Confiscating a Household

The little turtle priest, though struck, showed no anger. Instead, he wore a smile, his attitude respectful, even obsequious.

"Please wait a moment, I'll be right there. My wife will be overjoyed to hear that Young Master Yang has graced us with his presence."

Xu Qi'an frequented Fuxiang every few days, and the brothel had long considered him to be the courtesan's lover. The gatekeeper was arrogant and indifferent to other guests, but he dared not neglect Xu Qi'an.

They practically grovel before them.

Xu Qi'an led the Nightwatchers into the courtyard. The plum grove in the corner exuded a subtle fragrance, and the white walls and black tiles gave it a rather elegant feel.

When the courtesan heard that Xu Qi'an had booked the entire venue, she immediately had her maid apply exquisite makeup and put on a pink and white floor-length dress, revealing her delicate collarbones and fair neck.

A white strapless bra is faintly visible through the sheer fabric.

Fuxiang personally accompanied Xu Qi'an, serving him tea and wine, occasionally whispering in his ear, her smile as radiant as a flower.

The onlookers, all gong players, were filled with envy.

Fuxiang was already a renowned courtesan, and her value soared after the release of her poem "A Subtle Fragrance Drifts in the Twilight".

I heard that he no longer entertains guests; at least, it's impossible for ordinary people to do so anymore.

Even so, the number of guests who come to Yingmei Pavilion to drink, listen to music, and play tea every day is still as numerous as the fish crossing the river, because Fuxiang occasionally comes out as the game master to organize everyone to play drinking games.

After a few rounds of drinks, Xu Qi'an gave Song Tingfeng a wink, stood up, and said, "Fellow colleagues, I'm not a big drinker, so I'll take a break. You all enjoy yourselves."

The gong players, of course, had no objections; they exchanged glances and chuckled.

Fuxiang glanced at Xu Qi'an with a strange look in her eyes, then let him put his arm around her shoulder and leave.

After taking a bath, Xu Qi'an sat languidly in a white shirt, holding a wine glass in his hand.

"Master Xu rarely brings his colleagues over for drinks." Fu Xian, who had just finished bathing, sat on the bed a little further away, tilting his head and drying his hair.

Her skin was smooth and her face flawless; in the flickering candlelight, she possessed an alluring and mysterious charm.

"It's a long story," Xu Qi'an said with a sigh after taking a sip of wine. "A few days ago, two Golden Roosters took a liking to me and wanted to recruit me, so they got into a fight at the Nightwatchers's Office."

Fuxiang got out of bed, her skirt falling to cover her long, snow-white legs. She hugged Xu Qi'an from behind and chuckled, "Are you jealous of some little devil?"

"Conjunctivitis has existed since ancient times," Xu Qi'an did not deny.

"If you had told me earlier, I would have been able to entertain your colleagues for you," Fuxiang said regretfully.

She barely paid any attention to the other gong players during the meal.

"No need," Xu Qi'an smiled.

He had no shortage of interpersonal skills. He turned around and pulled Fuxiang into his arms. He tilted his wine glass, and the icy wine flowed down Fuxiang's snow-white neck.

"This is how you drink to your heart's content," Xu Qi'an laughed, bowing his head.

The Fuxiang of alcohol wafted through the air again. Xu Qi'an excused himself to go out for some fresh air, left the master bedroom, and went to the wine room. His colleagues were happily playing games to the sound of music, as if they had opened the door to a new world.

In fact, as long as enough money is given, the maids in the Imperial Academy of Music will not refuse; this has always been the case.

Xu Qi'an leaped onto the wall, pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, and set it on fire.

He raised his head, and two beams of clear energy shot through the night, disappearing in a flash.

Various omens appeared in my field of vision, making the world colorful.

Xu Qi'an learned from Chu Caiwei that emerald green represented Yao Qi. During his night patrol that day, he clearly saw a green light flash and disappear in the sky above the Imperial Academy of Music.

This implies that a demon is lurking within the Imperial Academy of Music), a rather bold guess, because the Imperial Academy of Music was a place where high-ranking officials and nobles usually drank and made merry. How could such a place harbor a demon?

But that's just how it is.

This time, Xu Qi'an kept in mind the principle of "don't court death, or you'll die," and didn't try to spy on the Bureau of Astronomy, lest he be blinded by the Observatory Director again.

He scanned the sky above the Imperial Academy of Music), and as far as his eyes could see, various colors shimmered, but there was no Yao Qi.

"Did the demon leave? Or did it hide using a special method?" Xu Qi'an leaped down from the wall and returned to the boudoir of the courtesan Fuxiang.

Fuxiang nestled in Xu Qi'an's arms, her bright eyes blinking. "Master Xu, please redeem me from my servitude."

