Lin tied back to the house, picked up a hairpin and stirred the bean-sized flame of the candle core, making the room brighter. Outside, it was still snowing, and the snow in the courtyard had accumulated a layer, which was blown against the window paper by the wind, making a rustling sound.

  Lin tied out a piece of cut paper, took up the pen and wrote on the paper with ink "Donghai Hu Tan Zong" five fine regular characters. Liu Yue'er looked at Lin Tie returning to the room to serve tea, she tilted her head to look at the five characters written by Lin Tie on the paper, and asked: "Who is this?"

  "This is a very powerful pirate in the East Sea, not yet famous... " Lin Xuan smiled and said to Liu Yu'er, "Maybe later he will be very famous, very famous."

  "He must be very clever." Yueliang smiled and said, that shallow smile hanging on the corner of her mouth made her look lovely under the lamp. She knew Qin Chengzu, Zhou Pu, and Wu Qi were not ordinary people, so she thought maybe this Donghai Fox was also a friend of Lin Xie's.

  "Oh, right, I almost forgot you wanted to be a fox spirit, and someone called Donghai Hu thought it was clever..." Lin Xuan smiled.

  Yue's face turned red, and she felt a surge of shyness. The words about the fox spirit were just nonsense from the other day, but Lin Xie remembered them and didn't quickly avoid her like before. She also saw that Lin Xie wanted to chat with her, and she too wanted to talk more with him. Standing there smiling, she said: "Young master is teasing me, but isn't it said in this play that the fox spirit is a very clever creature?"

  "This fox is stubborn to the point of death, not considered clever at all..." Lin Mou said with self-deprecation. He had been a human for two lifetimes and yet still took risks at every step. In the end, it was that unyielding spirit in his heart again. He asked Liu Yue'er, "You can also see that there's danger hidden within this mansion, are you afraid?"

  "Maybe Moon is just a foolish fox, feeling at ease only in this mansion." Yueli'er said with a bold tone. Her parents and brother's wife could get three taels of silver from Liang Zuoren every month without considering her feelings, letting her leave Shiliang County. At first, she followed Lin Xuan over with caution, but now her guard has gradually opened up, truly feeling that Lin Xuan is different from other men in this world.

  Lin tied his head and looked at Liu Yue'er's eyes shining brightly under the lamp, looking at her curved eyelashes casting a shadow on her eyelids, feeling really charming, really a name-worthy seductive fox spirit. He picked up the paper with words written on it from the case and slowly tore it into pieces, throwing it away in the small willow basket beside him as a trash can, before saying to Liu Yue'er: "I'm also just a foolish fox, you can rest assured and treat this place as a fox den from now on."

  Liu Yu'er's thoughts were clear and she knew that Lin Xie had said so, she didn't have to worry about being sent to the Gu family anymore. Although she didn't know how Lin Xie would be this Donghai fox demon, but thinking that Lin Xie told her such a secret matter, it meant that he no longer regarded her as an outsider. She smiled softly and stood there looking at Lin Xie's clear and handsome face. When Lin Xie looked over, she avoided his gaze again and quietly stood for a while before saying in a soft voice: "Young master should not read too late, Yu'er will go back to her room first, if there is anything, just call out."

  "You go to bed early, I'll read for a while..." Lin Mou said, watching Liu Yue'er walk out of his room. He thought again about Qin Chengzu's proposal to establish a reputation on Changshan Island in the name of Donghai Fox Tanzi, and he let out a light sigh. This burden was indeed not light.

  ********************

  The next day, Lin Xie brought Qin Chengzu to Baoyuan to visit Su Mei.

  Baiyuan was a private residence provided by the Fan family for Su Mei to live in Jiangning, and it did not mean that Su Mei would not receive guests at Baiyuan. It's just that when Su Mei received guests at Baiyuan, she could do so more freely according to her own wishes. Apart from the scholars and celebrities who came to visit after sending their cards, sisters who were close friends in Jiangning would also come and go frequently.

  Although it was just a few steps away from the street, Lin Xie and Qin Chengzu came to Baiyuan, and Zhao Hu still had his horse-drawn carriage, with Zhou Pu and Wu Qi riding horses to escort them.

