Do you know: I am Xu Jiazi

Chapter 543: Going to the Inn [Thank you! Goodbye! I owe you 40k]

"Master, is it that one?"

Xu Zaijing asked softly while standing by the wooden fence.

Under candlelight,
Yin Bo nodded and said in a hoarse voice, "It's her."

Thinking about the beautiful handwriting on the note, Xu Zaijing didn't ask his master how he made that judgment.

After gently patting Liju's neck, Yin Bo limped towards Xu Zaijing.

Out of the stables,

Yin Bo walked over to Xu Zaijing and stood beside him, letting Xu Zaijing help him untie the straps of his winter coat. He said:

"She has been in the mansion for a long time. She doesn't know that Jing'er and Qingyun know the whole story of what happened back then, nor does she know about your relationship with the Imperial City Bureau. She thinks things are too simple!"

"Alas!" Yin Bo sighed again: "He was so reckless as to use a note written with his left hand to warn you."

Xu Zaijing put away his sleeves, looked at his master and said, "Master, the most important thing is that she doesn't know that the person who can distinguish her left-hand writing is still alive."

Yin Bo, who was about to take a step, stood there in a daze. After a while, he slowly nodded.

The master and the disciple talked as they walked.

"Master, you also understand calligraphy. I'm sure you can tell from the handwriting that the person who wrote it wrote it with great force. I'm sure he was in a hurry."

"Ah."

"Brother Zhao just said that since he chose to secretly send a message to Qingyun, maybe he had good intentions, but he was hesitant and didn't want others to know his identity. Or maybe he had bad intentions, and was deliberately creating confusion for me to guard against day and night and exhaust myself."

After saying that, Xu Zaijing frowned, with a worried look in his eyes.

Yin Bo nodded, tilted his head and looked at his disciple's expression with his one eye, and said, "Jing'er, do you have any concerns in your heart?"

Xu Zaijing nodded:
"Master, please let Miss Qin know and remind Qingyun to be careful. The news probably came from the Marquis of Dongchang Mansion or the Duke of Anguo Mansion."

"I am afraid that if I point out these two families directly, if Brother Zhao goes directly to investigate the two families, will it implicate Miss Qin Er?"

"I didn't say that we should repay others' kindness with hatred."

After saying that, Xu Zaijing looked at his master again.

Yin Bo shook his head: "Jing'er, you think too much."

Xu Zaijing: "Master, but I heard from my father that Qingyun looks a bit like you when you were young, and when Qingyun was born, Miss Qin also gave him something."

Yin Bo waved his hand and said, "Jing'er, you think too badly of the Imperial City Division, and you think some people are too smart."

Seeing Xu Zaijing's puzzled expression, Uncle Yin's eyes showed a hint of reminiscence, and he said, "Humph! None of the Qin family members know what kind of person she is."

Xu Zaijing looked at his master and nodded.

In fact, Xu Zaijing himself had some opinions about Xiao Qinshi in his previous life: this person was actually more like a dark version of Minglan with a miserable experience.

They are equally calculating, patient, forbearing, decisive, and very good at disguising themselves.

In the eyes of outsiders, he is weak and has no opinion of his own. He is fair in his dealings with others, like a lamb to be slaughtered.

If Xiao Qin's opponents in her previous life were not the two protagonists, she would have already been a lady whose son inherited the title, retired after achieving success, and was well-known for her kindness and beauty.

Xu Zaijing was stunned for a moment, then his eyes turned and he said, "Master, are you saying that no one would guess that this person is the one who sent us the warning?"

Yin Bo nodded.

"Then, I will know what to do."

"Well, let's go."

Xu Zaijing nodded and continued, "Master, I will find a way to repay this favor."

"it is good."

Inside the wooden house,
Looking at Xu Zaijing who pushed the door open and entered the room, Zhao Meifeng asked:

"Brother Jing, have you ever thought about who sent the message?"

Xu Zaijing shook his head sadly and said:

"Brother Zhao, there are many people who have grudges against me in recent years! For example, the Qin family of Dongchanghou, their Qin Chihan became lame because of me."

