Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 728 The Classical Intelligence Chief
Emperor Jingtai was nearly seven years older than Xia Lin, and was now almost forty years old. But this forty-year-old looked no more than thirty. He did look young. He used to grow a beard, but later, seeing that Xia Lin always made himself look like a eunuch, he once shaved his beard in a moment of madness. To this day, he still remembers the eunuchs and maids kneeling around him the next morning, crying as if their father had died.

But later he did more and more unconventional things, and everyone from the imperial relatives to the eunuchs got used to it. Anyway, it's not easy to learn good things, but it's easy to learn bad things. Before they could control that person who always liked to shave his beard, it would probably be a bit difficult to control the emperor.

It's not that no one has brought this up; some people have even argued with Xia about it, saying that our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents, so how can we shave our beards so casually?

Xia Lin's answer was extremely straightforward: "I don't have parents. I was raised by Old Master Zhang and Old Master Zhang from the Zhang family."

Then the person discussing the Dao turned to look at Old Zhang, who was stroking his bald chin and said, "My father is bald, and I send my beard to the underworld to help him grow hair. How can that not be considered a form of filial piety?"

Later, everyone got tired of it, but there was actually a problem here: the emperor's words and actions directly affected the court and even the customs of the common people. People gradually discovered that trimming the beard was both convenient and clean, so now many young people no longer grow beards.

Whether this is good or bad is still up for debate. In any case, if Emperor Jingtai was a foolish ruler, then it was bad; if he was a wise and benevolent ruler, then even his act of not wiping his excrement would be considered noble and virtuous.

So now, not having a beard is not a shameful thing. In addition, the fashion industry has been getting stronger year by year. After aesthetic appreciation has been cultivated, all kinds of beautiful clothes, skirts and pants have become popular. Except for formal occasions where the classic style is still used, most of the time all kinds of clothing have appeared on the streets, and some designs are even quite avant-garde.

"Speaking of which, Hangzhou is my base."

Emperor Jingtai stared ahead with the gaze of a hawk: "But I wasn't in such a grand spectacle before I left."

“Yes.” Surprisingly, Erfeng did not refute, but murmured, “Chang’an is still too isolated.”

"Dirty!"

Suddenly, a scream broke the silence. Xia Lin, who was buying food at a roadside stall, turned around and saw two pretty women standing by the lake. They were wearing very short skirts, some even below their knees. Given that they were young and beautiful, it was easy for people to have impure thoughts.

So at this moment, the two of them were being harassed by several idle drunkards, and the key point was that the place where their conflict occurred was right in front of Emperor Jingtai and Li Er.

"Do you think it's okay for us to take advantage of the chaos and grope him now?" Emperor Jingtai whispered. "Wouldn't that seem too despicable?"

"Damn... the very words you uttered were utterly despicable." Li Er clapped his hands and stood up: "Let's play the hero and rescue the damsel in distress, then take her back and grope her slowly."

"You're no good person either."

The two men got up to fight, but Xia Lin had already come over with three bowls. Before he could even stop them, the two men had already started fighting. They didn't even say a word, as if they were just venting their pent-up energy from their time in the palace, and it had nothing to do with being a hero and saving a damsel in distress.

A few drunkards were no match for these two contestants, after all, one was the strongest carbon-based life form in the 7th century, and the other was an emperor on horseback who could make the strongest carbon-based life form in the 7th century bleed from the nose...

After they finished fighting, they didn't even bother to look back at the girl they had rescued. Their eyes showed no desire for her fair thighs, only the exhilaration of a real man fighting.

And then……

They didn't see any thighs, nor did they see the naked White Snake legend, and the two of them, along with Xia Lin, were "invited" to the yamen.

Fortunately, the two women testified, and they were released quickly. However, because the two men had been so violent, they had to pay a full twenty taels of silver to the victim.

"Gentlemen, thank you for your help. Would you do us the honor of hosting a banquet in your hospitality?"

As they left the yamen, the two women thanked them profusely, their faces flushed with a hint of playfulness and their eyes sparkling.

It is said that a young girl's blush speaks louder than a thousand words. Even emperors and princes who have seen it all could not resist such a touch of spring, and he chuckled and agreed.

"Young Master Tian, ​​I've heard there are snake demons around here," Xia Lin said, leaning closer to Emperor Jingtai. "You'll go to any banquet no matter who invites you?"

“Go! Since we are destined to meet, why not go?” Emperor Jingtai said, pointing to Li Shimin not far ahead: “Look at him.”

