Chapter 468

Quyuan Street,

the weather was gradually getting warmer, and there were quite a few people setting up night stalls on the street.

"Reach out!"

At the entrance of a courtyard along the street, the scolding voice of a woman came.

Hearing this scolding,

many guests eating at the stalls on the street looked over.

"Smack!"

Hearing the sound of the bamboo board hitting the hand, someone shrank their neck.

"If you dare to come back this late next time, I will beat your hands to a pulp!"

Chu Zhan carried the tray he had just delivered to a nearby stall with one hand, and also turned his head to look over there.

Walking back to the stall,

Chu Zhan looked at Shu Bo, who was counting copper coins unhappily by the candlelight, and said: "Shu Bo, the dishes have been delivered!"

"Hmm, I know!"

Shu Bo beside the candlelight nodded.

Chu Zhan looked at the copper coins in Shu Bo's hand and said: "Shu Bo, don't keep thinking about what you said to the personal guard brothers before. You not asking for change is just for good luck! They understand your intentions!"

Shu Bo sighed, shook his head and said: "Speaking of which, the children of the two families who didn't return are not very old."

When the eldest son of the Xu family, Zaiduan, returned to the capital, he brought back various rewards and money.

When the Marquis Yongyi returned to the capital recently, he brought back the ashes of the personal guards who died in battle.

In the past two days, many personal guards of the Marquis's mansion have been eating at the stall, and Shu Bo would give them the change they were owed before.

Most of the personal guards had already forgotten about this, and seeing Shu Bo's change, they would always be stunned first, then smile, and then feel uncomfortable.

Chu Zhan hadn't felt much before,

but as he saw the personal guards of the Marquis's mansion at the stall,

thinking of the few personal guard brothers who were familiar and used to joke with him but could never be seen again, Chu Zhan's feeling suddenly became obvious.

Chu Zhan took a deep breath: "With your old body, there is still a son to raise, so don't think too much about these things."

Shu Bo sighed, adjusted his mood and said: "Did I just hear that the Madam who moved in recently is disciplining her younger brother and sister?"

Chu Zhan looked at the courtyard entrance at some distance: "Yes! This Madam Zou is quite strict in managing the family. If the Zou family brother and little girl come back late, they have to be beaten."

"Make way!"

A shout came from afar,

Chu Zhan hurriedly leaned out to look: "Listening to the voice, it seems to be Brother Qingyun!"

Subsequently, watching Qingyun, who rushed to the entrance of the Marquis's mansion and entered the mansion quickly after flying off his horse, Chu Zhan and Shu Bo looked at each other: "This... is there some urgent matter?"

More than half a quarter of an hour later,

Qingyun walked out quickly again.

Chu Zhan looked at Qingyun, who was riding over, and shouted: "Brother Qingyun, is there anything I can help with?"

"Take care of yourself!"

"Oh~"

Chu Zhan stood on tiptoe, his eyes following Qingyun, who was riding away, his eyes full of envy.

"Clatter."

"Clatter."

The sound of horseshoes stepping on the stone slabs echoed in the doorway.

Xu Zaijing looked at the young man who had just woken up lying on the horse's back beside him and said: "I say Liao Zhang Sanlang, the location of your ancestral home is truly not bad! Being so close to the Imperial City Division's office saves me a lot of trouble."

Looking at Liao Zhang Sanlang, whose mouth was sealed with cloth strips, Xu Zaijing smiled: "Liao Zhang Sanlang, how is it? Is my Western Army scout's method of tying a tongue authentic?"

Subsequently, he said again: "If you don't want to implicate your family, don't move around, and don't think about running."

After Liao Zhang Sanlang was stunned, he continued to lie on the horse's back with hatred.

The sack behind Xu Zaijing was still struggling just now, but after hearing Xu Zaijing's words, Steward Qi in the sack actually stopped moving, as if thinking about something inside.

Subsequently, the muffled sound came from the sack again, but Steward Qi was gagged, and no one knew what he was saying.

And the young man Liao Zhang Sanlang on the horse's back glared at Xu Zaijing with the look of looking at a traitor.

