Chapter 687: Xu Family Has Such Great Prestige! [Thanks! Thanks again!]

Late April,

The birth of the Second Prince made the fireworks and firecrackers business in the capital very lively, not to mention the Rong family distributing porridge and money.

In the blink of an eye,

It was May,

Increasingly long days and short nights.

Every morning when Xu Zaijing went to school, the sky was much brighter than before.

On the way to the Sheng family, he could also see many commoners, either pushing wheelbarrows or carrying shoulder poles, full of various fruits entering the city for sale, with peaches being the most numerous.

On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival,

School was on break,

Early morning,

Xu Zaijing rode his horse and took his personal attendants out of the Xu family gate.

Looking at the mugwort grass dolls nailed to the gate in the morning light, Xu Zaijing's eyes were slightly dazed.

"Young Master, what's wrong?" Qingyun asked.

"Nothing, just feel that the last time I saw the mugwort grass dolls, it seems like it was yesterday in a trance."

Qingyun nodded: "Young Master is right, these days are passing a bit fast, in the blink of an eye, both Susu and the others will be three years old."

As he spoke, Qingyun also looked at Xu Zaijing with quite a lot of meaning.

"Why are you looking at this Young Master like this?" Xu Zaijing frowned.

Qingyun pursed his lips, shook his head with a smile and said: "Young Master, nothing."

"Let's go."

Listening to the various movements on the street,

Xu Zaijing and his party walked north along the Bianjing street.

Along the way, the street was either prosperous and lively, or clean and quiet, and the scenery was different.

Early Si hour (after 9:00 AM),

Xu Zaijing and others arrived near Sai Sai Fanlou.

Sai Sai Fanlou was located in the inner city, northeast of the palace city, not far from Huihe Lane and Guangfu Lane.

The residence that was rewarded to Xu Zaijing and later rented out by Chai Zhengzheng was in Guangfu Lane, not two streets away from Sai Sai Fanlou.

In front of the towering wooden building of Sai Sai Fanlou, there was an exquisite and complex colorful building gate,

Unlike winter, the things placed in front of the colorful building today were no longer life-like flowers, but freshly picked flowers of various colors, emitting a fragrant scent.

In front of the colorful building,

Under the banners fluttering from time to time,

Various luxurious carriages and horses stopped and went, and guests who were either rich or noble got off the carriages and horses, and under the guidance of the Sai Sai Fanlou waiters, walked toward the building.

Because most of the guests brought little servants and maids, those who were particular also had to unload the various items they carried from the carriages, so the gate was a bit blocked by carriages and horses.

Xu Zaijing dismounted not far from the colorful building.

Seeking books, Alan, and the two led the horses to the stable, while Xu Zaijing and Qingyun walked directly toward the entrance of Sai Sai Fanlou.

Standing at the entrance, Xu Zaijing looked around somewhat uncomfortably.

"Young Master, what's wrong?" Qingyun asked.

Xu Zaijing shook his head and said: "Just feel a bit uncomfortable, it seems like someone is staring at us."

Qingyun was startled: "Is there any opponent?"

Xu Zaijing looked around, the crowd was dense, and he couldn't see anything, and the slightly uncomfortable feeling just now dissipated.

Xu Zaijing thought for a while, looked at the Sai Sai Fanlou waiter who came up to meet him, and said in a deep voice: "Let's go, let's go in."

Compared to the outside, it was slightly cooler inside the building.

In front of the huge and complex screen, the Sai Sai Fanlou waiter to the side bowed and smiled: "Fifth Young Master, are you looking for the Gao family's private room?"

Xu Zaijing nodded: "Not bad."

"Please this way."

"Good."

Taking Qingyun and walking in Sai Sai Fanlou, Xu Zaijing bypassed the huge screen and saw the scene in the building, which was generally similar to what he saw in Pan Tower a few years ago.

Looking back at the maid standing at the entrance, Xu Zaijing smiled: "The waiters in your building are quite neat."

The Sai Sai Fanlou waiter looked back and smiled: "Fifth Young Master has good eyes. Today, after all, there are young masters from the Gao family coming, so the building cannot be slow, nor can it invite women of unknown background."

Xu Zaijing smiled.

