Chapter 301: We have someone above [Thanks to everyone for your support! Again]

"Come back!"

"Ziteng, you go instead of Miss Yun Mu!"

Miss Yun Mu, who was walking out, turned around.

"You all go out too!"

Hearing Chai Zhengzheng's words, the other maids in the room bowed and walked out of the room.

Only the two of them remained.

"How did the matter I asked you to inquire about go?"

Miss Yun Mu stood in front of Chai Zhengzheng's table and whispered:

"Da Niangzi, this servant found out, the rumor is true! The Xu family was raided by thieves!"

"There is a rumor in the capital that it was done by several vassal kings."

Chai Zhengzheng frowned and nodded: "Then, is there anything in their family we can help with?"

Miss Yun Mu shook her head and said:

"Da Niangzi, no!"

"The Xu family is a Hou Fu after all, and they have many relatives! The Lian Guo Gong family even has relatives with the Xu family! Why would they need our help? However..."

Looking at Miss Yun Mu's hesitant appearance, Chai Zhengzheng pursued:

"What's wrong?"

Miss Yun Mu said:

"On the street, this servant heard that the constables and runners of Kaifeng Prefecture are busy searching for the traces of the thieves. For finding one, there is a reward of a hundred strings of cash!"

"Reward of cash?"

Chai Zhengzheng's eyes turned, and she beckoned to Miss Yun Mu:

"Go, bring my small change book."

On the streets of Bianjing as the Spring Festival approached,

just like every year, it was full of vendors selling peach wood charms, door gods, and hanging paintings.

The best-selling New Year pictures were mostly those with gold ingots inside the doors, or donkey carts and carriages pulling carts of treasure.

Amidst various shouts,

there were still Kaifeng Prefecture runners and constables carrying swords, holding portraits and questioning passersby.

The runners had just finished questioning a vendor,

and when they looked up, they happened to see a familiar Bianjing idler and rascal holding several pieces of paper in his hand.

Seeing the runners looking over, the idler hurriedly bowed and greeted them.

"I say, Bao Si, didn't you say you wouldn't come out in this cold after not hearing any valuable news two days ago?"

The idler smiled flatteringly and said:

"It's just that Second Master Cheng offered a reward, saying that starting today, as long as you get the hundred strings of cash rewarded by Kaifeng Prefecture, he will add another fifty strings!"

"I also want to have a good New Year!"

The constable frowned and asked: "Which Second Master Cheng?"

The idler bowed and said: "Second Master Cheng, whose ancestor was the Duke of Cheng, and who is now in the Inspection Department. If you gentlemen get the reward, you can also go find him!"

Several constables looked at each other, and one of them said:

"Good, we know! Bao Si, if you really have news, don't just think about the money! Be careful!"

The idler bowed.

On New Year's Eve,

Si hour (9:00 AM).

The Emperor, wearing a grand and formal dragon robe, sat in a chair, looking at the post in his hand.

Imperial Prince Zhao Fang, also in brand-new clothes, stood beside the Empress, who was holding her younger sister and sitting on an embroidery stool.

Kaifeng Prefecture was investigating the thieves on the surface, while the Imperial City Department clerks, under Zhao Zilong's arrangement, focused on investigating those who had not returned since the morning of the incident.

Especially with the information Zhao Taifeng provided to the Imperial City Department, that sentence from Jin Chuihuan in the Bai Gao Kingdom guesthouse room: "People who have infiltrated Bianjing in the past half year."

With these two conditions, the Imperial City Department's investigation speed was very fast.

The Emperor placed the post on the table:

"Not bad, in such a short time, you were actually able to investigate so many things!"

"Fix these loopholes quickly! Handle the people who should be handled, don't leave any future trouble!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

At this moment, the Grand Eunuch, dressed differently than usual, said at the door:

"Your Majesty, the Great Nuo Ceremony is about to begin!"

The Emperor nodded, stood up, walked to the Empress's side, and extended his hand.

Zhao Fang hurriedly took it.

The four of them walked toward the outside of the hall.

Outside the large hall,

several burly and strong palace guards stood, wearing gleaming armor,

and their faces were covered with copper masks.

Below the steps were palace maids and Teaching Workshop men and women dressed as Great Zhou gods, immortals, earth gods, etc. Some of them were covered in dust,

as if they had rolled on the ground.

