Chapter 384: The Grand Wedding

Duan Rong looked at Yang Zhen sitting across from him and poured him a cup of clear tea.

Yang Zhen took a sip and asked indifferently, "What is it you want with me?"

Duan Rong smiled and said, "You should have heard, right? Yuanshun Escort Agency is in my hands now."

Yang Zhen nodded. He already knew about this.

In Xiangu County, Yuanshun Escort Agency could be considered a fairly large enterprise. In truth, the most valuable thing was its signboard; Yuanshun Escort Agency had opened up many Escort Routes, and every single one was a continuous source of wealth.

Duan Rong said, "That's how it is. I'm not trying to show off to you! I have something I want to discuss with you. It's just that Yuanshun Escort Agency is currently missing a Chief Escort, and I wonder if you have any interest? I'm just bringing it up to you! Whether you go or not, the decision is yours. I don't mean to force you; after all, being a Constable at the Ya Men is also very promising."

Yang Zhen looked at Duan Rong's somewhat nervous expression and suddenly smiled.

He knew that Duan Rong cared about his feelings and was afraid he would overthink it.

Yang Zhen said, "I can go!"

Seeing that Yang Zhen had agreed, Duan Rong felt a surge of joy in his heart.

He had already thought it over carefully; he did not have the time to manage the affairs of the Escort Agency and needed to find someone he could trust to help him operate this property.

After thinking it over, only Yang Zhen was the most suitable.

Although Yang Zhen was currently only at the Inner Breath Realm Third Layer, Duan Rong had already examined his cultivation; as long as the medicinal supplements kept up and he provided some guidance on the flaws in Yang Zhen's cultivation, it would take at most half a year for Yang Zhen to break through to the Inner Breath Realm Fourth Layer.

In truth, a Constable's income was about the same as an Escort's—enough to get by, but when it came to the medicinal supplements for cultivation, it was quite stretched. But if Yang Zhen became the Chief Escort, these medicinal supplements would naturally be covered.

Yang Zhen said with a worried tone, "It's just that the Escort Agency is full of old veterans. I'm afraid that if I go over, I won't be able to hold down the fort."

Duan Rong said, "What are you afraid of? With me backing you up, just go ahead and do it."

"Alright then." Yang Zhen's heart stirred slightly; Duan Rong's eyes were firm and bright, and that confidence came from the bottom of his heart.

"Then when can you finish your business at the Ya Men?"

"Three or four days! I'll hand over the work I have on hand. Once the specific time is confirmed, I'll let you know."

Hearing this, Duan Rong nodded.

There was no need for formalities between the two, and after chatting, they left the teahouse.

Standing at the entrance of the teahouse, Yang Zhen looked at the sky and suddenly said, "It's still early, why don't we go get some wine to drink?"

"Forget it, another day! I still have to go back and drink silver ear soup!"

After saying this, Duan Rong sighed with a somewhat uncomfortable expression, then left the teahouse and headed toward the Escort Agency along West Street.

Yang Zhen stood there, watching Duan Rong's back in the twilight, and suddenly felt that over these past three years, his childhood friend's temperament had changed quite a bit. In the past, whenever the two met, they would drink heavily, and they would even snatch the wine. This time, they had only drunk tea.

However, Duan Rong handing such a large enterprise over to him to manage was out of trust. Moreover, from Duan Rong's expression and tone just now, he could also feel that Duan Rong still treated him as a friend, which made Yang Zhen feel quite gratified.

The next day, Yang Zhen went to the Ya Men and told the Clerk directly that he was going elsewhere and did not intend to continue working as a Constable. The Clerk originally did not want to pay him much mind, but later, upon hearing that Yang Zhen was going to Yuanshun Escort Agency, his attitude changed drastically, and he helped him process all the paperwork that very day.

Yang Zhen had originally thought it would take three or four days, but he did not expect to finish all the handovers that same afternoon.

That night, in the Gathering Justice Hall in the Back Courtyard of Yuanshun Escort Agency, Duan Rong introduced Yang Zhen to Wang Zhuoyong, Zhao Meng, Xu Fuxian, and Ye Feng.

Those four looked at each other in dismay!

Yang Zhen had originally been a Constable at the County Government Office; in the eyes of the four of them, he was nothing more than a green kid, so how could he be qualified to be the Chief Escort of Yuanshun Escort Agency?

But they were also very clear that Yang Zhen represented Duan Rong.

Regardless, starting from the next day, Yang Zhen began managing the Escort Agency's business as the Chief Escort.

