Pay with your life
In the next few days, Bai Miaoke and Xiao Heng stayed near the Taifu Mansion.
Although he didn't know what this young lady wanted to do, Xiao Heng always obeyed Bai Miaoke's orders. At this moment, the two of them were squatting on a tree, staring at the patrolling guards.
Xiao Heng tilted his head slightly to look at Bai Miaoke in front of him on the left. The breeze blew the girl's long hair. He seemed to smell the scent of gardenia on the girl, and his thoughts gradually drifted away.
The first time he met Bai Miaoke was when he was eight years old.
He lost his parents when he was young, and made a living by stealing and begging, and was often beaten black and blue.
He remembered that it was a very cold winter, he had not eaten for two days, one of his ribs was broken, and he could not move due to the pain. He curled up at the corner of the street and prayed that it would not snow. He knew very well how many dead bones would be buried under the heavy snow in Kyoto every year.
Unfortunately, things did not go as he wished. As night fell, snowflakes began to fall. He felt despair inside but did not want to accept his fate.
He used up his last bit of strength to move to the nearest eaves. Even if he froze to death tonight, he didn't want his body to be buried under the snow and undiscovered.
He could clearly feel his fever subsiding and his vitality gradually draining away. He lay on the ground, looking at the golden plaque above his head, regretting that he was illiterate and didn't even know where he died.
Just as he was becoming drowsy and fading away, the heavy door opened and a little girl with two buns on her hair came out from the crack in the door.
She was wearing a bright red double-breasted jacket and skirt, wrapped in a furry scarf, revealing only her chubby little face. Her round eyes looked around like black grapes, making her look like a fairy child that had walked out of a New Year picture.
Little Bai Miaoke had sneaked out to make a snowman. When she opened the door, she saw a motionless person under the eaves.
She cried out in surprise, trotted over and squatted beside Xiao Heng, reaching out her chubby little hands to touch his face.
Xiao Heng felt a warm temperature approaching and opened his eyes with difficulty. He saw a fair and clean little girl. He opened his mouth but no sound came out and then he fainted.
When he woke up again, he was lying on a clean bed, with all the wounds on his body bandaged and covered with medicine.
He looked around blankly and saw the drooling, chubby-faced girl sleeping at the end of the bed. He thought to himself that this favor should be paid with his life, and my life will belong to her from now on.
From then on, he stayed in the Bai Mansion, studied with Bai Miaoke, secretly practiced martial arts with his master, and later founded the Yueying Pavilion together.
He is the same age as the eldest young master of the Bai family, so he has always wanted to protect her like a brother. However, only he knows in his heart that this relationship has deteriorated at some point.
After he became an adult, he moved out of the Bai Mansion and founded the Yueying Pavilion. As the Yueying Pavilion grew, he was often too busy to eat or sleep, and they met less and less.
But as long as she said a word, he would put aside no matter how urgent the matter was and accompany her to do anything.
This time was the same, they had been circling the Grand Tutor's Mansion for several days.
He asked: "Why would you go to so much trouble to kill Ma Hongzhe? I will just take people to rob and kill him when he leaves the house."
"We can't kill him. I have something else I want to investigate from him." Bai Miaoke disagreed.
Seeing that she didn't mean to say anything more, Xiao Heng didn't ask anything. He just needed to be her sharpest knife.
After several days of observation, Bai Miaoke discovered that this tutor was very conservative.
There were many guards in the mansion, both overtly and covertly, and it was almost impossible for her to sneak in with her skills.
Bai Miaoke was a little depressed, but she was never one to keep herself depressed, so she decided not to think about it for the time being as she couldn't think of any other solution.
So she asked Xiao Heng to take care of other things, and the two parted ways.
That afternoon, she brought Chun Xing to Zuichunlou, the largest brothel in the capital.
Bai Miaoke doesn't care about these things. Apart from making money, her daily pleasure is to come here to listen to music, watch dance and drink.
The entertainers and waiters in this building are all first-rate with great voices, good looks and great talents. Many dignitaries in the capital like to hang out here.
Bai Miaoke, dressed as a man, had her black hair tied up high, a golden crown and jade pendants, and held a white jade folding fan in her hand. She looked like a handsome young man. Chun Xing followed behind her, pretending to be a servant.
When the mother in the building saw the two of them, she came up to them warmly and said with a smile, "Sir, you haven't been here for a long time. The girls in the building miss you very much."
Bai Miaoke also walked in with a smile. Chun Xing skillfully took out a piece of silver and handed it to her mother, saying, "The old seat."
The two were taken to a private room on the second floor, and then several girls came in one after another.
She asked, "Is there any girl from Jiangnan who would like to sing a Jiangnan song for us?"
A delicate woman sang Qinhuai Scenery, and the other women danced gracefully.
Ever since she read her mother's love for Jiangnan in the letter, she has become curious about Jiangnan, thinking that the soft Wu dialect really has a unique charm.
After a while, a plump and charming woman pushed the door open. She moved with enchanting grace and looked full of charm.
"The young master has finally arrived."
The woman who was speaking was the top performer in Zuichunlou - Mudan. She was also a spy arranged by Lanyue Pavilion to gather intelligence and carry out assassination missions in this building.
