Shortly after lunch, Zhu Ping'an took the initiative to bid farewell to Prefect Zhou and left Shuntian Prefecture. Although he was still on vacation, Zhou Houjie was still at work, so he couldn't affect his normal work.
Zhu Ping'an still has this kind of look.
After leaving the Shuntian Prefecture Government Office, Zhu Ping'an went straight to the restaurant he had booked previously. He happened to meet Liu Mu, Liu Dadao and others who were coming out to pay the bill. All the constables except Captain Zhang were also going out.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Lord Zhu. We have to guard the government office this afternoon, so I'll take my leave now."
The detectives from Shuntian Prefecture had official business to attend to in the afternoon, so after thanking Zhu Ping'an, they said goodbye and returned to the yamen.
"Sir, your purse."
After the constable from Shuntian Prefecture left, Liu Mu returned the purse that Zhu Ping'an had given him to pay the bill.
"Huh?" After Zhu Pingan took the purse, he felt that it was heavier than before, not lighter. He opened it with his hand and found that there were six or seven more taels of silver in the purse. He looked at Liu Mu and others with some confusion and asked, "What's going on?"
"Young master, you were right. You asked me to buy a few pairs of worn-out shoes from the Beggars' Sect, and I showed them in front of that bastard Zhao Daying as you instructed. He really caught my eye. One of his managers followed me all the way to the pawnshop, thinking I had been hunting in the mountains since I was a child. He didn't even think about the fact that I have been hunting in the mountains since I was a child. If I hadn't deliberately walked slowly on the way, I don't know how many times I would have lost him." Before Liu Mu could speak, Liu Dadao, holding a bundle, walked up to Zhu Ping'an with excitement on his face, and started talking with gestures.
Liu Dadao's village makes a living by hunting, and they are very good at tracking and counter-tracking. The moment the manager of the Zhao Mansion sneaked in from the front door, Liu Dadao had already noticed it. The tracking method of the manager of the Zhao Mansion was too amateurish, and it was far inferior to the way they tracked prey in the mountains.
But everything was as expected. Zhu Ping'an had made arrangements in advance for various situations. Liu Dadao also deliberately slowed down his pace to cooperate, otherwise the ten managers of the Zhao Mansion would have lost them long ago.
"Yeah." Zhu Ping'an nodded with a smile. Seeing Liu Dadao's excitement, he knew without saying anything that things must be going smoothly.
"Young master, you didn't see it. The grandson followed me to the pawnshop. Haha, the pawnshop owner was an expert and could tell at once that the bag of shoes was worthless. Only the grandson from the Zhao family looked at the bag of shoes as if it were a treasure. He stared at it with his eyes wide open. He thought it was this bag of shoes. Young master, do you know how much the bag of shoes was sold for?" Liu Dadao kept the suspense and asked while holding the bag.
The bundle in Liu Dadao's hand contains the eight pairs of blue cloth boots.
"Um... ... "
Zhu Ping'an was about to say a number when Liu Dadao over there couldn't help but reveal all the answers, leaving Zhu Ping'an no need to guess.
"Hehe, when the young master said that this pair of shoes could be exchanged for a welcoming banquet, I didn't believe it. At that time, the grandson said he wanted to buy the pair of shoes, and I casually mentioned ten taels of silver. I didn't expect that the grandson gritted his teeth and agreed to it. It was a full ten taels of silver. Today, we and Liutou and others from the yamen ordered chicken, duck, fish and meat in the restaurant, and we also ordered two jars of wine. We still have more than six taels of silver left from the exchange for the pair of shoes." Liu Dadao said excitedly.
"Well, it's just to collect some interest from Mr. Zhao, and then we'll settle the accounts with him later." Zhu Ping'an nodded.
"That's right. When the steward returns to the Zhao Mansion, Zhao Daying's grandson will definitely turn green in the face when he sees that bag of stinky shoes..." Liu Dadao felt relieved when he thought of that scene.
Then he handed the purse back to Liu Mu and said, "Take this money and use it first. Tell me if it's not enough."
