Chapter 9: The Southern Tour of the Messenger (17)

The night in Tianfu Study is as dark as ink.

"Master, the emperor and his party will leave Nanjing early tomorrow morning and go south to Suhang. Except for Bian Saisai who wants to take care of Bian Rourou, who has just recovered from a serious illness, the rest of the people will follow the emperor south, including the emperor's new love Koubaimen!"

"That's good. When the emperor leaves Nanjing, our business can proceed normally!" Tian Wan was only relieved at this time. The emperor stayed in Nanjing for one day, and he did not dare to act rashly. In the past half month, the average daily loss was 20,000 silver dragon yuan. The Nanyang Dashi merchants who were waiting to receive goods at sea were already impatient. Qian Longxi's group only saw the interests and did not know the danger were also urging them every day, thinking that they were really making a big fuss and being too cautious, but Tian Wan knew that the emperor was not a fool. If he could detect something, it would be a disaster. So he tried his best to withstand the pressure from the upper and lower levels and prevented the shipment from outside.

In fact, Tian Wan and others not only smuggled externally, but also mastered large-scale import trade internally, especially various items that the court explicitly prohibits or strictly controls prohibited, such as steel, grain and other strategic materials. These are the main smuggling trade of Tian Wan and others, which has accumulated huge amounts of money for their official smuggling and embezzlement group, and are becoming more and more courageous. It is already seen that it embezzled the country's customs taxes. Since customs taxes are increasing every year, the actual amount increased is completely different from the amount they reported to the court. Most of the increase is fed by these people. These people will not know until the huge corruption and smuggling network is eradicated.

After experiencing the beautiful scenery of Taihu Lake and tasting the delicious Taihu silverfish, Zhu Yinglong and others took a boat quietly arrived at Suzhou City, where "there is paradise above and the lower Suzhou City is below".

Zhu Yinglong also visited Suzhou once in his previous life, but at that time he was in a hurry and had no time to visit the world-famous Suzhou City. It was the first time he came to Suzhou City in this life. Humble Administrator's Garden, Liuyuan, Huqiu, Hanshan Temple and other famous attractions in Suzhou are places that Zhu Yinglong yearns for a long time.

Suzhou was founded in 514 BC. Helu, the father of King Fuchai of Wu, ordered Wu Zixu, the rebel general of Chu, to build Helu City. During the Spring and Autumn Period, this was the capital of Wu, and many ancient sites related to Xishi, Wu Zixu and others are still preserved. It was called Suzhou in the ninth year of Kaihuang in the Sui Dynasty and has been used to this day.

Suzhou City was built early, with large scale, parallel water and land, and adjacent rivers and streets. It is also known as the Water City, Water City, and Water Town. The 13th century "The Travels of Marco Polo" praised Suzhou as Venice in the East.

Among them, the deep cultural heritage of Huqiu, the "No. 1 scenic spot in Wuzhong", made it a must-visit place for literati and poets to come to Suzhou; and a poem by the Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Ji made tourists rush to visit Fengqiao and listen to the bells of Hanshan Temple. The natural scenery outside Gusu City is beautiful, with Lingyan, Tianping, Tianchi and Dongting mountains dotted on the shore of Taihu Lake, forming a lake and mountain scenery full of Jiangnan style.

Suzhou City is originally a famous city in the world and a wealthy place in Jiangnan. Countless gentry and wealthy people like to settle in Suzhou City, especially weaving and dyeing silk to create the world. Various gardens are spread all over the city, with more than 200 gardens. It is also one of the national economic and cultural centers called "clothing and quilting".

Although Suzhou City does not have the majestic atmosphere of Nanjing City and does not have any imperial aura, its prosperity is absolutely no less than that of cities such as Nanjing and Yangzhou. Its water network is scattered, its architectural layout is small and exquisite, and its beautiful scenery is the crown of the Southeast. Cao Xueqin praised Suzhou as "the most prosperous and romantic place in the world" in "Dream of Red Mansions".

Suzhou has many cultures, garden culture, food culture, Wudi soft language, etc., which are widely written by later generations, as well as exquisite Su embroidery craftsmanship, which amazed the world and became a strange flower in embroidery craftsmanship.

Although Zhu Yinglong was not very interested in female red embroidery, he had a group of women with him, all of whom were skillful and skillful. Female red embroidery was the most basic skill. A representative figure in Su embroidery was Dong Bai, one of the eight beauties in Qinhuai who were famous in the world in the later generations, that is, Dong Xiaowan.

When talking about Dong Xiaowan, everyone will think of her tragic story with Mao Pijiang, one of the four great talents in the late Ming Dynasty, as well as her superb cooking skills and amazing talent. In fact, many people do not know that this famous brothel prostitute who is famous is also a famous Su embroidery master.

Dong Xiaowan was born into a wealthy family. The Dong family was a family of Su Xiu. It was a happy and happy family. Unexpectedly, there was an unexpected situation. When Dong Bai was thirteen years old, his father suffered from dysentery in the summer. The treatment was ineffective and he died soon. After Dong's father died, but when the servant settled the accounts, he not only had no silver left, but he owed thousands of silver outside. It was obvious that the servant was making trouble, and Bai was unable to grasp it. He was angry and anxious, and finally fell ill in bed. His mother fell down, the Xiuzhuang went bankrupt, and the debt was under the burden of life. The burden of life suddenly hit the fifteen-year-old Dong Bai. She seemed to have fallen into the ice cellar from the clouds and could not open her eyes for a while.

