There was a round of applause. "Well done, Miss Peony danced really well!" "Miss Peony is so beautiful!"
Ji Lingxue turned her head to look at Mudan, who was holding a pipa and bowing to express her gratitude on the pleasure boat. Under the light of the big red lantern, Mudan's skin was as white as cream and the red dress suited her very well, just as gorgeous as her flower name.
At this moment, the pleasure boat suddenly shook, and Miss Mudan was so shaken that she turned pale and almost fell into the river. Fortunately, Ruge who was standing on the side pulled her in time.
"Thank you, young master!" Mudan took advantage of the situation and leaned into Ruge's arms, her red lips leaning against Ruge's ear, her breath smelling as sweet as orchid.
Ruge frowned and was about to push Mudan away when a roar rang out: "Let Mudan go, she is mine!" A fat man in gorgeous clothes rushed to the bow and grabbed Mudan's slender arm.
This sudden change happened so suddenly that many people stretched their necks and stared with wide eyes to watch the show. They thought it was a handsome man and a beautiful woman saving a beauty, but they didn't expect it to turn into two men fighting for one woman.
"Master, save me!" Mudan seemed to be very afraid of the fat man in gorgeous clothes. She kept shrinking into Ruge's arms. Her originally pale face became even paler.
Although Ruge didn't like to meddle in other people's business, she felt sympathy when she saw Miss Mudan trembling with fear.
"Boy, let her go. I advise you to mind your own business!" The fat man pointed at Ruge's nose and warned.
Ji Lingxue twitched her lips, "Who is that man?" Such a depressing thing.
Chi Feng waved his fan, looking like he was afraid of chaos in the world. "This is a wealthy man, Liu De, the richest man in Beijing. He may not look good, but he is very wealthy and has eight wives and concubines in his house."
Ji Lingxue looked at Chi Feng with admiration. Not bad. He knew all the big and small people in the capital.
Ji Lingxue asked: "Is Liu De the guest of Miss Peony?"
Chi Feng nodded, "Of course, Miss Mudan is beautiful, so naturally she has many admirers. All the rich young men in the capital have spent a lot of money on her, but Miss Mudan is a self-disciplined person, she sells her art but not her body."
"It's rare to see a girl in a brothel who can remain untainted by the mud. She must have had her own reasons for ending up in that brothel." Ji Lingxue sighed.
Chi Feng nodded, "Yes, this Miss Mudan's family fell into poverty, and her family sold her to a brothel to pay off the debt."
I only heard Ruge's slightly cold voice floating over from the pleasure boat, "What do you think if I just meddle in such trivial matters?"
The fat man was so angry at Ruge's words that his mustache was shaking. He turned around and stared at Mudan fiercely and said, "I bought her virginity tonight. She is mine now and she must come with me." After saying that, he pulled Mudan's arm and turned away.
After walking a few steps, the fat man paused. He turned around and saw Ruge hugging Mudan's waist. He swung his sleeve towards him. The fat man frowned and felt a chill on the back of his hand. He let go of his hand in pain, only to see a hideous wound on the back of his hand, with blood constantly flowing out.
The fat man's face darkened, and he pointed his bloody finger in Ruge's direction and shouted, "Come here, catch this kid, and I'll reward him with a thousand taels of silver!"
There must be brave men when there is a huge reward. The fat man's guards and a group of curious people with some martial arts skills rushed forward and surrounded Ruge.
Miss Mudan looked at Ruge with a worried look on her face and apologized, "Sir, I am sorry. I have caused you trouble. That person is Liu De, the richest man in Beijing. Don't worry about me. Let's go."
Although Liu De was wealthy and attractive, he had a hidden hobby, which was one of the reasons why Miss Mudan refused to obey him. However, she did not expect that Liu De would not get what he wanted and would go to the flower boat to cause trouble.
On the boat not far away, Ji Lingxue stood up but was pushed back to his seat by Xiao Yichen, "Be patient, those people are no match for Ruge."
Xiao Yichen: You are a pregnant woman and you still want to join in the fun? Just sit back and watch the show.
Ji Lingxue said: "Ruge just recovered from her serious injury."
Chi Feng also looked like he was enjoying the show, fanning himself and making his black hair flutter. "Don't worry, Queen. Ruge will be fine."
Here, Ruge was about to say something when Liu De's guards rushed forward. He held Mudan and quickly dodged. He kicked his feet and the splint flew towards the guards who rushed forward. There were screams and several guards fell to the ground. Several guards attacked Ruge from behind. Mudan screamed in fear and Ruge held her in the air and flew to the second floor of the flower boat.
Peony girl came back to her senses with her feet on the ground, looked down at the crowd below, then turned to look at Ruge who had let go of her, his silver hair flying in the wind, and his figure had disappeared in front of her.
The madam hurried to Mudan and asked, "Mudan, are you okay? How did you offend Mr. Liu? This is how it is in our business. No one cares if you ask me unwillingly... Come on, mom will take you to apologize to Mr. Liu. You serve him well tonight, and everything will be fine once he calms down. It's good for you, it's good for me, and it's good for everyone!"
Mudan was pulled inside by the madam, while Ruge flew ashore on a flower boat and disappeared.
On the boat, Ji Lingxue looked at Mudan's back with sympathy, wondering why Ruge just left without interfering in other people's business. Then why was he standing on the flower boat before
Although Ruge had left, the angry Liu De was in no mood to pay attention to the madam's apology, and took his men to chase Ruge.
