New book "Xiao Chen" is still very thin, so brothers and sisters should collect it first and raise it! Dont forget to vote for the red ticket when youre free!

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  He walked up to the deck of the Wu Peng boat and looked up to see the cabin of the Huafang boat. Except for four or five lazy sailors sitting under the awning at the bow, smoking dry cigarettes, he couldnt see anyone else. He didnt want to bother with the sailors hired by Huafang, so when he heard someone playing a broken tune on the qin inside the cabin, he shouted in, "Little Man, Little Man, can you please ask Miss Su to come out and talk?"

  The flower window of the painted barge opened, revealing a small white face like jade, looking at the black-clad official standing on the awning boat shouting, without speaking. Instead, a thin old man about fifty years old came from behind to the bow of the ship, first looked up at the sky, saw that the rain had stopped, and then asked the black-clad official: "What does Zheng Shiyi want to say when looking for Su Niang?"

  "Is Master Fu bullying you?" The man in the blue robe bowed his hands, his surname was Zheng, and his name was Shi, others called him Zheng Shiye, he also accepted it calmly. The thin old man in front of him, Fu Qinghe, was the bodyguard hired by Huafangli. When Su Meis boat stopped outside the river dike, Zheng Shi personally saw more than a dozen local thugs get on the boat and cause trouble, and his two apprentices were beaten and kicked into the river. For the past two days, it has been rumored in the county that Fu Qinghe was a famous martial artist in Jiangning, and he used to run a martial arts school in Jiangning City, but it went bankrupt, and he brought several apprentices to live in the brothel as bodyguards.

  Zheng Shi thought that the owner of the brothel was quite capable, and in Baisha County, there was no distinction between prostitutes and musicians. In his opinion, Su Meis reputation was not much different from those of the courtesans and prostitutes in the countys Wen Chang Fang district. However, those officials seemed to enjoy this kind of thing, and he didnt dare to show off in front of Fu Qinghe, so he just said, "Lord Dong Yuan is currently in the county, and he is very...very grateful for Su Misss kindness, and intentionally wants to host a banquet to thank her." Zheng Shi tried his best to repeat Ding Zhi Rus original words, but forgot some of them as soon as he got off the boat. He felt that his words sounded dry, so he added another sentence, revealing Ding Zhi Rus true intention. His eyes glanced towards the cabin, where a green-clad figure flashed by behind the flower-patterned window, but he couldnt see her face. He thought to himself that even the top courtesan in Baisha County would only charge two taels of silver for a night, and now he was on this boat listening to these women play music and sing, which was worth more than sleeping with the courtesan for five nights. These people from Jiangning were not simple at all.

  "Please wait for a moment, Master Zheng. Miss Su is putting away her zither." Fu Qings eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he couldnt afford to offend the local official too much, so he temporarily put Zheng aside and turned to ask the young servant in green standing at the bow of the awning boat, "How is your master Lins health?"

  "The body is fine, but he just sits there all day in a daze, as if his soul has been lost. He doesnt even come out to see people..." The young servant in green clothes replied absent-mindedly, with no great respect for the so-called Lin Gongzi in his tone, and even showing some impatience.

  Fu Qinghe smiled and said, "You ask Zheng Shiye to go into the city to see if there is a doctor who can cure Lin Gongzis condition. Su Niang also feels very guilty about it..."

  "He himself wants to jump into the water, what does Guan Su have to do with it... these two days are all thanks to Sus help..." The young servant in green clothes said, and asked the boatman who was helping to decoct medicine at the bow of the boat, "Is the medicine ready?" He couldnt help but complain, "Fortunately, he didnt die, and I promised that he would return safely. If not, Ill be skinned alive when I get back."

  The three people were talking about Lin Gongzi, who was sitting in the cabin of a black awning boat - the cabin was narrow and dimly lit, his face was slightly pale, he was a young scholar just out of his teens.

  He was Lin Fu, a young man from the prominent Lin family of Shiliang County in Dongyang Prefecture. In early autumn, he rushed to Nanjing to take part in the imperial examination. Although he barely squeezed onto the list when it was announced, he was still one of the lucky ones among the three thousand examinees from eastern Jiangsu Province. Only about 150 people out of the eleven prefectures and eighty-six counties in eastern Jiangsu could achieve this honor every three years.

