Chapter 117: Arrived in Chuzhou and Walked Straight into the Trap [Many Thanks for Everyone's Support!]

The old steward of the Yan family, standing at the gate, struggled hard to transform his fear into trembling reverence.

He looked at the two men dressed in luxurious clothing who were speaking at the entrance.

One of them claimed to be a steward from Marquis Marquis Yongyi's Hou Fu, while the other claimed to be Marquis Gu's personal attendant.

The several people behind them were also fierce and strong, holding gift boxes of considerable value in their hands.

At a glance, they possessed the extravagant appearance of Bianjing nobility; had this old steward not seen the demeanor of Xu Xu Zaijing and his companions earlier that morning, he might well have been deceived.

Knowing that several military officers were currently inside the Yan residence, the Yan family steward hurriedly turned back and ordered a young servant to go inside and report.

The man pretending to be the steward of Marquis Marquis Yongyi's Hou Fu at the gate was the Office Supervisor mentioned by the man with the mustache; his surname was Song, and in previous years he had been a soldier of the Imperial City Bureau in Yang Zhou Prefecture, but later, squeezed out by the Military Affairs Bureau, he resigned in a fit of anger and became a famous "good ear" and "good knife" in Yang Zhou Prefecture.

His ears gathered intelligence, while his knife silenced witnesses.

He would do anything for money, having even recruited several skilled river bandits to serve as enforcers, and during the northwest war, he committed no shortage of wicked deeds.

This time, intercepting and killing the Bai family members, the salt merchants had paid so much that this group had mobilized their entire force, even utilizing river bandits they had nurtured for several years as inside agents.

He glanced slightly worriedly at the strategist beside him, also a former subordinate from the Imperial City Bureau named Wu Shuai; Wu Shuai nodded and whispered in his ear, "Seeing Bianjing nobility, one naturally feels trembling reverence, just like with Hu Yan Zhao's family. Rest assured, Office Supervisor, regarding this steward's reaction."

Wu Shuai added another sentence: "They would never expect that anyone would dare to impersonate a noble family's steward."

Song Gang looked at him with approval.

A few days prior, the bold move of getting twenty-plus canal soldiers drunk in Xia Yi County and tricking them to their deaths was the work of these very people.

Furthermore, the scheme of swapping the beam for the pillar and secretly arranging inside agents was Wu Shuai's idea.

Over these years, dealing with commoners, wealthy households, and ordinary officials had long since made their audacity boundless.

Lowering his head, Song Gang said, "After we finish this job, let us go to Bianjing to live as wealthy households; then, this life will have no regrets."

"What the Office Supervisor says is true."

The two men looked at each other and smiled.

After another dozen breaths had passed,

Someone from inside the Yan residence called out loudly, "Which of you is the visitor from the Marquis's household? I am Yan Qing; my apologies, my apologies for the rudeness."

Song and Wu looked over to see a tall and sturdy official approaching with a face full of smiles.

The old steward hurriedly bowed his head and said, "Honored guests, this is my master."

"This humble one greets Lord Yan." The two men bowed deeply in salute, performing the etiquette very convincingly.

Speaking thus, Yan Qing laughed heartily and said:

"Servants, take the Marquis's personal guards to enjoy a good meal. As for the two stewards, please come inside!"

Just as the three were walking and nearly reached the front hall, a servant carrying a washbasin approached, saying, "Please, honored guests, cleanse your hands."

That so-called "Lord Yan" stepped aside and made a gesture inviting them forward.

A sense of unease arose in Wu Shuai's heart; he suddenly realized, how could a steward from a noble Marquis's household ever warrant the Department Magistrate coming out to greet him personally?

Silently thinking "This is bad!", a miserable scream suddenly rang out from nearby.

The two men reacted quickly, turning around and fleeing.

Suddenly, someone shouted loudly: "Move!"

Scalding hot water from the servant's basin was splashed toward them.

The ambushed military officers and attendants then rushed out.

In the rear courtyard, Wu Da Da Niangzi held her daughter's hand, constantly looking outward; upon hearing the scream, her grip tightened in fright.

Soon, a young maid came to report, saying that the bandits had been captured.

By the time Xu Xu Zaijing and the others arrived at the Yan family's residence, the six bandits had already been tied up tightly.

When Hearing Zhao Zhao Meifeng appeared, both Wu Shuai and Song Gang showed expressions of fear on their faces.

These few people kept squeezing the corners of their eyes, simply because the scalding from the hot water was unbearably painful.

Hearing Zhao Zhao Meifeng hurriedly clasped his fists and bowed to the several people in the hall: "Thank you all for your assistance; I will certainly report this matter truthfully and request merit rewards for you! Within a few days, there will also be heavy gratitude!"

The real Yan Qing, Lu Yan, and others all clasped their fists in return: "Captain Zhao is too polite; this was merely our duty."

The meaning of Hearing Zhao Zhao Meifeng's last sentence was that once they interrogated these fierce bandits to reveal where they had hidden their loot, he would definitely share several portions among them.

Subsequently, Hearing Zhao Zhao Meifeng took these six people away directly, and before leaving, habitually smashed all six of their teeth.

Xu Xu Zaijing and the personal guards also took their leave one after another, after all, it was inappropriate to stay overnight at the Yan residence.

