Sima Rulan was not in a position to pursue the matter and said, "Since Elder Deng has no knowledge of it, Mr. Hua, please tell me what happened again!"
At that moment, Hua Bushi brought yesterday's "broken mengen" and his thugs to the door and forcibly demanded 8,500 taels of silver. He wanted to occupy 50% of the "Weitian Building", threatened to smash the building, and then made a three-day appointment.
The matter was recounted from beginning to end.
After hearing this, Elder Deng slapped the table and shouted: "This Mrs. He has gone too far! Although my subordinates are sworn brothers with him, they don't know that he is actually doing such things to extort merchants in the city.
, it’s really abominable!”
Deng Ran glared and made a very angry expression, but his acting skills were still lagging behind those of experts like Hua Bushi and Sima Rulan, and it was obviously a bit unnatural.
Sima Rulan said: "What Mr. Hua said is just a one-sided statement from 'Baitianlou'. Whether it is true or not remains to be investigated in detail. Why is Elder Deng so angry?"
Deng Ran said: "There is no need to investigate, it can't be fake! You can rest assured, young lady, just leave this matter to Deng Ran. My subordinates will definitely punish the Mingyue Society and make them determined not to do this again."
A matter of force and plunder!”
I have to say that Deng Ran, who is the deacon and elder of "Wanjintang", is a smart man.
Since Sima Rulan brought Cao Hua and the two of them here to question the crime, he must have believed the report from the "Veitian Tower" or had evidence of witnesses. It was futile to deny it. So he simply took over the whole matter in one fell swoop.
Come down and agree to punish the "Ming Yue Hui", so that major issues can be reduced to trivial matters and trivial matters can be reduced to nothing. As for whether they will actually be punished as promised afterwards, of course, that is another matter.
He turned to Hua Bushi and Cao Muyun and said, "Don't worry, just go back. Deng can guarantee that the Mingyue Society will never ask you for silver in the future."
Hua Bushi smiled slightly and said: "Xiao Ke is just a businessman. As long as the leader He Da of the Mingyue Club doesn't cause trouble for us and can make a good living in the Waitian Tower, we will be thankful to God."
This was Hua Bushi's true words. Now they have no money, no power, and are alone on Okura Island. Of course they don't want to be enemies with anyone, including the "Ming Yue Society". But he knows very well in his heart,
The matter will definitely not end like this, because Sima Rulan will never let go so easily.
Deng Ran's approach seemed very thoughtful, which not only solved Sima Rulan's doubts, but also appeased "Hua Tianlou", but he made the same mistake that Hua Bushi made yesterday. This young lady of the city lord is absolutely
She is not a person who is easily fooled, and she has a clear distinction between good and evil, and black and white. Now that she knows that "Ming Yue Hui" He Xilou is doing evil in Okura City, she will definitely pursue it to the end.
Sure enough, all she heard was Sima Rulan say: "Don't you think Elder Deng's handling of this matter is too hasty? Lan'er thinks that we should go to the 'Ming Yue Club' with Mr. Hua and Mr. Cao, find He Xilou, and talk to him
Confront him face to face. If this matter is false, we cannot unjustly accuse him, and if it is true, how can we condone such bad people who oppress good people in Okura City!"
Deng Ran frowned and said: "There is no need to make a fuss about such a small matter. Besides, the eldest lady is rich, so there is no need to do it personally. Just leave it to Deng Ran."
Sima Rulan shook his head and said: "Dad worked hard to build this Dakang City so that everyone who comes to this city can live and work in peace and contentment. Bad people will never be allowed to do evil. Now dad is not here." , the 'Wanjin Hall' in the city is managed by Lan'er, this matter must be investigated clearly and dealt with according to the laws and regulations!"
She said this resolutely, and when Deng Ran heard it, he already knew that this eldest lady had made up her mind to severely punish the "Ming Yue Society", and from what she said, she actually wanted to punish the "Ming Yue Society". "Drive out of this city.
If this is really going to happen, the biggest way of making money in the city for him, the deacon elder, will be ruined. Deng Ran's eyes were cold, looking at Hua Bushi and Cao Muyun standing aside, he already had a grudge in his heart, and he didn't know that this was the case. How did the two weak scholars who had just arrived in the city find the most difficult young lady in the city to stand up for them?
Deng Ran pondered for a moment and then said: "If the eldest lady insists on asking this matter personally, it would be more appropriate to ask Deputy Hall Master Xiong to come and discuss it together."
Seeing that he could not stop Sima Rulan, he could only pull Xiong Bailing out to see if the deputy head of the "Wanjin Hall" could find a way to make the eldest lady of the city change her mind.
Sima Rulan said: "Great, let's call Uncle Xiong, and also invite Elder Yao. The Mingyue Society is quite powerful in the city, and He Xilou is also a martial arts master. We have gathered the manpower to join us. It’s better to go!”
In desperation, Deng Ran had no choice but to ask the servants on the side to invite the two of them.
The first person to come was Elder Yao, whom Sima Rulan mentioned. There are four leaders in the "Wanjin Hall". In addition to the chief and deputy hall masters, there are two elders. Deng Ran is one of them, and the other one is this The title is Yao Gong and filial piety to Elder Yao.
