Chapter 410 I Just Have a Good Dad [Two in One]

Yunlu City is called Qingdu because there is a Qing River running through the city. This river is crystal clear all year round, and fish swim in the water as if they have nothing to rely on. It can be said to be the ultimate in "clearness".

As for why this river is so clear and flows through several states without being stained by silt, there is a legend that there were immortals who once bathed in this river, so the water has been clear for thousands of years; there is also a legend that it is because this river flows through Sanqing Mountain and is affected by the fairy air in the mountain.

The Qing River is spacious, and every night many pleasure boats and pleasure crafts ferry back and forth. On the pleasure crafts, there is singing and dancing, and the blurred lights on both sides of the river are reflected.

The most famous one is the Fairy Boat in the Clouds.

Although they did not have many boats, all the girls on board were the best girls in Yunlu City. They were as beautiful as flowers, and they were also proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. Everyone in the city considered it an elegant thing to be able to go on the Yunzhong Fairy Boat for a banquet.

Even a child from aristocratic family would be proud to have a relationship with Miss Xianfang.

Although Chen Ju was born in one of the four great families in Shendu, this was Qingdu after all, and he was not a direct descendant, so his status was not that high, so he had been begging for Miss Liu for many days but had not been accepted. After all, the visiting cards from the dignitaries in Miss Liu's place would conservatively take several years to come.

So when I suddenly heard Miss Liu agree today, I was overjoyed.

But at this moment, sitting in his seat, he did not look comfortable, and even a little tense.

Not long after, Liang Yue came in with the prince and Hu Delu. Chen Ju immediately stood up and wanted to bow respectfully.

Liang Yue quickly stopped him with a look.

"Uh..." Chen Ju stopped talking and changed his words: "Mr. Jiang, you are here."

Liang Yue could tell him the news that the prince had arrived in Yunlu City in advance, but it was not a good idea to let outsiders know, so it had to be kept secret.

"You don't have to be so polite." The prince chuckled, "You are Liang Yue's friend, so you are my friend."

Although Chen Ju often came to this gathering place for scholars and elegant people, going to the brothel and the painting house was like going home, and the beautiful girls were as friendly as family members, but when had he ever returned home with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?

Some discomfort is inevitable.

Seeing this, Liang Yue also said to him: "Just think of us as friends."

"That's right." The prince said, "I'm just here to see it, you can just play as you want."

"Hey, we're all brothers." When Chen Ju heard this and saw that the little fat man was so kind, he immediately dared to let go, threw his legs on the table, and said, "Then I understand, go and invite Miss Liu over."

After the distinguished guests boarded the boat, it slowly started moving away from the shore.

The boats of Yunzhongxianfang are all three-story ships. The second floor is for boarding and banquets, and the third floor is an open-air platform. The boats are decorated with fairy paintings, lights and dragons, and the interior is warm as spring.

Only after the ship started moving did a maid go down to call Miss Liu.

Soon, a fragrant breeze blew into the room, and a slender figure in a water-green long skirt, as graceful as a willow, walked in slowly. After lifting the pearl curtain, a face as elegant as the moon was revealed, and a maid followed behind her holding a pipa.

"My name is Liu Mengyi, nice to meet you gentlemen." The woman knelt down and bowed.

"Miss Liu, you don't have to be so polite. I've been inviting you for a long time and finally got to meet you." Chen Ju said with a smile, "It just so happens that my friends from the Divine Capital are here today, so I invited them to the banquet together. I hope you don't mind being a bother?"

"No." Liu Mengyi shook her head gently and smiled, "I also like the lively atmosphere on the fairy boat."

Her voice is gentle and her tone is soft, which is very pleasant to the ears, yet has a sense of politeness and distance, not too vulgar.

As she spoke, the maid set up the pipa and said softly, "I will play a song first to welcome the gentlemen to the Fairy Boat for the first time. I am sorry to perform."

She plucked the pipa strings with her fingers, sometimes gracefully, sometimes quickly, and the sound of gurgling water outside made people feel as if they were in a leisurely and otherworldly world.

During the song, Chen Ju said to the prince, "No wonder Miss Liu's pipa skills are so famous. She is indeed not inferior to the top musicians in Hongxiufang."

"Is there such a great musician in Hongxiufang?" the prince asked with a blink.

"Eh?" Chen Ju asked in surprise, "Master Jiang has never been to Hongxiufang?"

The prince came closer and whispered, "How dare I?"

