Ninety snakes and rats in one nest

  Dai Da-ren looked at Pei Qian's debauched appearance and let out a gulping sound in his throat, the women beside him covered their mouths and giggled: "Dai Da-ren, official duties are forever endless, you have to take care of your body with so many things to attend to, why don't I help you relax with a massage?"

  The sound of rustling clothes and loosening belts arose.

  "Hehe, I didn't think Lord Dai was so spirited already? Why don't let me help you relax a bit..."

  The woman said, bowing her head down. In just a few seconds, a low, heavy hiss was heard from Magistrate Dai's mouth. The woman raised her head, smiling coyly and saying: "Ah, Magistrate Dai is so bad, I'm not even ready yet..."

  Pei Qian burst out laughing: "Dai Gong, it seems you really need to be supplemented. My mansion still has a few good tiger whips, I'll send them to your mansion tomorrow..."

  Dai Da-ren felt very embarrassed and lost his confidence in speaking, "Th-thank you so much, Second Master."

  "Haha, Governor Dai is too polite."

  ……

  Two hours later, Pei Qian came out of the Hong Xing Bi Yuan, drunk and staggering. His two legs were clearly weak and he was supported by two slaves as he walked to the carriage. He fell several times before being helped into the luxurious carriage. Lying in the comfortable carriage, Pei Qian's face showed a satisfied expression. Having had his way with two women, he had shown off his prowess in front of the incompetent Dai Da Ren, how could he not be feeling proud and triumphant?

  Men care most about their dignity, especially when dealing with women. This Henan county magistrate, Lord Dai, although he made a complete fool of himself today and lost all face, was treated as one of her own people, otherwise she wouldn't have put aside the haughty airs she normally puts on, and is still indulging in romantic fantasies, unable to extricate herself.

  Pei Qian was particularly proud of his talent in this regard. If he hadn't sent a few stunning beauties to Sun Zhifu and specially purchased a luxurious mansion for him to keep them, his brother wouldn't have been able to become the Water Messenger, and the Luoshui Branch wouldn't have become the top supplier of the Red Apricot Courtyard in Luoyang.

  He hummed a tune with joy, and didn't forget to reward the madam who had escorted him to the door, instructing her: "Yingying's mother, don't disturb Mr. Dai from resting, let him sleep in Yingying's room tonight, put all of Mr. Dai's expenses on my account, and from now on, don't let Yingying come out to see guests again, becoming Mr. Dai's woman is also her good fortune, these next few days there will be a batch of top-quality goods arriving in Luoyang, at that time Yingying's mother you need what kind of daughter, I'll reserve it for you first."

  The old procuress thanked him with gratitude and saw off Pei Qian's carriage as it went far away.

  Just after Pei Qian left, a man with a gloomy face emerged from the dark doorway and walked up to the old procuress, holding a shiny white dagger against her waist.

  "I'll ask one sentence, you answer one sentence, if there's a single false statement, an extra hole will appear on your body."

  The old procuress shuddered all over, knowing that she had provoked a ruthless and cunning person. She didn't dare say no, and nodded repeatedly. The man dragged her into the gate of Hong Xing's residence.

  ……

  The next day, the whole city of Luoyang was talking about a shocking event.

  The government posted a notice, Henan County Magistrate Dai Zude was brutally killed on the bed of a woman named Yingying in Hongxuan Pavilion of Red Apricot Villa, with more than twenty knife wounds on his body.

  There are various theories about the reason for his murder.

  Some people say it was the woman's old lover who was jealous and killed her new lover, but unexpectedly it was actually County Magistrate Dai of Henan. Others say that Magistrate Dai died in the line of duty because he handled cases impartially and selflessly, and was privately retaliated against by someone with a grudge. The main suspects are the group of human traffickers from Jiangdu who were just caught recently. However, more people are discussing whether Magistrate Dai was wearing clothes at the time, how many women were waiting on him beside him, and what good wine he was drinking.

  Some of those involved have been caught by the provincial government, and the case is being secretly tried. The truth of the matter has been strangled in its cradle, leaving endless room for imagination for the people of Luoyang to discuss and gossip about after dinner.