A subordinate of Hu Yan Tai found the Yan residence and informed Xu Xu Zaijing that, with Bai Shi making the decision, the Hou Fu fleet had already set sail toward Chuzhou after noon.

Xu Xu Zaijing and the others changed into their own clothes, and then the group mounted their horses and returned to the street by the canal lock gate to wait for the fleet's arrival.

Listening to the head monk reporting the time,

At this moment, it was one ke past the Hour of the Monkey.

The sky was still bright, but Xu Xu Zaijing and the others, having just fought fiercely and then hurriedly rushed back to the Yan family, were all somewhat exhausted.

Riding on horseback, their moods were nevertheless relaxed.

"Young Master, since Wu Da Da Niangzi has already come to Chuzhou, there is no longer any need to search for people."

"Indeed, let us wait here for the fleet to arrive."

A dozen fine horses slowly walked toward the place where the boats were moored; ahead, a crowd had gathered, and someone shouted:

"Hurry up and throw!"

"Admit defeat, it's time to switch players!"

In the crowd, Yuan Wen, holding an arrow for pitch-pot somewhat unsteadily, looked at the woman beside him, steeled his resolve, and threw it out.

"Slap!"

It missed.

"Hahaha! Get down!"

"Quick, quick, it's my turn! There is only one last round left!"

The people around laughed.

Yuan Wenchun, somewhat annoyed, handed over the jade pendant in his hand.

The woman did not take it; she squatted in a bow and said, "Even for a ten-coin wager, this is too valuable."

"Da Da Niangzi, you are particular!"

"You won't even take this?"

"This woman is truly foolish."

The onlookers all burst into laughter; the woman turned, pasted the straw paper onto the wooden board behind her, and wrote the two characters 'Sheng Jiu' with a brush.

Looking at the numbers above with some irritation, Yuan Wenchun said, "Let me throw a few more rounds with you; this jade pendant will be yours! I will definitely win one match against you!"

But a Young Master nearby, dressed in expensive dark blue silk robes no less costly than Yuan Wenchun's, disagreed; he shouted, "You there! I have waited so long, let you have two turns, and now you still want to throw? I have already asked: Lady Wei only wins ten matches a day! Quick, quick, move aside."

Xu Xu Zaijing, who had been riding over, reined in his horse and stopped behind the crowd, observing this Lady Wei within the throng.

Qing Yun rode over and asked, "Young Master?"

"Nothing; tell them to go wait by the shore first."

Hearing these words, a steward-like figure standing beside the blue-robed Young Master who had just spoken looked at Xu Xu Zaijing and his group, his eyes full of wariness.

In the crowd, unable to withstand the teasing of the passersby, Yuan Wenchun remained standing among them without leaving, wishing to continue watching; meanwhile, the Yuan family servants brought over a handful of copper coins.

"Hey! Do you not want your pitch-pot set anymore?"

That servant muttered nothing, returned, and carried the pitch-pot set away.

The blue-robed noble Young Master who had spoken earlier came excitedly into the center of the field, waved his hand, and had servants bring out his family's pitch-pot set.

Both the pot and the arrows were extremely luxurious.

"Please, Lady Wei, make the first throw."

"Thank you, Young Master!"

Saying this, Lady Wei drew an arrow from the bundle, weighed it in her hand, and tossed it gently.

"Clang!"

"Good!"

"Lady Wei is truly amazing!"

"This Young Master is in trouble."

The woman in the center nodded and said, "Young Master, please!"

Xu Xu Zaijing watched the two playing pitch-pot and nodded; both were experts, yet this Lady Wei was slightly superior.

"Exhilarating! I did not expect Chuzhou to harbor such a formidable expert. I wonder if Lady Wei would consider coming to Bianjing..."

"Thank you for your high regard, Young Master, but my home is here; it is not easy to leave my hometown."

"Then will Lady Wei come again tomorrow? The wind is somewhat strong today."

"Tomorrow, I will come." After Lady Wei finished speaking, several men arrived from the crowd and moved to pack up the items.

The blue-robed Young Master said, "Hey, what are you doing? Are you trying to bully someone?"

Lady Wei hurriedly squatted in a bow and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Young Master; this is my husband."

A sturdy man turned his head, glanced at the Young Master, and then nodded.

"Ah?"

Laughter came from the crowd; it was Yuan Wenchun.

"Then tomorrow we shall wait here for Lady Wei," the Young Master said.

Although Yuan Wenchun said nothing, he would definitely come again.

Xu Xu Zaijing lightly tapped his horse's belly and rode to the canal bank, thinking to himself, "So skilled at pitch-pot, and surnamed Wei; could she be the younger sister of that Wei Wei Shuyi?"

The north wind diminished slightly, and snowflakes began to drift down slowly.

As the sky gradually darkened,

under the blowing of the north wind, three official boats were lowering their sails to reduce speed.

The personal guards led the horses into the rear boat, while Xu Xu Zaijing took Zhu Zhu Qinghu to the outside of the cabin where Bai Shi was located.

Zhu Zhu Qinghu reported on the condition of the Bai family's master; only upon hearing the confirmed news did Bai Shi's tense mood relax, and she said, "Jing Ge'er, you have worked hard."

What she did not say aloud was that she would slowly deal with that bunch from the Bai family.

(End of Chapter)