This Gao family is not the Gao family of Laizhou, but from Bozhou, and the ancestors were founding generals.

The girl Taotao of the Gao family becoming the Crown Princess is now a certainty, so it is not an exaggeration to say that the Gao family children are top-tier young masters in the capital.

Bypassing the screen, the sound of silk and bamboo in the building became much louder, and there was also a cheerful drum sound during the period.

On the way to the stairs,

Suddenly,

Xu Zaijing stopped his steps.

"Fifth Young Master, what's wrong?" The Sai Sai Fanlou waiter was confused.

Xu Zaijing looked at the group of female musicians playing beside the wooden platform in the hall, smiled, and said: "Nothing! Qingyun, let's go, let's go over and say hello to the head of the Yang family."

"Yes, Young Master."

The Sai Sai Fanlou waiter saw this and hurriedly followed with a smile.

A moment later,

Xu Zaijing came to the vicinity of the group of female musicians, and the sound of playing gradually dissipated.

Yang Luoyou, who was wearing a veil and holding a pipa, stood up with a smile and bowed to Xu Zaijing: "Seen the young master."

"Head of the Yang family, long time no see, how have you been recently?" Xu Zaijing smiled.

"Thanks to the young master's blessing, the slave's livelihood has been quite abundant recently."

Xu Zaijing nodded, looked at the girl who was much taller and holding a drum not far from Yang Luoyou, and smiled: "Miss Yang, how about you?"

"Returning to the young master, the slave is the same as the master." Zhiyue bowed and smiled.

When speaking, Zhiyue also looked at Qingyun behind Xu Zaijing.

Qingyun looked at the look in Zhiyue's eyes, and after a turn of his mind, he understood something and smiled: "Chu Zhan, that boy, followed our Marquis to the Northwest."

Zhiyue raised her eyebrows, nodded and said: "Oh, no wonder."

Seeing this, Xu Zaijing looked at Zhiyue, who was becoming more and more beautiful, and then looked at Qingyun, without asking more, just smiled and said: "There are still some things, so I will say goodbye first."

"Young master, walk slowly." Yang Luoyou and her apprentice bowed again.

Watching Xu Zaijing go away, Yang Luoyou and her apprentice Zhiyue sat back in their seats.

The other female musicians asked in a low voice one after another. After Yang Luoyou and Zhiyue answered a few words,

"Wow, so that was the Fifth Young Master of the Xu family!"

"It is really better to see once than to hear a hundred times."

On the other side,

Qingyun looked at Xu Zaijing's curious look and said: "Young Master, Chu Zhan and Miss Yang, there is not even a stroke of the eight characters yet."

Xu Zaijing shook his head with a smile and said: "Chu Zhan, this boy, has quite a lot of fate! Before, did the little sister of the Zou family also have an interest in him?"

"Yes."

As they spoke, Xu Zaijing stepped on the stairs to the second floor.

Looking at the tough guards on the second floor, Xu Zaijing had a strange expression on his face.

Seeing Xu Zaijing going upstairs, a group of tough warriors also cast scrutinizing eyes.

Seeing this, the Sai Sai Fanlou waiter smiled: "Fifth Young Master, the Gao family's private room is on the second floor, these are all the Gao family's guards."

Qingyun raised his eyebrows to the side.

Xu Zaijing nodded with a smile and said: "So that's it."

"Please this way." The waiter reached out to make a request, and while speaking, he smiled flatteringly at the guards.

The guard leader at the stairs curled his lips with a somewhat disgusted expression.

Walking in the corridor on the second floor, facing the unfriendly scrutinizing eyes of a group of guards, Xu Zaijing had no expression.

And Qingyun looked back without fear.

Looking at the few guards with provocative looks in their eyes, Qingyun even sneered.

This kind of expression made the eyes of the group of guards even more unfriendly.

Qingyun was not fierce, he had been training for many years, and he had been through life and death with his own young master Xu Zaijing several times, so he was very sensitive to malicious eyes.

This group of Gao family guards, I don't know if they took the wrong medicine, as if they didn't know the two of them.

"Young Master, they have this expression, don't know if they think we owe them money!"

"Since this is the case, I don't understand why they would send a post to our family."

Qingyun said while walking beside Xu Zaijing.

Xu Zaijing took a deep breath, waved his hand, and said: "Let's talk after we pass."

