A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 265 First Encounter
After the wine inspection, several people walked out of the gate of the county office.

The one who escorted the others out was Qin Shuban. Shen Yanliu had drunk a lot and was a little tipsy.

Li Xianjiang was also drunk and his face was flushed. With a faint smile on his face, he stepped over the threshold of the county government office. He glanced at the square in front of the county office, where the martial arts selection platform had been built...

Li Xianjiang was drunk. He turned his head and glanced at Qin Shuban, saying, "Yes, the stage has been set. You, County Magistrate Shen, are still so resolute in your work!"

Several people arrived early, as the assessment would not be held until three days later.

Secretary Qin said with a smile: "Selecting a crown prince is a major event that happens every three years. The county lord has always attached great importance to this matter."

Li Xianjiang nodded. He was obviously in a good mood because he had just drunk very satisfyingly at the banquet.

But the faces of Zhu Qunxiang, Lu Qingfeng and Wang Shanshan who were standing next to him looked a little unhappy. Shen Yanliu only toasted them with a glass of wine each and then began to ignore them, only drinking and talking with Li Xianjiang.

Actually, this cannot be entirely blamed on Shen Yanliu. After being in the officialdom for a long time, it is natural that he will treat people differently according to their status.

Although they were both envoys of the sect, Shen Yanliu treated Chu Ming, who came here a month ago to review the dirty blood case, almost as a superior.

But he didn't care much about Fan Yuanhai, Zhu Qunxiang, Lu Qingfeng and Wang Shanshan.

There are naturally some official tricks involved here.

You have to know how important the task of reviewing the foul blood case is. Any envoy of the sect, or outer sect disciple, who can be responsible for such an important task can basically be said to be promoted to the inner sect with certainty.

Although the assessment of monitoring registered disciples is important, it is a routine task, and the merit points are divided equally among five people. Any outer disciple who is assigned this task is either someone who has just left the sect and started to gain experience, or someone who has been marginalized and has basically no hope of promotion.

For example, Fan Yuanhai handled the Xu Ruhu case very badly last time, and since then very few important tasks have been assigned to him.

In fact, the situations of Zhu Qunxiang, Lu Qingfeng, and Wang Shanshan are roughly the same.

Shen Yanliu naturally knew all of this.

Secretary Qin saw them out the door, then said goodbye and returned to the yamen.

Zhu Qunxiang looked at Fan Yuanhai with a smile and said, "Brother Fan, this is your second time coming to Xiangu County. Why didn't I hear you mention it along the way?"

Fan Yuanhai looked somewhat embarrassed. He had failed in this Xiangu County because of Xu Ruhu's case. He was afraid of being asked about it, so he naturally did not want to mention it. However, just now at the banquet, Shen Yanliu took the initiative to talk about this matter, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Fan Yuanhai said: "It's just a case that I handled here in the first half of the year. There's nothing much to mention."

Li Xianjiang was already drunk and still feeling dizzy. He saw a few people chatting at the entrance of the county office, so he said, "You've been tired all the way. Let's go to the posthouse to rest first."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Qunxiang curled his lips and said, "Is the posthouse a good place?" He turned his head to look at Fan Yuanhai and asked with a smile, "Since Brother Fan is revisiting the old place, he must know where to stay."

Fan Yuanhai smiled at Zhu Qunxiang and said, "Brother Zhu, you finally asked the right person. The best inn in Xiangu County is the Chunfeng Inn on West Street. Why don't we go there?"

As Fan Yuanhai spoke, his eyes swept over everyone present. Lu Qingfeng and Wang Shanshan nodded in agreement, but Lu Qingzhu just stood there smiling without saying a word.

Seeing that Lu Qingzhu didn't say anything, Zhu Qunxiang smiled and asked, "Miss Qingzhu, since Brother Fan said that Chunfeng Inn is good, why don't we go and take a look? It should be better than the inn that looks like a bitter kiln?"

Lu Qingzhu still smiled and said, "All is fine."

When Zhu Qunxiang saw Lu Qingzhu spit out, she glanced at Li Xianjiang and said, "Then let's go."

As they spoke, several people left the gate of the county office and went south along West Street.

Li Xianjiang stood there, looking at the backs of several people, snorted coldly, and said: "There are free posthouses, but they choose to stay in an inn. The world is really going downhill, and the brains of young people nowadays are broken!"

Li Xianjiang said as he walked towards the posthouse. The posthouse not only provided free accommodation but also provided three meals a day. He really couldn't understand why those guys didn't go.

If you don’t know how to take advantage of a good opportunity, what else can you be but stupid?
Of course he couldn't understand it, because in the eyes of Fan Yuanhai and Zhu Qunxiang, as long as they could live comfortably, what was the harm in spending some money?

This is not to say that Li Xianjiang is short of money, it’s just that everyone has their own temperament.

Not only was he not short of money, but he was extremely rich. He worked in the governor's office and collected taxes and levies from two counties. He made a fortune from this...

Fan Yuanhai, Zhu Qunxiang, Lu Qingfeng, Wang Shanshan, Lu Qingzhu and Amo were walking on the road, chatting about the customs and culture of Xiangu County.

