Chapter 12: Unaware of Danger
In mid-September, Tang Ying and Zhang Qing finally arrived in the capital.
Thanks to the bandits' selfless contribution, they no longer suffered from hunger and cold on the way, and they were able to buy some warm clothes as the weather got colder.
When the majestic and solemn city gate appeared in their sight, the two men took a deep breath, exchanged complicated glances, and galloped towards the city gate.
The scenery along the way is beautiful and magnificent, with fields and paths crisscrossing, peasant women calling their children, smoke rising from villages, and prosperous cities. The border war has little to do with these people who work from sunrise to sunset. The cruelty of the border is very different from the peace and tranquility of the city, as if they are two separated worlds, which can even make the two people have the illusion that everything they have experienced is false.
Perhaps it was because they were far away from Baicheng, and even if they occasionally encountered a robber on the way to Beijing, it was just a joke, and they dealt with it without alerting the government. After a long journey, it was not known whether it was the mountains and rivers along the way or the tranquility of the city that soothed Tang Ying's inner pain. Now her sick look has subsided, and she can occasionally race with Zhang Qing on the road. The loser will take care of all matters related to camping in the wild, hunting, collecting firewood, collecting prey, barbecuing, and preparing dinner.
Zhang Qing looks honest and kind on the surface, which makes people suspect that he is a bit dull, but in fact he is very meticulous. He will not let Tang Ying win every time, otherwise she will sit alone in the wilderness, with her back looking a bit desolate, which is inevitable to make people feel sad.
Therefore, the odds of racing between the two were almost 50-50. Every time Tang Ying lost, he ordered her around, asking her to skin a rabbit or make a fire. Only when the girl was busy did she reveal some vitality, and he felt that the spirited girl in the Marshal's Mansion had returned again.
When the two men entered the capital, they led their horses into the streets of the city. They saw pedestrians coming and going shoulder to shoulder and shops stretching along the streets. The scenery in the capital was very different from the towns along the way, and it had its own magnificent and elegant atmosphere.
Tang Ying and Zhang Qing were country bumpkins from the border who came to Beijing. They were leading their horses, and before they could find an inn, they met several people setting up stalls and performing acrobatics, as well as children running around in the crowd.
After finding a slightly remote but reasonably priced inn, Zhang Qing touched the pouch on his waist and was stunned.
——A thief from the capital city taught the two country bumpkins their first lesson when entering the city with his own actions: be careful with your belongings when there are many people around.
Tang Ying spent most of her time in the camp. Even when she went to the market to play, Yu An would accompany her and pay her . As a young lady, she had no habit of carrying money with her. If anyone got close to her, Young Master Yu would kick them away.
Zhang Qing, a good young man who had lived in the Tang Mansion for ten years, enjoyed all-inclusive food, lodging and clothing for all seasons, and had no bad habits. He was used to going out without money. The two of them gave their money to Zhang Qing to take, and then...the two of them stood at the door of the inn in the capital, leading two horses and looking at each other, not knowing what to do.
The shopkeeper saw the two people were embarrassed and kept touching the purse on his waist, looking unlucky. It was unclear whether he was serious or deliberately teasing: "Did you lose the silver?"
Zhang Qing slapped the back of his head and said, "Oh, it must have been touched by the boy who bumped into me just now." At that time, he was only concerned about guarding against a young girl who was walking towards him, and was afraid of bumping into her, so he didn't pay too much attention to the boy who bumped into him.
Tang Ying: “…” The capital is an important place. It’s not appropriate to rely on robbery to make a living , right?
She acted decisively and told the shopkeeper: "Old man, you accepted my brother and me to come to Beijing to live with our relatives, but we didn't expect that a thief would steal our money. We can't live on the streets in this cold weather, can we? Look, we have two horses to ride on. Why don't you let us stay here first and pay the rent after we sell the two horses?"
Seeing the shopkeeper hesitated, she quickly added more firewood and said, "How about... you have connections and know where there is a horse for sale, so you can send a servant to take us there?"
"Sister, what are you going to ride if you sell the horse?" Zhang Qing wanted to stop her, but she gave him a sidelong look and said, "Brother, you can't even afford to eat, how can you afford to raise a horse?" Fortunately, he got some money halfway through , so he bought three animals and set up an altar, and then did the business of swearing brotherhood.
Zhang Qing: “…”
Probably because the brother and sister were not dressed like shabby people, and they had mounts. Zhang Qing's facial features made it easy for people to trust him, so the shopkeeper really sent a clerk to take the brother and sister to sell horses.
Who knew that this sale would bring disaster.
There is a special horse market in Beijing, which mainly sells various animals for transportation, including donkeys, mules and horses, with different prices. It is unknown whether the two horses Tang Ying and his friends rode were robbed by bandits, but they are good horses. The guide was kind enough to tell them the lowest price halfway through the journey, so that they would not suffer losses from the horse dealers in Beijing.
When the two men he led arrived at the horse market, he withdrew after completing his mission, leaving the two men to lead the horses and sell them.
There were many people asking for the price, but not many were willing to pay after half a day. Tang Ying was starving, and two young girls wearing black riding clothes came and offered a very low price, which was only one-third of what the waiter offered.
Tang Ying refused, and the two girls were unreasonable. One of the women with an oval face scolded her, "Just sell it when I tell you to. Why are you so long-winded?"
Another tall and thin girl encouraged her companion: "Give her a few whips and see if she will sell it!"
