After the collision, the idle people and onlookers gathered around and laughed:
"Hey, why are you so disrespectful so early in the morning?"
"After all, this is in front of Confucius Temple. Men and women are not allowed to touch each other. How can this be allowed?"
"What do you know? This is called a marriage of destiny. It just so happens that the matchmaker is Yue Lao and the saint is the matchmaker, so why not just worship heaven and earth!"
"Okay! Okay! Okay! Let's just enter the bridal chamber here."
As he spoke, foul language began to flow.
Qiu Yizi was feeling drowsy and finally calmed down, only to see a woman lying on him. He quickly stood up and straightened his clothes, but did not dare to reach out to help her. He just bowed and said, "I'm sorry!" His face was as red as pig liver.
The woman also stood up, blushed, and bowed slightly, but said nothing. She turned around and was about to get into the sedan chair.
Originally, this little disturbance passed quietly, but someone shouted, "Hey! Isn't this Wu Ruofei from Jiangyun Tower?"
The crowd, which had dispersed slightly, gathered around again.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the woman named Wu Ruofei turned away and said to the two sedan bearers in a coquettish tone, "Why are you so slow? Why don't you carry me back quickly?"
The two sedan bearers said with a sad face: "Miss, this sedan is not strong enough to withstand collisions. The poles of the sedan broke when it fell just now. I'm afraid it will take a while to repair it!"
Wu Ruofei was anxious after hearing this, and was at a loss as to what to do, when she heard the idle people watching nearby start to make a noise again. They said:
"Hey, don't go, let us guys feast our eyes on this too!"
"That's right. In the past, even if you were willing to pay money, you might not be able to meet her. Last time, I asked the boss for help and spent a hundred taels of silver to hear her sing a song, but I didn't even touch her hand!"
Someone else asked: "Who is this woman? She seems very impressive."
Someone nearby replied with contempt, "You look like a bumpkin. You don't even recognize Wu Ruofei? You're the top girl in Jiangyun Tower! Every house in the Xiu Tower by the Qinhuai River has a courtesan, and the eight best ones are called the 'Eight Beauties of Qinhuai'."
"So this Wu Ruofei is one of the 'Eight Beauties of Qinhuai'?" someone asked.
"One? The leader! The other seven are just there to make up the numbers. They are not as good as her when added together! If you want to see her, you either have a strong relationship or you have to pay a lot of money. First, pay 500 taels!"
As soon as he finished speaking, someone exclaimed, "Oh!" "Then didn't I make five hundred taels of silver for nothing today?"
"That's right! If you were as brave as this boy and went to hug her, you might be able to earn back the thirty thousand taels." Someone pointed at Qiu Yizi and said.
When Qiu Yizi heard this, her face turned red, but she couldn't suppress her curiosity and stole a glance at Wu Ruofei's face: she had a face that was hard to describe the beauty of, but also impeccable. There was not a single feature that was out of place on her face. Even the best painters and the most beautiful craftsmen in the world could not depict such a fairy-like beauty.
Among the women Qiu Yizhi had seen, there were quite a few who were dignified and beautiful, such as Princess Yiran, Saint Wen Lingjiao, and even the lay Buddhist Miaozhen who was currently imprisoned in the county jail. They were all extremely beautiful women. But to be fair, Qiu Yizhi felt that none of these women could compare to the "Wu Ruofei" in front of him.
Qiu Yizi seemed to be afraid that she would never see such a face again, and her eyes were fixed on Wu Ruofei.
But at this moment, someone outside the crowd shouted, "Where? Where is Miss Wu Ruofei?" Following the voice, they saw a burly man wearing a Confucian cap and robes that did not suit him, leading a dozen helpers, who separated the crowd and walked towards Wu Ruofei.
Wu Ruofei obviously recognized this man. When she saw him coming, she tried to avoid him. However, she was surrounded by onlookers and had nowhere to hide. She had to turn her head away and pretend she didn't see him.
The man said, "Miss Wu, don't you recognize me? I have spent tens of thousands of taels of silver, and I have only had a few meals with you. Isn't it fate that we can meet here today?"
Wu Ruofei didn't want to pay any attention to this person, so she pretended not to hear him. She lowered her head and looked at the two sedan bearers repairing the sedan, urging them, "Hurry up, fix it, I'll give you a reward."
The man laughed and said, "Oh, it turns out that the young lady's sedan chair is broken. The young lady has earned so much money for Jiangyun Tower, why is she given such a shabby sedan chair? I will definitely teach that old procuress a lesson later. By the way, I brought a sedan chair that can be carried by four people. Why don't you take my sedan chair and leave here?"
Wu Ruofei heard how much he tried to curry favor with her, so she said coldly, "I can't afford it."
The man seemed very satisfied when he heard Wu Ruofei talking to him, so he smiled and said, "Miss Wu is really hard to talk to! I have accompanied you for several banquets, and you have spoken less than a hundred words to me in total. Today I didn't spend any money, but I just heard you say four words. It was really worth it!" As he spoke, he couldn't help but smile.
Seeing his frivolous and shameless appearance, Wu Ruofei said, "I would rather walk back than ride in your sedan chair. Sir, please respect yourself!"
