"I don't care who you are, get out of my way or I'll beat you up."

Sun Jian couldn't be bothered with the master and servant pair; his immediate priority was to leave.

"Insolence! You lowly commoner, how dare you..."

Even the handsome servant couldn't stand it anymore. He acted like a woman, pointing his pinky finger at Sun Jian. Before he could finish speaking, the young man reached out and stopped him.

"If you apologize to me now, I can pretend this never happened."

"If you knew who I am, you would probably be kneeling down in fear by now."

Sun Jian remained defiant, saying, "Return your status? Even if you were the King of Heaven, I wouldn't be afraid of you. No apology whatsoever."

"Get out of the way, don't delay me."

But to everyone's surprise, the young man laughed instead of getting angry upon hearing this.

"Interesting. It's been a long time since I've heard anyone dare to talk to me like that."

"Haha, you're quite an interesting guy."

Before Sun Jian could say anything, a commotion suddenly broke out in the room on the other side, accompanied by the sounds of things being smashed.

"Get out of my way, you filthy bitch! You dare ask me for money? I'm doing you a favor by sleeping with you."

"My lord, please have pity on me, considering how diligently I have served you..."

"Damn it! Why would I pity you, you bitch!"

"You don't even know who I am. I'm being lenient by not making you kneel down and beg for mercy."

"If you dare to talk nonsense to me again, believe me, I'll kill you."

Hearing the deafening noise and shouting from next door, Sun Jian shook his head and smiled bitterly, saying to the young man, "Look at this, the world is going to the dogs. That guy went to a prostitute and didn't pay, and even the things he said were exactly the same as yours."

"How dare you! How dare you..."

The effeminate servant was about to argue with Sun Jian, but was stopped by the man in blue.

"Ha, I never expected that there would be such a person in Hongnong County..."

The man in blue frowned, deciding not to argue with Sun Jian for the time being, and instead moved closer to the door of the room to listen.

But just as he approached the door, suddenly, with a "bang," the door was smashed open by the woman's body.

Sun Jian reacted quickly, grabbing the man in blue and pulling him away, thus avoiding the damage from the broken pieces of wood.

At this moment, the courtesan lay on the ground, her clothes disheveled, her body covered in bruises, and bloodstains still hanging from the corner of her mouth. The fall had made it difficult for her to breathe, but she still looked at the man with pleading eyes.

"You wretch, how come you're still alive? Get out of here, the master is leaving."

The man was around forty years old, with prominent cheekbones, a pointed mouth and monkey-like face, looking like a petty person. Before leaving, he didn't forget to kick and smash a vase next to him.

"What a piece of junk, it's an eyesore here."

"Stop! You're not allowed to leave."

"You can't leave without paying!"

The courtesan endured excruciating pain and clung to the man's leg; this was her last struggle.

This commotion immediately attracted a large crowd, and even the madam who had previously entertained Sun Jian joined the ranks of those demanding payment for their services.

Immediately afterwards, the guards of Baihualou rushed over and blocked the entrance, preventing the man from leaving.

The sounds of fighting and boisterous noise were incessant.

"Damn, how are we going to get out with so many people?"

Sun Jian, too lazy to concern himself with other people's affairs, continued to look around, searching for an exit.

"Thanks, friend."

The man in blue clasped his hands in thanks, his anger towards Sun Jian completely gone, replaced by a newfound curiosity.

"No need for thanks, farewell."

Sun Jian didn't want to get entangled with him any longer and turned to leave, but the man in blue grabbed him.

"Hey friend, don't rush off. We've become friends through a series of unexpected encounters..."

The man in blue was very polite one second, but the next second he stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence.

Suddenly, he seemed to see something frightening, and quickly turned to the side to hide, his expression becoming somewhat tense.

"Huh?"

Sun Jian was a little curious and looked in the direction of his previous gaze.

The hall was already packed with people. In addition to the guards and two brothel bosses, soldiers also arrived one after another and stood in two rows. A man in official robes walked out of the door.

The man who was soliciting prostitutes wasn't afraid of the official at all. Instead, he joked, "Oh, I didn't expect that the mastermind behind the Hundred Flowers Pavilion is actually the Commandant of Hongnong County."

"What? Are you here to interrogate me?"

"Let me tell you, the Commandant of the Prefecture is nothing! He's just a lowly seventh-rank official. Don't you even know when I've ever paid for prostitutes while on official business?"

"I am Liu San, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works of the Imperial Court. People in the underworld call me Master San. Even the Prefect of Hongnong County has to give me some face. Who do you think you are?"

...

Sun Jian turned his head, looking at the nervous man in blue with a blank expression, and asked, "What? Do you know Master Liu downstairs, or the Commandant of Hongnong County?"

"Shh!"

The man in blue extended his finger and made a "shh" gesture, then quietly pulled Sun Jian to the corner as well.

"Friend, do me a favor," the man in blue said.

Sun Jian gave him a complicated look, and after a moment of silence, said, "Damn, you're not also a freeloader, are you?"

The effeminate servant standing nearby, upon hearing Sun Jian insult his master, was about to utter the word "insolence," but before he could speak, the man in blue covered his mouth and glared at him.

"Could it be that you know those two officials downstairs?" Sun Jian continued to press.

The man in blue did not answer Sun Jian's question directly. Instead, he casually pulled a silver note from the effeminate servant's pocket and handed it to Sun Jian.

"Here is a hundred taels of silver. Do me a favor, and this silver note is yours."

What the hell?

One hundred taels?

This guy is clearly no ordinary person; I didn't expect him to be so generous.

In this day and age, one tael of silver is equivalent to 1,000 copper coins, 100 copper coins can be exchanged for about 10 dou of grain, and 1,000 copper coins can be exchanged for 100 dou of grain.

100 dou of millet is equivalent to more than 1,300 jin of millet.

1300 catties of millet would be enough for Sun Jian and his three wives to eat for half a year if they lived frugally!

If you calculate it this way, one tael of silver can be exchanged for 1,300 catties of grain, and one hundred taels is roughly equivalent to 130,000 catties of grain.

130,000 jin (65,000 kg), I simply can't imagine...

This guy just threw out a hundred taels... Is there really such a good thing?

Without saying a word, Sun Jian quickly stuffed the silver note into his pocket. He figured it was too good to refuse something offered to him. As for how he would help, that was a matter for later.

"You go first, but I might not agree."

"you……"

That effeminate servant was almost driven mad by Sun Jian, and probably cursed him a thousand times in his heart.

Why would I necessarily agree to let you take the silver notes?

The man in blue, on the other hand, only paused for a moment without getting angry. "Friend, you are quite special."