Chapter 001: Who is playing the jade flute by the stream?

  It was midsummer, and the sun was scorching the land of Qingzhou Prefecture in Shandong Province like a furnace. Just a few days ago, there had been a heavy rain shower, and many low-lying areas in Yunhe Town were flooded. However, under the intense sunlight, the rainwater quickly evaporated, leaving the ground wet and muddy. After being scorched by the sun, the ground cracked open, curling up into large pieces of earth the size of palm prints. The naked children ran around barefoot, picking up the pieces of earth and stacking them up like tiles to use for building houses.

  The weather is too hot, except for these spirited children, everyone else is languid and can't muster up the energy, unless they have to go out, otherwise they are all hiding in the shade in front of or behind their houses to escape the heat. There are hardly any pedestrians on the road. Even the big willow trees with dense foliage look listless in this terrible weather, their branches hanging lifelessly, only the cicadas hidden in the tree clusters keep making a racket nonstop, making people feel drowsy.

  It wasn't until dusk that the sweltering heat gradually dissipated. The sunset was shrouded in a misty haze, and as I gazed out at the landscape, everything was bathed in a smoky red glow. The area around Cloud River Town's Moon Bay was especially cool and refreshing, thanks to a small bay formed by a tributary of the Mi River that covered an area of about five or six mu. The bay was filled with lotus flowers, surrounded by willow trees and mulberry trees, making it the perfect spot to escape the heat.

  However, the villagers didn't dare to come here for summer retreats, because this was a private property of the Yang family from Qingzhou. The lotus flowers in the bay grew very luxuriantly, with a vast expanse of green leaves covering the entire bay. In the distance, there was a small boat sailing through them. As the boat passed by, the lotus leaves parted to make way for it, and a clear zither sound echoed through the air like a Buddhist chant, following the parted lotus leaves as they drifted away in all directions.

  An old farmer returning home with his hands behind his back and hunched over, holding a rope in his hand, slowly walking from the distant field ridge, the rope pulling a thin and bony old cow, on the cow's back sat a little kid with a high ponytail, happily playing with grandpa's straw hat. Further away, the car-sized red sun had already dipped halfway below the horizon.

  This feeling, this scene, like poetry and painting.

  Upon hearing the sound of the flute, the old man looked towards the bay. On the lake, there were clusters of green lotus flowers, and a small boat was completely hidden among them. Only a young gentleman wearing a plain white robe and a flat-topped hat could be vaguely seen sitting at the bow of the boat, playing the flute with ease. Beside him stood a beautiful woman holding an oil-paper umbrella, wearing a spring dress, her slender waist seemingly about to break. Unfortunately, she was facing the gentleman and couldn't be seen clearly, only revealing a head of black hair tied up in a lazy knot, with a few strands framing her face. A single peony pin was inserted at an angle into her hair, setting off her long neck and slender figure, which seemed to go on forever, evoking endless fantasies.

  At the sight of this, the old man knew that the master of the Yang family had brought his family from Qingzhou Prefecture to the countryside to escape the heat. The old man was a honest and simple farmer, seeing that there were women on the boat, he couldn't help but feel rude, these wealthy families weren't someone he could afford to offend, so he quickly lowered his head and hastened his pace forward, not far away, wisps of smoke from cooking fires had already begun to rise above the town.

  The clear and melodious sound of the sheng has just stopped, and the gentle and charming song of the pipa has begun again. The red sun on the horizon is gradually sinking below the earth's surface during the transition between the sheng and the song.

  Today is indeed the owner of the Yang family who has come to the countryside villa to avoid the heat and have fun. The owner of the Yang family, surnamed Yang, named Xu, and nicknamed Wenxuan, is just barely out of his teenage years this year.

  The Yang family in Qingzhou was originally considered a mediocre and wealthy family. Four years ago, when the old master of the Yang family, Yang Bingkun, passed away, he handed over the struggling family business to his only son, Yang Xu, who was only 16 years old at the time. Others thought that the Yang family would decline from then on, and indeed, in the first year after Yang Xu took over the family business, he did not show any particular talent, let alone expand the business, even just maintaining it was barely enough.

