Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 52: Zhao Qiying of the Central Plains Escort

Volume Two

2.29 Zhongyuan Escort Zhao Qiying

Naturally, the problem that broke out in the Rongguo Mansion could not be controlled by Zhou Yang. Even if Li Wan was added, they were just making a fool of themselves. After releasing a lot of information that Li Wan had, they were not willing to lose power. Jia Mu quickly took over and made the rumors bigger and more accurate.

Mrs. Wang naturally would not sit back and watch the failure, and immediately released the news, throwing the shit basin at other slaves in an attempt to muddy the pool, and then fished in troubled waters and escaped. The anxious Zhou Rui naturally had no energy to cause trouble for Zhou Yang anymore - —Hey, the two of them are still "family"?
Originally, according to the normal "progress", this kind of internal struggle for power will last for a long time. When both parties are almost tired and the discussions are completed and a tacit understanding is reached, a few small shrimps will be killed, and each party involved will give up some of the benefits. , finally completed the "finishing", but unfortunately there was Zhou Yang in the middle who didn't play according to the routine.

On June 27, he took advantage of the night and sent Zhou Rui's family to the Palace of Hell without leaving any one behind. Then he set fire to destroy the corpses and wipe out all traces. Because the fire was too strong, even the back garden of Rongguo Mansion with the partition wall was destroyed. It was affected a lot, but fortunately it was eventually extinguished.

In this way, the benefits that had to be given up by each family were completely "covered" by Zhou Rui's family after his death. It was said that "everyone was happy". Soon Shan Daliang, who belonged to Jia's mother, won the majority, and the participating families divided their points. With the exception of Mrs. Wang who suffered heavy losses and smashed a whole room of porcelain, the Jia Mansion completely returned to peace.

As for the tragic murder of Zhou Rui's family, who was once quite powerful and could be regarded as Mrs. Wang's right-hand man, it was very quickly characterized as a "dirty incident". From the beginning to the end, no one even thought about investigating it. Even Mrs. Wang did not have much time. If she even asked a question, she had her arm cut off and was busy promoting and arranging a new family. Even the government servants who came to visit were dismissed with just a few words.

Of course, it was impossible for Zhou Yang to focus all his energy on these nonsense for such a long time. Apart from getting started at the beginning, sneaking into Li Wanyuan several times to solve personal anger problems, and finally arranging arrangements for Zhou Rui's family, his absolute Most of the time was still spent on martial arts training, and in the blink of an eye it was early July.

“The might of the Central Plains—use force to make friends—the might of the Central Plains—use force to make friends!”

This morning, Zhou Yang, who had been training hard all morning and was sitting in the yard memorizing books and doing some repairs, suddenly heard the sound of chants coming from the official road outside, which aroused his curiosity, because he knew that this There was an escort passing by.

Speaking of which, the time period of the Zhou Dynasty roughly corresponds to the Qianlong and Jiaqing years in real history. Even the historical process has many similarities. For example, the escort business in front of us was also completed during this time period in real history. Zhou Yang had heard of it before, but this was the first time he had the chance to see it.

"Shopkeeper Yang, which company is this?" Since he was curious, he came out to take a look. Of course, he didn't go directly. Instead, he first found Yang Xin who was resting and drinking tea in the servant's room and asked him about the situation.

"Going back to my boss, it's the escort team from the Zhongyuan Escort Agency in the capital." Yang Xin quickly stood up, bowed respectfully and replied, "These four or nine cities are connected into a large area, and there are dozens of escort agencies with banners. The most famous and powerful one is not satisfied. The two leaders include the Zhongyuan Escort Bureau. An ordinary bureau would not have the courage to enter the capital and call for escorts. I heard that the chief escort officer, Zhao Tianhao, is very powerful and is considered a master in the world."

"Huh?" Zhou Yang was confused. He always thought that he was traveling through the simple world of "Red Mansions", and he didn't expect that there would be random intruders. He knew the situation of this escort agency much better than Yang Xin, "Okay, I understand, you Just be busy - wait a minute, add a ready-made meat dish and a jar of wine to each table in the Escort Agency, prepare four side dishes, and a jug of good wine, and ask Qingwen to bring it over later."

"I understand!" Yang Xin didn't say much, and didn't even ask about the topic of "cost."

The last time Zhou Yang came back, he brought back a lot of valuable things. Not counting the stack of 3000 taels of silver notes handed over by Mrs. When returning to the capital from Miyako Island, Xue Xun sent a large amount of sea goods, the value of which was far beyond most people's imagination.

For example, he directly gave the maid a tortoiseshell comb, a coral pendant, and a pearl hairpin as gifts. He also gave Li Wan three complete sets of pearl necklaces, bracelets, and even anklets, as well as higher-level pearl hairpins and earrings. Now, The two-foot-tall coral tree that has been placed in the main hall of her courtyard, as well as the large number of coral, pearl, and tortoise shell products that have not been taken out because there is no room to arrange them, are in the market. These things are treasures in the market, guarding the sea and The second room of the Xue family, now the owner of the island, can be completely treated as a toy.

In other words, Zhou Yang has basically achieved "economic freedom."

