Xia Shang was lucky. A wealthy family in Yulin County was looking for a teacher for their daughter. The salary was very high, 50 taels per month.
This news was heard in a teahouse. It was also said that this family was very strange.
There was no male in the family, only a mother and daughter who depended on each other for life.
On weekdays, no one had seen the mother and daughter struggling for a living. No one knew where the money came from, but they spent their expenses without hesitation. Although they lived in Yulin County, they were more luxurious than many wealthy businessmen in Yangzhou City. They ate delicacies from the mountains and the sea every day, and wore all kinds of rare treasures. It was heard that many unscrupulous people wanted to take advantage of the mother and daughter, but they all got nothing.
The family's surname was Sai, the owner was Sai E, and the daughter was named Sai Jiangnan.
Sai E was in her early thirties. She was a beautiful woman who could make the moon ashamed of the flowers and the fish sink to the bottom of the water. She was a well-known beautiful woman in Yulin County. And his daughter Sai Jiangnan is even better than her father. At the age of 28, she is just about to bloom. Those who have seen her face all sigh that the mountains and rivers of Jiangnan are eclipsed by her beauty. The name Sai Jiangnan is well deserved!
The Sai family recruited teachers for this Miss Sai.
It is not the first day that the news came out. It is said that many talented people in Yangzhou City came here to teach, but they just want to get close to the famous Miss Sai Jiangnan.
The Sai family has been recruiting teachers for a month. So far, six or seven people have tried, including young talents and old sages. The result was unexpected. These gentlemen only persisted for two days at most, and all gave up in disgrace.
The reason is simple. Although Miss Sai Jiangnan has a fairy-like appearance, she is an extremely savage little goblin inside. A nine-meter-long whip made the teachers run away with their heads in their hands. The worst one had all his old teeth beaten out.
Because of this incident, the reputation of Miss Sai's viciousness gradually spread in Yulin County, and the teachers who wanted to teach in the Sai family were also discouraged.
Mrs. Sai was helpless and had to adjust the salary to fifty taels, hoping that there would be brave men under the reward.
Xia Shang met the news of the price increase as soon as it was released.
Xia Shang felt that this job was very suitable for him. It was relatively decent, the salary was not cheap, and the key was that he didn't need to worry much, so he went to the door of the Sai Mansion without stopping.
The Sai Mansion in the drizzle didn't look big. In front of the door, you can see the green bamboos towering out of the wall. There are quite a lot of them. You can tell at a glance that the owner of the house is a person who loves tranquility and sentiment.
Xia Shang was received by a beautiful maid, dressed neatly in green clothes, echoing the green bamboo in the mansion, as if they were one.
"I heard that the mansion is recruiting teachers? I am not talented, so I came to give it a try."
The maid in green looked Xia Shang up and down for a while, and asked in a low voice: "What's your surname? Where are you from?"
"My surname is Xia, my name is Chunqiu, and I live here from the capital."
"Do you have any achievements?"
"No achievements?"
"Do you have a good reputation?"
"No reputation."
"In that case, please go back. The Sai Mansion needs teachers with real knowledge."
After saying that, the maid in green was about to turn around.
Xia Shang chuckled: "I wonder if being able to see through the Xiaogen Liuhe Formation in the Sai Mansion can be considered as having real knowledge?"
Liuhe Formation?
The maid in green stopped and looked at Xia Shang with cold eyes: "What did you just say?"
While speaking, the maid took a step forward lightly.
"The wonders of yin and yang are endless, and the two solstices return to the nine palaces. Girl, you stepped on the moon on your left and the snake on your right. It seems casual, but you protected the eight star gates of Ren, Chong, Fu, Ying, Rui, Zhu, Xin, and Qin. You can attack or defend, and you can accidentally form a small Qimen formation. I think the girl should be a master who is proficient in Qimen Dunjia, right?
I heard that the mother and daughter of the Sai family have no one to rely on, and they live alone in Yulin County but are safe and sound. The girl should be the one responsible for protecting them secretly, and the small Gen Liuhe formation arranged with green bamboo in the courtyard is also made by the girl, right?"
"Who are you?!"
"Don't be surprised, I'm just a tourist. Although I know the art of Qimen, I don't know martial arts, so you can rest assured. I really want to find a way to make a living in the Sai family."
The woman looked at Xia Shang again, her eyes were as bright as lightning, as if she would use a killing move as long as she found the slightest flaw in Xia Shang's words.
However, Xia Shang did not give the other party a chance, and the woman did not find anything unusual.
After a pause, the woman coldly made a gesture of invitation.
What Xia Shang said before was just his guess. He didn't expect to see a Qimen Dunjia formation when he entered the mansion.
Fortunately, the formation was closed and had no effect. If it was opened, ordinary people would definitely not be able to enter the room in the bamboo forest.
They actually used the Qimen Dunjia formation to protect a mother and daughter. I think their identities are also quite special.
Xia Shang didn't think much about it. The identity of this family had nothing to do with him. He just needed to give silver.
The structure of the house in the mansion was unique. The living room, wing rooms, and utility rooms were all hidden in the carefully designed green bamboo. There was also an artificial small pond hidden in the bluestone path. The lotus flowers in the pond were in bud and about to bloom. A few dragonflies were flying around. It was green everywhere and the wind brought the fragrance of bamboo. It was indeed a rare and elegant residence.
The woman in green was definitely not an ordinary maid. She led the way in front, and Xia Shang did not dare to be distracted, for fear that this person would suddenly start a big formation and make him suffer.
The result was good. The woman took Xia Shang directly to a small pavilion hidden in the bamboo forest.
There was more than one person in the pavilion. An old man was talking:
"I am not talented. I wrote poems at the age of three and lyrics at the age of five. I was a student at the age of seven and a scholar at the age of thirteen. I learned from the great scholar Lu Bufan. I am proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. I have been teaching for twenty years. Now I can be said to have students all over the world and my knowledge has spread throughout the nine provinces. Now I am more than enough to teach you, Miss! More than enough!"
The old man was excited and squinted his eyes proudly. He raised his head and stroked his long beard, looking contented.
After that, a young man beside him said with a smile: "Mr. Jia, if I heard correctly, you passed the exam for a scholar at the age of thirteen, why are you still a scholar at the age of sixty-two? You claim to be a disciple of Lv Bufan, but you must know that Lv Bufan insulted the emperor with a beheaded poem and his entire family was executed. You are related to Lv Bufan, so aren't you afraid of being implicated?
You have been teaching for twenty years. Do you have any students who are currently serving in the court? Do you have any students who are famous in the world? Madam Sai, in my opinion, it is not appropriate to let Miss Sai be taught by Mr. Jia?"
When the old man heard this, he was so angry that his beard stood up: "What? "You are a young servant from here? You were not even born when I was learning from you. How dare you speak so arrogantly here?"
"Besides taking advantage of your age, you also..."
"Alright, alright!" The woman in the middle of the pavilion interrupted the two people's argument, "Stop arguing. We need to test each other to see if you have the ability."
While talking, the woman noticed Xia Shang waiting outside the pavilion and stood up to ask, "Who is outside the pavilion?"
The woman was Sai E, with a dignified manner and a casual voice. She wore a pink dress with a chest-wrapped long skirt and a long-sleeved light blue jacket. She looked like a lotus in the pond, untainted by the dust.
"I am Xia Chunqiu, and I offer myself to teach Miss Sai."
"It turns out to be Mr. Xia. Please take a rest in the pavilion."