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Thinking of the scene of the beauty begging for mercy under his crotch, Haining Hou seemed a little impatient, so he looked at the brothel owner with a cold gaze and said in a clear voice: "Okay, you can go out now."
The brothel owner smiled when she heard this, and said, "Master, my daughter's indenture is still with me!"
The indenture is with her, which means that no money has been paid. If someone were to take advantage of her, she would be the one who suffers.
Marquis Haining raised his eyebrows when he heard this, but didn't say anything. He was just about to take out the banknotes when he heard a "bang" and the door was kicked open.
The girl sitting on the couch saw the big head in the lead with her red willow eyes, and her heart couldn't help but relax. She put the scissors in her white hands back into the quilt. She had already made up her mind that she would never accept such humiliation even if she died.
When Marquis Haining saw someone dared to ruin his plan, he immediately raised his eyebrows, glared at the people at the door, and shouted, "Where did you come from, you fool? Get out."
Xue Pan walked in, cursing, "You stupid bastard, you should get out, you old bastard."
Upon hearing this, the corner of Marquis Haining's mouth twitched. What kind of stubborn person is this? How dare he scold him?
As a brothel owner, she naturally knew who was in front of her. After all, this was the man who was pestering her daughter. Before the Marquis of Haining could get angry, the skilled brothel owner came out to smooth things over and said, "Mr. Xue, my daughter has a distinguished guest to entertain. Please wait outside. I will arrange for my daughter Kexin to entertain you."
Facing the enthusiasm of the brothel owner, Xue Pan said carelessly: "What a bullshit distinguished guest, don't think I don't know. To tell you the truth, I am here to redeem Miss Yi Nianhong. Didn't he offer 100,000 taels? I will offer 110,000 taels."
Previously, Yi Nianhong gave him 80,000 taels of her personal silver. Together with the silver she secretly withdrew from the account, Xue Pan now had 150,000 taels on him. He didn't believe that anyone could snatch the beauty from him today.
The brothel owner was delighted when she heard this. As a businesswoman, profit is her main concern. Since someone offered a higher price, she didn't care about other offers, so she kept silent.
Marquis Haining was not a fool. He understood immediately when he saw that the other party even knew about the ransom money. He looked at the beauty sitting on the couch with a sinister look and snorted in his heart, "You are struggling to death, thinking that a young boy can snatch her from him. It's really a foolish dream. I will make you pay for it later."
Thinking of this, the eyes of Marquis Haining seemed to show the miserable plea for mercy of a cold and charming beauty.
For a moment, the Marquis of Haining started to laugh grimly, then turned to look at Xue Pan with an increasingly cold gaze, and shouted, "Who do you think you are? I will redeem you in one pinch of red. Go wherever you want."
Xue Pan didn't take it seriously. He walked to the front of Haining Marquis and said contemptuously, "Which woman's pants weren't tied tight enough to let a bear like you come out? The rules of a brothel are that the highest bidder wins. Do you think that Fengmingyuan is owned by your family?"
Upon hearing this, Marquis Haining flew into a rage. This fool in front of him was scolding him again, and even scolding his mother. This was too much to bear, so Marquis Haining raised his leg and kicked him.
"Ouch."
Xue Pan suffered a severe blow to the abdomen, and his body flew backwards, kneeling on the ground and wailing.
Seeing this, Yi Nianhong on the couch hurried forward and asked with concern: "Master Xue, are you okay?"
A soft fragrance lingered in his nose, and Xue Pan suddenly felt his body lighten, and the pain disappeared.
But before Xue Pan could say anything, Haining Hou was furious when he saw Yi Nianhong showing concern for the pretty boy in front of him, and he said sternly, "Bitch, I'll make you pay for it today."
Xue Pan was beaten, and the beauty he had been thinking about was insulted. He was furious and ordered the servant he brought with him, shouting angrily: "Beat this stubborn guy to death."
Seeing this, Marquis Haining frowned and shouted, "I am the Marquis Haining, how dare you be so presumptuous."
The servants who were about to take action were shocked for a moment when they heard the title of Marquis of Haining. If the other party was really the marquis, he was not someone they could afford to provoke.
Xue Pan snorted coldly and cursed: "Fuck you, if you are the Marquis, I am the Emperor. Beat me hard."
