the enlightener says

Qin Ke drooped his head, and wanted to keep a distance from the woman in red so that he could enjoy this "feast", but he obviously felt that the woman in red slowly moved the chair closer to him, and the food was picked up. The chopsticks also froze in mid-air.

"Let me help you." The woman in red said softly, she stretched out her chopsticks, and took a piece of fish with the plumpest belly from the "Zhuge Grilled Fish" on the table, and put it in Qin Ke's bowl.

Qin Ke put his head down and worked hard, pretending that he was a wooden man and could not hear the words from the outside world. Only in this way could he get a little relaxation from this tension.

But the taste of Zhuge Grilled Fish is really good, no wonder Zhuge Wanling likes to eat this.

Qin Ke remembered that Master also liked to eat fish, but neither Zhuge Wolong nor Qin Ke had any talent for cooking, so most of them just roasted them on the fire and sprinkled some salt.

Even so, Master still ate deliciously.

Maybe this is the brother?Qin Ke thought while eating.

He finished eating the rice in the bowl, and the woman in red helped him refill it freely. His eyes fell on the dishes in the distance, and the woman in red tucked them into the bowl for him. .

The smoky smell of rice wine gradually fermented in the room, and Qin Ke also drank a few cups, his face was flushed with the smell of alcohol.

He slowly relaxed, and for a while, he even felt that it would be nice to have such a person beside him. He carefully glanced sideways at the woman in red, her face was peaceful, just like Zhang Fu.

It's just that compared to Zhang Fu, the woman in red is older. Qin Ke didn't have any attraction to her, but thought she was like his sister.

His parents died early, and his only sister was also in that famine...

Then he met his master, who disappeared because of "divine enlightenment". Speaking of which, the days of enjoying family affection from childhood to adulthood were so fragmented.

And the woman in red seemed to feel his eyes, her beautiful eyes drifted away, facing him, and then her red lips slightly raised a smile.

"How about?" The woman in red stretched out her chopsticks and said.

Qin Ke hesitated for a moment, nodded, and watched her calmly put the food into his bowl: "Thank you, sister..."

The woman in red trembled slightly when she heard the elder sister, and looked at Qin Ke's timid look, her eyes softened a bit: "Young master, just call me Ning Xin."

Qin Ke asked curiously, "Ning Xin? Is it Ning Xin?"

"It's not important." Ning Xin smiled slightly, and said, "I've been reduced to prostitution, so I don't have a name. This is the name Lan Yuxuan gave me, and it probably means tranquility and warmth. As for the original name..." Her tone Calmly, "I forgot."

"Forgot?" Qin Ke looked at Ning Xin, not knowing whether she was telling the truth or a lie, but seeing her slightly sad expression, it was not easy to ask further, but continued to ask: "Sister Ning Xin, How long have you been here?"

Ning Xin, who was a little out of the world, heard the word "sister", and her heart became softer. How long has it been since the word "sister" fell into his ears?Maybe it was after the famine that year?That year, her family was so destitute that adults and children couldn't even eat a bite of food, and in the barren land, even the roots and bark of the trees had been eaten by the victims, so where could they find some food?

As a last resort, the parents had no choice but to sell her to a trafficker, and the trafficker saw that she was beautiful and a beauty, so they sold her to a brothel.It has been so many years since the Mo family came to Jing Wu.

Her brothers and brothers, I don't know how many people are still alive.

Parents... I'm afraid they are already dead.

She looked at Qin Ke softly, and said, "I really can't remember if you don't tell me. When I was sold to Wu, I seemed to be 13 years old? Or 14 years old? The famine has passed for so long, and I also I don’t want to think about those things.”

"Famine?" Qin Ke was stunned after eating, "Where is the famine? The famine in Jingwu?"

"Where is there any famine in Jingwu these years?" Ning Xin smiled, "That is to say, there was a case of destroying dikes and flooding fields this year, but that was also a man-made disaster, not a natural disaster. The famine in the Mohist family back then, plus the mutiny, cost almost 10 people. People were displaced, and tens of thousands of people died. Of course, you are of noble birth, and you are in Jingwu, so you probably don't know much about this matter..."