The Grand Eunuch, beside the Emperor, Empress, Prince, and Princess, waved a special horsetail whisk, chanted words to dispel disease and drive away evil spirits, and turned around a few times,

then walked into the crowd below the steps with the whisk in his hand.

Afterward, this group of nearly a thousand people walked toward the Xuande Gate.

On the way out of the palace, some people pretended to run outside the crowd from time to time, and then were pushed back into the middle of the crowd by the golden-armored warriors.

Soon, the group walked to the Xuande Gate, the south gate of the Imperial City.

After the main gate opened,

the people of Bianjing on the side of the Imperial Street let out a clamor.

When the group from the palace walked on the Imperial Street beating drums, gongs, and bamboo clappers,

the people, wealthy merchants, nobles, and officials of Bianjing also stood by the roadside, patting their clothes, chanting prayers for blessings and the elimination of disasters.

Seeing those kneeling by the roadside holding children,

the group dressed as gods from the palace would have people waving weapons or shaking their robes as they passed by the kneeling people, taking the omen of bestowing blessings and taking away disasters.

From the Xuande Gate to the Nanxun Gate at the southernmost end of Bianjing's outer city,

the road was full of people. After the golden-armored god team passed, some followed, and some dispersed directly.

Not far from the Nanxun Gate,

there were still many people on both sides of the road.

After walking forward for another distance, there was a pond, and the group from the palace threw their dirty clothes by the pond. Those dressed as gods related to fire ignited them,

and finally threw the ashes into the pond, and then everyone returned.

Not far from the pond,

there were several noble young masters of Bianjing,

all riding fine horses, or wearing cloaks, or wearing ear muffs.

Xu Zaijing, riding a Xiao Li Ju, looked at the child in front of him and said: "Zezong, that is the Zhuanlong Pond!"

The Xiao Li Ju's back was very high, and the young Lu Zezong didn't need to lift his neck to see the situation in front clearly. He looked up and said crisply:

"Righteous Brother, I've always heard Mother talk about it, this is the first time I've seen it!"

"Zong Ge'er, if you want to see anything next time, come find me, I'll take you!" Zhang Fangling shouted on the side.

Lu Zezong said crisply: "Okay, Cousin-in-law."

As soon as this was said, Xu Zaijing, Gu Tingye, Liang Han, and Qi Heng all laughed.

Through the matchmaking of Madam Wu, the wedding date of this Fourth Young Master of the Guo Gong Mansion was also set. It was a relative of the Lian Guo Gong family, and Lu Zezong had to call her Cousin-in-law.

"The Great Nuo Ceremony is over, is it still early? Why don't we go back from the Xinzheng Gate?"

Liang Han looked at the mounts of the others and pulled the white scarf on his face: "I'll go first! Ha!"

As he spoke, his horse ran out.

Gu Tingye reacted quickly, shook the reins, and the horse he was sitting on darted out obediently.

Qi Heng brought his ear muffs and said: "Jing'er, I'm leaving too!"

Looking at the servants beside them who had all left one by one, Lu Zezong lifted his head and asked back:

"Righteous Brother, aren't we chasing them?"

The Xiao Li Ju walked slowly.

Xu Zaijing wrapped the cloak tightly around Lu Zezong, revealing only his eyes:

"Let them run for a while, otherwise they will lose too ugly."

Xu Zaijing fixed Lu Zezong under the cloak with one hand and shook the reins lightly with the other:

"We, set off!"

"Ha!"

The Xiao Li Ju stood up,

and after a burst of surprise from Lu Zezong, the Xiao Li Ju's four hooves hit the ground and began to accelerate slowly.

Lu Zezong was the only seedling of the eldest branch of the Lian Guo Gong family. As grandparents, the old Lian Guo Gong couple truly held him in their mouths for fear he would melt, and held him in their hands for fear he would fall.

Letting the young Lu Zezong ride a horse was something that had never happened before.

Lu Zezong's father was no longer in the world, and he had never sat on a horse's back, mostly sitting in carriages.

However, how could a carriage see the scenery on horseback?

As the horse's speed got faster and faster, the young Lu Zezong's eyes became more and more excited.

Xu Zaijing looked down at his cheap righteous younger brother, and seeing his appearance, he patted the Xiao Li Ju's neck again.

