Do you know: I’m Xu Jiazi

winter afternoon

The sky is clear and blue with no clouds,

The dazzling sunshine shines directly on the streets and alleys of Bianjing,

The light snow from last night on the roof melted away,

Many roofs were covered with ice,

The melted snow on the roof dripped down the ice, not only pecking small holes in the frozen ground below, but the sound of falling snow was even more like rain.

The curtain of the room door, which was splashed with snow and covered with water spots, was suddenly opened.

"Girl, the snow is melting hard, hold an umbrella!"

"Need not!"

"Then put on your cape!"

"It's just a few steps! Yunmu, hurry up!"

Before he finished speaking, a girl in luxurious clothes walked briskly out of the room with her hands slightly covering her head.

The golden emeralds on the bun sparkle in the sun,

Unfortunately, a drop of snowdrops fell on the back of her neck. The instant chill made her shrink her neck, and then she put on her hat honestly.

"Girl, wait for us."

As he spoke, several female envoys hurriedly followed.

Arrive at the door of the main courtyard of the Chai family,

Chai Zhengzheng slowed down his pace and was no longer out of breath when he walked slowly to the door of the hall.

Lowering his head and passing through the cotton curtain held by his grandma, Chai Zhengzheng entered the room and saw his mother with a solemn expression and shaking her head.

After untying his cloak and handing it to the female envoy beside him, Chai Zhengzheng gave a salute: "Mother, brother!"

"Brother, what did you just say?"

Sitting on the embroidered pier in front of the table, Chai Zhengzheng asked.

"Brothers from the Xu family fought again last night!"

Chai Zhengzheng rolled his big eyes and looked at Chai Jin and said, "Brother, he wasn't cruel, was he? Is the person injured by him seriously injured?"

Chai Jin said: "Zhengzheng, I asked for the exact information about your brother. When they were fighting last night, even a strong crossbow appeared!"

"How can you be so sure that Brother Xu is not injured?"

Upon hearing the word 'strong crossbow', Chai Zhengzheng's expression froze, and the bad experiences he had experienced before came to mind.

"So, is he okay?"

Chai Jin shook his head and said:

"It's okay, but someone swore that Xu's brother dodged the crossbow with his back turned. Tsk! I don't really believe it!"

Chai Zhengzheng nodded.

Chai Jin continued: "Brother from the Xu family is fine, but the families of other princes and princes are in dire straits. The crown prince of Prince Yong even had his shoulder pierced and he bled a lot."

Mrs. Chai saw some wet spots on Chai Zhengzheng's hair on the back of her neck. She reached out to wipe her with a handkerchief and said:

"How can such a powerful object be held in the hands of teenagers like them? If it really hits the vital point, it will be a big deal!"

Mrs. Chai sighed.

The brother and sister nodded. Chai Jin had seen the power of a strong crossbow, and Chai Zhengzheng had seen the sight of a crossbow shooting people.

Mrs. Chai wiped her daughter's neck and continued:

"By the way, Zhengzheng, the twenty thousand banknotes you paid have been transferred."

"oh!"

Mrs. Chai said helplessly:

"Zheng'er, you don't even know what I'm offering! Originally, our family just offered us 30,000 yuan, but you insist on giving another 20,000 yuan!"

"If you lose money in the future, don't cry to your mother."

Chai Zhengzheng looked down at the texture of the tablecloth and pursed his lips:

"The things he offers are always good!"

Upon hearing this, Chai Jin raised his eyebrows and looked at his mother.

Mrs. Chai sighed sadly.

Jiying Lane

Shengjia

Wei Ruixuan

Sisters Wang Ruofu and Kang Wang were sitting on the Arhat bed.

Wang Ruofu looked at the 8,200 banknotes in his hand and frowned:

"Sister, don't tell me. Why is there so much missing?"

Mrs. Kang Wang glanced sideways at Wang Ruofu and said, "Tsk! Do you really think it's easy to do business with a profit of thousands of dollars a month?"

Wang Ruofu: "I'm fine!"

After saying that, he looked at the banknotes in his hand.

Seeing Wang Ruofu's appearance, Mrs. Kang frowned and shook her head in disgust, saying: "Hmph, don't look down on your sister and me! Let me tell you the truth! I lost more than 700 coins!"