Talking about money hurts feelings, but Xu Qi'an, with his wise wisdom, remained unmoved.

The courtesan twisted her body and said coquettishly, "I only want to be a concubine, and serve Master Xu."

Xu Qi'an patted her head, his fingers stroking through her dark hair. "Don't be silly, our sincere feelings shouldn't be mixed with money."

Fuxiang's eyes reddened, and she said with tears in her eyes, "You just want to play with me for free, and then kick me aside when you're done."

"You even noticed that?!" Xu Qi'an thought in surprise.

He said helplessly, "You're the most beautiful Imperial Academy of Music. Redeeming you would cost at least four or five thousand taels of silver. Besides, the Ministry of Rites might not even agree."

"I've saved up some money over the years, and I've asked around; Tongluo can buy a courtyard house in the inner city in just three years." Fuxiang hugged him, pleading softly, "Xu Lang, redeem me."

The alluring courtesan not only knew how to be coquettish, but also made full use of her assets, pressing her curvaceous figure tightly against Xu Qi'an.

Her eyes were filled with tears, making her look pitiful.

Xu Qi'an frowned, not because he was embarrassed, but because he had encountered girls like this in his previous life. They knew how to act coquettishly and ask to buy this or that (luxury goods), Xu Qi'an could handle it.

He was just a little puzzled. A courtesan with a renowned reputation, a thriving career, and in the prime of her life—wasn't it a bit too early for her to leave the profession?

Furthermore, although the Nightwatchers was feared by officials due to organizational reasons, someone of Fuxiang's rank would be more than qualified to be a concubine for a fourth-rank official.

"There's no rush. I'll redeem you once I've saved up some money," Xu Qi'an said casually, embracing the courtesan's smooth body and falling asleep in three seconds.

In the darkness, Fuxiang gazed silently at Xu Qi'an's face, her eyes clear and bright.

The next day, early in the morning, a group of people left the Imperial Academy of Music).

When his colleagues saw Xu Qi'an, they greeted him with smiles, and their relationship became much closer. If they had only regarded Xu Qi'an as a colleague before, they now regarded him as a friend.

The effect was excellent.

In fact, unless someone is extremely jealous or of a very high status, a gong of the same rank will not harbor hatred towards him without thinking.

If you're flexible, cater to their preferences, and show goodwill, most people will be willing to befriend Xu Qi'an.

Because in this way, the identity of a lucky guy who was chosen by two gold diggers becomes: this guy who was chosen by the gold diggers is my friend.

As they walked and chatted, one of the men suddenly laughed and said, "Ningyan is truly a talent. He's made me realize how ignorant and boring I was before."

His colleagues let out a good-natured, ambiguous laugh.

Xu Qi'an shrugged. "I'll teach you a few more interesting ways to play later."

What's even more interesting is that everyone's eyes lit up.

Arriving at the Nightwatchers's office at dawn, after roll call, Xu Qi'an, Song Tingfeng, and the other two went to a side hall of Chunfeng Hall, drank a few sips of tea, and were just about to go out to patrol the streets when a clerk rushed over.

"My lords, Lord Li requests your presence."

They had a job to do. Xu Qi'an and his two companions put on their swords and went to Chunfeng Hall side by side.

Li Yuchun, with her meticulous attire, blended perfectly into the equally neat and orderly Chunfeng Hall, without any sense of incongruity.

Chun-ge, living like this must be exhausting for you. Xu Qi'an felt some sympathy for his boss's obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Li Yuchun pointed to the three playing cards on the table. "We're going to raid your house today, and the three of you will represent me. I'll repeat myself again, don't do anything unnecessary."

"Meet in the front yard in fifteen minutes, then go with the other colleagues."

It was a house raid?!

Xu Qi'an was taken aback. Searching houses was one of the duties of the Nightwatchers, and their targets were corrupt officials.

"This is the document." Li Yuchun showed the three of them the document that had been issued to him.

The person targeted in this raid was a Principal Sixth Rank official in the Ministry of Revenue's Department of Finance. He was exiled and his property confiscated on charges of embezzlement and dereliction of duty.

The so-called "confiscation of property" means the confiscation of a family's property, with all household items being taken away by the public. In Xu Qi'an's previous life, it meant the deprivation of a criminal's personal property.

Li Yuchun glanced at Xu Qi'an and said, "This man is a subordinate of Vice Minister Zhou of the Ministry of Revenue."

This is to tell Xu Qi'an that this matter is a follow-up to the tax and silver case.

The downfall of a high-ranking official inevitably leads to the dismissal and punishment of officials who were dependent on him. It's like pulling up a radish and bringing out the mud along with it.

