Chapter 78: All Are Filial Children

Ding Suian had stated his position, so the matter of forming the society was settled.

Next, it was time to discuss the name of the secret society.

Li Meimei was the first to propose, “Since we formed our brotherhood under Chongyin Mountain, why not call it the Yin Society!”

“That doesn’t sound good!”

Ding Suian vetoed it.

If a bunch of grown men like us call ourselves the Yin Society, those who don’t know better might think we’re a group of conniving bottoms.

Gao Gan pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, “Our society’s focus is on being secret to the outside world, so how about we call it the Inner Society!”

“Pfft~”

Ding Suian spat out a mouthful of wine.

That’s even worse than the Yin Society!

Imagine introducing yourself when going out: “Hello, I am a member of the Inner Society.”

To put it mildly, that’s sexual harassment; to put it strongly, that’s being a hooligan!

“No, no! Any society with ‘Inner’ in it is asking for trouble.”

“This won’t work, that won’t work, then you name it, Yuanxi.”

Ding Suian heard this, thought seriously for a moment, and said, “How about the Spark Society.”

Chen Yi asked, “Spark Society? Why?”

“Because a single spark can start a prairie fire.”

“Good!”

“Not bad, that’s it!”

Once the name of the secret society was decided, Chen Yi, Li Meimei, and the others exchanged glances, then looked at Ding Suian with smiles on their Faces.

“Yuanxi, our Spark Society has just been established. Tomorrow there is a very important matter that we will entrust to you. Can you handle it!”

“…”

Damn. Why does it feel like they’ve dug a hole for me?

“Don’t look at me like that, tell me what the matter is first!”

“Actually, it’s not a big deal. It’s just tomorrow night, how about you go to the Bureau of Music and Entertainment?”

“Huh?”

Ding Suian was stunned on the spot.

What kind of foster fathers are these?

But he firmly believed that there’s no such thing as a free lunch, so he said righteously, “No! Staying clean is my bottom line as a person! I wouldn’t go to such a place of debauchery even if you beat me to death!”

The next day, at the hour of Hai.

Ding Suian was dressed in new clothes, standing outside the Bureau of Music and Entertainment.

Behind him, the five members from Chongyin gave him tremendous encouragement with their eyes.

Ding Suian turned around, “I’m telling you, why aren’t you guys going up?”

Chen Yi said, “Hey! Didn’t we tell you last night? We all have wives, and it’s hard to explain if we go home. You and Seventh Sister aren’t married yet, after all. If you get angry because of this, I’ll have Sister-in-law explain it to her personally.”

“The Bureau of Music and Entertainment isn’t cheap, right? I don’t have money.”

“Don’t worry!” Chen Yi flicked his paper fan, acting like a master strategist, “Big Brother will be the treasurer, Xiaomei will be the guide, Third Young Master Gao will be the bodyguard, Second Brother will be the butler, and I will be in charge of logistics. We must ensure that Yuanxi stays happily and contentedly at the Bureau of Music and Entertainment for the next month!”

A strong support team is the foundation for a successful recreational activity!

Since things had come to this, Ding Suian waved his hand, “Let’s go!”

The Bureau of Music and Entertainment was exceptionally lively tonight.

Inside the main hall, fifty or sixty tables were completely full.

The deafening noise of people almost drowned out the string and wind instruments; one even had to shout to converse.

The massive clamor not only drowned out the music, but even required shouting to speak.

As a government-run establishment, the quality of the Bureau of Music and Entertainment varied, and business wasn’t always this booming.

Unless there were newly arrived female relatives of convicted officials.

As it happened, there was one tonight.

And it was none other than the only daughter of Duke of Zhenguo Xia Jiye.

This was the reason Chen Yi and the others asked Ding Suian to engage in this recreational activity. Of course, it wasn’t to actually let him sleep with her, but to pay for a monthly pass for the next month—paying for access but not sleeping with her.

