Jinghong Tower

When He Ran and Yao Linlang finished their discussion and returned to the next room, Zhou Cangyue was leaning on a large pillow, his face covered with a newspaper, and sleeping soundly.

He Ran smiled and shook her head, then reached out to pick up the newspaper. As a result, she saw Zhou Cangyue's eyes wide open, which scared He Ran.

"Are you pretending to sleep?" He Ran asked.

Zhou Cangyue grinned, revealing a row of snow-white teeth.

"I'm not pretending. I really fell asleep, but I woke up as soon as you came in." Zhou Cangyue explained quickly.

He Ran frowned: "Are my footsteps so obvious?"

Zhou Cangyue said hurriedly: "That's not the case. This is a habit of mine. You know, we beggars have a hard time getting a few coins, so we must be on guard against being robbed at all times. So even when we sleep, we have to keep our ears open. Over time, it has become a habit."

Hearing him mention being a beggar, He Ran was curious and asked, "Why did you stop being a beggar and become a corpse retriever?"

Zhou Cangyue was about to speak when he suddenly thought of something. He pursed his lips tightly and was stunned for a moment. After a long while, he said, "Now that I think about it, the reason why my adoptive father asked me to return to Wanchun was, firstly, to give me experience, and secondly, to let me return to the place where my grandmother and mother lived. It's a pity that I didn't understand it until now."

He Ran became more and more certain that the old leader of the Beggars' Sect was once Zhou Ying's little fan.

If it weren't for this old gang leader, Zhou Ying would have faded away in the world over the years.

"Then why did he let you dress up as a girl?" He Ran still remembered Zhou Cangyue saying that this was the requirement of his adoptive father, and he had to be over 18 years old before he could resume his male identity.

Zhou Cangyue sighed: "I actually wore men's clothes when I was a child. Then one day, my adoptive father came back from outside and stared at me. After a while, he said that he had asked a blind fortune teller to tell me that I had to dress up as a woman, otherwise I would not live past the age of 18. From that day on, I changed into women's clothes.

Now that I think about it, the words of this blind fortune teller were most likely just an excuse made by my adoptive father.

Maybe he just doesn't want me to know my true identity.

After I turn 18, I will be an adult and have enough ability to protect myself, and then I will resume my male identity."

He Ran laughed: "Don't mention it. If you hadn't admitted it yourself, I really wouldn't have realized that you were a man."

Zhou Cangyue was stunned: "I said it myself? When?"

He Ran: "It was the time when you came to Beijing and secretly met Fang Wuyou. That night, you were drunk and said you were a man."

Zhou Cangyue: Drinking will cause trouble!
In fact, Zhou Cangyue only drank one glass that time.

It was not until the afternoon that Zhong Yi and others came to see He Ran, and Zhou Cangyue said goodbye.

Looking at Zhou Cangyue's departing back, Zhong Yi narrowed his eyes slightly: "When did Zhou Cangyue come to the capital?"

He Ran glanced at him and said, "Commander Zhong, have you been too busy lately? Zhou Cangyue is coming to Jinling, such a big thing, and you didn't even know about it?"

Zhong Yi's face turned pale, he really didn't know.

Regardless of whether Zhou Cangyue is an enemy or a friend, he is now at the center of the storm, and his every move can affect the changes in the situation.

But at this moment, he appeared in Jinling.

But as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, I didn’t even know it!

Zhong Yi bowed deeply to the ground and said: "I failed in my duty. Please punish me, Boss."

He Ran's voice was cold and distant: "Commander Zhong, please summarize the tasks you have been in charge of recently and hand them over to me."

"Yes, I obey your command." Zhong Yi said hurriedly.

He Ran said, "Go check this person. His last name is Zhou. He might be from Zhoujiabao."

Zhong Yi walked out of Renyi Mansion and said to his men waiting outside, "Which direction did Zhou Cangyue go just now? Did he send anyone to follow him?"

The subordinate pointed and said, "The calf and the pony are gone."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhong Yi saw two people coming back dejectedly: "You said you sent them? They came back so soon?"

Xiao Niu and Xiao Ma did not expect Zhong Yi to be there, and they felt even more guilty: "We are incompetent, Zhou Cangyue is more cunning than a loach, and we lost him."

Zhong Yi waved his hand, signaling them not to say anything more: "With just the two of you, even if you practice for another ten years, you may not be Zhou Cangyue's opponent. Forget it, let's go."

Xiao Niu and Xiao Ma looked at each other. When did Commander Zhong become so easy to talk to?
They didn't know that Zhong Yi was in a very complicated mood at this moment.

