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

"Would you like to come with us?"

Zhou Feng glanced at Zhao Pan'er with some surprise.

According to the plot, Zheng Qingtian's search this time should take a relatively long time.

After all, they ambushed the Imperial City Guard, lost one of its commanders, and had so many of their men die at Yang Yunpan's residence.

If this matter escalates, it wouldn't be an exaggeration for him, a mere magistrate of Qiantang County, to have his entire family executed.

Compared to the original story, Zheng Qingtian is even more frantic at this point.

In the original story, the Imperial Guards were successfully silenced by them, with only one person escaping, and the scene was cleaned up very well.

Now that all the men he sent have died in Yang Yunpan's mansion, it proves that a third-party force must have intervened.

Yang Yunpan certainly didn't have that kind of power, so what exactly was the identity of this third party?

Why did he intervene and save Yang Yunpan?

What threat does it pose to him?

Given the skill with which this group could wipe out his elite men, if they were truly targeting him, the mere county government wouldn't be able to protect him at all.

So during this period, in addition to sending out all the constables and yamen runners to search during the day, there were also extra men guarding Zheng Qingtian's room at night, for fear that those people would come looking for him.

Zhao Pan'er nodded: "As you heard, I've run into some problems. I need to go to Tokyo to see someone."

"Tsk tsk tsk, she's already married into a wealthy family and is becoming a live-in son-in-law, and you still want to go?"

Zhou Feng looked at Zhao Pan'er with great interest, and the latter nodded seriously.

"I trust my judgment of people. He is not a heartless and fickle person. If he were, he would have sent me a letter instead of sending someone to deliver a message."

"Or perhaps someone is sabotaging him, trying to ruin his career and label him as heartless. Or perhaps he's being targeted by the Gao family, and Uncle De was coerced and bribed into coming to me."

"Once I get to Tokyo and see Ouyang before their wedding, the truth will come out."

Seeing Zhao Pan'er's confident demeanor, Zhou Feng couldn't bear to discourage her.

But for the sake of emotional appeal, he still poured cold water on Zhao Pan'er's enthusiasm: "A mere third-place scholar wouldn't warrant such a big deal as getting the Imperial Concubine Xian in the palace and the Gao family's money, would it? Perhaps it was that Ouyang you mentioned who actively sought to curry favor with you?"

"He...he won't!"

Zhao Pan'er instinctively wanted to retort, but thinking that she still had to go to Tokyo with Zhou Feng and the others, she could only shut her mouth indignantly, but the stubbornness in her eyes was not concealed at all.

"Alright, alright, whatever you say. You'll find out when we get to Tokyo. But we'll be staying another day. Close the teahouse and tell Third Sister to cover for us. We'll take you with us when we leave tonight."

Zhou Feng waved his hand impatiently. Zhao Pan'er glanced curiously at the black stone in Zhou Feng's hand, then nodded seriously.

Last night's events clearly showed that Zhou Feng and his group were a major problem; normally, Zhao Pan'er would never have had much to do with them.

But in order to see Ouyang before the Grain Rain, she couldn't care less about anything else, so she still had to carefully help Zhou Feng and the others keep it a secret.

Thinking of this, Zhao Pan'er went straight out the door and headed towards Sun San Niang's house, also looking for Uncle De, who had been slapped.

Fortunately, because of the injury on his face, the latter went straight to a nearby clinic, where Zhao Pan'er easily found his whereabouts.

After noticing that he had returned to the house where Ouyang Xu had once lived due to martial law, Zhao Pan'er breathed a sigh of relief and gave Sun San Niang some instructions.

She couldn't guarantee it would be for someone else.

But given the relationship between Sun San Niang and her, if she said she would keep it a secret for her, she would definitely not break her promise.

Zhou Feng discussed the current situation with Chen Xiao in the tea room before finally deciding on a plan of action.

As night fell, Chen Xiao and the others, along with Zhou Feng and Zhao Pan'er, slowly approached the city gate of Qiantang County in the dark.

The latter suddenly regretted going with them.

Zhao Pan'er originally thought they had some special relationship that allowed them to leave!

I never expected to leave the city this way!

If we can successfully leave, that would be fine. But if we get caught up on the way, we might lose our lives!

"Don't worry about it. Forget about whether anyone can catch us. In a little while, this magistrate will be dead. Do you really need to worry about that?"

Zhou Feng's explanation only made Zhao Pan'er's face turn even paler.

This group not only intends to force their way through the city gates, but also plans to kill the county magistrate after a while.

