The capital of Yanzhi County was close to Qingan County. Hsu Fengnian, as the county clerk, didn't visit Governor Hong Shandong back then. This time, he rushed to the capital because he had other plans. Now, he didn't even have a coachman by his side. Xu Yanbing went to Gourd Mouth of Youzhou to serve as one of the eight captains of Beiliang's border. His main purpose was to intimidate the important people in the border army who were related to Youzhou's general family. Xu Yanbing was one of the fifteen people in the new martial arts evaluation. Just this point alone was enough to make people afraid. Moreover, he was once Xu Xiao's trusted retainer. In the Spring and Autumn Period, it was common for a ruler to bestow a surname to his trusted subordinates, especially those who were born in the wilderness. However, there were only a few people on Xu Xiao's side. Liu Yanbing was one of them. It was said that a new ruler brings in new subordinates. Xu Yanbing had been trusted by the King of Beiliang for two dynasties. In the eyes of outsiders, even the infantry commander Yan Wenluan had to give him some face. Now that the new King Liang, who was ranked sixth in the world, was said to be able to take on two thousand cavalry, who would protect him? When Hsu Fengnian led his horse into the city, he used Xu Qi's identity and had an official's record. Naturally, he was unimpeded. When Hsu Fengnian entered the capital, he saw many young men and women in luxurious clothes. They all got off their horses and walked through the city gate. Even after passing through the city gate and getting back on their horses, they didn't dare to gallop wildly. They were no longer as arrogant and unrestrained as before. Moreover, no one dared to carry a Beiliang saber. It was probably because the smell of blood in Youzhou had yet to disperse. Half of the Northern Liang's heroic and heroic image had been forcefully stripped away. After Hsu Fengnian entered the city, he continued to lead his horse slowly toward a rare house with mountains and water. In Beiliang, one only needed to look at the amount of water, the number of wells, and the amount of winter snow stored in the cellar. It was even more impressive to be able to be near a lake. As for Mount Qingliang, since the family head's surname was Xu, it didn't need to be said.
Within Yanzhi County, Hu Bai was a spy. He was still very young, but his senior spy had placed high hopes on him as early as his youth. It wasn't common for a spy to become an official in Beiliang, but logically speaking, it shouldn't be difficult. Hu Bai was very handsome. He didn't read much, but he was born with a scholarly air. The turtle spy in Yanzhi County had once been his master's subordinate, so he had taken care of Hu Bai in silence. As a result, he had assigned him a job that didn't require much effort, but was very pleasing and beneficial to his future. At first, when Hu Bai heard that he was going to be a woman's spy, he wasn't very happy. He only listened to orders, as that was the duty of a spy. However, when Hu Bai became the young and rich shopkeeper of the silk shop on this street and saw the woman with his own eyes, he didn't have any complaints. Hu Bai had seen many beautiful women. Some were as flirtatious as peonies, some were as pure as white lotuses. He had even tasted the flavor of the courtesan of a large brothel. His state of mind was always as tranquil as an ancient well, but he had never seen such a soul-stirring woman. Moreover, there was something else besides her appearance that made it even more difficult for Hu Bai to let go of. Hu Bai followed his duty and didn't dare take a single step past the minefield. He didn't take the initiative to meet her. She rarely showed her face on the street. From the time she appeared in the silk shop until she disappeared, it was only a door's distance away. Hu Bai didn't even raise his head. He could only watch her out of the corner of his eye. Occasionally, he would lie on the roof in the middle of the night and drink wine. He would glance at the pitch-black courtyard not far away and know that she lived there. Hu Bai didn't probe into her background. He only wanted to be able to guard her like this, neither near nor far. One day at a time, and it would be best if he could spend a lifetime with her. He only knew that the woman's surname was Pei and that she lived in seclusion. She had never had a social interaction with the officials and nobles of Yanzhi County. Her temperament was always cold and cheerless. Even though this unavoidably gave people a feeling of lethargy, it was still breathtaking. There were many manors of influential people in Yanzhi County nearby, and it wasn't that there weren't people with a keen sense of smell who would act upon hearing the news. On a dark and windy night, Hu Bai had personally knocked out more than ten people, including their master and servants. The military chancellor, who was as fat as a pig, was choked by Hu Bai's neck, lifted a foot off the ground, and viciously smashed his head against the wall of the alley, causing him to faint on the spot. That night, when County Governor Hong Dong heard about this matter, he got out of bed in a hurry and flew into a rage. He actually mobilized a large force and quickly mobilized 30 armored soldiers armed with crossbows to drag away those fellows. The next day, not only did the military chancellor lose his official position, his entire family was expelled from the county city. After that, no one dared to 'fight' anymore. There were still people who wanted to 'fight' to win a smile from the beauty, but they never saw that door open. Later on, it was unknown what the County Governor said, but the loafers in the noble families who liked to pretend to be cultured disappeared overnight. That alley returned to its original tranquility without a trace of smoke and fire.
