Chapter 19 Tower of Babel

Many important officials of the Yin Dynasty came from kendo academies.

In this world where gods, ghosts, demons and monsters are commonplace, if the court officials are weak mortals, then the country will be difficult to stabilize. Therefore, the higher the rank of the officials, the more emphasis will be placed on cultivation during the selection process. If two people have the same ability, the one with higher cultivation will have an advantage.

If it is a mortal body, it will be necessary to send strong people to protect it in real time, which is quite troublesome.

Moreover, as there were more and more ministers who graduated from Kendo Academy in the court, they would give priority to the younger generations of the academy when promoting their subordinates. Over time, the scene was formed where half of the court was occupied by students from the academy.

Especially the important ministers, including the right prime minister Song Zhili, the left prime minister Liang Fuguo, and the three ministers of the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Personnel... all came from the Jiandao Academy.

Therefore, Liang Peng wanted to be admitted to the Kendo Academy and become an official in the court in the future, which would be a promising path to success.

Liang Yue didn't have much advice on this. His younger brothers and sisters were all smart people. They had clear plans for their future, so there was no need to worry too much.

He had more important things to worry about right now.

The small area of ​​Fukangfang has been in turmoil recently. It was all because of the trip to Linmen Street. In order to find out the details, Chen Ju specially invited two friends to a banquet.

The banquet was held at Miaoyin Pavilion in Hongxiufang.

Although Liang Yue had heard of the fame of Hongxiufang for a long time, and Fukangfang was only a short distance away, he had never been here. The next evening, he followed Chen Ju and stepped into this most famous place for spending money in Longyuan City.

"My two lords——"

As soon as you step into the street corner of Hongxiufang, the strong aroma of cosmetics hits your nose. Looking around, both sides of the street are lined with brothel owners soliciting customers. They stand at the door waving bright handkerchiefs, and all of them have graceful figures.

Looking up, there were beautiful girls in gorgeous clothes leaning against the railings, their sleeves fluttering. Without even looking carefully, one could see their smooth skin, white as snow, set against the golden-red lights, trembling and dazzling.

"This smell is a bit pungent. I feel uncomfortable every time I come here. A-choo—" Chen Ju sneezed, rubbed his nose, and continued: "After an hour or two, the smell of alcohol will cover it up, and then it will be fine."

"You may be allergic to this smell." Liang Yue said.

"What do you mean by allergy?" Chen Ju was puzzled. "You also said the same thing about the drunken troublemaker before. Is it a disease?"

"I guess so." Liang Yue explained: "To put it simply, other people can smell it, but you will feel uncomfortable if you smell it."

"Ah?" Chen Ju became worried. "So this is a disease. Will it kill me?"

"The symptoms may be mild or severe..." Liang Yue shrugged, "It's hard to say about this kind of thing."

"Is it really possible to die?" Chen Ju suddenly panicked and asked nervously, "Is there any medicine?"

"There probably isn't any at the moment, but it's easy to deal with." Liang Yue looked around and said, "Just don't come here and be exposed to this kind of environment again in the future."

Chen Ju glared and said, "If I can't come to Hongxiufang anymore, I might as well die!"

"..." Liang Yue was silent.

Love, no words needed.

Soon, the two had walked across the first street.

According to Chen Ju, the brothels on that street outside were all low-class, so the madams would come out to solicit customers. The real high-class brothels did not need to solicit customers so directly.

Miaoyin Pavilion is such a stylish place.

Turning the corner, you will see a three-story carved building with green tiles and flying eaves in front of you. Several attics surround several small courtyards on all four sides, and a few peach trees are in bloom all year round, with blossoms falling like rain in the wind.

The faint sound of stringed instruments and orchestras flowed out from the open door.

Quiet and elegant.

This is the first impression this place gives people.

Chen Ju walked in with ease. Inside was a rather spacious hall with a stage in the center. Several beautiful female musicians in gauze were playing attentively. There were a few tables of guests sitting around, all of whom seemed to be waiting for something.

It seemed that this time was still too early for the brothel; it had probably just opened.

"Hey, Mr. Chen!" As soon as he came in, there was a loud call.

A plump woman in her thirties suddenly came out. She was wearing a flowing golden gauze skirt, with a swaying waist and plump buttocks. She approached Chen Ju.

"Feng Niang, is the private room I want ready?" Chen Ju stretched out his hand to hold the other person's waist, but she twisted away and dodged.

The Phoenix lady chuckled, "In the Maozhu Hall on the second floor, Master Chen's guests have already arrived, and the musicians and dancers are waiting. Is this handsome young man also Master Chen's friend?"

Liang Yue smiled and nodded without saying anything more.

He still lacks experience in doing business in places like this, so professional matters should be left to professionals.

Chen Ju was like a fish in water, greeting people all the way as he walked upstairs, looking like he was at home after entering the brothel. Feng Niang escorted Chen Ju to a door shaded by green bamboos, opened the door, and shouted, "Girls, show us your talents—"

……

The hall is filled with clusters of bamboos, interspersed with elegant decorations. The musicians are positioned behind the bamboos, their figures hidden in the green. The effect is that you can't see them, but the sound of the zither surrounds you.

As soon as Chen Ju came in, music started playing all around him, and the two people who had arrived earlier stood up to greet him.

