Chapter 25 Feeling Hurt

Hou Hai said, "I returned to Fuleyuan and looked for the brothel owner there to inquire about Miss Du's affairs, but the brothel owner ignored me. I had no choice but to stay in a nearby inn, and every day I went to the hall of Fuleyuan to listen to music and drink tea, hoping to find another opportunity.

On the third day, a maid who served tea and water came up to chat with me after hearing me talk about Miss Du. It turned out that she had served Miss Du in her daily life! It was like looking for something without any effort!

The maid said that Miss Du had gone with someone else and never came back. Many people had come to ask about her whereabouts. I said that Miss Du was fine and had a good life every day. I took the opportunity to talk to the maid and sighed that Miss Du had a miserable life ... Didn't Wang Gui say that her family was destroyed and she was arrested by the Jiaofangsi?

But strangely, the maid said that Miss Du was not taken to the Jiaofangsi."

"Oh?" Zhu Gaoxu's expression suddenly changed slightly, "Then what is her background?"

Hou Hai said, "That maidservant has been serving Miss Du for the past two years. She said that Miss Du's background was normal. When she was eight or nine years old, she was sold by her family and sent to Nanchang Prefecture. Later, she was selected by the Jiaofang Division and sent to the capital to learn music, singing and dancing..."

Zhu Gaoxu looked a little embarrassed when he heard this. So, Ambassador Xu was really wrongly killed? In Nanjing that day, Zhu Gaoxu did not want to kill Ambassador Xu. If Ambassador Xu had not caused trouble again, the murder would not have happened... But Zhu Gaoxu was angry and hit hard, and a big reason was that he had heard about Ambassador Xu's evil deeds of bullying the people. He was deceived by a woman.

In ancient times, it was not a big deal for a prince to kill someone, but Zhu Gaoxu had the mentality of later generations, that no matter how big or small, a life is a human life.

Hou Hai added, "However, Ambassador Xu did seize the land, but the victim was someone else. The maidservant had served the victim before. The girl had a miserable life, but fortunately she met a noble who sympathized with her. She was redeemed last year and is living a good life..."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded calmly after hearing this...Now it seems that Du Qianrui must have lied. He was too naive to believe her so easily. How many women who have been in such a brothel would tell the truth?

Thinking of the poisoning of the prince, Zhu Gaoxu was filled with worry and anger, and more negative emotions rose in his heart.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu clapped his hands on the armrests of the armchair and stood up. "Professor Hou, you have done a good job. Go find Wang Gui and ask him to reimburse you for the travel expenses, including the wear and tear of shoes and socks."

Hou Hai bowed and said, "This is my humble duty! I respectfully send you off, Your Majesty."

Zhu Gaoxu walked into the hallway and stood in the corridor, still with his head down in deep thought, his brows furrowed.

This Du Qianrui, her name is Qianrui, why didn't I expect that she is very cunning? !

Zhu Gaoxu was in a very bad mood at this time. Maybe it was because no woman had been so kind to him in his previous life, and he was moved by Du Qianrui when he arrived in the Ming Dynasty... When he knew that she had lied to him and might have used him, Zhu Gaoxu's emotions immediately became overwhelmed, and he felt betrayed and played with!

In addition to heartache and anger, there is also regret and worry.

After a long while, Zhu Gaoxu opened his clenched fist again, and the meridians on the back of his hand bulged. He took a deep breath and thought about the problem more rationally:

First of all, he still believed that Du Qianrui was not a deliberate spy because the timing of their acquaintance was too accidental and random. Secondly, Du Qianrui was not very reliable... but he had some secrets, but he relaxed his vigilance towards her and accidentally let her know.

Zhu Gaoxu thought about it carefully, and there were two main things. The first thing was that when he was in Nanjing, he hadn't thought of poisoning her yet, but when he saw the lily of the valley plant, he acted like a fool in front of Du Qianrui. He said that the plant grew in the dark and was poisonous all over!

Second, on the way back to Beiping, Zhu Gaoxu wanted to detoxify the prince, but he couldn't find a chance to do it alone. At that time, he thought he had done a favor to Du Qianrui, so he was not very defensive. She saw him putting cinnabar in the medicine...

After thinking it over, he thought that poisoning was also for the purpose of escaping, and the prince was not dead! The matter did not seem serious? But what was certain was that if the prince knew that his own brother poisoned him, he would probably feel very hurt!

On the way to escape, the prince was so full of brotherly love that he even wanted to sacrifice himself and let Zhu Gaoxu escape with his horse... If he knew about the poisoning, he would probably feel even more strongly than Zhu Gaoxu does now, betrayed and used! After all, the prince treated Zhu Gaoxu as his own brother, and blood is thicker than water, so the feelings are more real and sincere.

The deeper the friendship, the more hurt one feels after being betrayed. This is obvious.

...Zhu Gaoxu was so angry that he even wanted to kill the witness! But for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to do that.

When he saw Wang Gui, he quietly instructed, "Tell your godson to keep an eye on Du Qianrui."

