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Seeing Qin Mu bowed his head and said nothing, Han Zanzhou continued, "I heard that you just divorced your wife and lived alone in the inn. You don't have much money. This one thousand taels of silver is our gift to you. I hope that you can be loyal to the emperor and serve the country after you take office, hunting and herding for the emperor, and benefit the people. It will be worth our trouble to recommend you. Don't worry, if you have any merits, we will report it to the emperor and ask for credit for you."
"Thank you, Eunuch Han, for your kindness." Qin Mu responded in a deep voice.
Qin Mu did not show gratitude like others, which made Lu Qi beside him very unhappy. He snorted in dissatisfaction, "You are so ungrateful!"
Han Zanzhou glanced at Qin Mu meaningfully but said nothing.
"Eunuch Han, I always repay kindness with kindness and take revenge with hatred." Qin Mu said this, suddenly took a step forward, used all his strength, and slapped him hard, "Pa!" A crisp slap resounded throughout the hall.
Lu Qi, who had just ordered Qin Mu to be put in the tongs, had half of his face swelled up at a speed visible to the naked eye. Seeing that he did not fall down, Qin Mu slapped him again with his backhand. Lu Qi screamed and fell to the ground. Both sides of his face were swollen like a pig's head, and blood was flowing from his mouth.
This sudden change once again caught everyone by surprise. Everyone's first reaction was not anger, but shock. Qin Mu was so bold that he dared to beat people again and again in the eunuch's house in Nanjing. It was simply unbelievable.
To be honest, Qin Mu's hands were painful because he used too much force, but he finally felt better.
"How dare you!" Han Zanzhou was furious and shouted coldly.
"Eunuch Han, I know a little about face reading. This man has a sharp face and monkey cheeks, and is cunning and cruel. If you keep him by your side, he will surely harm you in the future. If you don't believe me, you can wait and see.
In addition, your house is too luxurious. The emperor is frugal by nature, which is well known to the world. Don't think that Nanjing is far away and the emperor doesn't know that if you want to make further progress, you must be more frugal. I have said all I can. I will repay your kindness in the future."
Qin Mu walked out of the hall amid the astonished gazes of the crowd. Han Zanzhou looked at his back quietly. Qin Mu's subsequent words caused a great shock in his heart. The look in his eyes when he looked at Qin Mu's back was very complicated, but in the end he did not order to embarrass him again.
The Dongchang guards at the hall door glared at each other but did not dare to stop them.
As the superior, Han Zanzhou's use of both beating and pulling, and using both kindness and force, was simply an attempt to subdue Qin Mu, and Qin Mu knew this very well.
When the eunuch who helped Qin Mu bring the official uniform returned, Qin Mu said, "Go back and tell Eunuch Han that I'm grateful for your kindness."
The young eunuch agreed, received a few taels of reward from Qin Mu, and went back.
As for whether Qin Mu was truly grateful to Han Zanzhou, no one knew.
He looked at his swollen hands and gave an ambiguous sneer.
Qiao'er was not around, so Qin Mu went to the medicine shop opposite the inn to have the doctor apply medicine and bandage his hands. Looking at his hands wrapped like two cushions, Qin Mu just wanted to leave Jinling City as soon as possible. Here, he was just a small figure who could be manipulated by others.
Go out, if I have the chance to enter Jinling City again, maybe it will be different then. Qin Mu inexplicably thought of Huang Chao's poem about chrysanthemums: When autumn comes on September 8, my flowers will bloom and all other flowers will die. The fragrance will penetrate Chang'an, and the whole city will be covered with golden armor.
More than an hour later, Qiao'er appeared at the door silently like a civet cat. She changed into tattered clothes and carried a torn bag on her back. She had almost returned to the way she looked when Qin Mu first saw her. On her dirty little face, two lines of tears left two traces, just like sand surface flowing through water.
"Girl, what's the matter? Didn't I tell you to go find Brother Meng? Could it be that that son of a bitch doesn't care about you..." Qin Mu was furious.
Qiao'er shook her head and replied, "I didn't find Brother Meng. There was no one at the ancestral hall. I didn't see Brother Meng. Sir, you're back. You're not leaving anymore, are you? Wuuwuwu..."
