Shasha sha...
The continuous light rain fell into the silent courtyard house.
The room was bare with only four walls, and "when it rains, it pours on a leaky house." The situation was really not optimistic.
Ye Jingtang opened an oil-paper umbrella to cover the hole in the roof. He lay down holding his knife and turned his head to look at his side. The fluffy bird was lying on the pillow with its claws facing the sky, and its head was tilted. Its sleeping posture was really unsightly.
Although the little silly bird was naughty and unreliable most of the time, it had been trained to "keep watch and scout" since it was young, and it never slacked off when it came to doing its job.
When they were escorting goods in the past, it was always the bird that kept watch, and there had never been any problems.
However, now there was only one person and one bird. It was a bit inhumane to let the bird work both the day and night shifts continuously. So Ye Jingtang slept for half the night and got up to take over the shift in the early morning to let the bird rest.
In this era, there were no entertainment devices. It was really a bit lonely to lie alone in bed in the dead of night with no lights.
Ye Jingtang was eighteen or nineteen years old and had been practicing martial arts all year round. Due to his physiological nature, it would be strange if he didn't think about women at this time.
So, just after lying down for a while, the image of Pei Xiangjun leaning out of the window and the full curve in front of her clothes involuntarily popped up in his mind...
Now that he thought about it, it was really quite large...
In a half-asleep and half-awake state, faint voices came from the rain curtain:
"Eh? How can anyone live here? They must be very poor."
"I guess it's a scholar who came to the capital to take the imperial examination. He has no money to stay in an inn and is taking shelter from the rain here... Yunli, let's go..."
...
Ye Jingtang suddenly came to his senses and listened carefully with his ears. The voices came from the entrance of the alley. Judging from the direction, they were not on the road but above the houses.
The voices sounded like those of two women. One was a young girl, no more than eighteen years old. The other had a mature and gentle voice, and it was not easy to determine her age. Judging from her tone, they seemed to be mother and daughter.
Ye Jingtang quietly grasped the knife in his arms and waited. The voices soon disappeared, and there was the sound of raindrops hitting a bamboo hat, gradually moving away.
It seemed that they were martial artists looking for a place to stay...
Ye Jingtang suddenly understood where the strand of hair he found when making the bed had come from.
Shuanggui Alley was very remote and had been neglected for years, making it suitable for people to hide. It was not surprising that martial artists would look for such a place to stay.
Since these two people had left, the probability of encountering another group of martial artists was extremely low. After thinking about it, he still didn't change the place.
This interruption naturally made it impossible to continue with his previous "fantasy".
Ye Jingtang wiped his face and swept away his miscellaneous thoughts. He felt that he had too much energy, so he got up, picked up a broom, and started to think about the spear skills of the "Red God of Wealth" in the room.
After busying himself for half an hour, the sky gradually dawned.
Ye Jingtang packed his things, put on a coir raincoat and a bamboo hat, held the still-sleeping bird under the coir raincoat, and led his horse out of the alley.
It was just getting light and raining. There were very few people on the street.
After eating a cage of meat buns, Ye Jingtang walked along the street for just over two li and came to Tianshui Bridge.
Tianshui Bridge was all property of the Pei family. There were various shops, including a rice store, a cloth store, an escort agency, a tavern, and so on, all of which were already open.
Ye Jingtang came outside Zhenyuan Escort Agency. He was about to greet the escort guards who were washing up when out of the corner of his eye, he saw a maid holding an oil-paper umbrella emerge from an alley not far away. It was the maid of Miss Third that he had met yesterday.
"Young Master Ye, you're here so early?"
Ye Jingtang was a bit surprised and led the horse forward:
"I came to take a look. Why are you waiting here?"
"Last night, I heard Escort Yang say that you wanted to find something to do at home. Miss Third is specially waiting for you at home. Come on, I'll take you there."
As the maid Xiuhe spoke, she took the reins and also wanted to hold the bird.
But the drowsy bird glanced at Xiuhe's clothes... and had no interest at all.
Ye Jingtang handed the little silly bird to Xiuhe and came to the depths of Qingshi Alley. He could see that the whole alley was surrounded by the courtyard walls of a single household. The buildings inside were scattered in a staggered manner, typical of a wealthy family.
