Quick Wear: Under the Skirt, All Beings Are Equal

Chapter 162 Young General: It's getting late, and the mountains and rivers are already winter

Chang Qing had just conquered the Bandit Bay and had not yet returned to Wancheng when Magistrate Li had already received the news. He sent the person who had reported down to the place down before he went into the house.

The prince was sitting at the top, and below him were two big men with unfamiliar faces. One of them was more elegant, but there was a scar running from his eyebrow across the entire right side of his face, adding a bit of ferocity to his look.

The two men were none other than Longhu Mountain's big boss Zhou Zhi and second in command Zhou Si. Decades ago, they were members of the Shen family's side branch. In the witchcraft disaster that almost wiped out the entire family, they barely escaped and changed their names to Zhou following the old servant at the time. They have been hiding in Longhu Mountain for so many years, trying every possible way to amass wealth and secretly training private soldiers.

Zhou Si asked: "Sir, will this Xu Jinhuan stop and leave?"

"No matter what, we have to find a way to get him to leave. The Crown Prince and the Second Prince have long suspected Wancheng. We cannot attract the attention of the capital. Once Huang Jingwei appears on the streets of Wancheng, your highness will be in danger."

Governor Li spoke in a deep voice, with a hint of struggle in his eyes. He only hoped that the young general would stop after gaining some merit and not get too deeply involved.

Deep down, he was extremely reluctant to see this glorious general who had defended his country on the battlefield die. He was so loyal, but there were some things that they could not decide even if they didn't want to.

The Shen family was also extremely wronged and ended up with such a fate. The brilliant and talented Queen Shen was also plotted to death and barely gave birth to a child in a sea of ​​fire.

For so many years, Magistrate Li had only one thought in his heart, that is, he must not let down Queen Shen's promotion, and he must help her child restore his identity at all costs, appear in front of the world openly, and take back everything that belongs to him.

"I wonder what Your Highness thinks?" Magistrate Li looked at the prince who had remained silent.

His Highness still did not speak. He lowered his eyes slightly and looked at the news coming from the secret line in the capital. Now the struggle between the Second Prince and the Crown Prince has become more and more intense, and even many princes and princesses are involved.

Some princes were exiled to remote areas, and some princesses were neglected. They were no longer as glorious and respectable as before. For example, the mother of the fourth princess, Nangong Qinghan, sided with the prince's party, and was framed and sent to the cold palace.

The two most dazzling princesses nowadays are Princess Qingyang and the fifth princess Nangong Yunran. The seventh princess, who was originally more favored, has been imprisoned in her own palace since she violated the ancestral taboo at the last Spring Court Banquet and rarely goes out.

His Highness' eyes fell on Nangong Yunran's name and he chuckled. These days, Princess Qingyang and Nangong Yunran had completely fallen out with each other, but Nangong Yunran had always stayed at home to recuperate, and would occasionally go to talk to the current queen. She still seldom appeared in public, allowing her to avoid many conspiracies and intrigues.

Although he had never seen these brothers and sisters, it did not prevent him from having a deep understanding of them. He could not tell whether it was because of admiration or because of the so-called blood relationship.

At least he was quite satisfied with these people. None of them was too stupid, which aroused his interest in meeting a worthy opponent and made him look forward to the future even more.

After a long while, His Highness gently raised his head and looked at Li Zhifu, with a hint of amusement on his face: "I am quite curious about this General Xu, how he could have aroused Uncle Chengri's sympathy."

It's not that no one had come to Wancheng to investigate before. Once there was a possibility that he would be in danger, Li Chengzai would nip this possibility in the bud at all costs. However, facing this General Xu, Li Chengzai's attitude was to send the person away quickly, without the idea of ​​cutting the weeds completely.

As early as when Shu Yi Jin broke into the Pavilion, several people felt that something was wrong. Although Shu Yi Jin seemed to be just looking for flowers and willows and had the appearance of a lecherous playboy, and they did not find any evidence, it did not stop them from having doubts.

They never look down on anyone, and they don't think that what they do is perfect and can fool everyone.

Li Chengzai was stunned for a moment, then said with a wry smile: "That General Xu was a man of clear mind. If he died like this, it would not only arouse suspicion from others, but would also be a great loss to the court."

That kind of high-spiritedness was very similar to when he was young, always wanting to clear up all the injustices in the world.