Chapter 2 and one gift

"Clap" sound.

Ning Xin's eyes were fixed, but Qin Ke's chopsticks had already landed on the table.

"The famine of the Mo family...?" Qin Ke's voice trembled slightly, those memories came back and filled his heart again, making him a little out of breath.

"What's wrong with you?" Ning Xin looked at his distraught look, reached out and wiped the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief, "Is there something uncomfortable?"

Qin Ke looked at Ning Xin with a little sadness in his eyes: "Sister Ning Xin, I am also a survivor from the famine."

"Ah?" Ning Xin wiped the stains on the clothes on his chest, and said with a smile, "Sir, don't be joking, you come from a noble family, how can such a famine..."

She seemed to be talking to herself.

"It's true." Qin Ke's eyes were complicated, "From Wulonggang, to Pulao Pass, and then to Hu Peng Pass..."

He reported the place names one by one. Although these place names were told to him by the master later, this was indeed the route used by the victims to flee the famine.

He followed his parents all the way to the southwest. In fact, he hoped to go to the country of Wu. He heard people say that the country of Wu was rich, and the rice produced every year filled the granary. When passing by the river, there would be big fat fish jumping on the deck. ...

"Go to Wu country!" This is the hope in the hearts of almost all the victims.

Only those who can really enter the territory of Wu State, but very few.

Ning Xin was just a little strange at the beginning, but when Qin Ke reported the place names one by one, her eyes also changed from being strange at the beginning to being shocked, and she couldn't help covering her mouth with her hand .

When Qin Ke finished speaking, she suppressed the voice in her throat, and said with tears in her eyes: "You...you really escaped from the desert?"

"My father and mother took me to escape. At that time, I was still young..." Qin Ke slowly talked about those things. In fact, many people in Daoxiang Village were also survivors after the famine. After surviving, they finally reopened the fields, established villages, and gradually returned to their original life.

It's just that Qin Ke never thought that he would meet someone who had also experienced the famine in Jingwu.

Back then, he was rescued by his master, but Ning Xin was sold to human traffickers by her parents, and then moved to a brothel.Now that Ning Xin has indeed arrived at the boundary of the "Wu Kingdom" back then, but no matter how she looks at her current situation, there is nothing but helplessness and irony left.

The two looked at each other, and there were many emotions in their eyes.

And Ning Xin's eyes were shrouded in mist. Looking at the young Qin Ke, she seemed to see the little brother who had been babbling around her all the time.

Perhaps a floodgate in her heart opened, she stretched out her hand, and slowly put her arms around Qin Ke's shoulders. Qin Ke was a little uncomfortable at first, but slowly, he felt the strong affection from Ning Xin, He also relaxed his body and rested his head on her shoulder.

Gao Yishui was laughing and chatting with the girl in the goose yellow dress, and the goose yellow girl was obviously out of temper, after saying a few words, her whole body was almost stuck to him.But Gao Yishui's eyes seemed blurred, but his heart was very clear-headed, he glanced at Qin Ke from the corner of his eyes, secretly speechless.

This kid, who was so scared to death when he first came in, has hugged him so quickly?The corners of his mouth turned up, thinking that this kid really has some "extraordinary talents".

It's just that this feeling of intimacy doesn't seem like an affair between a man and a woman, but rather... the feeling of a prodigal son who has been away from home for many years seeing his mother again?

Qin Ke and Ning Xin hugged each other for a short time, but it was not long. Ning Xin let go of her hand, her eyes were soft, her hair was a little messy, and Qin Ke's face was a little red, and she looked a little uncomfortable.

Ning Xin looked at Qin Ke, and said softly: "That's great, my brother...he's darker than you, but seeing you, it's like seeing him grow up..."