That person is not only Zhou Cangyue, the now powerful Grand Marshal of the Tiger Army, but he is also his sister's grandson, and he is also his grandson.

Zhong Yi had a vague idea in his mind that Zhou Cangyue was more like a descendant of the Zhou family than anyone else.

Intelligent, brave, optimistic and bright.

Once upon a time, his father wanted to train him to be such a person, and once upon a time, he almost became such a person.

Unfortunately, it didn’t happen in the end.

If his father knew about this, he would definitely be very disappointed in him.

Just like that person, so disappointed that I don't want to see him.

Thinking of this, Zhong Yi suddenly had an idea. At first, this idea was only an outline, but gradually, it became clearer and clearer, so clear that he put down the work in his hands and began to think about the feasibility of this matter.

The next day, Zhong Yi brought his "work summary" to see He Ran. He Ran read his summary in front of him. As expected of a former emperor, his work summary was written like a model essay. It was obvious that he had read too many memorials in his previous life and could even copy them.

He Ran asked about the person he had asked him to investigate, and urged, "Hurry up on this matter, don't slack off."

Zhong Yi's heart moved, and he thought of the fact that he had met Zhou Cangyue here yesterday. After that, He Ran asked him to investigate someone. Could it be that this matter was related to Zhou Cangyue?

Thinking of this, the thought in Zhong Yi's mind arose again, and this time, it quickly spread to his entire heart.

"The boss is already in his twenties, right?"

He Ran was startled: "Why? Commander Zhong also agrees to collect the single tax?"

He Ran opened up the channels for people to express their opinions. Just after she issued an edict to exempt the population tax in the Jiangnan area, Gao Lu, a famous scholar in Qiantang, submitted a memorial proposing that all officials and common people, from women aged 20 to 25 who were still unmarried, should pay the population tax every quarter until they got married.

Because of war and poverty, the death toll is several times higher than the birth rate. This is definitely not going to work in the long run.

Without people, who will open up the wasteland, who will farm the fields, and who will fight the wars?
Gao Lu’s proposal makes sense, but its specific implementation remains to be discussed.

Therefore, Gao Lu's proposal caused a lot of discussion in the government and the country. Many people wrote letters to the evening newspaper. For a while, the evening newspaper was in a state of war. Some agreed and some opposed. One side took over and another side took part. Even people in the market were discussing this matter.

It is said that the matchmakers were all very busy. Many people believed everything they heard and thought that a single tax would be levied soon, so they hurriedly arranged marriages for their children.

The government office has recently received several cases related to marriages. Even when Xiaoli was walking on the street, there were aunties who stopped her and asked if she was engaged. If not, she could be a perfect match for her son. They didn't mind that she was from another place, nor did they care whether she had a dowry or not.

When Xiaoli came back to talk about this, everyone teased her. He Ran had just laughed today, so when Zhongyi asked her about her age, the first thing she thought of was the single tax. However, He Ran soon remembered that Zhongyi was not married yet.

Okay, okay, let’s pay taxes together.

As soon as he said this, Zhong Yi felt a little embarrassed. He seemed a little anxious.

However, now that I have said it, I can't take it back, so I have to continue talking.

"I heard that the boss and Zhou Cangyue knew each other when they were young?"

How He Ran and Zhou Cangyue met has never been a secret.

After she became famous, her past was dug up. Of course, the only thing that was revealed was that she was the eldest daughter of the Zhending He family and the apprentice of He Jinghong.

The story of the real and fake daughter of the He family of Zhending has long been a topic of conversation on the streets. He Ran believes that when peace returns to the world, someone will definitely change their name and put her story on the stage.

When talking about the real and fake daughter, one cannot fail to mention the story of the real daughter being rescued from the Yellow River by a black girl.

The people didn’t know who the black girl who saved people was, but Zhong Yi definitely knew.

He Ran nodded: "Yes, I was not recognized by the He family at that time."

Zhong Yi glanced at He Ran quietly and saw that her eyes were calm, without anger or impatience.

Zhong Yi then said, "The boss is also at the age of marriage. Have you considered Zhou Cangyue?"

He Ran's hand holding the teacup trembled, and the tea splashed out. He Ran wiped it and said with a smile: "Zhong Yi, you seem to be eight or nine years older than me. You should worry about your own marriage. As for me, I am still young. There is no rush, no rush."

At worst, you can just pay taxes. What time is it now? You have internal and external troubles, and you still want to get married. You are crazy.

I can't talk anymore today.

Zhong Yi said shyly: "There is no rush for my marriage, take your time."

He Ran rolled her eyes at him silently and said, "I think you are just too idle. As expected, a mere summary report is not enough to mobilize your enthusiasm for work. I must find you something more to do."