  The day after the release of the list, local officials would hold a banquet to celebrate the new scholars who had passed the imperial examination (because the poem "Deers Cry" from the Book of Songs was recited at the banquet, it was called the Deers Cry Banquet). This year, the atmosphere was lively and three or five singing girls were also invited to join in the celebration. Lin Xie met Jiangnings famous courtesan Su Mei for the first time at the Deers Cry Banquet and was deeply infatuated with her beauty. After the release of the list, Lin Xie stayed in Jiangning for half a month just for Su Mei. Su Mei was invited by Du Rong, a wealthy merchant from Yangzhou, to sing at his fathers 60th birthday banquet, and Lin Xie followed her without knowing what he was doing, hiring a small boat and bringing his entourage along.

  The other night, I wanted to sneak up to the top of the awning boat to watch Su Mei play the zither. I lost my footing and fell into the water. By the time I was rescued, I had stopped breathing. Originally, I had become a drowned ghost, but unexpectedly, after having an absurd dream, I slowly came back to life, scaring the mourning woman who had been invited half to death.

  Lin Xie sat in the cabin, at this moment he felt that he should be another person who shouldnt belong to this world, with another name: Tan Zong.

  The bow crashed against the dock, a slight tremble, he subconsciously clutched his chest, as if the bullet that had shot in from the window in his dream was still lodged inside him, making him feel a sharp pain, so clear...

  It was like a dream that couldnt be shaken off even after waking up - in the dream, I was called Tan Zong, and after serving as a soldier for several years, I returned home and immigrated to a foreign country with my family. The city was completely Chinese, no different from back home, and even being treated as a third-class citizen didnt feel out of place. I worked as a helper in a restaurant and met someone through a blind date, but if it wasnt for that night when I left the restaurant and kindly offered to take a girl who claimed to have a sprained ankle to the hospital, none of the things that happened later would have occurred.

  Tan Zong never thought that the girl was a local security teams fishing hook, and he was detained for 15 days and had to pay a fine. At first, he didnt think about causing any trouble, but after paying the fine, losing his job, and his girlfriend leaving him, it wasnt a big deal compared to those who died in secret missions. However, his fathers temper was straightforward and violent, and he couldnt bear the humiliation of being mocked by others, so he got into a fight and fell down the stairs, breaking his neck, and died after two days in the hospital.

  Tan Zong only then felt that if this matter couldnt be settled, it would be unfilial to his father who had died in a fall. His fathers eyes would not be able to close in death.

  Multiple appeals were ignored, and Tan Zong finally made up his mind to take drastic action. He waited for an opportunity to take the security guards who had framed him and the police officer in charge hostage at a bathhouse called the Bangkok Palace, hoping to use the media to expose the truth and get an explanation. Even though he knew he would face several years in prison, Tan Zong thought it was worth it - he was poor, had nothing to lose, and might as well live life on his own terms. He thought he had planned everything carefully and, after negotiating with a police expert, threw the paring knife out the window, thinking that would be the end of the drama. However, he completely underestimated how ruthless the police were - they wouldnt let him live. As soon as he gave up resisting and lowered his guard, the sniper outside opened fire, and the police waiting at the door burst in. Tan Zong wasnt even sure if he had managed to crush the last policemans throat, having been shot over ten times and exhausting all his strength - it was possible that he hadnt killed him, which was a shame...

  The dream was absurd, but the feeling was real, as if I had lived through another completely different world. The hijacked police officer died after being shot and his soul unexpectedly entered the body of a young man named Lin Wei - Lin Wei should have already fallen into the White Water River and drowned, they rescued someone else.

  The feeling of being too real makes one wonder: if the soul in the body is that of Tan Zhong, yet the memories of Lin Xie have not been erased; if its just a strange and absurd dream, but he can clearly feel like he has changed into another person - seven days ago, he couldnt swim, falling into water was like being a stone, sinking straight down; at this moment, if he wasnt afraid of startling others, he really wanted to jump into the water to try out his swimming skills...

