Chapter 115: Arrival in Chuzhou and the Reason for the Robbery [Many Thanks for Everyone's Support!]

Official Yan had also served in Bianjing, and the old steward, with his seasoned eye, hurriedly rose and said, "Please, come in quickly."

The old steward naturally hastened to pass the invitation card to the female attendant beside Da Niangzi Yan, while he himself rushed briskly toward the outer gate.

The young servant followed him out; being not yet of age, he could not go to greet the guests, so he walked slowly toward the outside.

At that moment, a female attendant serving the second legitimate daughter of the Yan family happened to enter the courtyard through the side gate; seeing the young servant at the entrance panting heavily, she asked:

"Little rascal, why are you so out of breath?"

"Replying to Sister, the Marquis Marquis Yongyi's Hou Fu from Bianjing and the Marquis of Da Niangzi Ningyuan have come to visit our home; that Young Master is waiting outside."

Upon hearing this, the female attendant waved her hand to dismiss the young servant, then walked quickly toward the inner courtyard to whisper with her own Miss.

Outside the gate, the old steward bowed deeply and invited the several guests inside.

Xu Xu Zaijing asked Gao Gao Yuhou and the others to wait at the gate; he entered alone with Brother Qingyun, who was carrying a wooden box in his hands.

Before they even reached the front hall, they saw a couple radiating noble air standing at the door, smiling as they waited for him.

Xu Xu Zaijing hurriedly clasped his hands and bowed in salute.

"This humble one, Xu Xu Zaijing, pays his respects to Official Yan and Da Niangzi Yan!"

Although Da Niangzi Yan appeared young, upon seeing the dignified and imposing Xu Xu Zaijing, she hurriedly rose and said, "Quick, let us speak in the front hall."

Once everyone had arrived in the front hall, Xu Xu Zaijing took the seat of lower honor; after accepting the tea offered by the female attendant, he finally exhaled a sigh of relief, and before drinking, he said, "Official Yan, Da Niangzi Yan, this is the token given to me by the Empress in the palace; please verify it."

Brother Qingyun respectfully handed the wooden box to the female attendant standing beside Da Niangzi Yan.

Da Niangzi Yan opened the wooden box, lifted the token with both hands, and examined it carefully; as she inspected the token, she also looked at Xu Xu Zaijing, then nodded to Official Yan.

Seeing this, Xu Xu Zaijing clasped his hands and said, "In that case, this humble one will make my story brief."

Before speaking, Xu Xu Zaijing glanced at the screen in the front hall; Da Niangzi Yan, following Xu Xu Zaijing's gaze, also looked over, then waved her hand to the female attendant and said with an apologetic smile, "The Young Master must forgive our rudeness."

Behind the screen, the female attendant walked over, seeing only the hem of the Yan family Miss's skirt disappearing through the small door leading to the rear courtyard.

Xu Xu Zaijing said, "Official Yan, bandits have plotted to kill canal soldiers, impersonated them to become inside agents, and intend to commit murder at the Chuzhou canal water gate, intercepting and killing court nobles to steal wealth and take lives."

After speaking, he had Brother Qingyun present the sworn testimony stamped with the seal of the Arresting Envoy.

Official Yan listened, utterly stunned; his brows knitted tighter and tighter, while Da Niangzi Yan crumpled her handkerchief into a ball.

"If this is so, there is a band of fierce bandits! A great disaster is about to strike Chuzhou! Someone come! Take my invitation card and summon all the Constables currently on duty in this prefecture. Furthermore, invite Prefectural Pacifier Lu; we must deploy troops!" Official Yan declared.

Xu Xu Zaijing continued, "Official Yan, it would be better to devise a reason to deceive the public eye."

Official Yan rose immediately and said, "Just say that the residence has suffered a visit from flying thieves and lost valuables! Go quickly!"

The steward outside the room hurriedly dispatched people to carry out the order.

Shortly after, the young servant at the gate returned to the courtyard and reported, "Master, the old steward is receiving guests at the gate and asked this humble one to inform you that an officer of the Imperial City Service is outside; that officer states plainly that he knows where the thieves are located."

Xu Xu Zaijing and Official Yan exchanged a glance.

"Imperial City Service, Huainan East Circuit, Covert Scout, Zhao Zhao Meifeng, pays respects to my lord and Han Wulang!"

Official Yan looked at the standing man, stroked his beard, and thought to himself: This name is indeed quite...

Xu Xu Zaijing fixed his eyes on him and said, "Do you know me?"

Zhao Zhao Meifeng replied, "Replying to Han Wulang, with the golden-character plaque issued from the palace, how would this humble one dare not recognize you?"

About a quarter of an hour later, Xu Xu Zaijing looked at this ordinary-looking man as he detailed the thieves' location and plans on the table.

Official Yan, with an extremely grim expression, said, "Say that again: what do these thieves possess? Fierce Fire Oil??? What are they planning to do?"

Zhao Zhao Meifeng replied, "Replying to Official Yan, it is Fierce Fire Oil! It is on the salt merchants' boats moored at the water gate; the moment the Hou Fu's boat arrives, they will pour the fire oil to ignite the wooden vessels. With the wind blowing these past two days, the fire riding the wind will surely throw the gate into chaos!"

"Moreover, among these thieves is a former soldier of the Imperial City Service who willingly degraded himself; if we act too slowly, I fear the bandits will get wind of it and escape!" Zhao Zhao Meifeng said, turning his gaze toward Xu Xu Zaijing.