"Master, we don't need it. We still have some money left from what you gave us last time." Liu Mu and his men returned the purse and shook their heads vigorously. "Master, you showed us a great favor last time, and we haven't repaid you yet. This time, you have stood up for justice for our village. We can't repay you even if we work like slaves for you. How can we still accept your money?"
Speaking of repaying a favor again, the ancients were truly simple and honest.
"Here, the cost of living in Beijing is higher than anywhere else." Zhu Ping'an smiled and handed the purse to Liu Mu and the others. "A steamed bun here is two or three times more expensive than in the countryside."
Liu Mu and the others still shook their heads.
Zhu Pingan thought for a moment, then counted out seven taels of silver from his purse and handed them to Liu Mu, Liu Dadao and the others. "These taels of silver are the interest collected in advance from Mr. Zhao. This is what he owes your village. Take these."
Liu Mu and the others still shook their heads and said that they got the money by following Zhu Ping'an's instructions.
"If I take this money, what's the difference between me and those corrupt officials who plunder the people's blood and sweat?" Zhu Ping'an insisted, "Take it and burn more paper money for the elders and folks in our village during festivals."
Liu Mu, Liu Dadao and others couldn't refuse, so they had to accept it.
Next, Zhu Ping'an led Liu Mu, Liu Dadao and six others towards Linhuai Marquis Mansion, preparing to temporarily place them there.
On the one hand, Liu Mu, Liu Dadao and others are still criminals, and there are some problems with their travel passes and identities, so it is inconvenient for them to stay in hotels outside. Now is an extraordinary period, so it is better not to make trouble. On the other hand, when petitioning the Ministry of Justice, Liu Mu and others are important witnesses. If Zhao Daying knew about it, who knows what dishonest means this guy would use to eliminate the threat. If they stay in Linhuai Marquis Mansion, the safety factor will be much higher, and the guards of Linhuai Marquis Mansion are reliable. In addition, Liu Mu and others are unwilling to repay their gratitude, and they probably won't agree if they are arranged to other places.
When they arrived at Linhuai Marquis' Mansion, Zhu Ping'an told the doorman to take Liu Mu and the others to stay in the guest rooms in the front yard first, while he went to the backyard to talk to the old lady.
"Uncle, leave it to me, don't worry."
Zhu Ping'an is the fifth brother-in-law of the Linhuai Marquis's Mansion. He is also the current number one scholar and a sixth-rank Hanlin. The old lady has also given instructions to everyone in the Marquis's Mansion, so the doorman took Liu Mu and the others directly to the guest room in the front yard and settled them down.
After Zhu Ping'an gave the instructions, he walked through the front yard, entered the back yard through the hanging flower gate, and walked towards the yard where the old lady of Linhuai Hou was.
"Hello, son-in-law." When the maids and nannies in the old lady's courtyard saw Zhu Ping'an, they all bowed and knelt to greet him.
"Hello." Zhu Ping'an nodded, then asked, "Grandma, are you free now?"
After receiving a positive answer, Zhu Ping'an bowed and said, "Please tell the grandmother that Ping'an wants to see me for something."
"Hehe... Speak of the devil and he will appear. The old ancestor was just talking about the son-in-law, and now he's here." A jade hand reached out from the main room and lifted the door curtain. Zijuan, a maid in a pink skirt, came out with a giggle and invited Zhu Ping'an into the house.
After entering the inner room, Zhu Ping'an first paid his respects to the old lady of Linhuai Hou. After the greetings, he got down to business and told the old lady about the arrangements for Liu Dadao and others. Zhu Ping'an used the Spring and Autumn style of writing and did not specify the identities of Liu Dadao and others. He just vaguely said that he had helped them before and that they saved him again today.
The fewer people who know the identities of Liu Mu and Liu Dadao, the better.
In the old lady's view, this was a trivial matter and she did not take it seriously. She simply asked a few questions and then nodded. She asked Zijuan to instruct the housekeeper in the mansion to settle Liu Mu, Liu Dadao and others as the guards in the mansion, and to pay them the same treatment as the guards in the mansion.