Xu Zaijing entered the Jinglong Gate of the inner city,

turned to the left,

and not far away,

at the heavily guarded entrance, soldiers shouted loudly behind the anti-horse obstacles: "Who is it! This is a restricted area of the Imperial City Investigation Division! Idlers, retreat!"

While speaking, a soldier on the side vaguely aimed the crossbow in his hand at Xu Zaijing.

Xu Zaijing did not dismount, and said loudly on the horse's back: "I am a disciple of the Xu family of the Marquis Yongyi's mansion. I wonder if Director Xiao Zhao is in the office?"

The voice was transmitted,

and a person dressed as a captain walked out of the room beside the entrance,

and after looking out, he patted the head of the soldier who had just spoken: "You can't recognize the mount of the Fifth Young Master of the Xu family? Still calling him an idler?"

As he spoke, he glared at the soldier holding the crossbow on the side, and the soldier hurriedly put the crossbow down.

"Fifth Young Master, Director Xiao Zhao is not here! Captain Gao is on duty tonight! I wonder what business you have in our division tonight?"

"Captain, you are polite. This little one has something to ask for tonight, please ask Brother Gao to come out and meet me."

"Fifth Young Master, please wait a moment."

Soon,

the figure of Gao Yunqing walking quickly appeared outside the entrance.

"Jing-ge'er, what's wrong?"

While Gao Yunqing asked with a smile, he looked at the horse beside Xu Zaijing and the sack behind him.

"Brother Gao, there is a matter..."

After listening to Xu Zaijing's words, Gao Yunqing, as someone who had witnessed Xu Zaijing's several bloody battles in Yang Zhou, had no surprise on his face, just nodded and said: "When Jing-ge'er is finished, tell me, and I will send someone to clean it up."

Xu Zaijing glanced at Liao Zhang Sanlang, who was waiting to die on the horse beside him, and bowed: "Good!"

Gao Yunqing nodded, whispered a few words to his subordinate beside him, and bowed: "Jing-ge'er, then I will go back first!"

"Brother Gao, walk slowly."

Gao Yunqing walked a few steps, then suddenly turned his head and said: "Do you need to take some torture instruments from the division?"

"That won't be necessary!"

Xu Zaijing waved his hand hurriedly.

In the night,

at the entrance of a courtyard not far from the bustling street,

standing here, one could vaguely hear the light laughter of the girls soliciting customers on the wooden buildings of the brothels by the roadside.

The wooden door was opened from the inside by an old man.

The imperial guard sent by Gao Yunqing nodded to the old man who opened the door, turned sideways and bowed: "Fifth Young Master, this is the courtyard not often used by the division."

Xu Zaijing nodded and said: "Then, please wait at the bridge alley at the back door later, and tell my Qingyun that I am here."

"Fifth Young Master, don't worry, this little one will certainly convey it."

Subsequently,

Xu Zaijing led the horse,

and carried Liao Zhang Sanlang and Steward Qi of the Kang family into the courtyard.

"This official, I wonder which room you want to use."

The old man asked while closing the courtyard door behind him.

Xu Zaijing hesitated for a moment: "Old man, is there a room with good drainage?"

"This way."

The old man pointed to the side room on the left hand side.

After Xu Zaijing carried Liao Zhang Sanlang and Steward Qi into the room with one hand each, he said: "Old man, please prepare a long bench, cloth strips, and a few vats of water."

"This official, there is only one large vat in the courtyard, is a bathtub feasible?"

"Yes, yes!"

Listening to the conversation between Xu Zaijing and the old man in the courtyard,

Steward Qi, who was tied up and lying on the ground with his mouth gagged, looked at Liao Zhang Sanlang opposite with a cold smile, his eyes full of the meaning of 'you are at the end of your life'.

Liao Zhang Sanlang leaned against the wall, his arms secretly exerting force to push outward.

But he gave up after trying once, because he could feel that the rope tying him was a rope made of cowhide, and he couldn't break it at all.

"Thump."

The half-person-high water vat and bathtub were carried in by Xu Zaijing with one hand,

and soon the bathtub and water vat were filled with water by wooden buckets.

Xu Zaijing closed the door in the dim candlelight, walked to the side, pulled out the cloth ball in Steward Qi's mouth, who was lying on his side on the ground, and threw it to the side.

