Jiang Yanyi walked closer and found a mouse and a wild cat killed on the steps outside the store.
The mouse was half eaten and bloody, and the wild cat died even more miserably, with a pile of vomit around it and its eyes rolled back in deathly white.
Even though he was mentally prepared, Jiang Yanyi was still startled and felt physically uncomfortable.
Jiang Yanyi glanced at the long street and found that all the shops had opened one after another. Several vendors selling breakfast food used to like to set up stalls in front of Jiang Yanyi's door. After all, they only did business in the morning, and Jiang Yanyi's hot pot restaurant did business at noon.
Jiang Yanyi has a good temper and wouldn't say anything if they saw this. They would occasionally send Jiang Yanyi breakfast to express their gratitude. After all, if they set up a stall in front of someone else's store, they would definitely be yelled at and driven away.
Today, the vendors stayed away from her shop, apparently because they were afraid of the dead cat.
Jiang Yanyi asked the woman selling wontons, "Auntie, did you see this cat die in front of my shop when you were setting up your stall this morning?"
The woman selling wontons nodded awkwardly, as if she was afraid that Jiang Yanyi would ask more questions, and quickly buried her head in her work.
Jiang Yanyi glanced at the other vendors, and most of them avoided his gaze.
Jiang Yanyi knew that they were afraid of implicating themselves. After all, they had no foundation. She was now very close to the Feng Mansion, but some people still dared to use such a shady trick, which meant that the other party was also quite powerful.
Jiang Yanyi understood their concerns, but he still felt the coldness of the world.
She didn't ask any more questions, but said to Qiu Kui: "Let's deal with the dead cat and mouse first, and clean up the store entrance."
Qiu Kui nodded and went to the kitchen to get stove ash. He wrapped the dirt vomited by the dead cat with the stove ash to make it easier to clean up.
He Xingniang, who worked at the jewelry shop across the street, went out to buy a pancake for breakfast. When she saw the dead cat outside Jiang Yanyi's shop, she fanned her nose several times with her hand in an unlucky manner: "Shopkeeper Jiang, is the food in your shop unclean? The wild cats ate the mice in your shop and were poisoned to death. Is the food you cook edible?"
Someone wanted to destroy his reputation, so Jiang Yanyi spoke without mercy: "Auntie He, I don't like what you said. Not to mention the cause of death of the wild cat, I don't know if it was poisoned by eating a mouse. This mouse is in front of my store, so it is in my store?"
Jiang Yanyi has not even dared to smoke the bacon because he is afraid of attracting rats. The meat used in the store is bought fresh every morning, and all edible things are stored in the cupboards.
He Xingniang was over thirty years old, yet she was able to open a jewelry store on the main street of the Protectorate. She came from a well-off family, took good care of herself, and was a woman with a charming figure.
In the past, no matter how sarcastic she was, Jiang Yanyi would still maintain some respect with her, and calling her "Sister He" was considered a compliment. But today, he just called her "Aunt He", which made He Xingniang very angry.
She didn't even bother to eat her pancakes. She put her hands on her hips and cursed, "There are so many households on this street, why did that wild cat have to carry a mouse to death in front of your door? Wasn't the mouse from your shop, or was it framed by someone else? The only restaurant on the whole street, besides your shabby Gudongtang, is the Laifu Restaurant on the street. What a joke! Laifu Restaurant is such a big family business, how could they look down on your small business?"
Her voice was so sharp that many passers-by on the street stopped to watch.
The wild cat died in a tragic way, which makes people feel uncomfortable.
Jiang Yanyi found an empty basket to temporarily cover the bodies of the wild cat and the mouse. Her voice was not as penetrating as He Xingniang's, but her pronunciation was clear and every word could be heard clearly:
"According to what you said, Aunt He, I saw girls from the Gold and Jade Kiln entering your shop to buy jewelry a few days ago. Can I also assume that those girls are from your shop?"
Doesn't this mean that He Xingniang is a brothel madam
The people watching started laughing.
He Xingniang was furious. "You are shameless, don't throw dirty water on me! It's true that people without parents' education are very different. They can say anything!"
Jiang Yanyi hated it most when people always pointed fingers at her parents. She smiled but didn't smile: "Yes, it's a pity that your parents passed away early, otherwise they would have taught you well."
He Xingniang's eyes turned red with anger. She threw away the pancake in her hand and rushed over to fight with Jiang Yanyi: "You little bitch, I will tear your mouth apart today!"
Seeing that a fight was about to break out, the surrounding neighbors came over to stop the fight. Several women grabbed He Xingniang and tried to persuade them to stop.
