"Knock!——"
"Knock!——"
"It's 1:20 pm, the weather is dry, be careful with fire."
"clang--"
In Chang County, there were two night watchmen, one holding a lantern and a bang, and the other holding a gong. There was a hazy half-moon above their heads, and their voices gradually became distant in the night.
Jin'an just passed by two night watchmen.
I just got back to the inn before the 1:30 curfew.
The ancients had little nightlife, and a curfew was imposed at 3:00 a.m., prohibiting people from going out on the streets except for funerals, childbirth, illness, etc.
If they were caught by the patrolling militia, they would be punished with 30 to 50 strokes of the cane at the very least, or be executed on the spot at the worst.
One watch is divided into five points.
One o'clock is about twenty-four minutes.
The first update at 2 o'clock is equivalent to around 8 o'clock in the evening.
It's unrealistic to see people going to brothels late at night, as depicted in period dramas. Brothels also had to close during curfew, so scholars and men of letters would arrive early, then spend the night behind closed doors, reciting poetry, drinking wine, and playing the flute until the early morning.
Don't ask why Jinan knows so much.
He also heard it from a friend.
The inn where Jin'an stayed was run by a thirty-year-old beauty with a soft and rosy complexion and a bun.
Jin'an heard from the waiter in the store that the shopkeeper was a widow who had been engaged since childhood. However, on the first day of her marriage, before she even entered the bridal chamber, the groom was kidnapped and killed by a group of bandits on the way.
The shopkeeper was also a chaste and virtuous woman. Although they were husband and wife in name only, she never remarried and was willing to live as a widow with her hair tied up in a bun.
When Jinan walked into the inn, he happened to see a big girl and a small girl, one was about sixteen years old, and the other was a girl no more than six or seven years old. They looked like a pair of sisters, Dazhu and Xiaozhu, who were chattering with the shopkeeper Zhang like little sparrows.
The older sister was carrying a bag on her back and holding a sharp sword in her hand. She looked like a woman of the world who had always wanted to travel around the world on horseback and with a sword in her hand since she was a child?
My sister was sixteen, in the prime of her life, with dark eyebrows and clear eyes, a face as delicate as snow-white porcelain, and straight and firm legs. Perhaps because of her martial arts training, she had no excess fat and a full chest...
Well.
It turned out to be a girl with a bra.
Women who practice martial arts in the martial arts world are different from men. In order to avoid the dance of the two cranes interfering with the balance of their sword skills and allowing the enemy to find flaws, they have the habit of wrapping their chests when practicing martial arts from a young age.
People are very beautiful.
It's just that his eyes are a little colder.
The iron sword in his hand made him look murderous, as if he was keeping everyone at a distance.
As for the five or six-year-old one, she looks like a snow-white porcelain doll, and her cute big eyes are even more delicate than those with brown contact lenses.
At this moment, a shop boy was about to pass by him, holding a bundle. Jin An stopped the boy and asked curiously, "Did your shopkeeper have any relatives visiting today?"
Jin'an was now considered a well-known figure in Chang County. The servant did not dare to neglect him and paused to answer, "I heard those two young ladies call the shopkeeper "Auntie." They must be his niece."
After saying that, the servant secretly pulled Jin An aside, avoiding the shopkeeper's gaze, and whispered gossip:
"Those two young ladies are the daughters of County Magistrate Zhang. I only just found out today that County Magistrate Zhang actually has two daughters."
"My eldest daughter has been sickly and frail since she was young, so Magistrate Zhang sent her to the mountains to learn martial arts. She just returned to Chang County recently. But for some reason, she had an argument with Magistrate Zhang right after she returned. Then, in a fit of rage, she ran away from home with her younger sister. Because she forgot to bring money, she mysteriously ran away and ended up at the shopkeeper's place, which is how this happened."
"I never thought the shopkeeper was actually Magistrate Zhang's biological sister. She doesn't look like him at all, and I've never heard anyone talk about it."
Jinan was also very surprised after hearing this.