"Oh." Chen Ju sighed, "It's a pity that I haven't experienced anything in the capital of gods. If there is a chance in the future, I will introduce you to some good girls in Hongxiufang."

"That's great." The prince said with his eyes shining.

"Cough." Hu Delu coughed lightly with a bad look and glared at Chen Ju.

The crown prince is the crown prince and has been a good boy for so many years. What will happen if he is led astray by this kid?

Chen Ju glanced at him and said, "Mr. Hu should go too. The good girls over there are very respectful to the elderly."

"Hmm..." Hu Delu nodded after a little hesitation. It would be reassuring if he could go over and supervise.

A girl who knows how to respect the elderly shouldn't be too bad.

When the song ended, everyone applauded to show their approval.

Liu Mengyi stood up and gestured, then said: "The reason why I invited Master Chen here today is actually because I have another friend who wants to see Master Chen. I wonder if I can invite him in to have a chat?"

"Oh?" Chen Ju raised his eyebrows slightly. It turned out that Liu Mengyi agreed to meet him for another purpose. If it were normal times, he would not be shy about meeting her to see if she had any tricks up her sleeve.

But today the prince was here, so he couldn't help but feel a little hesitant.

At this time, Liang Yue opened his mouth and whispered: "Please come in and see me."

Chen Ju is now involved in the Zhao Faxian case. He wondered if the person who came to his house was here for this matter, so he also wanted to take a look.

As for the prince and myself, we probably don't know many people in the south, so we won't be too busy.
Hearing him say this, Chen Ju nodded and said, "Then please come in."

……

After getting his consent, Liu Mengyi sent her maid out, who soon brought back a young man in brocade clothes.

This person had a smile on his face, his eyebrows slightly raised, and when he entered the room, he held Liu Mengyi's arm and said in a warm voice: "Thank you, Miss Liu."

"Mr. Qi, there's no need to thank me." Liu Mengyi lowered her brows and smiled, then walked out the door.

Chen Ju knew the man who walked in. He noticed that the two were not in the right state and said, "It turns out that Miss Liu and Mr. Qi have been a couple for a long time."

The man replied, "She is just a confidante. I asked Miss Liu to arrange a meeting with Young Master Chen, but I did not inform him in advance. Please do not blame me. It is because Young Master Chen has been staying indoors recently and has not replied to the invitation. It is really difficult to find him." The prince looked at Liu Mengyi's back, then at the young man who walked in, and said with a little envy, "It is a blessing to have a confidante like Miss Liu."

The young man laughed to everyone and said, "No need to be envious, I just have a good father."

It can be seen that he has a sense of arrogance as soon as he appears.

As the second son of the eldest son of the largest family in Qingdu, he does have the capital to be arrogant in Yunlu City. There are not many people in the city whose family background can compare with his.

"..." Chen Ju was speechless for a long time.

Actually, I really want to say that you are really overthinking it.

None of them would envy you for having a good father.

After a short silence, he introduced: "This is Qi Zhongqing, the second son of the Qi family in Qingdu. These two are my friends from Shendu, Young Master Liang and Young Master Jiang."

Qi Zhongqing nodded casually and said, "What I want to discuss with Master Chen is quite confidential. Can you two please step aside for the time being?"

Chen Ju said seriously, "These two are like brothers to me. Brother Qi, if you have something to say, just tell them. You don't have to hide it from them."

After all, the one sitting here is the prince. There is no way he would deliberately avoid him, as that would make it seem like he is doing something shameful.

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Qi Zhongqing also became serious. "This matter is of great importance and must not be spread, especially by the royal family. Otherwise, it is very likely to cost you your life. Brother Jiang, Brother Liang, are you sure you want to listen?"

What he said was already an implicit threat.

Things have become so serious that even brothers would retreat and avoid trouble.

But it would have been better if he hadn't said that. Originally, the prince was afraid of disturbing other people's conversation and wanted to politely retreat. But when he heard him say this, curiosity suddenly flashed in his eyes.

When Chen Ju saw his expression, he knew that there was absolutely no way that the little fat boy could leave.

So he just said to Qi Zhongqing calmly, "Don't worry."

Just rest assured and everything will be fine.

"Okay." Qi Zhongqing nodded, but still said, "But let me be frank. If anyone hears what I said today, don't blame me for being rude."

"That's for sure." Chen Ju nodded repeatedly.

Just say it yourself, whoever spreads the message is not a human being.

Seeing his repeated assurances, Qi Zhongqing continued, "I came to see Brother Chen because I have a good business that I would like to cooperate with you."