"And the princes of the two royal palaces had their shoulders shot through."

"When the Jin envoys came to Beijing, I had conflicts with several children of the Anguo family."

"As well as the group of people who came to Beijing from Baigao, they were previously under Jinglong's tutelage, and I beat up several of them."

Zhao Meifeng glanced at Xu Zaijing and sighed pretending to be a little worried:

"Yes, and the previous plans of Bei Liao in several military states in the north were also disrupted by you, Brother Jing."

“Now that I think about it, it’s a little hard to find.”

finished,

Looking at Xu Zaijing who kept nodding, Zhao Meifeng glared at him and said, "I said that, and you really nodded?"

"Brother Jing, just based on our friendship of fighting side by side over the years, you still won't tell the truth, right?"

Seeing Xu Zaijing's stunned expression, Zhao Meifeng continued, "When you left the cabin just now, you almost had 'I know who sent the letter' written on your face!"

Xu Zaijing opened his mouth to speak.

Zhao Meifeng said solemnly: "Think it over and tell me again!"

Xu Zaijing did not continue to speak. After thinking for a while, he said, "Brother Zhao, to be honest, there are two families in Beijing who are really likely to deal with me."

Zhao Meifeng nodded, signaling Xu Zaijing to continue.

"One is the Mansion of the Marquis of Dongchang, and the other is the Mansion of the Duke of Anguo."

"Why?"

Xu Zaijing shook his head.

"can not say?"

Xu Zaijing nodded: "There is a hidden story, I really can't say more."

"Okay, then the company will check these two companies first."

Zhao Meifeng stood up and looked at Xu Zaijing, who looked a little embarrassed.

"It's hard to explain, brother. I understand. But no matter what, before the matter is clarified, Jing'er, you'd better go out less and eat less outside food."

"The office will reassign the withdrawn clerks tonight."

"Also, even the chefs in the mansion should be more careful when buying things."

"Thank you, Brother Zhao, for reminding me. I saved it."

Zhao Meifeng nodded, took the cloak from Qingyun, and said, "But don't be so scared that you can't eat."

Xu Zaijing laughed and said, "Brother Zhao, you look down on me too much."

at night,

The Imperial Palace of the Great Zhou Dynasty,

Concubine Rong’s bedroom,

The emperor in pajamas listened to Zhao Meifeng's words and said, "This kid didn't say why he suspected the Qin family and the Tan family?"

"Your Majesty, yes."

Looking at Zhao Meifeng who was bowing not far away, the emperor somehow thought of the snow lion outside Rong Fei's bedroom.

"Humph!"

The emperor snorted and said:

"Let's review what the two families have done in the past few months and see if there is anything wrong."

Zhao Meifeng was about to respond, but the emperor waved his hand and said:
"No! Find out the situation of the families that Xu Wulang told you about! A legitimate son of a marquis who has made contributions to the country must not be allowed to have any accidents."

"Yes!"

When Zhao Meifeng left the bedroom,

The emperor sat behind the desk and said softly, "Isn't it too much to just rely on a piece of warning paper?"

The eunuch bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, I don't think it's an exaggeration!"

"Talk about it."

"Yes, Your Majesty! What Xu's Fifth Brother and Zhao's Master said today about the feuds and grudges with those families was not nonsense!"

"Most of the young men from noble families in the capital are arrogant! They are still young, and their energy is strong."

"And Xu Jia Wulang has made contributions to the country many times, and his skills are excellent!"

"If someone really seeks revenge and angers Xu Jia Wulang, who knows, he might actually kill someone, and that would be bad!"

The emperor shook his head slightly, and said thoughtfully:

"Anyone who is well-informed knows what this guy did in Baigao and Beizhou. If anyone dares to make trouble for him, I will look at him with a higher regard."

finished,

The emperor got up and prepared for bed.

Just took two steps,
A female official walked in from outside the room.

"What's wrong?" asked the eunuch beside the emperor in confusion.

The female official bowed and said, "Sir, the palace guards on duty sent in two urgent reports, saying that the matter was of great importance."