"Official Yan, I came here solely to kill the bandits; killing people in broad daylight may cause the authorities to misunderstand, so I beg my lord to inform the government Yamen Runners that we are going to finish off the bandits!" Xu Xu Zaijing said.

Official Yan asked somewhat flustered, "How will you finish them off?"

Zhao Zhao Meifeng replied, "My lord, I have already had men prepare uniforms for the gate soldiers; let the Hou Fu's personal troops change into them and infiltrate; we will simply cut them down."

"Good! Good! Once the Fierce Fire Oil is ignited, these bandits are truly audacious beyond belief!"

Very soon, the horses at the entrance of the Yan residence were led into the courtyard, and the bundles on the spare horses were taken down.

Zhao Zhao Meifeng also had the Imperial City Service soldiers of Chuzhou carry the supplies inside; everyone began changing clothes, with the Xu family members first putting on a thick, vest-like garment lined with silk underneath.

Only afterward did they don the uniforms of the gate soldiers.

Brother Qingyun swapped his load for a Yan family fodder basket on his back, which was stuffed full of arrows and flying axes.

Xu Xu Zaijing's bow and bowstring were hung inside his clothing.

Exiting through the Yan family's side gate, Xu Xu Zaijing saw the carriage prepared by this Imperial City Service Covert Scout; military knives and shields were hidden within the carriage.

In the courtyard, the old steward watched this scene and muttered to himself, "No good, I must keep watch at the gate these next two days; things are about to become chaotic!"

"Let's go; keep your heads down and look lazy; gate soldiers are never as spirited as you," Zhao Zhao Meifeng said; immediately, he dropped his demeanor from the Yan house and sauntered ahead with a slack, carefree air.

Subsequently,

this squad of fewer than ten gate soldiers walked straight toward the great water gate by the canal.

Along the way, Zhao Zhao Meifeng walked up beside Xu Xu Zaijing and said, "Among these thieves are soldiers previously eliminated from the Imperial City Service who joined the Salt Gang, helping them investigate various officials in Yang Zhou Prefecture and passing merchants; their gains have been substantial!"

After speaking, he looked at Xu Xu Zaijing curiously and said, "If I hadn't come, how would you have found those bandits?"

Xu Xu Zaijing also looked ahead and said, "Naturally, I would have had the government Yamen Runners investigate, while the Hou Fu's personal troops and I served as the surprise force; I simply did not expect there to be this Fierce Fire Oil you mentioned. And you, why did you not join the Salt Gang?"

Zhao Zhao Meifeng replied, "My master is an elder of the Imperial City Service; over ten years ago, he took me as his disciple and even married his daughter to me; when he speaks, I dare not disobey."

"What did he say?" Xu Xu Zaijing asked.

Zhao Zhao Meifeng glanced at Xu Xu Zaijing; seeing no other expression in Xu Xu Zaijing's eyes, he said, "His honor said that the current Emperor is a good man, and that our Imperial City Service, having failed to uncover any clues, deserved to be neglected."

Xu Xu Zaijing naturally knew nothing of the ups and downs the Imperial City Service had experienced in recent years; Xu Xu Zaijing said, "Neglected?"

"It was reactivated a few years ago. Recently, the entire Huainan East Circuit has been slowly recovering." As he spoke, he patted Xu Xu Zaijing on the shoulder.

Xu Xu Zaijing looked at him curiously; Xu Xu Zaijing could sense the meaning within: Thank you.

Xu Xu Zaijing looked completely bewildered: What does this have to do with me?

Xu Xu Zaijing then said, "Since that is the case, do you know what has become of the White family's master? How dare these bandits ambush a noble?"

Hearing Zhao Zhao Meifeng, seeing there were not many people around, he tightened his somewhat ill-fitting clothes and, looking at the trees swaying in the wind, said, "The White family's master is fine; he merely caught a chill. But if Da Niangzi Wu does not return soon, and the White family continues colluding with external thieves, there may be danger!"

As the crowd passed the gong-and-drum troupe standing by the roadside, Zhao Zhao Meifeng nodded to an unremarkable middle-aged man before continuing, "Ultimately, the reason is that they tasted the sweetness of paying less tax and wish to continue tasting it."

As they walked, Zhao Zhao Meifeng spotted the woman playing pitch-pot being surrounded by onlookers ahead, and also noticed the bandit with the eight-character mustache, the one with small eyes, and the subtle maneuvers of the Yuan family members.

"Those two wearing fur hats ahead are the eliminated soldiers from the former Imperial City Bureau that I mentioned. Do not look at them; let us go."

After speaking, they walked for a while, and Xu Xu Zaijing's group passed behind Yuan Wen.

Once they had moved away from the crowd, Zhao Zhao Meifeng said, "They intend to rob and kill, severing the White family's bloodline."

Xu Xu Zaijing asked, "To seize the White family's salt estates?"

Zhao Zhao Meifeng replied, "Yes, and no. Because in recent years, the White family has paid taxes strictly in accordance with the Great Zhou tax laws, without shortchanging a single string of copper coins. With them setting the example, would other salt merchants dare to pay less?"

Xu Xu Zaijing nodded and said, "With the White family serving as a benchmark, others naturally dare not."

And there is more

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(End of Chapter)