"Sister Ning Xin, your younger brother..." Qin Ke hesitated to speak. After so many years, Ning Xin moved to Jingwu, so how could she know the current situation of her family? Perhaps, knowing it will only increase troubles and sorrows. .

Ning Xin lowered her head, she couldn't draw any more lines about her younger brother's appearance in her mind, so she could only sigh softly: "It's all in the past... Now, I only hope that he is still in the world. It would be even better if I could live comfortably, in that case, I would not have come here in vain..."

Qin Ke sat quietly on the spot, feeling a little sympathetic to Ning Xin in front of him, he thought for a moment, and suddenly said: "How about you be my sister?"

Ning Xin raised her head suddenly, and stared at Qin Ke in a daze. Meeting a sympathetic person today can be regarded as releasing her accumulated emotions for many years, but when Qin Ke said this, she was really surprised: "What did you say?" ?”

Qin Ke looked at himself and didn't think there was anything wrong.

Ning Xin looked at his confused look, and laughed through her tears: "What does this sound like? You are a noble man, how can you recognize a prostitute as a sister?" In fact, in this land of wind and moon, there may not be no one called her sister, But most of those people are only for flirting, and Qin Ke has clear eyes, and he has not seen the slightest luster on his face until now. She can tell that Qin Ke is telling the truth.

Thinking of this, she felt a little grateful and said: "Young master, you don't have to be like this. Ning Xin is very satisfied to meet you today. But to recognize a... sister like me, it is too absurd, I am afraid your family will also Therefore, it is Ning Xin's fault to punish you."

"What punishment? I have no family." Qin Ke couldn't help but sigh in his heart when he thought of his situation as a loner and his master who had been missing for many years.

Although Zhuge Wanling and his master are close brothers and can be regarded as his elders, he still resists that person who cannot see through from the bottom of his heart.

In comparison, if you can really recognize a sister who has similar experiences, it can be regarded as having an extra family member in Jingwu.

"Sister Ning Xin, I'm serious." Qin Ke looked straight into her eyes, "I don't think it's ridiculous, and I'm not a big shot, and I can't afford to be a son or something."

Ning Xin was silent, she didn't know how to answer the words for a moment, she carefully observed Qin Ke's firm expression, and asked softly after a long time: "You, really don't think I'm humble?"

Qin Ke shook his head and said: "I was starving and collapsed by the side of the road back then, not even a wild dog. If Master hadn't picked me up, I would have died long ago..."

Ning Xin bit her lip, her eyes kept changing, and finally she seemed to have made up her mind secretly, and nodded slightly towards Qin Ke.

"You agree?" Qin Ke was overjoyed and called softly, "Sister?"

"Well, brother." Ning Xin felt a warm feeling, with tears in her eyes, she slowly stroked Qin Ke's cheek, "I have a younger brother again."

At this time, Gao Yishui listened to the two calling, and suddenly laughed: "I thought you two were about to burn firewood... But after a while, sister and brother called out, what is this song?" out?"

Ning Xin listened to Gao Yishui's words, lowered her head and said cowardly: "I made this young master laugh, if young master thinks it's wrong, then I..."

Qin Ke glared at Gao Yishui, and said, "I recognize my sister, don't mind your business."

Gao Yishui patted Qin Ke on the shoulder, looked at Ning Xin again, and said with a smile: "Girl, don't think too much, I'm not a member of this kid's family, so I can't control his stinking problem of wanting to know relatives everywhere. However, since this guy I recognized my relatives in a few words... just right, there should be a big gift later, when I borrow flowers to present Buddha, the girl can also be honored."

Qin Ke stared at him blankly, and said suspiciously: "What kind of moth do you want to mess with? Tell me quickly."

"You'll know in a while." Gao Yishui smiled and sat back on the chair. The woman in light yellow clothes obviously drank a little too much, her face was flushed, her body was soft and boneless, and she was drowsy, and the other woman was no better than her How much, the two of them were like two wilting little flowers, almost collapsed together.

