Hu allies
Gongye Fusu said, "I did not come here casually, but because of the danger that happened at Bifu Pavilion, the Gongye family must give Lord Sile an explanation."
Ah Qiu then realized the purpose of his trip. It turned out that he had come to tell Ah Qiu and Shangguan Yuqi about how they had been tricked by Huli Guang at Bifu Pavilion.
Even if he hadn't come, A Qiu might still have understood the reasons behind it. Hulü Guang must have only asked to reserve a table, a reasonable request that would certainly have involved a prominent figure to mediate. How could Gongye Fusu have openly refused such a proposal?
Even if Gongye Fusu refused, since Hulü Guang wanted to enter Bifu Pavilion, he would definitely find other ways to place the Eight Riders of Yanyun in order to control the situation inside the pavilion that day.
Since they met, A Qiu had never doubted Gongye Fusu, because he possessed a gentle and refined gentlemanly air that inspired goodwill. And since traveling with Gu Yi and him through the southwest, she knew that Gongye Fusu was not just a genius in the art of incense, or a profit-driven businessman, but also a man of sound judgment and integrity in politics.
At present, Gongye Fusu can be considered the most important ally of Gu Yi's faction outside the court, so she would never suspect Gongye Fusu if she suspected anyone else.
Although the journey had indeed been extremely dangerous, A Qiu could only say, "Young master, you flatter me."
She responded verbally, but then she saw Gongye Fusu raise his right hand and quietly point to a spot on his right side.
And there stood quietly, a veiled woman with an elegant demeanor. At first glance, A Qiu felt she looked somewhat familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before.
When the woman saw A-Qiu looking at her, she immediately raised her hand to remove her veil, knelt deeply in a curtsy, and said softly, "This concubine is Yuan Si-niang, greetings to Lord Si-le."
The name "Yuan Si Niang" flashed through A Qiu's mind. A Qiu immediately remembered the woman's background and was surprised, even by her composure.
She had heard the name once before, but it was in Luoyufang, a place in the West Market where Orchid Girls gathered.
At that time, she was spying from the side and heard the Hidden Moon Clan Chief Su Rouhua utter those three words. She roughly learned that Yuan Si Niang was the person in charge of Luoyu Fang on the surface.
During the fight, I vaguely saw her figure in the crowd, so I have an impression of her.
Firstly, A Qiu has an exceptional memory. Secondly, the manager of the Hu Ji Dance Hall is a Han woman, which is quite unique among the group of fair-skinned and blue-eyed foreign women. Therefore, she left a very deep impression on A Qiu with just a glance.
At that moment, a thought flashed through her mind: What is the relationship between this Yuan Si Niang and Su Rou Hua? Could she be Su Rou Hua's agent in the Southern Dynasty? If so, we must investigate further.
But she only had that thought for a moment, because she had more important things to do at the time.
From a purely business perspective, there were countless Han merchants within the Southern Dynasties who frequently interacted with the nomadic tribes. Aside from legitimate business dealings, the government generally turned a blind eye to other transactions. If every person and every matter were investigated, the East and West markets would likely be unable to conduct normal trade.
But now that Gongye Fusu was so solemnly introducing her, it turned out to be an "old acquaintance" like her. A Qiu was momentarily at a loss as to whether she should pretend she had never heard of her.
Yuan Si Niang was a sensible and perceptive person. Upon seeing A Qiu's expression, she immediately apologized and said, "I am just a commoner from the city. According to my status, I should not have made a presumptuous visit to Jinling Terrace. However, it was I who made the reservation for the Bifu Pavilion with the Prince of Beiqiang Ning. I am responsible for the incident at the Bifu Pavilion, so I had no choice but to come here."
Gongye Fusu added, "When Fourth Sister greeted me, she didn't know the inside story. She only knew that Hulü Guang wanted to reserve a place to entertain the two young ladies."
He added, “There is another point. Fourth Sister was once my father’s concubine. She later left the Gongye family to run Luoyufang. She is my elder, and Fusu cannot disobey her orders.” He hesitated for a moment before saying, “Otherwise, we will alert the enemy.”