  "Please trouble Master Fu to inform Miss Su that Lord Ding is waiting for a reply..." Zheng Shi urged Fu Qinghe at the bow of the boat.

  The voices outside, Lin Xie heard clearly in the cabin, thinking that this dog days White Sand County Magistrate Ding Zhi Ru thought of pleasing his superiors and wanted Su Mei to go ashore to accompany wine, really could find an excuse. Zheng Shi, the errand boy, was a clerk in the prison office of White Sand County, and he was also very enthusiastic about handling this task well, constantly urging him on.

  After a moment, a soft and gentle female voice came from outside the cabin: "Please inform County Magistrate Ding and Master Dong that Su Mei has been anchored here for ten days to perform and raise funds. It was a public promise made on the eighth day, but its not a big deal if its broken today; however, as a woman of humble origin, I dont want to easily break my promise. I would like to ask County Magistrate Ding and Master Dong to understand... If they have the inclination, Su Mei will brew wine in the boat to await them, or perhaps wait until after ten days have passed and then go ashore to apologize to the two gentlemen... Su Mei has written a note, please pass it on to the two gentlemen." The words were a polite but firm refusal.

  The officials guarding the Jiangning Mausoleum and those scholars from the Xixi Academy, although having no real power, were indeed formidable with their sharp tongues and dared to speak out; all officials, high and low, feared being criticized by them. Lin Xian thought that Governor Dong Yuan of Weiyang had come to Baisha County to inspect the disaster situation, and it was impossible for him to stay in Baisha for three days just because of a courtesan, let alone board the boat to meet her.

  "Ill go back and report to County Magistrate Ding then..."

  Listening to the footsteps at the bow of the boat, Lin Xie thought that Zheng Shi had retreated in the face of difficulty. After a moment, he heard Su Mei ask Zhao Neng outside: "Brother Zhao Neng, how is Master Lins body recovering? Do you want to invite another doctor to prescribe two more prescriptions?"

  Listening to this voice, Lin Xies eyes floated a beautiful and charming face - Su Mei was 14 years old when she opened her art studio in Jiangning Zhenzi Alley, and already had the reputation of being elegant. At that time, she was not yet 19 years old - thinking: if it were in later generations, girls of this age would still be innocent and ignorant of worldly affairs, enjoying the pampering of their families and boyfriends, but Su Mei at that time was struggling to navigate among the powerful and wealthy, barely maintaining her integrity.

  Not being tainted now does not mean it will never be tainted. This is the same logic as a pack of wolves eyeing a piece of fat meat, just because this piece of fat meat can temporarily be safe, does that mean it can really change its own destiny?

  Lin Xies head was calm and collected as he thought about Su Mei, and the more he thought about it, the more he confirmed that he had only retained his physical memories of her, and no longer had that infatuated obsession. He thought to himself that previously, he had indeed been blinded by love and didnt know what was good for him. Even if he passed the imperial examination and became a government official, as a member of the Lin familys branch, he would only be a low-ranking local official. In the city of Jianye, there were countless high-ranking officials, scholars, and literati who had their eyes on Su Mei, and Du Rong, who had invited Su Mei to Wei Yang this time, was not even a major player among them. What qualifications did Lin Xie have to win the favor of the renowned Su Mei? Moreover, Su Mei had shown great favor towards Chen Mingyu, who had come in first place in the imperial examination, and it was likely that they had already secretly agreed to marry. She didnt have even a hint of affection for Lin Xie.

  Perhaps for Su Mei, waiting for Chen Ming to come back next year to take the imperial examination in the capital and still remembering her affection and marrying her as a concubine would be the best fate she could have, adding another legendary tale of a scholars virtuous woman to the world.

  Lin Xie, having lost his infatuation with Su Mei, naturally came to realize that he shouldnt get entangled with such a woman. Whether it was Lin Xie or Tan Zong, they had both been given a second chance at life and couldnt afford to waste this opportunity. Lin Xie made up his mind to leave Baisha County the next day and plan out his future carefully.

  Although retaining the physical memory, this world still gives Lin Xuan a sense of detachment and strangeness. Even in an unfamiliar world, one must struggle hard, neither being as weak and numb as Lin Xuan nor struggling at the bottom like Tan Zong without any power to resist.