Hearing this, Wang Ruofu looked up in surprise: "Huh?"

Kang Wang said through gritted teeth:

"There are four money bankers, but for some reason there is no news. I asked my father's old friend to search for them, but I couldn't find them!"

"It's probably because he rolled up Xinruan and ran away. Otherwise, what would have happened without your three melons and two dates?"

"There will be a big deal after the year, will you do it?"

Hearing his sister's words, Wang Ruofu looked over and said, "Sister, will the interest be less?"

Kang Wang said:

"Look at you like that!"

"I met the old lady of the Kang family a few days ago. Her husband is now an official in the north, and her daughter has just married into Prince Kang's palace. She said there is a new way to put money!"

Wang Ruofu blinked,

Prince Kang said proudly: "We are lending loan money to the people. Do you know who Prince Kang's house is lending money to?"

Wang Ruofu shook his head.

Prince Kang said in a low voice: "They are lending loan money to officials of the Zhou Dynasty!"

Wang Ruofu asked doubtfully: "Huh? Here, put money for the officials?"

Kang Wang looked at her sister and shook her head in disappointment:

"Do you think everyone's family is like yours? Is there a relative who is a businessman and pays dividends every year?"

"Which official who comes to Beijing and leaves Beijing doesn't need to rent or sell a house to support his superiors and subordinates? If he doesn't have enough money, of course he has to borrow it!"

Wang Ruofu nodded: "Do you want to come back?"

Kang Wangshi glared:

"Why don't you come back? If you don't come back, he won't be an official anymore. There are many people who want to be officials!"

"Do you really think that our Wang family members are vegetarians?"

Hearing what his sister said, Wang Ruofu nodded and said, "Then, interest?"

"Same as this time!"

Watching the Kang family's carriage drive away at the door, Wang Ruofu touched the banknotes in his sleeves and clicked his tongue,

Then she took out a few banknotes and said: "Mother Liu, go and give it to Hua'er. She can make the decision on her own!"

"Yes, madam!"

Quyuan Street

Gu Tingye, who came to visit in the afternoon, sat on the chair opposite the desk.

After taking a sip of the tea that Hua Xiang brought,

After Gu Tingye nodded appreciatively, he looked at Xu Zaijing in the study with disappointment:

"Brother Jing, I thought you would be like Zheng Xiao, lying on the bed recovering from your injuries!"

Xu Zaijing, who was writing, stopped his brush, raised his head and said:

"Ah? When you went to see him, was he still in severe pain?"

"The pain is so severe that I can't get out of bed yet! It's really hard to watch you having fun."

Xu Zaijing smiled: "Don't talk nonsense when you go out!"

Gu Tingye: "Don't worry, I keep my mouth shut!"

"By the way, when eldest brother came back at noon, he said that Prince Dongchang revealed the whereabouts of the strong crossbow last night!"

Xu Zaijing: "Oh? Which Forbidden Army escaped from it?"

Gu Tingye put down the tea cup and stood up. He walked a few steps and came to the sword stand. He picked up a large sword and drew it out. He looked at it and said:

"It didn't come from the Bianjing Forbidden Army. He said he got it from a courtyard accidentally!"

Looking at the edge of the Dagao sword, Gu Tingye clicked his tongue with satisfaction.

Xu Zaijing frowned and said, "How do you say this?"

Gu Tingye said:

"Qin Chihan and his entourage agreed. They all said that they saw it in the courtyard near the Qiu family of the former retainer of King Yan. They fell in love with it and took away the two powerful crossbows."

"Because the strong crossbow comes from the fiefdom of King Yan, my colleagues in the military department are very relieved."

Xu Zaijing took a writing brush and dipped it in the inkstone and said, "There is no responsibility, so naturally I have to breathe a sigh of relief!"

Gu Tingye changed his sword to appreciate it and replied:

"I heard from my elder brother that roughly two or three days after we defeated King Yan and Ruyang Hou Mansion, Qin Dalang accidentally obtained these two powerful crossbows."

"hiss!"

