Volume 1 In the Countryside Chapter 48: Night Murder
In the evening, Rongshui Village was peaceful and harmonious with curling smoke from cooking fires. Whether viewed from near or far, it looked like any other village in Gyeonggi Province, welcoming another busy dinner.
However, at this moment, in the fields where various straw bales were piled after harvest, there were more than one pair of vigilant eyes, monitoring the official road not far away and the path leading directly to the village. If the disguises on their heads and bodies were removed, the faces revealed would definitely surprise people.
Because, they are all simple and honest villagers during the day...
When a group of more than ten people finally turned from the main road, the villagers who were acting as secret sentinels saw them clearly but did not react at all and allowed them to march straight into the village entrance.
The door of the Zhang family mansion was half open. Old Liu, who was dozing off in front of the door, seemed to be awakened by the sound of horse hooves. He raised his head and glanced at the group of people who came. Then he patted his clothes and stood up and said, "Oh, there are still people coming to learn from me so late at night? Cuiyun Room is in the bamboo forest behind the village. Go up along the main road. After entering the bamboo forest, keep walking along the road. Turn the corner at the Pixiu screen wall and it's right there!"
As he said this, Old Liu yawned lazily, and sat down on the doorstep again, muttering, "It's almost late at night, and they're still here to study. These people in the capital are really in a good mood. Even if they bring guards, aren't they afraid of the rebellion outside?"
The middle-aged man in the lead immediately fixed his eyes, then winked at his left and right, and actually dismounted and walked towards Old Liu. When he came in front of the crowd, he forced a smile and saluted, then asked, "You just said there was a riot outside? We are not from the capital, we are in a hurry on the way to visit the great sage here, and we have never heard of such a thing. Can you tell me more about it?"
"Insurgents? Ha, that was what the people from Duke Zhao's residence said when they came to deliver the letter."
Old Liu was like one of those chatterboxes who always answered questions in a trifling manner. He laughed and said, "It is said that there was a rebellion in the Linhai Camp in Tianjin, but it was suppressed by the Zhenhai Camp. A few rebels escaped. As you can imagine, all the troops in the capital have been mobilized, and the next step is to issue a nationwide wanted notice."
The middle-aged man couldn't help but narrow his eyes. If someone familiar with him, they would be able to see that he was already harboring murderous intent: "If that's the case, compared to the dangers we face when walking outside, aren't you afraid of danger in this village?"
"What's so dangerous about this! I thought that these rebels might rob people on the roads to save some money and food, and then go into the mountains and forests to survive. The nobles in Cuiyun Room behind our village all have many guards with them. As long as the rebels are smart, they won't come here. Those nobles said that instead of running around randomly, it's better to wait for the capital to send people to protect them!"
"I see. Thanks for your advice, bro."
The middle-aged man raised his hand with a deep look in his eyes to express his gratitude, and then returned to his mount. Seeing his subordinates making eye contact with each other, he coughed and then said, "Okay, let's follow the instructions of the kind-hearted person and go directly to Cuiyun Room."
With a loud response, a group of people and horses immediately rushed away. When the dust stirred up by the horses' hooves cleared, he listened carefully and found that there was no suspicious movement around. Old Liu, who had just been calm and composed, suddenly sat down, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and cursed softly without turning his head.
"Ah Liu, you found me a great job! If someone were to break my old bones, do you want your Aunt Liu to be a widow?"
The next moment, a figure flashed out from behind the half-closed door. It was Ah Liu.
He held a short bow in his hand, ignored Old Liu's complaints, and waited for a while at the intersection before saying calmly without looking back, "Close the door. I'm leaving first."
Seeing Ah Liu walk out of the door and then quietly disappear into the gradually falling night, Old Liu spat in an unlucky manner, and seeing people flashing in other houses in the village not far away, he immediately went in quickly, unbolted the door, picked up a sickle from behind the door and put it on his waist.
The group of people who came here are definitely not good people. Although it is not impossible to intercept them at the village entrance, but with infantry facing cavalry, and lacking blocking weapons such as bows and crossbows, casualties are inevitable. The question is, will it really go smoothly after luring the enemy deep into the country?
Can those dandies who have never seen danger and a group of guards really deal with a group of vicious people?
Young Master, isn’t this a bit too risky?
The weather was getting colder and the sun was setting very quickly. When we entered the village, the setting sun was still hanging in the west. When we came to the entrance of the bamboo forest along the village path, it had completely disappeared on the western horizon and night had fallen.
Just now as they were walking along the village, they heard the sounds of pots and pans colliding, children being scolded, men and women quarreling, and livestock neighing from the houses on both sides... Faced with this atmosphere full of the smell of life, the group unconsciously let down their guard, until they realized that it was difficult for horses to go up the path, and the atmosphere gradually became solemn.
The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, selected ten people to stay behind to guard the horses and keep alert, then lit a horse lantern, signaling the remaining twenty or so people to dismount and follow him on foot.
The bamboo forest was said to be in the back hill of the village, but in fact, it was just a small mound. It was not very strenuous to walk there even at night. In addition, there were people in front and behind, so even if someone slipped or stumbled, there would be people who would help them quickly. They were well-trained and did not make any loud noises, except for the sound of footsteps on the mud.
Soon, the group arrived in front of the screen wall that Old Liu mentioned. They raised the lantern to illuminate the screen wall, and saw that there were indeed two cute iron-eating beasts on it. The middle-aged man in the lead finally put aside his biggest worry and confirmed that he had found the right place.
Thinking of the life-and-death moment in the Linhai camp and the several times he dodged interceptions on the road, he let out a sneer.
They are indeed a bunch of conceited and self-righteous young men and women who have no sense of vigilance at all!
At this moment, he heard the sound of a zither floating in the wind. If he just listened roughly, it was barely acceptable, but if he listened carefully, his ears, which had heard wonderful music before, would inevitably feel a little irritated.
As the sound of the piano suddenly stopped, there was a round of applause: "This piano is played well! I said it, everyone in the capital is praising Princess Yongping for her piano playing. To me, it's much worse than yours!"
The veins on the middle-aged man's forehead were about to burst.
The one playing the piano right now should be... No, it must be Zhu Ying, right? Can this stumbling sound be compared to Princess Yongping's?
Not to mention Princess Yongping's status as the eldest daughter of the emperor, her zither playing skills are also known to be the best in the capital. At this moment, any prostitute can play this zither better than this! Is the person who said this lying with his eyes open?
Just as he was complaining in his heart, another voice came from the side: "Zhang Chen, your praise is too exaggerated! How can Miss Zhu's piano playing be compared with Princess Yongping? If there is a comparison, it should be compared with Xiao Shi and Nong Yu!"
Xiao Shi is a flute player, right ?
Just when the middle-aged man was already unable to bear the blatant flattery, he finally heard a calm and distant voice: "Alright, alright, Yingying's piano playing is OK, but you guys are going too far in praising her like this! Well, the night is long, and since you all said you would stay up all night waiting for Yingying's birthday, let's do ten questions first!"
At that moment, thinking of the rumors about Zhang Shou, the middle-aged man breathed a sigh of relief and put aside the last bit of doubt in his heart.
That's right. Tomorrow is the birthday of the eldest daughter of Duke Zhao's mansion. It's normal for people like Zhang Chen and Lu Sanlang to be attentive to her. And it's also normal for Zhang Shou, who is rumored to be so fond of mathematics that Ge Yong accepted him as his last disciple, to be unable to bear it and to evade her.
But on this birthday... he will bring an unexpected surprise to these young men and women who are ignorant of the world!
