In the lobby of the teahouse, eleven-year-old Zhang Hongyi was sitting upright, with five maidservants standing behind him, holding large and small bags of things in their hands.
The guards were scattered around in twos and threes.
The waiter in the shop came forward respectfully with a teapot in hand and asked, "Young gentleman, would you like some more tea?"
"don't want."
"Then... the water chestnut cake in the shop is delicious. How many portions can I order, young man?"
"Is it expensive?"
"This...eighty cents a piece."
"So expensive?" Zhang Hongyi kept shaking his head, "I won't eat it, I won't eat it."
The waiter was stunned for a moment, then respectfully stepped back, cursing endlessly.
"I dressed so elegantly and went out to buy many valuable items, but a bunch of people just sat there and refused to spend a penny more... I have never seen such stingy little devils..."
Zhang Hongyi also smelled the aroma of food in the teahouse. After being out for a long time, he also felt a little hungry, but he still refused to buy something to eat.
It's not that he has no money, he still has a stack of coins and two pieces of gold jewelry in his arms, both of which he earned from his eldest and second sisters today.
But his money cannot be spent easily... According to the regulations of the Great Mongolia, the youngest son is a hostage. His eleventh brother is now serving as a hostage in Hara and Lin. In case it is replaced by his youngest son, who was born later.
, he has to spend a lot of money to manage it.
Zhang Rou knew what her younger son was thinking, and she scolded him every time, "You idiot. The Khan's court wants a proton, but it won't want you, a concubine, to be sentimental."
In Zhang Hongyi's view, a wise man worries too much and is well prepared...
The sound of rapid footsteps was heard outside the teahouse. Zhang Hongyi looked up and saw Zhang Hongdao. He was startled and stood up quickly.
"Fifth...Fifth brother?"
"Search!" Zhang Hongdao shouted, his face was livid, and he seemed to be dripping with solemnity.
He swept across the lobby, turned to Zhang Hongyi, frowned, and asked sternly: "Why are you here?"
"Me? I... I took the second sister's people out... to buy some things. Have a cup of tea and rest..."
Zhang Hongyi had also seen his fifth brother look like this. He was frightened and said: "Fifth... fifth sister-in-law promised..."
"What are you guilty of?"
Zhang Hongdao suddenly thought of something and glanced at the five maids. When he saw that Zhang Wenjing was not among them, he felt relieved.
He no longer paid attention to Zhang Hongyi, strode upstairs, kicked in the doors of each private room, and went in to search.
There was a "bang" sound, and when he opened the door of a private room, he was suddenly stunned.
"Why are you here?!"
In the private room, Zhang Wenjing sat there alone, holding the teacup and taking an elegant sip, then put down the teacup and said calmly: "Hey, why is Fifth Brother here?"
"Are you okay?" Zhang Hongdao quickly walked behind her to protect her, then turned around and scanned around her again.
"Fifth brother, you don't have to face a huge enemy. I'm the only one here."
"My daughter is so bold. She pretends to be like this and sneaks out of the house. Do you still have the decency?! You are shameless."
Although Zhang Hongdao was angry, he did not dare to scold Zhang Wenjing excessively.
When this matter came to Zhang Rou's ears, Zhang Rou would not ask why, but would blame him for Hong Hongdao being harsh to his sister.
So at the end of the words, the tone became concerned again.
"You dare to sneak out without fear of being kidnapped by the evildoers."
"How can there be evil people?" Zhang Wenjing was not afraid at all and said with a smile: "I went out for a walk to buy some things for my second sister. Who told Wu Lang to be so careful the past few days?"
Zhang Hongdao could tell how Zhang Wenjing got out just by looking at Zhang Wenjing's men's clothing.
Today, when Zhang Wenwan said that he would send five maids out, he paid attention to it and specifically told Zhang Wenjing not to let Zhang Wenjing go out with these maids.
