Chapter 24: The Three Forks

  After breakfast, Xia Liu indeed took the newly appointed female bodyguard out with him. His bravery made Peng Nang secretly admire him. She had thought that a young master like Yang Wenxuan, who indulged in women and was dissolute, would be timid and afraid to go out.

  The two of them strolled along the bustling Nanmen Street for a whole morning. At "Fu An Ju", Xia Xun chose a set of golden silk nanmu longevity screens, and at "Sheng Shi Qing Bao", he carefully selected a turquoise jade carved longevity peach, all of which were gifts prepared for Qi Wang's birthday celebration. By the time they finished with everything, it was almost noon. Xia Xun was busy to the point where his forehead was slightly beaded with sweat, but Peng Niang still maintained her calm and composed demeanor, walking alongside him with a knife in hand.

  The two walked out of "Shengshi Qingbao", and Peng Niang asked lightly: "Where are we going now?"

  "Lin Yang pawnshop! How about we go there for lunch?" Xia Xiao smiled and replied.

  Lin Yang's shopkeeper, Lin Beixia, was the number one suspect in Xia Jie's mind. He had long wanted to meet this partner, and now with such a fierce female bodyguard, he was even more unscrupulous, what reason was there not to go visit?

  "Suit yourself, anywhere is fine, except for the flower streets and willow alleys. Don't blame me for warning you ahead of time. If you go to those kinds of places to hang out, don't even think about getting this young master to be your bodyguard!"

  "Hah, hah, hah, I didn't expect Peng's family education to be so good! Let me tell you, I have a friend who was invited to a brothel for the first time and he refused to go. But after he had a taste of it, every time afterwards, he would drag me along. How about I treat you this once? Hehe, just this once, and next time we'll take turns paying. This is a pretty good deal, isn't it?"

  "Shameless!" Peng Nang shouted coldly.

  Two people walked and bickered along the way, which didn't make them feel lonely at all.

  "Lin Yang Pawnshop" is not far from here, Xia Xian had already recognized the road two days ago when he let Xiao Ding take a stroll with him. At this time, the two of them walked slowly under the shade of the trees, and just turned a corner to come to an intersection, where they saw a team of carriages rushing over...

  A dozen or so large carts were all long-distance freight cars, each driven by a pair of mules, with boxes and crates piled high on the carts, tied up tightly with ropes. The carters waved their whips loudly, shouting at the top of their lungs, seeing these people walking very quickly, even kicking up dust. Xia Bian stopped at the side of the road, wanting to wait for them to pass first, just as a young scholar in a green robe rode out from a small alley on the side of the road on a donkey.

  The man was holding a piece of pottery in his hand, admiring it, when suddenly the donkey cart came speeding towards him. Xia Yu couldn't help but shout loudly: "Be careful!"

  The scholar heard the sound and raised his head, seeing a donkey cart rushing towards him. Wanting to dodge was already too late, "Ah" a cry, that donkey was knocked over by the big black mule, the scholar tumbled to the ground, the ceramic in his hand shattered into powder, and the soft hat on his head also fell to the ground.

  Xia Fu shook his head, walked forward and picked up the soft hat, then helped up the bookish-looking man and asked in a gentle tone: "Are you alright, sir?"

  The young scholar got up dizzy and turned around, then quickly bowed to Xia Xian: "Thank you, brother, I'm fine."

  Xia Jiang handed back the soft hat and looked at this young man who seemed two years younger than himself, with clear eyebrows and eyes, very pleasant to look at.

  The young master in the soft carriage couldn't help but burst out laughing at the sight of the scholar's misfortune. The scholar, enraged by the laughter, suddenly turned around and took a big step forward, grabbing the young master's arm and shouting: "You've injured me, broken my Han Dynasty ceramic dog, and yet you still dare to be so unreasonable! Get down here!"

  That young master was caught off guard, and he was pulled down from the carriage by him. He couldn't help but get furious, raised his hand and threw a punch, shouting: "You little brat, take my fist!"

