Courtyard House: A System Connecting Two Worlds, Resources for the Nation

Chen Xiao and the others had watched the TV series "Dream of Splendor" several times, so they naturally knew who this old man from outside was!

Isn't that the old servant who was killed by his own young master?

Zhou Feng wasn't particularly interested in him, so he simply stayed in the tea room.

Instead, Zhao Pan'er, who was resting inside the small house, opened the door and her eyes lit up immediately: "Uncle De? What brings you here! Quick...quick...quick, tell me, how is Ouyang?"

She had intended for Uncle Rad to sit in the tea room, but then she remembered that the dozen or so people were still resting there, so she quickly swallowed her words.

"This old servant greets Your Highness."

Uncle De first bowed, then said with a proud expression, "By imperial decree of the Emperor at the Jiying Hall, Master, he is now the third-ranked scholar in this imperial examination!"

Zhao Pan'er's eyes widened immediately, and she covered her mouth with both hands, unable to contain her surprise and joy: "It really worked?"

Tears were about to spill from her eyes, but she held them back and reached out to grab Uncle De's arm.

"Tell me quickly about Ouyang's situation in Tokyo. Honestly, he could have just written a letter back; why made you travel so far! Are we going to Beijing by water or land this time? One…"

She had intended to suggest that Uncle De help her pack her luggage later, but then she remembered that there were so many people in the tea room, and suddenly she didn't know what to say.

But in Uncle De's eyes, Zhao Pan'er was too excited at this moment, to the point that she was flustered and didn't know what to say.

"Alas... Madam Zhao, let me tell you the truth! I didn't come to bring you to the capital. My master was fortunate enough to receive a marriage decree from a virtuous concubine in the palace. After the Grain Rain season, he will be marrying the daughter of the Observer Gao."

Seeing that Zhao Pan'er was getting more and more excited, Uncle De could no longer hide it. After all, he had come back to explain things to her, so there was no difference between saying it sooner or later.

Zhao Pan'er's hand fell silently, but Uncle De gritted his teeth and said bluntly, "She is the daughter of Gao Hu, the military governor and acting military commander of Guangji Army, and the deputy commander of the infantry. You should be able to understand your master's predicament, Madam Zhao."

"You have no parents to arrange your marriage, no matchmaker to speak of it, and no proper documents or witnesses, not to mention your lowly birth..."

Although Uncle Nade seemed to be speaking with good intentions, he didn't even try to hide the contempt in his eyes.

"When I met Ouyang, I had already been freed from the family register and was from a respectable family."

Zhao Pan'er clenched her fists and bit her lip, while Uncle De across from her snorted coldly.

"Among scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, merchants are ranked last. Anyone who does business, no matter how wealthy they are, is still considered low-class. The master knows he has wronged you, so this eighty taels of gold is a token of his sincerity, but he also requests that Lady Zhao return the love token."

As he spoke, the old man handed the bundle in his hand to Zhao Pan'er and then extended his hand.

"Tsk tsk tsk, it doesn't really impress you when you see it on your phone, but seeing it live, this old man is pretty shameless!"

Zhou Feng looked out the window and curled his lip in disdain.

His master was the same; when he failed the imperial examination and was barely clothed, he spent other girls' money and borrowed their land without the slightest shame.

Once you've achieved the third-highest rank in the imperial examinations, you should first sever all ties with your former allies.

The first thing a blind person does after regaining their sight is to throw away their cane; the first thing a lame person does after being cured is to throw away their wheelchair.

"Eighty taels is not enough. Go back and tell Ouyang that I want five hundred taels. Once five hundred taels of gold are delivered, the money and goods will be settled, and we will sever all ties. I will return the love token to you."

Zhao Pan'er tossed the gold back to Uncle De, a hint of disdain on her face. Although the latter looked troubled, he still sighed softly.

Although the amount of money was considerable, given the relationship with Observer Gao, it wouldn't have been difficult for his master to obtain it.

Seeing that the old man was about to leave, Zhou Feng narrowed his eyes, opened the door, and walked out.

He's a supporting character, after all. It would be a waste to let him go so easily.

Uncle De watched them emerge from the tea room, his beard trembling with rage. He pointed at Zhou Feng and glared at Zhao Pan'er: "This... Zhao Madam! There's actually a man in your room? You..."

"What do you mean, 'you'?! How dare you! Slap yourself!"

Zhou Feng gave a cold shout, and Chen Xiao immediately followed, grabbing Uncle De's fingers and twisting them up and down until they were deformed.