  But who would have thought that from the second year onwards, Yang Xu was like a divine helper, no matter whether it was business, farming, horse breeding or mining, everything was extremely profitable. His family quickly set up shops, workshops, fields and stables... Wealth surged in like a snowball, and now he is one of the top ten wealthy families in Qingzhou.

  Three years of mourning had just passed, and Yang Wenyuan, the young master of the Yang family, took part in the imperial examination at the prefectural school and was selected as a scholar (xiucai), gaining fame and fortune. He immediately became the most eligible bachelor in Qingzhou Prefecture, with countless noble families vying to make him their son-in-law. Matchmakers flocked to the Yang household, wearing down the doorstep.

  Don't say that the gentleman left early, there are people who leave even earlier. Unfortunately, Yang Fu Xiao, who was in charge of the matter, said to the matchmakers: "I'm very sorry, my young master has been arranged by his father since childhood and has a marriage arranged in his hometown of Ying Tian Fu. My young master will eventually return home to get married, as the saying goes, 'rich people don't change their wives easily, noble people don't change their friends easily', remarrying is not something my young master would do. Thank you for your good intentions, I, Old Xiao, thank you on behalf of my young master, sorry, sorry..."

  Now that the matter has been settled, it's only natural to drop the subject. But what's strange is that this young master Yang has already reached the age of majority and achieved success in his career, so he should be thinking about getting married. The three-year mourning period for his parents has passed, and there are no longer any obstacles, but he never seems to make any plans to return home and get married, and even avoids talking about his family back in Tianyang Prefecture. Apart from taking care of his own business, this young Master Yang spends all his time socializing with a few close friends, indulging in pleasure-seeking activities, riding fast horses, drinking strong liquor, frequenting high-end brothels, and chasing after beautiful women, earning himself a reputation as a philanderer within the span of just one year.

  Yang Wenxuan, although elegant and refined on the outside, had never brought a woman back to his home before. Now that he has brought this woman to his own villa to escape the heat, it's clear that she is extremely pleasing to him.

  The small boat stopped about one zhang away from the shore, and a old willow branch on the shore stretched out towards the lake surface, with thousands of willow branches gently hanging over the boat. The evening wind slowly rose, and the willow branches swayed. Yang Dashi sat cross-legged at the bow of the boat, barefoot, holding a fishing rod in his hand, looking carefree. Meanwhile, the beauty inside the cabin started to busy herself, lighting up the charcoal stove and preparing dinner.

  Thin slices of fragrant and tender lotus root were picked from the water bay, lively shrimp were dug out from the roots of willow trees by the river, as for fat chicken, tender lamb and old wine, they were all raised and brewed in their own farm. There was also a plate of black agate-like mulberries, which made people drool with desire, these fresh mulberries were picked from the mulberry tree grown by the bay. Now it only needs young master to catch a fat fish to make a perfect match for wine, all the food is produced by their own family, full of wild interest and flavor.

  When the stars began to twinkle, the cicadas that had been noisy all day were also tired, and the lake surface became quiet. Young Master Yang and the beauty clinked glasses and enjoyed themselves, with the beauty occasionally stretching out her jade arm, giggling and embracing Young Master Yang's neck, giving him a passionate "kiss".

  Unfortunately, this is the Yang family's private property, and outsiders dare not wander around here. The servants also wisely avoided going there early. Only a few toads, with their big eyes wide open, lying on the lotus leaves and puffing out their bellies, were lucky enough to witness this scene.

  When the crescent moon rose obliquely at the horizon, the clinking of cups and saucers in the small boat ceased, and the whispers and laughter disappeared. Instead, some faint "hooting" sounds were heard.

  Yang Xiu took off his wide robe, bared his belly and lay on his back, with his left hand holding a fishing rod hanging over the lake surface, and his right hand holding a wine jug. He gazed up at the starry sky, took a sip of his self-brewed fine wine, and indulged in carefree joy.

  "Lipstick blows through plum blossom tune, I wish to be a green jade flute...... Hehe...... Hehe......"