He Xingniang was dragged back after making a scene, and she cried and said that Jiang Yanyi insulted her parents who had died long ago.
Jiang Yanyi listened to her mournful crying and said calmly, "I didn't say that. You said it yourself."
He Xingniang was finally persuaded by several women and her crying gradually subsided. However, after being provoked by Jiang Yanyi, her crying became several degrees sharper. The several women who were trying to comfort He Xingniang could not stand her crying like that.
He Xingniang couldn't swallow this anger, so she moved a stool and sat at the door of her store, cursing at Jiang Yanyi like a swearing on the street, saying all kinds of nasty things.
Jiang Yanyi and Qiu Kui dealt with the bodies of the wild cat and mice, then fetched water to clean the steps in front of the door, pretending not to hear.
When He Xingniang became tired of scolding, Jiang Yanyi deliberately said a few more sarcastic words to her. He Xingniang was already angry and her temper could be ignited at any time. She continued to scold her with full force like a fighter jet.
This happened several times, and He Xingniang's voice became hoarse and she couldn't speak.
Jiang Yanyi then said, "Sister He, you are really something. I have never offended you since I opened the shop. Even if I have offended you in any way, we can talk about it in private. Look at you, you have been scolding me for the whole morning. If anyone passes by this street, they will not want to go into the shop to buy anything. I don't care, after all, I just started selling pots at noon, but why bother to make the surrounding neighbors have no business in the shop for the whole morning?"
He Xingniang's eyes widened and she wanted to continue cursing, but when she opened her mouth, her throat was so sore that she couldn't make any sound.
The neighbors had listened to He Xingniang yelling and cursing for the entire morning, and they were already dissatisfied with her. What's more, what Jiang Yanyi said was the truth. Because of He Xingniang's incident, their store had no business for the entire morning.
Human nature is sometimes so strange. We can stand aside and watch other people's affairs, but we can't do that when it comes to our own interests.
"Xing Niang, what you did today was not righteous."
"That's right. This Duhufu Street is not yours. After making a fuss for the whole morning, are you still going to do business?"
"After so many years, she's still like this. Whenever she encounters a trivial matter, she acts as if everyone owes her something..."
The most terrifying thing about an argument is not a one-on-one one, but a group of people blaming you.
Under normal circumstances, He Xingniang would have just yelled a few times in a shrill voice to yell back at the group of people, but today her voice was so hoarse that she couldn't speak, and she couldn't yell back at anyone. In the end, she was so angry that she closed the store and refused to do business today.
After this incident, anyone with a discerning eye could see that although Shopkeeper Jiang looked amiable, if you offended her, you would suffer the consequences.
After all, He Xingniang has lived on the streets of Duhufu for more than ten years. Except for today, has she ever been at the bottom of a quarrel or something
***
Jiang Yanyi does advocate that harmony brings wealth, and has always been of the principle of "I won't offend others unless they offend me", but if someone offends her, she will never be a pushover.
He Xingniang had provoked her many times, both openly and secretly. She had responded indifferently the previous times. But this time He Xingniang was going too far, so there was no need for her to show any mercy.
Qiu Kui looked at Jiang Yanyi with envy: "Hua Hua is so amazing!"
She had always been bullied since she was little, and even when she was scolded, she could not think of how to fight back. Today, when He Xingniang scolded, her spit flew everywhere, and she was scared just by looking at the scene, but Jiang Yanyi was like nothing happened, and he could even find loopholes in He Xingniang's words to fight back.
Jiang Yanyi said: "You have to be like this when you are a person. There are so many people who bully the good and fear the evil. If you don't stand up, how can there be so many kind people to help you?"
Qiu Kui nodded vigorously and asked again, "Did He Xingniang get that cat?"
Jiang Yanyi thought about it and shook his head: "It shouldn't be her."
No one would be so stupid as to frame someone and then jump out and make trouble.
Jiang Yanyi, the man behind the scenes, also thought that Lai Fu Restaurant was the only restaurant serving food on the entire street. However, as He Xingniang said, Lai Fu Restaurant was such a large business, and its main business was to contract banquets for dignitaries, which did not conflict with her hot pot business at all.
After she arrived in Xizhou City, the only family she offended was the Hu family.
Could it be that all this was done by the Hu family
Jiang Yanyi was worried and cooked the medicinal food. When he sent it to the Protectorate, the doorman said apologetically, "I forgot to tell you, Manager Jiang, that Military Advisor Chi came this morning, and the prince went to the army with Military Advisor Chi early in the morning."
