Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 204 Killer Base

Lu Zheng discovered that these domesticated spirit birds all came from wealthy families. Although they had spiritual abilities and could understand human speech, they could not speak human language.

He still had to rely on the translation of other spirit birds to barely communicate with them.

After thinking about it carefully, Lu Zheng could understand. If it was a domestic bird that could speak human language, it would definitely not be released so casually.

Otherwise, if the bird opens its mouth and speaks human language, it will directly reveal some family secrets to everyone...

For example, there is a canary in front of him, chirping and telling him the ethical secrets of a wealthy family.

Although the language was translated without any polishing and was rather messy, Lu Zheng was able to quickly understand the story.

"These are trustworthy birds. If you have any problems in the future, you can look for them!"

A spirit bird that was familiar with Lu Zheng said.

Lu Zheng blinked and said, "Is there anything you don't trust?"

Upon hearing this, the spirit bird explained, "We've discovered that there are quite a few spirit birds in this big city. Some are very ferocious, while others are raised specifically to deliver messages. They're stupid and won't make friends with us..."

Where there are birds, there are also rivers and lakes... Lu Zheng thought to himself.

Lu Zheng nodded, then took out some pills and distributed them to these spirit birds as a gift or reward for their hard work.

Lu Zheng even fed some ordinary birds that came to join in the fun with some elixir fragments.

It’s not that he is stingy, but he is afraid that the ordinary birds will eat too much and die.

Before even entering Hongzhou City, Lu Zheng had already established some local relationships.

Compared to interpersonal relationships, dealing with birds is much easier.

Then, Lu Zheng took out the whistle and blew it a few times so that these new friends would remember the whistle and it would be easier to find them in the future.

Lu Zheng said again: "Everyone, please disperse. I'm going to the state capital."

"Would you like me to lead the way for you, sir?" asked a spirit bird.

"No need. I've written down everything you said." Lu Zheng patiently explained, "There are many people in the city, so you should stay away from me and avoid exposing your relationship."

The birds chirped for a while, then dispersed.

Lu Zheng left the forest and walked along the main road to Hongzhou City.

In the sky, a spirit bird returned to the city. It glanced at Lu Zheng below from time to time, and obediently did not approach.

"I think we can raise a bird." Qing Wan whispered, "Those ordinary birds are also smart and can be raised into spiritual birds."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "It's not convenient. They are too weak. It's a bit dangerous for them to follow me... Besides, if I carry a bird with me, it will easily make people think that I can control birds, and then my trump card will be exposed."

Although Lu Zheng had no knowledge of bird-controlling techniques and could not understand bird language, it was inevitable that others would misunderstand him.

Qing Wan thought for a moment and nodded, "That seems to be the case! Drawings are better, so you don't have to feed them."

"Everyone has his own strengths." Lu Zheng couldn't help laughing.

Lu Zheng walked lightly and soon arrived at the foot of Hongzhou City.

Looking up slightly, a towering city wall thirty meters high stands before you.

Long before the previous dynasty, a prefecture was established here and Hongzhou City was built. It has a history of thousands of years. Every hard brick of the wall bears mottled marks left by the years.

When we arrived at the tall city gate, there were guards checking the vehicles and people entering the city.

There is no entry fee to enter Hongzhou City, but the identity documents of people entering the city need to be checked to prevent people without identity such as refugees from entering the city.

Even if there are some beggars in Hongzhou City, they are the descendants of some down-and-out people in the city.

Lu Zheng queued up to enter the city, and when it was his turn, he took out his ID.

When the guard saw Lu Zheng's identity, he let him pass without asking any questions.

As soon as he entered the city, a half-grown child came up to Lu Zheng.

The young man said respectfully, "I'm unfamiliar with this young man, but this is my first time in Hongzhou City. Would you like me to lead the way?"

Lu Zheng paused upon hearing this, looked at the young man and asked, "Do you know where Mr. Zheng Yu, the one who's good at painting, lives?

The young man said, "Master Zheng, I know! But his residence is quite far from here. Could you please call a carriage for him?"

"No, you just need to tell me the location."

Lu Zheng took out a few coins and handed them to the young man.

The young man's eyes lit up, and he quickly took the money, then said happily: "I'll take you there! Please."

It was rare to meet such an easy-going young man, so the boy wanted to make more money.

Seeing the young man being so attentive, Lu Zheng nodded slightly and did not refuse.

The young man walked beside him and whispered to Lu Zheng about some things in Hongzhou City.

"This year's autumn examinations are attracting many more people than in previous years. It's quite lively..."

Lu Zheng asked curiously, "Who passed the imperial examination?"

The young man replied, "It's still two days before the notice is posted... I heard that scholars from other countries have recently come to the city and want to discuss classics and doctrines with our Anguo students."

"I see you are also a scholar. Are you here for this matter as well?"

Lu Zheng said calmly, "I haven't heard of these things. I just came to the state capital for some matters of my own."

He is not very interested in discussing scriptures and doctrines.

Why waste time arguing about something that you can prove by practicing it, when you may not even be able to determine who is right or wrong?

"Oh, what you said just now, sir, is that you want to visit Mr. Zheng?" asked the young man.