The Xiao Li Ju understood Xu Zaijing's meaning and accelerated its speed.

Bianjing Outer City.

On the high city wall,

a team of imperial guards was holding long spears, patrolling under the leadership of a guard officer.

When passing by the imperial guard comrades facing outward at the crenels,

they occasionally heard exclamations, which made them very curious about what was outside the city.

Finally, walking to a city gate tower, under the order of the guard officer, this team of off-duty soldiers dispersed their formation, preparing to enter the city gate tower to warm up.

Some also ran in small steps to the city wall and looked out.

When calling their comrades, the clamor summoned the commander in the tower.

The city wall was more than four zhang high, like being on the fourth floor of the Fan Tower. Plus, the weather was good and the view was far.

In the field of vision of the imperial guard soldiers,

they only saw a black horse galloping at high speed on the official road circling Bianjing outside the city.

The knight's clothes on the horse's back were fluttering behind.

There were also fine horses running not slowly in front of the black horse,

but they were still overtaken by this black horse one by one.

The commander sighed:

"Huo! This horse... looks like it's coming to our Xinzheng Gate! Go, go, go, let's go down and see!"

Today is New Year's Eve, there are few passersby outside the city, and it is near Bianjing, so the official road is flat and wide, and the Xiao Li Ju ran very happily.

When Xu Zaijing and Lu Zezong in his arms saw Zhang Fangling's back,

Zhang Fangling was looking back, and after discovering the Xiao Li Ju,

"Drive! Drive!"

"Snap!"

The sound of whipping the horse reached the ears of the two from afar.

By the time they were about to catch up, they had already arrived near the Xinzheng Gate.

The flow of people leaving the city increased,

Zhang Fangling slowed down the horse's speed, and Xu Zaijing also pulled the reins.

After walking for a distance, the horses were already walking slowly, and the fine horses they were sitting on were panting heavily, spraying white gas. Zhang Fangling said:

"I thought it would be Gu Yuan Erlang who caught up, I didn't expect it to be you two!"

"Zong Ge'er, was riding a horse fun?"

Lu Zezong's small face was blown red, and he nodded vigorously: "Cousin-in-law, it was so fun!"

Zhang Fangling raised his eyebrows.

After waiting outside the city for a short while, and waiting for the others to catch up, the group entered the city from the Xinzheng Gate.

Before they even left the gate tunnel,

several imperial

The squad leader first feasted his eyes on the fine horse.

Then he looked toward the two noble youths in front, but he didn't recognize any of them. When he saw Gu Tingye,

His eyes lit up.

After cupping his hands toward Zhang Fangling and Xu Zaijing, he looked at Gu Tingye behind them and said:

"This subordinate greets the Second Young Master! May the Second Young Master have a prosperous Spring Festival and may everything go as you wish!"

Gu Tingye was stunned, but after roughly identifying the military officer's attire, he nodded anyway.

He watched as the squad leader lifted his chin toward the young boy:

"Reward him! May everything go as you wish as well."

The Imperial Guard squad leader, having received a piece of silver, bowed to the young boy once more.

After the crowd had walked far away, a subordinate beside the Imperial Guard squad leader said:

"Squad leader, whose noble son was that?"

The squad leader put the silver away, smoothed his clothes, and said:

"Yuan Erlang Young Master of the Ningyuan Hou Gu family! I met him once before when I followed the Regional Military Commissioner to the Marquis's residence to pay New Year's respects!"

Seeing his subordinate's inquisitive gaze,

The military officer, having received the reward and face, turned and walked toward the stone stairs by the city wall, saying as he walked:

"The Regional Military Commissioner's own uncle died in battle alongside the Second Master of the Ningyuan Hou Gu family, Gu Zhongkai. Every year, we have to go to the Marquis's residence to pay New Year's respects."

Another subordinate nodded hurriedly:

"Then our Regional Military Commissioner has strong connections!"

"That's right! Work hard, and you'll have a chance to go in the future too!"

Following the squad leader up the city wall, after he entered the city gate tower, the few people outside the tower exchanged glances and then dispersed.

Xu Zaijing and his group walked along the street at a moderate pace, entering the inner city through the Yiqiu Gate.

As they walked toward the Imperial City, because it was New Year's Eve, everyone began to take shortcuts one by one to return to their respective homes.