The eunuch glanced at the emperor, and when he saw the emperor nod, he waved his whisk and said, "Hurry and bring it in."

"Yes."

The female official turned around and walked out quickly.

The emperor also sat back on the throne. After a moment,
The urgent report reached the emperor.
The eunuch dismissed the female official.
The emperor on the dragon throne read the contents of the two urgent reports, took a deep breath, held one of the urgent reports, and said, "Oh, this urgent report really came at the right time."

Looking up at the eunuch, the emperor said, "Tell Zhao Meifeng not to investigate yet! Let him finish reading these two urgent reports first."

"Yes."

Zhaomei Peak has not yet left the palace.

He was caught up by a palace eunuch and given a lot of instructions, and also received two urgent reports.

After reading it in the lantern light, Zhao Meifeng showed a sneer at the corner of his mouth: "Smart guy."

night,

The night sky after the snow was surprisingly clear.

The stars in the sky are twinkling,

Although there is no moonlight,
But the starlight reflected by the white snow made it possible to see things just fine.

Quyuan Street,
Yong Yi Hou Mansion,

In the huge yard, most of the houses were dark with their candles extinguished.

Xu Zaijing also fell asleep early.

In the warm bedroom,

Qingcao walked in holding a candlestick.

"what happened?"

Xu Zaijing's voice rang out from behind the bed curtains.

"Sir, you haven't slept yet?"

"I woke up when you walked in."

"Oh! A letter came in from the front yard janitor, and Mother Xia just received it."

"Well!"

The bed curtains were drawn back,

Xu Zaijing sat down on the bed, put on his slippers, and said, "Let me see."

Qingcao quickly lit the candle on the table. The light emitted by this candle was much brighter than the one in Qingcao's hand.

Xu Zaijing also walked to the table, opened the envelope and started reading.

While reading the letter, Xu Zaijing also took the cup of warm tea handed to him by Qingcao.

I read it all at a glance by candlelight.

The letter was written by Zhao Meifeng, and its general content was that the fourth son of the Anguo Duke Tan family, who was employed in the Dragon Guard Army, had delivered an urgent report to the palace tonight!

An urgent report said that a spy planted by the Dragon Guards in Wuyou Cave had sent a message that a thief had secretly offered a reward for Xu Zaijing, and the bounty for wounding or killing him was staggeringly high.

Along with the urgent report from the Tan family, there was also a report from the Kaifeng prefect, Lord Gu Lin, whose content was similar to the urgent report from the Dragon Guard Army.

This Lord Gu Lin is a good friend of Zhuang Xuejiu.

Kaifeng Prefecture also wanted to get rid of the thieves in Wuyou Cave in Bian Jing as soon as possible. After all, the people who were robbed would report to the government.

Finally, the place to redeem the bounty is the Northern Liao posthouse in Beijing.

Zhao Meifeng said in the letter that although the two reports were submitted to the palace at the same time, he went to Kaifeng Prefecture to inquire and found that Kaifeng Prefecture received the news two hours later than the Tan family.

The fourth son of the Anguogong Tan family also asked for punishment in the urgent report because he drank and feasted at home after the snow today and almost delayed his business.

After reading the letter,
Xu Zaijing held the letter close to the candle flame.

Qingcao sensed this scene, so he bent down and picked up the copper basin filled with water that was placed on the ground to increase the humidity in the house.

After the letter paper was burned out in Xu Zaijing's hands, it all fell into the copper basin.

"Go to sleep!"

After Xu Zaijing finished speaking, he walked back to the bed.

quickly,

Xu Zaijing's courtyard fell into darkness again.

At the gate of Yongyihou Mansion,
The candles in the two large lanterns were still burning, and the candle light "drew" two circles of light on the ground.

Not far away on the street,

A row of ten yamen runners, wearing ear protection gloves and winter clothes, walked over in an orderly manner, holding torches in one hand and swords in the other.

The team was accompanied by two hunting dogs on leashes.

The noise made by these ten people walking together seemed quite loud in the quiet and cold night.

