Jingrong City stands on mountains and rivers. The terrain is high in the south and low in the north. It borders Jiuquan Mountain in the south and Xueqing River in the north. The city is built on three sides and has a radius of a hundred miles. It is the only large city in the vast Xiliangzhou.

When they arrived at Jingrong, Wang Zhongsheng and Li Yuanhe of the Golden Sword Wo Yimen broke up with Yu Shiqi. They did not intend to stay here, and went straight to Yunzhou after changing horses at a post station.

After Yu Shiqi entered the city, he walked to Jiuquan Mountain in Nancheng with the two paintings he wanted to deliver to his employer.

Zhong Linqi followed him all the time, asking as he walked: "Is the owner who hired you to paint these two paintings the Jingrong Baili family?"

"Yes." Yu Shiqi replied, pointing to the luxurious mansion in front of him at the foot of Jiuquan Mountain: "That is Bailihou Mansion."

"I heard that the Marquis of Baili was obtained by our ancestors based on their military exploits. It has been passed down for nearly two hundred years. It's not easy." Zhong Linqi said with emotion.

"Why is it not easy?" Yu Shiqi was puzzled.

"It would be good if the emperor who gave you a title could not take it back while he was still alive. In the five hundred years since Chenlin's founding of the country, countless people have committed crimes and lost their titles, and many of them have been sentenced to death and brought disaster to their relatives.

"Zhong Linqi said, "It's not easy for the Baili family's title to be passed down to descendants for so many generations."

After hearing this, Yu Shiqi nodded thoughtfully, thinking that Mr. Zhong knew a lot. It would not be useless to follow him. It would be good to hear something and gain some insights.

When the two of them arrived in front of Baili Mansion, Zhong Linqi stopped and said to Yu Shiqi: "I'm just wandering around the nearby Jiuquan Mountain. A wealthy family like Baili's must want to keep you as a guest to show their generosity, so let's

See you at the east gate tomorrow noon."

"Then what if someone is dissatisfied with my paintings and kicks me out, where should I find my husband?"

Zhong Linqi was stunned for a moment, and suddenly saw the smile on the corner of Yu Shiqi's mouth, and then realized that he was joking, and scolded him with a smile: "Bad boy, when I talked to you before, you said nothing about benevolence, justice, and morality, so it turns out that you can also joke?

I'm leaving. If you are really kicked out, just find me at a nearby inn."

Yu Shiqi lowered his head in embarrassment, watched him walk up the gravel path of Jiuquan Mountain, and then knocked on the door of Baili Mansion.

The servants who came to answer the door of Baili Mansion were very dissatisfied with Yu Shiqi's desolate appearance at first. After hearing Yu Shiqi's explanation of his purpose, he reluctantly agreed to report for him. Yu Shiqi was waiting at the door.

, the person who came back a moment later was not the servant who answered the door, but Jin Hong, the old butler of Baili Mansion.

"Mr. Yu, please come in. Our Lord Marquis has been looking forward to your return for many days." Jin Hong welcomed Yu Shiqi into the door, said a few words of courtesy, and took him to the living room.

Yu Shiqi handed the two scrolls to Jin Hong and waited in the living room. The servants served good hot tea. Yu Shiqi didn't have much thought to taste it carefully. He just drank a few sips because he was thirsty on the way.

Jin Hong took the scroll and came out not long after. He said to Yu Shiqi with a happy face: "Mr. Yu, the Marquis is very satisfied with your painting. Please come in and talk about it."

Yu Shiqi stood up happily and followed Jin Hong slowly through the winding corridors of Baili Mansion to the door of the inner room. The owner of the Baili family, Baili Cheng, the Marquis of Chenling Shunyuan, was waiting inside.

The door of the inner room was open, with a beaded and jade curtain hanging on the door. A heater was lit in the room, and a faint smell of incense wafted out.

"Greetings to the Marquis." Yu Shiqi bowed through the curtain.

"Come in." Baili Cheng's happy voice came from inside.

Yu Shiqi glanced at Jin Hong and saw that he nodded slightly to him, so he lifted the bead curtain and stepped inside.

Baili Cheng, who was only wearing a single suit, was sitting on the hot couch, with an unfolded picture scroll on his crossed legs. There seemed to be a woman wrapped in the brocade quilt behind him. Yu Shiqi didn't dare to look forward, lowering his head.

He stood with his head close to the door, holding his hands awkwardly.