When Xu Zaijing returned to Quyuanjie, it was still early.

But children from families of the Marquis's old acquaintances, like Chu Zhan, were already playing by the roadside.

The gesture he made most often was raising his index finger to his lips to signal for quiet.

After entering the main gate,

Seeing the personal nanny of Lu Zezong of the Duke Ling family waiting anxiously at the gatehouse and coming forward, he made the gesture again and pointed to his heavy cloak.

The nanny was also clever; she immediately softened her movements and didn't call out.

At this time, Lu Zezong had already curled up inside the cloak and fallen asleep against Xu Zaijing's chest.

He didn't even wake up when Xu Zaijing carried him off the horse.

After dismounting, Xu Zaijing opened a gap in the cloak to let the personal nanny take a careful look at Lu Zezong, who was sleeping soundly.

Afterward, he carried him back to Madam Sun's courtyard.

The maidservants in Madam Sun's courtyard saw Xu Zaijing's movements and understood there was someone under the cloak, so they hurried into the room to announce them.

When Xu Zaijing entered the room, the volume of the conversation inside dropped significantly. He placed Lu Zezong on the warm bed.

When he was taking off his clothes, he did wake up for a moment, but under the nanny's soothing words of "Sleep, sleep," he closed his eyes again.

After covering him with the small quilt belonging to Xu Zaijing's nephew, Madam Sun turned to look at the Lu family's nanny and said:

"With this sleep, he won't be sleepy when we stay up for the New Year tonight!"

The nanny smiled and said, "Madam is right!"

In the main hall, Xu Zaijing's cloak was being carried to the side by Hua Xiang to be put away.

Xu Zaijing stood to the side, speaking in a low voice with his elder sister Anmei:

"Little Five, I heard the Lu family sent firecrackers? You must let me light two—no, three!"

Xu Zaijing nodded and said, "Fine, the firecrackers are yours, the fireworks are mine!"

"What? There are fireworks too!"

Anmei asked in a lowered voice.

Zaizhang, who was to the side, turned his head to look over:

"How old are you? You'll be a lady next year, why are you still so playful!"

Anmei pursed her lips, changed chairs, and walked over to sit beside Sheng Hualan.

Zaizhang: "Ahem, Little Five, save one firework for me."

Xu Zaijing's eyes were full of question marks.

"Your wife said she hasn't set any off..."

Xu Zaijing, who had been fed a mouthful of dog food, shook his head and said:

"Brother, you really spoil your wife! Look how big her belly is!"

"Let her...? Nonsense! Let's talk about it next year!"

Sheng Hualan, who was to the side, acted as if she hadn't heard and continued talking with Anmei.

The sky had already darkened.

In the South Lecture Hall alley near the palace wall,

Rong Feiyan stood in the courtyard wearing a cyan cloak.

"Roar, roar, roar!"

Rong Xian, who was acting like a monkey, jumped and ran to Rong Feiyan's side. Before he could speak,

"Chirp!"

"Bang!"

A sky-rocket flew up behind him and exploded.

"Wow!"

Rong Feiyan and the maidservant behind her let out exclamations of wonder.

Rong Xian said triumphantly, "Look at you two, so inexperienced."

After he finished speaking, he turned his head and his expression changed too:

"Wow!"

It turned out a large firework was blooming inside the Imperial Palace.

One firework after another rose up.

Amidst the sound of exploding firecrackers,

Rong Xian said beside Rong Feiyan, "Little sister, do you know who I saw when I came back this evening?"

Rong Feiyan looked at the beautiful fireworks, her eyes lost in thought. Hearing what Rong Xian shouted, she shook her head.

"The servant from the Duke Ling family—he is a cousin of my servant. He said..."

"Bang! Bang!"

More firecrackers and fireworks rang out in the Imperial City.

"He said that Zongge'er from the Duke Ling family is staying at the Xu residence tonight!"

Rong Feiyan was stunned. Amidst the noisy sound of firecrackers, she raised her voice and said:

"Ah? Brother, what did you say?"

"They are sworn brothers. The Duke Ling said it himself, letting Zongge'er stay the night. That servant came back to report on Zongge'er's situation!"

Rong Feiyan nodded.

While Rong Xian was speaking,

The servant he mentioned was currently in the main hall of the Duke Ling's residence, speaking.

(End of chapter)