Jiang Yanyi frowned: "Didn't the doctor say that he needs to rest at home for a few days?"
The doorman said in embarrassment: "This...I don't dare to ask about the prince's affairs. Maybe there is something important in the army."
Jiang Yanyi knew that a doorman had no way of knowing why Feng Shuo suddenly went to the military camp, so he handed the prepared medicinal meal to the doorman and returned to the store.
When Aunt Guo came to work, she started cursing as soon as she entered the store: "You left a dead cat in front of someone else's store so early in the morning. You are so heartless!"
Jiang Yanyi was a little confused: "Aunt, how did you know that?"
Aunt Guo said, "On my way here, I heard a lot of people talking about a wild cat that ate the mice in our store and was poisoned to death. The doctor at Xinglin Hall was invited to see several families this morning. They were all nobles who had eaten the antique soup in our store yesterday. When they heard about the dead cat, they were afraid that the food in the store was not clean and they all felt unwell."
Jiang Yanyi frowned. A cat had just died outside her shop that morning. There were not many people on the street at that time, but she and Qiu Kui had already cleaned up the bodies of the stray cat and the mouse. He Xingniang only mentioned a few words about the mouse at the beginning, and then she cursed about other things.
Rumors about wild cats can't spread so quickly. There must be someone behind the scenes fanning the flames.
However, before Jiang Yanyi could think more, two bearded men walked into the store cursing all the way.
One is a one-eyed man, the other has a scar on his face. The one-eyed man kicked over a set of chairs and said, "Boss, come out!"
When Qiu Kui saw the two big men, he looked a little scared and turned to Jiang Yanyi and said, "Hua Hua, these are the people who came to eat yesterday."
Jiang Yanyi pressed her hand, signaling her not to be afraid, and stood up and said, "I am the shopkeeper of the store. The two guests should talk it over nicely. If you damage anything in my store, you will be fully compensated."
The scarred man looked Jiang Yanyi up and down with a lustful look in his eyes: "I heard that the shopkeeper of this shop was doing sex business with the rich and powerful. Even the prince was bewitched by him. With such a handsome appearance, I think the rumors are true."
Jiang Yanyi's eyes suddenly turned cold: "Da Xuan's law, those who spread rumors and criticize the royal family should be punished by cutting off their tongues."
Feng Shuo is from the royal family.
The big man who was speaking froze, and the one-eyed man glared at his companions, then he said to Jiang Yanyi viciously: "Yesterday, the three of us brothers ate hotpot in your store. Today, my third brother has a stomachache and vomits continuously. He is now in Huichun Hall. What do you say we should do?"
Jiang Yanyi's first reaction was that they wanted to extort money, and they were also the ones who left the dead cat at the door of the store.
After all, their clothes didn't look like they were well-off, but they ate and drank to their heart's content in her store yesterday and had money to pay the bill, and today, as soon as the dead cat incident came out, they came to her store to cause trouble.
But when she thought about it, it didn't make sense - if they were just trying to make a little money, there was no need to go to so much trouble to spread rumors that the food in her shop was not clean. And a few hooligans didn't have the ability to spread rumors so quickly.
Jiang Yanyi said calmly: "I looked at yesterday's account. You came to the store to eat at noon yesterday. Last night's dinner and this morning's breakfast may have caused your brother's abdominal pain and vomiting."
"Bah! The mice in your shop have eaten the dead cat, and you still want to show off to your grandfather?" The one-eyed man said aggressively.
Perhaps because they saw that someone really had problems eating from the hot pot, more people started to watch outside the store.
Jiang Yanyi stood straight. No matter how rude and rude the two were, she did not show any fear. She did not lose in momentum at all and shouted, "Did you see with your own eyes that wild cat died after eating a mouse?"
The one-eyed dragon was stunned by Jiang Yanyi's roar, "No."
"So you saw that rat running out of my shop?"
“No.”
Jiang Yanyi sneered: "Then how do you know that the rat is in my store? Report your brother's matter to the authorities, and they will give you an explanation."
Scarface chimed in, "Officials, no matter how high up the officials in Xizhou are, they can't be higher than the prince next door. Shopkeeper, you should give the prince a good rest on the bed, and then the officials will definitely find you not guilty."
He made a face full of grief and said to the crowd outside the store: "It is the ordinary people like us who have no power and influence who are suffering!"
Jiang Yanyi's face was ugly, but he also determined that they were related to the Hu family based on these words, and he cursed directly: "You fart!"