The Xu family's doorman did not open the door after hearing the noise.
Instead, he set up a ladder on the wall next to the gate, and peeked out from the wall with a torch in his hand to see what was happening outside the gate.

Wait for the yamen runners to pass by.
The Xu family's doorman asked loudly, "Captains, what's going on tonight?"

"The prefect has ordered that we should patrol around Quyuan Street tonight to prevent thieves." One of the yamen runners said, breathing out white air and bowing.

"So that's how it is. Thank you for your hard work, Captain!" the Xu family's doorman shouted from the top of the wall.

The bailiffs waved their hands and continued walking forward.

Looking at the people going away,
The Xu family's doorman rolled his eyes at the wall, came down from the ladder, and walked towards the second door.

From the roof of the second gate, looking toward the inner courtyard,
The light in the mistress's room was turned on.

Then a lantern came towards the second gate.

quickly,

The Xu family's doorman returned to the gate, and then a lot of sundries, including two braziers and a lot of firewood and charcoal, were hung from the wall onto the street.

Another doorman climbed over the wall with a ladder, held up a torch, and used kerosene to light the charcoal in the brazier. He then set up a rack on top and hung a kettle filled with water over the fire.

Then they started setting up tents.

When the moon slowly appeared in the night sky,
The yamen runners of Kaifeng Prefecture once again patrolled with torches in hand.

Seeing the hot fire and hot water in the tent at the gate of the Xu family, the yamen runners walked over.

The leading yamen runner even came to the front of the gate and said a few words to the Xu family's doorman inside the gate.

After warming themselves by the fire in the tent and changing the hot water for the water hyacinths, the patrolling yamen runners started patrolling again.

The bright moon hangs in the west,

The sky is dark,

In the tent in front of the Xu family's gate,
A yamen runner and a hunting dog were sitting on a bench inside.

The firewood and charcoal in the brazier were still glowing red and emitting heat. The sound of the night watchman announcing the time could be heard in the distance, and it sounded vaguely like it was just the hour of Mao (5 a.m.).

suddenly,

The hound in the tent pricked up its ears,

This woke up the tired yamen runners in the tent, and then everyone looked at each other vigilantly.

The bailiff leading the hunting dog came out of the tent, took off his earmuffs and listened carefully.

Subsequently,

The yamen runner looked at the high wall of the Yongyi Marquis's mansion in confusion. After listening for a while, the yamen runner walked back to the tent and said, "It sounds like someone is riding a horse inside the mansion. They should be the mansion's personal soldiers getting up early for morning exercises."

"Morning exercise so early? Great!"

Everyone in the tent nodded.

"It's a good thing we had this tent brazier, otherwise I wouldn't have known how I would have gotten through last night."

"How can we survive? Let's go to the patrol shop not far away."

"If something happens during the patrol, we will be in big trouble."

Talking
Not far away someone was walking towards us with a lantern.

The yamen runner who walked out of the tent looked at the tall figure of the man and asked hurriedly, "Who is it?"

"I am the personal attendant of Wulang of Houfu."

"Oh! It's Steward Yin."

Qingyun walked over and said a few words to the yamen runners, then entered the marquis's mansion through the open side door.

When the day dawned,
Although the sky in the east was just turning pale,

But the sky was much brighter under the reflection of the snow.

The Kaifeng government servant on duty and the Xu family's doorman expressed their gratitude and prepared to leave.

Not far yet,
Then I heard the sound of horse hooves behind me.

When everyone looked back, they saw a young man riding a handsome black horse. He was wearing winter clothes and holding a long spear. A strong bow was inserted in the bow bag in front of him, and there were several tubes of feather arrows in front and behind the saddle. He was riding the horse and running towards them.

"I've met Goro."

The leading yamen runner bowed his hands and exhaled white air.

A tall and handsome little black colt, with white air coming out of its nose, stopped nearby.

Xu Zaijing nodded and said in a low voice, "Thank you for your hard work."

The yamen runners all said they dared not.

When Xu Zaijing was about to pass by,
The leading yamen runner asked, "Wu Lang, what do you want?"

"I'm going to visit Beiliao Inn."

(End of this chapter)