Suddenly, the house became noisy.
Everyone has a gossipy heart. The movement in the elegant room immediately attracted the attention of people passing by, and their eyes were all directed towards the excitement.
At the opposite corner, Shui Rong was dressed in brocade clothes, holding a white paper fan in his hand, and looking at the noisy scene with interest through the carved window.
Feng Ziying beside him looked at this scene with a strange expression, and said in surprise: "Brother Xue, this... is too impulsive."
Shui Rong also found it funny when he heard this. He understood what Feng Ziying meant. Originally, Yi Nianhong did not mention the identity of Marquis Haining, which made Xue Pan self-righteous. But now that the other party's identity has been exposed, he did not expect that Xue Pan would dare to take action.
Judging from the current situation, it was estimated that Xue Pan was furious and thought that the other party was lying, so he started to attack without caring about the consequences.
However, Shui Rong did not say much. He originally just wanted to make some noise. But now Xue Pan's performance made Shui Rong admire him. He really deserves to be called "Dai Ba Wang".
After watching for a while, Shui Rong looked at the "vigorous" Marquis of Haining, who made it impossible for Xue Pan and his servants to get close to him. He muttered in his heart, "What a good old man, he's quite capable."
"This Marquis Haining has something special."
Feng Ziying knew that this was the prince's arrangement, and he was not worried about Xue Pan getting into trouble, so he smiled and said, "The Marquis of Haining is also from a family of military honors, so it is normal for him to have some foundation."
Shui Rong couldn't help but deny what he heard. After all, the ability of military merit lies among the ranks. Even if one has been indulging in pleasure for a long time, he still has some foundation.
However, there are also people among them who are not familiar with military affairs. This depends on how the previous generation was educated. For example, in the Jia family, Jia Jing, Jia She, and Jia Zheng are basically not familiar with military affairs. From his point of view, the Jia family probably wants to abandon military affairs and focus on literature.
After a pause, Shui Rong ordered: "Ziying, pick a few good people to help, and try to make the matter bigger."
Since Xue Pan's performance was beyond everyone's expectations, Shui Rong had to help out. The "Dai Ba Wang" angrily beat up the Marquis of Haining, and the bigger the incident, the better. He didn't want Xue Pan, the protagonist, to be dealt with.
As for the worry that sending someone would arouse the other party's suspicion, there is no need to consider this. From the perspective of Marquis Haining, this is Xue Pan's man. From Xue Pan's perspective, he probably wants to kill Marquis Haining right now. As long as this "stupid" overlord has someone to help him, he won't think too much about anything else.
Upon hearing this, Feng Ziying bowed in agreement and immediately selected three burly men from behind him. As the three men joined the battlefield, the Marquis of Haining, who was already a little exhausted, could not hold on any longer.
After a while, the Marquis of Haining was pinned to the ground, and the clever guards blocked his mouth tightly, making him unable to make a sound.
As for Xue Pan, he raised his sandbag-sized fist and hit hard, which made Yi Nianhong, who was standing nearby, frightened and rushed forward to separate them.
Seeing this, Shui Rong nodded secretly. Although this woman was taking advantage of Xue Pan, he didn't want anything to happen to her. A lesson for Shui Rong might keep him under control, but if he beat her to death, even Jesus couldn't save him.
Thinking of this, Shui Rong ordered: "Qiu Liang, arrange for your people to go over."
Qiu Liang is a young man in his thirties, from the Jingtian Marquis Mansion, currently serving as the Wucheng Bingmasi. The Wucheng Bingmasi has the duty of maintaining public security and arresting thefts. Now that a fight has occurred in this brothel, the Wucheng Bingmasi has the duty to exercise its authority.
The reason why Qiu Liang was arranged to come here was because they were afraid that the matter would be suppressed. Now that they had their own people take action, the situation would be under control.
Qiu Liang agreed after hearing this. Just as he was about to make arrangements, Shui Rong added, "Remember, don't care about the identity of Marquis Haining. Take him and parade him around the city. I want everyone in the capital to know that Marquis Haining is fighting for favor with someone in the brothel."
Since Xue Pan performed so well, Shui Rong would not let him down. Now that the matter had become a big deal, there was no need to hide it.