Looking at Liao Zhang Sanlang by the wall, Xu Zaijing said: "Although I was a scout in the Western Army for quite a while, this is the first time I've used this method of interrogation."

Hearing this, the proud look on Steward Qi's face could not be hidden at all, and his tone was full of flattery: "Fifth Young Master, this little one also knows a little about methods of torturing people, why don't I..."

Immediately, Steward Qi's tone became surprised and panicked: "Fi-Fifth Young Master, no, little grandfather, what are you doing? Our two families are relatives!"

Xu Zaijing, under Liao Zhang Sanlang's surprised eyes, tied Steward Qi to the long bench, covered his mouth with cloth strips, and finally covered his face with a soaked cloth strip.

Looking at Steward Qi's head, which was twisting hard to throw the cloth strip to the side, Xu Zaijing had to add a rope to tie his forehead, and also placed the other end of the bench on the edge of the bathtub.

Subsequently,

Xu Zaijing held a gourd ladle filled with water in his hand and scratched his head: "How long should I pour?"

A quarter of an hour later,

Xu Zaijing looked at Steward Qi, who was full of water but still in good spirits, and shook his head with some frustration: "Forget it, let's just do it directly."

As he spoke, he placed the bench with the person tied to it diagonally into the bathtub.

After a dozen breaths,

Xu Zaijing pulled the long bench out of the water and looked at Steward Qi, who was constantly choking on water: "Your mouth is really tough."

Hearing this, Steward Qi shook his head with eyes full of panic: "Wuu wuu!"

Xu Zaijing: "Not talking?"

After speaking, Xu Zaijing placed the long bench in again.

After going back and forth four times like this,

Xu Zaijing looked at Steward Qi, who was struggling violently in the bathtub, and then pulled him out: "Can you talk now?"

Steward Qi nodded hurriedly.

After removing the cloth strip from his mouth, Steward Qi's emotions collapsed, and he said weakly with a crying tone: "Ask, why don't you ask! Woooo!"

Xu Zaijing glanced at Liao Zhang Sanlang on the side, then shook his head: "Does this still need me to ask?"

As he spoke, he put the person into the water again.

"Wuu wuu wuu!"

Steward Qi struggled violently in the bathtub, and after being pulled out again, he sprayed water from his mouth: "Cough, cough, cough! Grandfather, this little one was wrong, this little one was really wrong, this little one shouldn't have used the Marquis's mansion's name to scare others!"

Feeling the long bench under him tilting toward the water surface again, the water surface submerged his forehead, and Steward Qi, who was tied to the long bench and tilted upside down, said urgently: "Grandfather, Yanei, listen to this little one! This little one will say everything, everything!"

During the time of speaking,

the water surface had already submerged his eyes and stopped on the bridge of his nose, almost being submerged again.

"This, Yanei, that Liao family woman, she relied on having studied arithmetic for two years, I don't know how she knew... knew about my Madam's usury business..."

"Cough, cough, she also... also wanted to use this matter to threaten the Madam, wanting to be a concubine in Jin-ge'er's room... This little one, under the Madam's instruction, only then used heavy hands... This little one was also forced to do so!"

Hearing this, Liao Zhang Sanlang, who was tied to the side, had his eyes split with rage and struggled violently.

"Oh!"

Xu Zaijing nodded, his eyes full of thoughtful expression as he put the person into the bathtub again.

"Little Master! Yanei! No! This little one... gurgle gurgle wuu wuu!"

Steward Qi, who was submerged again, had his violent struggling movements cause water to splash everywhere in the bathtub.

Xu Zaijing pursed his lips and said to the person on the side: "Liao Zhang Sanlang, the matter might... just be like this!"

"I have heard about the Kang family borrowing our family's name! But the person who handled it didn't inform our family beforehand, and after the matter, our family also spoke to the person who handled it, saying this is the only time and not to do it again!"

"It's just that I didn't expect it to be your family..."

As he spoke, Xu Zaijing walked in front of Liao Zhang Sanlang, helped him untie the cloth strip sealing his mouth, and continued:

"However, the person has passed away! If you go under my elder brother's command, there is still a future!"

"If you want to kill for life and pay debts with money... this is a matter of heaven's justice! I won't stop you either."