Bai Miaoke saw the woman come in, smiled with eyes curved, raised her hand and pulled her over to sit next to her.
Although she had a well-proportioned figure, Bai Miaoke couldn't take her eyes off Mudan every time she saw her, let alone those men.
That's why Mudan can easily get in touch with various high-ranking officials in this building and find out all kinds of information.
At the moment, she was smiling and pouring wine for Bai Miaoke, while complaining in a low voice, "You asked me to find out what the Grand Tutor did 26 years ago, but it is too difficult for me. However, I heard that 26 years ago, the emperor's foreign family, the Yu family, was executed by the late emperor."
Bai Miaoke picked up the wine glass and drank it in one gulp. His elegant demeanor attracted the attention of the girls present.
She pursed her lips and leaned close to Mudan's ear and said, "This matter may be related to Ma Hongzhe. My dear sister, please continue to keep an eye on it for me."
Mudan smiled and nodded, and the two of them drank a few more cups.
Mudan suddenly remembered something interesting, and she whispered, "What's the point of always looking at those girls? Today there is a rare guest in the building, I will take you to see her."
Bai Miaoke was really curious about the person who could be called a rare guest by the top star in this building who was hard to come by at a high price.
So she generously distributed the reward money and waved her hand for the girls to leave.
I followed Mudan out to a corridor upstairs, which was very secluded, and from there I could just see the two people sitting on the second floor facing the lake.
Mudan pointed at one of them, and Bai Miaoke looked over there.
The man was dressed in moon-white clothes, sitting there with his back straight. His eyes and brows revealed an aloof temperament. Just the profile of his face was enough to make people unable to take their eyes away. It really fits the saying that a gentleman is like jade, gentle and moist.
Bai Miaoke nodded slightly and stared at the man in white intently.
He tilted his head slightly and seemed to be talking to the man sitting at the same table.
Seeing his face, Bai Miaoke was surprised and said, "Isn't this Lu Yu?"
Mudan asked curiously, "Do you know the Prime Minister?"
"We've only dealt with each other a few times." Bai Miaoke answered vaguely.
Then he asked, "Does he come to your place often?"
Mudan shook her head: "This Prime Minister is coming here for the first time, otherwise why would he be called a rare guest."
"I heard that he is decisive and ruthless in his actions, but in my opinion, he is a gentle and kind man."
"It's a pity that he didn't find anyone to serve him when he came to the building, otherwise I would have used all my skills and I don't believe I couldn't take him down."
Peony giggled as she spoke.
Bai Miaoke has always known her style and never thought there was anything wrong with it before, but today she felt a little uncomfortable listening to it.
She coughed lightly, interrupting Mudan's daydreaming.
After looking around, she found that there was indeed no girl around the two of them, so she turned to look at the man sitting at the same table with Lu Yu.
The man looked to be in his thirties, wearing a dark purple robe with gold embroidery, sword-like eyebrows and thin lips, exuding an aristocratic temperament.
Even without Lu Yu as a comparison, his appearance is still outstanding.
Bai Miaoke asked: "Who is the other one?"
Mudan replied: "That's King Kang, he's a frequent visitor to the building, and he's very good at martial arts."
Bai Miaoke asked curiously, "Why did I hear that Prince Kang is a famous idle prince with no martial arts skills?"
Mudan chuckled, "I'm not talking about fighting skills."
"What kind of Kung Fu is that?" Bai Miaoke asked.
Mudan did not answer any more, but smiled and said, "You will know later."
Bai Miaoke pursed her lips and asked something else: "Don't they come here to listen to music or watch dance?"
Peony replied: "Many distinguished guests are like this, discussing business first and then drinking and having fun."
At this time, the mother in the building came to find Mudan and asked her to get ready to serve the guests.
When my mother saw Bai Miaoke standing nearby, she smiled and said, "I'm sorry, sir. Someone with connections is here today. I'll let Mudan accompany you after this."
Bai Miaoke thought for a moment and immediately waved her hand and said, "It's okay, it's okay, go and get busy first."
After they walked away, Bai Miaoke pulled Mudan into the room and said excitedly, "Can I go with you? Maybe I can listen to what they are talking about."
Mudan gave her a strange look and said, "Of course, I'll help you get dressed."
In just a cup of tea, Bai Miaoke transformed herself.
She was wearing a rose-scented corset made of tulle, a soft silk skirt with flower embellishments around her waist, and a soft pink shawl that trailed on the ground. Her slender waist and skin as white as cream were faintly visible through the thin shawl.
Mudan's deft hands made the girl's face even more eye-catching. Her phoenix eyes were slightly raised, and the scarlet flower ornament between her eyebrows was natural and beautiful. She was truly as beautiful as a flower.
Mudan looked at Bai Miaoke in front of her with satisfaction, and said jokingly: "With the girl dressed like this, I will have to give up my position as the top girl in this building."
It was the first time for Bai Miaoke to dress like this. She listened to Mudan's joke without feeling embarrassed. Instead, she looked at herself in the mirror with curiosity and curled the corners of her lips with satisfaction.
She felt that Lu Yu would not be able to recognize her dressed like this.
But out of caution, she still took a veil to cover her face before following Mudan to the room.
There were a few girls waiting at the door. After Mudan arrived, everyone lined up and went in one after another.
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