Jianghu Tired Brigade

The sun is fading away, and the dusk is getting thicker.

The hustle and bustle outside continued, Hong Xiao hired a small boat, took advantage of the festival to relax, and went for a swim in the lake.

The boatman propped up the pole at the bow, and the boat swayed and slid in the lake.Four lanterns hung on the four corners of the cabin, illuminating the cabin brightly. The ripples on the lake reflected the bright yellow of the candlelight, and melted into the darkness circle by circle.

In the middle of the lake, many small boats pass by, and all kinds of lanterns are shining like stars.

In bustling cities, wherever there is a lake, it is usually lively.There are always some idle and playful young men who like to take their own Yinger and Yaner out to play, and there are also some elegant and arty literati who like to stand on the bow of the boat and write poems against the wind, or like Hong Xiao, travelers on the road, come and enjoy .

The boat swayed suddenly, and the boatman asked: "My lord, the Lan Guifang is parked in front. Do you want to take a look, my lord?"

Hong Xiao probed to check, and saw a huge painting boat parked not far away, with red lanterns on all sides of the boat, illuminating the deck and the lake brightly.The whole body of the painting boat was painted red, and many flower baskets were placed on the deck, and the sound of silk, bamboo and shengxiao came from the boat.

This is clearly which brothel painting boat.

Such a painting boat is not uncommon in the big cities, where the painting boats are more grand and magnificent, stretching into a continuous stretch.Those who can manage this business often have some background, and those bandits and rogues can't afford to offend them, so this boat dares to be so safe in a small town surrounded by bandits.

Hong Xiao was now dressed in men's clothes, and he was sure no one would criticize him when he went to such a place to play, so he ordered the boatman to go to the side of the painting boat.

The closer you get, the clearer the sound of the instrumental music inside. The lake around the painting boat is also full of boats of all kinds, big and small. Most of them belong to rich and noble families in the city. , it seems a bit shabby.

Seeing Hong Xiao's expression, the boatmen around were a little contemptuous, and most of them thought Hong Xiao was a stupid boy who didn't know where he came from, and he had to be driven off when he got on the boat.You must know that in such a small town, there are only a few people with heads and faces, and most of them recognize them.Especially the regular customers who often come here to paint boats, these boatmen are even more familiar. Have you ever seen a character like Hong Xiao?

This city is surrounded by mountains, and there are only two roads to go east and west. To the west, it leads to a deserted desert. Come here?

Hong Xiao didn't know what the boatmen were thinking, and calmly stepped onto the deck of the boat.

Seeing Hong Xiao's clear face and gentle demeanor, the welcoming woman cast a pair of winking eyes at her, making the boatmen's eyes straighten, and they all cursed inwardly, this little white-faced rabbit master.

A middle-aged woman stepped onto the bow, her clothes were flamboyant, and her makeup was so heavy that she seemed to have changed her face. Hong Xiao choked on the smell of powder and took a step back.

The woman looked Hong Xiao up and down, her eyes fell on the jade pendant on her waist, and her suspicious expression changed into an earnest smile: "Hey, young master, you are here, please come inside."

This is true, the young master forgets it, but I have to add a small word.

Hong Xiao didn't mind, and entered the boat under the eyes of all the boatmen.

In the painting boat, the voice of Sizhu couldn't cover Yingying Yanyan's coquettish laughter.The old bustard took Hong Xiao to a seat in a wing room, and called many girls over for her to choose.

A girl saw that Hong Xiao was not dressed luxuriously, she didn't look like a rich man who spent a lot of money, and she was worried about a few regular customers who hadn't arrived today, so she stood there sleepily, with a very reluctant look.Some girls are lustful, seeing Hong Xiao's red lips and white teeth, even if the reward is less, it is much better than serving those old men outside, so they keep scratching their heads to show off.

Hong Xiao looked around with great interest, shook his head and said, "Let the girls go down."

The old bustard said: "Young master, you don't want to keep a single girl?"

Hong Xiao smiled and said, "Isn't there still one left?"

The old bustard was puzzled, and saw that Hong Xiao pointed to the corner of the room, and there was a girl with a light veil on her face, playing the piano with her head down.Hong Xiao's words shocked her enough, the piano stopped with a clang.

The old bustard's expression moved, and even the girls showed a smirk: "That girl... the young master, let's choose a girl, that girl is our luthier here, and she only plays the piano for the young masters. His face is not very good, so he covered it up, for fear of disturbing the young master's playful mood."

Hong Xiao said: "I see that girl, she has a slim figure and her eyes are like autumn water, she is not bad."

The old bustard glanced at the luthier, and said to Hong Xiao: "This girl is also a rare beauty here, but some people are born to be unlucky, even if they have a good face, they are ruined."

The luthier lowered his eyes, turning a deaf ear to what the procuress meant.

Seeing that Hong Xiao was not moved, the old bustard raised her voice to call the luthier: "Qing Ling, take your veil off and show it to this young master."

Qingling raised his head, just looking at Hong Xiao, and slowly lifted the veil, only to see that there were many scars on the face underneath, the wounds were not neat, and the wounds were uneven, obviously they were pulled apart with a blunt object forcefully, as time went by , has already shed scars, but left a series of rolling and white raised scars.