So when Zhong Yi left Renyi Mansion, he took a bunch of errands with him.

However, the most urgent and most important thing is to find out who was the Master Zhou who appeared in the Duke Dingguo's Mansion that year.

Zhong Yi closed his eyes and thought hard, Young Master Zhou, Young Master Zhou.

If he was from Zhoujiabao, why would he be familiar with Old Lady Meng?
He still remembered that he was in the capital when He Jinghong conquered King Xiping. If someone came from Zhoujiabao, even if they avoided him, they could not avoid those royal family members. But why did he have no impression of it at all?

Although He Ran did not say it explicitly, judging from her attention to this person, Zhong Yi was very suspicious that this person was related to Zhou Cangyue's life experience, and it was very likely that he was Zhou Cangyue's biological father.

Zhong Yi felt guilty towards Zhou Ying, and this guilt was not diluted by Zhou Ying's death, but became even stronger.

If Zhou Cangyue had not achieved what he has now, Zhong Yi would most likely have taken him in and raised him personally.

Since this person is related to Zhou Cangyue's life experience, Zhong Yi has no choice but to do his duty.

Zhou Cangyue still lives in Wangjiang Restaurant, and he still has one day.

He will be leaving tomorrow night.

Zhou Cangyue walked back and forth in the room, pacing in circles.

Fourth Sister Su was dizzy from his spinning, and said helplessly, "If you want to see the big boss, go find her, don't hang around in front of me."

Zhou Cangyue stopped and looked at Fourth Sister Su eagerly: "There must be a reason. What reason can I find to see her?"

Fourth Sister Su was very disappointed with the child. This child was so smart when he was young, but he must have hurt his brain during the war and became so stupid.

"I saw her drinking a jar of wine by herself that day. This wine was brewed by me and cannot be bought outside. How about you send her a few jars? Firstly, it will please her, and secondly, it will give me a reason to meet her, right?"

Zhou Cangyue's eyes blinked, with a clear look of stupidity: "Will this affect her reputation? If someone sees this, won't they think she's corrupt?"

Fourth Sister Su.
Then, she waved at Zhou Cangyue lovingly: "Come, let me see if your head is injured. Poor guy, the battle made him stupid."

In the evening, Zhou Cangyue came to Renyi Mansion with a few jars of wine. Unexpectedly, He Ran was not only still working, but also there was a group of people there.

Zhou Cangyue watched the people in the kitchen carry a shoulder pole and walk into the outer study. He quietly asked the maid who came to deliver the food: "How many people are these meals?"

The old woman said proudly: "Twenty-five people!"

He Ran is having dinner with more than 20 people. It’s so lively just thinking about it. He also wants to join in. What should he do?
But he is Zhou Cangyue!

Although the two families were not hostile, he could not go in and have dinner with them. If people knew about it, they would think he was just trying to join in the fun, but if people didn't, they might suspect he was trying to spy on military intelligence.

Zhou Cangyue put down the wine and walked away dejectedly.

He Ran didn't finish the work at hand until late at night.

Xiaoli showed her the wine, and He Ran then realized that Zhou Cangyue had been there.

"Next time he comes, have someone tell me."

Xiaoli agreed with her mouth, but thought in her heart, Marshal Zhou might not be able to stay in Nanjing for long, and the "next time" you mentioned might be a few years later.

Xiaoli still remembers that the last time she saw Zhou Cangyue was when they formed an alliance in Yudi. It has been several years.

He Ran thought Zhou Cangyue would come again the next day. She knew Zhou Cangyue, and he was the kind of man who would not give up until he achieved his goal.

Since I didn't see her today, I will definitely see her again tomorrow.

Zhou Cangyue thought the same thing. He must have gone at the wrong time. He should go at a different time tomorrow.

But when he returned to Wangjiang Restaurant, he received an urgent letter sent by Bai Gou, saying that Wang Hao had suddenly launched a sneak attack, and one of his troops suffered heavy casualties, with the main general killed.

Zhou Cangyue greeted Wang Hao’s ancestors for eighteen generations. He originally wanted Wang Hao to live a few more days, but now it seems that he can’t wait any longer. Wang Hao came here to die on his own accord, so he might as well fulfill his wish!

At dawn, as soon as the city gate opened, Zhou Cangyue rode out of the city.

After walking more than half a mile, Zhou Cangyue turned his horse's head and looked at the city gate tower not far away. He raised his arm and waved: "Sister Ran, I'm going to fight. See you later!"

He wanted to conquer more territories, and then he would shamelessly come to Sister Ran to ask her to send the officials she had trained there.

Great, I have another excuse to see Sister Ran. (End of this chapter)