Xu Qi'an and the other two accepted the order and left. On their way to the front yard, Song Tingfeng said, "This is your first time participating in a house raid, so there are some rules you don't understand. Let me explain them to you."

"When confiscating property, officials would collect all valuables in the front yard, record them, and then take them back to the yamen. But they did not participate in the looting."

At this point, Song Tingfeng gave him a look that said, "You'll understand."

Xu Qi'an, a seasoned veteran, immediately understood what he meant.

"What does the boss mean?" Xu Qi'an probed.

"Hey, ignore him." Song Tingfeng curled his lip. "The boss is just inflexible and doesn't know how to adapt. We need to seek our own interests in a reasonable way."

This is indeed a reasonable way to seek benefits, Xu Qi'an nodded.

Like him, Song Tingfeng was unwilling to extort merchants or blackmail the common people, but right now he was going to raid the homes of corrupt officials.

The silver itself is not clean; it's being used to fleece the Great Feng, not the common people.

He had seen this kind of thing far too many times, both in his past and present lives. Xu Qi'an adopted an attitude of neither opposing nor agreeing.

The raid was led by a silver gong player, accompanied by four sets of bronze gong players and twenty-four white-clad servants.

The system of having three bronze gongs assigned to different silver gongs, with multiple teams, was designed for mutual supervision and reporting.

The system is good, but over time, everyone tacitly agrees to take a little, so it's as if nobody takes anything.

Listening to Song Tingfeng's explanation, the three of them went to the front yard and saw that a gong was already being used for assembly.

The leader was a young silver gong, in his early thirties, with thin lips and an arrogant look in his eyes; just by looking at his face, you could tell he wasn't an easy person to get along with.

Song Tingfeng led his two colleagues over to the silver gong, and casually took out the voucher from his pocket.

When the man with the silver gong saw the three approaching, his eyes suddenly sharpened, and he said in a deep voice, "You three are late."

Xu Qi'an asked in surprise, "We're not late."

They came over as soon as they received the message. Although they talked on the way and didn't walk fast, it definitely didn't take more than fifteen minutes.

Upon hearing this, Yinluo's eyebrows shot up, his eyes suddenly sharpened, and he drew the sword from his waist and slashed at Xu Qi'an's cheek.

With a whooshing sound, Xu Qi'an leaned back slightly, narrowly avoiding the vicious blow.

Seemingly surprised that Xu Qi'an could dodge, Yinluo was taken aback, then sneered, "You dare to dodge?"

"My lord, my lord!" Song Tingfeng quickly stepped between the two, his face flushed with a fawning smile, "Yes, we are late, my lord, please don't be angry. We've delayed important matters, but there's still good work waiting for you."

He then brought up the matter of confiscating the property.

To everyone's surprise, the silver gong showed no mercy, kicking Song Tingfeng in the stomach, sending him flying. He struggled for a moment but couldn't get up.

He's targeting me. But I haven't offended him. Xu Qi'an felt a surge of anger and instinctively gripped the hilt of his knife.

Yinluo narrowed his eyes, not angry but amused, and swung his scabbard at him again, sneering, "What, you want to draw your sword? Are you worthy?"

"If you draw your knife, I'm dead." Xu Qi'an raised his hand to block a few blows, his arm bones burning with pain from the slaps.

It's a bit embarrassing with so many people watching.

Seeing Xu Qi'an back down, the silver gong struck him a few more times and sneered, "Get inside."

Xu Qi'an and two others joined the team.

Next, more gongs arrived one after another, but the silver gong man ignored them and let them join the ranks.

Seeing this, Xu Qi'an was absolutely certain that the silver gong was targeting him, but he was puzzled because he had not offended him.

"You're lucky you didn't draw your knife, or you'd be done for," someone behind you said.

Xu Qi'an turned his head and glanced at Tongluo, the man he had been drinking with last night.

"I'm not that stupid; drawing my sword against a silver gong is a grave sin," he said.

Tonglu nodded and whispered, "His surname is Zhu, and he's the youngest silver gong in the yamen."

Xu Qi'an said dejectedly, "I don't know him."

Tongluo chuckled, "His father's surname is also Zhu."

Xu Qi'an thought to himself, "Isn't this obvious?" Then he heard Zhu Guangxiao beside him whisper, "Zhu Jinluo?"

The gong who was drinking and carousing grunted and added, "He is the youngest silver gong, and also the most promising young talent in our capital's government offices, well, before Xu Qi'an appeared."

"The other day I was drinking with one of his men, Zhu Yinluo, and he told me that Zhu Yinluo dislikes you a lot, and has said more than once that you're just a lowly gong."

At this moment, Zhu Yinluo's sharp gaze swept over the crowd, and Tongluo immediately fell silent.

P. S.: One more chapter, I'll post it and then go to sleep.