Chapter 632: Fifth Young Master Xu

Early morning,

A little earlier on the day Xu Zaijing and the others left the city,

The sky was deep blue,

Although the sun had not yet appeared in the east,

The sky was already quite bright.

More than ten li outside the East Gate of Bianjing,

In the courtyard of a spacious post station, there were more than ten carriages parked in the courtyard, and in front of a row of wing rooms stood officials from the Ministry of Rites,

Around these Ministry of Rites officials, there were women either holding wooden basins or carrying clothes, going in and out near the wing rooms.

"Are there any silver-colored arm bands left? If there are, send a pair over!" a woman shouted from inside the room toward the outside.

"Yes..."

Amidst the sound of speaking,

"Creak."

A wooden door was opened from the inside.

Looking at Zhao Weigan, who had changed into new clothes and was wearing a forehead band, the Ministry of Rites official standing in front of the wing room nodded with a smile: "This outfit fits Brother Gan perfectly; it looks better than the previous one."

Zhao Weigan, who had been arrogant and proud when he came to Bianjing as an envoy to Great Zhou before, had a completely different spirit today, looking as if he had changed into a different person.

"Many thanks for the compliment, Lord." Zhao Weigan cupped his hands and said.

The Ministry of Rites official waved his hand: "Eh! Brother Gan is too polite! The Northern Liao imperial clan is reckless, and the Zhadalan tribe harms the good; Brother Gan has abandoned darkness for light, and there will naturally be a bright future."

Zhao Weigan squeezed out a smile and said: "Then I will borrow your auspicious words, Lord."

The Ministry of Rites official nodded with a smile, watching the women and children who were already dressed up walking out of the door, and said: "Brother Gan, we are going to enter the capital today; if there are any among your family members who can ride horses, it would be better for them to ride."

Zhao Weigan was startled and asked in confusion: "Lord, this... why is this?"

As he spoke, he looked at his family members with some worry, especially the several young Zhao family girls.

The Ministry of Rites official took Zhao Weigan's expression into his eyes and smiled: "Brother Gan, don't be impatient! Today, there will be noble ladies from the capital coming outside the city to welcome you all..."

After listening to the Ministry of Rites official finish speaking, Zhao Weigan nodded repeatedly.

At this time,

A guard junior officer of the Imperial Guard walked toward the Ministry of Rites official not far away and cupped his hands: "This humble subordinate, Imperial Guard Commander Tu Tu, has seen the Lord."

"Commander Tu, you are polite; is there something wrong?" the Ministry of Rites official asked.

Zhao Weigan hurriedly cupped his hands and said: "Lord, you go ahead and get busy; I will go and urge them again."

"Brother Gan, go ahead."

After speaking, Zhao Weigan walked toward his family.

In front of the wing room, there was an old woman with silver and black hair, wearing decent new clothes, who looked at Zhao Weigan walking over and said in a low voice: "Gan'er, what did that official say to you?"

Zhao Weigan repeated a few words about "noble ladies welcoming" and "getting to know each other" and then said: "Mother, the son is afraid that if the younger sister and nieces show their faces, will someone come to harass..."

Listening to her son's words, the woman looked at the girls in the family and sighed, then said in a low voice: "Gan'er, our Zhao family was uprooted in Northern Liao."

"If we can marry into a high-ranking family in Bianjing, it can be considered taking root; it will be beneficial and harmless to you and your nephews."

Looking at his younger son who was silent with his head lowered, the woman said in a low voice: "I understand how you feel in your heart; you want to go to the battlefield to avenge your father and brother, but... the time has not yet come..."

"The son understands."

"Hm."

The Ministry of Rites official who had finished speaking walked over, bowed and saluted the mother and son in front of the room, and said: "Madam, Commander Tu of the Imperial Guard sent a batch of mounts, all of which are docile mares; you can choose for your family members."

The old woman nodded and signaled: "Thank you for your trouble, Lord."

The sun shone obliquely,

Outside the city,

The long carriage and horse team was walking on the broad official road leading to the New Cao Men.