Arriving at the door of the private room,

Looking at the fishing cart standing to the side, Xu Zaijing smiled: "Sixth Young Master is here?"

The fishing cart smiled somewhat stiffly, bowed and said: "Returning to the Fifth Young Master, the Young Xiao Xiao Gongye is also here, all inside."

"Mm."

Xu Zaijing nodded, glanced at the person who looked like the guard leader at the door, and waited with his hands behind his back.

The guard leader scanned Xu Zaijing and curled his lips somewhat impatiently.

Qingyun glared and was about to speak, but the fishing cart hurriedly stepped forward with a smile and pushed open the room door, smiling: "Fifth Young Master, please come in."

Xu Zaijing smiled at the fishing cart, took a deep breath, and walked into the private room, while Qingyun and the fishing cart stood outside the room.

Looking at the screen at the door, the room door behind Xu Zaijing was closed from the outside.

After coming in, Xu Zaijing had some doubts in his heart, for no other reason, today this private room was too quiet.

He had participated in so many gatherings before, and every time he could hear the noise of his friends outside the door.

Bypassing the screen,

After Xu Zaijing's eyes scanned, his eyes widened in surprise. Between the electric light and flint of his thoughts, he vaguely guessed the reason for his discomfort downstairs just now.

Looking at Zhao Fang, who was sitting in the main seat and smiling at him, Xu Zaijing hurriedly bowed and cupped his hands: "Seen Your Highness! Why did you leave the palace today?"

Zhao Fang stood up with a smile, beckoned with a smile and said: "Jing Ge'er, you come over and sit first."

"Yes, Your Highness." Xu Zaijing glanced at the somewhat blank Qi Heng and Liang Han, and walked toward the seat near Zhao Fang.

After sitting down,

Xu Zaijing looked at the young man sitting beside Zhao Fang.

Seeing Xu Zaijing's eyes, Zhao Fang smiled: "Jing Ge'er, let me introduce, this is Gao Jing, a child of the Gao family in Bozhou, Taotao's cousin."

Xu Zaijing stood up and cupped his hands with a smile: "Seen Gao brother."

The young man also bowed, didn't lift his butt, scanned Xu Zaijing with an expressionless face, and said: "Nice to meet you."

Qi Heng and Liang Han saw this scene, and looked at each other with unclear expressions in their eyes.

Xu Zaijing didn't say anything, just looked at Zhao Fang, and asked with a confused tone: "Your Highness, the little minister remembers that the post sent to the house was written with the name of Gao Lin, Gao brother, why did it become Gao Jing brother today?"

What Xu Zaijing knew was that Gao Lin was the biological brother of the girl Taotao, and this Gao Jing, as Zhao Fang said, was just a cousin.

Zhao Fang smiled somewhat embarrassedly and said: "Gao Lin has something else to do today."

Xu Zaijing nodded and continued: "Then, Your Highness, why did you come to Sai Sai Fanlou. Since entering the building, I haven't seen the figure of the Imperial City Division's soldiers! The guards outside the room, I also see that they are a bit unfamiliar."

Zhao Fang smiled, waved his hand and said: "Jing Ge'er, it's a small matter, a small matter. You sit down first."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Xu Zaijing nodded thoughtfully and sat back in his chair.

Gao Jing, who was sitting on the lower side of Zhao Fang's other side, looked at Xu Zaijing and smiled:

"Fifth Young Master, His Highness is the Crown Prince, wanting to go out of the palace to see, why do you have to say so much?"

"You Xu family can accompany His Highness out of the palace, can't my Gao family children accompany him?"

"Listening to Fifth Young Master's meaning, His Highness has to inform you before going out of the palace? Amazing, amazing, what great prestige!"

Hearing this, Liang Han not far away smiled and explained: "Gao brother, Jing Ge is not this meaning."

Qi Heng nodded with a smile: "Gao brother, Sixth Young Master is right, Jing Ge is not this meaning."

Gao Jing smiled: "Whether Fifth Young Master has this meaning, let Fifth Young Master say it himself."

As he spoke, Gao Jing looked at Xu Zaijing.

Zhao Fang shook his head at Gao Jing, signaling Gao Jing not to speak.

