Elbow and armpit
Yuan Si Niang was taken aback, then smiled bitterly, understanding that A Qiu wanted her to make a choice and clarify her stance.
In the past, merchants like Gongye Fusu adhered to the principle of "business is business," and their political stance was mostly ambiguous, as trade between the north and south was inherently a mix of Han and non-Han peoples. From Gu Yi onwards, the Southern Dynasties tacitly approved of and tolerated this situation. This was all because the people needed to live and merchants needed to make profits; it was unwise to prioritize ethnic hatred over economic interests.
But the fact that Ah Qiu asked her this question at this moment was not an act of coercion, but rather an indication that the relationship between the North and the South had reached a point of irreconcilable conflict.
This was, of course, because Hulü Guang's actions had angered A-Qiu.
In the past, the Southern Dynasty tolerated merchant guilds that profited by operating between the Southern Dynasty and the Northern Qiang, such as Luoyufang, which had intricate connections with the Yinyue Clan responsible for intelligence gathering in the north. But now, Aqiu would never tolerate their wavering and harm to his side again.
Her own near-humiliation at the hands of the enemy is proof of this.
The atmosphere in the hall immediately froze. Even Gongye Fusu, who was usually eloquent and had a warm and welcoming demeanor, remained silent with a solemn expression.
After a long silence, Yuan Si Niang broke the silence with a bitter smile: "Since the Grand Music Master has asked this question, and Luo Yu Fang is located in Jianzhang, what other choice do I have? I just don't know what the Grand Music Master wants me to do. Is it to hand over all the secrets of the Hidden Moon Clan that I know, or to send all the Hu girls in this building who have ties with the Hidden Moon Clan to the Capital Guard?"
Upon hearing her question, A Qiu secretly sighed, realizing that Yuan Si Niang's ability to dominate Luo Yu Fang until now was truly remarkable, demonstrating her exceptional methods and cunning.
Her question, though gentle, was firm and contained the message, "Don't push your luck too far."
A Qiu remained unmoved and calmly said, "Past matters are irrelevant. If the future business dealings with the Hidden Moon Clan are merely commercial, that's fine too. But you must inform me of any matters involving high-level personnel secrets. For example, things like who Hulü Guang or the Hidden Moon Clan wants to meet through you."
Yuan Si Niang hesitated, because for Luo Yu Fang, all visitors were guests, and it would be a mistake to ask her to betray the intelligence network of the northern Hu people's guests.
A Qiu didn't give her a chance to think, and said calmly, "Fourth Sister may not know yet what Su Rouhua, the clan leader of the Hidden Moon Clan, did in Jianzhang."
Yuan Si Niang opened her eyes wide, clearly not expecting this.
A Qiu stared intently into her eyes and said coldly, "She forced the previous generation's White Silk Dancer, Hu Miaorong, to her death at the Beining Pavilion, and this Hu Miaorong was my martial aunt."
Before Yuan Si Niang could explain, she interrupted, "Of course I know that the two countries have different interests and positions in their struggle, and each will win by its own means. But no matter what, Aunt Miao Rong is innocent. She has never done anything to interfere in politics and has long since retired to be a wife. To poison a former dynasty dancer without batting an eye, just to achieve her own goals, I wonder what Si Niang, who also came from the music academy, thinks about this?"
Yuan Si Niang's eyes changed rapidly, and she could no longer hide the turmoil in her heart.
A Qiu knew her words had touched Yuan Si Niang. Because whether in the palace's music academy or the brothels, the women were all helpless and relied on their skills and beauty to serve men and survive. It was already difficult enough for them to live; they depended on each other for support and companionship.
Given Su Rouhua's ruthless and merciless nature, treating human lives as worthless, Yuan Si Niang would surely be wary of her.
Gongye Fusu said at the opportune moment, "I can testify to this matter. The Grand Master of Music has not uttered a single falsehood." This was because Gongye Fusu had been entrusted with the task of testing and verifying the poison at the time, and it was he who recognized that the poison was the Southern Dynasty's secret poison, "Qianji San".