Chapter 130 Baochai: Engagement?
Imperial City, Qianqing Palace.
Prince Zhongshun stepped into the magnificent palace. The palace servants standing on both sides stood solemnly, not daring to make any sound.
When he entered the hall, he saw the indifferent expression on Emperor Yongkang's face sitting on the imperial desk. He couldn't help but become cautious and stood hurriedly to greet him.
Emperor Yongkang pondered for a moment and asked, "Eighth brother, the Marquis of Haining still owes the Ministry of Revenue money, right?"
Upon hearing this, Prince Zhongshun raised his eyebrows. He thought that Emperor Yongkang had sent someone to summon him for some reason. Originally, he wanted to inquire about the silver owed by the Ministry of Revenue. They had just urged payment not long ago, so why was he asking again now?
Without thinking too much, Prince Zhongshun replied, "Brother, the Marquis of Haining owes the Ministry of Revenue 80,000 taels of silver, and has not yet repaid it."
As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense. A cold breath came from the imperial desk, making Prince Zhongshun feel a little cold.
Although he was surprised by the change in Emperor Yongkang's attitude, Prince Zhongshun still waited obediently.
Emperor Yongkang was silent for a moment, then handed over a memorial and said in a deep voice, "This is a memorial from the Five Cities Military Command. Take it and have a look, Eighth Brother."
Prince Zhongshun took the memorial and read it with a puzzled look on his face. As a marquis, he had no regard for propriety and was actually competing with others for favors in a brothel, causing a stir in the whole city. It was really outrageous.
Although this matter was a joke, it would not have made Emperor Yongkang so angry. Perhaps there was another story behind it.
After he finished reading the memorial, he suddenly realized that since Emperor Yongkang ascended the throne, the Ministry of Revenue had begun to collect the outstanding silver. Now that he had the silver, he did not pay the outstanding silver to the Ministry of Revenue, but instead used it to redeem an courtesan. To some extent, this also showed that he did not take Emperor Yongkang seriously. The Marquis of Haining's move was undoubtedly a slap in the face of Emperor Yongkang, how could he not be angry.
Emperor Yongkang's face turned pale and he sneered, "On weekdays, these people are loyal to the emperor and patriotic, but inwardly they are thieves and prostitutes. In the eyes of these people, the affairs of the court are not as important as a prostitute? It seems that I am too tolerant of them."
Prince Zhongshun raised his eyebrows when he heard this. Is Emperor Yongkang planning to use force?
Pursing his lips, Prince Zhongshun said carefully: "Royal brother, Haining Marquis is just an individual case and cannot represent the military merit lineage. I hope my royal brother will understand."
Emperor Yongkang raised his eyes and looked at Prince Zhongshun with an aggressive look, as if he would not give up.
But after a short while, Emperor Yongkang sighed and fell silent. After all, he understood that if he could do it by force, he would have done it long ago. As the saying goes, a single move can affect the entire body. Now is not the time to be impatient.
After a pause, Emperor Yongkang said in a clear voice: "Eighth brother, go check where the 100,000 taels of silver from the Marquis of Haining came from."
Prince Zhongshun understood what he said. Most of the nobles' mansions nowadays were in decline. There must be many tricks involved in taking out 100,000 taels of silver at one time. The move by Emperor Yongkang also meant that he would investigate it thoroughly. It seemed that he was not going to let him off easily.
Thinking of this, King Zhongshun responded, "I understand."
Rongguo Mansion, Lixiangyuan.
In a wing room somewhere, there was a rosewood table with a few chrysanthemums in a clay vase, a Duan inkstone next to it, a few brushes in a pen holder, and a tea box and teacups, but there were no other utensils nearby.
Baochai, wearing a plain dress, sat comfortably on a bed with only a green gauze curtain hanging over it. Her fair hands held a piece of brocade, her almond-shaped eyes focused as she did needlework.
Soon, Aunt Xue came in from outside. Seeing the quiet and dignified Baochai, she smiled softly and said, "My dear, why are you doing all these chores?"
Baochai put down her needlework, raised her bright almond eyes and looked at Aunt Xue, smiling lightly, "I have nothing to do, so I'll find something to kill time."
