Great Zhou Empress

The little girl said, "My name is Su Mingcha, and my father is a famous tea merchant in Yangzhou City. Last summer, my father and my brothers were on a boat transporting tea, but there was a storm and the boat sank."

Su Mingcha speaks clearly, speaks in an orderly manner, and makes people feel comfortable. Naturally, what she says can easily make people feel empathetic.

"Because my mother didn't come in." When Su Mingcha said this, she lowered her head and her tone became weaker. "She is my father's concubine, so the uncles in the clan don't recognize my identity. They divided up our family's tea garden and shop, and when I went to my house to discuss, I was sold to Lichun Courtyard by them, and my mother didn't know where she went."

Xue Zhijing frowned, she didn't know that in the Dacheng Dynasty, such things as selling people would happen.

"Tong Fu, isn't this dynasty prohibiting human trafficking? Are you aware of this?"

Tong Fu was a little embarrassed, but who asked him to act hard all the way, as if he knew everything, so naturally he can't say that I don't know.

"Well, about the brothel?"

Xue Zhijing glanced over, causing Tong Fu's small shoulders to tremble, and he said quickly, "That's right, the sale is not allowed on the surface, but once it comes to a famine year, there are always some parents who want to sell their children. "

Xue Zhijing remembered that when he was going to the north, he passed by that small town, and the hungry mother at the gate of the city begged him to take her child away. In fact, it was a disguised form of selling the child.

"There are too many children in the family. If the children are still young, they will be sold at ten or twenty. Girls will be sold to brothels, and boys will be sold to elephant houses. Mothers will teach these children piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and then they can Come out to perform. The Dacheng law stipulates that officials are not allowed to have sex with prostitutes, so they often just perform singing and dancing, and even many officials will marry such prostitutes as concubines, and even make it a good talk. There are a lot of poems praising such a beauty. For love. The aunts in the aunt’s house are also married, and if it’s the first marriage, they have to be hired by three matchmakers, but if they’re the second marriage, it won’t work.”

Xue Zhijing's brows were so wrinkled that his brows were about to appear, what about beautiful love?What about one marriage and two marriages?

In her previous life, she had watched some film and television dramas, and she knew that some well-known courtesans in ancient times became famous when they were young, and they were famous in the world. Occasionally, their legends are often associated with famous men in the world, but in fact they Most of them marry some middle-aged men in their twenties and live some ordinary lives they want.

After understanding it, this should mean selling art but not selling oneself.

To some extent, it can also be said that this is the only group of professional women in this era who have relative freedom, although they are often forced to do so and face considerable risks.

Listening to their conversation, the little girl named Su Mingcha shook her head, almost crying, "That's not the case, no one wants to stay in a brothel."

Xue Zhijing knew that she had lost the topic, so he pushed the snacks on the table in front of the other party, and said softly, "Don't worry, just speak slowly. If you are really sold out, I will help you."

"If you can live a good life, who would like to go to a brothel to sell, sing, sell, laugh, and drink with you? Yes, what this little brother said is true, and my mother told us the same way. We must study piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. The brothel is an elegant place. All of them are educated and knowledgeable men, if you can marry them, it will be a blessing in eight lifetimes."

The corners of Xue Zhijing's mouth curled up, revealing a mocking smile.

The little girl continued, her voice trembling, "But those who can become famous are only a few, and the rest are going to be prostitutes and sell meat. Sister, please help me, I can be your servant to repay you I planted, picked and roasted tea with my mother since I was a child, and my mother said that I am a natural technician, and tea is a part of my body."

Tea?

This was a surprise.

Xue Zhijing stretched out his hand and patted her on the shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll find out, tell me in detail how your uncle sold you to the brothel, and their names."

Xue Zhijing's calm and calm demeanor made Su Mingcha settle down. Although she didn't know who she was, she felt an inexplicable sense of trust.

"Li Jing, take care of the little sister. Tong Fu and I will go to Lichun Courtyard."