After offending the Hu family, she also found out the Hu family's status in Xizhou. The Hu family had a big business because they monopolized the entire Xizhou's flower market. They also made spices, developed rouge and powder, and opened a silver shop and a cloth shop.
Mr. Xie, the governor of Xizhou, is Mrs. Hu’s uncle.
Because Feng Shuo intervened that time, Xie Zhizhou turned his back on his relatives and punished Mrs. Hu with a stick. After a manager of the Hu family came to her shop in person to give gifts and apologize, she never had any contact with the Hu family again.
Who would have thought that the Hu family was waiting here to plot against her.
However, these two ruffians not only slandered her, but also deliberately slandered Feng Shuo. Was the Hu family really so ignorant of their own danger? Or had they climbed to a higher branch
Thinking of this, Jiang Yanyi couldn't help but feel strange. The streets of the Protectorate were so chaotic today, but the patrolling officers and soldiers in the area hadn't appeared at all.
Aunt Guo seemed to be even more angry than Jiang Yanyi after hearing what the two scoundrels said. She spat fiercely, "What a bunch of bastards! Have you ever dug your mouth in a cesspool? You can live peacefully as hooligans in Xizhou City, but you don't even ask yourself who you are relying on! If the King of Liaonan was not in Xizhou, the Turks would have rushed into the city and chopped off your heads to use as chamber pots!"
"You stinky old bitch!" The scarred man's eyes turned fierce and he raised his hand to hit Aunt Guo.
"Auntie!" Jiang Yanyi was worried that Auntie Guo would suffer, so he shouted, "Stop! Do you still have the law in your eyes?"
Scarface ignored him and came over here aggressively, but Aunt Guo hooked a bench over there and Scarface tripped and fell.
Aunt Guo sat down on the ground, looking like she had fallen to the ground out of fright.
She raised her foot and kicked Scar hard several times, shouting, "Help! Someone is beating me!"
Jiang Yanyi had no idea how strong the kicks were, but she saw Scarface covering the place where he was kicked, and curled up like a shrimp.
Jiang Yanyi was stunned, so Aunt Guo... is actually a hidden martial arts master
The people watching outside the door couldn't see the situation inside, but Aunt Guo screamed so miserably that they all thought that the two big men were bullying others by taking advantage of their power, and they couldn't help but feel some sympathy for Jiang Yanyi and the others.
But no one from the government came. Seeing how strong and sturdy the two men were, they did not dare to help rashly.
"Stop!" A deep shout came from outside the door, and a handsome young man squeezed in. It was Lu Linyuan.
"Poor scholar, stop meddling in other people's business!" The one-eyed man was just about to help Scarface and had no intention of paying attention to Lu Linyuan.
He took out a token from his pocket and said, "I am from the Xizhou government office!"
He had heard of the reputation of Jiang Yanyi's hot pot restaurant. His colleagues joked about coming here for a meal, but he refused in every possible way, unwilling to set foot here, fearing that his past would be brought up again.
But today, he happened to pass by this place and heard the screams from inside, and he couldn't just sit there and watch.
He has read the books of sages all his life. He cannot lose the truth engraved in his bones just because of some old grudges.
Even if it was just a stranger woman being bullied today, Lu Linyuan would stand up.
When Jiang Yan saw Lu Linyuan, she was also stunned. She didn't expect that the next time she saw him would be in such a situation.
Seeing the token in Lu Linyuan's hand, the one-eyed man and the scarred man who was grimacing in pain looked at each other and were a little confused. Didn't the people over there say that the Xizhou government would not be in charge of Duhufu Street today
"Why are you making trouble?" Lu Linyuan asked the two men.
"My three brothers ate a pot here yesterday. Today, my third brother had diarrhea and vomited continuously. It must be that the pot in this restaurant is not clean!"
"Since you all have eaten, why is it that only your third brother has diarrhea and vomiting, while you two are still so energetic?" Lu Linyuan questioned.
The two big men were stumped by the question. They were ruffians to begin with, so they didn't know how to reason with others. They stammered, "My third brother... has been weak since he was young, and his body is not as strong as the two of us."
"Since he is weak, maybe his stomach is not digesting well. This is not a reason for you to slander other people's shops for unclean food!" Lu Linyuan said in a deep voice.
Scarface quickly added, "A wild cat died in front of their store this morning. It died after eating the mice in their store."
Jiang Yanyi immediately retorted: "The rat is not from my store!"
It was the first time that Lu Linyuan saw Jiang Yanyi so ferocious, and he felt very unfamiliar with him.
In the past, when he saw a noble lady from an aristocratic family being so unmannered, he would have thought it was unruly. But after several desperate situations, he also knew that not everyone was born with luxurious clothes and food, and could learn to play the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting from a young age.