The old man's scream had barely escaped when Chen Xiao slapped him back twice, continuing until most of his teeth started to fall out before finally releasing him, whose eyes were already numb and whose cheeks were swollen.

At this moment, Uncle De's body was too weak to exert any strength, and he could only lie limply on the ground.

"My surname is Zhou. You can go back and tell your master that I will be going to the capital soon, and we can come back and try again then. This 80 taels of gold is the price for your foul mouth. Get out of here! If you don't leave, I'll break your arm."

Hearing Zhou Feng's words, Uncle De, whose face was already swollen beyond recognition, hurriedly crawled outside using both hands and feet.

At his age, he can't afford the pain of losing an arm or a leg!

But he was determined to report Zhao Pan'er and this man's actions to his master upon returning to the capital, and then ask his master to seek justice for him!

"Tch, what a bully who relies on his master's power."

Zhou Feng glanced at the old man's faltering back with annoyance, then patted Zhao Pan'er on the shoulder: "How about it? Did I get revenge for you?"

The latter immediately stepped aside awkwardly and then bowed, saying, "Thank you, Master Zhou."

Although Zhao Pan'er, who was not injured by Gu Qianfan, was extremely saddened, she did not faint on the spot.

"Pan'er! Pan'er! I was worried about you all night. Are you alright...?"

Sun San Niang rushed in from outside in a hurry, and before she could catch her breath, she froze there.

A few seconds later, he managed a weak smile and greeted Zhou Feng and the others: "Master Zhou, you've arrived very early!"

Zhou Feng nodded. He was very satisfied with the amount of emotional value that Uncle De had just provided him, and he was in an extremely good mood.

Moreover, the person inside should have already woken up, because a few minutes ago, his emotional value growth rate saw a significant increase.

Ancient times were so much more interesting! You could do whatever you wanted!

However, Bai Ling and Qin Jingru are still waiting for him in the courtyard world, and he will have to go back in a few days.

After all, these two women were already his chosen ones. Although, due to special circumstances, the modern think tank advised him to give those people in the courtyard world a break, he couldn't stay away from them indefinitely.

"Prepare some food. After you eat, Lao Chen, you can do what I told you to do. Let's get the tasks arranged today."

"yes!"

Chen Xiao accepted the order and walked outside.

The rest of the group followed Zhou Feng back into the tea room. Although Zhao Pan'er was in a bad mood, she still helped San Niang make breakfast for them.

"Pan'er, who are these people?"

While cooking, in response to Sun San Niang's question, Zhao Pan'er shook her head helplessly, signaling the other party to remain silent.

Such a ruthless killer is someone that ordinary people like them can't afford to mess with.

This is especially true for honest, ordinary women like Sun San Niang.

If it weren't for her relationship with Yang Yunpan, she might never have crossed paths with these people in her life.

After preparing the food, Zhao Pan'er instructed Sun San Niang to close the shop and then left on her own.

The latter knew that Zhao Pan'er was always opinionated, so he didn't say anything more.

"I just asked around at home, and the prices of houses outside Tokyo aren't high these days. A nice little house inside the city costs around 500 kan, while the same house outside the city costs only 160 kan. These 80 taels of gold are equivalent to 800 kan, which is enough to buy a larger house."

Zhou Feng handed the gold directly to Lu Ming. The three of them were going to take the money to Tokyo first, and leave as soon as Chen Xiao brought back the travel permit.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Zhou Feng took another gold ingot from among them.

Although gold and silver still exist in modern times, they are quite different from those in the Song Dynasty. It would be much easier to replicate them by taking these finished gold ingots back with us.

"Who...are you...?"

Just as Zhou Feng and the others finished breakfast and were packing their belongings, a faint voice came from behind them.

Gu Qianfan lay on the ground, looking at them with a pale face.

He had already spat out the wad of cloth that had been stuffed in his mouth.

Now that he was bound hand and foot and unable to use his limbs, he had no strength left to resist, so his tone was still relatively indifferent.

"Commander Gu, you don't need to know who we are. We are very interested in your kung fu. We wonder if it would be convenient for you to tell us the details of your training."

Zhou Feng kicked Gu Qianfan's body with great interest, which immediately made Gu Qianfan glare at him angrily.

As Xiao Qinyan's son, although he had broken with his father, he had never suffered such humiliation since childhood.

Zhou Feng was quite satisfied with his attitude. As the main character who provided emotional value, how could he maximize his benefits if he didn't cause some trouble for him?

This simple humiliation is just an appetizer; there's much more to come.