Unlike Deng Ran, who is responsible for various affairs in the city, Yao Gongxiao, the elder of the outer hall, is in charge of the Dakang Island Wharf and is engaged in trade operations. He is mostly at the port on weekdays, just because the storm at sea has not stopped these days and no merchant ships have docked. He had nothing to do, so he stayed at the sect's main forum, so he came immediately as soon as he heard that the eldest lady was invited.
Deng Ran is extremely thin, but Elder Yao is not fat either. He is in his fifties, has a fair face and is beardless. He is wearing a flowered robe and a turban on his head. He is very well-dressed. He looks like a wealthy man from a wealthy family. But he was holding a shiny black wooden staff.
This wooden staff is three feet long and only as thick as a thumb. It has a very special shape with a curved hook on the front end of the handle. Very few people in Middle-earth have such a staff, but the so-called gentlemen of the upper class in Western countries use it. This type of walking stick is more common.
Yao Yuanxiao came into the house and greeted the eldest lady of the city. Sima Rulan returned the gift and asked him to sit down and wait for a while.
Everyone waited for a while, only to hear heavy footsteps outside the hall, and a figure as strong as a bear appeared at the door of the side hall. The person's voice was rough and shouted: "Niece Lan'er is looking for me." I, because I haven’t seen you for a few days, do I miss your Uncle Bear?”
Xiong Bailing finally appeared. The deputy sect leader of "Wanjintang" was nearly fifty years old. He seemed to be younger than Elder Yao. He had a majestic figure, eight feet tall, and his waist was thicker than the two Yao Yuanxiao combined. He had a leopard nose with ringed eyes, a face full of flesh, and a black sideburns and beard with white in between. Although it was early spring and it was not hot, the front of the animal skin cloak he wore on his shoulders was open.
Sima Rulan quickly stood up from her chair to greet her, bowed her hands and said, "Lan'er, see Uncle Xiong."
Before Xiong Bailing appeared, Hua Bushi had always guessed that the second person in "Wanjintang" should be a shrewd, capable and calculating person, but he did not expect that he would be such a rough-looking giant. And
When Deng Ran and Yao Yuanxiao met Sima Rulan before, they all behaved like subordinates. Only Deputy Hall Master Xiong called himself "uncle" when he came. Sima Rulan also regarded himself as a junior in his words. This shows that this
Xiong Bailing's status in "Wanjintang" is extraordinary.
After the ceremony, Xiong Bailing sat down on the chair in a hurry. Seeing that the four principals of "Wanjintang" had arrived, Sima Rulan recounted the extortion story of "Ming Yue Hui" again.
After hearing this, Yao Yuanxiao lowered his head in thought and remained silent. However, it was Xiong Bailing who spoke first: "Niece Xian, do you want us to come together to investigate the crime? If this is true, we will drive the Mingyue Club and He Xilou out of Dacang."
Going to the city?"
Sima Rulan said: "Yes, Lan'er has this intention. Does Uncle Xiong have any objections?"
But Xiong Bailing laughed "haha" and said: "Where did Lan'er come from? Uncle Xiong has no objection at all, just do as you say! He Xilou and I do have some friendship, but with Brother Sima, I have nothing to do with Xiong.
Compared to a great favor, that's nothing! Since he dares to do such things and break the laws set by Brother Sima, even if Lan'er's niece doesn't drive him away, Uncle Xiong won't tolerate him!"
Sima Rulan had made up her mind to punish the "Ming Yue Hui" and eliminate this harm to Okura City. She was previously worried that Xiong Bailing would object, but she didn't expect that "Uncle Xiong" would immediately agree upon hearing this.
, immediately overjoyed.
The person who was even more surprised by Xiong Bailing's reaction was the deacon elder Deng Ran. He invited Xiong Bailing originally to stop the eldest lady of the city, but he didn't expect that the plan failed. He said: "Brother Xiong, although He Laosan is a little
Wrong, but I think..."
Before Deng Ran finished speaking, Xiong Bailing waved his giant palm, cut off his words, and said, "Brother Deng, there is no need to say any more! I know that you have received a lot of benefits from He Laosan in the past two years, and the same goes for Xiong.
, but he did such things to oppress good people in Okura City without telling us, so he can’t be regarded as your brother! Can’t you tell the difference between the Hexi Tower and the entire Wanjintang?
?”
Deng Ran was about to open his mouth to argue again, but after hearing Xiong Bailing's last words, his heart seemed to be moved and he immediately closed his mouth.
Yao Yuanxiao said: "My subordinates also agree with the eldest lady's proposal, but the 'Ming Yue Society' is not a small force in the city. There are hundreds of thugs under He Xilou. I have to wait for someone to come to your door like this."
Make some preparations so that you can deal with it if he turns against you."
Sima Rulan said: "Since Uncle Xiong and Elder Yao both agree, things will be easy to handle! As long as everyone works together, how can our 'Wan Jin Tang' be afraid of a 'Ming Yue Hui' in Dacang City? We will come to check, as long as we bring
I think the dozens of guards in the lord's palace in the upper city are enough."
The principals of other sects were discussing. Hua Bushi and Cao Muyun were both outsiders, so they would not interfere. However, Hua Bushi had a thoughtful look on his face as he listened to the words of several people.