Only then did A Qiu learn about the relationship between Yuan Siniang and Gongye Fusu, and finally understand why Yuan Siniang, as a Han woman, was able to run Luoyufang into the largest Hu women dance hall in Jianzhang.
Even if the Gongye family doesn't directly interfere in the operation of Luoyufang, given Yuan Siniang's relationship with the Gongye family, everyone in Jianzhang would surely give her some face. And because of the Gongye family's unimpeded influence, Luoyufang's business dealings with the northern Hu tribes, whether overt or covert, would definitely be much smoother.
Gongye Fusu, observing the expressions on A Qiu's face, immediately understood what she was thinking. He emphasized, "Grand Master of Music, please don't misunderstand. Luoyufang does have a powerful backer, but it's not my Gongye family. Grand Master of Music, please understand."
His words were meant to tell A Qiu that the Gongye family would take care of Luoyufang to some extent out of personal relationships, but if Luoyufang had any intentions or schemes, it was not the Gongye family's idea, because the Gongye family was not the force behind Luoyufang.
Despite Gongye Fusu's attempt to distance Luoyufang from the Gongye family, Yuan Siniang showed no displeasure. She said softly, "To be honest, Master Music, I originally came from a brothel. After leaving the Gongye family, opening Luoyufang was simply returning to my original profession. The person who gave me the greatest support when I took my first step away from the Gongye family is no longer alive, so there's no need to mention him. But Master Music should be able to imagine that a business like Luoyufang can only thrive if it has supporters in both the north and the south."
She paused for a moment and said, "The largest ally of Luoyufang in the north, I wonder if Lord Siyue has heard of it, is the Yinyue Clan."
A look of surprise flashed across A Qiu's face.
This result was not surprising to A Qiu. First of all, she had personally witnessed the Hidden Moon Clan gathering in the backyard of Luoyu Workshop. Su Rouhua and others did not conceal their identities, which indicated that Luoyu Workshop and the Hidden Moon Clan had a close relationship.
Furthermore, the dancers of Luoyufang are all beautiful Hu women, and the Yinyue tribe also has many beautiful assassins who are good at singing and dancing. The connection between the two is easy to make.
The fact that Yuan Si Niang so openly explained her background to A Qiu also shows her sincerity.
A Qiu asked, "Then, if your protectors in the Southern Dynasty are not the Gongye family, then who are they?"
Yuan Si Niang was somewhat surprised to see that she did not pursue the matter of the Hidden Moon Clan, but instead inquired about their protector in the Southern Dynasty. She looked embarrassed and said, "Can I not say? Because this has nothing to do with the incident at the Si Le Bi Fu Pavilion."
This time, it was Gongye Fusu's turn to frown and say, "Fourth Aunt, you promised the Grand Master of Music that you would answer any question without reservation, which is why I brought you here."
Only then did A Qiu realize that it was Yuan Si Niang who had taken the initiative to ask Gongye Fusu to bring her here so that he could explain things to her, the Grand Music Master, in person.
It seems that Yuan Si Niang is not only well-versed in human relationships and worldly affairs, but also understands the general trend of the situation.
Hulü Guang only booked a table at Bifu Pavilion through her. In the end, she was just a middleman. If she didn't want to take the lead, given her connection with the Gongye family, A Qiu might not be able to question her.
But if there were problems with the process she handled, even if she managed to get away with it under Gongye Fusu's protection, given the magnitude of the incident, the Junior Imperial Guard, the Capital Garrison, and the Shangguan family would eventually investigate Luoyufang. At that point, they would have to handle it strictly according to the law, and the entire Luoyufang might be raided.
Yuan Si Niang volunteered to come and confess, firstly to show that she had no ulterior motives and was willing to fully cooperate. And since she had revealed all the details of Luo Yu Fang, if she really had no problems, A Qiu couldn't do anything to her, and couldn't pursue the matter further afterward.
A Qiu just asked about Luo Yu Fang's protector in the Southern Dynasty, which is indeed unrelated to the Bi Fu Guan incident. According to the rules of the martial arts world, Yuan Si Niang can choose not to answer.
