a treasure and said:
"Yin Zhang, I will treat you well from now on!"
"Well, thank you Fanlang!"
Soon, seeing Yuan Xudong and her young lady Song Yinzhang start playing and frolicking again, Yinping looked at them for a while with a blushing face. When Song Yinzhang asked for help softly, she replaced her young lady Song Yinzhang...
…
At night, Yuan Xudong sat in the guest seat with the blushing Song Yinzhang in his arms, and the maid Yinping stood by to serve him. Zheng Qingtian, the magistrate of Qiantang County, sat in the main seat. He looked at Yuan Xudong and smiled:
"Mr. Xiao is really capable. It only took him half a day to subdue the best pipa player in Jiangnan. I admire you!"
"Master Zheng, you are joking. Madam Yin Zhang is both talented and beautiful. It only took me half a day to surrender to her!"
As he spoke, Yuan Xudong stroked Song Yinzhang's face and said with a frivolous smile:
"Madam Yinzhang, do you think I am right?"
Song Yinzhang rolled her eyes at Yuan Xudong. She neither agreed nor objected. She just shrank back into his arms, her back facing Zheng Qingtian, her face flushed with shame. Seeing her like this, Zheng Qingtian laughed and said,
"Mr. Xiao is really capable. I am really impressed. Ms. Song is both talented and beautiful. I congratulate Mr. Xiao. He finally got what he wanted!"
"No, no, I should thank you, Lord Zheng, for helping me!"
"Drink, drink, I won't go home until I'm drunk tonight!"
"Okay, I won't go home until I'm drunk!"
Yuan Xudong held Song Yinzhang in his arms and caressed him, drinking fine wine from a silver bottle and eating delicacies specially ordered by Zheng Qingtian from Xiangyunlou, the most famous restaurant in Qiantang. He acted like a cynical Xiao Yanei, and after a bit of pretense, Zheng Qingtian began to test him:
"Mr. Xiao, I have great respect for Minister Xiao and have always wanted to be his disciple, but I have no one to recommend me. I wonder if you could help introduce me to him?"
"No problem. As long as Lord Zheng has the ability, my old man will definitely welcome you. After all, there is strength in numbers!"
"Thank you very much, Mr. Xiao!"
Unexpectedly, Yuan Xudong was so easy to talk to. Zheng Qingtian was overjoyed and laughed:
"Mr. Xiao, if you need my help in the future, just send someone to let me know and I will do my best to help you!"
"Since Lord Zheng is so polite, I, Xiao Fan, will not be pretentious!"
Holding Song Yinzhang in his arms and caressing him gently, Yuan Xudong looked at Zheng Qingtian and smiled as if he was embarrassed:
"Sir Zheng, to be honest, I want to take Yinzhang back to Tokyo with me, but as you know, Yinzhang is a lowly person and a musician of the Jiaofangsi. Without relevant documents from the government, she cannot leave the Qiantang County Music Camp without permission. I wonder if Sir Zheng can help Yinzhang get rid of her status and become a good girl again?"
"this……"
Zheng Qingtian didn't expect Yuan Xudong to ask him to help Song Yinzhang escape from prison and return to society. He was a little embarrassed and said:
"Mr. Xiao, the matter of Leying still needs the approval of Prefect Xu..."
"I know!"
Feeling that Song Yinzhang in his arms was getting a little nervous, Yuan Xudong gently patted the back of her hand, signaling her to be at ease, then looked at Zheng Qingtian and smiled directly:
"Master Zheng, if you really feel it's difficult to handle, then forget it. I'll write a letter to my old man and ask him to help me think of a solution!"
"No, no!"
Upon hearing that Yuan Xudong was going to write to Minister Xiao to help a lowly woman escape from her status as a lowly person, Zheng Qingtian was horrified and said:
"Leave this matter to me. There's no need to trouble the Prime Minister. I have some friendship with Xu Zhizhou. Once I write a letter, I will definitely help Madam Song get rid of her status as a good woman and become a good girl again!"
"Thank you very much, Master Zheng!"