During this period, it was basically Fan Yuanhai who was talking and the others were listening.

After all, the assessment would begin in three days, so they had some free time during this time, and as they chatted they ended up talking about places to play.

Originally speaking in a normal tone, Fan Yuanhai suddenly lowered his voice.

Ah Mo heard it faintly. "Huayinglou... the four great Huaying or something..."

Ah Mo frowned and clenched his fists until they creaked. Suddenly, Lu Qingzhu placed a hand as white as a lotus root on Ah Mo's fist and shook her head at her. Ah Mo then loosened his fist and his anger disappeared.

As they talked, they walked to the Chunfeng Inn.

When the proprietress saw that Fan Yuanhai brought so many people with him at once, she immediately smiled and greeted them warmly.

They found their own rooms. When Lu Qingzhu and Ah Mo walked to the door of their rooms, Zhu Qunxiang suddenly came over and said, "Miss Qingzhu, I'm in Room B. If you need any help, just come and find me."

Lu Qingzhu stood there with a smile and said, "All is fine."

Zhu Qunxiang glanced at Lv Qingzhu and left happily. As he walked, he thought, this Miss Qingzhu looks cold, but she is very easy to talk to.

A Mo stood beside Lu Qingzhu and looked at Zhu Qunxiang's back with disgust. She was particularly disgusted by Zhu Qunxiang's happy look.

Amo knows his lady best. No matter what someone she hates says to her, she will respond with just one sentence, not a word more.

Lu Qingzhu and A Mo walked into the room, drank some tea and rested for a while.

Lu Qingzhu said: "Amo, shall we go out and play later?"

"where to play?"

Lu Qingzhu said: "Did you hear what they said on the way just now? It seemed like Huaying Tower... the Four Huayings or something..."

Ah Mo's ugly face turned red, and he stammered, "They are talking about... I think... a brothel."

Lu Qingzhu said, "What's wrong with the brothel? Let's go take a look."

"Ah..." Ah Mo showed an embarrassment on his face. "But, if the master knew, he would scold me..."

"If you don't tell me, how would my father know?" Lu Qingzhu looked at Amo.

"Ah..." Ah Mo avoided Lu Qingzhu's eyes. "I definitely won't tell you..."

Lu Qingzhu said: "Amo, look at me."

"Ah..." A Mo raised his head nervously.

Lu Qingzhu said, "We will go to the clothing store later and find two sets of men's clothes to wear. Who knows we are women? Let's go and take a look at the Four Flower Shadows. The name sounds very interesting..."

"Please!" Lu Qingzhu shook Amo's arm and acted coquettishly.

"Okay..." Ah Mo blushed and agreed.

Ah Mo had no resistance to Lu Qingzhu's coquetry since he was a child. As long as Lu Qingzhu used this trick, no matter how excessive the thing was, Ah Mo would agree. Because of this, he was often beaten by the master.

When Lu Qingzhu saw Amo respond, he immediately felt in a good mood.

The two grew up in Changliu Mountain, and this was their first time traveling far away. Lv Qingzhu abandoned Shangcai County, a suburb of Shenyun Prefecture, and chose this remote Xiangu County specifically to travel around. Ah Mo was actually traveling far away for the first time, and although she thought it was not good for a young lady to go to a brothel, since the young lady said it was okay to wear men's clothes, then it was okay.

The two of them couldn't wait to go out, asked around and found the location of the clothing store, then walked in.

The boss greeted them warmly. As far as garment shops were concerned, women's business was usually much easier to do than men's.

When the boss heard that they wanted to buy men's clothing, he didn't react much. In these chaotic times, there were quite a few women buying men's clothing.

Lu Qingzhu quickly chose a set of gorgeous dress with moon-white piping.

She compared it with her body.

Ah Mo smiled and said, "Miss, it looks like a good fit."

Lu Qingzhu said, "Amo, don't call me Miss from now on. Call me Master. By the way, I'm not Lu Qingzhu for now. I'm Lu Qingshan!"

A Mo smiled with her lips pursed, but when it came to her choosing clothes, she couldn't smile anymore.

Although Amo is a girl, there are few boys as tall as her. She stood there as straight as a small mountain.

The boss found the largest size, but A-Mo still couldn't wear it.

Ah Mo looked at Lu Qingzhu with a sad face. "Miss..."

"It's okay, Ah Mo. This is how it is in this remote little shop." Lu Qingzhu said, turning to look at the boss and asked, "If I make a set of ready-made clothes now, when will it be ready? Maybe it will be ready tomorrow morning?"

"This girl's physique may make it difficult for her to get out..." The boss glanced at Ah Mo, a look of difficulty on his face, and said, "If we want to get her out, we have to stay up all night...but...the price..."

Lu Qingzhu said: "Just tell me a number."

The boss quoted a price.

Lu Qingzhu was slightly surprised, because she felt that what the boss said was very cheap, at least much lower than the prices in Shenyun Mansion.

The two paid the deposit, and the boss stood on the chair and the table to measure A-Mo's size, and then they left the clothing store.

"Miss, where are we going now?"

Lu Qingzhu said: "Just stroll around!"