Looking up, he saw that the chivalrous Li Shimin had already walked quite a distance with the two girls. He was Li Shimin, after all. He was knowledgeable, eloquent, intelligent, and talkative. With his ability to roam the world and his status as a prince, it was as easy for him to deceive the two girls as cutting melons and vegetables.

"Your competitive spirit is kicking in again, isn't it? Why are you always arguing with him?"

But thinking about it, it makes sense. These two seem to have been at odds since childhood. One is competitive and the other is petty. They've compared Chang'an and Jinling more than once or twice. The two cities now have similar populations and economies, but their outputs have different focuses. Although they haven't said anything to save face, they've always been secretly competing. If both cities had a population of one million, they would wish they could have a child as soon as possible to have one more person than the other.

"I can't stand it." Emperor Jingtai pointed at Li Er's back and said sarcastically, "Oh dear, is he still thinking about Jinling? He still wants to be like Sima Wen A Dou, doesn't he even remember how Sima Zhao died!"

"It's not worth it. You are, after all, the supreme leader of the legitimate dynasty. Be more magnanimous."

"No way! He made me uncomfortable for a moment, so I'll make him uncomfortable forever! Let's see which of those two young ladies will fall for today."

Xia Lin shut his mouth. He knew that what had sparked this fight was not lust, but the damned competitive spirit of men.

Having two local girls take you around eating, drinking, and sightseeing is actually quite pleasant, but what's annoying is the peacock-like performance of those two guys. They can make the little girls swoon, but in Xia Lin's eyes, it's so embarrassing that you can practically scream "greasy three-bedroom apartment" with your toes.

But as greasy as they may be, they are indeed very effective at charming young girls, especially in this era of limited information and few forms of entertainment. These two gentlemen's knowledge and generous spending make it incredibly easy for them to attract the opposite sex. Age is not a problem at all; even at forty, they have their own charm.

On the contrary, Xia Lin had no interest in the peacock displaying its tail feathers. While the others were laughing and chatting, he rested his chin on his hand, gazing at the beautiful spring scenery outside, completely detached and without a single distracting thought.

"Young masters, why has this young master remained silent for the past two days?" one of the two younger sisters suddenly asked curiously. "Is it because he doesn't like our laughter and conversation?"

"Ignore him," Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "He's just putting on airs and acting all high and mighty. Where were we?"

"Oh, you just said you knew Mr. Xia Daosheng. Do you really know him? There have been quite a few people who used the name of knowing him to swindle money and seduce women in the past."

"How could it be fake? Hey, let me ask you two ladies, do you know Li Shimin, the Prince of Shu of the Tang Dynasty? I've heard that he was a heroic and extraordinary man, with a magnificent bearing, not to mention his outstanding talent, he was also the kind of person who could captivate people at first sight. Everyone says that he is the one with the potential to be an emperor."

The two young women looked at each other for a while before shaking their heads: "We really don't know what representative works he has to offer for us to admire?"

"This...this..." Erfeng immediately became flustered. He didn't have any representative works; he had spent half his life in the military and had written some decent military treatises, but to say it now would be too ruthless. Emperor Jingtai, standing beside him, fanned himself with a face full of disdain: "You really want to meet that Xia Daosheng?"

"Yes, yes, many years ago at the Pavilion of Prince Teng, everyone presented poems, and every single one was a masterpiece. What woman in the world wouldn't admire them..."

As they spoke, the little girl looked utterly captivated, her eyes sparkling with admiration, clearly the kind of fan who's a true enthusiast. As soon as one finished speaking, the other immediately chimed in, "There have been many talented people in the past two years, but their talent... well, it's not as good as Mr. Xia's."

Seeing their expressions, Emperor Jingtai and Empress Xiaozhuang both glared fiercely at Xia Lin.

It turns out that all my hard work was ultimately less effective than some people's casual actions back then, and I wasted all my effort on this peacock display.

"You all only know one side of the story. Although Xia Daosheng has some talent, he is a terrible person. He is greedy and lustful, and he takes a liking to every woman he sees. Whether they are young ladies from noble families or famous courtesans, he has ruined them all. How can you like such a person?"

"You mustn't slander Mr. Xia. With his exceptional talent and ability to be a pillar of society, what woman wouldn't be attracted to him? It must be those people who seduced him. My husband was just playing along."

Goodness… Xia Lin couldn’t help but turn around and say, “That’s enough, stop your brainless fan behavior.”

With a splash, a glass of wine was thrown all over Xia Lin's head and face. The two women stood up angrily and said, "You have insulted the guiding light in my heart. We are not on the same path and will never see each other again!"