After waiting for another half a cup of tea, Zhou Yang strode into the lobby of the tavern. As soon as he entered, he saw a group of escorts sitting at four tables with about 30 people. They were in the southwest corner of the lobby, separated by wooden screens. In the "private seat", the faint figures of two girls flashed past, which made him make a guess. "Dear bodyguards, I am the owner of this tavern. It is an honor for the shop to be supported by all the bodyguards today." Since he had something to ask for, Zhou Yang deliberately spoke in a polite manner, "It was mine just now. It’s just a small thing, but it’s not respectful, so I hope you don’t dislike it.”

"I've met Mr. Zhou!" Sure enough, as Zhou Yang guessed, the information source of the escort agency is much better than ordinary people. The young man who should be the head escort quickly stood up and greeted the other escort masters to salute, "I'm Zheng Qingshan, Tian is the Central Plains Head of the escort agency, thank you very much for your generosity."

"Hahaha, you're welcome!" With Zhou Yang's ability as a martial arts scholar at the age of 16, his status was much higher than that of this group of bodyguards who traveled around the world. He didn't mean to beat around the bush, he simply cupped his hand and asked with a smile. He said, "As the saying goes, 'If you have nothing to do, don't go to the Three Treasures Palace.' I also happen to have something I want to ask the leader of your bureau to inquire about. I don't know."

"This -" Zheng Qingshan hesitated for a moment, then nodded and agreed, "Since Mr. Zhou wants to ask, it is naturally possible. The eldest lady and the third young lady are in the private seats. Mr. Zhou can just go and ask."

"Oh?" Zhou Yang knew that he had guessed correctly, and the result was better than expected, but he still pondered politely, "Isn't it inconvenient?"

"Mr. Zhou, you're welcome. Children of Jianghu are not so particular." This time, before Zheng Qingshan could say anything, a gentle female voice came from the other side of the seat, "Zhongyuan Escort Bureau Zhao Qiying, please move me."

"In that case, I won't be polite." Zhou Yang smiled and strode into the private room without asking any more questions. The two women in front of him made his eyes light up.

Sitting in the front seat is a pretty-looking girl, wearing an off-white outfit and a light blue cloak. She seems to be the kind of person with a gentle personality and orthodox behavior. The girl on the left has another style, and her appearance is more outstanding. Not to mention, she is dressed in a light blue and white outfit without a cape, and has a bright smile on her face. You can tell at a glance that she is the kind of girl who is cheerful, cheerful, and loves to talk and laugh. What they have in common is that they are surrounded by A long sword stood on the table.

"I've met Mr. Zhou. This is my little sister Yan Ling. The children in the world are not decent, but it makes Mr. Xian laugh." Seeing Zhou Yang come in, Zhao Qiying greeted his sister and stood up and saluted, with a straight posture.

"It's okay. As the saying goes, 'Do as the Romans do'. You have to abide by the rules of whatever bowl of rice you eat. It's just the force of life." Zhou Yang smiled and cupped his hands in return. Qingwen happened to come in with a tray. Zhao Yanling was fine. , Zhao Qiying's expression obviously changed, but she didn't say a word.

"To tell you the truth, girl, I actually asked you two because I have something to ask." It wasn't until Qingwen had laid out the food and wine, removed the leftover dishes, and even wiped the table that Zhou Yang smiled and asked Zhao Qiying and Zhao Yanling with a smile. Sitting across from each other, he even showed his respect by doing it first, "It must not be difficult for the two heroines. I just want to understand the level of martial arts in today's world."

"Xiangong Zhou is a high school martial arts scholar, so he will be no worse than our sisters in martial arts. If he adds archery and riding skills, he can be considered a good player in the world." Zhao Qiying's answer was watertight, as if he had said something, It seemed like he didn't say anything.

"This is Miss Zhao's answer." Zhou Yang smiled, not embarrassed to directly criticize others, "It's just that I heard that when you practice this martial arts to a high level, you can hurt people by flying flowers and picking leaves, and you can even release your true energy for several feet. , killing people invisibly”

"Pfft..." Zhao Qiying said nothing with a smile on her face. Zhao Yanling next to her was not so well-educated. "Well, I have also heard what Xianggong Zhou said, because when I was a child, the main reason for practicing martial arts was to watch Many legendary novels also want to fly over the walls and conquer the world like those heroes and masters, hahahaha."

"Yan Ling!" Zhao Qiying hit her sister angrily, then turned to Zhou Yang with an apologetic expression and said, "Ms. Zhou, forgive me, my little sister is innocent, but the martial arts in this world are not that exaggerated, it's nothing more than After practicing for a long time, you will strengthen your body, become stronger and faster, and your skills in fighting will be stronger.

But there is an upper limit. For example, the legendary "Lifting a Thousand Jin", I have only heard of it but never seen it. Even my father's martial arts is only a few hundred kilograms. Looking at the world, he is already a rare master. I and my little sister In the world of martial arts, he can be considered a good player among the younger generation, but he is still no match for the sergeants of two or three small banners. "

"Is that all?" Zhou Yang was very disappointed.

(End of this chapter)