Lu Zhengdao: "Send a letter and ask for a good painting."

The young man couldn't help but say, "Master Zheng's paintings are worth a fortune. It is said that he hasn't painted for outsiders for many years." "Master Zheng's works must be rare." Lu Zheng said.

The young man was good at observing people's expressions and seeing that Lu Zheng didn't react at all after hearing these things, he thought that he must be a rich kid who had seen a lot of the world and had an extraordinary background.

He then said, "Sir, there shouldn't be any problem buying a painting."

Lu Zheng smiled without saying a word. As he walked along, he saw passers-by of all kinds. Most of them were dressed very decently and were not ordinary people.

After walking through several streets, we arrived at a block of mansions of wealthy families.

On a wall, a canary stood there, staring at Lu Zheng with its little head tilted.

Lu Zheng took a look and recognized the bird.

The young man beside him lowered his voice and said, "That's the Lin Mansion, the residence of a wealthy grain merchant in Hongzhou."

Lu Zheng withdrew his gaze, walked past a few more mansions, and came to the outside of Zheng's mansion.

Seeing the door was closed, the young man said excitedly, "I'll go and knock on the door for you, sir."

The young man came to the door, holding the copper ring in his hand, and gently knocked on the door of the mansion.

After a while, a small wooden window on the door opened and an old man appeared.

The young man quickly spoke respectfully and explained his purpose.

When the old doorman learned that someone had come to visit, he said, "Mr. Zheng is not at home. He is out visiting friends."

"When will you be back?" Lu Zheng asked.

The old doorman couldn't help but say, "How would I know? The master went to another county half a month ago and probably won't be back for a while. Since you're here to deliver a letter, do you want me to inform the housekeeper?"

"Is Madam Zheng not here?" Lu Zheng asked.

"The madam has gone with them, and the two young masters are also away. The housekeeper is in charge of the mansion now." The old doorman explained.

"Is that so?" Lu Zheng thought for a moment and said, "I'd better wait for Mr. Zheng to come back, then I'll come over and personally deliver the letter to him."

"That's fine." The old doorman nodded. "Sir, could you please leave your name?"

"Lu Zheng, I'm from Kaiyang County." Lu Zheng said, "I'll stay in the state capital for the time being and come back every two days to inquire about it."

The old doorman said, "Okay, I'll make a note of that."

Lu Zheng nodded slightly, then turned and left.

The young man followed beside him and asked in a low voice: "Sir, where do you want to go now? I will lead the way for you."

Lu Zhengdao: "Li's Cloth Shop."

Upon hearing this, the young man said, "Li's is not far from here, just two blocks away."

"Do you know the boss there?" Lu Zheng asked.

The young man nodded and said, "I have seen him. He is a slightly plump middle-aged man. He is not from here, but a merchant from outside. The clothes made there are of good quality, but not the best."

The two of them walked slowly along the way and soon arrived outside Li's Cloth Shop.

At this time, the store was open for business and there were customers choosing fabrics inside.

Lu Zheng took out a handful of copper coins and handed them to the boy. "Thank you for your hard work. Let's go."

"Thank you, sir." The young man said with a smile, "My name is Liuzi, and I live in... If you want me to do anything for you, you can ask someone to come to me!"

Lu Zheng nodded, then looked at a tree not far away.

On the tree, an ordinary bird was watching. When it saw Lu Zheng looking at him, it couldn't help but call out to Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng calmly withdrew his gaze and walked into the store.

When the tailor apprentice in the shop saw Lu Zheng coming in, he hurried forward and said, "This young man wants to make new clothes. Our shop..."

Lu Zheng said calmly, "Call your boss out. I want to discuss some business with him."

Seeing that Lu Zheng had an extraordinary temperament, the apprentice did not dare to look down on him and could not help but look towards the counter.

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper came closer and said with a smile, "Sir, what business do you want to discuss?"

Lu Zheng looked at the person in front of him and asked, "You are not the boss here, right?"

"I'm the shopkeeper here. If you have any business, you can tell me." The shopkeeper said with a friendly smile.

Lu Zheng said calmly, "You can't handle the business I'm talking about yet. Can you handle a deal worth thousands of dollars?"

Lu Zheng casually took out a few spirit stones and then put them back.

"Oh? Sir, please come in."

The shopkeeper saw that Lu Zheng didn't look like he was joking. Their cloth shop was not a small shop, so it was not likely that someone would come here to cause trouble.

He hurriedly called Lu Zheng and went to the inner hall of the cloth shop.

Lu Zheng put his hands behind his back and followed the shopkeeper inside.

The shopkeeper said, "Our boss is not in the cloth shop. Please wait a moment, young master. I will send someone to invite..."

"It's okay, I have plenty of time." Lu Zheng said lightly.

The shopkeeper led Lu Zheng to a room, politely served him tea, and stayed with him.

During this time, the shopkeeper wanted to ask something, but seeing that Lu Zheng didn't say anything, he could only keep silent.

After a while, a middle-aged man walked in from outside.

When he saw Lu Zheng, his eyes suddenly changed slightly, and then he quickly calmed down.

(End of this chapter)