But unexpectedly, Zhang Wenjing did not dress up as a maid, but as a guard.
Zhang Hongdao glanced at the tea cup on the table and asked angrily: "Where is Li Xiaren?"
"Li Xia?"
"Don't hide it from me anymore, do you think I can't see it?"
Zhang Wenjing said "Oh" casually and said, "I happened to meet him and chatted for a while."
"You're lucky you didn't get kidnapped again."
"If he wanted to abduct me, why did he let me go in the first place? He could have abducted me when we were in Zaoyuan, Shandong."
"That's enough. You stupid girl, he is a craftsman from Song Dynasty. He will hurt you later or take advantage of you..."
"He is a humble gentleman. He has never harmed a little girl like me, nor has he ever thought of taking advantage of me. Such an upright character is even more elegant than the fifth brother."
"Charm? A dead liar and a dead lunatic." Zhang Hongdao became increasingly unhappy. He took a few deep breaths and asked, "How did you find him?"
"How did Fifth Brother find this place?"
"Every time Li Xia shows up, he will climb high to watch and watch the movements of his pursuers. This is the case every time, including the Chen Tuan Pagoda in Luyi, the Kaibao Temple Pagoda in Kaifeng, and Weishan. Today he has created such a big mess, and it depends on how I will arrange it.
If we deal with it manually, we will definitely climb higher."
Zhang Hongdao walked to the window, looked at Xiangyang Tower in the distance, and continued: "There are mostly two-story buildings near Xiangyang Tower. There are only two tall buildings suitable for observation. Among the two floors, this building is more convenient for escape.
."
Zhang Wenjing took a sip of tea and said, "That makes sense."
Zhang Hongdao frowned and said: "I feel that my reaction is quite fast. Li Xia saw me coming and escaped early. It was expected that you could find this place faster than me?"
"I know him better than Fifth Brother." Zhang Wenjing said: "Fifth Brother waited until something went wrong before I thought he would show up, and I only guessed that he would show up after I found out that Fifth Brother was going to Xiangyang Tower to meet guests... What's more, he didn't
If you don’t hide from me, if you don’t run when you see me coming, you will naturally see me.”
"Where did he escape to?"
"I don't know."
As Zhang Wenjing spoke, her eyebrows lowered and her expression became much gloomier. Looking at the clouds on the horizon, the girl's sorrow filled her heart again...
~~
Yunxiu Inn.
Bai Pu was very tired after experiencing the chaos of the day. After returning to the inn, he did not ask the store to send hot water and went back to the guest room alone.
Just as he lit the candle, he suddenly saw a figure in front of him.
Bai Pu was startled and almost shouted.
"Mr. Bai, don't panic, I don't mean any harm."
"Who are you?"
"Would you like to take a guess?"
Bai Pu took a closer look with the candlelight, and saw that the person in front of him was dressed in a green robe, with three long beards on his face. He had a handsome appearance and the demeanor of a celebrity.
"Are you Li Xia?"
"Mr. Bai, do you think I dress like you?"
"It's not like that." Bai Pu smiled bitterly and said, "I am a down and out person, far from being such a handsome and prosperous man."
"Liu Zhong has never met Mr. Bai."
"You don't look the same for your age either." Bai Pu said, "Although you have a long beard, there are no wrinkles on your neck. You are not a thirty-year-old person. Alas, you have to look at the neck to judge a person's age."
"Been taught a lesson."
It's a pity that Liu Zhongzhi, who should be taught a lesson, is already dead.
Li Xia took off his sticky long beard, rubbed his face, restored his original appearance, and bowed with his hands in hand.
"Juniors Li Xia and Li Feiyu have met Mr. Bai."
Bai Pu sighed, and without talking about anything else, he first asked: "I heard that you have some dealings with Uncle Han's family. How is his family?"
"Old Han is in good spirits. Brother Yi Ning has been sick for a long time. He has been recovering in recent years and is getting better day by day."
