Chapter 152 Chapter 152 is the only authentic version... Lady Gui is also reading it.
Her first reaction was that he was sent by King Jin.
But then I thought, if it was just for her, there would be no need for such a big fuss.
It would be easy for a prince to catch her.
There were twenty or thirty singing girls in Tianxi Tower. They all arrived one after another and stood in the main hall, which was neither too big nor too small, waiting. They looked around blankly, and even their rouge could not hide the panic on their faces.
Ting Lian nervously clutched her handkerchief. She had heard that the Jinyiwei were responsible for capturing vicious criminals, so why would they come to interrogate these prostitutes?
Gui Niang said gently, "It's okay. We haven't done anything wrong."
"Sir, everyone is here."
The shopkeeper said that there were a total of twenty-eight people, all the prostitutes in Tianxi Tower.
He specifically mentioned, "They only sing, they don't sell their bodies, and they don't entertain guests."
The captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had a fierce face. He looked around and signaled his men to call them over one by one.
Lady Gui waited quietly.
She didn't know why she felt a chill. It wasn't even dusk yet, so why was it so cold?
Seeing her palms were cold, Ting Lian assumed she was afraid too, so she quietly asked the sisters in front of her. After a few words, she turned to Gui Niang and said, "Sister Yingying said there's nothing to be afraid of. The authorities have been investigating a lot of prostitutes these days, from brothels to even the Banbianlian (banbianlian)—the Jinyiwei have been investigating them one by one."
Lady Gui was so cold that she smiled when she heard this, tilted her head and whispered, "It seems like he's looking for someone."
She noticed that after the Jinyiwei called people over one by one, they would interrogate them one by one while comparing them with a portrait. While they were asking questions, the eunuchs behind the desk would record them.
"You're right."
"Don't talk!"
The Jinyiwei shouted fiercely, and Ting Lian quickly stood up and grabbed Gui Niangzi's cold hand.
Soon it was Ting Lian's turn. When Ting Lian went there, she was a little nervous. After coming out, she smiled at Gui Niangzi and signaled her not to worry.
Madam Gui straightened her sleeves and walked over.
She stopped three steps away from them and bowed.
The Jinyiwei looked at her for a moment and said coldly, "Take off your veil."
Lady Gui raised her hand to remove her veil, revealing the hideous scars on her face. Even the Jinyiwei couldn't bear to look at it.
If she didn't have this scar, her face would be stunningly beautiful, but now... what a pity.
The Jinyiwei compared the portrait in his hand to a girl of about eleven or twelve years old. He asked in a routine manner:
"name."
"Give it to Young Mother."
"Years."
"Born in September of the eighth year of Taiyuan."
"Where are you from?"
Lady Gui never cared to tell anyone where she was from.
She knew that she was the center of the formation and that she had traveled all over the country as a prostitute over the years. On the one hand, she also wanted to use herself as bait to lure out the people from that year.
"Yongzhou, black..."
Lady Gui's lips trembled slightly, and she felt even colder. She couldn't stop shivering, her body shaking unconsciously, and her vision went dark.
The Jinyiwei who was asking the question saw that she suddenly froze and did not answer. The next moment, she fell face down and did not move.
The Jinyiwei was startled and immediately stepped forward, sniffed his breath, and turned around to report: "He's still alive. Could it be that his old illness has come back?"
The captain was displeased: "Wake her up."
Ting Lian was waiting for her outside. When she saw her fall, her face turned pale. She was afraid that the Jinyiwei would feel offended by her sudden fainting.
Ting Lian gritted her teeth and made up an excuse, shouting, "Master, she, she has a fever and has been sick for several days." Her voice was trembling, but she still managed to say it, "Master, can you let me take her down first..."
"You say you're sick? You're sick! How dare you mess around with the Jinyiwei?"
The captain snorted coldly, his face full of flesh made him look particularly fierce. In his opinion, these courtesans just loved to put on airs. Could it be that they were trying to imitate Xishi's gesture of holding her heart and seduce someone?
Ting Lian was so frightened that she trembled, but she held on tightly and did not move away: "Master, Master, she is really sick... I am familiar with her, so you can ask me anything you want."
"A prostitute wants to negotiate terms? Drag him away and beat him..."
The captain pointed at Lady Gui and said, "I want to see whether it's a real illness or a fake one."
Even if you are sick, you have to get up and finish what you want to say before you die.
"You're going to die!" Another Jinyiwei pulled him and whispered, "Have you forgotten what Lord Sheng said?"
The captain shuddered.
Suddenly, he remembered that Sheng Jiang had repeatedly warned him that when registering these prostitutes, he must not speak rudely, touch anyone, or behave inappropriately, and he must not shout, fight, or kill anyone.