Li Jing complied and prepared to take Su Mingcha back to the mansion where they were staying.

Xue Zhijing and Tong Fu walked into the gate of Lichun Courtyard calmly.

It was just after noon, and it seemed that Lichun Courtyard hadn't reached its busiest moment. In the spacious hall, there were only a few little boys cleaning.

It’s not that the old bustard came over to greet them with paint and makeup, but a little boy who was closest saw them and asked with a smile, “Does the guest want to listen to music or drink?”

It is as elegant as walking into an academy.

"Is your mother in charge here?" Xue Zhijing asked with a smile.

Xue Zhijing was originally a quiet person, she had honed herself in the palace for so long, and accumulated a lot of nobility. Although she looked young, she had sharp eyes, a tall and straight figure, and was full of aura.

The little boy who saw a lot of people in the brothel subconsciously put Xue Zhijing in the ranks of the most honored guests, quickly put down the things in his hands, bowed his waist and said, "Yes, guests, please sit down. I'm going to ask mom to come down."

Xue Zhijing randomly found a seat in the hall and sat down.

Lichun Courtyard is really a luxurious place, the hall is very spacious, the middle stage is a patio, the side of the top of the zenith is open, the light can come in through the side opening during the day, and there are private seats on the second floor for more Clearly see the stage.

The lighting decoration, tables, chairs and furniture are comparable to those in the palace.

During the waiting time, there was a faint sound of music coming over, fluttering and inaudible, Xue Zhijing stood up from the seat, and walked in the direction of the music.

Going out from the side is a small courtyard, Xue Zhijing didn't go further in, but just stood in the corridor in the courtyard and listened.

Someone should be playing the guqin, the melody is extremely beautiful, and it seems that there are human voices coming in, the voice is clear and clear like spring water, and it also has some unique charm of women.

In the previous life, because of the convenience brought by technology, music, singing and dancing can be said to be the easiest sensory experience to obtain, but it is difficult to touch it here.

For so long, that is, during palace banquets, I heard the soundtrack of courtesans and courtiers dancing.Most of the court prostitutes sang gorgeous and atmospheric music, and the dances danced by courtiers were even more grotesque and comical.It was at this time that Xue Zhijing felt as if his ears had been baptized.

There is toughness in the softness, and there is also a kind of depressive pain in the toughness.

"This girl?"

Li Chunyuan's mother came over at some time, she has seen countless people, so naturally she would not mistake Xue Zhijing for a boy like Xiao Liege.

Xue Zhijing turned his head, and what he saw was a middle-aged woman, not wearing makeup but gentle and amiable, with those eyes full of stories.Xue Zhijing was a little surprised by this appearance, she thought she would meet someone similar to Nanny Rong.

It seems that in this world, never just look at the surface.

"The guest is looking for me? I'm Yulian, the mother who is in charge of the Lichun Hospital."

"Exactly, I want to talk to you about something, I wonder if it's convenient?"

"The guest, please follow me."

When walking along with Yulian's mother, Xue Zhijing asked who was playing the piano just now, and Yulian's mother smiled and said, "She is the number one player in our Lichun Academy, Miss Tinglan, she is very hardworking, and she practices every day. Practice singing."

Yulian's mother took Xue Zhijing and Tong Fu to her reception room. The reception room was decorated like a study room. I don't know, but I thought it was the reception room of some noble family.

Xue Zhijing is really more and more curious about romantic places like brothels.

After sitting down, Xue Zhijing said straightforwardly, "Mother Yulian, let me just say it straight, I came today for a girl named Su Mingcha."

Yulian's mother's expression changed slightly, she probably didn't expect it, but she smiled, "May I ask what is the relationship between the guest and Su Mingcha?"

Xue Zhijing smiled, "Friend."

