The stupid son of Chongba

Chapter 103 Compared to the Jiaofangsi, the brothel is more pure!
That night.

Yingtian Prefecture, Full Moon Tower.

The Dragon Boat Festival and the temple fair make Yingtianfu particularly lively today. In the evening, it is even more crowded and several large restaurants are packed with customers.

Fortunately, Mao Xiang had booked a private room in the Manyue Building in advance, so he had a place to sit.

“Ouch…”

"Master, I really admire you. You are so energetic that I am almost dying!"

"In the past half day, you have visited almost every street and alley in Yingtian! This is not how you go shopping!"

"If I didn't know, I would have thought you were a spy from the Northern Yuan Dynasty, here to steal the Yingtian Geomancy Map..."

"Also, don't show off your big jade pendant! You should know that wealth should not be shown off. It's hard not to attract other people's attention if you wear such a valuable thing on your waist. When you were walking in the alley just now, several groups of people followed you..."

Mao Xiang looked a little tired. As soon as he put down the bags, he couldn't help complaining.

The King of Wu is no longer a young boy, he is on a forced march!
The key point is that he is very proud, with a big jade pendant on his waist. You can tell at a glance from its quality and luster that it is not an ordinary item. I don't know how many people covet it, which doubles the pressure on him as a bodyguard!

"My dear guests, please enjoy the fine Longjing tea."

The waiter came forward with a smile on his face and poured tea for the two of them.

Before he finished pouring the tea, Mao Xiang had already gulped down the tea in two gulps.

"Fall again and again!"

"Who will drink this much?"

Seeing that he was angry, the waiter did not dare to be negligent and quickly filled his glass again.

"Isn't this possible?"

Zhu Ju laughed and said,

"I'm still not satisfied. I finally got out here, how can I not look around?"

"Brother Mao, I'm telling you, you still need to practice your physique! For those in your line of work, you also need to keep up with your martial arts skills. What if you need to assassinate a few people in the future?"

Mao Xiang was drinking water and almost spit it out when he heard what he said!

"Pfft! Cough cough cough..."

"Don't joke around, young man!"

He coughed several times and glanced at the waiter beside him.

"Go get some of their signature dishes. They don't have to be too many. We've already eaten a lot on the way, and there's too much to finish."

Mao Xiang ordered,
"Get another jug ​​of good wine, go!"

Originally, I wanted to treat Zhu Ju to a luxurious banquet. After all, it was a banquet for the prince, so the standard couldn't be too low.

But he had spent too much of his budget on the journey today, and at this stage he could only save money.

"Yes, I'll make arrangements right now."

The waiter's professionalism was quite good. He pretended not to have heard anything and left calmly.

"Your Highness, please don't talk nonsense when you are out..."

"You have to know that there are so many people here, and their mouths are full of tricks..."

"Your Highness, Your Highness?"

He shouted a few times, but Zhu Ju ignored him and his attention was all on the window.

Mao Xiang turned his head and saw several graceful women on the attic opposite, waving handkerchiefs in their hands and attracting customers with bright smiles.

"Uncle, come and play!"

"Uncle, come in and take a look!"

"Ah, Master Liu, you haven't been here for a long time. Have you forgotten me?"

"Hey, don't touch me unless you come in!"

"..."

Mao Xiang saw that Zhu Ju was watching with great interest and could not help but cough dryly:

"Ahem, Your Highness."

"These prostitutes are hawking low-class goods outside, and they are very noisy."

"I should have known not to sit here..."

When Zhu Ju heard his words, he smiled and waved his hand.

"Don't be noisy. I think it's quite interesting. This is the first time I've seen this."

He said with a smile,

"You said these things are not up to standard, then what kind of things are up to standard? Tell me about it."

Mao Xiang: "..."

This question made him feel so awkward that he didn't know how to respond.

"Hey, tell me!"

Zhu Ju urged,
"If you can't experience it yourself, isn't it enough to understand it?"

"Say it!"

"As a grown man, why are you being so shy? Confucius said that food, sex and nature are all there is to it."

At this moment, the waiter had already brought two cold dishes and a pot of fine wine.

"Sir, there are three more hot dishes and one soup."

The waiter introduced,

"This is Yingtian's famous Qingteng wine. It has a smooth taste and is truly a top-grade wine."

"Please."

He subconsciously skipped over Zhu Ju, after all, Zhu Ju was still a young boy.

"Okay, cook those dishes well, don't give me inferior ones or shortchange me."