'Snapped! ’

Gu Tingye sheathed the long sword with force, looked at Xu Zaijing with some horror and said:

"Brother Jing, I never thought that King Yan and those gangsters from the Qiu family would want to use crossbows to deal with us, right?"

"Then the Imperial Army surrounded Prince Yan's Mansion, so they didn't have time."

Xu Zaijing took the brush and said, "Maybe, but isn't it a coincidence that Qin Dalang happened to see it?"

Gu Tingye:

"Brother said, Qin Dalang said that he has a nose and eyes. The Dongchang Marquis Mansion is also related to the Tuoxi Marquis Cao family. There are people who can talk to him. Maybe he has been released."

Xu Zaijing wrote a few words on the paper and said:

"This powerful crossbow was picked up, and the person who used it was Prince Jing. A prince and a duke were injured. The Qin family picked it up cleanly. Brother-in-law, what did he do with it?"

Gu Tingye said: "It's probably a matter of paying money. We can't let Prince Jing suffer too."

Xu Zaijing nodded,

At this time, Hua Xiang came over:

"Sir, there was a message in the front yard that a carriage was parked at the door, and a young man named Guo was at the door, saying he wanted to visit you!"

Xu Zaijing frowned and thought, then his eyes lit up, and he hurriedly said: "Ask the concierge to ask him to wait in the children's room in the front yard, I'll be there right away!"

Gu Tingye: "I'll go take a look too."

With that said, he and Xu Zaijing walked out of the courtyard together. When they came to the front hall, they saw an Angzang young man sitting calmly on a chair.

Hearing the sound of walking, the young man quickly stood up and cupped his hands towards Xu Zaijing and said:

"Goro, you're polite."

"Please take a seat."

Then Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye sat down, one under Guo Kui and the other across from him.

"Wu Lang said he would come to you if he surrendered to the army, but today I came uninvited."

Xu Zaijing was stunned and said: "Brother Guo, are you going to join the army now?"

"good!"

Gu Tingye on the side said: "It looks like the Chinese New Year is about to come, you..."

Guo Kui nodded and said: "Of course I know, but I have to take people there. If we go faster, I might be able to spend the New Year in Junzhou."

When Xu Zaijing heard the words 'take someone with him', he looked at the Angzang young man in surprise.

Guo Kui looked at Xu Zaijing's questioning eyes, nodded and said:

"Wu Lang guessed it right! After thinking it over, I decided to take her away!"

"We can't leave her alone here in Bianjing. If the news leaks out, she may not survive the cold words she receives."

Xu Zaijing nodded, and Gu Tingye on the side asked softly: "Isn't that the day you are talking about?"

Looking at Guo Kui who lowered his head and Xu Zaijing who turned to look at him, Gu Tingye immediately shut up.

"What about your family's property in Jingzhong?"

"I have given it to the old servant to look at. In fact, there is not much left."

After listening to Guo Kui's words, Xu Zaijing nodded and said: "Okay, then I will write the post now. I want to spend time!"

"Master?"

"Go get pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and then ask Qingcao to come over."

Hua Xiang should have withdrawn.

After a while, Hua Xiang and Qing Cao came to the house together,

Xu Zaijing stood up and said a few words in Qingcao's ear. After Qingcao glanced at Guo Kui, he left the house and walked towards the racecourse.

Afterwards, Xu Zaijing finished writing the post slowly and asked Hua Xiang to take it to his mother's house in the backyard to have it stamped with the seal of the Yongyi Hou Mansion.

When Hua Xiang came back with the post, Xu Zaijing stretched out his hand and said, "Brother Guo, please come this way."

Guo Kui looked in the direction of the racecourse in surprise and nodded.

Walking in the Yong Yi Hou Mansion where the snow water keeps dripping like rain,

When he arrived at the racecourse, Guo Kui saw a half-new and half-old carriage from the Hou Mansion parked there.

Beside the carriage was a disabled man dressed as a servant,

The single eye glanced at Guo Kui, and the single eye was full of appreciation for him. One was to appreciate Guo Kui's magnanimity, and the other was to appreciate his plan to take people away directly.

At this time, Alan came over leading a horse.

Xu Zaijing took the reins and said:

"This is the mount of a pair of brothers named Li who live in my house. Now they have replaced it with a better one. This horse has been in the stable. I hope Brother Guo will not dislike it."

