The second month of the lunar calendar, the spring colors deepened. Along the Qinhuai River, the fluttering willow catkins mingled with the songs from both banks, dancing in the vibrant spring air. Users can input addresses on their phones to search for \\(¨Complete¨Book¨God¨Station¨\\) to read high-quality literature for free.

Sitting in a restaurant in the bustling downtown area in the early morning, one could often see pedestrians coming and going at the auspicious street entrance not far away. This auspicious street was a famous gathering place for brothels in Jiangning. At this time, many men who had stayed overnight could be seen emerging from that area. Some were still tidying their clothes on the road, while others looked rather flustered, probably because of some urgent matter, hurrying along wrapped in their clothes. Of course, such cases were not that common.

In these years, patronizing prostitutes was, after all, a fairly normal thing. Some scholars and students greeted acquaintances on the street with refreshing spirits, then put their arms around each other's shoulders and discussed which young lady they had managed to "enter the house" of last night. Others looked upright, like proper gentlemen, with a refined and elegant demeanor, revealing little clue.

"Oh, Xiao Chan, look at that guy. He even bought meat porridge to carry. This guy plans to take it back to his wife and children...he's quite a family man."

"That young master? He doesn't seem like it. Master, you can't just say that about people just because they came from over there."

"You don't understand. Although they look about the same on the surface, there is still a certain difference in the expression and complexion of men who sleep at home and those who sleep outside." Ning Yi sat by the window on the second floor, throwing a silver thread roll into his mouth.

"Does Master really know how to tell? Then teach Xiao Chan, please."

"What do you want to do?"

"In the future, if Master stays in the brothel and doesn't come home, Xiao Chan will be able to tell."

"Heh."

The reason why he had been so bored these past two days and running to the restaurant to observe who was staying out all night was mainly because he found that the restaurant's breakfast tasted good. Xiao Chan had nothing to do today, so she followed along. At this time, the two were sitting by the window on the second floor, pointing and commenting, making surprising discoveries from time to time.

"Master, Master, look, that old man also came out of the brothel."

"How did you tell?"

"Because the girl in the window of that small building on the side is still waving to him..."

"He's old but vigorous, truly too...enviable..."

"Master isn't envious at all. He never goes to such places."

The master and servant joked like this for a while. At this time, there were already many people in the restaurant. Several men dressed as scholars, whom Ning Yi recognized as the men who stayed out all night, were sitting at a table on the left, their clothes neatly arranged, their spirits high, describing the scene of last night in poetic terms, occasionally bursting into laughter. Xiao Chan, hearing those poems, would often cautiously look back, her face turning red, before turning back again.

At this time, these talented scholars were talking about some romantic affairs, mostly in a frivolous manner. After a while, someone made a gesture to lower his voice: "Hey, do you think we'll have a chance to see that courtesan, Li Shishi, this time she's here?"

"I heard that this Li Shishi is just visiting friends and doesn't entertain guests, so it's probably rare to see her."

"That's what they say."

"I'm afraid she only sees those big shots."

"That's true, but people like Cao Guan and Liu Qingdi will probably be able to see her."

"Brother Ji Chang's family has a profound academic background, and his uncle is also an official in the prefectural government, so he probably can see her too."

"Haha, just joking, just joking. But Gu Yanzhen came back last year and said that he had seen this Li Shishi when he was in Tokyo. I don't have that good fortune."

"I wonder how this Li Shishi, who is known as the number one courtesan in the capital, compares to Qilan and Luo Miaomiao of my Jiangning..."

"Qilan and others are probably not as good. Moreover, I think Li Shishi really chose the right time for this visit. Think about it, now that the courtesan Qilan is deliberately promoted by the Puyang family, although her skills are also amazing, she is too materialistic after all. Luo Miaomiao is gorgeous but lacks grandeur. In the past, Feng Xiaojing was called a lily of the valley, but... alas, she was forced to jump from the building by that brute Chen Yong and is now silent. And that lively and pure Yuan Jin'er is said to have married. The leading courtesans have left four out of two. Now, if Qilan and Luo Miaomiao face a master like Li Shishi, they simply can't hold the stage. Do you think it's possible that Li Shishi deliberately chose this time to come, and although she says she's just visiting friends, she's actually here to provoke?"

"...If that's really the case, we Jiangning scholars must work together and not let her succeed."

"Perhaps you are thinking too much..."

The group of people were talking over there, although the tone they used was that of speaking about a rather confidential event, their voices were not lowered. Ning Yi heard the names Li Shishi and Gu Yanzhen, and became a little interested. Xiao Chan saw his expression and listened for a while: "Master, Master, if that Li Shishi is coming, if you want to see her, you'll be able to, right?"

Ning Yi was stunned: "I don't know her. Uh... have you heard about her coming?"

"Yes, I heard about it a few days ago." Xiao Chan nodded. "It is said that this Miss Li Shishi is coming to visit friends to relax, which was supposed to be a secret operation, but I don't know how it spread like wildfire. Miss also knows about it. Yesterday, when she was chatting with the wife of the shopkeeper of Xingqing Square, she mentioned these things. Miss said: 'If my clumsy husband wants to see her, he can probably see her, but you also know that my husband's temperament is different from others. He's not very interested in approaching courtesans to become famous. He often says that these romantic talents are just hyped up. Oh, what he calls hyped up means just blindly following the crowd.'"