The flower boat returned to silence again, and soon another flower boat rowed forward. Leaves and flowers were falling on the deck, and a woman in white was dancing gracefully. Everyone's attention was quickly attracted away. Liu De's disturbance just now was just a small episode.
The top prostitutes of the four major brothels have all finished their performances, and the buying of flowers starts. Whoever buys the most flowers will be the champion of the night, and the one with the highest bid will have a night with the champion courtesan Chun Xiao.
This is a game played by rich people. When Liu De is not around, the competitors are all young men from wealthy families. Chi Feng has already prepared paper and pen to note down the young men from noble families who are willing to spend one hundred taels of silver to buy flowers for the courtesan.
Ji Lingxue turned to Xiao Yichen and asked, "Did you let Ruge lead Liu De away?" If Liu De were here, as the richest man in China, he would definitely spend a huge sum of money to buy Mudan's virginity. However, the monthly expenses of those young masters from aristocratic families were limited, so they naturally could not compare with him.
Xiao Yichen nodded, "Well, the queen has become smarter. They say that pregnancy makes people stupid for three years, but I think that's not true."
Ji Lingxue twitched her lips and glanced at the four beauties standing on the flower boat, wearing red, white, blue and green, each with their own merits. Now Mudan had the most flowers in her hand, and even if Liu De was not there, she could not escape the fate of losing her virginity.
Ji Lingxue said: "I'm hungry, let's go for a walk on the shore."
Xiao Yichen nodded and told the boatman to dock. He flew ashore holding Ji Lingxue and left Chi Feng alone. Chi Feng shook his head helplessly and sighed: He values women over friendship!
Ji Lingxue pulled Xiao Yichen's sleeve and said, "You don't know, pregnant women are most likely to get hungry. I usually have to eat some snacks before going to bed. I've been on the boat for so long just now, and the baby in my belly is making a fuss and is hungry."
Xiao Yichen twitched his lips. Just now on the boat, Ji Lingxue had eaten two plates of snacks, and she was hungry again so soon.
Ji Lingxue walked to Qingshu's shop, knocked on the table and asked, "Boss, what's delicious?"
Qingshu turned around, and when he saw Ji Lingxue's face, his expression changed to one of surprise and fear, "Emperor..."
Ji Lingxue made a hushed gesture and blinked, signaling him not to get excited. "Give me a portion of whatever is delicious."
Intending to show off in front of Ji Lingxue, Qingshu nodded, turned around and walked to the stove to cook. A moment later, he presented a colorful cake to Ji Lingxue. He had learned two dishes very carefully in the past six months.
"This is the specialty of our shop, the colorful cake, made with sesame, mung beans, red dates, sweet potatoes and flour. It has a very chewy texture. Please try it."
Qingshu then brought a bowl of sweet soup and said with a smile, "This is our specialty soup, papaya and white fungus soup."
Ji Lingxue took a sip, tasted it, and nodded: "It tastes good. Why are you setting up a stall here alone?"
Qingshu scratched his head embarrassedly and said, "Well... I just want to earn more money to help those homeless refugees... so that they don't have to starve anymore."
Ji Lingxue said: "Your starting point is good, but have you ever thought that this kind of help cannot solve the fundamental problem."
Qingshu bowed, "Please teach me..."
Ji Lingxue turned to look at Xiao Yichen, who nodded and said, "Come with us, we'll tell you what to do later."
Qingshu cupped his hands, "I obey your command."
It was Xiao Yichen's original idea to recruit Qingshu for his own use, but Chi Feng couldn't hire him, so he had to ask Ji Lingxue to do it. Unexpectedly, he was persuaded with just two words.
Three days later, Xiao Yichen criticized the court officials for their poor parenting in the morning court. He also talked about the urgent need for resources due to the flood in Jiangnan. The national treasury was empty after allocating two batches of ten thousand dan of rice, so the ministers in the court donated supplies one after another.
Qingshu was appointed governor by Xiao Yichen, and went south with Chi Feng to provide disaster relief. He also took the refugees staying outside the capital and helped them settle down.
Ruge came to Chenhua Palace to say goodbye. He had stayed in Dongqi for too long and it was time to go back. His wedding date with Ruyi had been set for September 8th, three months later. The wedding was under intensive preparations and Ruge should also return to Dayan to prepare.
Ruge said, "Yuchi Gongru's body has been frozen. I will take him back to his hometown for burial. Although he did many bad things during his lifetime, he is still the third prince of Dayan. I probably won't come to Dongqi again after I go back this time. You can contact me by letter."
Ji Lingxue nodded, "When the baby grows up, let her come to see you as her uncle."
Ruge looked at Ji Lingxue's bulging belly, and then she understood why Ji Lingxue touched her belly for no reason last time.
Ruge asked, "Can I touch it?"
Ji Lingxue nodded generously.
Ruge tentatively put his hand on Ji Lingxue's belly and felt itchy in his palm. The corners of his mouth curved into a smile of surprise, "This little guy is kicking me." Life is so wonderful, the little guy interacted with him through his belly.
Ji Lingxue's face exuded maternal love, "It seems that she likes you very much, baby, this is your uncle!"
Ruge withdrew her hand, looked at Ji Lingxue, whose expression had become more mature, and said, "Take good care of yourself."
Ji Lingxue nodded, and then thought of a question and asked, "Three days ago, you had a conflict with Mr. Liu in the moat. What happened afterwards?"
(End of this chapter)