Fenghou

Chapter 95
Chen Qing followed the housekeeper to the back house and walked into a courtyard. The housekeeper smiled and said, "This is my master's study. He has something to ask you for."

Lu Yihao wanted to find him, which was beyond Chen Qing's expectation.

"What does Mr. Lu want from me?"

The butler smiled and shook his head, "I don't know either, please, my lord!"

Lu Yihao wore a wide Zen robe and a flat scarf today, and smiled and asked Chen Qing to sit down, "General Chen must prepare himself, he may return to the northwest in advance."

"why?"

"Your envoy Zhang Xuanfu wrote a letter. The Kingdom of Jin is constantly dispatching troops to Guanzhong. It is very likely that there will be a big battle this winter and next spring. Wu Jie hopes that you will go back as soon as possible."

"Then what about my martial arts?"

"The official means to let you graduate with an exception!"

Chen Qing didn't speak for a while, he didn't expect that he would graduate early, let alone that this matter would alarm the emperor, is it a bit of a fuss.

Lu Yihao seemed to understand Chen Qing's thoughts, smiled and said: "The key is that Wu Jie regards you very seriously, so your return will become an important part of the Song army's preparations for war, and it is not surprising that the officials have been alarmed."

Chen Qing nodded silently, "Then when shall I go back?"

"It depends on your arrangement, just a few days! Return immediately after completing the formalities."

"I understand, thank Xiangguo for telling me."

At this time, a maid came in to serve them tea, but for some reason, Chen Qing always felt that this maid was a bit different, and he couldn't tell the difference, it seemed that her temperament didn't look like a maid, so Chen Qing couldn't help but look at her more glance.

I saw that she was about sixteen or seventeen years old, with fair skin, a long face, a small mouth with clear outlines, rosy and full, a high nose bridge, a pair of big eyes, slightly drooping eyelids, dense and long eyelashes, and a pair of slender hands. And slender, her height is about [-] meters, and she looks extremely gentle and majestic.

The girl quickly glanced at Chen Qing with her pretty eyes, and then slowly backed away. Lu Yihao watched her walk away meaningfully.

"There is another thing. The officials are not very happy that you use your own money to issue pensions to the soldiers. The pension money will be made up for you next year, but the officials hope that this kind of thing will only happen once, and it will not happen again in the future. occur."

Chen Qing smiled wryly for a while and said, "Is this also what Zhang Xuanfu said in the letter?"

Lu Yihao nodded, "I checked, it should be you who sold the house that the government rewarded you, right?"

"Exactly! I sold [-] guan, plus the [-] taels of silver from the previous official, and the prize money I won in riding and archery, etc., adding up to [-] guan. The family members of [-] soldiers who died in battle were given pensions. In fact, there is still a shortfall of [-] guan.”

"You write it all down. The emperor wants to know how you have so much money. Someone has already impeached you. The source of the huge amount of money is unknown."

"Fan Zongyin?"

Lu Yihao shook his head, "It's Qin Hui!"

Chen Qing immediately picked up a pen and made a detailed list, and pushed it to Lu Yihao.

"I see, you go! Complete the formalities and return to the Western Army as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Lu Xianggong, for speaking up for the humble position."

"Remember, General Chen, the army is the emperor's army. You must not overstep your authority. This is a big taboo."

Chen Qing saluted deeply, turned around and left.

Lu Yihao watched his tall and straight back go away, and sighed softly, "Fortunately, there are such soldiers, my Song Dynasty has hope!"

At this time, the girl who served tea just now came in and gave a blessing, "See you, grandfather!"

Lu Yihao smiled slightly and said, "How about it, do you still like it?"

The girl bit her lip lightly, and nodded shyly.

"Xiu'er, you can't just look at the appearance!"

The girl shook her head lightly, "Xiu'er is not only concerned with appearance."

Lu Yihao became somewhat interested, and asked with a smile: "What else do you know about him?"

"I'd rather go bankrupt than pay pensions to the soldiers who died in battle. Based on this, I don't know how many times better than those yamen outside who only know how to compare wealth. Xiu'er admires him very much!"

Lu Yihao laughed loudly, "The person who can make my family's embroidery look good is really extraordinary. This person is like a dragon and a phoenix. Although he is a general, he has a deep sense of self-cultivation and both civil and military skills. It is a pity that many people in the court are short-sighted and do not recognize heroes. .”

The girl was a little worried and said, "It's just that the granddaughter is gone."

Lu Yihao waved his hand indifferently, "You are just a widow, not a real widow. He doesn't care about such small things, but this matter has to be discussed in the long run, and there is no rush."

It was already two o'clock when Chen Qing returned to martial arts, and Hu Yantong and Liu Qiong, who shared his dormitory, hadn't slept yet.

Seeing Chen Qing coming back, the two stood up immediately, "You're finally back!"

"What's the matter?"

Liu Qiong put a cup of hot tea in front of Chen Qing, "Huyan heard a piece of news today."

Chen Qing cast his eyes on Hu Yantong, "What news?"

Hu Yantong said worriedly: "I heard that the Jin Guo envoy entered Lin'an last night!"

Chen Qing was startled, "What is the envoy from the Kingdom of Jin here for?"

"I don't know. It was my second uncle who told me. The news is very secret and not many people know about it. Besides, the messenger is a big man in the Kingdom of Jin. My second uncle refused to say anything."

Hu Yantong's second uncle, Hu Yanwei, is a doctor in the Ministry of Rites, so his news should be true.

It's just that the arrival of the envoy of the Kingdom of Jin and his departure, what is the relationship between the two?
If it doesn't matter, why is it such a coincidence?