Both of them are young men. The one on the left is of medium height and thin, with two conspicuous moles on his cheeks; the one on the right is short and fat with a round face, and looks quite festive.

"Come, let me introduce them to you." Chen Ju introduced Liang Yue as soon as he came in, "This is Mr. Hu Peng, the son of Mr. Hu from the Ministry of Works; this is Mr. Gou You, the son of Doctor Gou from the Ministry of Works. You two, this is my colleague Liang Yue from the Imperial Guards, and he is here with me today to see the world."

Liang Yue nodded to the two of them, and at the same time thought to himself, they turned out to be such a bunch of bad friends.

"Since he is Mr. Chen's friend, he is our friend." Hu Peng said politely as he sat down, "Let's visit each other often in the future."

After exchanging pleasantries and chatting for a while, Chen Ju seemingly casually got to the point.

"Speaking of which, my family seems to be buying some real estate in South City recently. I work nearby, and I wonder what's so good about buying in this godforsaken place? And the price is so high, and my father won't tell me what's going on." He scratched his head, "It's really strange."

"Haha." Hu Peng laughed twice and said, "It seems that Young Master Chen is still not very involved in the family business. He doesn't understand such a big thing."

"Big deal?" Chen Ju asked inquiringly.

Hu Peng didn't say anything, but glanced at Gou You.

Just a moment ago, Liang Yue had already discovered that these two people actually had a clear superior-subordinate relationship. It should be because Gou You's father was a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Works, one level higher than Hu Peng's father, and he also inherited it from his son.

The little fat man Gou You also laughed and said, "Actually, there is nothing to hide. With the status of the Chen family, they must have known it a long time ago. Uncle may just be afraid that you will spread it... The recent rumors in South City are related to the Tower of Babel."

"Tower of Babel!" Chen Ju was surprised, "Is it going to be built?"

Liang Yue had heard some rumors about the Tower of Babel before.

Imperial Master Li Longchan once proposed to build a 33-story towering pagoda outside Longyuan City to gather the wishes of the people and pray for the longevity of the current Emperor Mubei.

However, this proposal was strongly opposed by the left prime minister Liang Fuguo, who said that building the Tower of Babel would be a waste of money and labor, and the idea of ​​prolonging life was unrealistic. It was true that Li Longchan was motivated by selfish motives.

Li Longchan's Dragon and Tiger Hall had a large number of followers in Shendu, and it caused a lot of commotion at one point, attacking Liang Fuguo everywhere.

However, apart from the followers of the imperial teacher, most ordinary people still support Lord Zuo Xiang. After all, even if the Tower of Babel is useful, it only prolongs the emperor's life, but it is the people's money that is spent.

Later the matter was dropped.

"The Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue have come up with a complete plan. Although it is very expensive to build the Tower of Babel, it will attract believers from all over the world after it is completed, which will also be beneficial to the development of the Divine Capital. After seeing it, the Left Prime Minister stopped obstructing it. The court had already decided on it last year, and they have been selecting a site in the past few months." Hu Peng lowered his voice and whispered, "They said they were choosing from six addresses near the Divine Capital, but in fact they decided on it three months ago, in Qingfoyuan, south of the Divine Capital."

"So that's it!" Chen Ju and Liang Yue realized at the same time.

Once the Tower of Babel is built on the south side, there will be a huge flow of people coming and going, and countless dignitaries. Then these worthless shops near the South Gate will immediately become a prime location where every inch of land is worth a lot of money, and their value may increase dozens of times!
A few months ago, the Dragon Tooth Gang had already been planning to buy shops along the South Gate, not just Linmen Street. At that time, the location had definitely not been decided yet, and even the emperor might not have known where to build it, but the Dragon Tooth Gang already knew...

You can't think about this matter too much.

"I was wondering why Fukangfang has been so unstable lately." Liang Yue said indirectly.

"Yes." Chen Ju continued, "There is a Dragon Tooth Gang in South City that has been causing trouble in our area. Now that I think about it, it should be related to the construction of the Tower of Babel. This news can't be kept secret for long. They must be anxious to buy the shops in the South Gate to do this."

“The Dragon Tooth Gang…” Gou You smacked his lips, smiled meaningfully, and said, “Mr. Chen, I advise you to ignore them.”

"Hmm?" Chen Ju asked again, pretending to be casual: "Do you know where it came from?"

"Let's not talk about it anymore. We are not in a position to know too much." Gou You gently interrupted the conversation.
Liang Yue glanced at Chen Ju, signaling him to dig deeper, as the other party obviously knew the inside story.

"This..." Chen Ju was just thinking about how to ask again when he heard a gong sound outside.

clang!
"Miss Wen Yuan is going to perform——"

This shout broke the quiet atmosphere in Maozhu Hall. Hu Peng and Gou You could no longer sit still and both stood up.

Hu Peng said, "Mr. Chen, you may not know this new Miss Wen Yuan. She stunned everyone when she appeared on stage yesterday. I heard that her piano skills are superb and her appearance is as beautiful as a fairy. We can't miss her performance."

"Yes, if she chooses us to have a chat, it will be a great honor for us." Gou You also said, "Let's go and take a look."

Chen Ju was originally still concerned about the business, but when he heard this, his eyes lit up: "This is something I have to see!"

　Good morning.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)