After Gao Yishui drank the two of them down, his expression turned serious, and he began to sit on a chair and pour himself a drink. He had such a large capacity for alcohol that he didn't notice anything unusual after drinking three jars of wine. He stretched out his chopsticks to pick up vegetables As stable as before, speaking became more and more clear.

After a while, there was a knock on the door.

Gao Yishui winked at Qin Ke, and said softly, "Come in."

The door opened slowly, revealing the chubby figure of the proprietress. She had put on that flattering smile again, and said softly, "Master, are you satisfied with Lan Yuxuan's hospitality?"

She squinted at the two women who were lying on the ground and fell asleep, and cursed secretly: "Useless things."

Qin Ke nodded, and replied honestly: "Very good, all good."

The proprietress smiled sweetly, clapped her hands and said, "That's good."

With a shake of her body, the proprietress stood aside and let a person behind her into the room. The person was holding a tray in his hand, covered with bright red satin. He also had a flattering expression on his face, and his eyes were narrowed into slits with a smile.

"The two gentlemen came to our Lan Yuxuan. In addition to this treat, our boss also specially prepared a small gift for the two young masters..." The proprietress covered her mouth with a handkerchief, and smiled as she lifted off the red silk.

Gao Yishui narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he had guessed what was under the red silk, but Qin Ke was ignorant, stood up and raised his eyes to look.

"Hey..." Qin Ke let out a low voice, and subconsciously covered his eyes with his hands. Under the red cloth, pieces of gold cakes were neatly piled up into a tower shape, shining dazzlingly in the candlelight.

Qin Ke never thought that small golden utensils piled up together could emit such a light that people dare not look directly at it, just like a round of scorching sun hanging high in the sky at noon.

Chapter 2 Ransom

"This is...how much?" Qin Ke asked in a daze, his voice was so low that only he could hear him, he couldn't control himself from showing a dull face, and he couldn't move his gaze away from the golden pagoda open.

"It's only a hundred gold, you don't need to be polite." The proprietress is so shrewd. She observed the different expressions on Qin Ke and Gao Yishui's faces, and she knew in her heart that maybe the one in the ragged clothes is the one who is talking about it?

The amount of a hundred gold may not sound like much, but in fact gold has always been difficult to smelt. It is not only time-consuming but also very laborious to extract a sufficient amount of gold from the ore.

Back then, when the Ji Dynasty served guests all over the world, all the people in the world called it "gold". In fact, most of them were brass, also known as "lower coins". Only officials and eunuchs can use it.

Sun Qing once asked to buy Qin Ke's Xiao Hei, and he opened his mouth to get a hundred gold. Although it was shocking, it was only a verbal price, and Qin Ke did not see the real thing.But now that these stacks of gold cakes are placed in front of his eyes, the flashing golden light really makes Qin Ke feel dizzy and dazzled.

Not only Qin Ke, but even Ning Xin, who has been in Lan Yuxuan for many years, couldn't help exclaiming when she saw these golden cakes. She didn't know how powerful the power behind her brothel was, but over the years, guests no matter how big or small No one dared to play wild in the building, and the girls' pearls and hairpins in the building were more expensive than other brothels, so people could vaguely guess one or two.

And she has never seen such a "small gift" given to any stranger in her building.

"Little gifts?" Ning Xin murmured in a low voice, feeling inexplicably sad. People are really different. For her, she might not be able to save a tenth of it in her whole life. In the eyes of her boss, it is just a piece of money. A small gift that can be given anytime.

However, Qin Ke, who is qualified to accept this gift, recognized her as the eldest sister, and suddenly felt a little regret in her heart, worried that what she had just done was a little too reckless?

Gao Yishui took a sip of wine, looked at the golden cake, his face was very calm, and while Qin Ke was still in shock, he said lightly: "If you don't get rewarded for nothing, you don't know how expensive the building is." What does it mean to send this gift suddenly? Bribe? Or ask us?"