As he spoke, Yuan Xudong gently patted Song Yinzhang in his arms and said with a smile:
"Yin Zhang, why don't you thank Lord Zheng quickly?"
“Hmm~~”
Looking up at Yuan Xudong, Song Yinzhang suppressed his excitement, turned around and looked at Zheng Qingtian, bowed slightly and thanked him:
"Thank you, Your Excellency, for your kindness!"
"No need to be polite!"
Knowing that Song Yinzhang was excited, Yuan Xudong took off the coral hairpin in her hair, then patted her buttocks twice and said with a smile:
"Okay, go out and play with Yinping for a while. I want to talk to Master alone!"
"Well, Yinping and I will be waiting for you outside!"
As he spoke, Song Yinzhang got down from Yuan Xudong's arms, and bowed twice to Yuan Xudong and Zheng Qingtian together with Yinping, then respectfully left the room and closed the door. The room suddenly became quiet. Yuan Xudong played with Song Yinzhang's fire coral hairpin and said with a smile:
"This fire coral hairpin is really beautiful. It costs at least three or four strings of coins in Tokyo, but only one string of coins is needed in Qiantang. Lord Zheng, do you know why?"
Looking at the fire coral hairpin in Yuan Xudong's hand, Zheng Qingtian narrowed his eyes and smiled:
"Tokyo is the capital of the Song Dynasty, with a population of one million and tens of thousands of merchants in the capital. Business is booming and the residents are wealthy. In addition, there are many royal relatives, prominent families, dignitaries, etc., so prices are naturally higher!"
"That's right, there is indeed a reason for this!"
After taking a look at Zheng Qingtian, Yuan Xudong smiled and said:
"If I'm not mistaken, this fire coral hairpin is produced in Nanyang. The court collects at least 50% of the customs duty from the Maritime Customs. The court has issued a strict order that all merchants from Java, Zhenla, and Srivijaya are only allowed to trade in Guangzhou. Fujian and Guangdong ships and merchants are prohibited from going to Liangzhe and Shandong. In this way, one or two taels of Du Nuoxiang sold from Guangzhou will cost thirty or forty strings of money, half of which is the customs duty. The nearest Maritime Customs is in Hangzhou, and the Maritime Customs Envoy is usually concurrently held by the county magistrate of Qiantang, which is you, Lord Zheng. As long as you secretly allow Nanyang merchants to dock in Hangzhou and smuggle accounts, the profits involved will be huge. Lord Zheng should be very clear, right?"
"Yes, Master Xiao is indeed very observant and can tell the big picture from the small details. He is very careful and can understand the maritime trade in Jiangnan through the price change of a fire coral hairpin!"
Looking at Yuan Xudong, Zheng Qingtian directly admitted:
"I did openly lift the maritime ban, but it wasn't just me who did it. All the officials in charge in Jiangnan, big and small, were involved. They all accepted the benefits I gave them and chose to turn a blind eye!"
"Not necessarily?"
Looking at Zheng Qingtian who seemed quite proud, Yuan Xudong said with a smile:
"Yang Zhiyuan, the judge of Liangzhe Road, is in charge of Jiangnan's finances. He must know that you privately lifted the ban on sea trade and enriched yourself. The Yang Mansion was killed and set on fire by men in black. If I hadn't been there, those people from the Imperial City Bureau and Yang Zhiyuan's entire family would have died, right?"
At this point, seeing that Zheng Qingtian wanted to say something, Yuan Xudong waved his hand and said:
"Sir Zheng, whether you open the maritime ban privately or want to kill Yang Zhiyuan and his entire family to silence them, I have no right to control it and I don't want to control it. Since you have helped me a little, I will kindly remind you that the arrest warrant you issued wants to kill the two people from the Imperial City Bureau to silence them. One of them is the commander of the Imperial City Bureau, Gu Qianfan, who is known as the living Yama. His background is very complicated. If you kill him, at least three of your clans will be exterminated. If you can't kill him and let him return to Tokyo to report to the government, you will also be dead. Well, that's all I want to say. You can think of a way to save yourself. I'll go back first. Thank you Sir Zheng for your hospitality today!"