Out of humanitarian spirit, Zhou Feng would not maliciously mistreat him, but it would certainly be fine to mess with his mentality.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Gu Qianfan leaned against the wall and, as Zhao Pan'er passed by, whispered, "I am a member of the Imperial City Guard. Please find a chance to save me; I will be richly rewarded..."

From Zhao Pan'er's actions, he could tell that she was no ordinary peasant woman and should know the prestige of the Imperial City Guard.

To Gu Qianfan's surprise, as soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Pan'er glared at him and then looked at Zhou Feng.

"Master Zhou, he asked me to save him, and said he would be richly rewarded."

???

Gu Qianfan was completely dumbfounded, staring at Zhao Pan'er, not knowing what to say.

If this were his first meeting with Zhao Pan'er, and she knew he was from the Imperial City Guard, she might not have taken advantage of his misfortune.

However, at Yang Yunpan's residence, Zhao Pan'er witnessed Gu Qianfan riding a horse and leading his troops to forcibly break into the Yang residence, even holding a knife to Yang Yunpan's neck and robbing him by force.

This reminded her of her childhood memory of her home being ransacked by the Imperial City Guard, and how the faces of the Imperial City Guard members and Gu Qianfan miraculously merged together.

So at this moment, she only felt resentment towards Gu Qianfan, and couldn't save him in the slightest!

If she weren't kind-hearted, given her hatred for the Imperial City Guard, she might have personally killed Gu Qianfan.

"Thank you very much, Madam Zhao!"

Zhou Feng winked at Bai Lang, who, as a master of close combat, naturally had an excellent understanding of the human body's joints.

They easily dislocated two of Gu Qianfan's joints, causing him to break out in a cold sweat from the pain, before putting them back together.

This was just a minor punishment; they knew how important Gu Qianfan's kung fu was to soldiers in this world.

Therefore, they will not pose any threat to Gu Qianfan's life until he confesses.

This means that while the death penalty may be avoided, punishment is inescapable.

When Chen Xiao brought back the travel permit, he also brought back some bad news for them.

Zheng Qingtian, the magistrate of Qiantang County, ordered that all checkpoints and outposts in the county be closed and all people with non-local accents be checked, as pirates had infiltrated the county.

It wouldn't be difficult for Lu Ming and his group to leave. With their skills and modern military technology, they could move through the Song Dynasty's most primitive search and capture operations as if they were in an empty field.

Once they leave Qiantang County, they can find the speedboat that Zhou Feng prepared for them in advance, and head north along the Grand Canal at night.

As for concealing their tracks and avoiding danger along the way, Zhou Feng didn't need to worry about them; these people were all highly professional.

After devising their plan, Lu Ming and his two companions left the teahouse, while Zhou Feng and the others continued to rest.

Unlike these people, Zhou Feng didn't have particularly outstanding skills, and moreover, he had to take Gu Qianfan, who was tied up, with him. It wouldn't be so easy for them to leave.

Zhou Feng wasn't in a hurry. It wouldn't hurt to rest at Zhao's Tea House first, which would allow him to wait and rescue Sun San Niang, who had tried to drown herself.

This drama seems to have a lot of characters, and it even covers the entire Song Dynasty, but in reality, there may not be as many characters as those in the courtyard house.

Therefore, a supporting role with a significant amount of screen time is still very important.

They changed the way Gu Qianfan and Zhao Pan'er met, and they changed the magistrate of Qiantang County's strategy. Who knows if the plot will develop in the direction it will take next?

Although Chen Xiao and the others hesitated to offer some suggestions, they all kept quiet after seeing Zhou Feng's serious expression.

They represent the interests of the modern dragon nation, not Zhou Feng's interests.

For Zhou Feng, the most important thing was not to acquire the resources of this world as quickly as possible, but how to upgrade the double-penetrating gate again.

The resources are given back to the Dragon Kingdom, but the upgrade of the double-door system is for his own benefit.

Once Zhou Feng understood this, he was no longer in such a hurry to acquire resources.

Zhao Pan'er, who had been listening for a while, hesitated before stepping forward and asked, "Master Zhou, if you are also going to the capital, could you please take me with you?"

She had just heard that the entire Qiantang County was closed off because of pirates!

Who knows how long this lockdown will last?

If she wanted to reach Tokyo before Ouyang Xu got married in Gu Yu, she would have no choice but to ask Zhou Feng for help.

After all, these people had just shown disdain for the county magistrate's decision to seal off the county, and they hadn't done anything out of line while staying here for the night.

Although there will definitely be some risks, she is willing to take them all in order to go to Tokyo to find Ouyang!