Mao Xiang stretched his feet inadvertently, revealing his official boots, and ordered,
"Go!"

The waiters working in this kind of shop are all smart people. When they saw Mao Xiang's action, they immediately understood what he meant.

"Please rest assured, sir. The ingredients used in our restaurant are of the highest quality and the chefs in charge are all well-known chefs. I guarantee you will be satisfied."

The waiter nodded and bowed repeatedly before leaving the box.

Doodle.

Mao Xiang just turned around and saw that Zhu Ju had already poured two glasses of wine.

"Brother Mao, come on, we have a rule for drinking. First, drink three cups in a row, and then you can move freely."

Zhu Ju smiled and raised his glass.
"Let's go one?"

Mao Xiang was startled and quickly raised his glass.

"Hey! How could you trouble Your Highness to pour wine for me? This is really rude!"

"But, Your Highness...can you drink?"

He held up his wine glass, looking somewhat doubtful.

Would a child in his early teens really drink such strong liquor?

"Haha, don't underestimate me, I'm an old drunkard."

"Come on, let's drink three cups!"

Ding!
The two wine glasses were held together, and as the liquor went down his throat, a warm air instantly went straight through his limbs and bones.

Before Mao Xiang could catch his breath, the second cup came.

Ding!
With another gulp, the second cup was finished, and Zhu Ju skillfully poured the third cup.

If he hadn't seen Zhu Ju drink it himself, Mao Xiang would really have suspected that the other party was trying to get him to drink!
"hiss--"

After drinking three cups in a row, Mao Xiang felt a little dizzy. Looking at Zhu Ju who was calm and composed without changing his expression, he immediately felt admiration for him.

"Your Highness, it's a huge amount!"

"You can drink so much at such a young age. Your future is limitless!"

Zhu Ju couldn't help but laugh secretly when he heard this.

Will I tell you that I took some hangover powder in advance?
However, the alcohol content of this ancient wine is indeed not that high. Even if you don't take that bag of kudzu root powder, you should be able to tolerate it.

But this Maoxiang is a bit weak.

However, he is the weak one. "What's my point? Haha, come on, come on, you seem a little dizzy, eat some food."

Zhu Ju smiled and urged,
"I haven't said it yet! What kind of stuff is good?"

Urged by him, Mao Xiang became a little drunk again, so he relaxed a lot and said:

"...Well, since Your Highness wants to know, I will tell you."

"The top girls in a brothel usually don't show their faces in public. Standing at the door to solicit customers is a very cheap act."

"Look at those at the door and upstairs. They are all dressed up in fancy clothes. But if you look closely, you will see that they are all wearing rouge and powder. Not to mention the rich young men, even people like me would look down on them."

"The real good stuff is all hiding inside. As the saying goes, she comes out only after much anticipation, and she still holds the lute and half covers her face. An Oiran must have that kind of reservedness!"

Zhu Ju looked at the girls in the brothel opposite and nodded sincerely.

"They are indeed vulgar things."

he commented.

"Every brothel has its own top prostitute, who is kept hidden by the madam and never shown to others."

Mao Xiang ate peanuts and said with a smile,

"If you want to have a close relationship with her, you will have to pay a lot of money! You may even need a certain level of talent, otherwise you won't be able to catch the eye of the courtesan!"

"They are all proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. They are not selling their bodies, but their loveliness!"

"Of course, ordinary brothel girls, even the most beautiful girls, are still far inferior to the women in the Jiaofang Bureau."

Zhu Ju raised his eyebrows.

"Jiaofangsi?"

He held his chin and said,
"I think I know this. The women inside are all the wives of officials who have been convicted, right?"

Mao Xiang smiled and nodded.

"That's right. If we talk about those prostitutes learning poetry and lyrics, they are just imitating others."

"What they are imitating are those women in the Jiaofang Bureau, the wives of criminal officials. To put it bluntly, they are all real ladies from noble families who have fallen into prostitution. Their knowledge is not piled up, and their pitiful appearance is not fake!"

"Tsk tsk... I feel so sorry for you!"

Zhu Ju couldn't help but laugh when he heard this.

"Brother Mao, I think you are itching?"

He couldn't help but joked,
"How about we think of a way to go to the Jiaofangsi?"

"You don't have to reimburse me for this, it's my treat!"

After hearing what Maoxiong said, Zhu Ju became even more curious.

He really wanted to see what the situation was like inside the Jiaofangsi!
"No, no, I don't dare to go there. That kind of place...it's actually quite unpleasant to go there."

