Xie Ming

Upon receiving news from the pleasure quarters, Ma Weimin rushed to the Yan family's sumo wrestling match at night to report the attack.

Now, let's talk about Old Ma. He had just uncovered the matter of the Yangzhou military leader's monopoly on selling land and property from Yunxiang Tower. After getting rid of the madam Huang San'er and her men, he hurriedly arrived at the Yan family's house in the alley under the stars and moon.

bang bang bang --

At this moment, Ma Weimin was extremely worried and anxious. He was filled with pent-up anger and forgot all about etiquette and the disturbance of a night visit. He started pounding on the door with his fists, as if he were urging someone to deliver a death message.

Clang, clang, clang—

Then came another round of beatings.

Before long, candles were lit in the inner room.

Yan Yingyuan was unaware of what was going on. He had just washed his father's feet and put him to bed when this happened. He quickly wrapped himself in a thin jacket, comforted his father, and lay him back down. Then he brought out a lamp and opened the door.

"Who is it?"

"Just open the door, don't knock."

The slippers didn't fit his feet properly, and his legs rubbed against the ground. As Yan Yingyuan entered the courtyard, his hands and feet were busy, but he managed to pick up his shoes and straighten his clothes.

creak-

The narrow wooden door opened from the inside, and Yan Yingyuan peeked out, leaning half his body against the frame.

Meanwhile, the eldest son of the Ma family, who had been carrying a lantern, was standing guard at the door, along with Old Ma.

When the two sides met, Yan and Ma almost bumped into each other.

"Hey, who is it?"

"Ok?"

"Old horse?"

"What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

Yan Yingyuan opened the door and looked up, only to be surprised to see a round, fat old face right in front of him. Who else could it be but Ma Weimin?

So he was puzzled and spoke up to ask the question.

However, when Shunyan stared and peered out by candlelight, he saw that Old Ma's clothes were disheveled, and there were smears of rouge on his cheeks and neck.

Yan Liheng (Yan Yingyuan, courtesy name Liheng) thought to himself, and knew without asking that he had gone to brothels and frequented pleasure quarters again.

Unconsciously, a feeling of disgust and aversion arose, and he tightened his thin clothes, intending to send the guest away.

"Humph!"

"Look at you, reeking of alcohol! What kind of behavior is this!"

"The world has fallen into chaos, and order and morality are hard to maintain."

"Enough, it's late. Whatever it is, we can discuss it tomorrow."

“My house is small, and there’s no room to prepare tea for you right now.”

"Let's go back and not say anything more."

As he spoke, Yan Yingyuan, feeling resentful and annoyed, turned to the side to close the door, not giving Lao Ma a chance to pester him.

But Ma Weimin, who had been unable to get a word in edgewise since the door opened, was well aware of Yan Yingyuan's temperament.

However, with important matters on his shoulders, and not wanting things to get complicated, he had no choice but to step forward. Just before the man pulled the door shut, he grabbed the corner of his clothes and offered a word.

"Hey, hey, wait, wait, wait, wait."

"Hey buddy, what's the rush?"

"If we didn't have something so important to do, why would we rush over here in the middle of the night?" Ma Weimin said impatiently.

But Yan Yingyuan was a stubborn man who couldn't tolerate any wrongdoing.

"Humph!"

"Important matters? Can't you even have a serious conversation?"

"Old Ma, there's a river at the alley entrance. Go look in the mirror and see what kind of person you are."

"You know perfectly well that ever since my father kicked you out last time, he still resents you for being a greedy and despicable person."

"You reek of alcohol and barged into my place in the middle of the night."

"If we disturb him again, he'll cause trouble again."

"You shouldn't stay here with me. I advise you to go home as soon as possible."

There's no rush.

"Once we're fully awake tomorrow morning, we can talk the same way in the government office."