Killing an official is an extremely serious crime!

We don't want to end up not only failing to find Ouyang and explain the situation, but also implicating him.

Seeing Zhao Pan'er's strange expression, Zhou Feng had no choice but to point to Gu Qianfan, who was being carried on Tie Jianguo's shoulder.

"You saw his wanted poster in the county town during the day, right? He's the son of Xiao Qinyan, who's about to return to the capital to become prime minister. Zheng Qingtian's attempt to exterminate the entire Yang family and his unauthorized lifting of the sea ban are both inextricably linked to Xiao Qinyan. Now he dares to put a bounty on Xiao Qinyan's son—how can he possibly be alright? It's not that we want to kill him, but that his entire family is doomed."

After Zhou Feng explained the whole story, Zhao Pan'er's eyes instead showed a hint of despair.

Zheng Qingtian was about to have his entire family wiped out by Xiao Qinyan simply for painting Gu Qianfan's portrait on the wanted poster.

They arrested Gu Qianfan directly, not only tying him up hand and foot, but also subjecting him to a lot of torture over the past few days.

She was absolutely certain that she had made the wrong choice!

This group of people may seem to have a mysterious background, but they are actually more terrifying than those desperados!

Desperados are nothing more than thieves and robbers, but the things they do are all serious crimes worthy of execution!

"Don't worry, with us, Xiao Qinyan can't do anything to you."

Zhou Feng patted Zhao Pan'er on the shoulder earnestly.

He wasn't exaggerating at all when he said that.

According to the plan devised by Lin Su and his team, the entire Song Dynasty could be overthrown within just a few months.

At that point, who will care about Xiao Qinyan?

If he is obedient, arrange an official position for him, since he is quite capable.

If he doesn't listen, just give him a peanut; it won't make a difference if he doesn't listen.

Zhao Pan'er's lips twitched. She was already on a sinking ship; what else could she do?

Under normal circumstances, there should be about 10 soldiers guarding the city gate of Qiantang County, and there should also be patrol teams on the city wall conducting irregular patrols.

However, because of their intimidation, Zheng Qingtian had to mobilize a lot of soldiers to guard the county government every night, which gave Zhou Feng and others an opportunity.

After reloading the tranquilizer darts, Chen Xiao and the others each aimed at their respective targets.

Seven guns fired simultaneously, and amidst the muffled thud of the silencers and Zhao Pan'er's astonished gaze, the four volleys of fire wiped out all the guards at the city gate.

"You...you killed so many people?"

Zhao Pan'er's lips trembled slightly.

She was now in a dilemma, fearing that if she showed any sign of wanting to leave, Zhou Feng and his men would kill her.

"Kill them my ass! We're just letting them sleep. We're not serial killers!"

Zhou Feng rolled his eyes at him, annoyed, and immediately walked out after Chen Xiao and the others opened the city gate.

The sound of the city gates opening at night was still too loud; he could already hear soldiers shouting as they rushed towards them.

"Walk!"

The group left quickly.

As Zhao Pan'er was leaving, she glanced down and noticed the heaving chest of the city guard lying on the ground. She finally breathed a sigh of relief.

They found a secluded corner along the river and hid there. Zhou Feng glanced at his phone; it was already 11:55. He quickly took advantage of the fact that Zhao Pan'er's gaze was blocked by Chen Xiao and the others to return to the modern world.

Ten minutes later, Zhou Feng reappeared in the same spot, along with a wooden boat moored in the river.

The sound of the boat hitting the water made Zhao Pan'er look over curiously, and her eyes widened immediately.

When... did a boat end up here?

Chen Xiao and the others were not surprised at all, and quickly carried their boxes onto the ship.

From the day they decided to go to the capital, Lin Su and others gathered all their resources to build this ship for Zhou Feng.

From the outside, it looks almost exactly like an ordinary Song Dynasty wooden boat, but the inside is completely different.

First of all, there is its material. On the outside, it does look like a solid wood shell, but inside it is made of carbon fiber composite material and a titanium alloy skeleton. There is also an acoustic metamaterial interlayer, which prevents external noise from entering and also prevents the micro-vibrations of the internal motor from being transmitted.

The power source is a permanent magnet synchronous motor, paired with a high-energy-density solid-state battery, and even a dual-mode system. The thruster is also a shaftless pump-jet propulsion system.

The entire ship uses floating raft vibration isolation technology to isolate all equipment that can generate vibration from the hull, ensuring that there will be no additional noise.