"The painting is good and should be rewarded." Baili Chenghe said with a happy face, "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Yu. I heard that heavy snow blocked the Western Wilderness before, and I was worried about your safety."

"Master Hou, you're welcome."

"Sir, just returned to Jingrong today?"

"Just arrived."

"After a long day of driving, please take a rest in the house. I have already ordered people to prepare a guest room for you, and the bath in the house can also be used by you." Baili Cheng glanced at Yu Shiqi's clothes and said to those waiting outside.

Jin Hong ordered loudly: "Jin Hong, wait until Mr. Yu takes a bath and find him a new winter coat."

"Thank you, Lord Marquis."

"No, I didn't expect you to really be able to paint these two stunning scenes of the Western Wilderness, nor did I expect you to be able to paint them so well to my liking." Baili Cheng said with a smile, "It turned out that the servants in the mansion discussed this with you.

I heard that the reward is only five moiré coins? It’s too low, I’ll increase it to ten times for you.”

Yu Shiqi was stunned. Tenfold meant changing from five cloud-patterned coins to five moon-patterned coins, which was the same price Xilingyue offered when he wanted to buy his painting of the Moon-washing Spring.

At first, he felt that Xiling Yue's act of charity was out of pity for him, so he flatly refused. Later, when he was embarrassed, he regretted it. Now, Shunyuan Hou Baili Cheng took the initiative to raise the price because he valued his paintings. Of course, he had to

It is better to obey orders than to be respectful. In this way, the cost of buying gifts for the master will be covered. When I go to Wuyue with Mr. Zhong, I won't have to take on another job. On the contrary, I will have enough money to have fun.

It feels so good to be rich... This thought was still in Yu Shiqi's mind until he soaked in the petal-covered bathtub of Baili Mansion.

Bailishi is indeed the most wealthy noble in Jingrong, which can be seen from the scale and grandeur of the indoor bath. Next to the bath is a guarded boiler room, and the two rooms are connected by pipes, so people can't relax in the bath.

You can open the water valve when you need to go ashore and add hot water at any time. The design is unique.

The steam rising from the pool water made the entire bathroom look like a fairyland surrounded by clouds and fog. Yu Shiqi leaned his head against the wall of the pool, opened his mouth and couldn't help but let out a comfortable moan.

Soaking in the warm water exuding the fragrant fragrance of flowers not only makes your body feel comfortable and exhausted, but also your mind feels greatly relaxed.

He just soaked quietly for a while, and suddenly remembered that when he came in, the water vapor was so thick that he couldn't see clearly how big the bath was. Now he suddenly became curious, so he put his feet on the wall behind him.

He leaned forward and swam forward.

He moved his hands to move the petals on the water surface. Through the mist, Yu Shiqi could vaguely see the pool wall on the other side. He turned back and swam back to visually measure the distance, and couldn't help but secretly be surprised - this pool is really big enough, even if there are more than ten people at the same time,

It won't feel crowded when entering the water.

Suddenly, there was a strange "crash" sound as he approached, and many splashes of water and flower petals fell on his head and face.

In Yu Shiqi's frightened eyes, a ghostly figure floating on the water slowly approached him. What finally appeared in front of him through the water mist was a woman's arrogant and cold oval face. Her beautiful black hair was completely covered by

The water soaked her and stuck tightly to both sides of her cheeks, and the hanging part just covered her chest.

Yu Shiqi's mind went blank. How could he have imagined that there was another person besides himself? Or a woman. When Jin Hong led him outside the pool house just now, he didn't say anything.

Now it seems that this woman came earlier than him, but she was far away and covered by water mist. She was hidden in the water full of dazzling petals, although it was difficult to detect.

Who is she? The female concubine of Baili Mansion? Or is she a guest of the manor like herself? Regardless of whether it is the former or the latter, his behavior this time seems extremely rude. Yu Shiqi blushed and backed away, at the same time

Started to feel worried and scared.

"What are you hiding from?" the woman scolded, and then leaned towards Yu Shiqi.

When Yu Shiqi's back touched the smooth wall of the pool, he realized that there was no way out, and the look of panic on his face became even more serious.

When the woman saw it, she slightly raised a malicious smile at the corner of her mouth. She came closer and grabbed his hand and asked, "Are you the Yu Shiqi? The painter hired by my father?"

"You...you are the...daughter of Marquis Shunyuan?"
Chapter completed!