The Dong family's embroidery farm went bankrupt and Dong's mother fell ill in bed. The burden of life was pressed on Dong Bai, who was fifteen years old. The huge debt could be delayed, but her mother's medical expenses were imminent. In a hurry, she took the wrong move and agreed to someone else's recommendation. She came to the pleasure boat on the Qinhuai River in Nanjing to perform her skills and renamed Xiaowan.

The huge debt can be delayed, but the medical expenses of his mother are imminent. Dong Bai, who has lived in seclusion with his mother since childhood, has developed a lofty and arrogant personality, and is willing to borrow money from others in a low voice. In an emergency, he took a bad move and agreed to someone else's recommendation. He came to the pleasure boat on the Qinhuai River in Nanjing to perform his work, and changed his name to Xiaowan.

Dong Xiaowan's beautiful appearance and unparalleled temperament made her soon famous in the Qinhuai River. Forced by life, she had to give in and laugh, but her noble temper sometimes inevitably showed up, offending some vulgar guests, but won the appreciation of some noble people. Dong Xiaowan was self-admiring, pity and love, and never allowed to let the guests do it. This affected the madam's income, and the madam naturally sneered at her. After her reputation spread far, many people naturally came to ask for a love affair. The national uncle Tian Wan was one of them.

, coercion and inducement, and even hinted that he would help him pay off all his debts and take him as his concubine. Dong Xiaowan would rather die than obey. In order to avoid Tian Wan's entanglement, he stomped his feet and left Nanjing and returned to Suzhou. However, his mother was still lying on the hospital bed, and she couldn't do anything to invite doctors and take medicine. Some creditors heard that Dong Xiaowan had returned home, and under Tian Wan's secret instructions, they also came to collect debts, and even deliberately calculated high interest rates. With the heavy debt, Dong Xiaowan was unable to deal with it, so she had to return to her old business and simply sold herself to a brothel in half a pond, selling laughter, drinking, and traveling with guests.

In Bantang, Dong Xiaowan still had the original intention of not selling herself. In order to survive, she had to suppress her aloofness and sell a charming smile without any practical content to the guests. There is a kind of customer who has both leisure, leisure and sufficient financial resources to bring her favorite brothel girl to the mountains and rivers and enjoy the natural style. Dong Xiaowan is most interested in accompanying guests on a trip. Although most of the older people can do this, Dong Xiaowan was obsessed with the mountains and rivers at that time and did not think that the white-haired scholar was hateful. Against the backdrop of the beautiful scenery, she was also prone to tenderness and smiled sincerely to the guests. Therefore, she was invited by customers repeatedly to visit Taihu Lake, climb Huangshan, and rafting on the West Lake for ten days and half a month.

After Dong Xiaowan left Qinhuai River, Tian Wan put more experience on two up-and-coming stars, Chen Yuanyuan and Bian Saisai. She spent less energy on Dong Xiaowan, and she hid in Suzhou. Tian Wan had no choice but to do anything to her for a while, so she finally let Dong Xiaowan take a breath, selling laughter and making money to treat her mother while returning foreign debts little by little. Life was very hard!

Dong Xiaowan is arrogant and not good at socializing, so she has no friends in the Fengyue circle. She is also famous with Chen Yuanyuan, Gu Mei and others, and has no direct contact with Zhu Yinglong and others who first came to Suzhou and were unfamiliar with the place. She happened to be a tour guide. After asking, the innkeeper who stayed at the inn saw Zhu Yinglong bringing a family concubine to Suzhou City for a trip, so he directly recommended Dong Xiaowan, a famous prostitute who is famous in Jiangnan.

In addition to Ma Xianglan, the only one of the eight beauties in Qinhuai was the only one behind Dong Xiaowan. Since the friend recommended it, he also wanted to meet all the eight beauties in Qinhuai and not leave any regrets, so he agreed to visit Dong Xiaowan the next day and asked her to be their tour guide in Suzhou!

"Sir, how about we go to Dong Xiaowan after lunch?" After arranging the matter of staying in the hotel, everyone was hungry. Although the inn also provided wine and food, when we arrived in Suzhou, we were full of delicious food. Eating ordinary wine and food would be a treasure land. Therefore, everyone suggested finding a restaurant, having a good meal, and everyone was tired all the way, and it was also worth the good meal, so Zhu Yinglong naturally agreed happily.

"Yuanyuan, you are the youngest here. Sir, let you decide where to eat?"

Chen Yuanyuan didn't expect Zhu Yinglong to hand over the decision to where to eat. She looked flushed and started thinking about it. After a while, she looked up and said, "There are countless famous restaurants in Suzhou City, and there are many century-old brands. However, according to our itinerary, Yuanyuan suggested that we go to Deyue Tower in Fangbangkou, Bantangye. How about it?"

"Okay, Yuanyuan's suggestion is great. He is so clever, gentle and meticulous, taking into account both sides." Zhu Yinglong laughed happily when he heard this. This girl was a little simpler, but her mind was not stupid.

After receiving Zhu Yinglong's praise, Chen Yuanyuan felt sweet and hugged Zhu Yinglong's arm and said shyly: "Brother Wu, I am not as good as you said!"
Chapter completed!