The reason Gongye Fusu didn't believe that Yuan Siniang's refusal to answer was the right choice was simply because this question came from the successor of the Junior Master, and any question posed by the successor could represent the current stance of the court and the official support that Luoyufang could obtain in the future.
A-Qiu interrupted, "If it has nothing to do with Hulü Guang, then let it go." She didn't have the leisure to meddle in other people's affairs anyway.
Unexpectedly, after much hesitation, Yuan Si Niang finally spoke, saying, "I do not wish to speak, not out of intention to deceive, but because I fear that speaking would only put the position of Grand Master of Music in a difficult position. As you know, there are some things in the martial world that people in the court need not know everything."
Knowing that things might go wrong in the future, it will be less effective to protect oneself and distance oneself from the situation.
But what she didn't know was that A Qiu himself came from the underworld.
Ah Qiu understood her meaning and smiled, "Then it must be some sect or gang in the martial arts world. Fourth Sister's connections are indeed wide. Let's not mention it then. May I ask how Hulü Guang made his request to Fourth Sister?"
Gongye Fusu said with a solemn expression, "How he made the request is not important. What is important is that he knew about the relationship between Fourth Aunt and me, and also knew that I was the mastermind behind Bifu Pavilion. Only in this way could he find the right person all the way and accomplish this matter without any problems. Anyone who has done business in the martial arts world knows how difficult it is to follow the clues and sort out the relationships in this way. With this kind of strength, he should not be underestimated."
He then explained to A Qiu, “The Gongye family has many children, and my father also has many wives and concubines. Even though everyone knows that my fourth aunt comes from my Gongye family, they may not know that I, Gongye Fusu, can refuse anyone, but I will never refuse my fourth aunt’s request. Because when I was young, I was obsessed with perfume making for a period of time, and I worked hard day and night, and I went blind for a while. During that time, I was taken care of by my fourth aunt. Therefore, in the Gongye family, my fourth aunt and I formed a special bond.”
Yuan Si Niang tilted her head to look at him, her eyes showing warmth, and smiled and said, "You were so eccentric back then, not smooth at all. The Gongye family has been merchants for generations. When I left home, I was only worried that you would not be able to take over the Gongye family business when you grew up. Who would have thought that all these worries were unnecessary."
Upon hearing this, Gongye Fusu remained silent for a moment, then said, "People all grow up." His tone revealed a hint of sadness.
Only then did A Qiu realize that the Gongye family had many young masters, as well as many women like Yuan Si Niang. Unless one was well-versed in the inner workings, it would be impossible to know the special place Yuan Si Niang held in the heart of Gongye Fusu, the ruler of Wanxiang Kingdom. Thinking of this, her brows furrowed even more.
Yuan Si Niang answered their questions, saying, "Because the person who made the request to me on behalf of Huli Guang is carrying the token of the Hidden Moon Clan Chief, I have no choice but to comply. And the Hidden Moon Clan is very clear about my background and origins, which is also a prerequisite for their willingness to help me."
At this, A Qiu was also greatly surprised, and his expression changed as he said, "The Su Rouhua Clan Chief of the Hidden Moon Clan?"
Seeing A Qiu's reaction, Yuan Si Niang was puzzled, but still replied, "Have you heard of her name, sir? The Su Clan Chief is very famous in the North, but we Southern Dynasty people know very little about her. However, Lord Si Le inherited the mantle of the Junior Tutor, so he is naturally knowledgeable. I cannot refuse the token of the Hidden Moon Clan Chief, so even though I know it is for Hulü Guang's sake, I can only obey."
At this point, Yuan Si Niang bowed deeply to the ground and said, "But I never expected that his purpose in setting the trap was to harm you and Miss Shangguan. Otherwise, even if you gave me the courage, I would not have dared to do this for him."
A Qiu knew that what she said was true, but she stared into her eyes and said calmly, "I have a question for Fourth Sister."
Yuan Si Niang said, "Please speak, sir."
Aqiu asked, "Between the Southern Dynasty and the Northern Qiang, which side does Fourth Sister ultimately stand on?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