  One night's snowfall, the forest was bound to come out a little later, and the snow on the street had been trampled by pedestrians without any shape. On the other hand, the eaves, walls, sparse branches, and door frames were all covered with white snow.

  When arriving at Bai Garden, it happened that another woman who was famous for her talents and beauty in Jiangning was also at Bai Garden. That was Chen Qingqing, the owner of Jingzhai Garden, who was equally famous with Su Mei in Jiangning.

  "Miss Chen from the Quiet Garden is also here, Master Lin has arrived at a really bad time, why not sit down and wait for a moment?" The one who spoke was Song Dao Po, the maid who had accompanied Su Mei to the Fang Lou that night, where she saw Lin Xie being tongue-tied by young master Fang Zhi Mei. She was the maid sent by the Fang family to manage the Bai Garden, and it was she who had scolded Xiao Man, who could only whisper a few words in front of Su Mei. In her heart, she was extremely dissatisfied with Lin Xie's visit, but having personally seen him disregard young master Fang Zhi Mei at the Fang Lou, even threatening to cut out his tongue unless master Fang Ding came out to apologize, she didn't have the guts to say anything to his face, so now she used Chen Qing Qing as a shield, trying to drive Lin Xie away.

  "Then trouble Song Dao Po to inform, Su Niang feels inconvenient, Lin Fu should leave." Lin Fu said indifferently at the door, Song Dao Po didn't dare to show a face to Lin Fu after all, and went in to inform.

  After Lin was tied to Jiangning, he had no nostalgia for the land of wind and moon. The owner of Jingyuan, Chen Qingqing, also heard his name, like Su Mei, is a famous corner in the music book, good at dancing, Xiubaiting specially set up a lotus shed in the south sky well in the building for her, there is a silver-cast lotus high platform inside the shed, with a diameter of five inches. Ordinary people are afraid to fall down when they turn around on the silver lotus platform, but Chen Qingqing only dances on this lotus platform in public. As for fame, Chen Qingqing is only three points more famous than Su Mei.

  The women in the music books have a good reputation, such as Su Mei. Su Mei and Jiangning's famous scholars and celebrities are widely known, but they always have a good reputation; however, the women in the music books are after all a class of people who are despised by the world. In the dusty red dust, it is rare to have a strong personality and stand alone, and finding a powerful person to rely on is what they usually do. Chen Qingqing was bought by He Yuejing, the then Jiangning Shoubei General, from Xiubai Building when she was 17 years old as a concubine. He Yuejing built Jingzhai Garden in Jiangning to settle Chen Qingqing, and Chen Qingqing called herself the owner of Jingzhai Garden from then on. He Yuejing was transferred to Jibei as the General of Jingbei Fuguo, and died in battle at Chentangyi last spring. He's wife would not tolerate a music book woman staying in the He family, so she drove Chen Qingqing out of Jingzhai Garden last year. After being driven out, Chen Qingqing could not find another support for the time being, so she had to return to Xiubai Building and register again. She bought a house on Nanxunmen Street with silver and named it Jingzhai Garden as before, and still called herself the owner of Jingzhai Garden.

  Although Chen Qingqing was expelled from the He family, she was still nominally considered the widow of General Guo's auxiliary general who died in battle. Many powerful men in Jiangning City coveted Chen Qingqing's beauty, but no one dared to take her as a concubine at this time for fear of stirring up gossip. Instead, Su Mei mentioned that Yongchang Hou's eldest son, Yuan Jinqiu, had been visiting Jingting Garden frequently. Yuan Jinqiu was a typical spoiled young master and not well-liked by his father, but he was the legitimate heir to the title of Yongchang Hou, which even his father could not change.

  Lin Xie also heard from the alleys that the current Marquis of Shu Guo, Zeng Xin, had his eyes on Chen Qingqing, the owner of Jingzhai Garden, and the rumors in the market were especially fiery.

