Qiu Yizhi was stunned when he heard this, but Lin Shuhan beside him applauded, "Great idea, great idea! General Zhao is so decisive. Although he is not as decisive as I am, he is much better than your Lord Qiu!"
After hearing this, Zhao Chengxiao immediately scratched his head and smiled innocently: "Mr. Lin, what are you talking about? How can I compare to my master?" He did not have the majestic demeanor he had when he led the troops in battle on the battlefield.
Qiu Yizi knew that Lin Shuhan was joking on purpose, so she didn't continue the conversation and said, "According to the laws of the Han Dynasty, we should do as Brother Zhao said. But I have promised Miss Wen that I would go meet her brother. If I go back on my word now, I'm afraid that others will look down on me in the future."
Lin Shuhan laughed and said, "How can you be so smart, sir, so inflexible? There is no contradiction between arresting the Tianzun Sect Leader and your secret meeting and confrontation with him. On the contrary, this Tianzun Sect Leader is very cunning. If he hadn't seen the fat bait like yours with his own eyes, he might not be willing to take the bait!"
Qiu Yi was stunned and thought: I was the one who started this discussion. We were discussing how to meet with the Tianzun Sect Leader, but how come after just a few words, it turned into a discussion on how to capture the wanted criminal
So Qiu Yizi swallowed his saliva, thought for a while, and said, "I think it's not the right time to capture the cult leader. Not to mention that he may not surrender, even if he is really caught, he is still a hot potato and it is really difficult to deal with!"
Lin Shuhan shook the folding fan in his hand, stood up and paced a few steps, and said, "I know your thoughts very well. Your Excellency, it is shocking that the emperor's adopted son wants to protect a saint of a cult, but it is also unorthodox for me, a son of a noble family, to like a brothel girl. Therefore, please put yourself in my shoes and think about it from my perspective. If the old procuress who took in Ruofei committed a crime and asked me to be her guarantor, how would you deal with her?"
Qiu Yizi thought for a moment and said, "It depends on what the case is. If it's an ordinary minor case, it's okay to do a favor. If it's a serious case punishable by death, I would rather the madam die so that Miss Wu can be free!"
"Hahaha!" Lin Shuhan clapped his hands and laughed, "It's so refreshing to talk to a smart person like Lord Qiu. I'm afraid you understand what I mean!"
Qiu Yizi certainly understood, but frowned and said, "However, the reasoning here is similar, but the feelings are different. The old procuress should not say anything about him, but after all, the Tianzun Sect Leader is Miss Wen's biological brother!"
Lin Shuhan put away his paper fan and tapped the table twice. "Your Excellency is thinking too far ahead. Is this a way of buying favors or taking advantage of someone's misfortune? It would be better for you to wait until you get the Supreme Leader, and then we can discuss it."
"That makes sense!" Qiu Yizi said, "Thank you for teaching me, sir. We have roughly decided on the rules now, and it depends on how to implement them."
Zhao Chengxiao, who was standing by, scratched his head and frowned as he asked, "What rules? The adults and Mr. Lin have been discussing for a long time, but every word they say is like a riddle. I can't understand anything..."
Qiu Yizi and Lin Shuhan were amused by Zhao Chengxiao and couldn't help but burst into laughter, and the atmosphere in the study became much more lively.
The two laughed for a while, and Lin Shuhan said seriously: "But in my humble opinion, the whereabouts of this Tianzun leader are uncertain, and there are no telling how many masters and capable people are around him. Your chances of winning are only 50% at best."
He took a breath and continued, "This is much more difficult than fighting an opponent openly on the battlefield. Don't try to kill the tiger and end up getting hurt by it!"
It was already quite cold in the south of the Yangtze River in late October. The fine and heavy rain, bringing with it the cold wave from the north, enveloped the city of Jinling, and the surrounding air was permeated with a bone-chilling chill.
Yanziji Wharf is a magnificent sight in Jinling.
This place was originally the throat of water transportation from the south to the north of the Yangtze River. There were frequent vehicles and numerous wine shops and tea houses. In addition, there was a reef standing in the middle of the Yangtze River opposite the dock, which looked like a swift fighting in the river wind. It was very rare and precious. Therefore, there were often literati and poets in Jinling City. They would often invite three or five friends, rent a small boat, face the river wind, watch the beautiful scenery, and write some pedantic poems, turning a dock originally used for business into a somewhat arty atmosphere.
It is for this reason that the Yanziji Wharf is a bustling place where all kinds of people meet.
Suddenly, a young man who looked like a scholar and a beautiful lady were seen holding an umbrella together, walking side by side along the eaves of the houses on the street towards the river, like a couple in love or newlyweds. The two of them deliberately wore plain clothes to pretend to be inconspicuous, but one of them was Qiu Yizi, the son of the current emperor, and the other was Wen Lingjiao, the saint of the Tianzun Sect.
Following behind them were two waiters, a man and a woman. The woman was He'er, Wen Lingjiao's personal maid since childhood; the man was Yuchi Jiming, the daughter of Qiu Yi's sworn brother Yuchi Lianghong, in disguise.
The group of people walked carelessly on the muddy road and suddenly stopped in front of a restaurant. Qiu Yizhi, holding an umbrella, asked Wen Lingjiao softly, "Is this the place?"