The Escort Heads of the three Escort Teams all had higher martial arts realms than him, and were also older and more experienced; although they were polite to him on the surface, they looked down on him in their hearts.

However, two days later, Duan Rong held a rather grand induction ceremony for Yang Zhen at the Martial Arts Arena, introducing Yang Zhen to all the brothers of the Escort Agency.

Furthermore, over the next half month, Duan Rong personally took Yang Zhen to start understanding the various operations of the Escort Agency, including the Accounting Office and the business composition of the several Escort Teams.

Because of Duan Rong's deep involvement, many people began to subtly change their attitudes toward Yang Zhen, including the Escort Heads of the three major Escort Teams.

Yang Zhen was originally an extremely intelligent person with considerable ability, and with Duan Rong's detailed explanations, he soon grasped the affairs of the Escort Agency quite thoroughly.

A few days later, Yang Zhen proposed to Duan Rong that he wanted to follow the Escort Teams on a few runs.

Seeing that Yang Zhen was so attentive to the affairs of the Escort Agency, Duan Rong was naturally happy. In any case, he would be at the Escort Agency during this time, so since Yang Zhen wanted to follow the Escort Teams on a few runs, Duan Rong let him go.

With the affairs of the Escort Agency having some semblance of order, Duan Rong began to prepare for his wedding.

He didn't know much about this, so he listened more to Xiao Yu's opinions.

This day, Duan Rong was in the room with Xiao Yu, taking inventory of the things to be bought. Xiao Yu wrote while explaining the uses of those items to Duan Rong. Duan Rong would occasionally crack a joke with her, making Xiao Yu laugh.

The two were laughing and joking when suddenly Zhu Xiaoqi rushed in, saying that Hu Huanhuan had come and wanted to see Duan Rong.

The smile on Duan Rong's face faded; he had been busy all along and had not seen Hu Huanhuan since.

Xiao Yu had gone to see her twice, and he heard from Xiao Yu that she had recovered quite well and her body was already much better.

Duan Rong stood up, took the opportunity to touch Xiao Yu's face, and strode out.

Zhu Xiaoqi led Duan Rong to a room.

Duan Rong stepped into the room and saw a woman wearing a bamboo hat with a light veil sitting there.

Zhu Xiaoqi served tea, then closed the door and retreated.

Hu Huanhuan stood up and performed a curtsy to Duan Rong at the door, saying, "Huanhuan pays respects to the Imperial Envoy!"

Duan Rong said, "Manager Hu, we are old acquaintances. No need for formalities!"

As Duan Rong spoke, he sat down on a chair and gestured for Hu Huanhuan to sit as well.

Hu Huanhuan took a scroll of documents out of her sleeve, placed it on the side table next to Duan Rong, and then retreated to sit in a seat not far from him.

Duan Rong glanced at the documents on the side table and said, "Manager Hu, what is the meaning of this?"

Hu Huanhuan's appearance was faintly discernible under the bamboo hat and light veil.

"The Envoy saved my life. This is a thirty percent stake in Huaying Pavilion, just a small token of my heart. It can hardly repay your great kindness even by a fraction, and I hope the Envoy will not despise it!"

Duan Rong was noncommittal, but looking at Hu Huanhuan's faintly discernible face under the light veil, he suddenly said, "Manager Hu does not show your true face; is it because there is a scar on your face?"

Duan Rong remembered that on that night, Bai Rong had whipped Hu Huanhuan's face several times, causing the skin and flesh to fester.

Hearing this, Hu Huanhuan shed two lines of clear tears and sighed, "I am already a broken flower and a wilted willow; now I am just a bit uglier. It is of no great importance!"

Duan Rong suddenly said, "Manager Hu, would you mind removing your veil and letting me take a look?"

This remark from Duan Rong was already quite offensive.

Every woman cares deeply about her appearance. Duan Rong knew full well that Hu Huanhuan had scars on her face, yet he still asked her to remove her veil for him to see; this was no different from making Hu Huanhuan look ugly.

Hu Huanhuan was clearly hesitant for a moment.

But she still gently removed the veil from her bamboo hat.

When Hu Huanhuan was young, she was a famous courtesan in the Prefecture City; although she was older and her beauty had faded, she still had charming features and an outstanding temperament.

But at this moment, there were three finger-thick scars on her face, and those scars crawled on her face like three centipedes.