After speaking, it was clear that Yan Yingyuan had nothing more to say and did not want to talk anymore. He made a strong effort to break free from the old horse's pull and turned around to close the door and bolt it.

Seeing that he was not given a chance to refute, Ma Weimin became truly anxious.

That old rascal was cunning too. Just as Yan Yingyuan closed the door, a thick finger grabbed the crack in the door.

*Smash!* The door slammed shut, and Old Ma cried out in pain.

Caught off guard by this move, Yan Yingyuan was horrified to see that someone's finger had been covered, and he instinctively loosened the door again to salvage the situation.

Taking advantage of this moment, Old Ma and his men filed through the crack in the door and slipped inside.

Finally, in a triumphant manner, he hurriedly dismissed the servant outside, instructing him to guard the gate well and not allow any outsiders to disturb him.

Now that things have come to this, and people have already become entangled, there's nothing that can be done.

Helpless, Yan Yingyuan let out a long sigh and vented his frustration alone.

Since they couldn't be driven away, they had no choice but to talk under the eaves.

"you"

"Ugh"

"Alright, alright, come with me."

The door was closed tightly, and Yan Yingyuan, carrying a square gait, led the way to the old man under the eaves of the corridor to discuss matters.

Upon reaching the main house, he carefully closed the door tightly before slowly pulling two bamboo stools from the side and placing them under the small table under the eaves.

Meanwhile, Ma Weimin, having been away for a long time, kept glancing left and right as he walked through the courtyard.

Seeing the haphazardly piled firewood, kettle ash, soy sauce jars, broken tiles under the eaves, and muddy ground underfoot, I couldn't help but feel uneasy.

With a raised eyebrow, he casually plopped down on the bamboo stool that Yan Yingyuan had just sat down on.

He chuckled, a slight smirk playing on his lips.

"Brother Yan, my brother!"

“You, oh, you’re dressed in hemp clothes, living in a thatched hut in a shabby alley.”

"You've made yourself look so shabby, who are you trying to impress?!"

People say, "A clean prefect can earn 100,000 taels of silver in three years."

"But with your brother being so stingy and poor, if word gets out, outsiders won't believe it."

"At the beginning of the year, Old Ma kindly offered his help, after all, we're colleagues, ah."

"Again, these are all the Duke's men."

“I really feel sorry for you, and I’m thinking of using the cash I have to buy you a house.”

"But your old man is quite something."

"This guy gave me a good scolding."

"What did I do to deserve this?"

As Ma Weimin entered, the old scene evoked memories, and to facilitate future discussions, he deliberately brought up these topics, genuinely wanting to have a heart-to-heart talk with Yan Yingyuan.

However, as soon as he brought up this old grievance, Yan Yingyuan's face stiffened, and he seemed quite embarrassed and awkward. He gritted his teeth and stood aside, refusing to say a word.

Seeing the situation, Ma Weimin had no choice but to give up, realizing that he had only made a fool of himself.

"Uh"

"Yes, yes, yes."

"Never mind, never mind, I guess I was just being nosy."

"Fuck me, sigh."

Ma Weimin, a shrewd and worldly-wise man, has always spoken plainly to people and insincerely to strangers. He has never been so rigid before.

It was only because Yan Yingyuan, who was so stubborn and narrow-minded, was directly confronted by the current situation that he finally met his downfall.

As the saying goes, there's always someone who can overcome something else.

Judging from the current situation, it seems that Yan Liheng really is a master at getting rid of Ma Weimin.

There was no point in arguing anymore, so Old Ma, feeling frustrated, slapped his thigh.

"Hi!"

"If Xianbai is born in the future, we brothers can catch up again."

"Brother, you..."

"Uh, forget it, forget it, you shouldn't bother with all this."

"I've come here in this state in the middle of the night because I'm in a real hurry."

"Come here, let's have a good talk, you two are like two idiots."

"I'm worried that if I miss it by tomorrow, all my hard work will have been for nothing!"

(End of this chapter)