This was to buy time for Chen Yi and the others, preventing her from being humiliated before she could be rescued.

Female relatives of officials—just this illustrious status had a fatal attraction for the great philanthropists.

Not to mention one of a Duke’s rank.

A quarter past the hour of Hai.

The warm-up singing and dancing paused, and the main show began.

The madam certainly knew who the main event of the night was, so she specifically arranged for the flower plaques of a few other girls to go up first to build the atmosphere.

The atmosphere was heated tonight, and the great philanthropists were bidding several times higher than usual.

The usual three or five taels for a tip were bid up to seven or eight taels.

Those with a beauty value of ten taels were bid up to nearly twenty taels.

Those with some reputation started directly at thirty taels.

Speculation, it’s a scam!

When the hour of Hai arrived, the madam saw that the mood had been built up enough, so she hung the flower plaque of the Duke of Zhenguo’s only daughter on the stage.

“Xia Tieying.”

The madam was about to give an explanation, when suddenly, a table of guests below shouted, “One thousand taels!”

“…”

The whole room went silent, and then a wave of discussion erupted.

This person was too unrefined. If they bid slowly, even if everyone couldn’t win, they could at least bid a couple of times and have some sense of participation.

Who just opens their mouth and slams down a thousand taels!

The madam on stage was beaming with joy and kept saying, “Oh my, these three unfamiliar gentlemen, you are truly generous!”

Li Meimei frowned and looked over, seeing that the three men were all burly. Although they wore robes, their eyes were sharp, and their demeanor was like people from the military.

“Who are they?”

“Qin Shou’s foster sons!”

Ding Suian and Chen Yi were both looking over there, and they spoke in unison.

Third Young Master Gao heard this, and the look he gave them was filled with rage.

That is truly cruel!

In his mind, it wasn’t enough that Qin Shou and his gang of beasts killed the Duke of Zhenguo; they even wanted to humiliate his daughter!

“Is there anyone else bidding? If no one bids, she will belong to these distinguished guests.” The madam shouted while walking over to the three men, “Three gentlemen, we agreed beforehand that although the three of you came together, only one can enjoy the flower. The young lady is still a virgin, and she can’t withstand the conquest of three gentlemen~”

“Three thousand taels, the three of us brothers will go together.”

The youngest of the three took out two more silver banknotes from his bosom.

Taking out two thousand taels of silver banknotes was like taking out two pieces of scrap paper, without any sign of hesitation or regret.

“Oh my~ my gentlemen~”

The madam laughed until she trembled, holding the silver banknotes up to the light to check the hidden seals. Once confirmed, just as she was about to shout “The flower falls to this house,” she heard someone shout from not far away, “Three thousand and one taels!”

Hearing someone bid, the madam was overjoyed, but after hearing the price, her Face darkened instantly.

‘Where did this rascal come from, daring to come here to cause trouble?’

But after turning around and seeing the other party’s attire, the madam swallowed the words that had already reached her throat.

Central Heaven is full of hidden talents; one never knows which young master might be offended.

The madam didn’t dare to make a sound, instead encouraging the three wealthy guests with a hopeful look.

The other party didn’t disappoint her, immediately taking out another thousand-tael silver banknote and slapping it on the table, determined to win.

“Four thousand and one taels.”

Ding Suian followed closely behind.

The people sitting there quickly took out all the money they had on them and passed it under the table to Lin Dafu, the treasurer.

Lin Dafu didn’t need to look; just by feeling it with his hand under the table, he knew how much had been collected.

The philanthropists in the hall also knew that tonight was all about these two tables, so they couldn’t help but hold their breath and watch the show.

“Five thousand and one taels.”

Ding Suian followed the other party’s action of taking out money and added one more tael.

On this side, sweat beaded on Lin Dafu’s forehead. He gestured to Ding Suian and Chen Yi that they only had a little over five thousand in total, and any higher, they wouldn’t have enough!