  The beautiful woman's smooth and delicate face was buried in his crotch, her hair and flowers moving rapidly, the branches shining and swaying. Her tongue licked and sucked, making him feel like he was dying, his soul scattered, and his body beneath her was also rising and falling, creating many ripples that made one sigh with emotion.

  This beauty named Tingxiang was indeed exceptional, born with a delicate and lovely appearance, skilled in cooking delicious dishes that were beyond praise, and excelled in serving people. If not for these qualities, Yang Gongzi would not have spent two hundred taels of silver to buy her just the other day. Even someone as experienced in romantic affairs as Yang Gongzi couldn't resist Tingxiang's charms, his legs stiffening, toes curling up, and breathing becoming rapid.

  The fish had bitten the hook, and in the dim light of night, it was impossible to see the float sink into the water. However, the fishing line was taut and straight, and Yang Xiu's hand suddenly felt a strong tug. But at this moment, Yang Xiu had already reached a state of extreme pleasure, and he didn't care about the fish biting the hook anymore. He let out a low grunt, suddenly dropped his wine pouch, and the wine spilled all over the deck. As he did so, his hand tightly grasped Tingxiang's hair, knocking off her hairpin, which fell to the ship's side with a "thud" and into the water. A head of beautiful hair instantly cascaded down like a waterfall.

  Just then, with a "splash", the waves split and a figure suddenly emerged from the water on one side of the small boat. The man pressed against the side of the boat and, with a body full of water, quickly jumped onto the bow of the boat, steadily squatting at the side of the boat, like a large frog. The small boat was heavy, and it sank sharply in his direction, but his feet were tightly clamped to the side of the boat, not moving at all.

  Xiang's body swayed to one side, and she let out a cry of "Ah!" Just then, the man raised his right hand, and a cold light flashed in it, like the crescent moon in the sky. A clear, cold, and eerie glow pierced Yang Xu's heart with a "pffft" sound.

  "Hmm" Yang Xu muttered, before he could even shout, the man pushed off with his arm and kicked his legs, immediately diving into the water. The speed was as fast as lightning, from getting on the boat to entering the water, the entire movement was smooth and swift, like a flash of electricity. From start to finish, no one saw his appearance clearly. The person was gone, leaving only the intense ripples shaking the water, shattering a bay of moonlight.

  Yang Xue's eyes were filled with a terrified and disbelieving light, which gradually dissipated. His left hand, which had been tightly gripping the fishing rod, also went limp and hung down from the side of the boat, his five fingers relaxing, and the fat fish that had bitten the hook quickly escaped, dragging the fishing rod away.

  The disheveled Ting Xiang's face was pale, her expression somewhat dull. She trembled as she stretched out her hand to touch her wet lips, and a sweet and fishy smell slowly seeped into her mouth - the fresh blood that had just splashed onto her face. Ting Xiang's body suddenly shook violently, and a shrill, terrified scream burst forth: "Ah...ah...save me..."

  Startled by the shouting, one after another, the frogs jumped agilely from the lotus leaves into the water, and the sound of "plop plop" arose on all sides.

  Not far from the shore, there was a house with lights still shining on the windowsill. Following Tingxiang's cry, the light quickly moved away, and then the door creaked open, and someone holding a lantern rushed out, standing on the embankment and shouting: "Young master! Young master! Tingxiang girl, what happened?"

  "Brother... brother he... killed... murdered someone..."

  The mouth is full of fragrant scents, teeth are clenched in pairs, and a fight breaks out. After great difficulty, one sentence is finally spoken, but it's all jumbled up and unclear.

  The man on the shore was shocked, hastily threw away the lantern, and jumped up, covering a distance of more than ten feet. He actually "thudded" onto the boat with a loud noise, accurately landing at the bow of the boat, causing the small boat to shake violently. Xiang hurriedly grabbed the side of the boat, even forgetting to scream.

  The man who jumped onto the boat was dressed in a green robe and small hat, it was Zhang Thirteen, Yang Xu's personal attendant. He hastily bent down and took a close look under the starry night sky, his heart suddenly turned cold. This wasn't the first time he had seen a dead person, with just one glance, he knew that Yang Xu was dead beyond recall, without any possibility of revival. His face instantly turned a ghastly pale.

