The First Volume of Qinghe County

  "Considering the county lieutenant's face, I'll let it go for 50 more strings." Xue Ma gritted her teeth and made a painful expression: "Four hundred and fifty strings, can't go any lower!"

  "Oh." Ximen Qing listened to Aunt Xue's offer, his face calm and unruffled, and asked indifferently: "I'll ask you, where is Chrysanthemum from?"

  "What are you talking about, sir? Although this daughter of mine is not born to me, she was raised by me since childhood."

  "Really? Then, Aunt Xue, keep me company for a while and have a couple of cups of fragrant tea." Ximen Qing tapped the table: "Niu Da Tou, you go do your thing."

  "Yes, ma'am." Niu Dou glared at Xue Ma and turned around to leave.

  "County Master, what do you mean by this?" Xue Ma could no longer sit still and stood up: "Our Baifa Tower's business is clean and honest, even County Magistrate Zhu often comes here."

  "Oh, you actually dare to use the county magistrate to suppress me?" Ximen Qing's eyes flashed with a sharp light: "But do you think I sent Cow Head out to smash the scene?"

  Nor did he know if Xue's mother could understand what "smashing the scene" meant, but from Xue's mother's eyes, Xi Menqing saw a thread of panic that was deliberately hidden.

  It seems that Bai Hua Lou is indeed a bit of an invisible secret after all.

  Isn't there an unspoken backstage at this Baifang Building?

  Ximen Qing touched the sheep fat jade pendant, a few thoughts flashed through his mind, he stood up and walked to Xue's mother's side, whispered a sentence in her ear, Xue's mother suddenly couldn't suppress the tremble of her whole body, looking at Ximen Qing with horror.

  Ximen Qing smiled and sat back down: "Aunt Xue, the cowherd will bring over Chrysanthemum in a moment. I hope to take her away directly."

  When the cow head led Chrysanthemum Girl in, he was extremely surprised to see Xue Ma trembling on one side and trying to control his comical appearance: "Sir, I have brought Chrysanthemum Girl."

  "Sit." Ximen Qing pointed to the stool beside him, indicating for Chrysanthemum to take a seat.

  Chrysanthemum girl hesitated, looking at the trembling Xue Ma, and dared not sit down. An Shen doctor had been getting along with Chrysanthemum girl for several days, and they had already made a secret engagement, but Xue Ma's asking price of 500 taels of silver made An Shen doctor very embarrassed.

  In this day and age, being called a divine doctor is not that impressive! If it were a different era, just by hyping oneself up a bit, writing two books, and appearing on TV, one could be considered an incompetent doctor or even a swindler and still rake in the dough.

  "Chrysanthemum girl, no, it should be Chrysanthemum daughter, right?" Ximen Qing comforted Chrysanthemum girl with a nod: "Sit down. You will see your loved one soon."

  "How did you know my real name?" Kikuko blurted out.

  "I guessed it." Ximen Qing smiled and invited Juizi to sit down again: "Because you are from Dongying, and the name Juizi is very common in Dongying."

  "Daughter..." Xue's mother finally came back to her senses, her voice a little hoarse: "You'll follow County Magistrate today."

  "Is it true, mom? Don't deceive me." Chrysanthemum's heart was racing, finally going to jump out of this fire pit?

  Xue's mother was already too weak to answer the question, and she slumped down on the stool, waving her hand to signal to Juizi to quickly disappear from in front of her.

  "Xue Ma, consider this a personal favor to me." Ximen Qing smiled and stood up, beckoning to Jingji: "Miss Jingji, come with me to meet your sweetheart."

  "Ah, Kikuko can finally meet Zenko?" Kikuko exclaimed in a mixture of excitement and unintentionally slipping into Eastern dialect.

  Come on, Dr. An is already over 40 years old...

  As soon as they walked out of the Baifa Building's main gate, Niu Dutou couldn't help but ask his boss with a puzzled heart, what exactly did he discuss with that Xue Ma?

  Ximen Qing pulled on Chrysanthemum's small hand and mysteriously smiled, saying: "If you don't hand over the chrysanthemum, I'll send people to stand guard at the Hundred Flowers Tower every day."

  Niu Dutou suddenly realized, County Magistrate's move was indeed brilliant and powerful! If a few yamen runners stood at the door, who would dare to patronize the business of Baifang Lou? No wonder that Xue Ma wisely handed over Juizi.

  Of course, Ximen Qing would never tell Niu Doutou that what he actually said to Aunt Xue was: "I don't care who your backer is, but if something happens, you will definitely be used as a scapegoat."

  The person who can see the business opportunity from the "borrowing seed" behavior of Eastern women must be a ruthless character, and it's surprising that they can come up with the idea of bringing Eastern women to brothels to entertain guests. This kind of idea is not something ordinary people would dare to implement.

  So once exposed, the one who will come out to take the blame will not be that backer, but definitely someone like Xue's mother, a brothel owner.

  Ximen Qing took the recipe for the medicinal wine from An Daoquan's tearful hands and shamelessly announced on the spot that he would develop a new product called "Ten Complete Great Supplement Wine", hoping that An Daoquan, while in the midst of his romantic affair, would not forget to go to the winery to provide guidance.

  An Daoquan and Juizi both knelt down, expressing their heartfelt gratitude to Ximen Qing for his kindness. In response to Ximen Qing's request, An Daoquan agreed one by one and swore to heaven that he would follow Ximen Qing for the rest of his life.

  Jiang Jing, the abacus expert standing beside him, was also extremely happy for Ximen Qing and felt that it was not bad to continue being the accountant.