After saying that, Yuan Xudong stood up and left. Behind him, Zheng Qingtian's face turned pale and he didn't know what to do. Just as Yuan Xudong was about to leave, Zheng Qingtian suddenly stood up, bowed, and shouted respectfully:
"Please stay, Master Xiao. I sincerely submit to the envoy and am willing to serve the Xiao family. My entire fortune is worth more than 400,000 strings of cash, and I am willing to give it all to the envoy and Master. Please save my life!"
Hearing that Zheng Qingtian was willing to pledge allegiance to the Xiao family and was willing to pay more than 400,000 strings of cash to buy his life, Yuan Xudong could not help but stop, turned around and walked back to Zheng Qingtian, helped him up and said with a smile:
"Sir Zheng, you are too polite. Since you are so sincere, I will teach you a few tricks. First, cancel the arrest warrant and say that the pirate leader has been caught!"
"Yes, I'll do it right away!"
"Secondly, before Gu Qianfan returns to Tokyo, you should compile a list of names for the Yang family's murder and arson, as well as the illegal opening of the sea ban. Kill some people and imprison others, and the matter will be over. You can decide what to do next!"
"Yes, yes, I understand!"
Zheng Qingtian looked up at Yuan Xudong, hesitated for a moment and said:
"Mr. Xiao, I wonder what Gu Qianfan's identity is..."
Knowing that Zheng Qingtian was still unwilling to give up, Yuan Xudong smiled and said half-truthfully:
"Gu Qianfan is the grandson of the old Minister of Rites, Gu Shenyan. His father is my father, his mother is my mother, and his grandfather is my grandfather. When he was very young, he was adopted by my uncle as his son. Not many people know about this. In fact, he is also a spy arranged by my father in the Imperial City Department. What do you think would happen to you if you killed my brother, the eldest son of Minister Xiao?"
"ah?"
Unexpectedly, Gu Qianfan was Yuan Xudong's biological brother and Xiao Qinyan's eldest son. Zheng Qingtian was shocked and said:
"I was completely unaware and had no intention of offending the Xiao family. Please forgive me, Master Xiao!"
"No problem!"
Yuan Xudong waved his hand and said nonchalantly:
"It's OK as long as he's not dead. I'm his brother, not his father. His father is quite protective of his son. It's better for you to see my father before him. Otherwise, if he gets bullied by you and goes home to cry and make a scene with my father, you'll be dead, and I won't be able to save you!"
"Yes, yes. I will keep your teachings in mind!"
After a slight hesitation, Zheng Qingtian looked at Yuan Xudong and whispered:
"Master Xiao, in fact, I am not the only one who wants to kill Commander Gu to silence him. Lei Jinglei, the Lord of the Imperial City of Tokyo, also wants to kill him to silence him. I have issued a secret order to kill him without mercy. Do you want to…"
"Lord Lei?"
After listening to Zheng Qingtian, Yuan Xudong thought about it. The position of Sigong is one level higher than that of commander. Sigong Lei should be Gu Qianfan's immediate superior. This elder brother is quite annoying. Everyone wants to kill him or use him. Only his father is good to him. But he just despises his father for being a bad person and has to trick his father. When he is bullied, he goes home to ask his father for help. Then he puts on a proud face and says, "I don't need your help. I want to run away from home and sever the father-son relationship with you!"
It's simply amazing! Yuan Xudong looks down on him. Yuan Xudong is shameless at most, but Gu Qianfan is shameless. What he did was very shameless. It just so happens that his father likes to fall for this trick of his eldest son. The more he scolds him, the happier he is. Yuan Xudong feels helpless. He still has a lot to learn from Gu Qianfan on the road of betraying his father!
Thinking of this, Yuan Xudong looked at Zheng Qingtian who was waiting beside him and said with a smile:
"Okay, that's all for today. You can tell my dad about this and he will reward you. I'm going back now. Bye!"