However, most merchant families were rather low-key. The gate was not imposing. It was just a high wall with a small gate, and there were lanterns hanging with the character "Pei" on them.
Ye Jingtang followed Xiuhe into the mansion. As soon as he turned the screen wall, he saw a group of maids emerging from the corner of the corridor. They looked at him curiously and chattered:
"Is this Young Master Ye?"
"Yes, Young Master Ye is not only handsome but also has high martial arts skills. Yesterday on the street, I saw with my own eyes that Young Master Ye knocked Escort Chen down with one blow."
"Compared with the eldest young master, they are worlds apart..."
"No, no. According to Sister Xiuhe, Young Master Ye is older. In the future, the eldest young master will have to call him the second young master..."
...
When Ye Jingtang heard this, he asked Xiuhe a few questions and learned that his "uncle" Pei Yuanming had had an accident while going out to do business and had passed away, leaving a single son, Pei Luo, who was considered the only descendant of the Pei family. He was currently studying in an academy, and there were no other male members in the family.
Chatting along the way, they soon came to the living room of the Pei Mansion.
Pei Xiangjun was already waiting in the living room, but she was not alone. There were also two old men in their fifties sitting opposite her. They both had furrowed brows, and it seemed that they were discussing some troublesome matter:
"Such scoundrels shouldn't be paid any attention to..."
"Yes, as long as you give them a little benefits, those people will surely push their luck..."
When Ye Jingtang saw this scene, he stopped in the corridor and waited for Pei Xiangjun to finish the conversation.
However, the people of the Pei family had already informed them in advance. As soon as he showed up, the two old men stood up and saluted from a distance:
"Young Master Jingtang."
Ye Jingtang didn't really want to admit his identity as the young master of the Pei family, but since he was the adopted son of Pei Yuanfeng, he had no choice. He nodded and returned the salute:
"You two are too kind. Miss Third, who are these two gentlemen?"
"They are the chief shopkeepers of the family, both long-time members of the family."
Pei Xiangjun put away the "worried look" between her eyebrows:
"You can go back now."
"Yes."
The two shopkeepers immediately took their leave.
The big bird saw Sister Big-breasted and suddenly wasn't sleepy anymore. It flapped its small wings and flew onto Pei Xiangjun's lap. It looked up with its bright black eyes and acted cute.
As a result, its view was blocked by the clothes.
The bird tilted its head slightly, jumped curiously, and pushed with its head.
Dong~ Dong~
The clothes trembled slightly, revealing a beautiful scene.
Pei Xiangjun quickly pressed down the bird and held it in her arms, feeding it melon seeds:
"Why are you so naughty?"
Ye Jingtang just pretended not to see this scene. He came to the tea pavilion and sat down, asking:
"Miss Third and the two shopkeepers don't seem very happy. Are there some trivial matters bothering you in the shops?"
"Sigh~"
The "Desperate Third Miss" who could "pull out a willow tree upside down" last night had now become like Lin Daiyu burying flowers. She let out a long, plaintive sigh:
"When doing business, there's no such thing as everything going smoothly. Without a man in the family to take charge, those local bullies outside have taken advantage of the fact that the Pei family consists of orphans and widows and is easy to bully. They often come to cause trouble..."
"Oh?"
Ye Jingtang sat on the other side of the tea table and frowned:
"How do they cause trouble?"
"The ruffians at the riverside dock want to collect 'tribute money' at Tianshui Bridge. Our Pei family does legitimate business under the monarch's feet and naturally can't give it to them. As a result, these people come to cause trouble every now and then. One day they say the food is spoiled and made them sick, and the next day they say the cloth store is passing off inferior goods as high-quality ones. They make a fuss for a whole day, preventing the shops from doing business..."
Ye Jingtang suddenly understood. He had worked in an escort agency before and was all too familiar with such things:
"Does the Pei family have no connections with the government when doing business in the capital? Or do the people causing trouble have some background?"
"The ones causing trouble are the Qinglian Gang at Jiang'an Dock, and they also have connections with the government. For us businessmen, our relationships with the officials in the yamen are all built with real money. It's not worth using those connections for such a small matter. If we try to solve it ourselves, as you saw with Escort Chen, we can't handle it. So we can only leave it like this."