  The scholar didn't expect this person to be so brazen despite being in the wrong, and quickly jumped back two steps, pulling his robe into his arms as if ready to strike back. The young master looked at him with a cold smile, also pulling his sleeves up, saying: "What's going on? Do you want me to teach you a lesson?"

  As soon as they were about to fight, the street people suddenly became interested, especially when two scholars fought, the people were even more enthusiastic, and a large crowd surrounded them. An old man with a crutch saw the two young scholars pulling out their fists and was about to take action, couldn't help but frown, shake his head repeatedly, and sigh: "Scholarship is really being trampled on."

  The old man was lamenting the decline of traditional values and social norms, when a young man rushed forward to watch the commotion. Unaware, he stepped on the old man's foot with his big toe. The old man was wearing a pair of black satin shoes made of thin fabric, which offered little protection against the pain. Enraged, the old man swung his cane wildly and shouted in a thunderous voice: "You young scoundrel, you have no family education!"

  This sudden action shocked a nearby outsider from another province, leaving him staring with his mouth agape. His local friend could only awkwardly explain: "Uh... it's just the Shandong way, we've always been bold and unrestrained, with a strong sense of justice..."

  Xia Jiong furrowed his brow and said, "There are many pedestrians on this road, and carriages should be driven slowly. But that team of vehicles is too unruly, galloping wildly in the bustling streets, it's really not right. Whose carriages are these?"

  "That car is ours..."

  "Uh..." Xia Yu changed his tone and said: "I'm from Shandong, we've always been bold and unrestrained, with a strong sense of justice..."

  Peng Ziqi gave him a white eye and hummed: "Less flattery, the car is ours, but the person is not ours."

  It turned out that this team was the moving team of Zhu Wenhao, a retired official from the Ministry of Revenue, who had returned to his hometown. Mr. and Mrs. Zhu, as well as their daughter, had arrived in Qingzhou six or seven days ago by light carriage. A large amount of luggage had been transported from Nanjing to Qingzhou, first by boat and then by cart, and had only just arrived today after several transfers. The carts were rented from the Peng family's cart business, and the personnel escorting the carts included employees of the Peng family's cart business, as well as two sons of Mr. Zhu and several servants.

  It's said that they're almost at their old mansion, the two young masters of the Zhu family are excited and keep urging the coachman to speed up. Later, the elder young master even snatched the whip and urged the horse to gallop, which is how they collided with the green-robed scholar. Both parties were young and hot-headed, and as soon as they exchanged words, they started fighting on the street.

  It's actually quite interesting to talk about scholars fighting, because in the Ming dynasty, the six arts taught in the imperial academy included archery and charioteering. At that time, these two subjects were not yet superficial, and the Confucian scholars who entered the imperial academy had specialized martial arts instructors. They could wield a 50-jin stone lock for dozens of times up and down, and open and close a 200-jin hard bow like drawing a full moon, so although the scholars were not proficient in this way, they also roughly understood boxing.

  Zhu Er Gongzi and Zhu Zhechun immediately went forward to help his brother, the two brothers fighting one person. The blue-shirted scholar was at a disadvantage. Xia Bian saw this situation and hurriedly came forward to mediate, stretching out his hand to separate both parties, and persuading them: "This gentleman, there's no need to fight, let's talk it over."

  The young scholar in the green robe panted heavily and said, "Brother, it's not that I'm unwilling to let him off, but his carriage injured me and smashed my things. Not only did he not apologize, but he also laughed loudly. If I were to let the matter drop, others would say that Cui Yuanlie was afraid of this bird-like person. No, I want to go to the government office with them to reason it out."

  "Go to the government office? Even if I just bumped into you, let alone broke your bones, my dad can still get us out of there with a single stroke of his pen."

  "Alright, let's go to the prefecture and talk about this. I, Cui Yuanlie, want to see what kind of prestige your family has, whether the Prefect will dare to release you, a rebellious thief, just because of a single letter from your respected father!"

  Judging from his tone, he seems to have a good background, but looking at his clothes and the vehicle he's riding in, although it can't be said that he's shabby, he doesn't seem like some kind of noble either. The two young masters of the Zhu family are people who came out of the capital, where high-ranking officials gather and they have seen a lot of the world. Although their family is not considered to be one of the wealthy and aristocratic families, but when they arrive in a local place, they can't help but give off an air of being superior to others.