He was the proud and triumphant scholar who rode on a tall horse and saw all the flowers in Chang'an in one day.

Before the people arrived, the building was already full of red sleeves waving to handsome young men. I always felt that I could reach out and embrace the moon in the sky. I was in high spirits and looked at the magnificent mountains and rivers on the city wall with my friends, speaking of my ambitions in a heroic manner. The excitement in my chest seemed as if I had already seen my future self.

However, after being ostracized by his colleagues and stumbling in the officialdom, he gradually became silent.

He began to chase after those illusory rights, or perhaps because of some inner unwillingness, he still managed Wancheng in an orderly manner, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment. During the autumn harvest, he went to the fields with the people and enjoyed the peace and prosperity of the country.

However, he allowed the bandits in Longhu Mountain to plunder and rob the merchants to accumulate business treasures and raise private soldiers. He also found ways to extend his hands into the capital, using various connections and bribes to get his own people in.

Li Chengzai never thought of himself as a good official, but when he first entered the officialdom, he really wanted to be a good official.

He fell from the top to the bottom of the valley, fortunately Queen Shen rescued him, otherwise he would have died more than ten years ago. Now looking at the prince in front of him, he always thought that when the time is right and he ascends to the supreme throne in the world, he will resign and return to the countryside.

When Changqing returned to the city, Magistrate Li had already prepared a celebration banquet.

There were several huge ships on the lake, which was sometimes bright and sometimes dark, with lanterns hanging above them. The sounds of debauchery, sweet voices and erotic words could be heard endlessly.

At this time, the night was a little dark, and the moonlight shone on the river like frost. There were many literati and scholars taking a night stroll, reciting poems and composing couplets. Since it was a gathering of literati, it was inevitable to ask girls to come and add fragrance to the party.

Chang Qing looked at the banquet and found it ridiculous. Reciting poems and composing couplets was nothing but a gathering for prostitution. He was different from Chun Heming, who sometimes also had this kind of literary craze, but he was looking for snow with a lantern and playing the piano in the bamboo forest.

Chun Heming was still wearing the same blue shirt, his eyes sliding across the boat with an indifferent look.

"How disrespectful! It insults the clothes they are wearing." He raised his eyebrows slightly and lost interest.

To be honest, few people had expected that Magistrate Li would hold the celebration banquet on the flower boat. The riverside was extremely prosperous after nightfall, with flower lanterns floating in the water, disturbing the rouge color of the entire city and making people think of charming and erotic stories.

"I heard that Mr. Zhang loves poetry every day, so he spent a huge amount of money to charter these boats and invite those famous scholars to recite poems and write couplets. In the future, all the scholars will gather here. Today happens to be the day when the young master of the Zhang family is practicing for the students who are going to take the imperial examination this year."

As he finished speaking, the cruise ship slowly approached the shore.

Chang Qing stepped onto the boat and sat at the bow, watching the boat slowly move forward. The night view of the river was indeed worth seeing.

"Master Chen, you still have to look for Miss Huan'er tonight. It so happens that Huan'er has already turned down someone else and is waiting for Master Chen." The madam walked over with a twist of her waist, and immediately laughed when she saw the master.

Lord Chen shook his head slightly and said with a smile, "Tonight, a big shot has come to celebrate General Xu's success, and he specially asked me to find a few good singers."

"Which General Xu?"

The madam froze in place for a moment, thinking that she had heard it wrongly, and her voice was filled with extreme uncertainty.

Lord Chen chuckled and looked at the boats full of pleasure boats that had become quiet.

"It is the world-famous young general, Xu Jinhuan."

All the pavilions and towers were silent until they finally heard who was coming. The young general's name was known to everyone. Even in a place like Wancheng, he was admired by countless girls.

Not to mention that when the young man first arrived in Wancheng, his figure riding on a horse amazed passers-by. During the subsequent plague control, he was like the breeze and the bright moon, which made people even more curious.

"It really is General Xu."

A girl came out holding a pipa, raised her head slightly to reveal her beautiful face, and said slowly: "I play the pipa well, sir, please let me go."

Seeing someone speak, other women also spoke up. Without exception, they all had special skills.

Even the girl Huan'er lazily supported herself and asked the people around her to tell the madam to push the young man tonight to be served by other people.