Aunt Xue didn't notice him. She turned her eyes slightly, and after a pause, she said softly, "If you are bored, why don't you go and play with Miss Lin? It's better than staying here alone."
Baochai couldn't help but frown when she heard this, and looked at Aunt Xue with her almond eyes. She was a smart girl, so how could she not know the hidden meaning of her mother's words? She said she was going to play with Lin Yatou and the others, but in fact she was
Thinking of this, Baochai couldn't help but sigh in her heart. Ever since she got the hint from her brother-in-law in the palace, she had already made up her mind to go. Since she had someone in her heart, how could she be fickle? Therefore, in the past few days since Baochai returned, she basically had nothing to do so she stayed in Lixiang Courtyard. When she had nothing to do, she would do needlework and never took the initiative to look for him.
It was just that it was not easy to say these things directly to Aunt Xue, so after a moment's silence, he could only respond casually and said no more.
Aunt Xue couldn't help but sigh when she saw this. She looked at Baochai and said earnestly, "You are my son. How can a mother not know what he is thinking? Prince Beijing is a handsome man with a gentle temperament. If a girl sees him, she will be interested in him."
To be honest, given Shui Rong's powerful position, coupled with his gentle and humble character and his appearance that is far superior to that of an ordinary person, few girls could ignore him.
Ever since returning from the palace, Guai Nan's temperament has become a little indifferent. The father knows his own daughter well, and it is obvious that she has some thoughts.
Baochai's cheeks were slightly drunk when she heard this. She couldn't help but tighten her hands holding the silk and said with lowered eyes, "Mom, what are you talking about!"
Aunt Xue became more certain when she saw this. She sighed and advised, "My dear, although you are a prince, it is not wrong for you to be a concubine. But if the prince is interested in you, how can he ignore you? Now your concubine is also satisfied with you. I think we should find a time to talk about it. Even if we don't get married, we should settle the marriage first."
Seeing that the prince had no feelings for Baochai, Aunt Xue could only give up the idea. Now that Baoyu had become the prince's brother-in-law, it would be better to arrange the marriage as soon as possible.
Although Baoyu's marriage was decided by the old lady, which made it a little difficult, but judging from the recent news, the old lady did not refuse, which was a good thing.
Moreover, since Yuanchun married into the palace, Mrs. Wang's status has increased a lot, and the old lady will not oppose Mrs. Wang on many things. This matter should be dealt with as soon as possible to avoid more accidents.
Baochai was shocked when she heard this. This was her parents' order and the matchmaker's words. What should she do if Aunt Xue really decided to get married with Mrs. Wang?
Thinking of this, Baochai did not hide it, lowered her eyes and said softly: "Mom, my daughter was in the palace before, and my brother-in-law intended to let my daughter live there."
Aunt Xue paused when she heard this, and then immediately came to her senses. There was no other reason to let Bao girl live in the prince's palace except to let her enter the palace, which meant that the prince had taken a fancy to Bao girl.
Thinking of this, Aunt Xue hesitated. Although being the prince's concubine was not bad, if she thought about it carefully, marrying Baoyu would also allow her to be related to the prince's palace. Besides, if she went to the prince's palace, she would still be a concubine, unless the prince was willing to let Baoyu be his concubine.
Just as Aunt Xue was about to say something, she suddenly heard a burst of crying and shouting coming from far away. A moment later, Tongxi rushed in in a panic and said anxiously, "Madam, something happened to the master."
"what?!"
When Aunt Xue heard this, her face suddenly turned pale. What had happened to that damn evildoer again?
Baochai was frightened at the sight, but she remained calm. After all, this was not the first time such a thing had happened, so she asked, "What happened, brother?"
Upon hearing this, Tongxi hurriedly reported back, telling the whole story of how Xue Pan had been taken away by the people from the Five Cities Military Department because of jealousy with the Marquis of Haining in the brothel.
Aunt Xue heard the whole story and almost collapsed. She was supported by Baochai for a while before she burst into tears: "This damn evil creature didn't know the severity of the situation when he was in Jinling. Now he even dares to hit the Marquis. What should I do?"
Although she felt very disappointed, Xue Pan was the only child of the Xue family after all. Aunt Xue couldn't just sit there and watch. She hurriedly said, "Quick, precious girl, let's go find the old lady."