In the past, when the country was destroyed, many noble ladies from aristocratic families could not bear the fate of falling into the mortal world and committed suicide. Only a few were able to survive.
Letting go of his inherent prejudice against Jiang Yanyi, Lu Linyuan suddenly felt that she had done better than most noble ladies.
She had done wrong things in the past, but now she couldn't return home, couldn't recognize her relatives, and had to make a living on her own. This was already a punishment.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to live.
Jiang Yanyi felt uncomfortable being stared at by him, so he cleared his throat and said, "I hope you can do justice and clear our shop's name."
Lu Linyuan came back to his senses and asked, "Is the dead cat still there?"
"It's still there." Jiang Yanyi didn't have time to bury it, so he just put it in the basket.
Lu Linyuan nodded: "Take it with you, and take it to the clinic to see the doctor and see what the doctor decides."
The one-eyed dragon didn't know what had happened at the contact point, but the other party just wanted him to take Jiang Yanyi to Huichuntang. The two brothers started making trouble just to extort more money and then trick Jiang Yanyi over.
At the moment there is only one more scholar who looks weak. After all, he is a yamen man, and the yamen will make the decision themselves.
The one-eyed dragon pointed at Jiang Yanyi and said, "My third brother is still in Huichun Hall, not knowing whether to live or die. You have to come with us!"
Today's matter must be concluded. Jiang Yanyi nodded: "Okay."
Aunt Guo said hurriedly, "Boss, I'll go with you."
Jiang Yanyi glanced at Aunt Guo, hesitated for a moment, and nodded.
After witnessing Aunt Guo's kick on the bench today, and thinking back to what she had said to persuade him that day, Jiang Yanyi had a vague guess about her identity, but he was not sure.
The two big men were strong and sturdy, and Lu Linyuan was just a weak scholar, not to mention his own fighting ability. If something unexpected happened in the middle of the battle, it would be dangerous. Bring along Aunt Guo who knows martial arts, for safety.
Jiang Yanyi wanted to go to Feng Mansion for help, but her relationship with Feng Shuo had not yet been settled. Furthermore, these two people had slandered her and Feng Shuo before. If she went to ask for help at this time, it would be like verifying that what they said was true.
Even if it was later discovered that their third brother's diarrhea and vomiting had nothing to do with their hot pot, the people might still suspect that it was the palace that put pressure on the clinic.
So Jiang Yanyi gave up the idea of going to Feng Mansion for help, told Qiu Kui to close the shop, and went to Huichun Hall with a few people.
***
Xizhou government office.
Xie Zhizhou looked at the man sitting on the imperial chair, respectfully presented a glass of wine, and said flatteringly, "Sir, please have some."
"Have you explained everything to the people below?" Fan Yaonian was holding a beautiful maid with half her clothes undressed in his arms.
The beautiful maid took the wine handed to her by Xie Zhizhou and was about to feed it to Fan Yaonian.
Fan Yaonian refused to drink. The beautiful maid smiled shyly, understood what he meant, and put the liquid into her mouth and fed it to him.
In front of Xie Zhizhou, the two of them became intimate as if no one was around.
Fan Yaonian was the eldest son of Fan Wei. After his younger brother Fan Shengnian died, the emperor, in order to stabilize the Fan family, not only made Consort Fan the Imperial Consort, but also promoted him to General of the Cavalry. Fan Yaonian and his younger brother Fan Shengnian were of the same ilk, and wherever they went, they were always accompanied by fine wine and beautiful women.
Xie Zhizhou ignored the two people who were in love. He was even happier that the beauty he presented to Fan Yaonian won his heart. He said earnestly: "As long as the daughter of the Jiang family leaves the main street of the Protectorate, I will have plenty of ways to catch her. I'm just afraid that the King of Liaonan will get the news..."
Ever since the emperor heard that Jiang Yanyi was still alive, Feng Shuo, in order to prevent someone from assassinating him, not only strictly controlled the people entering and leaving the city at the major city gates, but also set up a tight protection network along the entire Duhufu Street.
It seemed like nothing happened on weekdays, but Magistrate Xie received hints from above and sent assassins to kill Jiang's daughter several times, and none of the assassins he sent came back alive.
After losing dozens of soldiers, they finally figured out the coverage of the protective net.