Yulian's mother couldn't figure out Xue Zhijing's details, so she pondered for a while before explaining in detail, "Su Mingcha was sent by the patriarch of their family. She is a good seedling, with a flexible body and slender fingers, so we are going to train her well. indefinite

She is also a Tinglan girl in the future. "

"But how did I hear that she was forced to sell to our Lichun Courtyard?"

"The guest is just joking. How could it be forced? Our Lichun Courtyard opened for business and has always followed the court's laws. It was indeed the patriarch of their family who sent people here. Our Lichun Courtyard gave them the patriarch. Ten strings of money, this is the usual practice."

"Isn't this coercion?" Xue Zhijing said, "One is not Su Mingcha's own wish, and two, you gave ten guan money to the patriarch of their family."

Yulian's mother looked at Xue Zhijing, as if she thought she was a child from a noble family who didn't know much about the world, and she said in a persuasive tone, "Guest, what the patriarch means is what she means, children don't know anything. "

Having said all this, Xue Zhijing's tone became cold, "Since that's the case, then there's nothing to say. I'll go to the government and talk about it, let's see what to do about it."

Yulian's mother's face immediately collapsed, and she said in a soft tone, "guest, you don't know, little girls are always like this, if she doesn't come to our Lichun courtyard, their patriarch will put her away Marry an old country man. I've given her a living, and I'm doing good."

Xue Zhijing pursed his lips and smiled, not wanting to say any more.

In fact, this matter is a bit nosy, but now Xue Zhijing likes to meddle, she can't accept that under the Dacheng Dynasty she agrees with, there are such incidents of forcing girls into brothels.

What's more, she's not afraid of things. With her current status, such things are trivial.

It was a surprise that Su Mingcha happened to be the daughter of a tea merchant.

……

Tonight's camp is in a wasteland.

In fact, in winter, the vegetation is sparse and covered with snow. Except for places with lush forests, most areas are like wasteland.

In the camp of the Liao king's family, there was another lively bonfire party.

Roasted mutton, hot milk tea, warm kumiss, the nobles excitedly danced in the snow.

Xiao Liege sat on the main seat, drinking wine quietly.

Yelu Hongzhan from Yelu's family came over, had two drinks with Xiao Liege, and suddenly asked, "Princess Liehuo, have you given away your dagger and riding whip?"

dagger?Riding whip?

Xiao Liege's eyes shot at Yelu Hongzhan like a knife.

Seeing that Xiao Liege didn't speak, but his expression was moved, Yelu Hongzhan became somewhat certain that last time in Xiongzhou City, he was defeated by Xue Zhijing and others, and he took his best friend Lu Ping all the way back to Shangjing of Liao Kingdom , but it was only at this time that I thought of asking Xiao Liege about it.

"Before I went to Xiongzhou to inquire about news, I saw your dagger and horsewhip, Princess Raging Fire, and the word "Strength" was engraved on the dagger."

Few people love red as much as Xiao Liege. After all, black or gray are relatively concealed colors. The horsewhip is made of red, which is something made by extremely flamboyant people, let alone the dagger that is full of Khitan characteristics.

So Yelu Hongzhan felt something was wrong at the time.

"Where did you see it? Where is that person now?" Xiao Liege was agitated, after all, she still didn't know who her little spy was, and she didn't even know how to find someone.

A hint of cunning flashed in Yelu Hongzhan's eyes, "What does that person have to do with Princess Raging Fire?"

Xiao Liege said bitterly, "She stole my things."

And stole my heart...

"I also inquired about it. She is the capable female officer next to Empress Dacheng Yuan Hanzhang. Her name is Xue Zhijing. It is said that she is a person with many wisdom and close to monsters. She is young but looks like a person sent by the gods," Yelu said. Hongzhan shook his head, "Xiong State Commander Lu Cheng was captured by her."

Xue Zhijing?

I heard about it, but I didn't think she was a little spy.

Ah!So wise and close to a monster, no wonder he deceived himself all over the place.

Xiao Liege clenched his fist tightly, one day, Xue Zhijing, you will fall into my hands.