Tears hung on Hu Huanhuan's face as she said softly, "I don't even dare to light a lamp in my room at night. Seeing this face of mine in the Copper Mirror is like seeing a ghost."

Duan Rong, however, stood up, walked over to Hu Huanhuan, and carefully examined the scars on her face.

Seeing the way Duan Rong stared at her, Hu Huanhuan finally became angry.

"My lord, have you seen enough?"

Duan Rong looked at the way Hu Huanhuan glared at him, which held quite a bit of spirit. Knowing that Hu Huanhuan had misunderstood him, he said, "Manager Hu, please calm down! I have no other intentions."

After saying this, Duan Rong suddenly walked to a desk not far away, held a brush, and wrote something there.

Hu Huanhuan looked at Duan Rong with suspicion, and she reached out to put the veil of her bamboo hat back on properly. She truly did not wish for anyone to see her current appearance.

Not long after Hu Huanhuan put on her bamboo hat, Duan Rong had already set down his brush. He took the paper and walked toward Hu Huanhuan, handing it to her.

Hu Huanhuan took it with much confusion and stared at it.

Duan Rong said, "This is a prescription for an ointment. It should be able to remove the scars on your face, Manager Hu. However, you must persist in applying it for three months."

Hu Huanhuan was overjoyed upon hearing this.

Regarding the scars on her face, she had already asked Gu Suxiu, and Gu Suxiu said they could not be removed. Moreover, during this recent period, she had also asked several famous doctors nearby, and the answers she received were all the same.

She had originally given up hope regarding the scars on her face, but she had not expected Duan Rong to tell her they could be removed.

Duan Rong said, "I have been very busy lately and do not have time to prepare the medicine for you myself. But I have written down the preparation process in detail; you can give it to Physician Gu and let him help you prepare it."

Hu Huanhuan wept with joy, knelt down, and said, "For the lord's kindness, this humble woman will never be able to repay it even if I were to carry grass in my teeth to show my gratitude!"

Duan Rong helped Hu Huanhuan up and said, "Manager Hu, Mr. Shen has been kind to me. If he were in Xiangu, he would absolutely not stand by and watch you suffer such a disaster. I am doing all these things on his behalf. Manager Hu, if you want to thank someone, thank him."

"Mr. Shen? Shen Ping?!" Hu Huanhuan's eyebrows suddenly knit together.

Duan Rong nodded and said, "Yes."

Hu Huanhuan stood up, looked steadily at Duan Rong, and said, "My lord, I hope we can have an agreement."

"An agreement?"

Hu Huanhuan said coldly, "That is, never mention that man surnamed Shen again. Since he has already left, I will treat him as if he were dead!"

As Hu Huanhuan said this, tears streamed down her face. She knelt once more and said, "Thank you again, my lord, for the medicine. This humble woman takes her leave!"

Hu Huanhuan stood up and pushed the door open to leave the room.

Duan Rong stood there and sighed slightly; it seemed that Hu Huanhuan would never forgive Shen Ping for his departure in her entire life.

Duan Rong turned his head and picked up the scroll of documents from the desk. That document represented a thirty percent stake in Huaying Pavilion; he prepared to go to Xiao Yu and give it to her for safekeeping.

Over the next few days, the masters behind the major powers all came to find Duan Rong, and it was as if Hu Huanhuan's behavior were contagious; they all wanted to gift Duan Rong a ten or twenty percent stake in their businesses. This included Jiang Qingyu's father and Tao Rong's father.

Duan Rong naturally refused them all, and later simply closed his doors to guests.

If he were to accept all these stakes, he would have to intervene the moment any of these people ran into trouble. Wouldn't that make him a fire brigade captain?

With so many backsides, he wouldn't be able to wipe them all.

Why would he bother taking on so much work for no reason?

He accepted Hu Huanhuan's because of his connection with Shen Ping; he would have had to look after Hu Huanhuan anyway.

What did the other businesses have to do with him?

The news that Duan Rong had declined the major businesses and only accepted the stake from Huaying Pavilion soon spread through the sea of information in Xiangu County.

On this day, County Magistrate Guo Xiangbao invited the manager of Huaying Pavilion, Hu Huanhuan, to the County Government Office and actually returned the twenty percent stake he had originally extorted from her.

Guo Xiangbao smiled obsequiously, "Look, Manager Hu, since you have this connection with Lord Duan, why didn't you say so earlier? Isn't this a case of the floodwaters washing away the Dragon King's temple?"

