Jiang Zhen finally decided to host Zhao Liu’s birthday banquet.

On the day of Zhao Liu’s birthday, the sun was strong and there was no wind. On this side of Hexi Village, there was a saying, “Poor in debt, cold in the wind.” If a person was not in debt, he was not poor, and if there was no wind, it will not be too cold.

That day the sun was good, and there was no wind. Although it was winter, the weather was no different from spring.

“See, as soon as you live a good life, even god will give you a good face,” a Hexi villager praised Zhao Liu.

Jiang Zhen was going to have a birthday party, so those who were friends with Zhao Liu in Hexi Village came to help early in the morning.

Zhao Liu was wearing new clothes and gold jewelry, and there was a big smile on her face. “Oh, it’s all Jiang Zhen . . . I said that my old bones are almost in a coffin, but he still had to spend a lot of money on my life. It really . . .”

When Zhao Liu said this, she also privately told Zhao Jinge that she felt it was too expensive, but in her heart, she felt very happy. Her face was full of smiles. Seeing that the tables were all set up and there were many guests coming to the door one after another, she was happier all the more. She had never had such a face in her life.

Zhao Liu was very happy, but at the moment, a middle-aged man with a pale face came down from a boat. The middle-aged man had two guards around him and looked like a rich merchant. When he came he asked the people on the dock, “I heard that there is a Jinzhen Escort Agency here?”

“Yes.” The man who carried the goods said, “There is a Jinzhen Escort Agency here. Are you looking for them? They rented the house over there for their business.” As the man carrying goods spoke, he pointed to a shop not far away with the plaque, “Jinzhen Escort Agency.”

“Oh . . .” The middle-aged man nodded and asked, “I hear there is a Qingfeng House here?”

Besides looking for Jinzhen Escort Agency, this man also wanted to go and play in Qingfeng House? The man carrying the goods hurriedly said, “Yes, if you find a boy on the street and spend two copper pennies, he will take you there! Tut-tut, in Qingfeng House, I heard that there are a lot of dishes and plays only available in the palace there, and it’s a good place!”

“What?” The middle-aged man’s face changed. How could people take out the things from palace and give them to the group of merchants to enjoy? This was outrageous!

Seeing that the middle-aged man did not look good, the man who carries the goods was startled. “Gentleman . . .”

“It’s nothing.” The middle-aged man waved his hand.

This middle-aged man was Zhou Maohe, the imperial envoy from the capital.

A few days ago, Zhou Maohe received a letter saying that there was a Jinzhen Escort Agency in Hecheng County, and the person in charge not only beat his parents but also bribed officials to make his parents unable to ask for help.

Zhou Maohe inquired around and found that Hecheng was the Zheng family’s territory. Also, the Zheng family had also made a Qingfeng House with Jinzhen Escort Agency. Although it was not long after opening, there were already countless people who knew about this place.

That Qingfeng House cost ten silver just for a visit? With so much money, it was enough for ordinary people to spend for a year!

Could such a place be a good place? The Zheng family doesn’t know what they are doing!

Zhou Maohe had always had a problem with Official Zheng, who had been trying to curry favor with the empress dowager all day long, so when he heard about this, he immediately decided to come and have a look. He had concealed his identity and decided to have a look at the Qingfeng House.

The place that everyone praised, he did not know what disgusting activities the people inside were doing! The Qingfeng House in Hecheng County also set a threshold: If you want to enter, you must first pay 20 silver at the door. After entering, all the expenses except for the chip exchange would be deducted from this twenty silver and the rest would be refunded.

This was nothing to the people who come to Qingfeng House. Who would have come here without 20 silver?

However, Zhou Maohe was shocked by what he heard. “Twenty silver?” He was born in a poor family and he was not rich, so even if he wanted to eat a meal of meat, he had to be very careful. Although this time, because he was going out, he brought more silver, but it was not as much as twenty silver.

This man asked him for twenty taels of silver!

“My lord, if you don’t have any money, you can come back next time,” the man at the door smiled at Zhou Mao and said. 

Although Zhou Maohe looked like he had no money, Zheng Yi explained that they had to greet even people in rags with a smile, so their attitude was excellent.

Unexpectedly, their behavior of asking for money and such an attitude made Zhou Maohe feel even more that he was like a male ghost in this Qingfeng House.

He gritted his teeth and, at one, took out 20 silver and went inside . . . Because he could not take out any more money his two guards were left outside.

Qingfeng House was very luxurious. Although Zhou Maohe had lived in poverty, he still had a vision. After seeing this luxury, the angrier he was, and after a while, he was taken to the hall.

The hall was the place where people played cards. In the middle of the hall, some arc-shaped tables were arranged in a circle, and within sat Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi.

It was still early, and there were few people in the Qingfeng House, so they were idle, only letting others deal cards to the guests who came to the door and play with them. The two of them were currently the signboards of Qingfeng House, and depending on their mood, they would sit and deal cards.

“This is a great job, but when we get older, we won’t be able to do it,” Liu Qianqian said.

“What are you afraid of? When we get older, we’ll already have saved up a fortune!” Zhao Lingxi said. This Qingfeng House did not pay them much, only two silver a month, but the reward money given by the guests were all theirs to take!

The guests here were generous, and the reward was not given in copper coins but was basically all in silver! It would not take them long to save up a lot of money. Speaking of which, they did not want to go out easily because they also discovered that they could raise their price and get more rewards.

