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Beautiful Jade's carriage passed along several streets, then turned into an alley and stopped in front of a pair of black-painted gatesAn attendant on the carriage jumped down and knocked on them just as Qian Long was descending from his carriageWith a long squeak, the gates were opened, and an old woman came out, pulled aside the carriage curtain and greeted Beautiful JadeShe stepped out of the carriage and, seeing Qian Long standing to one side, hurried over to greet him
"Aiya, Master Dongfang," she said"Thank you so much for your gifts just nowPlease come in and have some tea Qian Long smiled and walked through the gates
One of the bodyguards rushed in ahead of the Emperor, his hand on the hilt of his sword, checking for assassins or perhaps a customer of the prostitute who would wish to protest that he was first
Beyond the gates was a courtyardA wave of flowery fragrance assailed their 925 tiffany's necklace noses and tree shadows danced on the ground around two cinnamon bushes which were in full bloomQian Long followed Beautiful Jade into a small, elegantly-decorated chamber lit by two tall, red candles
A maid brought in wine and foodQian Long looked at the plates of delicacies, including marinated chicken and Thousand-Year-Old eggs, and marvelled at how exquisite they were compared to the heavy food he was served in the Imperial palaceThe maid strained two cups of aged, deeply-fragrant rice wine
Beautiful Jade took a sip and smiled"Master Dongfang, how can I ever thank you?" she said
Qian Long raised his cup and drained it in one draught"Sing a song first," he said, also smiling"We will discuss at our leisure how you can thank me
Beautiful Jade picked up a pipa and began to play softly
While the Emperor drank and enjoyed himself inside, Commander-in-Chief Li arrived with a detachment of troops chloe bag and encircled the alley with ring after ring of guardsHis officers searched every nearby house thoroughly, leaving only Beautiful Jade's room untouchedBai Zhen ordered a group of guardsmen to patrol the roof tops with bows and arrows at the readyCountless men have been to brothels over the centuries, but Qian Long's visit was surely the most imposing and awe-inspiring visit of all
The guards and soldiers were kept busy the whole night, but dawn finally broke without anything untoward having happenedThe sun rose, and He Jia tiptoed over to Beautiful Jade's bed-chamber to peek through a crack in the windowHe spied Qian Long's boots lying by the bed and retreatedEight o'clock passed, nine o'clock and ten o'clock and still there was no sign of the Emperor risingBecoming anxious, He Jia returned to the window and called quietly: "Master, would you like some breakfast?" He called several times, but there vintage omega watches was no response
He went to the door and gave it a push, but it was barred from inside"Master!" he called out loudlyStill no answer from the roomHe Jia was very concerned, but he didn't dare break the door downInstead, he went to discuss the situation with Commander Li and Bai Zhen
"Why don't we tell the old house woman to go and knock on the door with some breakfastHis Highness won't be offended," suggested Li
"An excellent idea, Commander," Bai Zhen said
The three went off to look for the old woman, but found the whole establishment was desertedGreatly alarmed at the situation, they began banging frantically on Beautiful Jade's door
"Force it open!" ordered LiBai Zhen put both of his palms on the door, and with a sight push, snapped the door bar
He Jia went in first and carefully pulled apart the bed curtains to find the bed clothes in disarray but absolutely no sign of Qian Long or tiffany jewellery Beautiful JadeHe fainted to the floor in fright
Bai Zhen hastily called in some guards and searched the establishment, but they failed to find so much as half a clueHow could the Emperor have disappeared when the guard they had mounted was so tight that not even a sparrow could have escaped without being noticed? Bai Zhen toured round the room once more looking for a secret door, but he knocked and banged for a long time without finding anything suspiciousThe Imperial Guard Commander Fu Kangan and the provincial governor arrived having received news of Qian Long's disappearance, and they all gathered in the middle of Beautiful Jade's boudoir, pale frightened and completely at a loss for what to do
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** 6 **
After listening to Beautiful Jade sing for a while and drinking a few cups of wine, Qian Long had begun to feel a little sleepy
Beautiful Jade smiled"Would you like to lie down?" she fendi spy bags a |
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