Mao Xiang waved his hands and shook his head.

"I might even know those wives of the convicted officials. I might even have greeted them and called them Madam or Miss."

"Suddenly their husbands or fathers committed crimes, causing them to become prostitutes. They are actually quite pitiful. I can't bear to see them prostituted!"

Zhu Ju was immediately filled with awe.

"Then you are quite kind!"

He gave a thumbs up and praised.

Unexpectedly, this spy chief is quite humane.

Maybe it's because he has just started his transformation...

"That's not the case... Mainly, I'm afraid I'll follow in his footsteps in the future."

Mao Xiang looked a little unnatural, swirling his wine glass, and whispered,

"There is a saying that karma will always pay off. If you rape someone's wife or daughter, your wife or daughter will be raped by someone else."

"Your Highness just pointed it out. In my position, I am destined to be a lone wolf. It is hard to say what my fate will be in the future."

"At least... I myself don't have much confidence that I can have a good ending. The more things I do and the greater my power, the harder it will be to have a good ending."

"So, not going to the Jiaofangsi can be considered as a bottom line I set for myself. It can be considered as... accumulating some virtue!"

Zhu Ju nodded slightly.

"Now that you mention it, I'm not interested in going on an adventure anymore."

He said,

"Let's do something pure. The brothel across the street is pretty good. We can have fun there without any burden."

Although the nature of the Jiaofangsi is the same as that of a brothel, it has an extra layer of sadness.

Brothels are still better. You both want to do it and there's no burden to have fun.

"So... Your Highness, are you going to tell me?"

Mao Xiang looked at Zhu Ju and said expectantly,
"Your Highness, please show me the way forward!"

As he said that, he actually stood up and bowed to Zhu Ju!

Mao Xiang had asked several times along the way, but Zhu Ju always avoided the question.

This time, he must get it clear!

"Get up."

Seeing his sincere attitude, Zhu Ju also restrained his smile and raised his hand and said,

"it's actually really easy."

"In addition to the emperor, find another backer. Of course, this backer must be powerful enough!"

"If one day in the future the emperor wants to abandon you as a pawn, then this supporter may be able to save your life."

"At the very least, it can protect your wife and daughter from having to go to the Jiaofangsi."

Mao Xiang was slightly stunned, and then couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"Backer... Who else can I find as a backer?"

He shook his head and said,

"It's important enough... The only people I can think of are the Empress and the Crown Prince."

"But how can these two possibly become my supporters? Even if I try my best to show my courtesy, it will be useless!"

In the entire Ming Dynasty, besides the emperor, only the crown prince and the empress have the ability to guarantee people!

But who of these two would pay attention to him?
At most, you can gain some favor, but it is extremely difficult to gain favor!
For a moment, Mao Xiang felt a little gloomy.

After a long time, the answer is this...

"Oh, besides these two, is there no one else?"

Zhu Ju raised his head and said,
"Mao Xiang, you need to have a long-term vision and think about the future, okay?"

Mao Xiang raised his head slightly.

He looked at Zhu Ju's confident demeanor at the moment, and thought of what the other party had done, as well as the doting of His Majesty and the Queen on him, and suddenly his heart was startled!
The third supporter...seems to be right in front of us? !

"Your Highness!"

Mao Xiang stood up suddenly, picked up the wine glass, and said respectfully,

"Can your subordinates rely on you as a backer?!"

When Zhu Ju heard this, he couldn't help but laugh.

"I?"

He shook his head and laughed.

"You're wrong. I'm afraid I'm not qualified to be anyone's backer."

Mao Xiang heard this, but shook his head repeatedly and said quickly:
“No, just like you said, keep your eyes on the horizon!”

"You are still young now, but in time, you will definitely play an important role in the court!"

"I believe that in the future you will become a towering tree, no, a majestic mountain, in the Ming Dynasty!"

At this moment, his mind was extremely sharp and the more he thought about it, the more excited he became.

Zhu Ju’s battle record can be checked!

He has the absolute doting of the Queen, the absolute care of the Prince, and the endless concern of His Majesty, which is not expressed out loud but is in his heart!

Coupled with his strong character, as long as you are taken under his command, you will definitely be protected!
Compared with the previous two backers, although this backer is still growing, its future prospects are limitless and it is more reliable!
Thinking of this, Mao Xiang no longer hesitated, he knelt down on the ground and held the wine glass high!

(End of this chapter)