Lord Chen looked at these girls who were famous in Wancheng and became more and more surprised. The Zhang family had invited several famous brothels to join in the night tour tonight, and those who were willing to sing this time were almost all the top girls in all the brothels.

At this time, His Highness was sitting at the innermost of the magnificent and tall ship, quietly waiting for the arrival of the young general.

The boat that Changqing was on stopped beside the ship. A little girl next to it was holding a lantern, leading the way for the group. The light from the lantern fell on her.

"General, please follow me."

Chang Qing nodded but said nothing, nor did she ignore the heads that popped out from the ships. When she arrived, the noisy surroundings became quiet, and everyone looked at her as if they were watching a monkey. Some of the bolder ones even twisted their waists and threw her a few seductive glances.

The young general was invincible on the battlefield, making the enemies tremble in fear. He was also extremely handsome and crushed all the geniuses in the capital. This treatment was what he deserved.

When we got inside, the singing girl was standing in the distance. When she saw people coming, she started to pluck the strings of her zither with her fingers as sharp as peeling onion roots and her mouth as red as red. The little song from the south of the Yangtze River began to sound.

"Congratulations to General Xu for returning victoriously and solving the bandit problem. The bandits in Robber Bay have been extremely rampant in the past few years. I have sent people to attack them several times but to no avail. It is really shameful. I have been worried every night and have difficulty sleeping. Fortunately, General Xu has come and brought peace to the people of Wancheng."

Magistrate Li poured a glass of wine and toasted Changqing first, and the people around him also began to compliment him.

Li Zhifu smiled and said, "I have already written a memorial to the court, reporting everything that happened in Wan truthfully, and I will definitely not hide the general's contribution."

"Now that the bandit problem has been resolved, I wonder when the general will return to Beijing. We should be prepared and carry out the mission for the general when the time comes."

“I’m afraid it will take some time.”

Chang Qing smiled slowly without raising her eyebrows. The dim candlelight from the lanterns hanging in the boathouse fell on her sharp eyebrows, concealing the murderous intent brought by her raised eyebrows, and the whole person seemed a little gentler.

The usually cold and unbridled General Xu suddenly smiled at this moment, just like broken ice in spring, catching people off guard.

Magistrate Li looked at her for a few seconds without saying a word. Instead, he silently poured a glass of wine and stared into a daze as he watched the liquid swaying in the glass.

He was too familiar with this kind of look. It was too similar to the look he had seen more than ten years ago when he was an ignorant young man dressed in fine clothes and riding a horse. He suddenly didn't want to stop the young man from becoming as utilitarian as himself, and he felt extremely unhappy in his heart.

People don't take every right step, and he doesn't want to judge himself at that time, but he only knows that his current self is not doing justice to his young self who studied hard under the lamp.

But he still tactfully advised the person in front of him to quit while he was ahead, to complete the court's task quickly and leave quickly, and not to be too greedy.

"I heard there are some rumors on Mount Longhu. This general is quite curious." The young man laughed, his eyes slightly lowered, his slender fingers gently stroking the wine glass.

"I heard from the people of Wancheng that you have been fighting bandits for many years, which is admirable. Two years ago, you fell seriously ill after coming down from Longhu Mountain, and then there were rumors of ghosts. This general has seen many lives and deaths on the battlefield, and countless people have died at his hands. This is the first time I have heard of a wronged ghost seeking the soul."

His Highness inside stood in the narrow side room, taking in everything that happened inside the ship. His gaze fell slightly on the young man, who raised his glass, the patterns on his sleeves flowing like clouds and water, his posture outstanding and unrestrained.

Just as the rumors said, this person was unwilling to leave Wancheng in such an unclear manner.

"Pity!"

He turned around slowly, his black gown gleaming faintly in the flickering lights, and a jade pendant hung around his waist, which was a relic left by his mother. Even in the imperial palace in the capital, no other sister could match it.

Chang Qing had excellent hearing. When he heard the man's voice, he raised his head and looked in that direction. He could only see the corner of the flowing clothes disappear.

She knew that this man was the son of Empress Shen, a man who could stir up trouble in the entire capital city in Wancheng and was a true local emperor.

Probably from that moment on, they became complete enemies.

Or perhaps, she was not on the same side as those who were fighting for power. Those people wanted her support, and if they couldn't get it, they naturally didn't want to push her to another camp, so they destroyed her after she had played her greatest role.