The smile on Hong Xiao's face faded, and her brows were slightly frowned: "It takes a lot of heart to hurt yourself to such a degree." Her words were soft, but she was speaking to the woman named Qing Ling.Then he turned his head and said to the old bustard: "Let this Qingling girl accompany you, just serve the good food and wine from your place, don't ask for it."

The old bustard was unwilling, and after warning Qing Ling to treat guests well, he led the girls away with a broken word.

There were only two people left in the room, Qing Ling lowered her head, with a cautious expression on her face: "Young master, the young girl can only play the piano, and she is not good at serving people. I'm afraid it will spoil the interest of the young master. The young master should call some other girls to serve around."

Hong Xiao smiled and said: "It's okay, I don't need you to laugh and persuade me to drink, just say something casually."

Qingling said: "What song do you want to hear, young master?"

Hong Xiao shook his head and said, "Let's not play the tune, just tell your story."

Qingling's voice was ethereal, and said faintly: "The brothel girl, what story can I tell?"

Hong Xiao disagreed, and said: "Once upon a time, there was a woman who told me that women in brothels often hide many stories in their hearts."

Qing Ling asked: "That girl, presumably she is the young master's sweetheart?"

Hong Xiao said with a smile: "Just talking about it casually, how could it be considered a sweetheart."

Qing Ling said: "Because the young master's expression when he mentioned that girl, even his eyes are smiling." But she didn't say, Hong Xiao's eyes sparkled when he mentioned that girl.

However, Hong Xiao shook his head and said: "The bond between people cannot be summed up by the relationship between a man and a woman. I am the same as that girl... We are already relatives who depend on each other. It's a pity, alas." Hong Xiao originally wanted to say She and Yizhanghong are both women, so they love each other like sisters, and finally remembered that she is a man who is "seeking flowers and asking willows", so she changed her mouth.

At this time, the servant interrupted their conversation by bringing food and wine.After Hong Xiao waited for the boy to close the door, Hong Xiao held his sleeve with one hand and made a gesture of invitation: "Miss Qingling, come and sit here, I will treat you to a drink."

What Hong Xiao pointed at was the opposite of her. It was not like an ordinary man who was next to the girl from left to right, and raised his hands up and down.Qing Ling wished her all blessings, and Pingping Tingting sat down.

While pouring the wine, Hong Xiao asked, "Miss Qingling used to be a sought-after oiran after all."

Qingling said: "Little girls don't know how to serve men, so how can they be an oiran?"

Hong Xiao said: "That's not necessarily true. Many famous oirans all over the world rely on their glamorous temperament. They usually don't like to talk to anyone. There are a group of men fighting for them."

Qing Ling said: "The little girl doesn't have that ability."

Hong Xiao pushed a glass of wine to Qing Ling, and sighed: "But no matter how cold those women are, to men, they are just playthings worth a thousand gold. It's rare to be sincere, and it's pitiful."

Qing Ling was slightly moved, and seemed to have aroused his thoughts, and said dejectedly: "Even if you want to be sincere, so what, the firework girl is inferior after all, how can she be qualified to be sincere?"

Hong Xiao said solemnly: "Girl, don't underestimate yourself. Look at the moment, we are sitting opposite each other, aren't we chatting on an equal footing?"

Qing Ling shook her head and said: "Thanks to the young master's favor, the little girl can sit opposite the young master, but when she leaves the room, who is as kind as the young master?"

Hong Xiao said with a smile: "I'm sure Qi Ming'er will redeem her body for Miss Qingling early in the morning."

Hong Xiao's words were heard by Qing Ling, it was like an arrogant young master's angry words, she didn't take it seriously, she said: "Young master is joking, little girl still has some self-knowledge."

Hong Xiao took a glass of wine and sniffed it under her nose. The smell of wine made her curl her lips, pushed the glass away, and said, "Miss Qingling shouldn't be detained in such a place, her face is not human. Everything is beautiful if the heart is clean."

Qing Ling was startled, her broken face turned red, she lowered her head unnaturally and said, "Do you always make girls happy like this?"

Hong Xiao said: "I don't have the ability to reach the heavens and penetrate the earth, so I can't save the suffering people in the world, but since I passed by and happened to see the girl, I also want to help a little bit."

Qing Ling was silent for a long time, and finally raised his glass and drank it down: "It's a pity that I can't meet you sooner."

Hong Xiao said with a smile: "It's not too late now, the girl is still young, she can still find an honest man to marry and live a stable life."

Qingling said: "Young master, is it good for others?"

Hong Xiao said: "It's just a little help."

Qing Ling said: "What about that girl?"

Hong Xiao was puzzled and said, "That girl?"

Qingling said: "The young master treats you like a relative's girl."

Hong Xiao was stunned, and after a while, he said sadly: "I don't treat her well, on the contrary, I often make trouble for her, get confused, and cause a lot of trouble."

The author has something to say:

I don't know who stipulated it, anyway, if the ancient texts don't enter the brothel once, it's like life is incomplete.