He Yunxiao and Zhang Jingxian agreed to meet at the beginning of Hai hour (9-11 PM).
The beginning of Hai hour, which is 9 PM.
The State of Qi was not like modern times. In modern times, nine o'clock at night can be said to be the beginning of life for working people, but in the State of Qi, which lacked entertainment facilities, nine o'clock at night was already very late, and most people had closed their doors and gone to bed.
Bringing Sister Jiang over now is neither too late nor too disruptive.
However, this was still too early for He Yunhao, as his years of military service had instilled in him a habit of going to bed late and waking up early. He would go to sleep at 11 p.m. every day and get up at 5 a.m., just as dawn was breaking. Even after he no longer personally led troops into battle, he continued this routine every day.
Picking up Sister Jiang at 11 o'clock wouldn't work; it would be too late, everyone would be asleep, and any noise would travel far, making it impossible to hide the convoy's movements.
After discussing it back and forth and weighing the pros and cons, He Yunxiao and his aunt decided to take advantage of He Yuanhao's martial arts practice at nine o'clock and bring Sister Jiang into the mansion in one fell swoop.
...
It's the end of the Xu hour, thirty minutes before nine o'clock.
He Yunxiao helped Jiang Wuyou down the stairs, amidst the envious gazes of the young ladies at Chunfeng Tower.
Not only the girls in the building holding various badges, but also many servants, laborers, cooks, and anyone still alive in the building, whether human or animal, were staring at He Yunxiao and Jiang Wuyou with wide eyes.
It seems that Jiang Wuyou's fans are more female than playboys.
He Yunxiao helped Sister Jiang down the stairs step by step.
He had a strange feeling that among the onlookers, more people were looking at him and fewer were looking at Sister Jiang.
He Yunxiao was used to being a playboy, and in his younger years he was often the center of attention and the focus of crowds. But a situation like that of Chunfeng Tower, where girls from several floors were leaning on the railings, forming several circles from top to bottom, with people looking down from the upper floors and looking up from the lower floors, allowing him to be observed from all angles, was something even He Yunxiao had never encountered before.
"My wife, why do I feel like they're all looking at me?"
Jiang Wuyou walked silently, not wanting to speak.
He Yunxiao is highly regarded for a simple reason: eighty percent of the girls at Chunfeng Tower are secret agents from the Yan Kingdom, and Jiang Wuyou is their de facto special envoy.
At this moment, their feelings towards He Yunxiao were not because he was handsome, but rather a kind of "My homeroom teacher got married, I want to see who has such great ability" mentality.
Jiang Wuyou stepped out of Chunfeng Tower and was greeted by a sea of torches and a long procession of carriages. She froze, taken aback by the spectacle He Yunxiao had set up.
Although there were no drums and gongs, no red flowers or red silks, the spectacle was so grand that people would believe it was a princess's wedding.
He Yunxiao thought that Sister Jiang would be moved to tears, and then, in her excitement, she would offer herself to him. He also thought that, taking advantage of the emotion he felt that night, she would immediately make up for the "money" she owed him, with interest.
But He Yunxiao was overthinking it.
Jiang Wuyou's first words after being stunned were: "He Yunxiao, how much money did you spend this time?"
He Yunxiao sensed that Sister Jiang's tone was not benevolent, so he immediately swallowed the 15,000 taels of silver that was on his lips.
"It only cost 1,500 taels. I was afraid you wouldn't be willing to spend the money."
With such a grand display, Jiang Wuyou simply couldn't believe that He Yunxiao had only spent 1,500 taels of silver.
He Yunxiao helped her walk towards the carriage driven by Ma Dekuai in the convoy. This carriage was naturally not from the Marquis's residence, but a newly rented, more luxurious and imposing one.
Seeing that there was still some distance to go, Jiang Wuyou took the opportunity to ask:
"Just 1,500 taels?"
He Yunxiao hesitated, "Actually, it's two thousand taels."
"real?"
"Fake."
"How much exactly?"
"Three thousand taels."
"I think it's more than that." (M.cascoo.net)
He Yunxiao pretended to be anxious and said, "Sister, I need money to open my shop, I really only have three thousand taels."
By this time, the two had reached the carriage. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Jiang Wuyou felt it inappropriate to let He Yunxiao get in the carriage to speak, so before he got in, she slipped a handful of silver notes into his pocket.
"I know you care about your reputation, but Xiao'er, it's time for you to grow up. Reputation is not as important as substance, and your business is more important than my status. Reputation is just a facade; power is the foundation. Don't put the cart before the horse."
After Jiang Wuyou finished speaking, she lowered the carriage curtain, separating herself from He Yunxiao.
He Yunxiao looked down at the handful of broken silver notes in his arms, then looked up at Sister Jiang—of course, he couldn't see her. He could only see the carriage curtain that Sister Jiang had put down, which was now swaying back and forth slightly.
He Yunxiao murmured, "Sister, my initial motivation for starting this business was for you..."
The snoring of horses, the crackling of torches, the shouts of drinkers playing drinking games, the chatter of passersby watching the spectacle, and finally, He Yunxiao's unheard, insignificant words—all these elements combined to create a bustling, noisy atmosphere in front of Chunfeng Tower, forming a corner of Yinjing's night scene.
He Yunxiao walked to the front of the group and mounted his horse in one step.
With the silver notes given to him by Sister Jiang tucked in his pocket, he faced north, took a deep breath, and roared, "Start the sedan chair!"
There was no sedan chair in the procession that needed to be carried, but everyone understood He Yunxiao's meaning.
Ma De, carrying out his mission, took the lead in cracking his whip, and then all the horses in the caravan began to move forward.
...
He Yuanhao practices martial arts in the courtyard.
Unlike some martial arts practitioners from official families who build special training halls indoors, he prefers to practice outdoors, even though indoor training is fine regardless of the weather. In fact, the worse the weather, the more he prefers to practice outdoors.
Braving the wind and snow, with bare chest and back, there's a certain charm to it—a kind of defiance against nature.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
