The First Volume of Qinghe County

  "Isn't this the county magistrate who had us arrest the killer bees? How come you have time to come today? Please, come in! Come in!" The large teapot at the entrance of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion sparkled with a bright light as it watched Ximen Qing and An Daquan swaggering over, hastily coming forward to pay their respects.

  Ximen Qing didn't even look up and directly handed over a handful of copper coins: "Get your boss over here for me!"

  "Great! He's coming right away!" The big teapot was so delighted that he wet his pants, hastily turned around and ran while shouting, and conveniently stuffed the copper coins into his bosom: "Xue Ma! Xue Ma! County Magistrate has arrived!"

  "Brother is so powerful, what's the story with that killer bee?" An Daquan followed Ximen Qing into the Baifang Building, looking at the luxurious and grand hall, and asked casually.

  "That birdman had the lives of over a hundred people in his hands, and he was hiding in Qinghe County under an assumed name. He even married his daughter to me, planning to take over my family's property." Ximen Qing also looked around at the luxurious decorations in the main hall and replied: "Later, I discovered his sinister plot, divorced his daughter, and captured the old thief. The old thief was so enraged that he took his own life."

  Ximen Qing briefly mentioned the matter in a few words, of course, he wouldn't mention getting the first pot of gold from the confiscated property, and just casually said "returning the goods" was enough.

  An Daquan was shocked by Lao Da's words, this kind of absurd and ridiculous thing can be considered a rare occurrence. However, is there any man in the world who can calmly and confidently divorce his wife and then go to his father-in-law's house to seize property? Ximen Qing is probably the first person in history to do so.

  "Ah, my County Magistrate, how come you have time to visit today!" A gentle breeze blew in, and the lovely Lihua girl, dressed in a semi-transparent white gauze dress, had already thrown herself into Ximen Qing's arms, making An Daquan feel envious.

  Ximen Qing was naturally enjoying the sensation of Li Huiniang rubbing against him, and he also took the liberty of fondling her a couple of times before laughing and saying, "Today there's no County Magistrate, only Ximen the great official."

  "It seems that Ximen Qing is an old hand!" An Daquan looked at the faintly visible body of Lihua girl and thought indignantly: "An certain has indeed lived in vain for twenty years."

  "Li Hua! Be careful!" Behind her, Xue Ma shouted somewhat angrily: "The master hasn't spoken yet, what are you butting in for? You're really asking for trouble!"

  "Peach Blossom is all over Ximen Qing's body today!" Peach Blossom said with a sweet and charming voice, her entire body slowly and reluctantly separating from Ximen Qing's embrace, pouting as she stood to one side, still teasing him with her eyes.

  Xue's mother, although in charge of the upper and lower floors of the Hundred Flowers Tower, nominally the mother of the twelve head cards, looked to be only thirty-four or five years old. The bright red gauze on her body looked very festive. She saluted Ximen Qing and An Daquan: "These girls are all spoiled by me, sir, don't blame them."

  Ximen Qing looked up and down at Aunt Xue, who was only in her thirties, an age that had fully ripened. If she were from his own generation, she would be in the prime of life, like a wolf or tiger. Suddenly, Ximen Qing thought of a shameless author with the pen name "Wandering Toad", who loved this kind of middle-aged woman and even arranged for the male lead to be pushed down by a middle-aged woman in his work.

  If this guy were here now, he would definitely abandon the twelve heads and instead, with a thick face, chase after Mrs. Xue to ask how much the overnight fee is.

  Watching Ximen Qing sizing her up, Aunt Xue's heart was slightly delighted. She put on airs and said with a coquettish tone: "Sir, you're not taking a liking to me, are you? How can that be? Let me call out a few of my favorite daughters for you to choose from."

  "Sir, who is this friend of yours?" Looking at Andaoquan's eyes, Xue Ma asked again.

  "This Doctor An is my brother." Ximen Qing laughed and said, "Aunt Xue, don't be slow. Today I'm accompanying my brother to have some fun."

  "County Magistrate's sworn brother! What an honored guest!" Xue Ma smiled even more brightly: "Don't worry, sir, I'll take care of it. Please go upstairs!"

  Looking at the room where a feast was already set, Ximen Qing's subordinates didn't hesitate and directly threw over a small-denomination IOU, Aunt Xue didn't even look and put it in her sleeve: "Please wait for a moment, two noble guests, my daughters will arrive soon."

  Money talks, before Ximen Qing and An Daquan's buttocks were warm, the door of the elegant room opened with a whoosh, and seven or eight beauties came in, each one more beautiful than the last, standing in a row, and Aunt Xue also smiled and came in, looking like she was waiting for the two noble guests to make their selection.

  Ximen Qing took one look and thought that this lineup was not much different from the famous brothels of his time, and each of them was exceptional, capable of stunning a whole room. As he gazed at the seven or eight beauties, plump and slender, tall and short, Ximen Qing's eyes wandered around, trying to figure out which one was the Chrysanthemum Girl, when An Daquan had already secretly pulled his sleeve and whispered: "The second one on the left, brother, you have to save her for me."

  "Brother, you've taken a liking so quickly?" Ximen Qing replied in a low voice, "No problem."

  Since An Daquan had already made his choice, Ximen Qing looked around the group and didn't see Lihua, so he beckoned with a strange gesture. Xue Mama hastily stepped forward: "Have the two noble guests made their selection?"