After hearing what Xie Zhizhou said, Fan Yaonian sneered, "The Turkic prince has sneaked into Xizhou, and I'm afraid he has no time to take care of other things now. Once the Jiang daughter dies, Your Majesty will no longer have any leverage over the Liaonan King. When the Turkic and Liaonan King are both defeated, Your Majesty will send troops north, not only to retake Xizhou, but also to seize the Liaonan King's military power!"
He glanced at Xie Zhizhou and said, "When the time comes, I will report to His Majesty and let you take the position of Protector General of Western Province."
Although Xie Zhizhou was greedy for money and wanted high positions and generous salaries, no one knew better than him how the Turkic prince had sneaked into Xizhou City despite the numerous blockades. Once the truth was revealed, it would be a capital crime of treason and the nine generations of his family would be executed.
He was worried about his own life: "The King of Liaonan has always been known for his bravery in the army. If the Turks are defeated..."
"He will definitely die!" Fan Yaonian said with a firm tone, his big hands roaming around the beautiful maid, but his eyes were very gloomy.
The man on the throne dared to take this risky move, and he also took great pains to find out the weakness of the Liaonan King. Because of the old injury, the Liaonan King would be in so much pain when it was cold that he couldn't even hold his weapon.
The one sitting on the throne had been planning this from the very beginning, in order to lure the King of Liaonan to Xizhou.
It was just that I thought the Turkic spies left in the Xizhou camp could survive until the severe winter, but Feng Shuo wiped out all the spies in a short time.
The King of Liaonan has now begun to renovate the Xizhou government office. If the Xizhou government office is also under his control, Xizhou will be like an iron barrel that cannot be pried open no matter how much effort is put in.
Therefore, it is necessary to stir up the water completely before Feng Shuo completely clears out the entire Xizhou.
Joining forces with the Turks to eliminate the King of Southern Liao was the new emperor's craziest move.
Fan Yaonian knew very well that in the eyes of the new emperor, the threat posed by the King of Liaonan was much greater than that of the Turks.
The new emperor's initial plan was that if the King of Liaonan sent troops, he would most likely die in battle; if the King of Liaonan did not send troops, his reputation would be ruined and the people of the entire Daxuan Dynasty would curse him.
In this way, even if he wants to rebel and seize the throne in the future, he will not be popular.
Now that the new emperor had sent him here, he had no intention of letting the King of Liaonan leave Xizhou alive.
Fan Yaonian was able to reach the position of General of Cavalry, so he was definitely not a fool. During the heyday of the King of Liaonan, he certainly did not dare to provoke this "living king of hell", but he could kill ten sick kings who could not even hold a weapon!
Xie Zhizhou didn't know the secret of Feng Shuo's old injury. Just thinking about Feng Shuo's reputation in the army made him feel terrified. "What if..."
"No chance of that happening!" Fan Yaonian pushed away the beautiful maid in his arms.
Seeing that he had ruined his mood, Xie Zhizhou was so scared that he bowed repeatedly and said, "Your humble servant deserves death. General Fan is a young hero, how could he be defeated by the King of Liaonan!"
Fan Yaonian snorted coldly: "When Chu Changping was still the general of Yunzhou, wasn't he also known as the General of Hundred Victories? But wasn't he driven off the cliff by a single spear from me?"
***
At this time, at the gate of Xizhou City, a team of escorts were slowly approaching with several carts of goods. Each escort was wearing a windproof black cloak, a bamboo hat, and a long sword at his waist.
The inspections at the gates of Xizhou City have become stricter these days. When the guards saw a caravan coming, they all perked up, "What business are you doing? Take out your pass? Open all the boxes!"
The chief guard was about to go forward to open the box, but the chief escort stretched out his arm to stop him. Before the chief guard could get angry, he showed him a token.
When the guard leader saw the cold and vicious word "Seal" on the token, his face changed drastically. He directly signaled the soldiers behind him to take away the sharp wooden roadblocks: "Quick, quick, let them into the city!"
The group entered the city. The head escort lifted his hat and looked at the bustling Xizhou City. His strong features were full of heroism, but his eyes were slightly red. It was Chu Changping.
He said, "After being chased and intercepted all the way, we finally reached Xizhou."
The assassins sent by the palace were like a group of mad dogs, setting ambushes everywhere. If Chu Changping had not faked his death by falling off a cliff, and had not had the Liaonan King's token in his hand, and if there were no Liaonan King's men to meet him wherever he went, I'm afraid it would take another half a month before he could reach Xizhou.
His trusted aide stepped forward and said, "Third Master, should we go find an inn to stay at first or go see Miss Biao first?"
After such a long journey, everyone in the group looked like a nobody.