"I'm not leaving, I'm not leaving, it's okay. Big brother promised you that he would come back, and now he's back, isn't he?" Qin Mu hugged her to him, and the little girl hugged him tightly, crying bitterly, and it was heartbreaking to hear her cry.
She cried for a long time before she stopped crying, but she still hugged Qin Mu tightly and refused to let go. Qin Mu patted her head and said, "I'll ask the waiter to bring you some water. Go wash up."
The little girl opened the bundle. It looked tattered on the outside, but inside were the new clothes that she and Qin Mu had just bought. Then she took off one of her worn-out shoes and took out a piece of cloth from it. When she opened the cloth, she found the several hundred taels of silver notes.
Qin Mu felt sad and amused when he saw this. This girl was just like a little Eighth Route Army soldier delivering a chicken feather letter.
"By the way, girl, where did you get this ragged outfit?"
Qiao Er replied in a low voice, "I... I exchanged my new clothes for someone else's. Sir, I'm sorry, I..."
"Okay, it's okay, you did the right thing."
As the saying goes, an innocent man is guilty until he is in possession of a treasure. If he really couldn't come back, this girl, dressed beautifully and carrying hundreds of taels of silver in her arms, would definitely not be able to escape the prying eyes of others. Qin Mu was really relieved that she understood this.
It is hard to predict whether Qin Mu will be in good or bad fortune, and Hou Fangyu, who was bent on tricking him, is now in misery.
As the saying goes, good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels a thousand miles. His ugly behavior in the brothel has now spread throughout the city, and the story has become more and more bizarre. There are many versions with different schools and styles, and it is very exciting.
Some said that when Mr. Hou failed to seduce Miss Li Xiangjun in Meixianglou, he ran to a brothel to recruit prostitutes, and he recruited ten prostitutes at a time and had an "uncensored meeting" with them.
Well, many people believe this. Mr. Hou and his people often hold meetings at Taoye Watanabe and are very experienced. They are tired of holding seminars, so it is normal for them to switch to open-air meetings.
Some said that Master Hou was playing hide-and-seek with the head girl in the brothel. According to the previous rules, he would have sex with whoever he caught. But this time, he was careless and played hide-and-seek in the front hall. Tsk tsk, many people saw Master Hou's little earthworm at that time. It's a pity that he was able to fight ten people alone. Alas, there's nothing to say.
Others said that Mr. Hou had a different hobby, and was used to playing with two fingers. As a result, the head girl refused and insisted on having sex with him. Mr. Hou was unable to cope and was chased out of the front hall. It was said that when Mr. Hou was chased out, he was naked, terrified, and devastated... ... ... ... ... .
Of course, there were people who defended Mr. Hou, but such defense was weak. After all, Mr. Hou did visit brothels and was indeed chased by prostitutes and forced to run naked.
Furthermore, things that are in line with common sense are never as attractive as strange things. People are more willing to spread those strange and bizarre ideas because they can attract more attention and attract the public. This is the nature of human nature.
In one day, Hou Fangyu became a green-headed fly in Jinling City. He could no longer stay in the city, so he packed up his luggage and hurried to Chen Zhenhui's home in Yixing to avoid the limelight.
Chen Zhenhui's father, Chen Yuting, was once the leader of the Donglin Party. Master Chen was of good family background and was one of the four masters of the Fushe Society. He had the best personal relationship with Hou Fangyu. Apart from him, Master Hou had nowhere else to go at this time.
On the upper floor of Meixiang Tower, the sound of the pipa was as urgent as a rainstorm, with continuous clanging, until there was a "bang" and the strings broke.
Bian Saisai sighed, walked behind Li Xiangjun, hugged her and comforted her: "Sister Xiangjun, don't be like this. Things may not be as terrible as the rumors say. Hou Chaozong may just be confused for a moment. Besides, didn't you say that he was drunk the other day? Maybe it was just because of drunkenness that..."
"Sister Saisai, you don't have to comfort me. It's not just this matter. I feel like he has become a different person recently. He is narrow-minded, jealous and angry. He... ... ... ... Oh, did my sister make a mistake in choosing him?"
