The Red Mansion Big Liar.

Chapter 546: An Idle Chess Move

After a whole night of trekking, the sky brightened and Jia Zheng and his party finally saw the towering city wall.

However, they were so hungry and cold that they only arrived at the city gate at noon.

"It's the porridge stall in Master Yi's house!"

"Finally I can have a hot bowl of food!"

"Let's go! Go quickly!"

A few sharp-eyed servants among them looked at the porridge stalls near the city gate, their eyes shining, their throats surging, and they were surprised and happy.

But before they took two steps, they heard Jia Zheng shouting behind them: "Stop!"

Last night, Jia Zheng was really worried that he had angered these servants and would abandon him, so he dared not say anything.

Now, arriving at the capital, he unconsciously straightened his back.

He acted like a second master, pointed at a porridge stall farthest from the Ningguo Mansion porridge stall, and said in a commanding manner, "Don't go over there, it looks unfamiliar. Go over there and ask for a bowl for the master."

"Master!" The servants looked at each other, licking their cracked lips and said, "So many people are waiting for the porridge, Master Yi..."

Although Zhang Yun逸’s porridge stall may not be better than others, it is easier to do things with acquaintances.

I'm starving now and don't have time to think about much else. I'd better eat a few bowls to fill my stomach first and then ask the manager of the porridge stall to arrange a carriage to take me back home. Wouldn't that be convenient?

But when I went to other places, not only did I not have such convenience, but even to have a hot drink, I had to queue up with a group of disaster victims.

You are starving and cold, and the hot porridge is right in front of you. How can you be willing to wait for it?
Jia Zheng's eyes also sparkled and he swallowed unconsciously.

But he turned his head and shouted stubbornly: "What? You don't want to listen to the master?"

Then, he turned to the servant who had been disrespectful last night, waved his hand and said, "You! Don't go to the queue, go back to the mansion quickly, call a carriage to pick up the master, and bring a set of clean clothes."

Having said that, he added: "Remember! Don't alarm the old lady!"

After saying that, he waved his hand, sat down on the ground, and waited to reap the rewards.

Ever since they were robbed of everything by the disaster victims and suffered a lot, everyone was angry and naturally were not very respectful to Jia Zheng.

Only when they approached the capital did they begin to restrain themselves.

In other words, the person who spoke last night ran into trouble and became Jia Zheng's punching bag.

Seeing that Jia Zheng was acting like the second master again, the servants did not dare to refute him and had to bite the bullet and do as he told.

After they were far away from Jia Zheng, Fang comforted the unfortunate servant: "Didn't Master Yi ask us to report in advance? It's better to go back earlier. We don't have to fight with these disaster victims for the watery rice porridge. Maybe they can eat it earlier than us."

That's true. With that long queue, it might take at least half an hour to get a seat.

Knowing that Jia Zheng was worried about being seen by the servants of the Ning Mansion in a dusty and disheveled state, the man did not dare to reveal his whereabouts in front of them and had to lower his head and go into the city.

"Stop! Who are you? What are you doing in the city?"

The soldier guarding the gate stopped him immediately when he saw that he was dressed in rags.

Although Jia Zheng intended to vent his anger on him, he overlooked the fact that disaster victims were gathering outside the city.

In fact, although the purpose of building porridge stalls outside the city was to provide relief, it was also intended to attract disaster victims outside the city.

"General, please understand. I am a servant of Rongguo Mansion. I was ordered by Master Yi of Ningguo Mansion to go south to do some business. On the way back, I met the victims of the disaster..." These powerful servants are good at using the power of others to bully others. Knowing that Rongguo Mansion is in decline, and with the reminder from everyone just now, he brought up Zhang Yunyi.

Upon hearing that it was Zhang Yun逸's order, the soldiers guarding the city immediately became friendly.

"My apologies! So I was sent by the Marquis!"

"We are guarding the gate here. Thank you for taking care of us, Lord. You always send us some hot food and drinks!"

People without thought, he must worry about.

Zhang Yun逸 has been thinking about the retreat route, so he naturally would not ignore the city gate.

He was very good at winning people's hearts, so he took the opportunity to set up a porridge stall near the city gate, and used the excuse that it was troublesome to go in and out, and ordered Yu Lu to prepare some wine and food every day and send them to the guards at the city gate.

The leading captain pointed at the soldiers and said, "You guys stay here and watch carefully. I'll go hire a car to escort him to Ningguo Mansion and verify whether his words are true or not!"

It is obviously unlikely that he could lie since he could mention the Ning and Rong mansions and also mentioned Zhang Yunyi.

Although the soldiers guarding the gate accepted Zhang Yunyi's favor, the disparity in status between the two parties meant they had no chance to visit and express their gratitude.

Now that I have such an excuse, how could I miss it?

However, he was on duty after all, and although the captain wanted to establish a good relationship, he had to find a reasonable excuse.

"I am Wu Sicheng, the lieutenant of Xizhimen. I am honored to meet you, Lord Marquis!"

In the front hall of Ningguo Mansion, Wu Sicheng knelt on one knee, quite surprised.

Before coming, he was only hoping that the doorman would report to him, and that he would be lucky enough to leave his name with Zhang Yun逸. He never thought that he would actually meet him in person.

"Captain Wu, please stand up quickly!" Zhang Yunyi stepped forward quickly and helped Wu Sicheng up from the ground. "It's New Year's Day. Thank you for your hard work, Captain and soldiers!"

He glanced at Yu Lu who was standing beside him, pointed at the ragged servant who came to report, and ordered Yu Lu: "Take him to the warm room to eat something first, I will ask him later!"

Originally, a captain's visit would not have alarmed Zhang Yun逸.

However, he sent people south one after another, and now that there was news about Jia Zheng, the gatekeeper had also heard about it and did not dare to be disrespectful.

This was then reported to Zhang Yunyi through various channels.

After sending the servants away, Zhang Yunyi stuffed a silver note into Wu Sicheng's hand and said with a smile, "It's New Year's Day, and I'm bothering Captain Wu to come here in person and give some wine to the soldiers to warm them up!"

Wu Sicheng was flattered and quickly declined, saying, "Thank you, Lord Marquis, for always preparing meals for the soldiers. The soldiers at Xizhimen are already grateful. This... I really don't deserve this position!"

"Hey!" Zhang Yunyi said righteously, "You have performed your duties faithfully and maintained the peace of the capital. In addition, you have also taken care of my porridge stall. It is only natural for me to show my gratitude!"

At this point, he pretended to be displeased and said, "If you continue to refuse like this, you will be looking down on me!"

"I dare not!" Wu Sicheng took advantage of the situation and put the banknote into his arms.

Zhang Yun逸 greeted him, seated the host and guest, took a sip of tea, said some polite words, and ordered someone to send Wu Sicheng away.

Too much is as bad as too little. He is not a well-known figure like Wang Hui, and this is the first time he has met him. It is enough to just show some humility, make some good friends, and treat it as a casual move.

After ordering his servants to send Wu Sicheng away, he narrowed his eyes, took two sips of tea, then slowly stood up from his chair, paced to the warm room next door, and asked about Jia Zheng's situation.

……

(End of this chapter)