A Qiu scrutinized her face again and said calmly, "The Court of Imperial Sacrifices is in charge of the rites, music, and religion of the world. However, the current dynasty is in a time of great turmoil. When I have some free time, I will take over all the brothels and music halls in the world under the jurisdiction of my Court of Music Administration, and put them under my control as the Director of Music. Since I am in charge of supervision, I will also protect their safety. As for your Luoyufang, Fourth Sister can make the decision."
Her meaning was clear: the Southern Dynasty had been in dire need of rebuilding in recent years and had no time to deal with the rectification of the brothel and entertainment industry. But as long as she had the time, whether Luoyufang was to be raided or demolished was entirely up to her, because according to the precedent of the previous dynasty, brothels belonged to the music and entertainment industry and were rightfully under her, the Grand Music Director.
Yuan Si Niang's eyes changed several times before she finally sighed, "How about we decide everything after the Northern Qiang come to court? Until then, I can guarantee that Luo Yu Fang will no longer serve the Yin Yue Clan."
She bowed deeply again and solemnly said, "To be frank, Si Le's promise is not without its appeal. If I could have the protection of the government, at least I wouldn't have to resort to gangs to settle the matter of women in brothels being abused to death or injured by customers, or not receiving payment. However, no matter what kind of promise it is, it can only be effective if the Dayan Dynasty still exists."
Now it was A Qiu's turn to change color, and she said, "You mean you don't think this alliance will succeed?"
Yuan Si Niang let out a long sigh and said with certainty, "We received news from the Hidden Moon Clan that the 100,000-strong Northern Qiang army is already on its way south. Lord Si Le," she raised her eyes for the first time to meet A Qiu's gaze, and said, "I have been crossing the river for more than ten years and I am not without feelings for the Southern Dynasty. I have also seen the Young Master's hard work and management over the years. However, the disparity in strength is too great, and I am afraid the future of the Southern Dynasty is not optimistic."
Gongye Fusu's expression also changed, clearly this was the first time he had heard this news.
This also shows that A Qiu has won Yuan Si Niang's favor. She made a great decision to reveal this highly confidential information.
Seeing A Qiu's expression, Yuan Si Niang knew that she was half-believing and half-doubting, and said with a wry smile: "The news came from the Northern Qiang royal court this morning. The Great Khan has always had a beautiful spy from the Hidden Moon Clan lurking by his side. Compared to the strict security of your Southern Dynasty court from top to bottom, the Khan's tent in the Northern Qiang royal court has always been much easier to enter."
She continued, "This peace treaty is a sham. They are using it to lull you into a false sense of security while simultaneously deploying troops on the border and ordering Hulü Guang to win over the people of Jianzhang Palace. Their real purpose is to sow discord within the Southern Dynasty."
A Qiu stared at her, and said with a puzzled look, "Fourth Sister keeps using the terms 'you' and 'they,' as if she doesn't identify herself as a citizen of any particular country, which makes me curious. You are clearly Han Chinese, so why don't you stand on the side of the Southern Dynasty?"
Yuan Si Niang's expression faltered slightly, and in the end she just lowered her head and said with a bitter smile, "An orphan girl from a fallen country is like a drifting catkin in the wind. She can only survive by her own efforts in the cracks. How can she be said to be on either side?"
Footsteps sounded rapidly approaching from afar outside the door.
A Qiu could sketch the figure of the person in her mind just by looking at their footsteps. At this moment, who else could be making such a grand entrance to Jinling Terrace besides the Junior Master and Chief Charioteer, Lie Changkong?
As expected, Lie Changkong's voice rang out: "Reporting to the young master, Huli Guang was imprisoned in the dungeon for no more than half a day before he was rescued."
The three people in the hall looked at each other in bewilderment.
Given the power of the Junior Master Charioteer in Jianzhang, who else could have such influence to openly rescue someone right under the Junior Master Charioteer's nose?
Upon hearing this, everyone behind him fell silent.