  But thinking about it, his father was a fifth-grade official in the imperial court, with the same rank as the prefect of Qingzhou. Moreover, he was an official in the capital, and although he had retired to his hometown, local officials in Qingzhou still couldn't help but show respect. How could this young man surnamed Cui compare with them in terms of power?

  Zhu Zhihou snapped his fingers and said lazily, "Don't just talk about it, go to the government office, be quick about it, don't delay Young Master's business."

  Just then, a girl called out: "Big Brother, Second Brother, you're causing trouble on the road again!"

  Xia Yu and Cui Yuanlie turned their heads at the same time, and saw a green-clothed girl walking towards them. The girl was 28 years old, wearing a narrow-sleeved dress with a water-green color, a small silk jacket from Huzhou outside, her hair combed into three buns representing an unmarried girl, although she didn't wear makeup but had a natural fragrance, looking noble and elegant. Behind her followed an old servant with white hair, the old servant wore a green robe, slightly hunched over, but his face was very ruddy and spirited.

  The young lady bowed to Cui Yuanlie and said, "This gentleman, my brother was reckless and crashed into you with his carriage, breaking your things. I apologize on behalf of my brother. I don't know if he hurt you in the collision? Do you need a doctor or medicine? What is the value of the broken items? If we can't find replacements, our family will compensate you for them..."

  Zhu Zhihou hastily said, "Sister, why are you yielding to him? It's his own fault. He suddenly darted out from the side and tripped, what's the big deal? Who can prove that the pottery shards on the ground are some kind of ancient artifact just because he says so?"

  Before she could finish speaking, the girl slightly tilted her head to one side and gave him a fierce glare. She then quickly nodded towards the side. Zhu Zhihou suddenly became aware of something and followed his sister's gaze to see that several carriages had stopped at the intersection without them noticing. The middle carriage had its curtain lifted, and an old man in official uniform sat upright inside, slightly turning his head to look over here with a face full of anger that he couldn't hide.

  As soon as Zhu Zhihou looked over, the old man's face turned gloomy and he suddenly dropped the bamboo curtain. Zhu Zhihou immediately broke out in a cold sweat: "It's bad, how did Father also end up here."

  That old man was his father, Zhu Wenhao, the former Ministry of Revenue's external affairs officer. Yesterday, Mr. Zhu took his family to Yunmen Mountain to visit and sightsee, accompanied by Master Kongxu, the abbot of Dayun Temple. They toured the scenic spots in the mountains and donated a large sum of incense money. Today, he invited Master Kongxu to accompany him to pay respects at his ancestors' tombs and held a grand Buddhist ceremony. At this moment, they had just returned to the city when they ran into his son arguing with someone on the street.

  Mr. Zhu ordered the old steward, Zhu Dong, to go forward and ask the passerby, and after learning about the situation, he was very angry. He didn't want to leave a bad impression on his hometown as soon as he returned home. Mr. Zhu himself couldn't show up, and he was afraid that the old steward couldn't control the two sons, so he let his beloved daughter come forward to resolve the situation. Mr. Zhu's daughter was named Zhu Shanbi, who was young but more knowledgeable than her two brothers, and she spoke and behaved in a dignified manner.

  That was when Cui Yuanlie was about the same age as Muo Ai. Upon seeing this young lady, who was beautiful and elegant in her demeanor, and spoke with such courtesy, his anger dissipated instantly. He hastily returned the courtesy, saying: "Lady, you're too kind. To be honest, I'm also to blame. If I hadn't rushed out recklessly, we wouldn't have collided with your brother either. These minor injuries are nothing to worry about."

  Zhu Niang's pair of talking big eyes glanced at the ceramic shards on the ground, and Cui Yuanlie hastily said: "Ah ha, that... it's just an ordinary ceramic piece, it doesn't matter if it's broken..."