After saying this, the two women left their seats in anger, leaving the three men sitting there. Emperor Jingtai and Erfeng looked at each other and then at Xia Lin, and then burst into wild laughter. Erfeng pointed at Xia Lin and said, "Daosheng, you hunt geese all day long, but today you have been pecked blind by a goose."

Emperor Jingtai slapped his thigh and laughed heartily: "This is something no one expected."

Xia Lin silently wiped the wine off his face and said helplessly, "If it were anyone else, I would have killed them. But how would I kill them? They were killed by Xia Daosheng for protecting his reputation. For a moment, I couldn't think of a way to do it."

"A burden of fame, a burden of fame."

"You have a great reputation." Emperor Jingtai corrected Erfeng, "You should study more."

"Don't worry about it! It's all your fault. If you hadn't pretended to be Siwen, I would have already touched those fair and tender legs."

"You, the King of Shu, are you preoccupied with these things all day long?"

"Alright, alright, stop arguing, ugh, my head hurts." Xia Lin sighed and said, "Oh, right. You know there's a place called Pinxiang Pavilion in Hangzhou, right?"

"Of course I know," Emperor Jingtai nodded. "What's wrong?"

"Pinxiang Pavilion? What is that? A brothel?"

“No.” Xia Lin rested her chin on her hand. “It’s a neutral intelligence agency that sells intelligence from various regions and countries.”

"Hey, this is interesting, we can go check it out."

Erfeng, on the other hand, was a little puzzled: "Since you know there is such a place, why don't you wipe it out?"

"Eliminate? Eliminate my ass! It seems you don't understand the basic principles of intelligence. Intelligence brokers are a very important link in the intelligence field. I'll take you to see them and you'll see."

The three of them had no interest in flirting with girls at the moment; they just wanted to see this civilian intelligence agency that Xia Lin had described as very powerful.

After finishing their meal, they immediately headed to the so-called Fragrant Pavilion.

This so-called Fragrant Pavilion is actually a place that specializes in selling petty bourgeoisie sentiments in the bustling area by West Lake. It offers incense ceremony, tea ceremony, flower arrangement, and so on. As soon as you enter, you are greeted by a woman's fragrance. Then you see several very beautiful women sitting around a small table, arranging flowers under the guidance of a slightly older woman.

This girl is clearly from a wealthy family. Because her family lacks resources, she has to work incredibly hard to raise her children.

As soon as they entered, a maid dressed in light gauze came forward and asked in a soft voice, "Would you three guests prefer to smell incense, listen to the rain, taste tea, or play chess?"

Just as Li Shimin was about to utter a sarcastic "fuck," Xia Lin preemptively answered, "What are the different interpretations?"

"Gentlemen, you must be from the North. Please take a seat, and I will make you comfortable."

The three were quickly led to the third floor, where there were private rooms. The rooms were simple and elegant, with a few floor mats, a few low tables, and fresh flowers in vases. Outside the window was the shimmering West Lake, giving a sense of tranquility amidst the hustle and bustle, and a secluded path leading to a secluded spot.

"This place is actually quite suitable for sleeping."

Before Emperor Jingtai could finish his exclamation, the sliding partition behind him was gently pushed open, and a woman with fair skin, a full but not greasy figure, and a capable yet feminine demeanor walked in. To say she was beautiful was an understatement; she couldn't compare to the most beautiful courtesan of Qinhuai, nor even to Douyazi dressed as a woman. And in terms of size, she wasn't as large as Tang Bao'er. But the allure she possessed was undeniable, like a high-quality widow from a Japanese adult film.

"I am the owner of Wenxiang Pavilion. Upon hearing of your arrival, I personally entertained the three of you."

After saying this, she knelt on the ground and gently kowtowed: "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

Emperor Jingtai was taken aback: "How did you figure that out?"

Xia Lin laughed heartily: "If you can't even see that, then what's the point of all that intelligence work?"

"Greetings, Lord Xia. Greetings, Your Highness the Prince of Shu of the Great Tang Dynasty." The woman stood up and gave Xia Lin a charming glance. "My lord, please don't laugh at me. It's just that the three of you are so conspicuous that it would be hard for me not to notice you."

Throughout the entire ordeal, Erfeng kept his eyes fixed on her without looking away. After a long while, he suddenly slapped his thigh and said, "Weren't you once in Chang'an...? Yes! You were the leader of the 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'! Weren't you dead?! How come you're in Hangzhou?"

"Your Highness, this is a long story. May I ask what the three of you would like to try? The Longjing tea from West Lake is excellent, and it is the beginning of the new tea season. I would like to invite the three of you to have a taste."

(End of this chapter)