Chapter 21: Turning the War into a War, Daiyu's Sudden Idea
If the Salt Inspector Lin Ruhai were still alive, the fat steward might not be so afraid.
After all, Lin Ruhai was only the emperor's confidant, while 'Prince Zhongshun' was the emperor's younger brother, so it was easy to tell how close they were.
But now that Lin Ruhai had just died after devoting himself to his work, the orphan girl he left behind was being bullied by the royal servants. How would the emperor view this? And how would the ministers in the court react?
The more the fat steward thought about it, the more he felt a chill on his neck. He began to be thankful that the salt smugglers were stopped by Sun Shaozong and had not yet made a big mistake.
only……
He glanced at the salt smugglers on the boat out of the corner of his eye, then looked at Jia Lian and others opposite him, but for a moment he didn't know how to end this - he had just announced the name of the prince's palace, and then he surrendered in public. If Prince Zhongshun knew about this, how could he let him go?
Fortunately, there is Jia Yucun nearby.
"This steward."
He just skipped over the conflict and said calmly, "Since we have met by chance, it's not a big deal for us to help each other. But we have already loaded a lot of luggage on the boat, and I'm afraid there's not enough space for this full boat of salt."
With this step, the fat steward felt a lot more relaxed. He then saw that the salt smugglers who had fallen into the water had climbed back onto the boat one after another. Although they were all bruised and swollen from the cold, not a single one was missing. He knew that the other party had shown mercy.
So he quickly took advantage of the situation and said, "It's okay. If we grit our teeth, we can still squeeze in half a shipload of salt on these five boats. You just need to help deliver the remaining half of the salt to the ferry!"
After the two men agreed on the rules, Yucun asked Jia Lian to make the decision.
After these series of shocks, Master Lian was almost scared out of his wits. Now that he saw that the hostility had finally been resolved, how could he not agree?
So the boatmen here hurriedly raised the anchor and moved closer to the salt ship that had run aground, allowing the salt smugglers to do whatever they wanted.
The storm was wiped out, and both sides tried their best to pretend that nothing had happened. But who could really forget the scene of Sun Shaozong holding the oar and intimidating the crowd?
Therefore, the fat steward chatted with Jia Lian and Jia Yucun for a few words, and the topic was eagerly brought to Sun Shaozong.
They were all going back to the capital anyway, so there was no way to hide it - besides, Jia Lian and Jia Yucun would not dare to deceive the palace steward for Sun Shaozong.
Who would have thought that after asking Sun Shaozong's name and origin, the fat steward suddenly slapped his thigh and shouted with surprise, "It turns out that he is Commander Sun's younger brother, so he is not an outsider! Commander Sun often comes to the palace on official business recently, and I am already familiar with him. If you knew that it was Commander Sun's younger brother who was here, there would be no misunderstanding!"
This can only fool fools!
What is Sun Shaozu’s identity?
In terms of nobility, he is only a third-rank commander, and in terms of actual title, he is only a fourth-rank lieutenant of the patrol camp. He is not really an important figure. The doorman of Prince Zhongshun's palace would probably not even look at him straight in the eye, so what qualifications does he have to get familiar with the palace's stewards?
I'm afraid I've only met him a few times at most and just know this kind of person.
The fat steward said this, on the one hand to continue to downplay the conflict just now, and on the other hand to establish a relationship with Sun Shaozong.
How smart is Sun Shaozong?
In Daiyu's words, that's called having a bear's skin and a fox's heart!
He immediately realized the fat steward 's intention, and hurriedly said "Aiya", stepped forward and greeted him, "So the steward is actually my brother's good friend. This is really a flood that has washed away the Dragon King Temple. If I had known our relationship earlier, I would never have dared to act rashly!"
The two of them chatted for a while and actually became friends.
At this point, the fat steward finally revealed his name. It turned out to be Zhou Jingui, one of the three foreign affairs stewards in the palace.