Tang Ying was dumbfounded: "Is it the custom in Beijing to force buying and selling? It really opens our eyes for us country people!" This is no different from robbery.
"Sister, why don't we go?" Zhang Qing saw that the two women were not easy to deal with, so he became alert and secretly moved closer to Tang Ying.
The oval-faced woman had a bad temper and whipped her without saying anything. Tang Ying didn't expect that she would start a fight right away. If she dodged, the horse would be injured and she might even have to lower the price. Just as she was about to grab the whip, Zhang Qing stood in front of her and took the whip for her.
Tang Ying was furious: "Why do you hit people so casually?"
The girl sneered: "I'm going to hit you!" As soon as she finished speaking, she was hit hard by Tang Ying.
"How dare you hit someone?" The two girls were probably used to being bullies, and they really didn't expect Tang Ying to dare to fight back.
Tang Ying was not a person who would swallow her anger, so she laughed and said, "When you beat others, have you ever thought that one day you would be beaten too? Am I your servant, so that you can beat and scold me?" She didn't even bother to sell her horse, but rolled up her sleeves and prepared to fight.
Zhang Qing wanted to help, but she stopped him: "Brother, you can't fight with a woman. Let me do it."
The Little Overlord of Baicheng was not a nobody, and she had real experience in the battlefield. In just a cup of tea, she gave the two girls a good beating, and they left in disgrace.
As the two girls left, they shouted, "Just wait!"
At that time, Tang Ying did not take this sentence seriously. The subtext of this sentence was the same as the fixed ending remarks in a certain sheep cartoon in later generations - I, Gray Wolf, will come back.
How can you talk about courage when you have defeated the enemy?
It's just a sentence to save face.
It was not known whether it was because they had won the first fight or if they were just lucky, but half a quarter of an hour after the fight they sold their two horses for a good price, and they finally had a source of food and lodging.
Unexpectedly, two days later, the two women who had lost the fight earlier called their friends and brought six or seven young ladies to come and find a fight. They blocked Tang Ying in the alley outside the inn and were ready to fight.
At that time, Zhang Qing had gone outside to inquire about the news and had not returned yet. The girl with the oval face pointed at Tang Ying's nose and cursed: "Little bitch, we were not prepared last time and fell into your trap. This time, just wait and see whether we will not peel off your skin!"
"Who are you talking about, little bitch?" Seeing that both ends of the alley were blocked, Tang Ying was in no hurry to leave. She simply leaned against the wall and started a verbal fight.
"I'm talking to you!" The girl with the oval face hadn't noticed anything unusual yet, and one of her companions who was quick-witted had already covered her mouth and laughed. When she realized what was happening, her fair face suddenly turned red, and her head was as hot as fire. She rushed up with a whip in her hand.
…
Half an hour later, Tang Ying walked out of the alley with his head held high. Behind him was the beautiful lady lying on the ground in a twisted state, looking rather disheveled.
The oval-faced girl pounded the ground in anger: "Where on earth did this bitch come from? How dare she fight with the people from the Forbidden Cavalry Division?"
Her companion sat up, holding his stomach: "Ah Rong, have you told her that we are from the Forbidden Cavalry Division?"
Ah Rong said angrily, "Is she blind? Last time we had a fight, she knew we were from the Forbidden Cavalry Division just by looking at what Sister Li and I were wearing."
The tall and thin woman named Sister Li was the one who traveled with Arong for the first time. She paused for a moment while rubbing her calf and said, "Do you think she would not recognize the uniforms of the Forbidden Cavalry Division? I remember... she was selling horses when we first met, and her accent also sounded like she was from another place."
Ah Rong rolled his eyes at her in anger and said, "Sister Li, you think too much. Everyone knows the name of the Forbidden Cavalry Division. Even outsiders should know how powerful the Forbidden Cavalry Division is. You little bitch is just playing dumb!"
※※※
"What is the Cavalry Forbidden Division?" Tang Ying looked confused.
Zhang Qing had been looking around for news in the city in recent days, so he told her some common sense about the capital: "…The Imperial Cavalry Division was established by the late emperor himself. It is above all other officials and is directly under the emperor's jurisdiction. The Imperial Cavalry Division knows everything about any official who violates the law. Anyone who is taken away by the Imperial Cavalry Division will be punished if not killed. Everyone in the capital changes color when the Imperial Cavalry Division is mentioned."
Tang Ying: ...Isn’t this similar to the Jinyiwei intelligence agency established by Zhu Yuanzhang?
"The Imperial Cavalry Division is divided into two divisions. The Phoenix Division is managed by Fu Chen, the commander of the Imperial Cavalry Division, while the Phoenix Division is managed by the youngest daughter of the current imperial concubine, the ninth princess Yuan Shu. The Phoenix Division was originally managed by the late emperor's empress. It is said that the empress was born in a military family. After the late emperor ascended the throne, he encountered the rebellion of the three kings. The late empress also followed the late emperor to suppress the rebellion. After the rebellion was suppressed, in order to save some face for the royal family, the female family members were personally interrogated by the empress. The late empress had talents in torture and information gathering under her command, so she incorporated these women into the Jinqi Division, and thus the Phoenix Division and the Phoenix Division of the Imperial Cavalry Division were established."
A bold idea came to Tang Ying's mind: "Brother, if I sneak into the Forbidden Cavalry Division and work there, can I find a chance to find out the impostor?"