  "Hahaha..." The onlookers had all heard that it was an antique, and now seeing him being so refined and magnanimous in front of the beautiful young lady, they couldn't help but burst out laughing. Miss Zhu also knew that this young master was being lenient because he had a crush on her, so she didn't want to pursue the matter further. With everyone's laughter, her face turned red, and she pursed her lips before saying: "It's best if the young master is unharmed, but breaking something still requires compensation... Steward..."

  The old man Zhu Dong understood, and hastily stepped forward, bowing his head and saying: "I don't know how much this pottery jar is worth, sir?"

  Choi Won-ryeol waved his hand and said, "It's just an ordinary ceramic jar that's not worth much money. No need to compensate, no need to compensate..."

  Xia Liu smiled and said, "Alright, since Master Cui doesn't want to pursue the matter, I think this young lady doesn't need to be polite either. The road here is narrow, and with everyone gathered here talking, many passersby are watching, it's really not very elegant. Just forget about the jar, okay?"

  Choi Won-ryeol let out a sigh of relief and repeatedly said: "Brother, what you say is absolutely right, absolutely right."

  The girl looked at Xia Xun with a smile and said: "This young master is..."

  Xia Xian bowed slightly and replied: "I am Yang Xu, also known as Wenxuan, from Qingzhou."

  The girl bowed and said: "I've seen Mr. Yang."

  The old steward Zhu Dong glanced at Xia Xun and said to Zhu Shanbi, "Miss, since the two young masters don't want to investigate further, in my humble opinion, Miss shouldn't insist either."

  The young lady hesitated for a moment, smiled and said: "Since that's the case, I thank Master Cui and Master Yang."

  Watching the Zhu family's convoy disappear into the distance, Cui Yuanlie was still stretching his neck in a daze, gazing at the girl's back. In his mind, he couldn't help but flash back to Miss Zhu's slightly tilted head, her nose as delicate as jade, her lips as beautiful as a lotus flower, and the few strands of soft black hair that had fallen on her neck when she turned around briefly, and for a moment, he was infatuated.

  Xia Liu waved his hand in front of him and smiled slyly: "It seems that the girl took Cui's soul away with her when she left."

  Chui Won-ryeol's face turned red, and he said with a smile: "Brother Mun-hwan is joking, I am Chui Won-ryeol, from Xingtaoyuan Village, Qingzhou Prefecture. Just now, thanks to Brother's help, I didn't suffer a big loss."

  Xia Fu smiled and said: "We are all from the same village, just speaking a fair word, it's just a matter of raising one's hand, Cui younger brother doesn't have to be polite."

  The two chatted for a few sentences, and their personalities were quite compatible, they both had a good impression of each other. However, Cui Yuanlie's clothes were covered in dust, so standing on the street was not very convenient. Therefore, Cui Yuanlie and he exchanged names and agreed to visit his residence another day before bidding farewell. Peng Niang watched with cold eyes, her mouth slightly raised: "This guy is indeed a man of great integrity, but...he's really not good with women..."

  Just then, another vehicle came from the other side of the intersection. On the front seat of the first car sat an official, who glanced around and suddenly saw Xia Xian. His face changed instantly, and he quickly turned his head away, covering his face with his sleeve to cough, in order to avoid Xia Xian's line of sight.

  His suspicious behavior immediately caught Xia Xun's attention, and with a glance, Xia Xun immediately remembered this person's identity: the second suspect on the list of suspects, Geng Xin, also known as Geng Yuanwai!

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  P.S: Seeking freshly baked recommendation votes for today.

  Cough, speaking of Lao Geng, the other day in the group, I heard a book friend say that Lao Geng intended to abuse me in the book. I was shocked and thought: without colorful phoenixes, but with a heart full of clever ideas! I was just thinking of abusing him too. And so, Lao Geng made his grand entrance.

  It's just... this Geng employee is really miserable, even more so than Yan Jiu classmate in the previous book. It makes me shed tears of sympathy. To avoid Old Geng classmate seeing Geng employee's tragic ending and getting a psychological illness, I kindly added a grass radical to the new character, you know, the spirit of a camel bird, let's just pretend it's not him, HOHO~~

  "Obsession is Guilty" Book No. 1988524, a different kind of romantic storm, enjoy!