This is because the development of the situation has exceeded their expectations.
Originally, according to their expectations, more than ten years ago, when Dayan was established, all the people and things in the court were completely overturned. Even if the Northern Qiang still had some connections in the Southern Dynasty, it would at most be business dealings like those of Yuan Si Niang, with some intelligence exchanges as a side business.
However, the fact that the other party was able to snatch people from the hands of the Junior Master and the Charioteer by force in such a complex and unpredictable situation indicates that they are no ordinary armed force and their relationship with the Northern Qiang is not just a casual one.
A Qiu broke the silence, asking, "After Hulü Guang was abducted, has there been any movement at the post station?"
Lie Changkong replied, "It is said that Hulü Guang was sent back to the post station by a carriage, and then he stayed at home, only saying that he had drunk too much wine and was dizzy and needed to rest."
Ah Qiu calmly said, "So it seems they intend to settle things quietly and don't want to make a big deal out of our capture of him and putting him in the dungeon. Moreover, the person who kidnapped him is also worried that we might find some clues, so he was immediately sent back to the post station."
After pushing open another stone door, a dark room about five zhang square appeared before them. As soon as the door was opened, a cloud of dust fell down, covering A Qiu's body and face.
A Qiu had not expected this place to be so dilapidated, nor had he expected that this so-called dungeon would be so small, barely big enough to hold one or two people.
Lie Changkong hurried over to see if he could help. She had already calmly raised her sleeve to brush off the dust on her body and said, "It seems that this place has not been used for a long time. The wooden pivots and tenons are all rotten and destroyed."
Lie Changkong looked ashamed and said, "It was my oversight. The document stated that this dungeon was highly classified, so I thought that defense and security would not be a problem. When I arrived here, I found that it was simple, old and dilapidated, which was beyond my expectations. But I still thought that it was more than enough to hold a comatose Huli Guang because of its seclusion."
A Qiu was surprised and asked in return, "Is the security level here very high?"
Historically, the level of a prison was determined by the danger and importance of the prisoners within. Correspondingly, the higher the prison's level, the more stringent its surveillance and security system, which was also reflected in the prison's architectural style. However, this dungeon, although its terrain was relatively secluded, could only be described as rudimentary in its design and facilities.
Lie Changkong took out a yellowed scroll from his robes, examined it, and nodded, saying, "This is one of the two highest-level dungeons in Jianzhang territory, besides the Imperial Prison of the Court of Justice, established at the beginning of this dynasty. At that time..."
He unfolded the scroll for A Qiu to see and said, "Its location wasn't even marked on this map, which means that only the highest-ranking official in charge of the Court of Justice at the time knew about it. It was only later, when the Court of Justice transferred this map and file to the Junior Master Charioteer, that it was added, and that's how we learned that there was such a prison near Yinma Spring."
Since A Qiu was willing to bring Gongye Fusu along, it meant that he no longer considered him an outsider. Gongye Fusu asked, "Since the Junior Tutor took over these prisons from the Court of Justice, why didn't you check and verify them one by one at the time?"
Lie Changkong smiled and replied, "These prisons were actually mainly used by the Court of Justice at the time to fabricate evidence and arrest criminals. To prevent prisoners from colluding, they were scattered throughout the capital for temporary interrogation and arrest. When the Great Purge ended and the 'Heavenly Prison' was phased out, the Junior Tutor no longer needed these prisons. Although the Junior Tutor still kept a close watch on Jianzhang Palace, he was by no means a spy or private arrester, so these places were never used."
Gongye Fusu said with delight, "From now on, if officials commit crimes or act recklessly, there will be laws to be made clear to the world. This is the result of the ten years of clean governance we have now achieved."
A cold female voice suddenly rang out from outside, saying, "I'm afraid that given the current situation, all these prisons should be reopened."
A Qiu was only stunned for a moment before her expression returned to normal, and she said, "Madam Pei."
Her hand, hidden in her sleeve, was already clenched into a fist, ready to defend herself at any moment.
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