"So it seems like your wife initiated the conversation with you."
The eagle pondered for a moment, then nodded.
"That's one way to put it."
General Xiao stood up, feeling somewhat weary. The girl who had appeared in his dreams these past few days would never speak to him, and now, upon seeing him, she wished she could stay at least two miles away.
"I'll go ask Manager Zhao."
The person who could win over Cen Ang must be something special.
"I only remember that the first thing Ah Cen said to me back then was, 'Tch~ What a coward.'"
"Then what?"
"And then nothing more happened, it all fell into place naturally."
Xiao Lanyi felt that talking to this group of scholars was exhausting. He had already asked Wang Zheng yesterday, and the same went for the prefect. It was his wife who spoke first.
The moonlight cast long shadows, and the general, lying on the roof of the clinic, felt somewhat depressed.
"What's wrong? Feeling lovesick?"
"Old man, you're getting on in years, stop jumping around so much, take care of your health."
Gu Shilin handed a pot of wine to the person next to him and said...
"A girl from a brothel?"
"hold head high."
"The girls at the brothel don't become concubines."
"How could that be? My Lanhua was made a concubine and she was treated badly. I can't go against my conscience. It's just that the time has come and she's here."
"That's alright. Just like your father, you're a romantic."
"What do you suggest we do, old man? They don't even glance at me. I remember I was quite popular back in Beijing."
Doctor Gu grabbed the man's wrist, forcing him to clink glasses with him, and then said...
"So, do they like the military power you hold, or do they like Xiao Lanyi as a person?"
The man remained silent, continuing to gaze at the night sky and stars. Then the old man continued...
"If you truly care about them, then go and talk to them while holding the youngest daughter of the Huo family."
"ah?"
"What do you mean, 'huh'? This is the only way you can strike up a conversation."
Before he could even express his feelings to Ruyi, Xiao Lanyi was summoned away by the border garrison the very next day, leaving in a hurry. The Huo family father and son stayed home for a short holiday, waiting for the rewards to arrive in a few days before bestowing titles upon them.
"Sister Ruyi, this is a letter that Xiao Lanyi asked me to give to you."
A young girl dressed in plain clothes was embroidering on a bamboo chair. She took the things Huo Xiaolong handed her and pulled him into her arms, saying...
"What Xiao Lanyi? He's Marshal Xiao, a great hero."
"Yes, Marshal, Marshal."
Every woman in the building smelled wonderful, not like the kind of scent that comes from face powder, but a subtle fragrance that emanated from within.
Each of the older sisters is different. For example, Sister Ruyi is like a jasmine flower.
The little dumpling lay in its cozy embrace, unwilling to get up, and found a comfortable position to take a nap.
The girl opened the letter in front of Huo Xiaolong, read it once, and sighed with a slight smile.
"What's wrong, sis? What did he say that made you unhappy?" Huo Xiaolong hadn't even opened her eyes yet; the sun was making her drowsy, but when she heard Ruyi sigh, the little dumpling still asked.
"No, I just feel it's a pity."
"What's wrong?"
Ruyi reached out and covered the child's eyes, afraid that the bright sun would keep her awake.
"I just think your sister is so charming that she can even seduce someone of such high status and power."
"Sis, you're kidding me. You've never lied to him."
"It doesn't matter, anyway, there's no way it's possible between us."
Why?
“If he, a marshal, were to have something going on with me, wouldn’t I have to leave the brothel? I won’t leave, I’ll never leave our Long’er.”
Huo Xiaolong wrapped his arm around the girl's arm and rubbed it against it a couple of times before saying...
"My sister is the best."
The little dumpling admitted to being selfish; she just didn't want any of her older sisters to leave her. Zhihua and Zhou Ning'an moved back to Fengyue Tower on the third day after their marriage. Huo Xiaolong still remembered the wedding day; it was practically a celebration for the entire Pingyang County.
The Zhou family was quite influential in the county, but Huo Xiaolong was somewhat unhappy. Young Master Zhou, riding a tall horse to greet the bride, was basking in the spring breeze, full of pride and high spirits.
If she weren't a fake child, she really wanted to grab a knife and beat this man out.
I've heard that the relationship between sisters is like that of master and servant, while the relationship between siblings can evolve into that of imperial bodyguards. If I could, I would be the imperial bodyguard of these sisters for life.
Fortunately, Sister Zhihua is back too.
Young Master Zhou sat inside the shop, the counter facing the brothel, while the man inside checked the accounts.
He never dared to dream of this life before. He plucked the white moon from his heart, married himself, styled his hair, and shared a bed with him.
"Tsk tsk tsk, sis, did you drug your husband? He keeps glancing over our house when he checks the accounts."
Zhihua spoke in a deep, gentle voice.
"Newlyweds are always like this."
He was like this even before you two were newlyweds.
The sisters on the second floor looked at Zhou Ning'an. Zhihua smiled, her eyebrows curving into crescent moons.
On the day Zhou Ning'an came to propose marriage, the brothel was as wide open as it is today, and the man arrived with his parents and matchmaker. Normally, whether they were to become concubines or wives, they would first have to retrieve their indentures from Mother Cen.
That day, Cen Ang sat in the main seat, with a row of girls watching the commotion behind him. The maids had nowhere to stand and could only stand in two rows on the stairs.
A row of gold bricks was stacked on a wooden table covered with a red cloth. The matchmaker began to speak.
"This old woman has come on behalf of Zhou Ning'an, the eldest son of the Zhou family, to ask for the hand of Miss Zhihua from the brothel. I wonder if this amount of silver is enough to redeem Miss Zhihua from her servitude?"
Mrs. Cen curled her lips and snorted coldly.
“I’ve said this since the day the brothel opened: the price for my daughter’s redemption depends on the person. Some people will accept a hundred taels of gold, while others won’t accept even a hundred thousand taels. Zhihua, tell your mother, do you like the eldest son of the Zhou family?”
The girl, standing beside Cen Ang, turned and nodded at the man whose eyes were full of expectation. Cen Ang raised his hand in acknowledgment.
"Yes, but I am a daughter of the brothel..."
She took out the contract of indenture from her bosom and lit it with a candle in front of the Zhou family and the onlookers outside.
"Once you leave the building, there's no such thing as a contract of indenture."
"good!!"
"The girls who guard Pingyang County don't need these things!"
The people outside cheered, saying that two girls from Fengyue Tower had been married off. They had heard that the first girl had stayed at Fengyue Tower with her new husband.
At Madam Zhou's signal, the betrothal gifts were carried into the building one after another. Mother Cen took the four corners of the red cloth from the wooden table, placed the gold bricks on top of the gifts, making a clinking sound, and then she said...
"I earnestly hope that the Zhou family will treat my daughter with more affection. If she does anything wrong that displeases you, please send her back to me."
"Thank you so much, Madam Cen!"
Zhou Ning'an's eyes were red, and he knelt down and kowtowed three times to Cen Ang.
If it weren't for Cen's mother, Zhihua would be in a terrible state now. Not every madam in this world is so good to the girls. He understands, and he is truly grateful.
Zhihua also knelt before the woman, kowtowed, and said...
"Thank you so much for raising and caring for me all these years, Mom."
It's "Mom," not "Mama Cen." Including Mantuo, everyone called Cen Ang "Mom" when they got married, which means that Fengyue Tower is their maternal home, and it will be for life.
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