After waiting for Zhao Fang to look over with a somewhat apologetic look, Xu Zaijing smiled: "Gao brother, His Highness going out of the palace naturally doesn't need to inform me

When Zhao Fang looked over with a hint of apology in his eyes, Xu Zaijing smiled and said, "Brother Gao, there is naturally no need to notify me when His Highness leaves the palace! But you must notify His Majesty, the Empress, the Imperial City Guard, and the Palace Guard, and deploy at least three layers of protection centered on the private room where we are."

Gao Jing laughed, waved his hand, and said, "Fifth Young Master, no one knows His Highness's noble status when he comes to Sai Sai Fanlou with my family! If we were to deploy three layers of protection as you suggest, it would only be a case of trying to hide something and ending up revealing it, achieving the exact opposite result."

Xu Zaijing's smile faded, and he asked sternly, "Brother Gao, do the guards outside the private room recognize me? Do they recognize the Sixth Young Master or Yuanruo?"

Before Gao Jing could speak, Xu Zaijing continued, "After going up to the second floor, the guards outside the room appeared tough and strong, with fierce expressions, but they were blind to the truth."

"Since I went up to the second floor and walked to the door of the private room, not a single person along the way asked for my identity."

Hearing this, Zhao Fang looked at Gao Jing in disbelief.

A look of realization dawned in Liang Han's eyes, and he whispered to Qi Heng, "Young Xiao Xiao Gongye, no wonder those guards looked at us that way when we arrived! It turns out they didn't recognize us!"

Gao Jing looked at Zhao Fang's expression, stood up in a panic, pointed at Xu Zaijing, and said, "You, Xu Zaijing, you are spouting nonsense! How do you know they don't recognize you?"

Xu Zaijing narrowed his eyes and said calmly, "It has been a long time since I last saw guards who recognized me yet still dared to glare at me fiercely."

Xu Zaijing looked at Zhao Fang: "Your Highness, if you insist on staying at Sai Sai Fanlou, I believe it would be better to inform His Majesty and the Empress."

After finishing, Xu Zaijing looked at Gao Jing again and said, "It is the decree of His Majesty and the Empress that the Xu family accompanies His Highness when he leaves the palace! Brother Gao, I wonder whose decree you received today?"

Gao Jing's eyes were panicked, and he said with a guilty conscience, "It, it is naturally His Highness's decree!"

Xu Zaijing stared at Gao Jing and said, "You put the Imperial Heir in danger, and you actually dare to say it is His Highness's decree?"

"I—"

Ignoring Gao Jing, who had nothing to say, Xu Zaijing looked at Zhao Fang and said, "Your Highness, how long have you been here?"

Zhao Fang pursed his lips and said, "About half an hour."

"Did you come from the Gao family mansion? Were all the ceremonial guards left at the Gao mansion?"

"Yes."

"In that case, many people know you have left the palace. I only hope no one is watching the Gao mansion."

Gao Jing said from the side, "Xu Zaijing, don't be an alarmist there. I have been accompanying His Highness here for so long, and nothing has happened."

After Xu Zaijing glanced sideways at Gao Jing, he looked at Zhao Fang and said, "Your Highness, seeing the possibility of danger here, why not have the guards come over immediately? If His Majesty and the Empress were to learn of this, I don't know how worried they would be."

"Because of this matter, those guards and ceremonial staff who came out with you will certainly be blamed by His Majesty and the Empress, and punishment will surely be unavoidable, especially for the eunuchs and female officials by your side."

Zhao Fang blinked, nodded with some self-reproach, and said, "Jingge, I was a bit thoughtless."

"Your Highness, do not worry! Then, I will send someone."

"Yes." Zhao Fang nodded.

Xu Zaijing said to Liang Han: "Sixth Young Master, have the fishing carriage go down, find Alan and the others, and go to the Gao mansion together."

Zhao Fang interjected: "Jingge, why don't you escort me back? No one will know, and the little eunuchs and the ceremonial guards will likely be spared punishment."

Xu Zaijing shook his head, looked at Zhao Fang, and said, "Your Highness, today is just for attending a banquet; I didn't bring anything. If someone really knew you were here alone, without armor or weapons, it would be difficult for me to protect your safety. We had better wait for the guards."

(End of chapter)