  Watching An Daoquan and Ju Xiangxiang, with a look of eager anticipation, Ximen Qing tactfully pulled Jiang Zhen aside for the time being, his mind unsure of what to do, suddenly remembering Pan Jinlian on Zi Shi Street.

  It seems like you've been busy lately and haven't had a chance to go.

  Ximen Qing's heart suddenly became more vibrant, Golden Lotus, you'd better wait for me.

  "Sixth Lady, Sixth Lady!" Pan Jinlian was just about to pour away the dregs of her medicine when she suddenly heard someone softly calling out to her. She looked up to see that it was Wang Po, mysteriously poking half of her face out from behind the half-open back door of the courtyard, softly beckoning her.

  "Mother-in-law, what's going on so mysteriously?" Pan Jinlian poured away the dregs of her medicine and opened the back door of the yard to ask.

  "Shh, speak softly." The old woman still had a mysterious look: "Is Wu Da at home?"

  "Since the day before yesterday, he's been drinking with Brother Yuan at home every day. I'm exhausted from running back and forth to serve you." Pan Jinlian complained: "Mother, tell me, he's still taking medicine, how can he drink?! He's drunk every day, stumbling around, and can't even climb the stairs. I've set up a bed for him downstairs."

  "This is also a big mistake!" Wang Po said indignantly on behalf of Pan Jinlian: "But it's good this way, Ximen Da can wait for a long time in the tea house."

  "Ah! Really!" Pan Jinlian had no idea Ximen Qing would return today: "Wet nurse, look at me, I haven't dressed up for several days, what should I do?"

  "Never mind! Sixth Lady, you are naturally beautiful, follow the old woman and don't keep Ximen Daoye waiting." Wang Po hurriedly urged Pan Jinlian to leave.

  "Alright, anyway Da Lang and Yu Ge will keep drinking until sunset. Pan Jinlian's heart was racing, this is her first formal meeting with Ximen Qing."

  Behind the Wang's teahouse, there was a small room. Ximen Qing had been waiting inside for some time and was getting impatient. Why hadn't Pan Jinlian arrived yet? Wasn't she going to hang him up like this?

  As Wang Po let out a sinister laugh, Pan Jinlian, with a face as lovely as a peach blossom, was pushed into the room, causing Ximen Qing's eyes to light up involuntarily.

  Just like last time, Pan Jinlian had a plain face and didn't dress up deliberately. The clothes on her body were also ordinary, very consistent with her current status.

  But between Pan Jinlian's eyebrows, there was always a subtle and elusive quality that drove people crazy. Ximen Qing couldn't help but sigh in amazement, no wonder others said that Pan Jinlian marrying Wu Dalang was like a fresh flower inserted into cow dung, it was enough to make heroes shed tears.

  If Pan Jinlian were to travel back in time, she would inevitably be a fiery and popular celebrity in the entertainment industry, with crazy fans chasing after her wherever she goes. Why would she stay in a small place like Qinghe County with Wu Dalang, a humble pancake seller?

  Alas, born out of time!

  Ximen Qing, as a transmigrator, naturally wouldn't do something like intentionally dropping his chopsticks and then crawling under the table to touch feet. It's not that he thinks this move is too shameless, but rather that it's just too cliché and too direct.

  If Pan Jinlian was really the kind of goods that would surrender her body just by being touched on the feet, then Ximen Qing could only come and have a go at it, pull up his pants and leave, and wait until he felt itchy again another day, call out Pan Jinlian to try it out.

  In their time, this was called "炮友" (gun friend), rather than a lover.

  This is not what Ximen Qing wanted.

  So today Ximen Qing is here to talk about romance and love, and it's a passionate and intense love affair by the standards of his own time.

  Wang Po pushed Pan Jinlian into the house and directly closed the door, using a piece of cloth to tie it from the outside.

  Then Wang Po came out of the house and did some needlework while keeping a watchful eye on the people coming and going on the Zi Shi Street outside.

  This matter is just short of the final blow, and it can't be ruined by a single mistake. Although I've already gotten several tens of taels from Ximen Qing through coaxing and deception, which means that Wang Po has even got the coffin money, but Ximen Qing is after all an official with a title, and if this matter isn't handled perfectly, Wang Po's several tens of taels will also be gone, not to mention she might even be dragged away to receive several tens of heavy blows.

  So Wang Po's idea today is that since you two have recognized each other, why not just get married in the old lady's house and settle the matter? After decades of being a matchmaker, Wang Po has long seen through the matters between men and women.

  Wang Po firmly believed that as long as there was a suitable location, suitable time and suitable environment, even if Liu Xiahui came, he would lock him in the house, throw a woman inside, and it would still turn out to be a good thing.

  Liu Xiaohui's calm and composed? That's a joke!

  In a place where one is about to freeze to death, hugging an icy body with an empty stomach, even if it's Daji reincarnated, one can only sit and not be disturbed.

  What's more, Wang Po had two secret weapons: a pot of steaming hot braised lamb and a jug of scalding good wine.

  Mutton is warm and hot in nature, nourishing the primordial yang! Benefiting blood and energy! As long as Ximen Qing eats two or three mouthfuls, he will be guaranteed to feel hot and want to take off his clothes.

  But in that pot of fine wine, there was a certain aphrodisiac secretly added by Wang Po herself. The dosage wasn't heavy, but mixed with the warm wine and drunk, it could make people unknowingly feel an urge to release their inhibitions.

  So Wang Po was busy with her needlework in her hands, her eyes gazing outside, and her ears listening to the movements inside the house, using her heart for three purposes!

  Ximen Qing and Pan Jinlian, don't let me down!