"Please wait a moment!"
Seeing Yuan Xudong was about to leave, Zheng Qingtian hurriedly called him and said:
"Mr. Xiao, it's getting dark outside and curfew is almost here. I'd better arrange for someone to take you back!"
"Okay!"
…
After coming out of Qiantang County Government Office, Yuan Xudong, Song Yinzhang, and Yinping Yatou rode in a luxurious carriage, escorted by the Yamen runners, all the way to Zhao Paner's tea shop. In the carriage, Song Yinzhang was still holding her precious pipa, while Yinping Yatou was secretly eating the tea cakes that were always prepared in the carriage. Seeing Yuan Xudong sitting in the middle of the carriage, counting with a stack of papers in his hand, Yinping couldn't help laughing and said:
"Mr. Xiao, what are you looking at?"
"Guess?"
Raising the gold and silver shop deed in his hand, Yuan Xudong looked at the lively and active girl Yinping and said with a smile:
"Why don't you just pick one of these and sell yourself to me?"
"I don't want it!"
Since she was already Yuan Xudong's person, and knowing that Yuan Xudong liked to play such jokes on her, Yinping ran to Song Yinzhang and said coquettishly:
"Miss, Master Xiao wants to exchange paper for a silver bottle. Is the silver bottle so worthless?"
"So how much do you want to sell it for?"
Looking at the quirky silver bottle, Song Yinzhang said with amusement.
“I won’t sell it for any price!”
"You have no say!"
With a joking laugh, Yuan Xudong grabbed Yin Ping's slender waist, held her in his arms and said with pity:
"But I can promise you that as long as you sell yourself to me, from now on, you are mine, and no one can drive you away, including me. Do you want to sell me?"
"want!"
Looking at Yuan Xudong, Yin Ping smiled, took out a gold and silver shop deed from his hand and said shyly:
"Okay, this piece of paper belongs to Yin Ping, and Yin Ping also belongs to Master Xiao!"
"Okay, let me see how much the silver bottle is worth!"
Holding the silver bottle, Yuan Xudong took the gold and silver shop deed from her hand and looked at it pretentiously, then smiled and said to the silver bottle:
"One thousand strings of cash are worth a hundred ounces of gold. Our silver bottle is so valuable!"
"One thousand strings of cash?"
Looking at the thin piece of paper in his hand, Yin Ping was a little dumbfounded, and said in surprise with his eyes slightly wide open:
"A piece of paper like this can be exchanged for a thousand strings of copper coins?"
"yes!"
Seeing that Yuan Xudong didn't seem to be joking, Song Yinzhang beside him also slightly widened his eyes and said in surprise:
"One thousand strings of cash, doesn't that silver bottle have more money than me?"
"ah?"
Coming back to his senses from his daze, Yin Ping quickly returned the gold and silver shop deed in his hand to Yuan Xudong and said in panic:
"I don't dare to take so much money. If I run into a robber, I'll be dead, right?"
"Okay, then keep it with me first. When you need money, ask me for it!"
Yuan Xudong took back the gold and silver shop contract that he had intended to give to Yin Ping, put it together with the other contracts and said with a smile:
"Here are 200,000 kan. When we get to Tokyo, I'll buy you a big villa. Would you mind giving me one each?"
"good!"
Glancing at Yuan Xudong, Yin Ping sneered:
"Mr. Xiao, we each live in a courtyard, so where do you live?"
"What do you think?"
Looking at the clever little girl Yinping, Yuan Xudong couldn't help but teasing her and said with a smile:
"Each of you will have a sign. I will go to the courtyard where you turn the sign to rest, okay?"
Hearing Yuan Xudong's words, Song Yinzhang and Yinping blushed. Song Yinzhang spat softly, while Yinping blushed and said shyly:
"Then I want to live in the same yard with my young lady!"
Holding the silver bottle , Yuan Xudong looked at the blushing Song Yinzhang and said with a smile:
"Okay, your young lady is weak, it would be nice if you could help her!"
"Pooh~~"