Not long after this incident, it also spread among the major powers in Xiangu County. Those people slapped their thighs in regret; if Lord Duan had been willing to accept their stakes back then, the portion extorted by Guo Xiangbao would have been returned. In the end, they would have gained a great backer for nothing.

No, it must be that they gave too little to Lord Duan back then? Should they have offered fifty percent?

During that time, the people coming to visit Duan Rong were truly endless.

Duan Rong had no choice but to stay behind closed doors, and the task of purchasing items for the wedding fell to Xiao Yu and Zhu Xiaoqi.

It was already nearing the fifth month. In less than half a month, it would be the auspicious day for the wedding.

Xiao Yu had already written the wedding invitations for friends and relatives, and she had checked them many times to ensure no one was missed. This matter was the most critical; if one person was missed, it would be a breach of etiquette. It was even more important than the wedding itself.

After the wedding invitations were sent out, the preparations for the wedding became even more intense.

In the past few days, Yang Zhen had also returned from his escort mission, so Duan Rong handed the affairs of the Escort Agency entirely over to Yang Zhen, while he and Xiao Yu devoted themselves completely to their wedding.

Yang Zhen had only gone on two escort missions, but he had already bonded with the brothers of the Escort Team, and his reputation was excellent.

On the nineteenth of the fifth month, Duan Rong and Xiao Yu were married!

The entire Yuanshun Escort Agency was filled with the sound of gongs and drums all day long. The street in front of the gate had been decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers since several days prior.

For this wedding, in addition to the relatives of Duan Rong and Xiao Yu, the masters of the major powers in Xiangu County were all in attendance.

Even those relatives of Duan Rong's original self, with whom he had long lost contact, had come in person, and the gift money they recorded on the gift list was quite substantial.

Today was, after all, his big day, and as the saying goes, one does not strike a smiling face. Although these relatives had not been in touch since his father died, he could not drive them away at such a time.

County Magistrate Guo Xiangbao naturally came as well, and Duan Rong specially invited him to the seat of honor.

Ximen Kankan, Shen Mizhi, and Liu Shushan also rushed over from the Prefecture City to offer their congratulations.

Duan Rong was outside, welcoming the guests.

Xiao Yu was in the bridal chamber filled with red cloth, sitting alone under her bridal veil. Only Zhu Xiaoqi stood outside the door, guarding her.

Xiao Yu listened to the chaotic noise outside the door, then called Zhu Xiaoqi in and instructed, "Go to the front and take a look, tell him to drink a little less."

Zhu Xiaoqi said, "On a day like this, how can one drink less? Let the son-in-law drink."

Xiao Yu lifted her bridal veil and said anxiously, "Are you going or not?"

Zhu Xiaoqi let out an 'ah', immediately covered the veil back up, and said, "I'm going. The bridal veil shouldn't be lifted carelessly."

Zhu Xiaoqi arrived at the front and discovered that Ximen Kankan was hugging a wine jar and drinking against Duan Rong.

Ximen Kankan hiccuped and said, "If you don't drink, I'll take Liu Shushan right now and snatch the bride away."

Duan Rong's face was flushed red as he sat there, saying drunkenly, "Go ahead and snatch her. I can't drink anymore!"

The guests at the several large tables were all dead drunk, swaying and stumbling.

Ximen Kankan shouted, "Alright then! Don't you regret it!" As Ximen Kankan said this, he turned to walk toward the back, but he had only taken two steps when he staggered and nearly fell, barely managing to steady himself by grabbing onto someone, which kept him from hitting the ground.

Zhu Xiaoqi had Ximen Kankan's wine-scented breath blown onto her face, so she shoved him away and cursed, "You can't even walk steadily, and you still want to snatch the bride?"

Duan Rong watched as Ximen Kankan was pushed by Zhu Xiaoqi and fell flat on his back onto the ground; he sat there and let out a series of sinister laughs, "Jie jie jie."

Duan Rong actually had a very high tolerance for alcohol and could be said to be immune to a thousand cups; Ximen Kankan and the others had ended up getting themselves drunk in their attempt to get Duan Rong drunk.

Duan Rong had certainly drunk his fair share, but they were all drunk as well. It could be said that they killed eight hundred enemies while suffering a thousand in losses.

Zhu Xiaoqi helped the 'jie jie jie' laughing Duan Rong up, and looking at the guests who had all collapsed in a drunken stupor, she instructed a few Personal Attendants to look after them well. She then supported Duan Rong and headed toward Xiao Yu's room.

(End of chapter)