Moreover, Lin Su specially hired experts to forge ship licenses unique to this era for them in advance, which included the names, places of origin, physical characteristics, and livelihood information of the boat owners.

The ship was also branded with a serial number and engraved with its name.

As long as the vessel is not checked with the relevant government department registered on its license, it is generally considered legal.

"hiss--"

As soon as Zhao Pan'er stepped into the cabin, she couldn't help but gasp.

Although the interior of the cabin was made of wood and metal, materials commonly used in the Song Dynasty, the aesthetics and craftsmanship of more than 1000 years later still gave Zhao Pan'er a slight shock.

Moreover, while ensuring the entire ship maintained an antique style, the shipbuilders thoughtfully installed a small refrigerator in Zhou Feng's room, with the power directly connected to the ship's battery.

Liu Xiaohai arrived at the captain's cabin with satisfaction and began directing everyone to start the ship.

After a slight tremor, the ship began to move forward slowly.

Zhao Pan'er, still standing on the deck, stared wide-eyed at the scenery receding on both sides, her face full of disbelief.

The ship has already begun its voyage!

But she didn't hear a single creak of wood or the sound of oars sliding; she only heard the sound of water rippling beneath the hull!

How is that possible?

"Madam Zhao, it's getting late. There are guest rooms in the cabin; you can rest there."

Zhou Feng greeted Zhao Pan'er and then went back to his room.

The latter hesitated for a moment, then went into the cabin, found a guest room, and prepared to rest.

But as soon as he sat down on the bed, he suddenly jumped up and reached out to press the bed board in shock.

How can it be so soft?

It wasn't that she hadn't had a good life. When they were in the music camp, although they were of low social status, they didn't lack money and their standard of living was quite good.

But neither silk nor cotton bedding is as soft and elastic as the ones on this ship!

In addition, there are exquisitely crafted ornaments and a completely noiseless sailing process.

The value of a merchant ship like this is simply immeasurable.

With these thoughts in mind, Zhao Pan'er fell asleep unconsciously while lying in bed.

So much has happened in the last day or two. It's already quite remarkable that she, a woman, has managed to stay upright and not break down. Now that she has this comfortable environment, she can relax and naturally falls asleep.

Zhou Feng then instructed Chen Xiao and the others to keep a close eye on the water so that they wouldn't miss Sun San Niang.

According to the original story, Zhao Pan'er and the others had been sailing for some time before they finally saw Sun San Niang floating on the water.

A person holding onto a piece of wood could never float faster than a boat, so Sun San Niang must have jumped into the water and committed suicide before Zhao Pan'er left.

They delayed Zhao Pan'er for half a day, and logically speaking, the chances of them running into Sun San Niang were quite high.

Sure enough, not much different from the original story, and before the sky had changed much, Chen Xiao knocked on Zhou Feng's door.

They found Sun Sanniang floating on the water, clinging to a piece of wood.

Zhou Feng hurriedly went to Zhao Pan'er's door to call her again. A few seconds later, he heard a slightly wary voice from inside asking, "Master Zhou, it's so late, is there something you need?"

"Chen Xiao and his men spotted a person floating on the water outside. It looked like Zhao Niangzi's friend, the woman called San Niang."

The next second, the sound of running could be heard from inside the room. Zhao Pan'er flung open the door and followed Zhou Feng onto the deck.

Following the direction Chen Xiao pointed, they saw a figure floating on the water.

"Third Sister!"

Zhao Pan'er's eyes widened instantly, and she was about to jump forward when Zhou Feng caught her and pulled her back.

"What are you doing? Let go of me! I need to save her, she's my friend!"

Zhao Pan'er struggled desperately in Zhou Feng's arms, but he retorted irritably, "Why are you jumping into the water? Just let the boat go over there!"

This boat wasn't a Song Dynasty sailing ship. As they pushed and pulled, Liu Xiaohai had already changed direction, and the distance between the boat and Sun San Niang was constantly decreasing.

After calming down, Zhao Pan'er, who was being held in Zhou Feng's arms, realized that the ship's direction had changed, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

But when she felt Zhou Feng's arms wrapped around her waist, her cheeks flushed red instantly, and she struggled violently.

"What's wrong now? Aren't we getting closer and closer to Madam Sun?"

Zhou Feng asked, somewhat speechless. This woman with her own ideas was a bit of a hassle!

"You...you let me go first!"

At this moment, Zhao Pan'er's voice was barely audible.