"There was news from the uterus a while ago that His Majesty is going to start selecting a concubine for the Crown Prince. Officials from the north and south who have virtuous women of the right age can enter the palace to participate in the selection. Are you aware of this?"

Chen Ju looked at the prince again, and the prince nodded and said, "It is true."

Qi Zhongqing glanced at him, thinking that this little fat boy must have inside information about the palace, so he must be from a high family background, so he put away his contempt.

He continued in a low voice, "This matter is handled by your Chen family in the north, and in the south, our Qi family has the final say. If our two families join forces, we can make this a big business!"

"Heh." Chen Ju smiled guiltily, "This matter is mainly the responsibility of the people sent by the palace. Even if the person who selects the magistrate is from my family, it is just an introduction on my behalf."

"Brother Chen, there is no need to be modest at this time." Qi Zhongqing pushed him, "There are no outsiders here, what are you afraid of? Isn't your Chen family used to doing this kind of thing? I heard that when Concubine Lu entered the palace, it was your Chen family who selected her. At that time, Lu Yuanwang's official rank was not high, and he spent almost all his wealth on the selection, and then his daughter stood out and almost established a new family. This matter has been spread privately for a long time."

"These are all rumors!" Chen Ju almost jumped up, "Brother Qi, don't believe them!"

"Okay, okay." Qi Zhongqing waved his hand and said, "Why are you reacting so strongly? Anyway, thanks to Concubine Lu's example, there are many families who want to invest in this. At least in our south, there are at least dozens of families who want to make efforts in this. Let's catch this matter and put a price on it. If you want to stay in the palace, it's easy to charge 18,000 taels a family. If you want to have a chance to become the Crown Princess, you have to pay several times more."

"This..." Chen Ju was sweating coldly, "Let me make it clear first, as far as I know, my family has never done such a thing. After all, selecting officials is just collecting recommendations, and they are all selected by people in the palace. How can it be so easy to control it?"

Qi Zhongqing said unhappily, "Brother Chen, this is boring. Do you want me to tell you how your family operated before? Or is it that you are in charge of the family business and have never heard of these things?"

"I dare not hear it." Chen Ju shook his head repeatedly.

"Then let me tell you about it." Qi Zhongqing said, "This matter is indeed about the selection of people in the palace, but we can control the people who are promoted."

"Those whose families spent money to get selected are all above average in appearance and not too bad. This alone is definitely not enough to get selected, but if you can't make them better, you can make the rest worse."

"Except for those who spend money, you should replace the rest with some ugly ones. You should eliminate those who are beautiful and intelligent and meet the standards. There are a bunch of toads around, and the ordinary people are made to look like cuckoos."

"Especially those with outstanding looks. You should prevent them from being selected by the officials. All His Royal Highness will see are ugly freaks. Of course, he will choose the remaining ones."

"No..." The prince couldn't help but interrupt, and said with a little grief and indignation: "Isn't this too much?"

"What's the big deal?" Qi Zhongqing said, "The things provided to the royal family can't be too good. Isn't this a consensus?"

The prince looked around and asked seriously, "Really?"

"Of course." Qi Zhongqing said, "You let the royal family eat the best food, what if you can't make the same top-notch food next time and they are not satisfied? You let the royal family drink the best tea, what if it is not produced next year, won't you be blamed?"

"So we, as ministers, must ensure that the royal family's food, drink and expenses are the same as those of the third and fourth class people outside. If we suddenly become better one day, we will be rewarded."

"It's the same with beauties. If you have too many beauties in the palace, the emperor will get numb after a while. Starting from the time he is the crown prince, he should only be surrounded by ugly people. When a beautiful woman is suddenly presented to him, his eyes will light up."

"As for the best ones, we just have to bear the pain and enjoy them ourselves. This is the best."

Qi Zhongqing said, laughing, "I think you are both from aristocratic families, so you should understand these principles."

Liang Yue immediately shook his head, "I don't understand, my family is very poor."

Chen Ju also stared and shook his head, "I have never heard of it."

The fat boy's lips twitched, and he tried his best to suppress his anger, saying: "Master Qi knows a lot, he is worthy of being a descendant of the Qingdu Qi family."

"Oh, you don't have to be envious." Qi Zhongqing smiled and repeated, "I just have a good father."

Chen Ju couldn't bear to look at him anymore, so he covered his eyes with his hands and said, "Your father really has a good son!"

　Good morning.

　
(End of this chapter)