In the team, at the front were the Imperial Guard cavalry opening the way, followed by the Ministry of Rites officials, and two rows of Zhao family men and girls riding horses, while the women and children followed in the carriages behind.

Perhaps because of the fatigue of the journey, coupled with getting up quite early today, the women and children in the carriages had already squinted and fallen asleep.

Zhao Weigan, who was at the front, looked past the cavalry in front and looked into the distance.

I saw that the trees on both sides of the official road in the distance were lush, covering many shaded places.

After looking for a while,

On both sides of the official road in the direction of Bianjing, there were vaguely two groups of people moving.

The two groups of people in the sunlight were dressed in bright clothes,

When they came out of the shade and passed through places with sun, there were still bright lights flashing from time to time.

Seeing this scene, not only Zhao Weigan and the others were surprised, but even the Ministry of Rites official in front asked forward in confusion: "Commander Tu, please go and investigate!"

"Lord, please wait a moment!"

After speaking, amidst the shouting of this Commander Tu, two Imperial Guard cavalry accelerated and ran forward to inquire.

When they approached the two groups of people, they seemed to see something, so they hurriedly turned their horses' heads and walked toward the team.

After the cavalry reported, Zhao Weigan knew that the two groups of people were young masters and noble ladies from the capital welcoming his family.

Soon,

"Boom, boom"

As the crowd approached, the gradually louder sound of hooves came.

Zhao Weigan and the others also gradually saw the appearance of the two groups of people.

The Zhao family girl riding beside Zhao Weigan leaned out and said with surprise in her eyes: "Fifth Uncle, the young master at the head, why is the horse he is riding so spirited? It looks like the dragon horse of the Yelu family."

Zhao Weigan nodded: "Hong Jie'er, that is a dragon horse."

"Ah? Then he is a disciple of the Marquis of Yongyi Xu family?"

"Hm! Before coming to Bianjing, I lost to him in polo."

"Oh! Fifth Uncle, then the girl at the head? Which family is she from?"

"She should be from the Duke of England Zhang family..."

Listening to the conversation between the uncle and niece in front, the Zhao family members following behind passed the news to each other one after another.

During the time they were talking,

Xu Zaijing and the others, who were riding horses and coming toward them, passed by the side of the team and ran toward the end of the team.

After reaching the end of the team, the two rows of teams used the broad official road to make a small circle and then turned around to catch up directly.

At this time and place, Xu Zaijing and the others had a taste of showing off their horsemanship.

But on the battlefield, Xu Zaijing and the others would have already reorganized for another attack.

The noble ladies who came to lead the charge were also used to playing polo; amidst the crisp sound of horse-riding commands, they also quickly turned their horses around to catch up with the team, only slightly slower than Xu Zaijing and the others.

The Ministry of Rites official walking at the very front and that Commander Tu also understood.

When Xu Zaijing and the others caught up, they accelerated their horses and vacated the front position.

Amidst the chaotic sound of hooves, Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye and others rode their horses close to Zhao Weigan.

Looking at Zhao Weigan, who was holding the reins with one hand and cupping his hands in a salute, Xu Zaijing smiled slightly.

The people following behind Xu Zaijing also cupped their hands in a salute one after another and were about to speak, when.

Suddenly!

"Don't!"

"Waaaa!!!"

"Father!!!"

In the carriage in the middle of the team, there was a terrified, heart-piercing, sharp cry of a child, which came through the surrounding sounds.

This made Xu Zaijing and the others stunned for a moment.

Subsequently,

I don't know if the child woke up or was comforted, but the crying soon disappeared.

Zhao Weigan looked back with concern in his eyes.

After the crying disappeared, Zhao Weigan turned his head, looked at Xu Zaijing and the others on the side, squeezed out a smile and said: "The child was frightened on the way to escape. Please forgive me, Young Masters."

Xu Zaijing, Gu Tingye, and the others shook their heads one after another, saying things like "It's nothing" and "The child has suffered."