"Where's Sister Aluan?"
"This junior has never seen her. She passed away many years ago."
Bai Pu was stunned for a moment, a little sad.
"My uncle was still talking about it a few days ago. He didn't protect the orphaned daughter left by his eldest brother, which was a lifelong regret... How should I tell him..."
"My condolences to Mr. Bai." Li Xia said, "Brother Yi Ning and the Yuan family have a daughter named 'Qiao'er'. She is fourteen years old now."
"Qiao'er? Did she come with you? Can I take her to meet my uncle?"
"Not accompanying."
Bai Pu sighed and said with a bitter smile: "I made you laugh. We and other survivors of the subjugated country, once separated, we will rarely meet again in our lifetime..."
"Junior understands, Mr. Han often talks about it and feels ashamed of Mr. Yishan."
As Li Xia spoke, he bowed again and said, "I used Mr. Bai's name this time and implicated him. I know I was rude, so I deeply apologize and ask your forgiveness."
Bai Pu waved his hand and said: "You are determined to fight against Mongolia, but I am just a useless scholar... How can you blame me for using my name?"
Once he made this attitude clear, Li Xia sat down with peace of mind.
"Feiyu is here tonight, do you have something to discuss? The ugly thing is ahead. Although I am not an official in Mongolia, I will never weaken the Song Dynasty, let alone harm the Zhang family."
"Yes, everyone has his own ambitions, and the younger generation will never make things difficult for Mr. Bai..."
~~
Zhang Hongdao seemed to have returned to Kaifeng City last year, feeling so tired that he couldn't breathe.
Killing Liu Zhongzhi was not a trivial matter, and he hadn't even thought about how to cover it up.
Zhang Rou and Jingjie were not in the city, so they had no choice but to ask Jingxuan.
"What does Mr. Taining think of this matter?"
The candlelight flickered in the study, and Jingxuan's old face was filled with sadness, and he sighed: "What Li Xia did was just to tell us that if he keeps holding Yang Guo, he will cause trouble for the Zhang family...
This little scourge should have been put away long ago."
"He had such a big handle on the Zhang family and just let it go?"
"It's good to be able to catch it, but if you can't catch it, it's better to plan on not being able to catch it."
Listening to these words of "following the trend", Zhang Hongdao felt deeply frustrated and thought again of the words Zhang Wenjing passed on to Li Xia.
Jingxuan said: "If we don't stop Li Xia from taking Yang Guo across the Huaihe River, the governor of Shouzhou appointed by Shi Tianze will defect. This is the historian's fault. And if Li Xia is allowed to stir up trouble, it will become Zhang's fault."
A great sin of the family.”
"How to ensure that Li Xia will let the Zhang family go after he has his way? If you let him go this time, he will be more serious next time."
Jingxuan said: "The most urgent task now is to deal with the aftermath of Liu Zhongzhi's affairs. Don't forget that Tacha'er has just taken over the military power, so he is impatient to attack the Song Dynasty. This battle will be defeated. If the commander-in-chief lets someone take advantage of him at this time, what if?
What should we do if the blame for the defeat is placed on our own head? It’s a small gain but a big loss.”
Zhang Hongdao understands these principles and regrets that he should not have killed Eredunbari in the first place, but he fell deeper and deeper into the trap.
Jingxuan changed the topic and said: "Of course, Wulang's thoughts are reasonable. Li Xia took advantage of it. If he gives in this time, he will be more serious next time... According to my opinion, it is best to have a talk with him.
talk."
"talk?"
"To cover up Liu Zhongzhi's affairs is just to blame the historian. If Li Xia is willing to cooperate, this matter will be easily arranged."
Zhang Hongdao rubbed his forehead and murmured to himself: "Talk to Li Xia? With him?"
Jing Zhang twirled his long beard and said: "As long as he makes a statement, he will definitely contact Wu Lang again. Let's see, soon he will have someone come with another message..."