***
Qin Mu walked through the archway in the backyard and returned to the bedroom door along the corridor on the left. He heard a strange female voice coming from inside: "Girl, just eat a bite. You haven't eaten for a whole day. How can you survive like this..."
Qin Mu entered the room, and the maid's voice stopped abruptly. She was about fourteen or fifteen years old, and came with Dong Xiaowan. Her face was full of fear. After hesitating for a moment, she came up to Qin Mu and saluted, saying, "I am Chunhong, the maid, and I pay my respects to the master."
Qin Mu sat down on the couch in the room, poured himself a cup of tea, and asked calmly, "Who asked you to live here?"
"My lord, it is... I don't know who it is."
This answer made Qin Mu smile. Dong Xiaowan was still wearing the same outfit as when she came, a light purple haloed fairy dress with peonies engraved on the front and lotus embroidered on the chest. Her three thousand silky black hair was tied into a beautiful bun, with a pair of peonies holding pearls and seven crystal treasures dotted on both sides, and a gold lace blue and white jade silk flower in the middle. The pink skirt swayed with beautiful brilliance.
If I have to describe her beauty in one word, it would be: beautiful!
There is a beauty in the world, like an orchid living in an empty valley. With a delicate forehead and eyebrows, skin as white as cream, and a charming figure, Dong Xiaowan has all the characteristics that a beauty should have, but Qin Mu couldn't find her characteristics for a while.
She is like a fairy from heaven, so beautiful that she is otherworldly, yet so hazy. Her facial features and figure are perfect and impeccable. But precisely because of this perfection, you cannot find any characteristics of her, and the only word left in your mind is beauty.
But her gaze towards Qin Mu seemed to have no focus, as if Qin Mu didn't exist at all, and her gaze could pass through Qin Mu unhindered.
"If you don't come to Changsha, will the Mao family be in great trouble?" Qin Mu asked while sipping tea.
Dong Xiaowan's eyes finally focused on Qin Mu, but she remained silent. Qin Mu smiled faintly and said, "The difference between me and Mao Xiang is that no matter who it is, he can kill me, but he can't take my woman away."
"I know, I've heard that a man would risk his life for the woman he loves." Dong Xiaowan finally spoke. Her voice was very pleasant to the ear, but her tone was definitely not one of praise. It was hard to tell whether she was being sarcastic or not.
"Hahaha..." Qin Mu suddenly laughed out loud, but what he said next was so shocking. "It's good that you know it. From the moment you stepped through this door, you are my Qin Mu's woman. Do you understand what I mean? If you don't understand, I might as well explain it more clearly. If you drink the medicine, don't take the bottle away. If you hang yourself, give the rope. But if you want to go back to Mao Xiang, there is no way."
"I really don't know what Xiangjun likes about you?" This sentence is full of sarcasm.
"Different people have different tastes. If it were my Xiangjun, I'm afraid she would say the same thing to you." Qin Mu smiled brightly, like the breeze and the moon, and finally he did not forget to tease. "Be careful, don't fall in love with me, otherwise your words will become your biggest irony."
"You're dreaming!"
"Have you heard of love growing over time? Hahahaha... I believe that love will grow over time. Eat your meal first, so that you will have a chance to verify whether what I said is true or false."
Qin Mu's naughty smile made Dong Xiaowan's heart tremble inexplicably. Qin Mu drank tea by himself and didn't bother to care whether she ate or not.
At this time, Huang Lianshan's voice asking for a meeting came from outside the door. After Qin Mu let him in, Huang Lianshan saw Dong Xiaowan and her servant present, and he couldn't help but hesitate.
"Just tell me if you have something to say. You can just pretend they don't exist." Qin Mu said indifferently.
"Sir, accurate information has come from Yuezhou that Zhang Xianzhong has led his troops north to Wuchang." Huang Lianshan said with a bow.
"Okay, we must not be careless. We must continue to closely monitor Zhang Xianzhong's movements. Pass on my order and have Ling Zhan and Su Jin lead their troops north to recapture Yuezhou immediately."
"Yes, sir. But... when Zhang Xianzhong went north, he not only drove almost all the people of Yuezhou into service as soldiers, but also set Yuezhou on fire. The fire burned most of the city. Fortunately, there was a sudden rain last night, which put out the fire, but now more than 60% of the city has been burned."
Damn it, I'm not a human being if I don't give Zhang Xianzhong, the son of a bitch, a few green hats tonight. Qin Mu hated it. Yuezhou occupied an extremely important position in his future layout.
Yuezhou is located on the shore of Dongting Lake. It is the only place suitable for training navy in the territory he occupied. This is why Qin Mu is obsessed with Yuezhou.
Now, this bastard Zhang Xianzhong not only drove away all the people in Yuezhou, but also burned down most of Yuezhou. For Qin Mu, this is a huge loss. What's the difference between this and rebuilding Yuezhou City
"Where is Zuo Liangyu? What actions has Zuo Liangyu taken?" Qin Mu asked in a deep voice.
"Your Excellency, Zuo Liangyu seems to have reached some kind of tacit understanding with Zhang Xianzhong. As soon as Zhang Xianzhong led his troops north, Zuo Liangyu retreated eastward. I am sending people to monitor him. I will pay close attention to what Zuo Liangyu will do next and report to you at any time."