The two of them strolled along the street. Because A-Mo's ready-made clothes had not been made yet, Lu Qingzhu did not change into the men's suit and was still wearing her floral skirt.

The two of them ate a lot of snacks along the street. Just now at the banquet, Lu Qingzhu didn't like the atmosphere and neither drank nor ate a single bite of food.

"Miss, this beef offal sandwich is so delicious..." Ah Mo slurped it up because of the spiciness and couldn't help but exclaim in praise.

"Well, it's good." Lu Qingzhu also took a bite and chewed slowly.

The two of them ate and walked at the same time, and as they walked, Lu Qingzhu suddenly stopped at an alley.

A Mo noticed that Lu Qingzhu suddenly stopped, so he turned and looked at her.

Lu Qingzhu stood at the entrance of the alley, looking at the not-too-wide street, which was filled with stalls on both sides and the bustling crowd in the alley.

Lu Qingzhu's eyes lit up slightly, flashing with interest. "It's quite lively... What's this alley for?"

Ah Mo had already walked to Lu Qingzhu's side. She looked at a stall at the entrance of the alley and said, "It looks like it's selling antiques?"

"Really?" Lu Qingzhu had already stepped inside.

Amo followed immediately.

There were many people in the alley, but Ah Mo's mountain-like figure and his naturally ferocious and ugly face were very scary. As the two walked along, passers-by retreated one after another...

The two stopped in front of a stall. The owner of the stall was displaying various wood-carved bead bracelets.

Lu Qingzhu took a look and found that they were all fake old works. She picked up one that looked good, rubbed it in her hands for a few times, put it to the tip of her nose and sniffed it, then frowned and gave it away.

As soon as the boss saw Lu Qingzhu, he felt that he was an expert.

Just as Lu Qingzhu was about to leave, the boss suddenly said, "Miss, please stay. I still have sandalwood ones." As the boss spoke, he took out a wooden carved bead bracelet from under the stall and handed it to Lu Qingzhu.

Lu Qingzhu turned around and took a look at the thing in the boss's hand, grabbed it, looked at the color carefully in the sunlight, then sniffed it with the tip of his nose, and sure enough, there was a faint fragrance.

Don’t underestimate this fragrance. Although it is faint, it can linger for a hundred years.

Lu Qingzhu held the carved wooden bead bracelet and smiled, "It is indeed made of sandalwood! If you have any that are not old, I will sell you two!"

The old face of the boss turned slightly red. He glanced at Ah Mo, who looked like a mountain of flesh, and her naturally fierce face, and said, "Yes, yes..."

As the boss spoke, he bent down and took out two brand new bracelets from under the stall. Lu Qingzhu touched them and said with a smile, "These bracelets are not bad..."

Duan Rong walked in from the alley. He seldom came to this antique street often. He only came occasionally to buy some books. After a year, he found that the owners here had changed a lot.

"Business is hard these days."

Duan Rong was walking slowly when he suddenly saw two people standing in front of the stall.

He looked at the backs of the two people. The one wearing the water skirt and holding the sword was still normal, but the man standing next to her looked like a mountain of meat.

And judging from her hair and clothes from behind, she seemed to be a woman. Duan Rong couldn't help but take a few more glances as he walked past the stall.

At this moment, the boss also saw Duan Rong and shouted enthusiastically: "Touch him, it's been a long time since we last met!"

When Duan Rong heard the boss asking him to touch it, his face immediately turned black.

At this time, Amo and Lu Qingzhu turned around together and looked at Duan Rong behind them.

The moment the two figures turned around, there was such a fierce contrast and collision that Duan Rong's breathing stagnated and his heart jumped into his throat...

A Mo's face was full of ferocity, and even though he was smiling, it was even more creepy!

Lv Qingzhu held a sword in her left hand, and lightly grasped a string of wooden bead bracelets in her right hand. Her waist was as straight as a sword, and although she smiled, her eyes were full of restrained brilliance...

Although the boss enthusiastically asked Duan Rong to touch it, Duan Rong did not respond to him and just walked past the stall as if nothing had happened.

Ah Mo nudged Lu Qingzhu with his elbow and whispered, "Miss, what about the boss asking him to touch you?"

"I know." Lu Qingzhu turned around and started chatting with the boss. After a few words, the boss told Lu Qingzhu the origin of Duan Rong's nickname.

Lu Qingzhu's eyes sparkled, and she seemed very interested. She had been extremely curious since she was a child, and she loved strange things, and people too.

Lu Qingzhu paid for two bracelets, one for her and one for A-mo, and then they turned around and left the stall.

Lu Qingzhu saw at a glance that Duan Rong turned around in front and seemed to be walking towards a shop on the street. At this moment, Lu Qingzhu's brows suddenly frowned, and almost at the same time, A Mo's big hand flashed and grabbed her side.

As soon as Duan Rong turned around, he glanced at Lu Qingzhu and A'mo. A'mo's fleshy figure was too eye-catching, standing tall among the crowd like a landmark.

Duan Rong's eyes moved. He might not have been able to see it before, but now he could tell at a glance that a pickpocket was approaching Lu Qingzhu.

(End of this chapter)