Qin Ke's wandering eyes made the proprietress feel a little strange. If Qin Ke's background is really Zhuge Wanling, who is said to be indistinguishable from the court, how could he be overwhelmed by this mere hundred gold?

It's just that after Gao Yishui spoke calmly, she suddenly felt that she had made a good judgment earlier. Although the person in front of her was dressed in rags, she had a sense of nobility in her body, and the mirror-like detachment in her eyes seemed very natural, not at all It's like pretending on purpose.

Her heart trembled, Zhuge Wanling is the prime minister of a country, and he can be regarded as the highest real ruler on the land of Jingwu. All the wealth of Jingwu, from land to money, is his.

But because of this, Zhuge Wanling was the biggest poor man in Jingwu.Behind him is the national treasury, and every penny needs to be spent on state affairs. Even if he can fill his own pockets, if Zhuge Wanling is such a person, how can he integrate the gentry in just a few years and suddenly establish Such a powerful Jing Wu?

Moreover, everyone in the world knows that Zhuge Wanling is a meritocracy, and it has never been heard that he has any relatives who rely on his relationship to dominate, and his relatives may not necessarily be rich.

The smile on the proprietress's face did not dissipate because of the slander in her heart, but became more eager. She waved her hand and said, "What's the matter, sir? Our boss just wants to make friends with the two of you. There is nothing else we want, let alone talk about it." No bribes."

"Oh? Just to make friends?" Gao Yishui glanced at Qin Ke. At this moment, Qin Ke also looked back at the golden cake, and looked at Gao Yishui. He hesitated to speak, but Gao Yishui waved his hand to signal him not to speak. He opened his mouth and said to the proprietress: "Since we are making friends, why doesn't the owner of the Guilou come out to meet you? Sit down and drink a few pots together and have a good talk. Wouldn't it be a great pleasure in your life?"

The proprietress was slightly taken aback, but she wasn't surprised by Gao Yishui's question, but she couldn't grasp what was going on in Gao Yishui's mind for a while, so she forced a smile and said, "My boss is not good at drinking..."

"Drinking tea is fine!" Gao Yishui interrupted her, with a bit of slyness in his eyes, "It just so happens that I also brought a piano, and my music is not easy to hear outside, and it just so happens that I can invite your master to appreciate it."

"This..." The proprietress lowered her head, a little embarrassed, "It's very unfortunate that my boss happened to have a business to discuss, so he just left the building, and now I don't know where he is going."

"It's okay. I can wait." Gao Yishui still insisted: "If you don't see your master, how can you accept this gift rashly, it's so abrupt...so abrupt..."

Qin Ke stared blankly at Gao Yishui, as dull as he could have sensed the aggression hidden in Gao Yishui's words, like a sharp knife, slashing straight forward, straight towards the proprietress' heart.

But, why did he have to meet Lan Yuxuan's boss?

"This...is really unfortunate." The proprietress still forced a smile, "My boss is talking about a big business this time, I'm afraid he has already gone to the port, boarded a boat and left Jiujiang City..."

"Oh? Really?" Gao Yishui had a somewhat regretful expression on his face, maybe he really believed what the proprietress said, he shook his head, "It's really a pity, but even though it's so unfortunate, I can't refute it Thanks to your master's kindness, I will accept this hundred gold?"

The proprietress is of course full of joy, all the "sailing" and "business talks" she said are all nonsense. The master who asked her to give the gift is now writing in the private room on the top floor, but he refuses to come down to meet people. What can she do?

Fortunately, this matter seems to have been fooled, she repeatedly bowed and saluted: "Young master, please accept it."

She hastily signaled the servant beside her with her eyes, telling him to send the tray in his hand quickly.

"That's right. There is something I have to ask for advice." Gao Yishui opened his mouth, but the proprietress's heart skipped a beat again.

The proprietress blinked her eyes, thinking: Is this guy finished?Could it be that he really came to the building to find fault?If it is... then should we let the outsiders in to kill people?