Chu Changping was worried about his niece. In order to kill him, the emperor sent Fan Yaonian, the eldest son of the Fan family. As long as his niece was alive, the one sitting on the throne would not be at ease.
Although Chu Changping knew that his niece was now under the protection of the King of Liaonan, he was still afraid of any accidents. On the one hand, he was also eager to see his niece, so he named a few of his confidants: "Yang Xiu, Jiang Sha, Bing Shao, Fan Zha, the rest of you will follow me to see Ayi, and the rest of you will find an inn to stay first."
The confidants all accepted the order.
***
At this time, Jiang Yanyi didn't know that he was being planned by others.
Two strong men led the way, and Jiang Yanyi, Aunt Guo and Lu Linyuan followed behind.
Huichuntang is located in the south of the city. It is a clinic where ordinary people go to see doctors. This area in the south of the city is a bit like the slums of Xizhou City. The Xizhou government is unwilling to send people to manage this area. If someone dies on the street for no reason, no officials will come if no one reports it to the authorities.
Most of the people living here don't have enough food or warm clothes, but there are also many children running around naked in the streets.
The poorer the poor, the more they like to have children. Even if food becomes a problem, children still pop out one after another.
Jiang Yanyi frowned as he looked at the dirty and messy streets.
Lu Linyuan also found something wrong. How could these two people get the money to eat out if they lived in a place like this
He asked in a deep voice: "How far is it?"
Scarface seemed to have seen the generous sum of money that the contact person promised them, and his tone of reply became much lighter: "We'll be there soon, just around the corner in the alley ahead."
As the group walked into the alley, Jiang Yanyi had no time to react before Aunt Guo pulled her behind him.
Arrows came flying in like a flood. Aunt Guo had a soft sword in her hand at some point, and she danced with it with great speed. Her body, as big as a hill, was surprisingly flexible at this moment, and she blocked all the dense arrows one meter away.
Lu Linyuan doesn't know martial arts, but there are always several secret guards hiding around him. When they see him in danger, they all jump out.
Only the two bearded men who were leading the way were shot into pieces, with blood all over the ground.
"Boss, hurry up! Run towards the main street of the Protectorate!" Aunt Guo protected Jiang Yanyi and retreated out of the alley.
Jiang Yanyi was completely confused now. She thought someone was targeting her, but she didn't expect that someone was going to kill her directly.
The person who went to such great lengths just to kill her... The only person Jiang Yanyi could think of was the male protagonist in the original book. After all, the Hu family was just a merchant family and they didn't have such ability.
Every arrow seemed to be hitting her, but was blocked by the soft sword in Aunt Guo's hand at a tricky angle.
Jiang Yanyi had never seen such a scene before. His heart was beating wildly and his legs felt weak. He was basically being carried away by Aunt Guo.
Aunt Guo's beautiful swordsmanship was indeed beyond Jiang Yanyi's imagination... She should have expected it long ago. Butcher Ma had been slaughtering pigs and sheep for decades. If Aunt Guo was just an ordinary master, how could her skills in slaughtering sheep be more skillful than Butcher Ma's
The soft sword and the sharp arrow collided with each other, making a sharp tinkling sound.
Jiang Yanyi hesitated and said, "Aunt, are you from the Feng Mansion?"
Aunt Guo knew what she wanted to ask, and while blocking the sharp arrows flying from all directions, she said, "The prince only asked me to be by your side to protect you. What I said that day was what I wanted to say to you. This is the first time in all these years that the prince has taken a fancy to a girl. I hope that there will be someone who understands the prince."
Having retreated to the outside of the alley, Aunt Guo pushed Jiang Yanyi and said, "Hurry up, boss!"
Jiang Yanyi staggered back a few steps, and saw several assassins leaping down from the top of the wall. Lu Linyuan was protected by several secret guards, but he was unharmed. She knew that if she stayed here, she would not be able to help at all, and Aunt Guo would get in the way in order to save herself.
She held back her tears and said, "Auntie, be careful," then gritted her teeth and ran to the street.
The target of this group of killers was Jiang Yanyi. When they saw Jiang Yanyi running away, they did not want to fight and went straight to chase Jiang Yanyi.
Aunt Guo held back half of the people. Seeing this, Lu Linyuan also ordered his secret guards: "Hold them back!"
Jiang Yanyi ran wildly all the way. She was too scared to feel tired, but the blood in her body seemed to be flowing backwards, making her hands and feet cold uncontrollably.
She was worried that Aunt Guo was outnumbered, so she kept shouting for help, but no one on the street paid any attention to her.