Liao Zhang Sanlang sneered at Xu Zaijing, his eyes full of contempt, as if Xu Zaijing wasn't holding any good intentions in his stomach.

Xu Zaijing untied the cowhide rope on him and shook his head: "Liao Zhang Sanlang, if I were protecting my own, and killed you here, how many people do you think would know?"

Liao Zhang Sanlang was stunned, thinking of the Imperial City Division he had just visited, put away his sneer, pondered for a moment and said: "I have heard your name in the Western Army many times, so I will take these words as being said to me by a comrade in the Western Army."

Xu Zaijing nodded, frowned, and looked at Liao Zhang Sanlang: "Good! But the Kang family being able to settle this matter is, in any case, because they used the name of my Marquis Yongyi's mansion! If you can escape the pursuit of the Bianjing yamen runners, go to the Zhu family fortress in Xiangzhou in the north, and I will protect your life."

"My life doesn't need your protection! That person is about to die."

Liao Zhang Sanlang raised his chin, signaling to Steward Qi in the bathtub.

Xu Zaijing hurriedly stood up and walked to the bathtub,

and then Xu Zaijing frowned tightly. He smelled a stench of feces and urine, and after looking carefully by the candlelight, he could vaguely distinguish the yellow liquid on the long bench.

He pulled the bench out of the bathtub.

Xu Zaijing patted Steward Qi's face with disgust.

"Ugh~"

Dirty water surged out of the person's mouth,

and after seeing the appearance of the person in front of him and knowing that this person would really kill him, Steward Qi said with eyes full of panic: "Yanei! Ya... cough cough cough! This little one... really didn't mean to deceive you!"

He spoke somewhat urgently, "Ugh~" and another mouthful of water surged out,

"This little one will never dare to make things up again."

Xu Zaijing glanced at Liao Zhang Sanlang, who was stunned, and asked in a deep voice: "Speak, if I hear you making things up again, after someone else serves you, you will be sunk in the bucket and won't come up."

"Yes, yes..."

Steward Qi nodded incessantly.

"Yanei, the Liao family woman, she knew arithmetic, I don't know how..."

Xu Zaijing shook his head: "Forget it, I'd better invite someone to come."

Liao Zhang Sanlang interjected: "Who does Yanei want to invite?"

Xu Zaijing placed the long bench diagonally outside the bathtub, and while putting down his sleeves, he said:

"I previously knew an arrest official who knows the craft of dissecting a person's blood vessels and tying them into a caisson knot."

"Many river pirates and greenwood bandits have been served by him, and their calves were shaved to the bone. Tsk tsk tsk, how miserable! Right, he also knows medicine, and can guarantee that even after you've confessed everything in detail, you won't die."

As he spoke, Xu Zaijing looked at Steward Qi shivering and smiled, then opened the door and walked out.

"Yanei, I'll say! I'll say! It was my family that intercepted thirty percent of the interest, and after Liao Fourth Da Niangzi found out, my mother used the Madam's name to let her go to Jin-ge'er's room, and then said she seduced the young master, and used punishment..."

Steward Qi saw Xu Zaijing stop his footsteps and looked back with surprise in his eyes, his eyes widened: "You... you... you didn't know about this!!!!"

"Now I know."

Hearing this, Steward Qi went completely soft.

Walking outside the door, Xu Zaijing said to the old man on the side: "Old man, don't let this person commit suicide."

"Official, don't worry."

At this time, Liao Zhang Sanlang also untied all the cowhide ropes and walked into the courtyard to Xu Zaijing's side.

In the courtyard,

the spring breeze blew from time to time,

and in the distance, there was still the laughter of brothel girls soliciting customers.

Liao Zhang Sanlang looked up at the starry night sky: "Is what he said true...? It's too bizarre. How could a Madam of a noble family have the guts to intercept the interest of the master's family?"

Xu Zaijing turned his head to look at Liao Zhang Sanlang and said: "This kind of long-time personal Madam who is highly relied upon by the Madam, and the steward of the outer courtyard is her own son, what does she not dare to do? This is a business with ten thousand times the profit, and she doesn't have to bear any bad reputation! Tsk tsk tsk tsk."

(End of chapter)