In fact, these ships of salt could not be considered as real private salt. It was just because Lin Ruhai had just passed away that the salt permits could not be obtained for a while. The capital was also pressing for an emergency, so Wu Jingui, relying on the power of the Prince Zhongshun's Palace, decided to get on the train first and buy the ticket later.
--Dividing line--
But in Daiyu's room, the other girls finally breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that the clouds of the day had disappeared, and the two sides were talking happily with no trace of hostility anymore.
Daiyu ordered Zijuan and Xueyan to close the windows, and said with a bit of indignation, "That fat guy got such a good deal! Brother Sun should have swept him into the river to wash his dirty mouth that spewed shit!"
The snow geese beside them were also nodding like chicks pecking at rice.
Zijuan's eyes were full of stars, and she held her chest and praised him endlessly: "Mr. Sun was so majestic just now, standing on the bow, and the hundreds of people on the opposite side were so scared that they didn't even dare to move! I think those men in our mansion... those servants, even if they were added together, they wouldn't be enough to carry Mr. Sun's shoes!"
She spoke too quickly and almost got several of her masters involved.
Although Daiyu would not care about her "slip of the tongue", when she compared today's Sun Shaozong with her own brother Bao who loved to eat rouge, she couldn't help feeling jealous.
At this moment, an arm suddenly wrapped around her slender waist and pulled her into his arms without saying anything.
Daiyu was startled at first, and when she looked up, who else could it be but her elder sister Ruan Rong?
“Hmph! Hmph!”
Ruan Rong deliberately frowned and asked in a sinister tone, "I don't know which unruly person just now slandered Brother Sun as a donkey dung egg with a good appearance? If such an unruly person is not severely punished, wouldn't it be against the law of heaven and the king?!"
As he said this, he began to scratch Daiyu's armpits and waist.
"Madam Sun, please spare my life!"
Daiyu quickly gave in, shouting, "Brother Sun is invincible and a god reborn! I just didn't recognize the gold and jade. I beg Madam Sun to spare my life for the sake of our past friendship!"
Hearing her call out the three words "Madam Sun", Ruan Rong felt shy and happy, and even her bones felt lighter. But she didn't want to let Daiyu go like this, so she said coquettishly, "What a sharp-tongued girl", and tried to touch her all over.
Unexpectedly, Daiyu suddenly raised her little face and asked hopefully, "Sister, what do you think about letting Baoyu learn martial arts from Brother Sun? He doesn't like studying anyway, so he can just inherit his ancestors' great martial arts!"
Ruan Rong almost burst out laughing when she heard this.
Although she had never met Jia Baoyu, she had been with Lin Daiyu day and night for these days, and had already filled her ears with stories about this handsome man - Jia Baoyu couldn't even study hard, so how could he endure the hardship of practicing martial arts?
However, no matter how much he disapproved, seeing Daiyu's serious look, he didn't want to spoil her interest, so he said vaguely: "Brother Sun, it's not a big problem, but your brother Baoyu is a golden branch and jade leaf. Will your family be willing to let him practice martial arts?"
"How do you know if it will work if you don't try?"
Daiyu had only had a whim at first, but when she thought about how Baoyu had no interest in studying and even called scholars "parasites", but had a lot of praise for famous generals and knights throughout history, she thought that maybe he really was a good material for learning martial arts.
She didn't want Baoyu to make progress, but looking at Sun Shaozong's majestic appearance and thinking of the incident of "fighting the bandits with the beauty", she couldn't help but have some expectations.
Therefore, he insisted, "Baoyu doesn't need to practice to the level of Brother Sun. As long as he has 30%... no, 50%... no, 70% of Brother Sun's ability, it will be enough!"
Seeing her strong will breaking out and raising the standard again and again, Zijuan and Xueyan beside her rolled their eyes, thinking in their hearts that even if Baoyu could have one percent of Sun Shaozong's heroic spirit, it would be a blessing from the ancestors of the Rongguo Mansion!