Guo Kui looked at this horse, which was much better than his old horse, and said, "I don't dare!"

Xu Zaijing nodded and handed him the reins.

Guo Kui first bowed deeply to Xu Zaijing, then took the reins, and then bowed to Yin Bo and Alan.

At this time, Qingcao and Yunxiang came over from the aisle with several female envoys from the inner courtyard.

He also held thick quilts, hand stoves, food boxes, etc. in his arms. Yun Xiang also had an unknown fur in his arms.

Gu Tingye helped put things into the car.

Qingcao on the side said: "Mr. Guo, the charcoal in the hand stove is placed in this grid behind the car."

Guo Kui nodded.

Except for Qingcao and Huaxiang, the rest of the female envoys bowed and returned to the inner courtyard.

"Let's go!"

Xu Zaijing, Gu Tingye and Guo Kui are in front,

Behind them are Alan and Zhique, who are leading the carriage and horse.

After leaving the gate of Hou Mansion,

Only then did Xu Zaijing see the dilapidated carriage next to the hitching post. The horse pulling the carriage was not the old one when he first met Guo Kui.

Xu Zaijing looked at Guo Kui again,

"That old horse was raised by the old servant at home, and now he is accompanying him."

Xu Zaijing nodded.

Hearing Guo Kui's voice, someone quietly opened a corner of the curtain in the dilapidated carriage.

"Mother, it's the master who has come out!"

After Gu Tingye heard this, his eyes widened in shock.

Xu Zaijing had some suspicions in the hall where he was entertaining guests. He turned back to his female envoy with a calm face and said:

"Help change the car!"

Guo Kui had already walked to the dilapidated carriage and said, "Come on, let's change that carriage."

"Lianpeng, you go down and I'll hand you something in the car."

"Yes, madam."

There was a female voice in the carriage. After finishing speaking, a female servant of twelve or thirteen years old got out of the carriage.

After a rather non-standard salute, Fu started to move things from beside the car.

While carrying the baggage, he looked at Qingcao's clothes and jewelry with surprise and envy.

When she saw Hua Xiang, the little girl's eyes almost popped out.

When Hua wanted to take the bundle from her hand, the female messenger named Lianpeng whispered: "Sister, are you a fairy who came down to earth?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone laughed.

Xu Zaijing smiled and said a few words beside Alan, and Alan ran back to the Hou Mansion to get something.

There was not much in the old carriage, so it was quickly moved.

After placing the things, the woman kept her head lowered and stood beside Guo Kui with the melon envoy.

Soon, Alan ran out holding Xu Zaijing and using a set of soft bow bags and arrows.

Xu Zaijing hung the things on the saddle and said:

"Looking at Brother Guo's figure, he seems to be able to use a bow and arrow. This one is a bit softer for me to use."

Guo Kui looked at the bow and arrow with shining eyes and nodded.

Afterwards, Guo Kui helped the woman get into the carriage.

He bowed deeply again and said: "Wu Lang, then, we will meet again later!"

Xu Zaijing also bowed in return and said: "Second brother Guo, see you later! By the way, if you go to Xiangzhou, Zhujiapu in the north of the city is my closest relative!"

"In lower province."

Gu Tingye also bowed.

After Guo Kui got on the horse, the woman in the carriage also opened the curtain and nodded in greeting.

Xu Zaijing returned the gift again.

The melon girl in the carriage said, "Mother, it's so warm in the carriage!" ’, ‘Mistress, the quilt is so soft! ’, ‘Mother, what kind of skin is this?’ The voices gradually faded away.

"Erlang, the fifth man of the Hou Mansion is really generous and righteous!"

"good!"

Guo Kui continued: "When Marquis Yongyi was in the Tianwu Army, he was also fully paid!"

After finishing speaking, Guo Kui said nothing and touched his mount with emotion in his eyes.

Soon, the horse and carriage disappeared into the streets of Bianjing heading north.

At the gate of the Hou Mansion,

Gu Tingye and Xu Zaijing walked inside together: "Brother Jing, what are you trying to do by sending both a carriage and a mount?"

Xu Zaijing smiled. Anyway, he was not trying to be as famous as Di Jing.