For the first time, Jiang Yanyi wanted to cry because she was too scared. She gritted her teeth and ran towards the main street of Duhufu as Aunt Guo said.
She now trusts the soldiers of the Protectorate more than the people in the government.
Several assassins soon caught up with him from behind. Jiang Yanyi even lost one of his shoes, but he still couldn't outrun these martial artists.
When a killer raised a knife and threw it at her, Jiang Yanyi's foot, which had lost its shoe, stepped on a stone. The excruciating pain in the sole of her foot made her burst into tears instantly, and she fell down.
The big knife was thrown just not far from where Jiang Yanyi fell. Thinking that he was almost cut in half by the knife, Jiang Yanyi looked at the shining blade. Although he didn't want to cry, his tears fell even harder. "Help—"
Never before had she felt so close to death.
When the pedestrians on the street saw this, they didn't even have time to hide, let alone dare to step forward.
This is exactly a three-way intersection. Turn left and cross the street to reach Duhufu Street. Turn right and it will be the only way in and out of the city.
The assassin behind him probably saw that Jiang Yanyi could not run any longer, so he stopped chasing her and walked over slowly with a knife in hand: "You took money from others, □□, don't blame me when I go to the underworld."
When the big knife was chopped down at her, Jiang Yanyi closed her eyes and what she was thinking was that the knife technique looked quite neat and she should be killed instantly, and would not be like the wound on Feng Shuo's back, which would cause her pain for a long time.
But the knife did not fall on Jiang Yanyi in the end. A goose feather arrow instantly pierced the killer's chest. At the same time, a kick came and kicked the killer away.
"If you dare to touch my niece, I'll get rid of you first!"
A rough voice came from above my head.
Jiang Yanyi raised his head with tearful eyes and saw a resolute and upright face. Although he had a short beard, his sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes were still handsome.
He looked just like the uncle in the original body's memory, except that the stubble on his chin was longer.
She asked why it took so long to send the letter but there was no reply at all. It turned out that her uncle came to Xizhou to find her in person!
For a moment, the joy of surviving the disaster and seeing his relatives made Jiang Yanyi's nose sore and tears rolled down his face.
But before he could utter the word "uncle", another tall figure appeared in Jiang Yanyi's sight.
Feng Shuo was wearing a dragon robe and a thick fox fur cloak on his shoulders. His black hair was neatly tied up with a golden crown. His face was as gloomy as usual, and he had the look of "no strangers allowed" as usual.
He held a black iron bow in his hand, stood three steps away, and called out without emotion: "Master Chu San."
Upon hearing this, Chu Changping quickly clasped his fists towards Feng Shuo and said, "Your Majesty."
The excitement and ecstasy in Jiang Yanyi's heart were stuck, and she now only felt her scalp tingling.
Why did Feng Shuo happen to be here? Did he know his uncle
If Feng Shuo knew that he had lied to him for so long... Jiang Yanyi felt that the life he had just saved might be lost again.
"Master, the remaining evildoers have all been killed!" Xing Yao rode over from the south of the city, dismounted and reported the situation to Feng Shuo.
Jiang Yanyi glanced towards the old alley in the south of the city and found that Aunt Guo and Lu Linyuan were slowly walking towards them.
They were all safe and sound, and Jiang Yanyi breathed a sigh of relief, but the problem of the century before her was truly the one that was going to cost her her life!
Jiang Yanyi thought it over, and finally, when Chu Changping once again turned his extremely loving gaze to her, she climbed up with a half-limped leg, and before Chu Changping could speak, she pretended not to know him, bowed to him and blinked desperately: "Thank you for your rescue, brave man."
My uncle is my own family, so I can explain to him afterwards. But Feng Shuo’s changeable temper is not so easy to explain.
Let’s keep Feng Shuo a secret first.
When Chu Changping and his close associates heard Jiang Yanyi's words, they were so shocked that they couldn't recover for a long time.
Strong...strong man
Chu Changping looked Jiang Yanyi up and down, not quite understanding what message she was trying to convey by winking at him. He wondered if his niece had been so traumatized that she had lost her memory
The regret on his face suddenly became more obvious, and he said in a sad voice: "Ayi, uncle is sorry for you, uncle is late..."
Jiang Yanyi: “…”
Was it because she wasn't blinking hard enough
She glanced at Feng Shuo with a dead heart, only to see that Feng Shuo was looking at her dimly with an expression that was hard to describe.
The author has something to say: Feng Shuo: If you keep pretending, I will just watch you continue pretending.
In order to make the plot more coherent, it was merged into one big fat chapter.
Sorry for making the babies wait for so longqaq