"Oh, so the girl thinks I'm too tall and too fat?" The man suddenly realized, "It's okay. No need to call someone to bring my father's sedan chair over. The girl can ride in the same sedan with me, and even sleep on the same bed in the sedan, which is also very appropriate."
After hearing such obscene words, Wu Ruofei's face suddenly turned red and she cursed, "Obscene, shameless!"
The man said, "I have been vulgar and shameless before, but it's a pity that the girl didn't even look at me. It seems that today I have to be vulgar and shameless!"
Upon hearing this, Wu Ruofei turned her head away again.
But the man grinned and said, "Whether it's a toast or a penalty drink today, you, Miss Wu, have to drink a few sips. Come with me now!" As he said that, he walked slowly towards Wu Ruofei step by step, and the dozen or so hooligans he brought with him also followed him.
After all, Wu Ruofei was a weak woman. Seeing this situation, she was completely confused and hid in the broken sedan chair in a panic.
Seeing this, the man smiled and said, "So the young lady is reluctant to part with this sedan chair? It doesn't matter, it's just a broken sedan chair pole. I brought so many brothers with me today, we can carry you away even if we have to." After that, he raised his hand behind him and ordered, "Come on, why don't you carry Miss Wu to my house?"
Everyone responded and surrounded the sedan chair. The two bearers huddled to one side, not daring to say a word.
Qiu Yizi couldn't stand this kind of bullying of women, so she didn't know where she got the courage from, and said, "Don't be rude. Since this girl doesn't want to go with you today, why do you force her?"
The man didn't expect that there would be someone who would take the lead at this point. He turned his head to look at Qiu Yizi, curled his lips and said, "Do you want meddling in other people's business? Why don't you ask around? Who in Jinling City has the right to speak?"
Qiu Yizhi had just been frustrated by the governor of Jiangnan Province, and was feeling depressed. Hearing what he said, he felt it was a sore spot. He twisted his neck and said loudly, "Jinling City is also under the rule of the Han Dynasty, and we must abide by the law!"
"The law? Hahaha!" The man laughed wildly as if he had heard a joke. "I am the law here! Even if I beat you to death, it will be in vain. Do you understand?"
Qiu Yizi never expected that this person could say such lawless words in public. She was quite surprised and speechless for a moment.
The man thought Qiu Yizi was frightened by him, so he snorted and turned around to walk towards Wu Ruofei again.
Qiu Yizi's self-esteem was finally completely hurt by this contemptuous laughter.
What kind of person is he? He has a say in front of the current emperor, several powerful princes are brothers with him, the prime minister is his teacher, and the top general Dai Luanxiang has received great kindness from him. But since he became such a small county magistrate, he has been repeatedly bullied by officials at all levels, and today even a small rogue dares to bully him.
Thinking of this, Qiu Yizi gritted her teeth, stepped forward, grabbed the man, and said, "I am here today, so you can't embarrass this girl!"
The man was also stunned when he heard this, and then he laughed and said, "You skinny wild boy? How dare you pretend to be a hero in front of me?" As he said that, he raised his hand and swung it towards Qiu Yizi's face.
Although Qiu Yizi is short in stature, he grew up in the military camp and was personally taught by the leader of the martial arts world. Although his skills are far from those of the top masters, he is not powerless.
Seeing that the opponent's attack was casual, he dodged and struck fiercely at the opponent's armpit with his right hand.
This move was designed by Yuchi Lianghong specifically for Qiu Yizhi because of his short stature. If Yuchi Lianghong did it himself, the person's arm would be disabled on the spot. Although Qiu Yizhi did not have the skill of his brother, the blow also caused the domineering man to feel pain. The arm that was attacking Qiu Yizhi before the blink of an eye could no longer be lifted.
The man grimaced in pain and shouted, "Good boy! How dare you hit me? Come on, arrest him and see how I deal with him!"
When the gang of scoundrels heard their master's order, they abandoned Wu Ruofei and pounced on Qiu Yizi.
Although Qiu Yizi knew some martial arts, he was no match for four people with his two fists, and was soon pinned to the ground by those people.
Qiu Yizhi was about to suffer a loss, but she didn't expect that although Wu Ruofei was a prostitute, she was also very righteous. She slowly walked out of the sedan chair where she was hiding and said to the man, "Don't embarrass this young man. Let him go, and I will go with you."
The man looked at Qiu Yizi lying on the ground, then at Wu Ruofei standing in front of him. His face twitched and he said, "This kid is just ordinary. Miss Wu, why do you treat him so well? And... you still want to save him?"
Wu Ruofei said calmly, "This gentleman and I just met by chance, but he was able to speak up for justice and act bravely. How could such a noble character be known by a lowly vulgar person like you?"
"Okay, okay, okay! He is a man of noble character, and I am a lowly and vulgar man. Today I will let you see how a lowly and vulgar man like me kills him!" As the man spoke, he took out a sharp dagger from his arms, held it with his uninjured left hand, and walked towards Qiu Yizi.
Qiu Yizi was really panicked at this moment. She struggled with all her might, but was pinned down by five or six strong men and could not move at all. She could only yell wildly, "Jiming! Jiming!"
"Hahaha, it's too late to yell 'help' now." The man obviously misheard, "Tomorrow is your death anniversary!"
After saying that, the man took the dagger and stabbed Qiu Yi in the back of the neck. (To be continued)