When Zhao Ji saw the dagger, his knees went weak.
"Old Zhao, don't forget that I'm a bandit who kills without blinking an eye."
"I... I haven't forgotten." Zhao Ji wanted to forget this guy.
"Since you are in my hands, you have to listen to my words whether you want to or not. Otherwise, hehe!" Shi Qian said, gesturing at his neck with a dagger.
Zhao Ji was almost scared to death.
"Shi...Shi hero, I will listen to you, absolutely."
"Then what are you still standing there for? Come in."
"Oh! I'll be right in, right in."
Zhao Ji did not dare to hesitate any longer and walked into Chunfeng Tower trembling.
It was quiet in Chunfeng Tower. The madam was sitting on a chair drinking tea. When she saw the two people come in, her eyes suddenly lit up.
It was the afternoon, and the sun had not yet set.
Usually at this time of year, there are very few customers.
"Oh! It's you, sir! You haven't come for a long time. The ladies in my family have been looking forward to seeing you come day and night. Finally, you are here today."
As she spoke, she moved closer to Zhao Ji, took his arm, and pressed her chest against his.
Zhao Ji was an expert in the entertainment industry. In the past, he would be like a fish in water in such occasions. But today was different. There was a bandit following him, and there was a dagger hidden in his sleeve.
Shi Qian became impatient when he saw the brothel owner's coquettish look.
"Stop nagging me. Arrange the best room for me and call all the courtesans here to serve this great gentleman."
The madam's eyes widened. "Call all the courtesans here? Did I hear correctly?"
"Have you got donkey hair in your ears? I'm talking about all the courtesans... This gentleman is the leader among the courtesans, the head of the entertainment industry. As long as he's having fun, any amount of money he spends is just like water."
When the madam heard this, her eyes lit up and she immediately asked someone to make arrangements.
After a short while, the room was arranged and seven or eight flirtatious young ladies came in, surrounding the two men and flirting with them.
Zhao Ji had almost no resistance to this kind of wind formation, and he completely forgot that he was forced to come here.
While flirting with the young ladies, he touched them all over, here and there.
Shi Qian pushed the woman who came closer away and said, "Go and serve the master, don't worry about me... Oh! I'm going to pee first."
As he spoke, he stood up and walked to the door. He turned around to look at Zhao Ji and saw that he was craning his neck while a gorgeous woman with her red lips pouting was slowly moving towards his mouth.
Shi Qian opened the door and walked out, then turned around and closed the door gently.
When I turned around, I saw the madam standing at the door with a flattering look on her face.
"Sir, what are you doing..."
"I'm going to pee."
"The toilet is downstairs."
The madam frowned. This customer was speaking so vulgarly. Even though this was a brothel, he couldn't speak so rudely about peeing.
Shi Qian ignored her and turned around and went downstairs.
…
The Chunfeng Tower was surrounded by a crowd of people. There were detectives from Kaifeng Prefecture, officers and soldiers from the Palace Front Department, and even inspectors from the Imperial City Department. Even the streets were blocked.
Kaifeng Prefecture Governor Wang Shiyong looked at the gate of Chunfeng Tower with a gloomy face, unable to make up his mind for a moment.
The retired emperor was being held hostage by Shi Qian, so he couldn't force his way in. If Shi Qian got pushed too far and really hurt the retired emperor, he, as the prefect of Kaifeng, couldn't take the responsibility.
After hesitating for a long time and unable to come up with any good idea, he had no choice but to ask for instructions from the palace while ordering the constables and soldiers to surround the Chunfeng Tower in three layers inside and three layers outside, and the archers to be on standby.
The prodigal prime ministers Li Bangyan, Geng Nanzhong, Zhang Bangchang and others all came.
According to common sense, chasing criminals should be the responsibility of Kaifeng Prefecture and has nothing to do with the prime ministers, let alone being present at the scene of the arrest in person.
But this time the situation was special. The emperor was kidnapped by bandits, which had never happened since the founding of the Song Dynasty.
It's a huge matter.
They had to come; Emperor Zhao Huan forced them to come.
"If the Emperor encounters an accident, all of you ministers should go home and farm."
These were the harsh words uttered by Zhao Huan.
Geng Nanzhong's face was filled with worry. He asked Li Bangyan, the leader, "Mr. Li, you are the Prime Minister. Please give us some advice."
Li Bangyan said with a bitter face, "You ask me, but who should I ask? The emperor is in the hands of the drum flea, what can we do to him?"
Zhang Bangchang echoed, "Yes, if we rush in and take him away, Shi Qian will definitely become desperate and start with the Emperor himself."
Wang Shiyong shuddered when he heard the word "surgery". "Prince Zhang, please don't talk about surgery. He's the retired emperor."
Zhang Bangchang snorted coldly, "I'm telling the truth. It's already this late, so don't worry about it."
"No matter what time, we have to take these things into account. This is our duty as ministers..."
"Okay! Stop arguing."
Li Bangyan waved his hand to stop the quarrel between the two.
"I have an idea. Let's send someone in to investigate the situation first, and then make a decision. What do you think?"
Geng Nanzhong agreed, "That's right! We're standing outside, completely clueless about what's going on inside, and we can't come up with any ideas."
Everyone looked at Wang Shiyong.
Wang Shiyong thought for a moment, then turned to one of his men and said, "Go and call Wang Meng over."
The subordinate agreed and left.
"Who is Wang Meng?"
"He's a judge in the Military Patrol Office. He's bold and careful. Last time, when the retired emperor was held hostage by Shi Qian in Fan Tower, Wang Meng participated in his capture. Later, when we were clearing out Wuyou Cave, he bravely took the lead and made a significant contribution."
"Oh! Send him in, then."
After a while, Wang Meng arrived.
He had been in the Military Patrol Court for a long time, but his rank had never been promoted and he was still the Military Patrol Judge.
He should have been promoted to deputy military inspector long ago, and Gao Qiu had agreed, but the Jin army invaded and besieged the capital, so the promotion was ruined.
After the Jin soldiers retreated, Gao Qiu also claimed to be sick and went home, and there was no chance of Wang Meng getting promoted.
"Wang Meng, the Emperor has been threatened again by Shi Qian, the flea on the drum, and has taken refuge in Chunfeng Tower. Go in and investigate."
When Wang Meng heard that the emperor was held hostage by Shi Qian again, he was immediately amused and confused.
Falling into the same pit twice is unheard of.
Li Bangyan was worried and said, "Because the safety of the retired emperor is involved, you must not disturb Shi Qian after you go in. If he finds you, retreat immediately."
"Yes, I understand."
Wang Meng agreed and left. After taking a few steps, he turned back and threw his sword to a constable. "For the safety of the emperor, I will not carry any weapons."
He strode towards Chunfeng Tower.
Inside Chunfeng Tower, the madam was busy entertaining guests, sometimes sending wine, sometimes sending tea and food, and she was very busy.
When Wang Meng came in, the madam acted as if she didn't see him.
"Where is the emperor?" Wang Meng asked.
The madam was startled. "Emperor Retired? Which Emperor Retired?"
Wang Meng glared and asked, "How many retired emperors are there in the Song Dynasty?"
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