"Have you ever considered letting Sun Sansi change his career?" Zhang Shixun asked.
"She relies on this for a living. How will she survive if she leaves the peony shed?" Wang Meng shook his head and said, "If she can find a reliable supporter and marry her off, it would be a permanent solution."
"The capital is full of high-ranking officials and wealthy businessmen. With her talent and beauty, it shouldn't be difficult for her to find a young man from such a family."
"Brother, you're overthinking it. A singer who's always out in the open, who would want to marry her?" Wang Meng laughed bitterly. "In fact, quite a few people want to take her as a concubine."
This era was a patriarchal society. Men dominated all aspects of society and could have three wives and four concubines. However, women had no status at all. Being a concubine could only make them a tool to warm a man's bed.
Wang Meng added, "In our Song Dynasty, concubines can be bought and sold at will, given as gifts, and hired out."
When Zhang Shixun heard this, he was very surprised. It was easy to understand that concubines could be bought and sold, but what about giving them away as gifts and hiring them?
"Do you know Liang Neixiang?" Wang Meng suddenly asked.
"I know, it's that eunuch Liang Shicheng, right?"
"That's him." Wang Meng seemed to have opened up a new conversation, saying, "Although he is now known as the Internal Minister or the Hidden Minister, and he is in a very high position, he is actually the illegitimate son of the great scholar Su...!"
"Ah! What did you say? Liang Shicheng is the illegitimate son of Master Su?" Zhang Shixun opened his eyes wide, a little unbelieving.
"This isn't what I said, it was Liang Shicheng himself. His mother was the concubine of the scholar Dasu. When Dasu was demoted, he had no money to support his concubine, so he left his mother in Kaifeng. She was pregnant at the time and later gave birth to Liang Shicheng."
"So, has Scholar Dasu admitted this matter?"
Wang Meng smiled mysteriously at him, "Neither admitted nor denied."
"Now that the great scholar Su is gone, what about his descendants? Do they also acknowledge Liang Shicheng's status?"
"Hehe! They come from a family of scholars. Even if Liang Shicheng is really the illegitimate son of the great scholar Su, they won't admit it publicly. They can't afford to embarrass him."
…
Sun Sansi’s problem has come to an end for the time being.
Just as Gao Yanei boasted, Wang Husun was dealt with by him.
Wang Hongfu's IQ is really worrying. After witnessing Gao Yanei's "art of walking through walls" and Zhang Shixun's "art of protecting the body with the golden bell" with his own eyes, he yearned for them. In addition, after being fooled by Zhang Shixun, he pestered Gao Yanei and wanted to learn magic from him.
At first, Gao Yanei flatly refused, saying that the "art of walking through walls" was a secret that could not be easily taught to others.
Wang Hongfu tried both soft and hard tactics.
Gao Yanei was so annoyed by him that he reluctantly agreed to teach him the Taoist's supreme magic - the art of walking through walls.
But he proposed a condition in exchange, that is, the Wang family must let Sun Sansi go.
Wang Hongfu hesitated again and again, and finally promised not to bother Sun Sansi anymore. As for his father, he would try his best to find a way.
At this moment, Gao Yanei, reeking of alcohol, sat in Zhang Shixun's living room. He burped and said, "Brother, last night at the table, Wang Husun said that his father has recently taken a fancy to the concubine of Deng Zhigang, the Weiyou Pavilion attendant, and is racking his brains to find a crime to have Deng Zhigang exiled to Lingnan."
"I hope he can really divert his attention and forget about Sun Sansi." Although Zhang Shixun said this, he knew that this idea might be wishful thinking.
Gao Yanei also felt that things would not end like this. "Wang Fu is a pervert. Sooner or later, he will think of Sun Sansi. She'd better find a powerful family to marry as soon as possible."
Zhang Shixun agreed, "Perhaps this is the only way. However, when it comes to marriage, only Madam Sun can take charge. As outsiders, it's not easy for us to say anything."
After a moment of contemplation, he continued, "When you teach Wang Husun the Dao, try to delay it as long as possible, and try to find out more about Wang Fu from him."
Gao Yanei nodded.
"Tell me, how did you teach him magic?" Zhang Shixun was very curious.
Gao Yanei's eyebrows immediately lit up with joy. "Wang Husun was so respectful to me last night. Damn it! He behaved like a grandson, hehe!"
"Oh! This fellow is quite devout in Taoism. However, I advise you, while teaching him, don't take it too seriously and accept him as your disciple on impulse."
Gao Yanei chuckled dryly and said, "Of course I didn't accept him as my apprentice... Brother knows that my wall-walking technique is fake and will be exposed sooner or later. This guy is not really a fool. If he finds out that I'm deceiving him in the future, he will definitely not let me go. He might even do something to betray his master and ancestors. Since I have already foreseen this result, of course I will not accept this bad apprentice."
Zhang Shixun nodded in agreement, "That's right. Wang Husun is a low-moral person. Accepting him as a disciple would ruin the Taoist's reputation. A wise person wouldn't do that."
As they talked, they couldn't help but burst out laughing.
After a pause, Gao Yanei said, "Brother, I clearly saw you stabbing yourself in the stomach last night, but why did you say the Golden Bell Body Protection Technique was fake?"
"Of course it was fake. I used a trick. The moment the knife stabbed towards my stomach, I blocked it with my sleeve. It was just that I moved so quickly that no one noticed."
"Oh! So that's how it is! I was so scared that I broke out in a cold sweat."
Zhang Shixun looked at his slightly puffy eyes and asked, "Besides drinking, what else did you do last night?"
"What else can I do? Someone is spending money, so of course I won't let him get away with it. I found a beautiful girl in Wanfang Tower and slept with her for a night... Tsk tsk! That beautiful girl was too coquettish. She tossed and turned for me so much that I hardly slept the whole night. I only dozed off for a while when it was almost dawn. After waking up, I couldn't help but play around a little more. I was almost exhausted." Gao Yanei rubbed his waist, not hiding anything at all.
"Young Master, lust is like a sword hanging over your head. Under the skirt of a woman is a mass grave. You'd better be careful." Zhang Shixun advised kindly.
Gao Yanei said nonchalantly, "I only do this kind of romantic thing occasionally, not often. Don't worry."
"Whether you're a playboy or not is none of my business! But if your father knew you were out there looking for other women, would he punish you with a military stick?"
"Things between men and women are just like eating and drinking, they're commonplace. As long as I don't hang out in those places every day, my dad will just turn a blind eye."
"Your father is really open-minded."
"That place is truly a den of money, where you spend money like water, but it's also a place of ecstasy, hehe! If you want to go, I can take you there anytime."
Zhang Shixun smiled and shook his head, saying, "Forget it. I have a family motto that forbids me from visiting brothels."
"It's just a casual affair. In the capital, everyone from high-ranking officials to ordinary people frequents these brothels. Even officials often sneak out in private clothes to have fun."
At this point, Gao Yanei lowered his voice and smiled lewdly, "You don't know, do you? Last night, the emperor climbed over the wall and left the palace to have some fun at the Huixian Restaurant. He found a gorgeous prostitute. It's said that the prostitute had bound feet since she was a child. Her embroidered shoes were only three inches long. Her feet were white and..."
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