I thought of County Magistrate Zhang, who had dark and rough skin.
This brother and sister really don't look alike at all.
However, Jin'an also noticed a detail: County Magistrate Zhang seemed to be a cautious and brave man.
He was obviously the county magistrate, the highest-ranking official in the county, but he was extremely cautious and protected his blood relatives so deeply that no outsider knew that Magistrate Zhang had an older daughter and a widowed sister.
Jin'an was not a person who liked to gossip or inquire about other people's privacy. After chatting casually, he noticed a package in the servant's hand, so he curiously asked the servant what he was doing holding a package at night?
The servant did not hide anything and said truthfully: "Some time ago, a Taoist priest came to live in our store."
"That Taoist priest wore a five-colored robe. He had a strange personality and was very quiet. He was usually silent when we greeted him. But half a month ago, this Taoist priest in the five-colored robe suddenly left without saying goodbye to us."
"The shopkeeper thought the Taoist priest would return, so he kept the guest room open for him. But he waited for half a month without any news, and the shop lost a lot of money. Furthermore, the goats that had been with the Taoist priest were being fed in the backyard every day. The goats had a very picky appetite and wouldn't eat weeds or rotten leaves, only carrots and peanuts. This made the shopkeeper so angry that his face turned pale, and he would gnash his teeth every day and curse for goat meat."
"Look, half a month has passed. The shopkeeper saw that the Taoist priest wouldn't come back. He probably knew he couldn't pay back the money after staying at the hotel for half a month, so he just ran away. So the shopkeeper decided not to wait any longer today. He wanted me to see if the Taoist priest had left anything valuable behind. By the way, he wanted to slaughter the fat and strong goat in the backyard and make some mutton hot pot to make some money back."
"I had just boiled some water and was about to slaughter the sheep when I happened to run into Magistrate Zhang's eldest daughter and her younger sister, who had run away from home. They both came to the inn to seek refuge with the owner."
Taoist priest!
Five-colored Taoist robe?
Jin An was startled at first, then asked hurriedly:
"Is that Taoist priest in the five-colored robe middle-aged? Is he wearing a pair of blue and white ten-direction shoes?" Jin An asked hurriedly with rapid breathing.
The servant looked at Jin'an in surprise and asked, "Sir, how did you know this?"
Do you know this weird and bad-tempered Taoist priest?
Jinan didn't answer. Fate! It's indescribable!
He thought of the Taoist priest in the five-colored robe's ability to see qi and his other skills. He was definitely a Taoist master with real skills, and definitely not some charlatan or con man.
Jin An's heart moved.
Among these relics, perhaps one could find something like a will or letter left by the other party, to see if the other party had any unfulfilled wishes. This master still did not forget to save people even after his death, so he would see if there was anything he could do to help the other party.
"I'll buy all the things the Taoist priest left behind, including the goat in the backyard, and I'll pay off any debts he owes."
Jin An said to the servant.
He is now quite well-off and has no shortage of money.
The servant was delighted when he heard this, but he did not dare to make a decision on his own. He said softly, "Sir, please wait a moment," and then hurried to ask the shopkeeper.
Soon the servant came back.
The shopkeeper agreed!
Jinan took the bag from the servant.
Then, he asked the servant to take him to the backyard to get the sheep, but he made sure it was not made into mutton hotpot, sheep penis hotpot, or sheep testicle hotpot.
Just as the servant was leading Jin'an to the backyard and passing by Magistrate Zhang's two daughters in the lobby, the five or six-year-old rich Lolita, who was sucking her fingers, hid behind her sister and secretly watched Jin'an passing by.
Jin An felt the gaze, blinked at the big-eyed rich loli, smiled warmly, and then continued to follow the servant to the backyard.
Fu Loli was amused by Jinan's antics and laughed like a silver bell.
"What happened to my little sister?"
"Big sister, the guy who just walked by is much better looking than those muscular uncles next to mother."
"Little sister, don't talk nonsense! What muscle uncle? Those guys are the guards protecting mother."