  ……

  In the Pei Mansion in the east of Luoyang City, Pei Qiantong was raging with anger. In the main hall, Pei Qianguo sat at the lower head, still looking sleepy after waking up from his sleep last night. When he heard from his brother that Lord Dai had been murdered at Hong Xing Villa, he was stunned.

  "Look at all the good things you've done! I'm asking you, aside from you, how many people knew that you and Lord Dai were in a room together last night?"

  Pei Qian's face turned gloomy: "My several good friends, and a madam and two of my subordinates, brother, what do you want to do?"

  "This matter is clearly aimed at our Salt Gang. If the government finds out about your relationship with Lord Dai, they will first suspect that someone from our Salt Gang killed Lord Dai. Not only will you be in danger, but it will also implicate our gang. Send two good men to take care of those two subordinates of yours. Also, spend some silver to bribe the prison guards and put poison in their food to get rid of those arrested people, so as not to leave any future troubles."

  "Brother, don't be so ruthless. Those concubines are the ones I've managed to train with great difficulty, and they're all top-notch goods. We still need them to win over the next Magistrate of Henan County."

  "Is your life more important or are these women more important? Not a single one can be left! A few days ago, didn't we catch some human traffickers from Jiangdu? It's best to think of a way to pin this on them."

  Pei Qian replied in a low voice, "I don't need you to teach me how to do this kind of thing."

  Pei Qiantong glared at him, of course knowing what kind of person his younger brother was. Framing and trapping others was something his younger brother was more familiar with than anyone else, so he didn't bother to scold him anymore. His tone changed: "By the way, what about that woman you said last time would be sent to Lord Feng? Has she been captured yet?"

  Bai Qian quickly recovered from the heartache of giving up on many years of good intentions. These women, although they cost him a lot of silver, were not irreplaceable goods. In this era, there were homeless women everywhere, and you could have as many as you wanted. It was just a matter of spending more time training them, which he had always been enthusiastic about.

  When Pei Qiantong asked about Zhang's affairs, he chuckled: "Brother, don't worry, what I want to do can be done. Her father-in-law is just a rotten gambler who wants to get rich and has gone crazy. I set up a simple trap and he rushed in eagerly, signing the contract for selling his daughter-in-law without hesitation, and even gave me the deed to the house. As for that tofu westerner, I had someone tie her up yesterday, and now she's probably in the warehouse at the dock.

  "This matter must not be messed up, Lord Feng is very satisfied with the deed of sale you gave him. He usually doesn't even look at me in court, but yesterday he took the initiative to talk to me and praised that your future prospects are boundless. It seems that the deed of sale you gave him has taken effect."

  "Hey, brother, you won't think I'm useless this time, will you? Last time you beat me so badly."

  Pei Qiantong said in a bad temper: "It's just this kind of thing that makes me feel at ease. I hit you to show the servants, if I don't have some prestige in this family, it would have collapsed long ago. These slaves and servants, which one doesn't harbor evil intentions, waiting for us two brothers to make fools of ourselves? You are in the light, I am in the dark, they wouldn't dare cheat us two brothers. This is a dual strategy, do you understand?"

  Pei Qian grumbled: "Why take me as a target to show off your power, can't you just find someone else?"

  "It's not you, my own brother, how can I demonstrate my impartiality and strict family rules, regardless of closeness or distance? If you feel wronged, I apologize to you here, isn't that enough?"

  "I don't dare to be, even close brothers would apologize."

  Pei Qiantong smiled: "This matter must be grasped tightly, the southern Ji Rang has already taken down Xingluo Warehouse, opened the warehouse and released grain, recruited soldiers and bought horses. Now the momentum is vast and poses a serious threat to Luoyang. I think the Emperor has already had the intention of escaping, and in the past few days, he has continuously summoned Yu Wenqie. He may be about to escape to Jiangdu soon. This is a good opportunity for our Salt Gang. Who knows, maybe in the future when the world is in chaos, our Salt Gang can take advantage of it and gain a foothold."

  "Brother, I know, I'll get someone on it right away."

  Pei Qian stood up and swaggered out of the door.