Wang Gui was also stunned, but he didn't ask any more questions and answered immediately.

The next day, Zhu Gaoxu could no longer worry about Du Qianrui's matter, as he had other important things to do. At this time, the time was almost ripe for Zhang Xin's next move. If he delayed a little, he was afraid that the situation would change and he would miss the opportunity!

Zhu Gaoxu changed into a green silk robe, tied his hair with a Pingding scarf, took the tiger-patterned paper fan, dressed up as a dandy young man, and slipped out of the palace with Wang Gui.

The two men rode their horses to the tavern next to the Poor Man City, which was the one Zhu Gaoxu bought last time. The flag had been changed and the word "Bin" was written on it.

Zhu Gaoxu asked Wang Gui to open the main door with the key, but no one was inside. After a few days, the cook, waiter, and servants asked for money and left. Zhu Gaoxu's "grand plan" to sell four tables of food and wine to recover the cost was completely thwarted.

"Wang Gui, from today on, you will stay here." Zhu Gaoxu said, "I'm going to the alley to do some work."

Wang Gui said, "How about I go?"

Zhu Gaoxu said, "You can't do it this time, so I have to do it myself."

He gave a few instructions, then walked out of the tavern and headed deeper into the alley.

The further you go in, the fewer people there are. At that time, Peking was just a city, and an ancient one at that. The houses in some areas were old and dilapidated, and the air was filled with the stench of rotting wood.

As Zhu Gaoxu walked through the area, he felt as if he had come to a "cultural heritage" tourist attraction. Each house was more dilapidated than the other, as if only in this way could the culture be displayed.

He walked along the smooth stone road, stopped in front of a rammed earth house, and looked at the sign hanging on the door. According to Wang Gui, when the sign was hung, it meant that there were guests inside and it was inconvenient; when it was put away, you could go in.

Zhu Gaoxu took a look and continued walking forward as if nothing had happened. He thought to himself that according to the frequency of Zhang Xin's recent visits, he should come here soon... But the client inside must not be Zhang Xin, because Wang Gui said that Zhang Xin always brought an attendant with him every time he came. The attendant went in first and then came out to guard nearby.

And now, Zhu Gaoxu didn't notice anyone nearby.

He went in from a fork in the road and walked slowly back. Seeing that the sign was gone, he immediately walked to the door, reached out and pushed it gently. Sure enough, the door was ajar.

There was a patio inside the gate, with earthen walls on both sides and a few dilapidated houses inside. At this time, a woman sitting on the threshold stood up, holding a comb in her hand. She threw a seductive glance and smiled softly, "Hang up the sign, bolt the door, and come in quickly."

Zhu Gaoxu kept his composure, did as he was told, and walked through the patio.

The woman looked at Zhu Gaoxu and her face almost broke with laughter! Zhu Gaoxu's appearance and silk robe explained two characteristics: young and rich.

Zhu Gaoxu also looked at the woman in front of him. He was very curious about what Zhang Xin's taste was like. This place was so remote, and he was able to find it, which was also a skill.

According to the ancient standards, this woman is not young, estimated to be at least in her twenties. Her face is also average, with thin lips and single eyelids. Because there were no bras in ancient times, she is obviously not plump, and there is nothing to look forward to in her upper body clothes. Fortunately, she has a slim figure and relatively fair skin.

Zhu Gaoxu thought there was a beauty hidden in the alley, and Zhang Xin had discovered it. Seeing it with his own eyes was just like that. He was even more curious. Zhang Xin was considered rich, so what kind of taste did he have?

The woman took the initiative to move closer, reached out and touched Zhu Gaoxu's chest, slid down and across his solid abdomen, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she tilted her head to look at Zhu Gaoxu's buttocks.

She even breathed a little as she spoke, "I won't receive any guests today, let's go inside."

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly imagined a detail. Just a moment ago, there was a sign hanging in the yard saying that there were guests. She had no time to clean after serving the previous guest... Some strange thoughts suddenly emerged in Zhu Gaoxu's mind.

He glanced at the front of the woman's skirt and said hurriedly, "Don't worry, don't worry. How about we talk first?"

"Let's talk inside." The woman took Zhu Gaoxu's arm, half pulled and half persuaded him to come into the house, and immediately closed the wooden door.

"Listen to me, listen to me..." Zhu Gaoxu said.

"I'm listening." The woman pulled Zhu Gaoxu into the bedroom and made him sit on the bed.

Even in the daytime, the "studio" is dark, the windows are small and high, and the lighting is extremely poor. Perhaps this is the effect that a place like this wants?

"How much does a girl usually charge for a customer?" Zhu Gaoxu asked.

The woman softly brushed Zhu Gaoxu's face with the handkerchief in her hand, and said in a sweet voice, "Hey, Sir, are you like a rich master? You see if the servant is serving you well, you can give as much as you are willing to give, and the servant will accept it." "

Zhu Gaoxu immediately smelled the strong scent of powder, flowers, sweat and some unknown smells on her handkerchief, which mixed together very strangely.