"Well, pass on my order and have Liu Boquan immediately raise supplies and have Ning Yuan and Liu Yongzhi lead 60,000 prisoners north to rebuild Yuezhou as soon as possible."
"Yes, sir, do you have any other instructions?"
"Check Xu Yongshun as soon as possible. His every move in Changsha must be monitored. Also, the branch in Nanjing needs to be built faster. Xu Yongshun's sudden arrival this time put me in a passive position. I don't want this to happen again in the future."
"I admit my guilt, sir, rest assured, I will live up to your expectations."
"Rentong Company has many branches in Jiangnan. Please contact Xu Yingjie. He will provide you with some convenience. This matter cannot be delayed. It must be done quickly." The arrival of Xu Yongshun and the expansion of the territory made Qin Mu deeply realize the lag and lack of information. Nanjing will soon become the new power center. It is urgent to establish a strong intelligence system in Nanjing.
"Yes, sir."
After Huang Lianshan left, Qin Mu sat alone on the couch, thinking, with the teacup raised to his lips but forgetting to drink. Xu Yongshun's matter gave him a headache. It was not clear whether his arrival represented only Duke Dingguo and Han Zanzhou, or represented a large group of powerful people;
Xu Yongshun is not very old, but he is very good at playing dumb. This is the first contact between the two parties, and they are still in the exploratory stage. Qin Mu cannot get more information from him.
If Xu Yongshun only represented the Xu family and Han Zanzhou, this matter would be easier to handle. But if he represented a huge powerful group, Qin Mu would not dare to let them participate in the shares at this time. The current mess is not suitable for listing.
The problem is that if he does not accept the participation of these powerful groups, let alone how to deal with them, there is one thing Qin Mu has to consider in advance, that is, Beijing is about to fall, and Nanjing will soon become the power center of Southern Ming. He must choose a spokesperson in Nanjing in advance so as not to be so passive in the future. However, Qin Mu really can't find a suitable candidate at the moment.
Qin Mu only knew one person who had some friendship with him and could be promoted in the future, Jiang Yueguang. However, Jiang Yueguang was a loyal believer of the Donglin Party, and such a person could not be used. Qin Mu instinctively rejected anyone from the Donglin Party.
Besides this, who else can I find to represent me
"This is the Achilles' heel of the nouveau riche!" Qin Mu couldn't help but sigh in self-mockery.
During this time, Dong Xiaowan would occasionally glance at him. Qin Mu had already become a legend in the Ming Dynasty. When he was in Jinling, his talent and fame spread all over the world overnight. After he entered the government, in a short period of time, he went from being a small magistrate to a figure who stirred up the world.
All of this, not to mention that the Ming Dynasty had never seen such a person, there have never been such a person in the past and present. It is impossible to say that Dong Xiaowan has no curiosity about him.
But Qin Mu's helpless sigh made Dong Xiaowan feel strange. If Qin Mu was just an empty legend in her heart before, then this sigh undoubtedly made him a real person. Although he looked glorious on the surface, he also had the helplessness of ordinary people.
Qin Mu, who had come to his senses, accurately captured the flash of surprise in Dong Xiaowan's eyes. He stood up with a smile and walked to her. He reached out to pinch her chin and lifted up her beautiful face without a single flaw. Dong Xiaowan did not struggle, perhaps she thought it was useless to struggle.
Qin Mu moved closer to her face, and a faint fragrance entered his nostrils. In addition to her beautiful face, her figure was impeccable, with proudly raised breasts, a slender waist, and long legs. Her elegant temperament, like a flower reflected in the water, was touching in every way.
But to be honest, Qin Mu had never thought of possessing her before, and he never expected that Han Zanzhou and Xu Yongshun would suddenly bring her here. But now that things have come to this, it is impossible for him to send her back to Mao Xiang. It is already very good that he does not go to settle the old score with that guy.
Dong Xiaowan couldn't bear his gaze anymore, so she slowly closed her starry eyes and turned her face away.
"Go wash up first, and wash off the dust on your body." Qin Mu let her go and walked out of the door. When he reached the door, he suddenly turned back and said, "Remember, if you want to drink medicine, don't take the bottle away, and if you want to hang yourself, give the rope away. I will not pity someone who doesn't even value his own life."
The first half of Qin Mu's words made Dong Xiaowan feel a sharp pain in her heart, and she really wanted to die. However, the second half of the words made her inexplicably angry, and she felt at a loss for what to do for a moment.
Qin Mu walked out of the room and suddenly realized that this was his bedroom. Damn it, is he going to sleep on the street tonight? He strolled around the back hall and couldn't help but sigh: "It's getting late and I'm at the end of the road. Whose house should I stay at tonight?"
Look at the side yard over there in the garden, that's where Chen E and the other women live. Chen E is wearing a moonlit skirt and a small jacket with narrow sleeves, which outlines her curvy body in an extremely attractive way. She is sitting on the swing in the yard and watching him silently. Well, I won't be pretentious. I'll go over there tonight. Well, if you're interested, it's okay to play "flying" on the swing... ... ..
*****************************************
ps: I updated 40,000 to 50,000 words this week, but the number of clicks is only one tenth of the number of words. It's very quiet. Please give me rewards and monthly tickets. It's the New Year... (To be continued...)
...