“You are right about that . . . At that time, I will set up a female household and look for a child to raise,” Liu Qianqian said.

“You’re not getting married?” Zhao Lingxi looked at Liu Qianqian in bewilderment. Liu Qianqian wanted to get married before.

“I’m not afraid to tell you the truth now,” Liu Qianqian said. “When I was in the flower house, I was given medicine so that I would not have a child at all.” This was also the reason why she wanted to be a concubine but never thought of getting married. She could not have a child, so how could she get married properly. How could she live a good life then?

It was different being just a concubine. She was good-looking enough to charm a man, and then secretly make friends with her mistress, saying that she can’t have a baby . . . just for this the main wife would surely want to keep her in the backyard.

Zhao Lingxi was stunned hearing her words, but finally, he did not comfort her and only said, “Then save money. I don’t think I can marry either, so in the future, we can be companions.”

As they spoke, their hearts became a bit heavy. At that time, they suddenly heard someone shout, “The world is really declining! The moral degeneration of the world is getting worse day by day! Instead of being at home with her husband and children, the woman and gers came out to hang out with a group of men . . . This is really disgraceful!”

When they looked together toward the source of the voice, they found that it was said by a middle-aged man.

“Where does this old man come from?” Liu Qianqian could not help frowning.

“This place is a gambling house and a brothel, isn’t it? What a Zheng family! I can’t believe they are doing such a thing!” Zhou Maohe became furious.

In this Qingfeng House, there were some women dressed in men’s clothes teasing men! Why the name  “Qingfeng House” was given to such a dirty place!

Because of Jiang Zhen’s speech, these women who worked in Qingfeng House did not actually talk much with their guests. As they knew, Jiang Zhen said at the beginning that if they hook up with guests, they should find another job and he will immediately let them go . . . What letting go! Wasn’t it just driving people away?

These women and gers also have big hearts, but in the absence of a definite target, they really did not dare to do anything with guests. Even with a target . . . they also intended to find the right one too. If they step on two boats, it will capsize!

Of course, most of them did not want to find a target anymore. It was better to have money than to follow someone and then ask for money from the other. Therefore, no one had ever really teased the guests at this time. But in Zhou Maohe’s opinion, it was wrong for the woman and gers to stay in such a place.

“What are you doing here if you are looking down at this place?” Liu Qianqian said angrily. She just scratched at her scars, so she was very angry!

“That’s right. Coming to a place like this and staring at us specifically while looking like this . . . Tsk, tsk.” Zhao Lingxi helped.

Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi were definitely the two most popular people there. Which of the men in the hall didn’t like them now?

Seeing them angry, the men immediately looked at Zhou Maohe and denounced him one after the other.

Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi were told that they could not offend the guests, so they did not dare to use dirty words. But the people there were different. They exposed their thoughts clearly in front of Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi, so when facing Zhou Maohe, they were not polite at all. Most of the people who come here were merchants so when it came to swearing . . .

“Degrading! Insulting!” Zhou Maohe became more and more infuriated. His mouth was quite sharp; in the imperial court, he could quote the scriptures and make people speechless. But when scholar met soldier, it was not so clear.

The businessmen present had loud voices and cursed people in their dialect very smoothly. They also did not understand what Zhou Maohe said.

Zhou Maohe finally decided to escape from there, but as soon as he left, he bumped into a boy.

“Sir, please go outside.” The young man in Qingfeng House faced Zhou Maohe. At first glance this person was looking for trouble, so he must be sent away as soon as possible.

Zhou Maohe also had no face to stay, so with a flick of sleeves, he went out.

He walked fast, and after a long walk, he heard someone behind him shouting, “Sir, don’t you want your money?”

Zhou Maohe’s steps stopped. Clenching his teeth, he went back “Silver?”

“You didn’t spend any money in our Qingfeng House, so except for one or two as entrance fee, I will give you back the rest,” the young men at the door said with a smile.

The young man was respectful, but Zhou Maohe felt insulted and belittled, but the silver . . .   After taking the silver, Zhou Mao turned around and left.

At this time, Zheng Yi, holding a heavy Guanyin, gave it to Zhao Liu.

“It’s heavy!” Zhao Liu held Guanyin with her hands, but her eyes it up as she hurriedly beckoned someone to bring a table so that she could put Guanyin on it and show it to others.

The tacky gold Guanyin was finally placed on a table covered with red cloth. Looking at Zhao Liu telling people that this was a gift from him, Young Master Zheng touched his nose in a helpless gesture. In his life, he gave such a tacky gift for once, but to have it so widely publicized . . .

Young Master Zheng did not want to stay outside and finally took Jiang Zhen inside the house. “Jiang Zhen, I have good news to tell you.”

“What?” Jiang Zhen asked curiously.

“It was you who came up with the method of stitching up the wound. Someone had tried it before, and it was confirmed to be useful, so the emperor gave you a commendation!” Zheng Yi said. “This is a message from my second uncle. As for the reward, I guess it is on the way at this moment.”

If Zheng Yi did no say it, Jiang Zhen would have already forgotten about it. So at this time, he was surprised to hear it: “What’s the reward?”

“I heard it just some money . . . My uncle didn’t elaborate. “ Zheng Yi was a little embarrassed. Jiang Zhen was only a civilian, so it was impossible to give him too many rewards. “However, with this reward, your status will be different in the future.”

Jiang Zhen nodded. Zheng Yi was right; with such a reward, his business would indeed be much better.

 

Edited by: Faro

Proofreader: XLB

 

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