Sheng Jiang has been following that person for many years. He is extremely cruel and merciless. In the Jinyiwei, even the commander has to avoid him.
Moreover, he was just promoted to deputy commander last month, and was waiting to replace the commander after he stepped down at the end of the year.
Although I don't know why he favors those prostitutes, if I pretend to obey him but actually disobey him, I will definitely be dead.
The captain withdrew his foot abruptly, and forced an ugly smile onto his angry face. He chuckled twice in a hoarse voice and said as gently as possible: "Is that so? Then you take her down~" He even raised the ending tone deliberately.
"Thank you, sir."
Ting Lian thought she would be tortured, but she didn't expect the Jinyiwei to be so easy to talk to. She hurriedly bowed and thanked them again and again, with a sincere smile on her beautiful face.
Ting Lian hurried over to support her. Her palms were cold, her lips were pale, and her body was still shaking, as if she was wearing only a single layer of clothes and was in the snow.
The shopkeeper found a strong woman and carried Gui Niang away.
"Where did she say she was from just now?" asked the eunuch who was recording.
"Yongzhou?" The captain didn't hear clearly and looked at the others. "It's Yongzhou, right? Is it He or Hei?"
Some said black, some said sea, and no one heard the second half of her sentence.
"Ask her when she wakes up."
Her eyes are quite similar to the person in the portrait, but her face... there's such a big scar on it, it's really hard to tell whether they look alike or not.
I'll ask again later.
The eunuch nodded and called out, "Next."
Another prostitute walked over and asked the same questions as before.
Ting Lian asked the strong woman to carry her to sit under the sun, calling out, "Go home, mother!"
Gui Niangzi was very conscious and she could hear Ting Lian calling her.
She wanted to respond, but couldn't speak.
Her limbs seemed to be tied tightly with iron chains, unable to move, and her chest felt like a heavy object was pressing down, making it difficult for her to even breathe.
An inexplicable chill invaded her internal organs. Even when she was staying under the scorching sun, her whole body was still cold, like a breathing dead person.
In fact, Gui Niangzi was not unfamiliar with this feeling. It was exactly the same as when she returned to Blackwater Castle.
There, she felt like she was in the underworld. From her vagina to her lungs and bones, everything was frozen, as if countless little ghosts were squeezing her. The longer she stayed, the more uncomfortable she felt.
Later, she hid in a dark room and lay there for three days before she could move.
At the age of twelve, her family was broken up and she was left alone.
At fourteen, she was powerless to change her fate. She heard someone address the guerrilla general as "Prince," and since he held such high rank and power, she had no choice but to give up the idea of going to the capital to file a complaint.
She hid herself in hiding, destroyed her appearance in order to survive, became a slave, and fell into prostitution.
The arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting that her mother taught her became a means to please others.
She traveled all over the country, visited Taoist temples and Buddhist temples.
She visited immortals, eminent monks, and consulted all the great masters she could find... Some people also told her that her birth date was extremely special, and therefore she would be particularly sensitive to some evil spells.
"Boss, has the doctor arrived? Her hands are so cold..."
She could hear Ting Lianmian's voice, filled with anxiety. She felt a sense of relief, her fingers subtly relaxing. Now was no longer the time for her to be alone in the dark room.
Almost there! After enduring till now, she finally saw a glimmer of hope.
The Jinyiwei are still questioning.
They didn't dare to make any noise. After the shopkeeper consulted the Imperial Guards, he sent a maid out to fetch the doctor. But when the doctor heard the Imperial Guards were there, he refused to come. The maid persuaded him to wait across the street.
The Jinyiwei questioned each of them one by one, left quickly, and went to the next house.
The capital was a prosperous city, and there were many entertainers who made a living by performing. They interrogated for three days in a row and finally visited all the taverns and teahouses in the capital. After registering them, the captain presented them to Sheng Jiang.
Sheng Jiang was waiting in Hanzhang Palace. After taking the book, he sent away the centurions and took a look into the inner room.
"Shengjiang."
A feminine voice sounded, and Sheng Jiang quickly straightened his clothes and walked in.
Chen Xu asked, "Tell the emperor if the Gu family has ever neglected Gu Yan."
Sheng Jiang raised his eyes carefully, and the next moment he took a breath.
The emperor was extremely thin, his cheeks deeply sunken, his face sallow, he leaned against a large pillow, with an old and sickly look. Now, even those who didn't know the truth would think that the emperor was really ill.
Prince Li stood aside with a cold face, as if he was very angry at the emperor for asking these questions.
"Your Majesty, no."
Sheng Jiang bowed and said, "The Gu family treats Gu..." He really didn't know how to address him, so he could only bite the bullet and call him by his name, "They treat Gu Yan with respect and courtesy. They provide him with a teacher, lessons every day, and take care of his food, clothing, housing, and transportation. They also never let their servants neglect him."