Chen Qing had a vague premonition that the arrival of the envoy from the Kingdom of Jin might have something to do with him.

He temporarily put this matter aside, and said to the two of them: "I also have something to tell you, I may have to go back to the northwest."

Hu Yantong and Liu Qiong stared wide-eyed, "Why?"

"The situation in the northwest is tense. Wu Dutong repeatedly asked me to go back to prepare for the war. Zhang Xuanfu envoy wrote to Lu Xianggong, and the emperor has agreed that I should break the rules and graduate from martial arts."

Hu Yantong and Liu Qiong looked at each other in blank dismay, unexpectedly breaking the rules, they asked again: "Then when will you leave?"

"Just a few days! I will go to the Ministry of War tomorrow to go through the formalities."

Hu Yantong was a little sad, "We won't have much time to meet in the future."

Chen Qing patted him on the shoulder and smiled, "Don't be so sad, I may have one more thing to ask for your help."

"Tell me! What's the matter?"

Chen Qing said slowly: "Tomorrow night, accompany me to Fengle Building!"

The sudden notice disrupted many of Chen Qing's plans. He couldn't leave immediately. Before he left, he still had some things to arrange. First of all, his martial arts studies were coming to an end. A formal letter of approval from the Ministry of War is required.

The second is the promise to Li Qingzhao. Since Chen Qing asked Li Qingzhao to copy the books for him, he had to prepare a sum of money. At least for two or three years, Li Qingzhao would no longer worry about his livelihood.

Getting a sum of money is Chen Qing's top priority.

Borrowing money is of course not the first choice, so Chen Qing thought of a message told to him by the steward of the Lu Mansion, that he could use his archery skills to make a fortune in Fengle Building, which was actually a big gamble.

In the evening of the next day, the three of Chen Qing came to Fengle Building outside Yumen.

Fengle Building is the fan building in Bianliang, Tokyo. The fan building in Bianliang, Tokyo has been set on fire by the Jin soldiers. The owner of the fan building, the Qian family, rebuilt the fan building in the most prime location in Lin'an and renamed it Fengle Building. It is a group of buildings, consisting of a main building and five auxiliary buildings. The main building is as high as ten feet, with cornices and brackets, and small lanterns are hung on it. It is the first floor in the world.

The building is filled with gold and jade, which is extraordinarily luxurious. Hundreds of young and beautiful women live in it, including music girls, dance girls, singers, tea performers, wine girls, etc., all of them have icy skin and jade skin, looking like gods.

The grade is so high, of course, the consumption is also extremely high, the cheapest cup of tea costs ten guan, which is not something ordinary people can afford.

The Bianliang Building in Tokyo requires a certain identity to enter. Ordinary businessmen are not qualified to go there. Fengle Building in Lin’an is better. Someone needs to lead the consumption upstairs, but there are not so many rules in the lobby on the first floor. If you have money, you can drink tea during the day and drink at night.

The lobby on the first floor of Fengle Building is like a palace, surrounded by magnificence and splendor, covering an area of ​​over a thousand square meters. It is divided into three areas, one is the tea and wine area, and there are dozens of small tables where you can drink. tea drinking;
The second area is the music and dance area, a group of beautiful musicians are playing melodious music, a few dancers in the middle are dancing lightly, two singers are singing softly, sometimes these will also perform some exotic songs and dances.

The third area is the gaming area, that is, the gambling area. There are all kinds of gambling here, such as backgammon, craps, dominoes, throwing pots, holding lances, leaves, etc., and even fighting and weaving.

The lobby was full of people, there were hundreds of people, most of them were rich businessmen, they couldn't go upstairs, they all gathered in the lobby, indulged in it, and lingered.

Groups of glamorously dressed wine sellers shuttled among the crowd, all of them were fragrant, their eyes were eager, their eyebrows were expressive, and the merchants were fascinated.

Of course, there are warriors who maintain order. Dozens of burly men in warrior uniforms stand against the wall, watching the situation in the lobby. They just don't make trouble, and they will never step forward to interfere.

Hu Yantong is a frequent visitor to Fanlou in Bianliang, and Fenglelou in Lin'an has also been here several times.

"I have a building signboard from Bianliang, Tokyo, and Lin'an also admits it, but we don't need to go upstairs, we can just stay in the lobby on the first floor."

Liu Qiong said with a smile: "I heard that the wine in Fenglelou is very good, can I have a taste today?"

"The Meishou wine in Fenglelou is indeed excellent. Whether you drink it today depends on Lao Chen, and I'm afraid I might miss his business."

Chen Qing smiled and waved his hands, "It's okay to drink less!"

The three of them found a seat and sat down, a beautiful bartender stepped forward and asked with a smile, "What do you three officials want to drink?"

"Have a pot of Meishou wine that has been brewed for three years, and serve it with three dishes."

After finishing speaking, Hu Yantong took out another [-] Wen coin and threw it to her, "It's for you!"

"Thank you officer!"

The beautiful woman winked at Hu Yantong and flew away like a butterfly.

Hu Yantong lowered his voice and said with a smile to Chen Qing: "There are differences among the wine maids here. If she wears flowers on her head, she can negotiate a price and take them out for a night of flair, but only for some wine maids, dancers, Divas and tea performers are not acceptable."

"I'll go to the gaming area first."

Chen Qing got up to leave, Hu Yantong grabbed him and said with a smile: "It's not time yet, let's have a drink before going. Among the top ten sake in the Song Dynasty, only Meishou wine can be drunk for money."

　Ask for a reward, ask for a recommendation ticket

　　
　
(End of this chapter)