Zhang Wu Niang, Gu Tingyi, Chai Zhengzheng, and others on the other side were also attracted by the crying and looked back.

The noble ladies who were still talking originally fell silent one after another.

Although no one was soft-hearted enough to have red eyes and shed tears, many people had pity in their eyes.

Although the Lu Long Zhao family had lost many relatives, it was not good for everyone to say any happy or joyful topics, nor was it good to say that they would have wealth and honor after coming to Bianjing.

Therefore,

Xu Zaijing looked at the crowd around him for a few times, deliberated for a moment, and said: "Brother Gan, is it okay to call you that?"

Zhao Weigan shook his head with a smile.

Xu Zaijing nodded and continued: "We all know about the previous matter, and I have always had a question in my heart."

Amidst the sound of carriage wheels and hooves, Zhao Weigan said: "Fifth Young Master, if you have any questions, just ask."

The sun rose, and the temperature rose accordingly.

I don't know which tree by the road had a cicada chirping "beep, beep" twice.

Xu Zaijing said solemnly: "Speaking of which, the Lu Long Zhao family has a great influence in the Northern Liao army, and it is closer to the Jin Kingdom from Lu Long; I don't know why you didn't defect to the Jin Kingdom?"

Hearing this,

Gu Tingye and the others riding horses behind Xu Zaijing nodded one after another, obviously also having doubts about this.

Zhao Weigan sighed, shook his head and said: "Our family never had the idea of defecting to the Jin Kingdom! The peace negotiations were also under the orders of the Yelu family."

"At first, when we were attacked, my father thought it was a misunderstanding by the Zhadalan tribe and others, and wanted to lead people to Zhongjing to explain it clearly in front of the... pseudo-Emperor."

"But they didn't give us a chance at all; after isolating the news, they just attacked and killed. Although some people in the clan suggested defecting to the Jin Kingdom, the Zhadalan tribe obviously had precautions early on and stationed heavy troops in the east."

"Fortunately, my second sister-in-law's maternal brother was in the navy; before, he was recommended by my father to be a junior officer in charge of two warships, so we had the opportunity to enter the water fortress and escape on the warships, having a glimmer of life."

"If we hadn't encountered the Great Zhou navy on the way to escape, I think our family would have been uprooted."

Gu Tingye and Liang Han looked at each other, and after looking at the disciples of the Duke of Xin, Pei family, they nodded.

Xu Zaijing was silent for a moment, and shook his head in the surprised eyes of others: "However... by rights, taking a ship to the Jin Kingdom is not only closer but also downwind."

Zhao Weigan nodded: "I think that naval general also thought so, so he sent larger and faster warships to chase the one my father and brother were on."

Xu Zaijing thought for a while and said to Zhao Weigan: "Since the two ships were separated, I think there is some possibility of survival."

Zhao Weigan shook his head: "According to the Northern Liao navy captured by Commander Huyan, those elite soldiers of the Zhadalan tribe who chased the warships my father and brother were on, how could they let my father and brother live."

Xu Zaijing looked at Zhao Weigan with some apology in his eyes and said: "Don't worry, you will have a chance to take revenge in the future."

"Fifth Young Master is right."

"Right! You will have a chance to take revenge!"

Everyone on the side echoed one after another.

On the other side, the noble ladies who were also talking while riding horses heard the movement and glanced at Xu Zaijing and the others.

Subsequently,

Zhao Weigan's niece turned her head, looked at the Great Zhou noble lady with a different curtain hat in the crowd, and asked in confusion: "In that case, you have also seen the Emperor of the Yelu family and that Khatun of the Zhadalan tribe?"

The gold threads with pearls hanging around the edge of the curtain hat swayed, and Rong Feiyan under the curtain hat said: "Not only have I seen them, but the few people here were all in the palace back then and saw those two wrestling and

Chai Zhengzheng nodded along just to fill the numbers, thinking to herself: "I have only seen that Emperor of the Yelu clan."

The group traveled by horse and carriage,

and their pace was not slow.