The Emperor: "The Gu family is sensible."
Prince Li said coldly, "Your Majesty, I have already told you, but you don't believe it."
The emperor's suspicion is becoming more and more serious.
"Hmph, these people from the Gu family are always fond of superficial efforts." The emperor pointed at him, no longer concealing his usual attitude, his disgust clearly visible. "You have all been fooled. If it weren't for me, I'm afraid our Daqi Empire would have changed hands long ago."
"Yes, yes." Prince Li followed his words and said, "Has the emperor made a decision about Gu Yan's matter?"
"Haha, this is what the Gu family calls loyalty!" The emperor grew increasingly angry as he spoke. "It is the Gu family's honor to take care of the prince for me, yet they even dare to ask me for a royal title."
Prince Li: "Your Majesty, don't respond?"
"That's fine. After all, he's just a son of an illegitimate child. He's not worthy of a royal title as a reward. It's too expensive. In my opinion, let the Ji family take Gu Yan away and bring him back to Jiangnan. From now on, out of sight, out of mind. I'm sure the Gu family will agree. Since he's not a prince, we don't have to pay for the royal title. As for the outside world, just say that Gu Yan died suddenly. After all, you have many sons, so one more won't make a difference..."
The emperor took the medicine bowl beside the couch and threw it out.
He didn't have much strength, and the medicine bowl fell in front of the couch with a bang, splashing the black medicine.
Shen Xu brushed off his sleeves and looked at the medicine juice on the ground with disgust.
Prince Li didn't care at all: "You have to give me a clear answer. If you delay any longer, the Gu family will think we don't want it and give it to the Ji family. Are you going to exchange it with the Ji family again? Will you bring someone back to life?"
"Give!"
"He's just a prince, how can he be compared with my Yan'er?"
Prince Li said slowly, "I think it's too heavy."
The emperor ignored him and said, "A Xu, have someone draft an edict."
"Also, Ah Xu, I only trust you. Go in person, announce the decree, and bring Yan'er back from the Gu family to the palace so I can see her. Prince Li can't send Yan'er away. Promise me that you will bring Yan'er back!"
"yes."
Chen Xu responded with a smile and signaled Sheng Jiang to go down and ask someone to draft an edict.
The emperor was relieved. He talked and reminded again and again, as if the journey from Gu's house to the palace, which took less than half an hour, was full of great difficulties and obstacles.
By the time the imperial edict was drafted, the emperor had finally given all the necessary instructions.
"Axu, go quickly. I'll wait for you to come back."
Chen Xu bowed slightly and went out with the imperial edict.
"Lord Shen, please go to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion to announce the decree first. I will be there soon."
After saying this, Prince Li turned to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, you can take the child in, but how to take care of him after he is taken back must be decided by me, your humble servant..."
The carriage is ready and is right in front of Hanzhang Palace.
Chen Xu got on the carriage, silently glanced at Chen Mao who was sleeping sprawled out, then sat down and spread out his wide sleeves.
Cat Shen noticed his breath, opened his eyes with difficulty and looked at him, moved closer to him, and rested his head on his arm.
Chen Xu pulled his hand away coldly and ruthlessly, and threw the imperial edict onto the small table, using it as a pillow.
The carriage started moving.
Sheng Jiang knelt in the corner of the carriage and said, "Master, this was just handed to me by my subordinate."
He submitted the list.
Chen Xu opened a book expressionlessly and read it carefully line by line.
In recent days, the Jinyiwei have searched almost every place of entertainment in the capital.
The official prostitutes registered with Jingzhao Prefecture were relatively easy to find; they were mostly housed in the brothels along Red Light Street. The main problem was the private prostitutes like those in private courtyards and Banbianlian. Even the Imperial Guards took quite a while to investigate them all.
Then there were opera troupes, acrobatic troupes and so on, and finally, it was the turn of the singing performers in restaurants and teahouses.
Apart from Sheng Jiang, no one knew who Shen Xu was investigating. It was precisely because Sheng Jiang knew that he was investigating with great trepidation.
Every booklet would be delivered to Shen Xu, and he would read them one by one.
There are now more than a dozen registered rosters in total.
Sheng Jiang stood aside respectfully.
"Are they all here?"
Shen Xu asked without even looking up. Sheng Jiang perked up and quickly said, "...all ready."
Chen Xu snapped the booklet shut. A glance at him made him shudder. He quickly added, "More than 90% of them are here. There are only a few scattered brothels, and we're still investigating."
Chen Xu's fingertips tapped lightly on the coffee table. He said thoughtfully, "Go back and bring all the rosters with you. Wait for me at the Zhenguogong Mansion."
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