She imitated Su Tan'er's tone, and her pride was overflowing. Our master is not that he can't go, but that he doesn't care. Ning Yi laughed. Xiao Chan thought for a while, then said: "Actually, Master, if you want to go, Xiao Chan thinks it's good to participate in these things sometimes. Miss has also said so."

Ning Yi smiled and said, "Is that double-speak? If I nod, I'll definitely suffer."

"No, really." Xiao Chan shook her head vigorously. "Master usually doesn't care about those women at all. After Master becomes famous, Miss and Xiao Chan are also very happy. Although Master says that these gatherings are just blindly following the crowd and praising each other, everyone will be very happy to praise each other. It's also interesting for Master to participate, write one or two poems to scare those people, and then be happy for a while. Actually, Xiao Chan is also like that. If someone praises Xiao Chan for being very powerful, Xiao Chan will also be very happy."

Xiao Chan's words were not a disguise. Although as a woman in the family, she would definitely not be happy to see her man flirting outside, the times were such, and that was a matter of degree. Usually, these talented scholars and beauties gather together, which is considered a kind of entertainment activity that is promoted by society. As Xiao Chan said, everyone praises each other, and as the person involved, they will also feel happy.

If he participates in such things too much and becomes truly enthusiastic about those famous courtesans, Su Tan'er and Xiao Chan will definitely be unhappy, but if Ning Yi doesn't participate at all, by this time, someone like Su Tan'er might even feel that she seems to have affected Ning Yi's path to happiness, or even feel that it seems like Ning Yi occasionally participating once or twice, showing off his poetic talent and making everyone look at him with admiration, is a truly healthy lifestyle. In short, they understand that Ning Yi has nothing to do with those courtesans, and it's good. If Ning Yi becomes famous, the family will actually be quite vain.

Ning Yi thought for a while in his heart and smiled for a while, then said, "Xiao Chan is really amazing." He reached out and touched her head, and Xiao Chan "hehe" laughed.

"In that case, Master, do you really not want to see that Miss Li Shishi?"

"Your master is too charming. What if she falls in love with me after seeing me and cries and shouts that she doesn't want to leave Jiangning..."

"Then..." Xiao Chan lowered her head, her face flushed, "Then, then let her in after Master takes Chan'er as a concubine..." Her voice was as thin as a mosquito. If an ordinary person heard Ning Yi's boast, they would inevitably laugh and ridicule him, saying that he was self-centered. Xiao Chan's reaction was unexpected. Ning Yi was stunned, and then he had to shake his head and smile. He couldn't help but think about whether this Li Shishi was better or worse than Yunzhu and Jin'er.

His comparison was not because of the courtesan component. It was really because Li Shishi was too famous, and presumably her singing, dancing, and lyrical skills were also deep. Ning Yi was not very interested in ancient singing and dancing at first, but after listening to Yunzhu's singing and playing, he greatly changed his mind and knew that the great people were ultimately great. Of course, this was also because after Yunzhu listened to the style of music he taught, she also changed her singing performance, which was due to pleasing his tastes.

Yuan Jin'er was unwilling to perform dance in front of him. After all, she had married well and felt that there were not many worthwhile audiences. This kind of thing inevitably had the feeling of pleasing him, a stinky man, but just from the few times she had seen her singing and dancing, it was still pleasing to the eye. It is said that when Ning Yi was not there, she would jump and dance in front of Yunzhu for her own enjoyment. Because of her cheerful mood and inspiration, she would often create new dances for Yunzhu to see. Sometimes when Jin'er left, Yunzhu would laugh and talk about it, and imitate it a bit.

The two had similar skills. Yunzhu was very good at playing and singing instruments, but she was not much worse than Yuan Jin'er in dancing. However, when she danced, no one played music, so she could only let Ning Yi see the beauty of her body rhythm. If she performed a little more, Yuan Jin'er would often run back and loudly interrupt, protesting that Yunzhu was using her dance to please her lover, which was a shameful act of valuing lust over friendship. In fact, Yunzhu was gentle and quiet, while Jin'er was lively and active. Even the same dance would be somewhat different when performed.

The scholars at this table were still talking about Li Shishi, while on the other side, three more men came up from the stairs and sat down next to them under the guidance of the waiter. These three men were all dressed in short clothes and each carried weapons. One of them even had injuries on his body. They seemed to be all Jianghu people. After sitting down, they ordered meals.

"Damn it, yesterday dozens of people ambushed, but those few Liao people still escaped. It's really unlucky!"

"They can't escape. Master Cheng of the Hundred Blades Alliance has already personally taken people to chase after them, setting up a net from all sides. The government is also cooperating. These Liao dogs entered the hinterland of my Central Plains to kill and assassinate. If they can still retreat completely, then they are really bullying my Central Plains that there is no one."

"But the leader of those Liao people is really powerful. He was able to kill his way out of the encirclement of so many experts..."

Hearing the words over there, Ning Yi frowned and became concerned...

**********

Got up late, continuing to the next chapter.

Probably an old man died here yesterday, and today a mourning hall was set up. In the afternoon, they have been singing songs like "Love Trading", such as "Sell my love, watch me leave"... Oh, at this time, they are singing The First Snow of 2002... (To be continued.) Vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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