Soon, they saw the towering outer city walls.

The houses under the large trees by the roadside gradually began to increase.

Listening to the surrounding environment gradually becoming noisy,

a little girl from the Lu Long Zhao family sitting in a carriage curiously poked out her little head, rubbing her eyes while looking outside, appearing as if she had just woken up.

After looking for a few moments, the little girl turned her head and asked: "Mother, it looks so lively around here. Have we entered the Great Zhou capital?"

A noble young lady from a certain family in Bianjing, who was following on horseback beside the carriage, smiled and said: "We haven't entered the city yet. Look, the city walls are still far away."

"Oh, thank you, Big Sister."

The Imperial Guard cavalry at the very front were clearing the way,

and the noble young men riding horses behind also began to talk to the descendants of the Lu Long Zhao family at this time.

Xu Zaijing pointed to the rooftops visible not far from the roadside and said to Zhao Weigan: "That over there is a royal garden."

Soon,

the somewhat massive carriage procession approached the New Cao Men.

Early this morning,

there were many carriages from high-ranking and wealthy families in the capital outside the New Cao Men, which inevitably made many passersby take a few extra looks.

Upon asking the coachmen and servants, they learned that this was to welcome those who had come to defect to the Great Zhou from Northern Liao.

There were no festivals during these days, so there was nothing lively going on.

With such an event at the New Cao Men today, it naturally gradually attracted more people to come and watch the excitement.

After all, if nothing else, there was usually no opportunity to see so many noble young men and young ladies from high-ranking and wealthy families in the capital all at once.

As Xu Zaijing and the others approached,

the Imperial Guards clearing the way began to seal off the road to maintain order.

More people could not pass due to the road closure, so the number of onlookers increased by quite a bit.

Crossing the wide wooden bridge over the Dragon-Protecting River, the group entered the inner city from the New Cao Men.

The onlookers on both sides of the main street were even more numerous than outside the city.

On the wooden buildings along the street, many people were also pointing at Xu Zaijing and the others.

Inner city,

roadside,

in a brothel,

the top courtesans who had been busy all night were usually resting at this hour.

At this time, an idler learned of the excitement outside the New Cao Men and ran to the building to report the news.

After the brothel's managing mama scattered a string of silver coins, she had the maids in the building go to each room to wake the courtesans up.

In the building,

amidst a chorus of complaints from the beauties,

a beautiful top courtesan with a fair appearance and half-exposed fragrant shoulders lay listlessly on the second-floor railing and said charmingly: "Mama, what time is it! If we mess around like this, will we still be receiving guests tonight?"

The brothel's managing mama stood in the first-floor hall with one hand on her hip and said: "Daughters, you had better wash up and dress quickly! That idler said that all the noble young men in Bianjing will be accompanying those people from Northern Liao as they pass by our building!"

The top courtesan on the second floor rolled her eyes and said: "I say, Mama, logically, for an event like this, the proprietor or the servants of wealthy patrons should have come to the building to notify us in advance. How is it that we found out so late!"

"Don't worry about that, hurry up!" the managing mama shouted.

When the procession of carriages entered the inner city,

Xu Zaijing raised his head and glanced at the top of the wall.

In his field of vision,

there were Imperial Guards holding flower baskets tossing handfuls of flower petals from the inner city gate tower.

The petals drifted with the wind,

causing the onlookers on the roadside to burst into exclamations.

After entering the inner city,

there were carriages decorated with fresh flowers parked by the roadside from time to time, with beauties in light and beautiful clothing sitting or standing in the carriages.

The young men would glance over from time to time, while the noble young ladies would mostly roll their eyes.

As they gradually approached the East Flower Gate,

the number of guarding Imperial Guards gradually increased.

Soon,

Xu Zaijing and the others dismounted outside the palace gate,

and together with the officials of the Ministry of Rites, they accompanied the group from the Lu Long Zhao family into the palace.

This extremely grand and unusual treatment soon spread northward at a very fast speed through the mouths of Great Zhou officials and merchants.

(End of chapter)