This restaurant can be considered grand and luxurious in other places, but it is inconspicuous in the extremely prosperous Yanziji Wharf in Jinling.
Wen Lingjiao looked up at the sign and nodded slightly, "Yes, this is it."
Qiu Yi was the first to step into the restaurant. Before he could say anything, a waiter came over and greeted him with a humble look, "I can tell from the looks of it that you are a customer who is making a fortune and doing big business. I wonder how many guests you have?"
Qiu Yizhi stuffed a handful of copper coins into the waiter's hand and replied nonchalantly, "There are only four of us. Please choose a quiet seat on the second floor. Make four cups of good tea first, and then we'll slowly order the dishes."
The waiter, having received the bribe, naturally served attentively, and led Qiu Yizi and the others to a seat in a corner on the second floor facing the street, and invited them to sit down. Yuchi Jiming and He'er, one real and one fake waiters, stood at the bottom. As they knew that this was the base of the Tianzun Sect, they were inevitably a little nervous, and no one spoke, and the atmosphere seemed a little awkward.
The waiter was quite good at observing people's expressions, so he coughed lightly and said, "From the accent of this young master, he must have come from the north to make a fortune here, right?"
Qiu Yizi said, "You are quite clever. We are Taoist priests from Youyan, and we just arrived here today. We heard that Jinling cuisine is much better than northern cuisine, so we came here to taste it. What are the signature dishes in Jinling? Tell me a few of them."
The waiter smiled and said, "That's all nonsense. Jinling's local cuisine doesn't really have any special features, and it's not very tasty. But the good thing is that Jinling is a place where merchants from all over the country gather, and they all bring their own delicacies from their hometowns. Therefore, guests who usually eat local dishes will naturally think that Jinling's dishes are unusual after eating delicacies from other places. But how could they know that what they eat is not the local cuisine here!"
Qiu Yizhi smiled and said, "You can say that, which shows that you have some knowledge and are quite honest. Then I won't ask what famous dishes there are in Jinling. Just order a few signature dishes from your own restaurant. If you serve us carefully and make us feel comfortable, I will naturally reward you."
After hearing this, the waiter thanked him a few words and left.
After a while, this person brought seven or eight dishes, both meat and vegetables, and placed them neatly on the seat in front of Qiu Yizi. He also distributed bowls and chopsticks to everyone, and then stepped aside.
Qiu Yizi picked up the chopsticks, ate a few bites nonchalantly, and discussed with Wen Lingjiao in a low voice. Suddenly, he raised his voice and said, "Waiter, come here!"
Since it was still early, there were not many customers in the store, so the waiter was waiting on the side. Upon hearing Qiu Yi's call, he hurried forward and said, "Sir, what do you want from me?"
Qiu Yizi's face turned serious: "How did you open this restaurant? Find the shopkeeper for me!"
The waiter was stunned and thought: This customer was so cheerful just now, why did he suddenly become angry now? Is he crazy? But he said politely: "Sir, is there anything I didn't serve well? If you have any questions, please tell me and don't call the shopkeeper..."
Qiu Yizi was not interested in the wine, so how could he be dismissed with just a few words? He insisted that the waiter go find the shopkeeper.
The waiter thought that he had done nothing wrong, so he made up his mind and turned around to go downstairs. In a blink of an eye, he led a man in his forties or fifties with a mustache upstairs and stood in front of Qiu Yizhi.
The shopkeeper really came, but Qiu Yizi didn't know how to respond, so she secretly winked at Wen Lingjiao beside her.
Wen Lingjiao then took a look at the middle-aged man and asked, "Are you the shopkeeper here?"
The shopkeeper rubbed his hands and nodded, "That's me." He pointed at the waiter beside him and said, "I don't know how this kid has offended the guests. If there is anything wrong, I will teach him a lesson!"
The shopkeeper was obviously very familiar with the opening job, and his few words were flawless.
Wen Lingjiao remained calm. She picked up the two chopsticks in front of her, and then took Qiu Yizi's chopsticks in front of her. She calmly broke three of the four chopsticks. She raised her eyes and looked directly at the shopkeeper, saying, "You guys are very considerate. Look at the chopsticks you brought up. Only one of the four is good. Who made this rule?"
The shopkeeper was shocked and was about to speak after considering his words, but the waiter beside him couldn't hold his temper and stepped forward and asked, "What are you doing? You broke so many good chopsticks in front of us, are you trying to cause trouble on purpose?"
The storyteller turned around and glared at the waiter, saying, "Stop talking nonsense! Get out of here!"
The waiter didn't know what he had done wrong, but he didn't dare to talk back, so he retreated angrily.
Wen Lingjiao's action was indeed the secret signal for contact in the Tianzun Sect. When the shopkeeper saw the waiter went downstairs and there was no one around, he immediately put on a smile, bowed and said, "So you are brothers and sisters in the sect. I wonder what brings you here?"
Of course I came to see the Master Tianzun!
But Wen Lingjiao didn't point it out, but said: "Your restaurant is indeed located in a good place. I wonder how much revenue you can get every month?"
The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment, then replied: "This is my family's ancestral business. After deducting the monthly salary of a few employees, it is only enough for my family to eat and wear. Could it be that these church members are short of money for travel expenses? No problem, no problem..." As he said this, he took out three or four taels of loose silver from his sleeves and put it on the table as a donation. (To be continued)