  Zeng Mingxin, the Duke of Mu, and Yuan Gui, the Marquis of Yongchang, were of the same generation and considered uncles to Yuan Jinqiu. The two families, the Dukes of Mu and the Marquises of Yongchang, were also sworn enemies in Jiangning City. Zeng Mingxin and Yuan Jinqiu secretly vied for the affections of a concubine of the former Crown Prince, a renowned courtesan in Jiangning's pleasure quarters - how could such sensational gossip not capture the attention of the common people?

  It's also because of this reason that Chen Qingqing's reputation in Jiangning is even more prominent than Su Mei's.

  Even if Lin Xuan covered his ears with both hands, after arriving in Jiangning, he heard others mention Chen Qingqing's name more than once or twice. He had never met her before, but he didn't expect Chen Qingqing to visit Baiyuan today. What was strange was that Su Mei didn't mind chatting about other rumors and gossip from the streets, so why hadn't she ever mentioned the rumor that Marquis Mu had secretly competed with Xian Ming for Chen Qingqing?

  Lin Xuan and Qin Chengzu were standing in the front yard of Baiyuan, looking at a plum tree that had been planted in the courtyard. The branches of the plum tree were budding with flowers, and snow was hanging from them. Song Daopo walked in to report, but returned after only a dozen or so breaths. Lin Xuan looked up to see Xiaoman following behind her as she walked out: "Ah, Young Master Lin, you've arrived. Miss said that if you came, I should bring you in directly...I'll take you in now..."

  Yesterday, Zhao Hu came to deliver the invitation card and gave Song Dao Po some trouble. Su Mei was afraid that Lin Xie and Qin Cheng Zu would give her more trouble today, so she arranged for Xiao Man to come to the front garden at the agreed time, just as Song Dao Po went in to report.

  The snow scene in the backyard was not trampled, and others were waiting in the front yard. Lin Xie and Qin Chengzu, dressed as a wealthy merchant from Chongzhou, followed Xiao Man to the back garden, where Su Mei and Chen Qingqing were admiring the snow and plum blossoms. This was actually Lin Xie's first time seeing Chen Qingqing.

  Compared to Su Mei's pure and elegant beauty, Chen Qingqing has a unique and captivating charm that is deeply ingrained in her bones. Sitting there, wearing a brocade jacket and still wrapped in a snow-white fox fur coat outdoors, she can still make people feel that her chest is full and her waist is slender, no wonder she is known for being able to captivate half of the men in Jiangning.

  "This is the Lin Juzi that Su Meimei mentioned?" Chen Qingqing and Liu Yue'er were about the same age, two years older than Su Mei, but she, who had been in the red dust for many years, didn't feel nervous at all when she saw Lin Xie and Qin Chengzu walk in. She sat on a stone bench with a brocade cushion, raised her eyes to look at Lin Xie, and her words were as sharp as a knife. "Su Meimei does have some insight, able to scare the young master of the mansion to wet his pants. I think he's better than that Chen Jieyu!" Her gaze swept across Lin Xie's face and turned to Su Mei, asking, "By the way, Chen Jieyu has returned to his hometown to study in seclusion and prepare for next year's imperial examination. It's been a while since you've exchanged letters with your sister, right?" She stood up, waving her silk handkerchief, saying, "Alright, alright, I won't stay here to bother you. Su Meimei, you can meet with Lin Juzi now. I'll go back to the quiet chamber..." Without saying anything else to Lin Xie, she called out to Song Daopo, "Song Daopo, tomorrow you and Su Meimei come to the quiet chamber as guests. Today I won't disturb you."

  Chen Qingqing, the maid and Song Daopo walked out of the backyard. Su Mei followed with a embarrassed expression and said to Lin Fu: "Chen Qingqing is just not good at talking, but she's not that bad."

  "I know," Lin Xuan said with a smile, "she's just afraid that I'll pester you to death. Alas, this reputation is ruined, and it's really hard to recover for the time being."

  Only Xiao Manzi was the fastest: "Chen Jieyuan had indeed brought several letters, but Miss couldn't keep up with him and only replied to one letter. I've seen that letter too, it really seriously discussed academic topics."

  "Go! What nonsense are you talking about." Su Mei lightly spat out a small mouthful, her powdered face slightly red, and she gave Qin Chengzu a curtsy, "Su Mei has seen Mr. Qin..."

  *****************

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