  "The divine doctor has taken a liking to the second one on your left, you can keep him." Ximen Qing asked: "Where did the other pear flower go? Why didn't she come?"

  "Hey, you just went up, and the master came over, calling out names, and Li Hua had to accompany him. I couldn't do anything about it." Xue Ma replied: "The young master doesn't need to choose, I'll go call Tao Hua for you in a moment, guaranteed to satisfy you."

  Since it's Master Wu who has come, Xi Menqing couldn't insist on anything else. Anyway, Taohua girl is the first one among the twelve top courtesans, so she definitely can't be bad, therefore he nodded in agreement.

  Xue's mother turned her head and shouted: "Chrysanthemum girl, you stay! Everyone else get out!"

  What! The chrysanthemum girl I've thought about for so many times is actually the second one on the left! Ximen Qing looked at An Daquan's urgent eyes and regretted not letting Xue Ma introduce her first.

  But it doesn't seem to be outstanding, the figure is short, just a bit fair-skinned, how did An Daoquan take a liking to him? Is he one of those legendary good guys?

  "Hi." The chrysanthemum girl bowed her head and left in a line, followed by the other girls who also withdrew with Aunt Xue.

  "Come on, come on, sit down and have a drink first." Dr. An smiled and patted the seat next to him.

  "Hello." The chrysanthemum girl walked over slowly and sat down, pouring herself a cup: "Two returned guests have arrived... Chrysanthemum marks are happy."

  "Wait a minute!" Ximen Qing suddenly thought of something that didn't feel right: "Jasmine, where are you from? Your accent sounds a bit off."

  "I came from Tōyō..."

  "East Ebb? Isn't that just Japan?" Ximen Qing only then remembered that last time Zhu Zhi County was drinking and seemed to have said "Chrysanthemum is from the East...", who knew he got interrupted, it turned out he was saying they came from East Ebb.

  Is this small flower building also going international?

  "Foreign flavor, I like..." An Daquan had already stuck it on, Ximen Qing was stunned and couldn't do anything about it, so he found an excuse to leave the room.

  What's going on here? This Japanese chick has already landed in our Song Dynasty and is making a fortune?

  Ximen Qing thought angrily and looked up to see Xue Mama bringing in a beautiful young woman with a charming smile.

  At this time, the private room behind had already transmitted all sorts of sounds that sparked the imagination...

  An Daoquan is too fast, a straight thrust!

  "Never mind, let's just open another room." Ximen Qing shook his head and directly pulled the Peach Blossom Girl to leave.

  Men always have such moments...

  After the spring breeze, Ximen Qing was about to settle the account, but when he asked, An Daoquan had not come out yet. This made Ximen Qing a little surprised, and it turned out that this guy was indeed well-maintained, and the medicinal wine was also very effective.

  This further solidified Ximen Qing's determination to get his hands on the formula for An Daquan's medicinal liquor.

  He told Xue's mother to have someone wait for An Daoquan to come out and send him home, then he strolled out of the Hundred Flowers Tower, thinking for a moment before heading in the direction of the medicine shop, which he hadn't visited in a long time.

  "Isn't the master with Dr. Sun? How did he have time to come into the shop?" Fu the shopkeeper, seeing Ximen Qing coming alone, was very surprised: "What did Dr. Sun say about the master's old illness?"

  "Hmm, that... the divine doctor said it's nothing serious, just need to take care of myself. Ximen Qing casually made up a sentence, anyway, An Daquan wouldn't object: 'How has business been at the shop these past few days?'"

  "It's all right, since last time, the daily turnover of the shop has been no problem." Fu Zhuang thought and said in a low voice: "The old ginseng from Zhu Zhi County has already been sent over, don't worry about it, master."

  "It doesn't matter, you just take charge." Ximen Qing knew that he was completely ignorant of the pharmaceutical business, and with Fu Zhanggui's help, he could just sit back and collect the money.

  As they were chatting, a voice behind them said, "So the great master is also here."

  Ximen Qing turned his head to see Pan Jinlian, whose face was somewhat flustered, her hairpins askew, and she seemed to be panting as if she had run all the way.

  "Sixth Lady, what's wrong with you? Sit down and catch your breath before speaking." Ximen Qing helped up Sixth Lady who was just about to make a bow, his heart skipping a beat as he wondered what had happened.

  Isn't something wrong with Wu Dalang?

  As expected, Pan Jinlian calmed down and told Wu Dalang about the incident where he lost his mind, of course omitting the details of how Wu Dalang angrily beat up the adulterous couple.

  "How could this be?" Ximen Qing was shocked and wondered if Wu Dalang was one of those aggressive mental patients, which would be difficult to treat.

  Fu Zhanggui, what do you think about this matter? Ximen Qing thought for a moment and still asked Fu Zhanggui.

  "It sounds like phlegm-fire descending, confusing the orifices of the heart." Fu Zhuanggui pondered: "Master, why not have the resident physician prescribe a calming and demon-expelling formula?"

  "Can a divine doctor cure this kind of illness?" Ximen Qing suddenly thought of An Daquan who was still at the Baifang Pavilion.

  Fu Zhanggui sighed and replied: "Actually, this illness is something that even Doctor An can't do anything about. On the other hand, I've heard that Zhu Youke's talismans are quite effective."