Volume 1 In the Countryside Chapter 55 Who is afraid of whom
The sound of horse hooves rolled in my ears, and it seemed that it was not just one or two people, but an entire army.
The hand on my shoulder was quite powerful, as if it could control me firmly with just a little effort.
After the initial shock, Zhang Shou immediately relaxed and asked with a smile without turning his head, "Master Hua Qi, would you like to come for a drink?"
"You are really interesting, boy. Very good."
Hua Qi saw that many people who heard the sound of horse hooves were looking around nervously, and even some noble children showed panic expressions. He smiled lazily.
"Don't panic. I sent a pigeon last night. It's just that the old masters in the capital have finally come to their senses and are mobilizing troops to wipe out the group of fish that have escaped the net in the Linhai camp. Just eat and drink your food in peace. Do they dare to treat you as a rebellious army and wipe you out?"
His voice didn't seem loud at first, but almost every noble son could hear it clearly. In just a moment, the commotion that had just arisen at the banquet was immediately suppressed.
But Zhang Shou heard the hidden meaning. What do you mean by "dare to treat you as a rebel army and suppress them"? What if they dare to do that?
Realizing that Hua Qi was still holding his shoulder and sitting next to him, Zhang Shou calmly took the jug and poured the man a glass of wine. He saw the man drink the whole glass with one hand but still did not let go of the hand holding his shoulder. Even Zhu Ying looked at him sideways, not to mention Wu who was frowning slightly. He thought about it and put down the jug immediately.
"Master Hua Qi, I have something to say to you. Can you please give me some convenience?"
"Oh?" Hua Qi smiled slightly, and said with deep eyes, "Of course you can."
Zhang Shou saw the hand on his shoulder suddenly relax, so he smiled and put down the wine pot and teacup, and left the table calmly. After walking a dozen steps away and arriving at the gate of his own mansion at the entrance of the village, he could even see the dust on the official road in the distance. He then asked, "Master Hua Qi just held me down. Were you afraid that I would ask something inappropriate? Is there something wrong with the soldiers who came?"
Hua Qi was silent for a moment, then sneered: "The eldest lady is a very cunning person, but she is too lazy to use her brain unless it is necessary. You are smarter than her. How are you two going to live in the future?"
Seeing Zhang Shou's expression of both laughter and tears, he said calmly, "There is a difference between taking risks with time to prepare and facing danger suddenly. I am afraid that you were able to handle it calmly last night, but you are at a loss when faced with a sudden change today."
"But it seems that you are calmer than I thought. However, you are Yingying's fiancé, the son-in-law of the Duke of Zhao, and the grandson-in-law of the lady. You will face more storms in the future, so it is good to practice now. To tell you the truth, the soldiers I left outside did not send a message in advance, so the soldiers who came here may have problems."
Hua Qi turned around and walked towards the path that led directly to the official road outside the village. Without looking back, he said, "However, I have already sent a pigeon to report what happened last night to the capital. It is true. Even if there is a problem with the leader, as long as he does not want to become a rebel or a traitor, he should not be so crazy. But it is better to be safe than sorry. I will go and deal with it. If there is any problem, I will warn you."
Zhang Shou felt helpless. This was really one thing after another. If the people who came were planning to suppress the rebellion in public and kill the witnesses in secret, then the worst possibility would be that they would slaughter the entire village, including the children of the nobles, and then put the blame on the rebel army.
Just like Hua Qi said, this possibility is actually very small, but we must be on guard...
Thinking of this possibility, he turned around suddenly and was almost startled by someone standing behind him.
Who else could it be if not Zhu Ying?
He asked subconsciously: "Did you hear everything?"
"Of course I heard everything!" Zhu Ying raised her head slightly with a proud look, and then snorted, "You and Uncle Hua just kept it a secret from me!"
Zhang Shou couldn't help but laugh. The young lady thought she was acting very well, but from her relaxed tone, he knew she must have just sneaked over. He stared at her for a long time. She had just drunk a few more glasses and her cheeks were even more flushed. Seeing her staring at Hua Qi's back with curiosity, he smiled and said, "I just don't want to spoil your birthday party. Come on, let's go back."