But Qin’s foster sons seemed not to want to lose Face in public, so they took out another one.

They were locked in a standoff with Ding Suian’s side.

Seeing this, Chen Yi hurriedly whispered, “Big Brother, go home and get money, we’ll collect it and give it to you tomorrow!”

Come to think of it, the group wasn’t limited to only being able to scrape together five thousand.

But no one expected to run into these three bastards tonight, driving the price up to such an absurd level.

Lin Dafu wiped the sweat from his forehead and stood up. Chen Yi also stood up, wanting to say a few nice words to ask the madam to wait for them to raise the money.

But he was pressed back down by Ding Suian.

“Yuanxi?”

“She is the descendant of a loyal official. If I don’t save her, I will never have peace in this life!”

Chen Yi thought Ding Suian was worried about the money, but the latter glanced at Qin’s foster sons and said, “Even if we win a round tonight by outbidding them, what if they come back tomorrow night? We follow again? And the night after? Are we going to pay six thousand every night for a month?”

In their anxiety, they had lost their wits. With Ding Suian’s reminder, Chen Yi couldn’t say a word.

Gao Gan’s eyes turned red again. He opened his mouth several times, choking out, “Yuanxi, you, please think of a way.”

At this time, Ding Suian looked at Li Meimei and said, “Fifth Brother, if we hurt people tonight, can your father convict us before the first day of the sixth month?”

This question stunned everyone.

It was Lin Dafu, who hadn’t been that concerned about Xia Tieying’s plight, who was able to think from the perspective of an outsider and suddenly understood, whispering, “On the ninth of the sixth month is Your Majesty’s eightieth birthday! On the first, there will be a general amnesty!”

This sentence instantly woke everyone up.

This kind of loophole could be exploited, but it only happens once every few decades, and at the same time, one needs to have a father who is a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Justice!

As it happens, the Spark Society has both.

The group stood up in unison.

The surrounding patrons thought they couldn’t afford the bid and were leaving out of embarrassment.

Li Baicheng asked in a low voice, “How much strength should I use?”

Ding Suian, “Full strength! Don’t kill them, but scare the others so that no one else dares to target Miss Xia again.”

Li Baicheng nodded.

Ding Suian said again, “Second Brother, your position as Commander was not easy to obtain. Don’t get involved; just stand on the side and cover us.”

Li Baicheng thought for a moment and said succinctly, “Good!”

“Covering” meant watching the situation; if their side had the upper hand, he would just watch from the side.

If they were at a disadvantage, then he would join in.

With a Yugang Realm expert covering from the side, it was ten wins and no losses.

Ding Suian said to Li Meimei, “You go back and make sure to watch your father. We must be convicted before the first of the sixth month.”

Li Meimei nodded and turned to leave.

Only by being convicted before the amnesty can one be pardoned.

Ding Suian’s confidence wasn’t just tied to Li Meimei alone. Last time, Lin Hansu mentioned unintentionally that the Ministry of Rites wanted to reward Qin Shou, while the Ministry of Justice wanted to punish him.

This showed that there was a faction in the Ministry of Justice that was anti-Qin Shou and held the dominant position.

Not to mention that he had just received an award and was now the model soldier being touted by the imperial court.

Once wearing the Flying Fish Robe, one does not need to bow to officials or receive corporal punishment.

Just as the arrangements were made, the madam over there already shouted, “No one is bidding, Miss Xia will belong to these gentlemen tonight!”

Ding Suian was about to speak, but saw Li Meimei walking back.

“Why are you back?” Chen Yi was surprised.

Li Meimei grinned, “I thought about it, if I go and just say it, my father might not listen! It’s better if we all go to jail together. I’m his only sprout; he can’t not save me. If he doesn’t save me, I’ll make sure his line ends. If he saves me, he has to save you all! This is safer!”

“…”

“…”

“Hahaha”

The group laughed in unison.

Another filial child.