Pei Xiangjun supported her forehead and looked at Ye Jingtang plaintively:
"Sigh~ At most, they just prevent the shops from doing business. They don't dare to do anything serious in the capital. It's just that I, as the aunt, have to suffer a little. I can just endure it. You don't have to worry about it..."
With that plaintive and aggrieved look in her eyes, it was almost an explicit hint.
Ye Jingtang naturally understood what she meant and stood up:
"I'll go and take a look. Hmm... I'm new here and really can't find a way out in the capital. After the matter is settled, I'll work as an escort guard in the Pei family. Miss Third can decide the salary as you see fit..."
Pei Xiangjun had already communicated with Ye Jingtang last night, so she didn't waste any words at this time. She stood up and walked over to help him straighten his clothes:
"Since a man wants to earn his own living, I naturally won't force money on you. But when you go out to handle things, you should still do it in the capacity of the eldest young master of the Pei family. You are originally the adopted son of the Second Brother. If I treat you as a hired escort guard, people will surely gossip."
Pei Xiangjun leaned in close. The fragrant breeze from her body was quite alluring. Her face was already beautiful, and she had put on vermilion rouge. When her lips opened and closed, her white teeth were faintly visible. Coupled with her gentle and mature beauty, she was like a red-sleeved knife that specialized in cutting down young men.
Ye Jingtang had good self-control, but there was a limit. He couldn't resist Miss Third's "soft knife" and took a step back to straighten his clothes himself:
"I understand. Then I'll go and take care of the matter first."
"Change your clothes. Your current appearance doesn't look like a young master of a wealthy family at all. Xiuhe, ask someone to take the young master to change his clothes. Inform Chen Biao and the others and ask them to follow later."
"Okay..."
...
A moment later, outside the gate of the Pei Mansion.
The old escort head Yang Chao, along with two skilled escort guards, stood waiting beside a carriage.
Chen Biao also brought two people and was chatting with Yang Chao:
"The leader of the Qinglian Gang shares the same surname as you. His name is Yang Guan, and he has a powerful master. Have you heard of the 'Three Wonders Immortal Old Man'?"
"The 'Three Wonders Immortal Old Man' Guang Hanlin? The martial arts grandmaster who claims to have received 'a piece of advice from Fengguan City'?"
"Exactly, that's him..."
The escort guard Little Six behind Yang Chao was young and asked curiously:
"Can someone brag about just getting a piece of advice? Are martial arts grandmasters so worthless?"
"What do you know?"
Yang Chao stroked his beard and explained, "Fengguan City is recognized as the number one in the world. Since he emerged, he has been invincible and stands alone at the top in the world. Not to mention getting a piece of advice from him, just getting to meet him makes one a hero in the martial arts world..."
While they were talking, the chattering voices of the maids came from inside the gate:
"Wow..."
"Young Master, don't walk so fast..."
The several escort guards turned their heads to look and saw a figure, as if being chased, holding an umbrella and walking out from behind the screen wall.
The figure was wearing a black robe of a young master. Both the inner and outer clothes were black. The fabric was Shuijun Yun brocade, which was worth a thousand gold per bolt. As he walked, the robe was like flowing water and floating clouds. Just by looking at it, one could tell how smooth it was, and it faintly shimmered with a dark golden color as the light changed.
His long hair was neatly combed and tied up with a black jade hairpin. Overall, he looked spotless and gentle and refined. The only flaw was that he was holding a knife in his hand, which seemed a bit out of place with his refined appearance.
The escort guard Little Six really didn't recognize him, and the old escort head Yang Chao was also taken aback. He looked at him carefully:
"Young Master, your appearance is really extraordinary. If you said you were a prince traveling incognito, I'm sure few people would doubt it."
Ye Jingtang quickly stepped out of the gate and jumped directly onto the carriage:
"Let's go, let's go. These women, sigh..."
As soon as the words were out, a group of maids chased after him and poked their heads out from behind the screen wall to look, almost asking if he wanted a maid to accompany him.
Chen Biao found it a bit amusing. He jumped onto the carriage and sat outside the carriage to drive. He reminded:
"Young Master, please speak more politely. It would be a real letdown if the ladies and young mistresses heard you."
"Yes, with this outfit, you shouldn't hold a knife. You should hold a fan instead."
Amidst the laughter and conversation, six horses followed the carriage and left Qingshi Alley...