Today, Hu Bai was skillfully dealing with the wealthy women in gold and silver, earning the best money in the world. Between transactions, it was unknown who was taking advantage of who. He was teasing two women who were like wolves and tigers when he suddenly caught a glimpse of someone leading a horse past the door. In the blink of an eye, he sized up that person from head to toe, not even missing the quality of the horse and the material of the saddle. Not sensing anything strange, Hu Bai planned to withdraw his gaze. Unexpectedly, that person, intentionally or otherwise, turned his head to look inside the shop and happened to meet Hu Bai's gaze. The two of them almost smiled at the same time. Hu Bai waited for that person to ride past and disappear from his sight before he frowned. However, when he thought about how there were many hidden guards on this street and how there was no lack of experts who were more skilled in martial arts than him, he didn't worry unnecessarily. The corners of his mouth curled up, thinking that the young master's appearance was extremely pleasing to the eye. In Yanzhi County, which was full of beautiful women but sloppy men, it was indeed rare to see such a person. When the women in the shop saw the smile on Hu Bai's face, they were even more willing to spend a lot of money. However, when they held the satin material, the strength of their palms that brushed against the back of Hu Bai's arm quietly increased.
After Pei Nanwei moved into this courtyard, she left behind two diligent young maidservants to serve her, but they couldn't be considered intimate. She would only joke with them when she was in a good mood. These were all teasing words from an experienced woman. She would ask them if they had someone they liked or if they needed her to be a matchmaker. The maidservants would always blush and mumble, not knowing how to answer. After laughing, Pei Nanwei would turn around and forget about it. She didn't really want to be a matchmaker. Over time, the two maidservants roughly understood the temperament of the mistress of the courtyard. At first, they thought that she was a concubine kept in a golden house by some official in Yanzhi County. Later, they didn't see any men enter the courtyard, so they didn't have this conjecture. She was such a great beauty that even they couldn't take their eyes off of. If someone really took a fancy to her and raised her here, how could he bear to throw her away and not come back to pamper and dote on her for a few months? Today, maidservant Zhu Hai heard a series of tireless knocks on the door. At first, she didn't want to pay attention to it, thinking that it was an ignorant fellow who would soon be dragged away like a dead dog. But after half a cup of tea, the knocks didn't stop. Zhu Hai was puzzled. Was there really such a hero in the county capital who didn't fear death? She hesitated for a moment, thinking that since her mistress was in the backyard and couldn't hear anything, she might as well go and take a look to see who was so reckless. When she opened the door, she was immediately stunned. Oh, it was a handsome guy, so handsome that he looked like a scholar from the novel "Gifted Scholar and Beautiful Woman". Moreover, after he opened the door, he smiled at the maidservant Zhu Hai across the threshold. His smile made Zhu Hai's heart beat like a deer. She only felt that he was gentler and more handsome than Shopkeeper Hu from the neighboring silk shop.
Hsu Fengnian gently said, "My name is Xu Qi. I am the Prefect of Bishan County. Your Mistress Pei knows me. May I trouble you to inform her?"
The maidservant was in a difficult position. She knew about Bishan County, and she also knew the importance of a Prefect. But if this person said that he knew her mistress, she wouldn't believe it even if she was beaten to death. Young Master Xu, no matter how handsome you are, it's not a reason for you to swagger into the courtyard. She didn't dare to disturb Mistress Pei because of this. If everyone had to report their name, this courtyard would have long been trampled over by the group of lechers from Yanzhi County. Even the limestone bricks on the ground of the alley would have to be replaced. Zhu Hai's face was full of suspicion and doubt. She was unwilling to move, so she just stared at him, unwilling to turn around. Hsu Fengnian was also a bit helpless against this dutiful maidservant. After thinking, he said, "Prefectural Governor Hong Shandong sent me here. If you inform Mistress Pei and she still refuses to see guests, you can hit me with a broom. Is that alright?"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