"That's not the case, sister, why do you say that?"
“Let’s not talk about it… … … … ”
Li Xiangjun sighed softly and looked at the shadows of clouds on the willow branches outside the window in silence.
She had known Hou Fangyu for three or four years, and they had made a covenant. Li Xiangjun was only waiting for Hou Fangyu to come and redeem her one day. She did not ask for a grand wedding like Kou Baimen's, with thousands of people attending. She only wanted a man who could understand her and live in harmony with her. Even if they had to live a hard life, she would have no regrets.
But Hou Fangyu's recent performance really disappointed her. Qin Mu saved her life, and she served Qin Mu medicine. This was purely a way of repaying a favor. She thought Hou Fangyu could understand, but Hou Fangyu came to question her angrily.
That would have been fine, but he seemed to be two-faced and was plotting against Qin Mu in secret. Li Xiangjun was a smart and clever woman and she was aware of this.
Thinking of Qin Mu, Li Xiangjun sighed again. Qin Mu came to her twice after failing the exam. This time, he expressed his love for her through the words of Liu Yong, and even sacrificed himself to save her life. With Qin Mu's character and talent, he should be the object of women's admiration, but she already had someone in her heart...
Li Xiangjun was sighing in deep thought when someone outside the door announced that Qin Mu wanted to see her. Li Xiangjun was stunned. It was really like Cao Cao Cao Cao. Without waiting for her to answer, Bian Saisai took the initiative and asked someone to invite Qin Mu up.
Qin Mu was surprised to see another stunning beauty when he entered the room.
The beauty in front of me was about nineteen years old, with a slim figure and graceful demeanor. She wore a flying swallow hairpin with eight treasures and pearls in her hair, a cherry purple heart-shaped silk gown on her upper body, and a white floor-length plum blossom skirt on her lower body. Her appearance and words were leisurely and elegant, like clouds emerging from a mountain.
In particular, her noble and unworldly yet somewhat melancholy temperament has a strong flavor of a classical lady.
She and the graceful and elegant Li Xiangjun are two completely different kinds of beauty. One is slender and graceful, the other is petite and exquisite. One is noble and melancholy, the other is fresh and bright. Each has her own characteristics and merits.
After learning the name, Qin Mu realized that this beauty was Bian Yujing, one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai. Among the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai, Bian Yujing was not as famous as Li Xiangjun, Dong Xiaowan and others. This was not because she was not beautiful;
On the contrary, her appearance was not inferior to others, and her talent was even better. She was not famous because she was not good at responding. For a socialite, clever responses were one of the core competitive advantages. Although Bian Yujing lacked this competitiveness, she was still famous as one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai. This is enough to explain the problem.
Seeing Qin Mu's hands bandaged, Li Xiangjun couldn't help but ask in surprise: "Master Qin, what happened to your hands?"
Qin Mu smiled bitterly and said, "A few days ago, at the banquet of Master Jiang, I was talking about your success and failure, but I didn't expect that it would bring me disaster. Forget it, let's not talk about it. Fortunately, I am fine now. It's just a minor injury, which will heal in a few days. Today, I came here to say goodbye to Miss Xiangjun. Well, by the way, I would like to ask Miss Xiangjun to help me convey my gratitude to Brother Chaozong."
"Master Qin is leaving Jinling?"
"Yes, Brother Chaozong helped me get a position as the magistrate of Huichang County. I will be going to Huichang to take up the post soon. Miss Xiangjun, I..."
Qin Mu glanced at Li Xiangjun tenderly, his eyes full of affection. He was really reluctant to say anything. "Huichang is located in a remote area. I think Miss Xiangjun will not have her period. After this separation, I am afraid we may never meet again..."
Li Xiangjun seemed not to hear what he said next, and asked anxiously: "Master Qin, you said that it was Chaozong who helped you find the position?"
"Yes, Miss Xiangjun, do you have any questions?"
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ps: If you have no doubts, please vote and collect it! Hao Yuan begs for support! Kneeling and begging!
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