Back at the banquet, Zhang Shou brought Zhu Ying to hold the pot and persuade everyone to drink, but he only drank from time to time. Even so, none of the villagers refused to give him face.
Even if the noble children did not care about him being a disciple of Ge Yong, they still had to consider the face of Zhu Ying who was following them and watching them covetously. Therefore, not even drinking it all themselves would count, and no one dared to force him to drink.
But when the two of them passed by, Lu Sanlang heard Zhang Lu muttering beside him: "It's just a birthday, but it looks like a wedding."
"If you have the guts, go ask the lady at the Duke Zhao's mansion why she let Miss Zhu celebrate her birthday here." Lu Sanlang said unhappily, and then said something irrelevant, "What kind of wedding is this? How can a groom wear purple..."
In the past, he used the pursuit of Zhu Ying to get rid of his self-righteous father and brother. Now that he is a disciple of Ge Men, he can throw away the shield of Zhu Ying... Then he can use the young master Zhang Shou as a shield in the future!
Zhang Shou toasted calmly while giving instructions to specific people. Zhu Ying didn't notice it at first, but gradually she realized it. For example, Yang Laogong, who was flattering her at first, was gone when she turned around. Not only Yang Laogong, but also several faces that she vaguely knew disappeared.
When they finally walked back, she couldn't help but grab Zhang Shou's sleeve and said, "After you toasted everyone, at least a dozen people at the banquet were gone. What did you just say to them? What are you and Uncle Hua hiding from me?"
Zhang Shou looked at his sleeves that had once again fallen into the clutches of the young lady, and then looked at the familiar table beside him, where everyone was looking down but still keeping an eye on the table. He could only cough softly and said, "Let's talk about it when we get back..."
However, as soon as he said these three words, Zhu Ying did not object, but someone could not help but slam the table and said, "Is there anything you can't say in front of us?"
Seeing Zhang Chen standing up suddenly with a red face, it was obvious that he must have drunk a few bowls of wine to drown his sorrows. Then, seeing that his bloodshot eyes were not staring at Zhu Ying but at himself, Zhang Shou couldn't help laughing. He then pulled Lu Sanlang away and sat down at the table .
Zhu Ying, who had unknowingly let go of his sleeve, reacted and immediately chased away the other person, and also sat down at the table in a domineering manner. Immediately afterwards, the eldest lady used a knife-like look to chase away the other two people at the same table.
Zhang Shou noticed that the horse hoofbeats had stopped. He didn't know what the result of Hua Qi's negotiation was. He saw Lu Sanlang squeeze out a nobleman who couldn't stand Zhu Ying's domineering eyes, and Zhang Wu and a few people who had seen his true face for the first time surrounded him. He then said in a low voice: "Master Hua Qi just said that those soldiers outside might be reinforcements, and they might have bad intentions."
For this group of noble children, the four words "here comes with ill intentions" were enough to scare them. Even Zhang Chen, who was drunk, sobered up in an instant. For a moment, the seven or eight faces around him turned pale.
After the initial shock and anger, Zhu Ying immediately slapped the table, but her voice was very low: "What are you afraid of? No matter which army, if they really have bad intentions, as long as one of us can survive, they will kill all of our clans!"
Zhang Shou then smiled and said, "That's right, so I asked Yang Laoguan and his men to take away all the rebels last night. Since they have been pretending to be obedient farmers under my nose for so many years, they must have some skills. As long as the person who silenced us cannot be caught, I think even if they have bad intentions, they will not be so foolish as to take such a risk."
Zhu Ying agreed greatly and slapped the table again, saying word by word: "Isn't it regretful that someone didn't come in handy last night? Come to the head table with me and A Shou! If anyone dares to enter the village later, show the same momentum you usually have in the capital! Let's see who is afraid of who!"
"Yes, who's afraid of who!" Zhang Chen drank another glass of wine, then glanced at everyone fiercely, "Let's just sit down and eat and drink happily. If the sky falls... we'll all bear it together!"