  "Dead? Yang Xu actually died! Three years of painstaking cultivation, great plans had just a glimmer of hope, and he's actually dead?"

  Zhang Shisan's hands trembled, his heart was in a mess, and he felt a surge of anger in his chest. He wanted to shout at the sky to vent out the evil air in his head. Suddenly, he turned to Tingxiang, staring at her fiercely, with a murderous aura, and asked: "Who is the murderer? How did they assassinate the young master? Speak quickly!"

  Xiang girl pointed to the water's surface, trembling and said: "No... I don't know, that person... That person suddenly jumped out of the water, then... then killed the young master, and then... then jumped back into the water and disappeared. This servant... this servant didn't even see whether it was a man or woman..."

  Just as she said that, a gust of wind came and blew the lotus leaves into disorder, as if someone was gently shaking the lotus stem from underneath. Xiang Jie saw this and thought it was the assassin returning, so she shrieked again: "Ah! Save me! He... he's come back, save me..."

  "Shut up!"

  Zhang Shisan was furious, and with a sudden movement of his hand, he slapped her face with a loud crack, leaving half of Tingxiang's cheek numb. Tingxiang was Yang Xu's woman, but she had never thought that his underling would dare to slap her, so she was both frightened and astonished, and for a moment she stood there, frozen in shock, her shrill cries ceasing abruptly.

  "What's to be done? How can this be good?"

  Zhang Shisan clenched his fists, still undecided, when he saw several lanterns swaying in the distance. It turned out that some servants from another village had vaguely heard the shouting and thought it was just a thief sneaking into their own yard, so they brought lanterns, pitchforks, and other farm tools, and came over to investigate, shouting loudly along the way.

  Zhang Shisan gritted his teeth and thought to himself, "If Yang Wenyuan dies, all the efforts we've made over the years will be in vain. I alone cannot bear this responsibility. For now, I'll keep his death a secret and leave this place first, then gather everyone to discuss our next move."

  With the plan set, as the lights drew closer, Zhang Thirteen whispered to Ting Xiang: "Young Master Qi's strange encounter with the assassin, but there is only you on the boat, and you can't explain it clearly, just saying that Young Master was stabbed by someone, who would believe you? This case will be taken to the government office, and you won't be able to escape then."

  Xiang cried: "Thirteen Lang, it really has nothing to do with me, I was at the time... at the time..."

  "Shut up!" Zhang Shisan said sternly. "What kind of person is the young master? A matter of life and death, the masters are in a hurry to give an explanation to the officials and gentry of Fu Xue and He Cheng, who would care about whether you, a small woman, are wronged or not? The people's hearts are like iron, the law is like a furnace. Once you enter the yamen, even if you are as innocent as water, the masters will have a way to make you confess your guilt. If you don't want to get into trouble with the authorities, listen to my orders and let me take charge. Don't make any rash statements."

  "Yes, yes, yes... I'll listen to you, I'll do whatever you say." Xiang was a girl raised in a brothel, only knowing how to serve people's tricks, and had never seen such a bloody scene before. She was so frightened that she immediately agreed after being scared by Zhang Thirteen.

  At this time, several tenant farmers from the village rushed to the shore and shouted at the boat: "Young master, what's going on? Has a thief broken into our house?"

  "It's nothing..."

  Zhang Shisan calmed down and said in a slow tone: "Young Master had too much to drink and almost fell into the water, which scared Miss Xiang into screaming."

  The servants on that shore all knew that their young master had a weakness for being romantic and fond of wine, and Zhang Shisan was someone the young master was close to, so naturally no one doubted his words. They all burst out laughing and said: "Since the young master is fine, we'll take our leave."

  Zhang Thirteen's eyes flashed slightly, and he said: "Wait a minute, I just received news from the city that there are some urgent business matters that need to be handled by Master. Master is now drunk and unable to get up, you came at the right time, go and drive Master's carriage to the waterfront, I and Tingxiang will help Master back to the city."

  After a stick of incense time, the gate of Yangfu Villa in Yunhe Town opened, and Zhang Thirteen drove his horse carriage out quickly, rushing into the vast night...

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